"The lord is back!"

"The lord is back!" ......

Early that morning, after days of traveling, Matsugami Yoshimitsu finally returned to Matsumoto Castle, the place of his dreams. Matsumoto Castle was quiet in the early morning, but it became noisy because of the loud shouts of the guards Ashigaru.

The lord who everyone had been waiting for for a long time finally returned, and Saigo Kanhisa and Yoshiki Kazuhei, who had learned the news, rushed to the city gate to greet Matsugami Yoshimitsu.

"Lord, you're finally back, I'll be relieved to wait!" Seeing that Matsugami Yoshimitsu finally returned safely to Saigo, Kanjiu breathed a long sigh of relief.

Although Matsugami Yoshimitsu handed over the affairs of Matsumoto Castle to him before he went to Iga, he was still almost overwhelmed by the Ryoki faction. Yoshiki Ichihei even wanted to lead the troops to recapture Mrs. Nana many times, which made Saigo Kan, who had always been cautious, miserable.

Matsugami Yoshimitsu saw that Saigo Kanjiu was a little exhausted, and immediately sighed and said: "Saigo-sama has worked hard, Matsumoto Castle is so stable thanks to Saigo-sama's merits!"

After saying that, Matsugami Yoshimitsu said to the other retainers, "In the absence of the main hall, thanks to the unity of all of you and Lord Saigo, Matsumoto Castle has been stabilized."

"My lord, how can we compare our small achievements with Lord Saigo."

"Right...... That's right, the big man of Saigo is the minister of the old Cheng and the country. ”

"Lord Saigo has indeed worked hard!" ......

The samurai has always been the most famous, and the merit is the foundation of the life, and the samurai have always fought for merit, and even some have even achieved a good story. The Sengoku daimyo also encouraged their retainers to compete for merit in order to better accomplish their strategic goals. However, this time, in order to suppress the Liangmu faction, the retainers of the Xixiang faction rushed to attribute the merits to Xixiang Guanjiu alone.

The people of the Liangmu faction were naturally angry at the Xixiang faction's "merit-grabbing" behavior, but they had nothing to say, after all, Xixiang Guanjiu's merits were indeed higher than theirs. There is also a limit to the samurai's merits, and if you talk about your own merits at this time, you will inevitably be criticized. It was because of the conspiracy of the Xixiang faction, and the people of the Liangmu faction had no choice but to keep silent.

"This ......" was a little embarrassed by the sudden actions of his retainers, he didn't expect the battle between his retainers to have reached such a bad point. Although Matsugami Yoshimitsu understands and even has the heart to guide the factional strife between his retainers, if the infighting is too much, it is very likely to bring himself the danger of destruction.

Originally, it was nothing that all the small exploits of defending the city went to Saigo Kanhisa, but Matsugami Yoshimitsu didn't know what to do now. Obviously, the retainers of the two factions have regarded this matter as a contest, and they must let both sides win or fail is the best strategy.

"Lord, Yiping has something to say." After all, as the elder of the Liangmu faction, he naturally would not sit idly by and watch the provocation of the Saigo faction, and he saw that Matsugami Yoshimitsu was a little hesitant and hurriedly took the opportunity to speak.

"Oh..., I wonder if Ichihei has anything to say to the main hall?" Matsugami Yoshimitsu, who was distressed, saw that Yoshihei Ryoki had something to say, and was immediately overjoyed and quickly changed the topic.

"Haha." Permission was given to Yoshiki Ichihei and said loudly: "Lord Kai, the merits of the samurai are on the battlefield, and killing the enemy and capturing their heads is the way for the samurai to make meritorious deeds. As for this goalkeeper's work, Yiping can't look down on it, and he doesn't want to take on this goalkeeping work. Since he knew that he couldn't fight for Liangmu Yiping, he simply gave up his merits and secretly ridiculed those who fought for merit as dogs guarding the door.

"Yoshiki-sama is right, the merits of a samurai should be above the sword and gun."

"Only those who have fought and established meritorious deeds are worthy of samurai such as us." ......

The people of the Liangmu faction listened to the heroic words of Liangmu Yiping, and suddenly swept away the twilight in their hearts, we are not unable to fight, you are just unremitting.

"Yiping, that's a good point!" Feeling the fighting spirit of Yoshihei Ryoki, Matsugami Yoshimitsu immediately praised him. As for the Saigo faction, which was still secretly complacent, it fell silent, after all, for samurai, only the exploits on the battlefield were worth boasting about.

"My lord, what Lord Ryoki said is right!" Saigo Kanhisa, who had not spoken, suddenly opened his mouth to agree with Ryohei Kazuhei's statement, and everyone who knew that the two were fighting suddenly all looked at Saigo Kanhisa. However, Saigo Kanhisa was indifferent to this and continued: "The stability of Matsumoto Castle depends on the arrangement of the lord, and the retainers work together. As Yoshiki said, the merits of the samurai are on the battlefield, and although they are old, they also want to make contributions on the battlefield. ”

For the merit of the Xixiang faction, Xixiang Guanjiu also expected it, and in his opinion, this was just a vain effort. Originally, Saigo Kanjiu saw that Matsugami Yoshimitsu was a little embarrassed and wanted to take the initiative to resign his exploits, but before he could speak, he was interrupted by Yoshiki Ippei. Later, after listening to the generous words of Yoshiki Ippei, Saigo Kanjiu hurriedly took the opportunity to resign, otherwise he would probably leave an impression of fighting for merit in the eyes of the lord in the future.

"Hahahaha, okay, you guys are right! The main hall is waiting for you to establish meritorious deeds on the battlefield, and the main hall will not spare the reward of safety at that time. ”

Seeing that Saigo Kanhisa also took the initiative to resign, Matsugami Yoshimitsu was immediately overjoyed and praised everyone.

"Haha." At this time, both the Liangmu faction and the Xixiang faction were all new and heroic, and naturally they all selectively forgot about Fang Cai's meritorious work. ......

Matsugami Yoshimitsu met with the retainers and asked them to do their jobs under the pretext that they wanted to rest, but in the afternoon of the same day, Matsugami Yoshimitsu summoned the old Saigo Kanhisa in the castle tower.

The severity of the dispute between Yoshiki and Saigo Ryohei was beyond his expectations, and Matsugami Yoshimitsu felt that he had to do something to deepen the bond between the two factions. Although the rivalry between courtiers is something that any lord likes to see, it will not work if it affects the overall situation. The Oda family and the Toyotomi family, who failed to win the world, actually died in their own internal strife in the end, and Matsugami Yoshimitsu, who was familiar with these lessons, naturally did not let himself repeat the mistakes of the past.

"Saigo-sama, I wonder what you think of Yoshiki Ippei-sama?" Inside the castle tower, Matsugami Yoshimitsu suddenly asked about Saigo Kanhisa's opinion of Yoshiki Ippei.

"My lord, Lord Liangmu is really an excellent general." Although it is not known why Matsugami Yoshimitsu asked this question, Saigo Kanhisa still praised his political opponents. Only a foolish person would slander his opponent in front of his lord, and this will not only help but make himself despised by his lord.

"Hahahaha, that's good." Seemingly satisfied with Saigo's answer, Matsugami Yoshimitsu burst out laughing.

After that, he continued: "The main hall heard that there is a Sakura princess in the Saigo family who has reached the age of marriage, and Yoshiki Ippei also happens to be unmarried. The main hall wants to match the two of them to get married, but I don't know what Lord Saigo thinks? ”

"What!" Saigo Guanjiu never expected that the lord would marry his own princess Sakura and his political rival Yoshiki Ippei, and he was suddenly a little at a loss, and subconsciously he refused: "Lord, my family's Ah Ying is still young, and I want her to stay with her for more this year." As for the marriage, please take back the decree of the lord. ”

If he marries Ryoki Ippei, it will be difficult for his daughter to do in the future, which Saigo Kanjiu is unwilling to do.

"Saigo-sama, you and Issei are both trusted retainers of this hall. The main hall of the struggle between your two factions is also known, but the unity of Matsumoto Castle cannot be destroyed. If you really can't bear to have your own Sakura princess, the main hall doesn't force it, but the main hall will have to change someone to marry the Liangmu faction at that time. Think about it. ”

Saigo Kanhisa's rejection Matsugami Yoshimitsu had expected it, and he stopped talking after telling Saigo Kanhisa about his considerations. As for whether the two factions will be a big bully after the marriage of the two factions, Matsugami Yoshimitsu is not worried at all, the interests of the two factions are different, unless one party gives up its own interests, they will never unite.

Matsugami Yoshimitsu means that Saigo Kanhisa understands very well that if he does not agree to the marriage, then the Saigo family will be abandoned. The beloved daughter is still not as important as the family, and Saigo Kanhisa soon had a choice.

"Haha, it's all up to the lord."

Matsugami Yoshimitsu smiled with satisfaction after receiving the reply. ......