Matsugami Castle Tower.

Matsugami Yoshiyuki sat there motionless after Matsugami retired, silent for a long time. After a while, he took out a note from his bosom, and saw that it was written in eight small words: "Mission failed, wait for instructions". Matsugami Yoshiyuki's face was cloudy, and he measured it in his heart for a while, and he stood up and walked to the lamp in the assessment room to light the note.

"I hope you don't disappoint the main hall." Matsugami muttered to himself after seeing the note turn to ashes. ......

Matsugami Yoshimitsu was about to leave Matsugami Castle and rush back to his home city Matsumoto Castle when Matsugami Yoshimitsu was about to leave the city, but when Matsugami Yoshimitsu was about to leave the city, he happened to meet the eldest family boss Nono Heinobu who also came to congratulate the birth of the little young master Gosanmaru.

"Yoshimitsu-sama, Yoshimitsu-sama, please stay." Ohno Heinobu greeted Matsugami Yoshimitsu from an unprecedented distance. In the past, Ohno was ashamed to greet Matsugami Yoshimitsu, but today's unexpected move caught Matsugami Yoshimitsu off guard, who was about to avoid him.

"It's Ohno-sama, long time no see." Matsugami Yoshimitsu stopped and greeted Ohno Hiranobu who had rushed over.

"Yoshimitsu-sama, I heard that you were assassinated the day before yesterday, I don't know if it's true or not?" Ohno asked with a look of concern.

Matsugami Yoshimitsu had already expected that his assassination would be known to everyone in the Matsugami family, after all, there were few secrets in the entire Matsugami land. But he was a little surprised by Ohno's questioning, so he had to thank him. "Thank you Ohno-sama for your concern. He was assassinated the next day, but it was fine. It's just a bunch of juniors. ”

"Huh, care? I'm just worried that your death at the hands of a ninja will damage the prestige of my family. Hey, this new retainer is a new retainer, how can we old people be reliable. It's a pity that the lord was deceived by the villain. Ohno Heishin unexpectedly and in common sense sarcastically said a few words to Matsugami Yoshimitsu and left.

"It's not him." Matsugami Yoshimitsu suddenly had a strong feeling after Ohno Heinobu left, that is, the person who sent someone to assassinate him was definitely not Ohno Heinobu. Although Matsugami Yoshimitsu and Ohno Heinobu have always been hostile at Matsukami's house, in response to the saying that the person who knows him best is actually his enemy, Matsugami Yoshimitsu knows Ohno Heinobu very well. Before today, Matsugami Yoshimitsu was the least suspicious of Ohno Heinobu, and after today, Matsugami Yoshimitsu directly ruled out Ono Heinobu's suspicion.

"Ohno Heinobu may be very hateful to the main hall and want to kill the main hall, but Ohno Heinobu is not the kind of person who secretly conspires. If Heinobu Ohno were to get rid of the main hall, he would definitely fight the main hall instead of assassinating the main hall. However, if Ohno Heinobu is excluded, then who is most likely to send someone to assassinate the main hall? The lord ......" Matsugami Yoshimitsu was shocked, and suddenly didn't dare to think about it anymore.

After straightening out the ups and downs of his mood, Matsugami Yoshimitsu hurried back to Matsumoto Castle. Matsumoto Castle assessment room.

As soon as Matsugami Yoshimitsu returned to Matsumoto Castle, he immediately summoned his family's old Saigo Kanhisa. Saigo Kanhisa was resourceful and assassinated the day before yesterday, and Matsugami Yoshimitsu only discussed it with Saigo Kanhisa. Now it seems that this matter is gradually pointing to the Lord's righteous deeds, and for the sake of prudence, he can only ask Saigo for a long time.

"My lord, I don't know what is the matter with the summons? I don't know if it has something to do with the assassination of the lord the day before yesterday. As soon as Saigo Kanhisa received a summons from the lord Matsugami Yoshimitsu, he secretly guessed that the matter must have something to do with the events of the day before yesterday, so as soon as he was summoned by the lord, he rushed to Matsumoto Castle to evaluate the room.

"Homo sapiens for a long time. The main hall met Ohno Heinobu in Matsugami Castle today, and although he was not very sure, the main hall was basically sure that the assassination of the main hall had nothing to do with Ohno Heinobu. The Katayama family is now fighting with the Umedo family, and Katayama Nobuho must have no intention of dealing with the main hall at this time. In this case, the most suspicious thing is ......" Matsugami Yoshimitsu suddenly fell silent in the middle of his words.

"The Great Hall." Saigo Kanhisa picked up Matsugami Yoshimitsu's unfinished words.

"Pour it for a long time, be cautious." Matsugami Yoshimitsu suddenly spoke up, interrupting Saigo Kanhisa's already near-true speculation. Saigo Kanhisa saw that the lord seemed to reveal the matter, and then remained silent.

Matsugami Yoshimitsu paused for a moment and said. "This matter is only speculation, and there is no very sure and tangible evidence. If this is false, we may speculate that it will lead to discord with the lord. Even if this is true, since it has not been exposed now, it has given the main hall a chance to take precautions. It is not appropriate for this hall to meet the main sword soldiers now. The main hall came to you to think about it, and you asked how the main hall could be invincible? ”

"The lord's worries are understood. Now the lord has no other way but to strengthen himself. Saigo Kanhisa was also a little prepared for what Matsugami Yoshimitsu asked.

"I wonder how the main hall should strengthen itself?" Matsugami Yoshimitsu saw that Saigo Kanhisa really had a way to ask immediately.

"The lord is good, if the lord wants to strengthen himself, he can only prepare military rations, expand his troops, and prepare tools. Military rations are the foundation of wartime, and as long as the lord has enough rations, he can calmly deal with them even if the situation changes in the future. Not to mention the expansion of troops. In addition, if there is a conflict between the lord and the main hall in the future, the family will be able to quickly build a fortress to prevent the enemy from attacking after they have enough equipment. As long as you do these three things well, you will not be too constrained by others. Saigo Kanhisa spoke in detail about his plan to strengthen his family.

After listening to Saigo Kanhisa's three strategies, Matsugami Yoshimitsu first showed joy and then sadness. "Guan Jiu, this garrison of military rations and preparation equipment is simple, and the main hall has the support of Matsumoto Silver Mine, and the lord can deal with it anywhere. However, this expansion of the army has a lot to do with it, not to mention that it will inevitably attract the suspicion of the lord. Even if the family has a lot of money, too many conscripted soldiers will deplete the people's power and make the main hall lose the hearts of the people. (In the era of agriculture, the limitation of military strength was not only related to financial resources, but also to civilian resources, and problems could occur if there were too many recruits and the land was left uncultivated.) I wonder if you have any way to solve this problem? ”

Saigo Kanhisa had been prepared for Matsugami Yoshimitsu's question, and he said meaningfully. "My lord, there seems to be a shortage of people in the Matsumoto Silver Mine recently."

"Lack of people in the silver mines? You mean the miners? After Matsugami Yoshimitsu passed Saigo's prompting, he suddenly thought of an armed gang unique to Japan's Warring States - the miners. The miners are a community of interests made up of people who have made a living from mining for generations. Miners are generally better than ordinary people in terms of physique, which is a candidate for soldiers in the era of cold weapons. As long as the weapons are supplied, the combat effectiveness is generally better than that of the average ashigaru, and recruiting miners will not have too bad an impact on the territory.

However, Matsugami Yoshimitsu didn't know any miners at all. You must know that the miners are very xenophobic, and they cannot be recruited if they have money. So he set his sights on his old Xixiang Guanjiu.