Hite-suo-hide frowned and stared in the direction of Mt. Hiei in the northeast, looking very anxious, eager to give birth to wings and fly in an instant. Helplessly, there are more than 7,000 soldiers around him, and it is not so simple to advance and retreat, so he has to set a good route and order, and start one by one according to the system.

In addition, the news spread along the road, and many well-intentioned people came to join in the fun, wanting to "witness" the truth together, and all the people who came to the tie accepted it, and the marching speed became slower and slower.

Later, even the shogunate and the imperial court were alarmed, and they sent people to ask about the tone. But Hite-sue only said, "I don't know anything either, and I'm about to go and find out." "Nothing else.

From the southern suburbs of Kyoto to Mt. Hiei, about 150 towns (15.5 km), it was a half-day journey.

But it took the army five or six hours, from early morning to evening, to reach the foot of the mountain.

The green mountains in front of you are continuous, the mountains and peaks are continuous, the top of the mountain is not high, the slope is gentle, and it occupies a large area. Faintly visible among the gravel and grass among the trees, the scattered houses are the sphere of influence of the main mountain of the Tiantai sect, including the main temple, the lower temple and the residence of the affiliated lords.

In the middle of the best view, there is a vast courtyard and a towering pagoda halfway up the mountainside, but you can see it clearly, and you can still see it from a few hundred steps away, which is where Enryakuji Temple is located.

In addition to the high-precision (by the standards of the era, of course) military maps, there are also top-secret props in the tent of the Chinese army, which are a pair of simulated sand tables showing the suburbs of Kyoto.

The monks had little awareness of guarding against spies, and information was very easy to obtain.

With the main temple as the center, there are nearly 100 large and small monasteries in the mountains, and more than 200 villages, with an estimated total of 30,000 to 50,000 people and 2 to 3,000 monks.

This number is much smaller than that of their counterparts in Ishiyama, Nara, and Koyasan, but it is a very powerful religious force in the vicinity of Kyoto and at the foot of the Son of Heaven.

Enryakuji Temple naturally also has monks, but they have always mainly played politics, and are not known for their combat power, the last large-scale use of force can be traced back to thirty-five years ago, this level of training and military discipline, it is conceivable, in the eyes of veterans as if there is no defense.

Ordinary robbers and thieves have no ability to deal with monks and soldiers, and no matter how weak they are, there are hundreds or thousands of people, not that dozens of bandits can beat you. And those who have the ability to do it are all on the identity, and they have to consider the political influence.

For example, Tie Tsuki does not dare to do it easily.

When he saw Mt. Hiei, he thought that it hadn't been long since the last time he had followed the rout of the enemy.

When I came back here, my mood was different again.

It was still a year ago, after Matsunaga's rebel army was defeated by a draw, the "thief chief" Matsunaga Tong, with other "important criminals", ran here to hide, claiming to be a monk, in order to evade responsibility.

And the old fox Song Yongxiu defended himself that he was coerced by an unfilial son, and declared that he wanted to cut off the kindness of father and son!

Then he relied on this ridiculous excuse to mobilize the connections of the imperial court, temples, merchants, and cultural people from all walks of life, and did his best to wash his name, so as to temporarily preserve the family business.

At that time, the soldiers of the Tie family undoubtedly felt very aggrieved - they obviously won the battle, but they couldn't take advantage of the situation to enter Yamato, and they couldn't get merit and no chance to plunder, wouldn't it be in vain?

This time was different.

The middle-level cadres who could hear a little bit of the wind were secretly happy with the mentality of watching the excitement and not thinking about it, while the few high-level officials who knew the truth tried their best to hide their joy and pretended to be as inexplicable and overwhelmed as the grassroots soldiers.

When they arrived at the mountain, they found a high platform to make a camp and hurriedly settled down.

At first glance, there seemed to be nothing unusual on the mountain, and Pingshou Fanxiu suddenly frowned and was displeased: "Who is spreading any rumors that there is a conflict between Sasadian and the monks of Enryakuji Temple?" I will say that this old friend is the most righteous and will never offend this thousand-year-old temple. In the future, if there is such a trick, the shameless people who are quick to speak will be severely punished! ”

As soon as these words came out, everyone was shocked, and everyone bowed down and did not dare to disobey it slightly.

Then he ordered the whole army to stop and rest, and to personally visit the monks in the temple to explain.

But before he could speak, he suddenly realized something, and involuntarily stopped, and looked around in confusion.

It happened that Hisho Xiuyi strode over to meet him: "Uncle, is there a fire somewhere, why is there a burning smell wafting over...... Hey? Look at this, you smell it too! ”

These words were like a thunderbolt from the sky, and everyone was stunned. But everyone didn't dare to show it, but they all set their eyes on the leader of the main matter.

And the flat hand was silent for a long time, and several expressions of shock, anger, disappointment, and doubt appeared on his face just right, blending and weaving.

When others saw this, they didn't dare to say anything.

But Pingshou Xiuyi stepped forward, bowed slightly, and said in a low voice: "Uncle! At this point, everyone understands what the situation is, you have to have a countermeasure, right? ”

He was very serious, and there was nothing wrong with the occasion.

But this kid's upright posture didn't remain for a few seconds, and he couldn't help but smile and said: "Anyway, our in-laws, I really don't see it." Why don't you just let me go up and make a ...... Go up and distinguish it, and dispose of it at the right time. ”

finally in front of so many people, he didn't say "join in the fun" explicitly.

Obviously, "Ghost Boy Keiji" didn't think it was a big deal to burn Mt. Hiei.

The attitude of the draw is obviously different.

He glanced at his eldest nephew angrily, and was about to reprimand a few words, when he suddenly saw a bright light flashing in the distance, so he didn't care about educating the younger generation, so he hurriedly asked the attendant to get the "clairvoyant mirror".

If you look closely, you can see that there are indeed some flames and smoke spreading in this direction from the north side of Mt. Hiei.

Putting down the mirror tube, Pingshou Fan Xiu couldn't help but wonder: "The weather is dry in spring, and fires are common." I heard that there are thousands of monks and soldiers under Enryakuji Temple, and they have always been tightly controlled, so it stands to reason that there should be people patrolling the mountains and forests to prevent heat disasters, right? How can we allow natural disasters to ravage like this? We must not act rashly, let's find out the truth! ”

On the one hand, it is necessary to find out the truth, but on the other hand, it is insisted that it is a "natural disaster".

Just in front of him, no one dared to break it.

Today, with thousands of people, he walked slowly around Gyeonggi for a whole day, openly saying that he was going to Mt. Hiei, and the people who came did not refuse to receive guests from all walks of life, and the forces that were a little more conscious had already sent their eyes and ears to inquire about it.

There were more and more people, and by the time they arrived at the mountain, there were already two noble envoys of the shogunate, Makijima Akimitsu, Shijo Takaken of the imperial court, as well as the Rinzai sect high monk Toraya Soyi, the poet Samura Shaoba, the painter Kano Matsuei, and the wealthy merchant Hashimoto Mitsuji, who either came in person or sent the children of the near branch as representatives.

Many influential figures came here and watched with trepidation as fireworks rose from the mountain.

And after the fireworks, there seemed to be a chaotic shout, and then the monks and laymen of all kinds of clothes fled in a hurry in the mountains, and from a distance it looked like boiling water had entered an ant's nest.

I don't know if anyone cares about this fire.

The first accident started in the north, and everyone stood in the south, and by the time the fire was discovered, the fire was quite large, and the mountain was already quite chaotic.

Obviously, the situation does not allow for any more "ascertaining the truth and not being impatient".

But Pingshou Fanxiu was still a rat thrower, hesitating, muttering to himself something like "this place can't be easily set foot in".

Naturally, the retainers of the Tie family will not have any opinions on this, including the bold and arrogant Keiji, who seems to be honestly squatting in the corner and not speaking after being refuted.

Only the spectators looked at each other in horror.

Finally, someone couldn't help but speak, and asked nervously, "Could it be ...... Could it be the ...... Osa of Owari...... Actually attacked Mt. Hiei? ”

"This ...... If so, it wouldn't be surprising. A bold monk replied with a calm face: "That Lord Sasa, in the past, he was the vanguard of every battle under the command of Oda Danmasa, and there were brave men around him, and although Enryakuji Temple has tens of thousands of followers, he is not accustomed to sword soldiers, and he is not prepared......"

"Please be careful! Be careful! Pingshou Fan Xiu was greatly displeased: "Even if my old friend was bullied by some corrupt monks and officials, and he was indignant for a while, and did a little excessive, he would never set fire to the mountain!" Don't listen to rumors that are made up out of nothing! In the unlikely event that public opinion deviates in the future, I wonder if you will dare to take this responsibility? ”

There was another awkward silence.

So when the soldiers did not move, the sky gradually darkened, but the fire on the mountain became more and more conspicuous, and some soldiers even came to report that they had met a few fleeing monks, and they did not know whether they wanted to or not, and actually rushed into the military formation.

Now the guests couldn't sit still.

The highest status is the minister sent by the imperial court to probe the limelight, named Shijo Takasen, as a middle-level official who does not fully understand the truth, suggested: "Let's not talk about the cause of the matter, at least I implore the Lord of the Criminal Department to clean up the order and put out the fire first!" Especially the great monks and cultural relics at the core of Enryakuji Temple, that is the treasure of the town! ”

"This ......" Pingshou Fanxiu's eyes rolled repeatedly, and he couldn't decide: "It just so happened that it was dark, and I was worried that some soldiers would keep giving orders, and if they took the opportunity to loot in the name of fighting fires...... But how? ”

“…… What the Lord of the Criminal Department said is also reasonable. "Shijo Takaken was originally an unassertive person, but after listening to the persuasion, he immediately stopped insisting on his opinion.

was persuaded so easily, but it made the draw still unfinished.

Fortunately, the apprentice of Satomura Shaoba, a young man who had forgotten his name for a while, took up the conversation and said, "Even if there are some soldiers making trouble, the harm must be far less than that of fire!" As long as the fire is extinguished, you don't have to worry about the slightest bit. ”

This time, Tieshou Fan Xiu did not continue to argue, but thought for a while, then relaxed his eyebrows, nodded vigorously, and made a deeply approved expression.