The fourth day of the sixth month of the seventh year of Yuangui (1573) is destined to be a day worth remembering.

After a period of tension and hecticism, the "Three Masters of Honnoji Temple" gathered again.

"The surrounding area is almost cleaned up, with Xiangguo Temple as the center, five hundred steps away should be mastered by our people, just waiting for the final action." Shibata Katsuya gasped as he spoke, and his back was not very straight. It can be seen that as he grows older, he is not as brave as he used to be.

"I'm pretty much ready, and I'm ready to do it." Kinoshita Hideyoshi clenched on a straw, and his eyes moved back and forth in one or two directions in the temple, "There are really a lot of guards for Lord Gongfang, and the guards around Oda Danmasa are also very vigilant, in case of failure...... It would be nice to have another two or three months to prepare. ”

"If you fail, it's a big deal!" Shibata Katsuya looked very open, and said nonchalantly: "I'd rather gamble a big one than live aggrievedly!" I can't stand slapping that guy Ashikaga Yoshiaki all day long! Then again, the guy really believed it......"

"Actually, you acted pretty well." Akechi Mitsuhide smiled, "Occasional impatience and impulsive behavior only lowers suspicion and strengthens the sense of realism." ”

"Lord Gongfang, not a fool. Although it is far from being as good as Oda's Danmasa. Kinoshita Hideyoshi shook his head and said, "It's just that it's going too well, so I relaxed my basic vigilance." Let's not talk about this for a while, anyway, is there any reaction in the neighborhood? ”

"yes, let's get back to business." Akechi Mitsuhide restrained his smile and frowned: "I have been carefully monitoring today, just now Kawada of the Heite family suddenly brought people and horses to claim to go to the shogunate to meet him, and in addition, Kinoshita's younger brother also left the residence to lead a group of merchants in this direction. In addition, the monks of Mingmin Temple, which are suspected to be in the hands of the relatives of the Takenaka clan, have also moved...... I'll send people to hold it off one by one, but it won't last long. ”

"We must not let them disturb our plans, and it is best not to let anyone near Xiangguoji Temple." Shibata Katsuya immediately took over the conversation and made up his mind decisively: "I'll just point out nine hundred people, divide them into three teams, and stop these three groups!" In case they really come hard, your subordinates will definitely not be enough to rely on Citrus Head! ”

"Nine hundred is too much!" Akechi Mitsuhide retorted solemnly: "Sangkokuji Temple is the most important place!" ”

"But if you can't stop Tie or Takenaka's subordinates, there will be a big risk!" Katsuya Shibata insisted on his opinion.

"Compromise, six hundred!" Kinoshita Hideyoshi accidentally bit off the straw in his mouth, frowned, and said, "What the two of you said makes sense, but there is no way to do it with a limited number of people!" We can only blame Mibuchi Fujiei and Yoneda for their sudden activation, which completely disrupted our arrangement......"

"Okay!" Shibata Katsuya made a concession, "I will send the most powerful retainers, two hundred people in each direction, if you have the determination to die, you should be able to stop it, at least stop us from succeeding!" ”

"Don't forget, after we rescue Oda Danmasa and take control of Lord Gongkata, we still have to occupy Nijo Castle as much as possible." Akechi Mitsuhide reminded.

"Half of Nijo Castle's guards will defect under the right circumstances, and the other half won't be as loyal as they are." Kinoshita Hideyoshi comforted, "Don't worry about that, do what is in front of you first." ”

"Don't worry." Shibata Katsuya patted his chest, "I will never let the people and horses of Hirate and Takenaka get close to Xiangguoji Temple!" ”

"It's not that I don't believe you, it's just that ......" Akechi Mitsuhide was still very worried: "I'm worried that they have other hidden arrangements, or are there other forces that we haven't found out?" ”

"Okay, okay, don't think about it!" Kinoshita Hideyoshi said firmly, "What kind of place is Kyoto? It's a place where the whole world is watching, and it's hard to hide a troop here, and we've looked into it many times! Unless someone has set up the staff a few years in advance, and has been quietly lurking, not doing any tasks, there will definitely be clues for people to discover! ”

"That's right, the monkey was right, and I was about to say that!"

"That's true, maybe I'm too careful...... If anyone really had that much foresight, there would be nothing to say about losing to him. ”

Shibata and Akechi finally stopped arguing.

"Don't forget the other two...... Kinoshita Hideyoshi suddenly smirked, "Back then, everyone thought that the Oda family's 'feast' was destroyed by the Asai family, but in fact, there were some people who survived and didn't have a ...... to change jobs."

……

"Everyone, please hurry up, this is an extremely critical moment, and our future glory and disgrace may depend on today's performance!"

Kawada was anxious and kept urging the three hundred guards around him.

Although the speed of the soldiers is already very fast.

In early June, the weather was getting hotter, and it was not easy to march through the streets in full gear, and it was a bit too much to ask for a faster walk.

However, Kawada Changqin has always been selfless, rewards and punishments are clear, and he is very prestigious at the grassroots level, and he is at the forefront when he first recovers from a serious injury, so others are embarrassed to complain.

Anyway, these 300 people are the elites drawn from the guards and flag books, and their combat effectiveness and discipline are quite impressive.

It is said that as soon as Kawada Naga received a secret letter from a friendly army, and heard about the behavior of Shibata, Kinoshita, Akechi and others, he was shocked, and immediately set off in a hurry, under the banner of meeting with the shogunate and discussing important matters.

With his political consciousness, of course, he knows the seriousness of this matter.

But his political acumen was not high enough to come up with clever solutions.

I can only bite the bullet and take the only three hundred people around me to try to see if it can work.

If you really let those three guys release Oda Nobunaga, and then hold Ashikaga Yoshiaki hostage, and then echo Oda Nobutada in Gifu Castle inside and outside...... The position of the Tie Family is quite embarrassing.

Blocking must be attempted.

Kawada took three hundred guards and traveled for a long time, all the way to the north, without any obstacles, and seeing that he was not too far from the target, he was suddenly blocked.

On the opposite side, hundreds of people occupied the street, and the general at the head claimed that it was "Mao Shou and Bingwei, on the orders of Lord Gongfang, the shogunate has important things to do, and no one is allowed to approach Xiangkokuji Temple for the time being!" ”

Hearing this name, Kawada Nagajin knew that the person who stood in the way was a subordinate of Shibata Katsuie, and it was definitely not sent by Ashikaga Yoshiaki.

But there was nothing to be done.

Forcing a rush is obviously unrealistic. Of course, they are all elite warriors of the Tieshou family on their side, and the other side seems to be the hot-blooded party of the Shibata family, once a fight starts on this narrow street, it will inevitably be a fierce battle, no matter what the victory or defeat is, it will definitely be too late to interfere in the "right thing".

It is also impossible to take a detour in the east-west direction. The other party deliberately came out to stop you, and he is not a fool, if you go east, he will go east, and if you go west, he will also go west, as long as you block the way through a hundred and ten steps. Everyone walks on two legs, and you don't have Hot Wheels acceleration under your feet, how can you get around?

Don't say "I won't take this road if I know it in advance", where did the incident suddenly happen and sent scouts to explore the road first, so I could only act with my head bored, and the other side could stop it by waiting for work.

So Kawada Naga could only fall into painful thoughts-

If you really can't interfere with the other party's actions, then you must not act first and use force without authorization, otherwise you will give the truth, and there may be a lot of trouble later.

At this time, I can only hope that the Lord of the Tieshou Criminal Department has already made arrangements and has another clever plan......

……

The same thing happened to Kinoshita Hidenaga.

He also received a message from his colleagues, and then led one hundred and eighty people, disguised as a caravan, and approached Xiangguo Temple in the name of delivery.

It was also blocked by the Uehara Saemon of the Shibata family.

Kawada Naga himself led 300 heavily armed guards, and in the face of the obstruction of 200 soldiers, he still had the intention of forcibly breaking through, but most of Kinoshita Hidenaga was not professional combatants, so it was obvious that he could not take the initiative to attack.

Therefore, he was completely desperate and had no idea, so he could only sit back and watch.

Seeing this, Kinoshita Hidecho settled down and breathed a sigh of relief, and deep down he felt an emotion that he couldn't imagine: although I'm sorry for the kindness of the Tie Punishment Department, I finally don't have to use the sword between brothers.

He is relatively optimistic, believing that even if he does nothing today, the Tie House will only lose some opportunities, and there will be no loss or danger.

……

The most calm is Shigeharu Takenaka's younger brother Shigeji Takenaka.

was also blocked by the Shibata Katsu family for several streets outside Xiangguoji Temple, he was not in a hurry at all, but calmly ordered his subordinates to stop the march and stand by in place.

Because Takenaka knew that the two hundred and fifty people around him were all hired at a low price, and they couldn't count on anything at all.

The people who are really responsible for doing the right thing have long been secretly hidden.

Takenaka Shigeju only felt extremely excited: I didn't expect that our Takenaka clan would also have the opportunity to peek into the hegemony of the world. Although this opportunity may seem very ethereal and difficult to achieve, the mere glimmer of hope is enough to make people crazy.

Think about how many people in this world have worked hard all their lives, and even obtaining a place is an unattainable luxury!