The messenger who came at a gallop turned out to be an old friend, Yumitsu Numata.

He was once a retainer of Ashikaga Yoshiteru, the general of the previous dynasty, and was later recommended by Hirate Honhide to serve as the "Biwa Lake Naval Commander" in the Oda family, but after Nobunaga was seriously injured and lived in seclusion, it was difficult to get the support of Gifu Castle and he had to gradually get closer to the shogunate.

In fact, Yumitsu Numata is a very traditional samurai, and he has never appreciated the style of today's public affairs, so it is difficult to fit in.

Now he suddenly came to visit in a hurry, what is the reason?

Pingshou Fanxiu received him with doubts, and then the other party split his head and covered his face with an astonishing sentence: "Please Lord of the Criminal Department, save the orphans of the late Duke Fang Yihui!" ”

……

Numata Yumitsu was originally a dusty servant, panting, pale, sweating profusely, after saying this, as if he had exhausted all his strength, he lay down on the ground for a long time, before he reluctantly got up, and tidied up his clothes weakly, and said apologetically: "Under the two entourage, three people and six horses, I ran back from Echizen in one breath, I was really tired, and I lost my temper so far, which makes you laugh." ”

Pingshou Fanxiu knew that this old friend had always paid great attention to his appearance, and showing such a shape today must have encountered big news that the sky was falling apart, so he hurriedly asked what happened.

That "saving the orphans of the late Duke Fang Yihui" sounds really scary.

Numata Yumitsu stroked his chest, calmed down a little, and bowed down: "Lord Gongfang led the army to defeat the Asakura family, presumably you already know about the crime department." ”

Pingshou Fan Xiu nodded: "Not bad, and then what?" ”

And then ...... Saemon Governor (Asakura Yoshikage) was bound to surrender, Tomita Nagashige was rebelled by Akechi Mitsuhide, Asakura Keigami and Maehayoshi were captured, and Yuzhu Keigu was taken by Kinoshita Hideyoshi-sama......" Numata Yumitsu briefly recounted, and immediately made a total: "In a word, the important members of the Echizen Asakura family are almost wiped out. Therefore, the prince of Takeki Maru also fell into the hands of the shogunate army. ”

Takeki Maru, the orphan of the legendary Ashikaga Yoshiki, is only eight years old.

Anyway, this kid ...... It seems that it was not originally called this name, and "Takeki Maru" was changed by his uncle when he passed to the Asakura family, that is, the current public party.

The so-called "saving the orphans of the late Duke Fang Yihui" just now means ......

Pingshou Fan Xiu was not surprised, but he made a stunned expression: "Could it be that Lord Gongfang, do you want to severely punish this Wuhui Pill Prince?" ”

"Exactly." Numata Yumitsu nodded in sink, "Even though it's not an official occasion for evaluation, Lord Gongfang personally said the phrase 'The source of the trouble must be put to death'!" Although the contemptible person had not heard of it, he had heard the relays of more than a dozen friends, so he was convinced. ”

"That's ......" Pingshou Fanxiu smiled slightly, and said lightly: "So, you came here recently, do you want me to try to prevent this from happening?" ”

"I can only ask Lord of the Criminal Department!" Numata Youguang is another five-body bow: "If Lord Gongfang kills the prince of Wuhui Maru, it will not tolerate the righteousness of the world, but also violate the bloodline and humanity." As a retainer of the righteous lord, he categorically can't see this kind of thing happen! ”

In the face of righteous and stern expression, Pingshou Fanxiu just lowered his head slightly, his expression did not change, but he seemed to reach out unintentionally and grabbed a dead leaf that floated from the hem of his clothes at some point, kneaded and broke it, played with it, and responded lightly for a long time: "If you want me to stop this, of course it's not impossible." But please tell me first, what is the reason why the princess wants to kill Taketsumaru Gongzi? ”

This cold-blooded, ruthless, despicable and cowardly general, of course, is to eliminate risks and consolidate his own power!

- That's what Yumitsu Numata thinks in his heart.

But as a samurai with a traditional style, it is impossible for him to publicly slander the leaders of the world's martial arts families, and it is difficult to coordinate his heart and mouth for a while, and he is stunned and doesn't know what to say.

Pingshou Fan Xiu shook his head, thinking to himself that this person was obviously very smart, why did he panic when he encountered something similar, and explained again: "In other words, what kind of crime did Lord Gongfang use to punish Wuhui Maru Gongzi?" ”

"Oh......" Numata Yumitsu understood at this time, and quickly replied: "Lord Gongfang said that Takekemaru Gongzi is the mastermind of the rebellion of Takeda, Asakura, Kitabatake, Matsunaga and others. This is obviously something that has been created out of nothing, chasing after the wind......"

"Wait a minute!" Pingshou Fan Xiu interrupted with a wave of his hand, "May I ask the princess to make such a judgment, do you have any evidence or witnesses?" ”

"This ......" Numata Yumitsu's face changed, hesitated, and reluctantly whispered: "The letters and correspondence that were searched out did indeed have the payment of Takeki Maru Gongzi...... But ......"

"Don't do it yet." Tieshou Fan Xiu interrupted unceremoniously again, "Are these payments written by Wuhui Maru Gongzi himself?" Or is it ghostwritten? ”

“…… It is indeed handwritten, but ......" Yumitsu Numata hurriedly distinguished.

"That's it." Pingshou Fan Xiu shook his head again and interrupted ruthlessly, "Since it is such conclusive evidence, it can't be said that Lord Gongfang is 'making something out of nothing, chasing after the wind and shadows'!" ”

"But ......" Numata Yumitsu's face suddenly turned red, and he couldn't help but roar angrily: "Lord of the Criminal Department, you should also know that the son of Wuhui Maru is only eight years old!" How can an eight-year-old start a rebellion? Apparently it was just used as a tool and used by careerists! ”

"Not necessarily." Pingshou Fanxiu smiled calmly, "Ganluo, who is far away from Tang Tu, visited Zhao as an envoy of Qin at the age of twelve, and reached an important agreement to pay homage to Shangqing. Recently, there was Miyoshi Repair (Miyoshi Changqing), and at the age of 11, he successfully mediated a sectarian dispute as an arbiter and became famous. And so on, the world has heard of it, but how do you know that our Wuhui Pill is not a prodigy? ”

"......" Yumitsu Numata was speechless.

The matter of Ganluo is a long time ago, and there may be misremembering, exaggeration, and inaccuracies. In the matter of the three good Changqing, it is very likely that the retainers did it for him, deliberately giving him fame and fortune.

- Numata Yumitsu retorted in his heart, but he didn't say it.

Because he knows it doesn't matter.

What really matters is ......

"Lord of the Tie Division! Do you mean, do you support the execution of Takekimaru by Gongfang-sama? ”

This is the only thing Yumitsu Numata cares about.

He couldn't help but stand up solemnly, looking directly at the other party with an unkind expression.

As for the truth or falsity of historical allusions, it is good to leave it to scholars to judge.

"Don't be impatient!" Pingshou Fan Xiu stroked his beard, his eyes flashed with a vague essence, and he said without hurrying: "Youguang Palace, what you said is really strange. Whether or not Wuhui Maru Gongzi is guilty depends on whether he is guilty or not. It is impossible to say that he is guilty and I say that he should not be punished, or that he is not guilty and I say that he should be punished! Now, although there is some evidence in the hands of the public lord, it cannot be said to be an iron case, after all, it still has to be tried to see if there is any hidden secret. ”

“…… Contemptible people understood. Seeing that in this matter, the Lord of the Criminal Department cannot become an ally of our generation. Numata Yumitsu sighed helplessly, his face full of disappointment,

"That's weird." The expression of the flat hand finally began to show a stern and unfriendly meaning, and his tone was a little cold, and he asked in a loud voice: "What I just said is nothing more than 'seeking truth from facts'!" Isn't this the normative standard for human beings? If you have any grievances with me, then I would rather criticize your mentality! ”

“…… That's ...... Not necessarily. Numata Yumitsu was a little shaken in the face of the aggressive momentum, but he still gritted his teeth and insisted on his opinion, secretly clenched his fists, and said word by word: "First of all, the contemptible people have already seen Takeki Maru Gongzi, and it can be determined that he is definitely not a prodigy who can set off a rebellion, even if someone can show any human and physical evidence next, I will only think that those are all framed or taken out of context!" Secondly, as a retainer of Yoshiaki, I must not see the only orphan of his old man being executed like this, which is the righteousness of my Numata Yumitsu! ”

As he spoke, his whole body tensed, his face was pale, his lips trembled, and his eyes were red as if they were about to erupt into fire. It seems that he has full consciousness and determination.

"That's it......" Hisho Honxiu showed a little sadness, but his tone was also resolute and determined, and he said slowly: "It's a pity that the contemptible person and the righteous Hui Gong only have one side, and there is no direct connection. What I identify with is the current public side, Ashikaga Yoshiaki-sama! If Yoshiaki-sama kills without reason, of course I will do my best to persuade and stop it. But if Yoshiaki-sama has enough convincing evidence in his hand to give the rebels a corresponding punishment through reasonable inference, then of course I will support his old man's actions. This is the reason for my tie. ”

Having said that, there is already a tense situation between friends who were originally familiar at first sight.

However, this is not a conflict of interests for the sake of flies and dogs, but stems from the fact that each insists on different ways of righteousness.

Feeling frightened and worried, and at the same time burning an impassioned fighting spirit in his heart, he stood up and saluted, and said solemnly: "In that case, let us fight for each other's righteousness like real samurai!" Farewell, Lord of the Criminal Department, this trip or farewell! ”

Pingshou Fanxiu didn't say anything, only sighed lightly, called the attendants on the left and right to fetch the wine, poured out two glasses, and toasted each other.

Numata Yumitsu sighed, drank it all, turned around and walked away quickly.

In an instant, his figure disappeared from view.

Pingshou Fan Xiu sat for a while, and suddenly said to himself in a mournful voice: "In order for me to support him in executing the orphan of Yihui Gong, the princess is bound to give concessions, so what I thought about before is eighty percent right...... I'm a senseless, despicable samurai! I will probably be punished by a high position and power for a lifetime, and I will be punished with fine clothes and food......"