Yamato, located between the Kyoto Plain and the Kii Mountains, is a country with a rich terrain.

The country is surrounded by mountains of varying altitudes, especially Yoshino-gun in the south, which is almost entirely covered by hills, but there is a wide and flat basin with fertile land and plenty of water between the peaks.

Known as Nara, this basin has provided abundant agricultural output and has been an economically developed region in Fuso since ancient times. Most of the output of more than 400,000 stone in Yamato came from here.

During the Heijokyo period, the capital of the imperial court was in Nara. At that time, it was the pinnacle of frenzied study of the Tang Dynasty, and many of the culture, arts, rules and regulations, customs, and science and technology of Middle-earth were absorbed in one go.

At the same time, Buddhism spread and took root and grew in Nara. In this process, the Kofukuji Temple of the Faxiangzong dominates the list, and the incense is the most prosperous.

Zen Buddhism is "clear and directive", but the Dharma Sect pays attention to the study of the scriptures and treats Buddhism as a rigorous academic, which is in line with the character characteristics of the upper class people of Yamato Province, so it has been widely supported, and its power has become more and more prosperous and has great influence.

When Minamoto Yoritomo established the Kamakura Shogunate and the samurai took power, the shogunate simply did not set up guardian positions in Yamato Province, but designated Kofukuji Temple to exercise management rights, which is an extremely rare honor in the history of Fuso.

And the Tsutsui family was originally just the hereditary monk leader under the command of Kofukuji Temple. Over the centuries, in the internal struggle of the monks, they gradually defeated and annexed other monks and local tyrants, and became the de facto masters of the Yamato Kingdom. So far, each generation of heirs of the Tsutsui family will be ordained as a monk at Kofukuji Temple at the same time as the Yuan Suit, and lead the monks and laymen at the same time as a disciple of Buddhism.

So—

Before the official meeting, Hirate Honhide thought that the Tsutsui family was full of monks.

But when I actually met and introduced myself, I found out that Yoshiyuki Mori, Shima Zuo, and Matsukura Shigenobu are all ordinary samurai dresses.

The only one wearing a robe, holding a rosary, and wearing a ring scar on his head was a young man in his early twenties, supported in the center by three retainers.

There is no doubt that this person should be Shunkei Tsutsui.

I really didn't expect that after only sending someone to make a little contact, the other party actually came up with this lineup.

In this regard, the young Oda Nobutada couldn't help but be moved, and praised him: "The head of the Tsutsui family dared to go to the meeting alone with only these few people, he is really a warrior!" Admirable. ”

And Hatakeyama Akitaka, an embroidered pillow with soy sauce on the side, asked a stupid question: "Aren't you worried that we will detain you and force the defenders of Fuzhu Castle to surrender?" ”

"Don't dare to be. It is a great honor to have the phrase 'warrior' from the young master of the Oda family. On the other side, Tsutsui Shunkei's face sank like water, first politely returned to Oda Nobutada, and then glanced at Hatakeyama Akitaka with disdain, and indifferently counterattacked: "Hatakeyama Saemon doesn't know, before the contemptible people left the city, they had already explained to the Ichimen and the retainers, once the situation changed, my uncle would immediately take over as the head of the family, and I didn't have to care about my life or death." ”

Although the tone is light, it is loud.

Hatakeyama Akitaka blushed with shame and was greatly embarrassed.

Everyone else in the room was surprised.

This bold declaration not only shows the pride of seeing death as home, but also shows the absolute trust in the family and the retainers.

After finishing speaking, Tsutsui Shunqing turned his head sideways and exchanged glances with the three retainers one by one, and all four of them seemed resolute and resolute, fearless of life and death.

Hirashou felt a little headache, and subconsciously rubbed his temples. The other party behaved so bluntly that the diplomatic rhetoric that had been prepared seemed to be useless.

……

Taking advantage of the darkness of the night, the two sides chose the center of the military formations on both sides as the place for negotiations.

In addition to Oda Nobutada, there were four candidates, including Hirate Honhide, Oda Nobubu, Gamo Dingxiu, and Hatakeyama Akitaka, with a total of two or three hundred guards.

This candidate was carefully arranged by Fan Xiu.

Oda Nobubo is a congregation, and from the standpoint it is not going to cause trouble; Gamo Dingxiu is self-preservation, and will not do things that harm others and himself; Hatakeyama Akitaka is a big straw bag, and he doesn't have the intelligence to do bad things.

The most relevant interest, and the most likely to muddy the waters, is Matsunaga Shu, and this old fox is certainly not willing to be left out. But when discussing the candidates, Tieshou Fanxiu provoked him with words, so that he couldn't pull his face, and reluctantly agreed to avoid it. The process is easier than you think.

In this regard, Fan Xiu also said suspiciously: "When did the dignified Matsunaga play the right, when did it become so easy to deal with?" ”

Oda Nobutada's reaction was: "After all, he is a person who is close to the age of six, and his energy may have declined!" ”

It also seems to make sense when you think about it.

In stark contrast, there were only Shunkei Tsutsui and three retainers on the opposite side, and he didn't bring any soldiers with him.

The strength of the two sides is completely unequal, so the psychological expectations are also very different. Oda's side is at ease, while the Tsutsui family has reached the point of life and death.

"The fact that Tsutsui-sama can stand here shows that we have the possibility of seeking common ground while reserving differences, which makes the contemptible people very pleased."

Oda Nobutada also planned to say a few more pleasantries.

But Tsutsui Shunqing bowed down and bowed, and said angrily: "Please forgive me, the contemptible people have reached the point of exhaustion, and they have no time to be polite." Now that I am here today, I am ready to surrender. However, there are still three conditions for the contemptible, and he dares to ask the young master of the Oda family for permission. Otherwise, the only way to fight to the death is to the last man! ”

"This ......" Oda Nobutada was a little flustered and hesitated for a moment.

Hidetaka Kawajiri, who was standing behind him, suddenly became anxious, and hurriedly cast a look for help at Hirate Hiteshu and Oda Nobubo.

But before him, Pingshou Fan Xiu had already preemptively spoken: "Young master, I think this person is impassioned, abides by the way of the martial arts, and it is a pity to die here in vain, you might as well let him say three conditions first." ”

Oda Nobutada reacted at this time, and nodded hurriedly: "That's right!" Let you tell you the conditions. ”

As soon as the words fell, Xinzhong felt a little weaker again, and immediately added: "The two countries will not fight each other, so no matter what you say at the moment, I will let you leave safely." But if they act recklessly and put forward unacceptable conditions because of this, then the martial arts of the Tsutsui family may be the day when the city is broken. ”

These words are reasonable, powerful, and very appropriate.

As soon as these words came out, Kawajiri Hidetaka was very relieved in his eyes.

Tieshou Fan Xiu also nodded slightly, thinking that for a thirteen-year-old boy, this performance was not bad.

Of course, Tsutsui Shunkei could also feel the weight of the young master of the Oda family's words, his expression became more and more solemn, and after looking at the three retainers, he slowly spoke: "Thank you for your understanding!" In that case, the contemptible person is rude! First of all, I have lived here for a long time, and the mausoleums of our ancestors are close to the left. After the subjugation of hope, the Tsutsui family is still a member of the Yamato country. ”

"Don't you want to migrate...... No problem, I can agree. But it is impossible to keep all the land you occupy at present. Oda Nobutada held his chin and stroked his few mustaches, pretending to think for a while, and replied in the affirmative.

"Your willingness to bypass Tsutsui is already a great favor, and the contemptible people dare not want to keep the territory, thank you here!" Tsutsui Shunqing did what he said, without dragging his feet, and bowed cleanly. He then got up and continued, "Second, the Yamato guardian recognized by the shogunate at the moment is the Matsunaga clan, the feud of the family. The contemptible people do not dare to expect the guardian position to be returned to Kofukuji Temple, so I hope you can promise that you will not sit idly by and watch the personal vendetta of the Matsunaga clan in the future. ”

"I'm afraid this ......" Oda Nobutada frowned and stuck his shell again.

As the deputy general, the tie hand Fan Xiu immediately added: "This matter is very important, and it needs to be considered, the young master may wish to listen to his third condition first." ”

"The third condition......" Tsutsui Shunqing glanced at Fan Xiu with a little surprise, and maintained a calm tone: "The contemptible person has a retainer named Ido Yoshihiro, who has always been entrusted with important tasks and married him, but this person treacherously surrendered to the Matsunaga family on the battlefield two years ago. ”

"Since you are already a retainer of Matsunaga, I will never kill him because of your words." Faced with a question of principle, Oda Nobutada reacted quickly.

No matter how unreliable Matsunaga Shu is, he is nominally his own person, how can he kill the old man in order to recruit new people? Do you want a face?

"Hehe......" Tsutsui Shunqing showed a bitter and cruel smile, "You misunderstood, contemptible people would never dare to have such thoughts." I just want to be able to humiliate him and vent his evil anger for the dead soldiers! ”

"Hmm......" Oda Nobutada's face was not good, and he asked rhetorically, "Is this the common idea of the Tsutsui family?" ”

"Exactly!" Mori Yoshiyuki, the island left is near, and the three of Matsukura Shigenobu chanted in unison.

Dao Zuojin was still unsatisfied, and added: "We have put life and death aside, and we are willing to go to the country with the Lord!" ”

Oda Nobutada was intimidated by his momentum, stunned for a while, and after reacting, he hurriedly pretended to cough and asked his subordinates to hand over water. Then he took the cup and took a shallow sip, relieved his breath, regained his composure, and continued to speak: "The second point is not that I can't agree, but there is no exact standard for whether the Matsunaga family declares a personal vendetta. If I agree to come down today, how can you accuse the Oda family of violating the agreement if you feel a little wronged in the future? As for the third condition, I'm afraid it's too presumptuous! ”

Oda Nobutada is indeed very smart, and he can see the trickery in this at a glance.

Tsutsui Shunkei blushed slightly, but immediately returned to normal, and responded with a stiff neck, "But there is indeed a possibility that the Matsunaga family has a personal vendetta." If I surrender and die a year later, I'm afraid the Oda family won't be able to see much on their faces. ”

For a moment, the atmosphere became tense.

At this time, Oda Nobutada didn't need Kawajiri Hidetaka to remind him, he took the initiative to turn around and asked Hite, "Uncle, what do you think?" ”

The title uncle was deliberately used publicly, apparently to show trust.

Hearing this, Hiratsu sighed, relaxed his shoulders, lazily stretched out his right hand, pointed to Tsutsui Shunqing opposite, and asked:

"Do you have a daughter?"