Nobuei Sakuma stood about five miles outside the Kaimachi ring moat, undecided and hesitant.

On his father's orders, he led a total of 187 cavalry to pursue the scattered "thief chieftains". Unexpectedly, the other party was also picked up by the horse team, and the speed of escape was really not slow.

It was obviously a surprise attack and a heavy defeat, but it still maintained a team of nearly 100 cavalry, and the morale and formation of the team were not chaotic, and they evacuated in an orderly manner, which was by no means a manifestation of the remnants of the army in the general sense.

Quickly whipping up the horse, chasing thirty or forty miles away, but still unable to catch up, Sakuma Nobuei watched as the target entered the Kaimachi. Moreover, the scouts sent out to spy also claimed to have seen the family crest of the Hirate family.

Whether it was "Kaimachi" or "Ties", they were quite sensitive existences within the Oda regime, so he had to be cautious.

If you are in the wild, you will meet someone who does not have long eyes, and you will kill it, and you can only say that "swords and guns have no eyes", and no one can find any truth without evidence.

But if you rush into the Kaimachi in full view and kill or take away a few important people from under the wing of Hite, it will be a huge political disaster.

However, turning back in such a futile, it is impossible to swallow this breath.

After all, the "chaotic incident" of Izumi has not yet been officially characterized. Ise Sadahi was the deacon of the shogunate government, and Zen master Ryō and Tashiro Omiya were the parties, and if Hitete Honhide exerted his force behind and turned public opinion around, changing from "rebellion against the shogunate" to "military advice to resist unfair treatment", then the Sakuma family would have no reason to stay in Izumi.

At the beginning, the Sakuma family decided to send troops because Isshiki Fujinaga brought a message from Ashikaga Yoshiaki, promising to obtain the name of righteousness in the shogunate. But after all, a message is just a message, and it is not 100% reliable.

Now the question needs to be carefully considered......

Nobuei Sakuma's reputation outside is somewhat similar to that of his father, and he is known as a calm and steady general. But on the other hand, the father and son also have the same shortcomings, in the hearts of insiders, the style of the Sakuma family is to be happy, compete for fame and fortune, narrow-minded, and ruthless. It's always someone who likes to fight for merit and like to shake the pot.

Although this did not affect Nobunaga's reuse of him.

Even if Nobunaga was to be used even more, he might just want fame and land. The Oda family is more than enough to meet this need. This kind of person who does not have a clear political concept and does not unite his colleagues, even if he is promoted to the chief elder, there is no danger that he will not be defeated.

In contrast, Shibata Katsuke was supported by the martial arts boys of the Spectrum Dynasty for his bravery and righteousness, Niwa Nagahide often promoted his subordinates and was deeply loved by the Hanmen civil bureaucracy, and Hirate Honohide was also considered an excellent boss and colleague because he was good at making cakes and was willing to share them.

All in all, Nobunaga, as the supreme leader, almost never criticized the actions of Sakuma and his sons for crowding out their colleagues.

Nobumori Sakuma didn't think his son had any character flaws. It is always difficult for a father to look at his son rationally, neutrally and objectively.

Nobuei Sakuma wouldn't think he had a problem anymore. What is more difficult than "letting a father look at his son rationally, neutrally and objectively" is to let a person look at himself rationally, neutrally and objectively.

Therefore, this fifteen-year-old boy stood outside the trench of Kai Town, and only cared about secretly cursing the "enemy chieftain" for being as timid as a mouse, and the flat family was nosy, but he had no intention of giving up the task and turning away.

If the Heite family is allowed to get a few key people away, it will not only be very bad for the Sakuma family, but also bad for his personal prestige! Sakuma's family has more than one son, and the second child of Gangyuanfu is also slowly showing his talents, and he has received no less praise than he did back then......

After thinking for a moment, Sakuma Nobuei gritted his teeth, flicked his horsewhip, and pointed in the direction of Kaimachi and ordered: "Let's go negotiate with Kaimachi Governor Kinoshita Hideyoshi!" Ask him for his help in catching the criminals! ”

He didn't say the last sentence in his heart - no matter whether things work out or not, he must always do his best, not humble or arrogant, at least go back to his father, and he can make a smooth deal!

……

"What? Want to go into Kaimachi to chase down criminals? The culprit of the Izumi mess? Lord Shinei came with such fanfare, and your determination was indeed felt. But this requirement may not be ...... It's hard for a strong man! ”

Kinoshita Hideyoshi frowned tightly.

As soon as he heard the report from his subordinates, he immediately put down all his case work and ran over to greet the young master respectfully. Because the other party is the son of a giant, it must be given a certain amount of attention.

But he obviously wouldn't easily accede to unreasonable requests. Because the other party is the son of the giant, not the giant himself, there is no need to pay too much attention to it.

As a hand-picked "Kaimachi Commissioner", he has a high level of pride and work ethic, and always fully implements the instructions of the sovereign.

Nobunaga wanted him to protect the commercial order of Kaimachi from any other power in, including the vassals and retainers of the Oda family.

Kinoshita Hideyoshi also did his best to do a little. Whether it was the sugar-coated cannonballs from the commercial house, or the attempts of colleagues to leave the favor, all those who wanted to go through the back door to make small moves were resolutely turned away. The order of the Kai town gradually changed from "merchant association and self-government" to "government-run commercial city".

The only exception was the "stamp duty" and "auction" held by Hite, which were indeed mutually beneficial, and he cooperated with him after consulting Nobunaga.

When he heard that Sakuma Nobumori's son came to visit, he thought that he was also coming to engage in some smuggling and tax evasion, and he was ready to refuse.

Unexpectedly, the other party's request turned out to be to enter the Kai Town to track down the "fugitives".

This is even more indispensable.

In a commercial city, the most important thing is safety. Even if it can't be really safe, at least make the businessmen feel safe psychologically. Your two hundred heavily armed soldiers rushed in, and you still had to make a fuss? What will you do in the future?

Sakuma Nobuei is not a fool, he knows Kinoshita Hideyoshi's duties, so he persuaded: "We just saw a team of more than 100 chariots and horses entering Kai Town, and this level of team, there is no need for a large-scale search at all, only a proper secret visit can find out the movement, and it will never interfere with the peace of Kai Town." ”

Seeing that Kinoshita Hideyoshi's face was still hesitating, he added: "And my subordinates are in that team and see the family crest of the Hirate family, I don't know if someone is pretending to be it, or if there is a black sheep under the command of the Hirator, this matter is related to the reputation of our Oda family, doesn't Kinoshita-sama want to find out?" ”

Hearing that it was about a tie, Kinoshita Hideyoshi had even more headaches.

Sakuma and the peace hand are now in command of thousands of troops, and the giant-level family sitting in the important place is old, and he can't afford to offend any of them. If there is a conflict between these two sides, isn't it looking for death if they join in? But now that the duty is here, and it is resolute not to mix, it is possible that both sides will be offended......

In the end, Kinoshita Hideyoshi reluctantly sighed and replied, "Since this is the case, we must not ignore it." I'll immediately arrange for someone to investigate the convoy just now. However, until the results of the investigation are out, please also ask your two hundred cavalry not to appear on the streets of Kaimachi for the time being, otherwise they will ......"

Nobuei Sakuma hurriedly nodded in agreement.

Everyone in the Oda family knows that Kinoshita Hideyoshi is a pure minister who is completely loyal to Nobunaga alone, and he has an attitude of neither clinging to nor offending everyone.

At present, Zen Master Rinjo and Tashiro Omiya are still recognized as the leaders of the rebels, while Ise Sadako was "hijacked" by the rebels. Before the official reversal, the tie can only secretly protect them.

And Kinoshita Hideyoshi, this guy, will never risk being suspected by Nobunaga and "colluding with the same stream" as Hinoshita.