After stopping at Kishiwada Castle via Kaimachi and meeting with his retainers, the next day Heite Honhide took a ferry to Awaji Kunishu Honjo to reunite with his family. After integrating the Awaji and Izumi clans, the Hete Navy had three or four hundred ships, 1,500 sailors, and eight Nanban gunboats with great deterrence, so the waterways of the Seto Inland Sea were relatively peaceful these months.

The security of the island was temporarily handed over to the management of the second uncle Noguchi Masatoshi and the clan brother Ikuzu Sadatsune, and other distant relatives of the side branches, who received the news and came to the port to greet them, with a very respectful attitude.

These two are strictly speaking, they are all people with foreign surnames who have passed out, and they have relatively shallow ties with the family, but because of this, their resumes are very innocent, there are no "historical problems", and they have won the trust of the tie and the trust, so they can rely on nepotism to obtain 500 stone and 250 stone respectively.

On the contrary, among the close relatives of the main branch, the fourth uncle Changcheng, the elder brother Changzheng and the like, in the past years, the Oda family infighting did something that stimulated the tie Masahide and directly led to the death of the self-stabbing and death, so these two people have been ordered to become monks, and their descendants are not allowed to use the Miao character of "tie". Only the third uncle Ji Ding and his son Ji Yin were forgiven, and they went out as courtiers to Qingci.

As soon as they met today, Noguchi Masatoshi first said, "Congratulations on the promotion of the criminal department", and then said worriedly: "I didn't expect the Oda family to collapse overnight." I don't know if Owari's friends will be able to survive it. Ikutsu Sadatsune was more optimistic, and his question was: "Regardless of Owari Oda, our Heite clan is the Nitta clan, and since the beginning of the sect, there have been no officials to the top five, and now it can be said to be extremely prosperous." May I ask Your Highness, will you allow me to wait for the heirs...... What about the Miao character of reinstating the tie? ”

The two expressions seem to represent different mentalities.

The older retainers still consider themselves members of the Owari Oda clan and are terrified and worried about the current situation, while the younger generation is more rejoicing in the take-off of the Hirate clan.

In addition to age, it is also related to their previous status.

Noguchi Masatoshi and Ikutsu Sadatsune glanced at each other, and both showed a hint of disapproval.

The tie had no intention of dwelling on this issue, so he just turned a deaf ear and asked rhetorically: "How is the situation on the island lately?" Has there ever been an invasion of foreign enemies? Has anyone taken the opportunity to cause trouble? ”

"Report to Your Highness!" Noguchi Masatoshi saw Honhide's reaction, and his spirit lifted slightly, "Since you moved the people of the country, the island has been very peaceful, and there has never been a rioter. In the past two months, only a few water thieves with a size of less than 100 people have touched and easily driven away. After catching a few leaders and interrogating them, the subordinates felt that there should be no one to instruct them behind. ”

"That's good." Hijo said in a deep voice, "The captured prisoners will be handed over to the Nakamura Ichichi." Follow the vine and find it again, even if there is no one behind the boss to instruct it, maybe there is a spy hidden in the minion? Not to be overlooked. ”

Ikutsu Sadatsu was stunned for a moment, didn't keep up in time, and waited for Noguchi Masatoshi to finish speaking, before adding: "It is true that no one has made trouble, but there is a shortage of labor in the fields, and this year's spring plowing is very difficult." It is advisable to bring in about 1,000 young men, or buy 200 cattle, so that the land can be fully utilized. ”

These words can barely be heard.

It seems that the quasi-sectarians of the two relatives, even if they are not very talented, are still more reliable when dealing with these subtle and trivial matters.

"This one does." Pingshou Fanxiu's face soothed a little, and he agreed, "Give you a budget of 1,000 yuan, write a formal paperwork, send it to me for signature, and then hand it over to the commissioners to do." ”

"Yes." Sheng Jinzhen often bowed down to receive orders.

Seeing that the lord had no intention of saying more, the two relatives did not dare to ask any more.

Sensitive topics are considered to be avoided in the past.

However, it was still clear to Hirate that the retainers did have different views on the situation in front of him. Although for the time being, no one outside the sect has made it clear.

It is conceivable that some people will maintain a high sense of identity with the Oda family, after all, everyone has achieved fame because they have boarded this big ship that rides the wind and waves. On the other hand, more than half of the retainers were not born in Owari at all, and they lacked the ties that had been passed down from generation to generation, so these people subconsciously paid more attention to the interests of the small group and less concerned with the so-called "big picture" of the Oda family.

Of course, he knew very well that the sudden departure from his old master would bring a loss of diplomatic credibility, and it was far from time to stand on his own.

It's not that there is a guard in his body who can command the people of the 400,000 stone land of Kii. Although the official rank of the so-called "five subordinates" is higher than that of more than ninety percent of the world's big names, it is only the icing on the cake and cannot play the role of sending charcoal in the snow.

Family factors also had to be taken into account. Of course, politicians act on the basis of interests, but interests also need to be connected by appropriate ties in order to operate smoothly.

But it is also not possible to stand firmly on the side of the Oda family. This would cause the Shogun's faction to be vigilant, causing endless trouble, and it is not known that it might even adversely affect Nobunaga's safety.

On the other hand, the attitude of the retainers needs to be respected. The middle and lower class samurai could not have a long-term political vision, and if they frequently showed up for the Oda family and did not get anything in return (in fact, the other party was unable to reciprocate), the soldiers would be dissatisfied after a long time. Even if the allowance is paid, it will not solve the problem of lack of honor.

At the same time, maintaining the dual identity of "Oda's relative" and "shogunate cronies" is the most advantageous choice. This requires subtle manipulation.

With mixed feelings, Hisho Tsuki went to the state city.

The weather was hot and he was not suitable for an ox cart, and he did not want to ride a horse, so he walked all the way back to the temporary residence.

Entering from Otemon, turning two corners, I saw the family make an exception and go to Sannomaru to greet them.

Because of the relationship between the dog and the unfavored since childhood, the character is an outlier among the children of the Oda family, and he likes to be quiet and does not like to move, and usually any instructions are conveyed through close maids, no matter which city he lives in, he rarely leaves the palace.

Today is clearly very different.

Her expressions and movements reveal this.

Seeing her husband appear, Ah Dog's sad face squeezed out a little smile, and hurried forward with small steps, not even walking steadily halfway, slipping under his feet and almost falling. Fortunately, Pingshou was quick-eyed, took a few steps, and stepped forward to support him.

"Your Highness...... You're home......" Her voice chimed with a weeping tone.

"My father has finally returned." Sister-in-law Yan Chiyomaru breathed a deep sigh of relief, "I wish you a triumphant victory in defeating the enemy, and you have gone one step further!" ”

The other wives and concubines and children stood aside respectfully and restrainedly, not daring to speak out. Even the lively and active Yukichiyo and the innocent Yakshamaru know that the atmosphere is tense and they have restrained their temperament.

Pingshou Fanxiu sighed softly, stroked the top of the dog's head, hugged him quietly, then parted his hands, nodded indifferently and said, "Thank you for your hard work, go home and talk about it!" ”

Then take the lead and go inside.

After a few steps, Ah Dog seemed to have forgotten about "going home and talking about it in detail", and asked timidly: "Big brother, ...... Is it really out of oil? ”

Yan Chiyomaru was also very concerned about this, and immediately stared at it with blazing eyes.

Hearing this, she shook her head and smiled bitterly.

There are countless people who want to ask this question, but not many dare to ask.

In the face of his family, he still has to say what he needs to say.

So he said again that "there seems to be no problem in the short term, but in the long run, the root cause of the disease cannot be eliminated, and you need to be mentally prepared".

After telling his wife, she couldn't solve any problems. But after listening to it once, my mind is somewhat calmer.

Before and after, omitting some of the sinister details, talking as I walked, and when I entered the Honmaru and arrived at the Imperial Palace, I was almost just finished explaining.

After this, Ah Dog's state of mind finally calmed down.

Chiyomaru was already frowning and pondering.

"What will the relationship with the Oda family be like in the future......" Sure enough, Inu was a little worried.

Tieshou was slightly hesitant and didn't know how to answer for a while.

Instead, Chiyomaru sat upright and said solemnly, "Mother! The Heite family should not continue to regard themselves as retainers of the Oda family, nor should they completely forget the kindness of the past, which is the strategy of following the general righteousness and benefiting each other. ”

"Huh?" Hirata was slightly surprised, "Did you come up with these words yourself?" Or who taught you? ”

"Uh......" Chiyomaru was suddenly embarrassed, "Actually, that's it...... Recently, many relatives and retainers have been looking for opportunities to speak to me, some of whom believe that the Heide family should never be separated from Oda in the slightest, and some who feel that the Heite family should be separated from Oda's influence. So I took advantage of the time when Master Tozuya came to the island and asked him a question, and the master's answer was, 'Think for yourself!' When he said this, I guessed, he meant that neither was enough. ”

"Well, yes, yes!" "Although it was Master Tiger who reminded you, you can think of finding the right person for advice, this is the wisdom you should have as the heir of the martial arts." ”

"The child is really ashamed, but fortunately I didn't lose your face!"

Finally got a word of affirmation from Yan's father, and Chiyomaru was humble in his mouth, but his face was completely full of joy and excitement that could not be concealed.

As for the dog......

As a mother, seeing her only son look so promising, the relief is overflowing, and all worries and worries can be left behind.

The rise and fall of the mother's family is certainly very important to the married princess, but how can it be compared with the growth of her own flesh and blood?

Seeing this, Hiseki suddenly remembered a certain sister of the dog.

It's the housewife of the Asai family.

After Mitsutoshi Tarao defected to the Hirate family, he once said: "Some people in the industry say that the Asai family borrowed Kato Danzo from Uesugi to follow Mrs. Aichi, find the base of the Oda family's 'feast', and then capture and kill Lord Kojuzo. But the old man thinks that this statement is too underestimating the intelligence of the little ten Tibetan adults, and it is really unreasonable! Unless, Mrs. Ah Shi also participated in the conspiracy and deliberately exposed the information, the matter will be said to be in the past. ”

This was just speculation, so I didn't go on at the time, and I didn't say anything about it.

Looking back now, didn't Ah Shi also give birth to a son-in-law in the Asai family?

It's scary to think about......