Heide did what he wanted to do in Kyoto, which was to throw out the concept of "resisting Takeda" and make himself a leading figure in public opinion.

Although most of the topic was divided by Ashikaga Yoshiaki's intervention, the effect was not as good as expected, but the goal was still achieved in the general direction.

However, the development of events was not enough to make people happy, on the contrary, what he saw and heard in the palace made him quite worried.

And these worries cannot be shared with outsiders, even in the face of cronies and courtiers and their own wives and children. The current treacherous atmosphere does not allow any chess player to show weakness and cowardice.

Hirate Tsunohide still participates in political activities in Kyoto normally, but secretly adds some new orders and makes a lot of changes to the original plan. In general, it has made the whole program more conservative.

He was even hesitating to change the core idea of "striking at Takeda's westward advance with the main forces in the Owari and Mikawa Plains" to "fighting against the Takeda Army on the premise of ensuring that the situation in Kyoto was favorable to one's own side."

A few days later, in a meeting with the religious forces, he met his old friend Tiger Zai Zongyi, a monk who quietly expressed his concern about the situation in private, which coincided with the tie of the hand.

That's a little bit of conversation.

The shogunate was overly optimistic and tried to eliminate dissidents in the name of Takeda's westward expansion. Gongfang was also overly optimistic, still believing that the situation in Kyoto was still under his control. Both of these are great hidden dangers. Once he left the public scene, his true nature was exposed, and he boldly spoke out about the situation in the shogunate.

And Tie Tsusui thinks so: "That's true! I stayed in Shikoku and Kii for a few months, but I didn't expect Kinai to develop like this. If you want to say that there is no deliberate push behind it, then I don't believe it. And I estimate that there is definitely more than one force behind it, and it is not known that it is now the 'result' of the joint efforts of many forces. ”

In the words, Hisho Tsusui obviously has a self-evident object of suspicion.

Hearing this, Hu Zai Zongyi suddenly remembered something, and interjected: "Speaking of this...... Recently, I received a hearsay gossip in the temple, and I don't know if it's true, but it was said that in the Asai military tent of Harima, the main general and the military advisor had a fierce quarrel in front of all the soldiers and soldiers......"

"Commanders and strategists?" Hirata Higashi said, "Isn't that Hinata Asai (Nagamasa) and Kuroda Kanbei?" I thought those two were like fish in water, and the monarch and the minister were suitable......"

"Haha...... Is there anything unexpected about the Tie Punishment Department? Tora Soyi laughed and then explained, "You can remember that a few months ago, the Asai army fought against the Urakami family in Bizen, and fell into the Ukita Nao's plan to lure the enemy, and won first and then lost, and lost the army......

"Of course I remember that." "This is a very famous event among the nations. ”

"That's good, I can go on." Toraya Soyi nodded and said, "It is said that not long after the battle began, Asai Hinata Hall (Nagamasa) was accidentally injured by an arrow, moved to the rear to rest, and ordered Kuroda Kanbei to serve as the formation representative. ”

"So the responsibility for the defeat is also attributed to Kuroda?" The tie is worthy of being experienced in a hundred battles, having seen a lot, and is keenly aware of the key elements in the matter.

"That's natural." "However, Kuroda claims that he has seen through the plan to lure the enemy, and it was only because a certain prestigious general of the spectrum violated the military order and rashly attacked that caused the disaster. ”

"That's the case......" Pingshou Fan Xiu nodded slightly, and then quickly shook his head, "No, monk, you must have something to say." This level of internal strife, while it may also become a rumor, is not yet worth telling me about it. ”

"Haha, indeed." Hu Zai Zongyi smiled heartily and touched the beard that didn't exist on his chin, "The poor monk is also a great monk, and he will never talk nonsense with you for this nonsense." Characters such as Asai and Kuroda will not have too many differences over such a small matter of shirking responsibility. ”

"Hehe......"

After smiling at each other, Hiratsu asked, "So, what exactly is the dispute you are talking about......"

"That's right...... Although Asai was defeated, he quickly recovered afterwards, and after two months of recuperation, he captured Murozu Castle, the hub of Bizen Province...... The Lord of the Criminal Department must know a lot about this matter. ”

"I can't say the details, but I just know a rough idea." Heishou said calmly, "More manpower is invested in Kinai and Kanto, and the affairs of the western country cannot be investigated in too detail." ”

Tiger Zai Zongyi said slowly: "Kuroda made a formation, the middle plan was defeated, and Asai Hinata (Nagamasa) returned, and he immediately took the city, which is a stark contrast. ”

Hite-sue disagreed: "As you said just now, the strength of Asai and Kuroda is not someone who has a conflict over this matter. ”

"But what if Kuroda Kanbei claims that Murozu Castle is just a chicken rib and convinces Asai Hinata (Nagamasa) to abandon the castle and return to Kinai?"

When Hu Zai Zongyi said this, he finally surprised Tieshou Tsusu.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Murozu Castle in Bizen is a port town that is convenient for trade and transportation, and there is no natural danger or strong wall. Although the Asai army took the castle by surprise, they did not kill or injure many of the Urakami family's troops. Now facing the desperate counterattack of the Urakami family, as a stranger, the Asai army, I am afraid that there is considerable pressure to defend the city. ”

"I see...... "Hirate Hasuhide suddenly realized, "In fact, as long as you hold on for a year and a half and wait for the Urakami family to run out of strength, you can stand firm in Murozu Castle." Or simply fight hard, and if you are lucky enough to win Urakami Sokei, then you have a chance to capture the entire territory of Bizen...... However, Kuroda Kanbei didn't think it would cost it too much time. It seems that Kuroda is probably the same as me, eyeing the opportunity of 'Takeda's westward expansion'. ”

"But Asai Hinata may not agree with this decision......" Tora Soyi sighed, "I heard that near Murozu Castle, you can receive 1,500 kan of commercial tax every month, which is equivalent to 50,000 or 60,000 koku of real estate!" In the past, the Asai family only had 300,000 koku in Kita-Omi, and there was no room for progress in all directions, so there was no lack of courage to make a desperate bet. Now...... Many people in the world have suffered from gains and losses after the family business expanded instantly......"

"So, it's not the only one......"

Hirate Honhide thought about the shogunate.

When Ashikaga Yoshiaki was suppressed by Oda Nobunaga without respite, he behaved quite meticulously, patiently, and indomitable, which can be described as lying on his back.

Now that the shogunate is living in a much better place, the shogun is gradually showing his self-serving, arbitrary, and mean side, and he has no idea where his original vigilance has gone.

Before he could say this, he said goodbye to Tiger Zai Zongyi.

Everyone is familiar with each other, and it is better to discuss the leader's affairs in private.

Monks can complain at will, because strictly speaking, Ashikaga Yoshiaki is not the leader of monks.

Before parting, Toraza Soyoshi concluded: "When the assassination of Oda Danmasa-sama had just been settled, all the forces stayed in Kyoto to fight for power and profit, and only the Heterate Punishment Department took the initiative to go out to Shikoku to fight. Now that Takeda intends to go west, others have avoided it and tried to sit back and watch the success or failure, but you are actively returning to Kinai and fighting strongly...... Based on this, the poor monk can see clearly who is enough to bear the burden of the world......"

……

That night, Hirate Honohide recalled this incident and couldn't help but sigh that with the "butterfly effect", the situation of Ashikaga Yoshiaki and Asai Nagamasa was completely inconsistent with the originally familiar "plot", and under different circumstances, their thinking and style also changed greatly.

After thinking about it, a thought suddenly came to me -

If I had been replaced, would I have chosen to spend a year or two firmly established in Bizen, as Asai Nagamasa did, or, like Kuroda Kanwei, would rather give up the interests of the secondary front and return to Kinai and seize the opportunity to reshuffle the cards (possibly)?

The former may lead to the loss of the first hand in the fight for the world.

The latter has the potential to lose everything.

It's a really painful question.

It is simply a violation of basic human nature to give up the fat that is about to come to the mouth, and instead fight the tiger for the sake of an uncertain future.

At this moment, Hirate received a confidential emergency message from Kawada Nagajin from Shikoku.

It reads:

"Kobayakawa Takakei has arrived in Kita Iyo by boat and has taken over the big and small powers within the Kono family's Yuzuki Castle. Naoyuki Ohno, who was kind to my family, was forcibly expelled a few days ago, and the Saionji family, who had been shaken in their attitude, was also persuaded again and firmly returned to the Maori banner, and even Sanuki's Kagawa and Kasai also showed signs of being wooed. His subordinates are incompetent, and they have the courage to ask the lord to come to the four countries to calm the people's hearts, otherwise the situation here will continue to deteriorate. ”