Mt. Maya is a natural barrier at the junction of Settsu and Harima, with a rolling terrain of mountains and mountains, which has been unexplored for a long time due to its barren land and inconvenient irrigation.

However, there are many monks who eat fasting and recite the Buddha, and they all agree that this place is beautiful, and it is an excellent situation for pure cultivation, so they have to build temples nearby, open sects, and preach Buddhism.

In the mountains, there are almost no ordinary people, only some monks live. Some of them make a living by going down the mountain to make offerings, and some of them take local materials and start businesses such as fruits and wood.

Among them, the best mixed is the Tenjoji Temple in the eastern part of the mountainous area, which is listed as one of the main mountains of the Koyi Shingon sect, and it is said that there were 3,000 monks at its peak, but now it is slightly declining, and it is estimated that there are about 1,800 people.

Therefore, there are relatively complete roads in that area, which can accommodate at least three or five people walking side by side.

However, the Tennoji Temple mentioned today is a small temple that is not very popular, and it is said to be a rooftop, but it actually pays attention to the "eight sects of concurrent learning", and there is no particularly obvious tendency. Maybe it's because of this that I can't get ahead, I heard that the number of people is not more than a hundred.

It is conceivable that the accommodation conditions must not be much better, and I don't know why the last Harima guardian Akamatsu Yoshisuke went to such a place without cards to retire.

Is it just to deliberately escape from the world and get away from the hustle and bustle?

When Araki Murashige took Hirate Honhide to Hanakuma Castle at the foot of the mountain, it was evening.

While going to the city to rest and prepare for the night, he sent people to rush to the front station before it was dark. As a result, at midnight, the scout came back to report that the first half of the mountain road was quite intact, but the second half was weeds, overgrown with branches, and undulating and rugged, which could be said to be very inconvenient, and there were many traces of insects, snakes, birds and beasts.

Pingshou Fanxiu did not come out to lead the troops to fight, but his status was here, in line with the principle of "the son of a daughter can't sit down", he brought 1,500 personal guards, 200 servants, and used more than 20 boats to come by water.

If it is customary to clean up the site first, confirm safety, arrange sentry posts, ensure vigilance, and then go in when everything is ready, I am afraid that ten days and a half months will not be enough.

It seems that Araki Murashige has never been here, and it is the first time he knows the detailed geographical situation, and he is immediately embarrassed, so he takes the initiative to ask Ying, saying that he wants to persuade the other party to change the meeting place and put it in the safety of Hanakuma Castle.

So, the next day, he went out to negotiate.

When he returned in the afternoon, he was disgraced and embarrassed to say that the negotiations had not been successful.

It turned out that it was not only the previous generation of Harima Guardian, but also the affairs of the seventeen people, and the three families of Miki, Hengya, and Arita were also dissatisfied with the status quo and temporarily decided to participate in the rally.

These three families are terrible, according to Araki Murashige, they are powerful and wealthy families in the middle of Harima, and now they are all powerful and powerful, if they rebel, then Asai Nagamasa will not be able to stay immediately.

But it is precisely because of this that people are more suspicious, afraid that it will not be good after the matter is revealed, so they will not come to Hanakuma City, and they must go to the small temple where the poor mountains and bad waters are deserted to feel at ease.

A representative of a wealthy clan even said wildly: "If you don't even have the courage to come to this place, it can only mean that he is also the kind of noble man from Kyoto who has nothing to show for himself, and he is not worthy of our reliance!" ”

This statement is deeply in line with the values of the Harima samurai, and everyone thinks it is desirable.

No, Araki Murashige didn't dare to repeat this sentence directly, so he had to convey a similar meaning vaguely and euphemistically.

Hearing this, Pingshou Fan Xiu was not annoyed, but stroked his palms and laughed: "This is just the appetite of my generation." When I was in the Yuan service, I was just a horse with dozens of years of knowledge, and my reputation depended on bravery and fearlessness. The older Owari people probably remember the nickname 'Blood Gun' 20 years ago! Okay, tomorrow I'll try this group of Harima heroes, and look at Kansai Kanto, which side of the waist pole is straighter? ”

These words show an image that Murashige Araki has never seen before.

When he knew the words "Tie Show", he only knew that he was an old treacherous and ruthless man...... No, it's a genius and a peerless wise general who has no last resort, and he eats with his brain. Which one still has a passionate past?

Subconsciously, Araki Murashige vaguely felt that something was not right, and he couldn't tell what was wrong. After a little thought, after all, it was to attack Harima, and the idea of making meritorious contributions prevailed, and he was no longer entangled, and concentrated on following orders.

The night passed peacefully.

Early in the morning of the third day, Araki Village washed and dressed and prepared, went to the city gate to greet him, and waited for a while, and saw that Lord Heishou Da Nayan wore a set of black lacquer Phnom Penh Nanban Feet, wearing a long and short two treasure swords, riding a sturdy black horse, with a hundred and ten tall and fierce attendants, gracefully came out.

This posture has changed, and it feels like it is not a person at all like yesterday!

The elegant and literary wisdom reined in the style, and the cold and ruthless killing atmosphere came to the face.

Arakimura was stunned for a moment, but after thinking about it, it was supposed to be like this, and it was good to put on a majestic posture, and it would be good to take those self-righteous hillbillies in Harima Country in one town.

It's just that this outfit, I'm afraid it's inconvenient to climb the mountain road, right?

Cautiously speaking out this doubt, I saw the flat hand on the horse waved his hand decisively, and said, "It's okay! I've got a sense of proportion. ”

Then the main lord stopped talking, and a chamberlain next to him explained that this big black horse had been specially trained, and he could not run fast but at a steady pace, and his limbs were strong, and he was good at walking mountain roads, so there was no problem.

So Araki Murashige only then understood, and sighed in his heart that he was worthy of being a tie with a big name, and he actually had the leisure to train such a divine horse into a mount that specializes in walking mountain roads, which is really high-end, atmospheric, high-grade, and connotative!

But the voice just now, it sounds a little strange, slightly different from yesterday, is it infected with the wind chill at night?

After taking two steps, Arakimura asked the question more carefully.

Then he didn't even get a verbal response, so he just frowned and waved his hand, signaling not to care, and it was over.

As the scout said, the road was quite flat and spacious, but after half an hour it began to rise and fall, and after more than half an hour, the weeds and vines on both sides gradually increased, and the sound of wild boars was heard in the middle, which startled everyone.

Luckily, the beast still had brains, and wasn't starving, so it wouldn't lose its mind and rashly attack hordes of armed humans.

After walking for two hours in the morning, people were sleepy, sweating, and out of breath, and finally saw the gate of the temple appear in front of them, which was really not easy.

The big dark horse under the flat hand seat is really good, carrying people up and down for a long time, and there is no mistake.

Araki Village's center of gravity was a little fixed, and he was about to step forward to call the door, but suddenly he heard the sound of breaking the sky, and I don't know how many feathers flew on both sides!