On May 14, 1570, Oda Nobutada and Asai Nagamasa set off from the chaotic Settsu Province and returned to Kyoto to meet Ashikaga Yoshiaki.

At this time, the Oda army had recuperated and gathered the rout, with a total of 28,000 troops, and although they suffered a lot of losses, they finally retained more than 60% of the elite troops; The Asai family was taken refuge by Araki Murashige, and after winning the first rank of Miyoshi Nagaitsu, the number of people expanded to about 17,000, and the main force was still mainly Omi people, followed by Harima people and Settsu people.

The two sides tacitly separated from each other at a certain distance, polite to each other but on high alert, as if they might surprise at any moment.

Oda was suspecting that Asai was related to Nobunaga's assassination, and Asai knew that Oda was suspecting that Asai was related to Nobunaga's assassination, and Oda also knew that Asai knew that Asai was suspecting that Asai was related to Nobunaga's assassination.

Between arriving in Kyoto, Oda Nobutada and Asai Nagamasa took time out of their lives to symbolically meet each other with their guards.

The atmosphere at the scene can be imagined.

The years have not left too many obvious traces on Asai Nagamasa, he is still as young and handsome as ever, heroic and extraordinary, and full of confidence between his gestures and expectations.

He was still wearing the old armor of a few years ago, only the details were repaired, the armor pieces were polished, and the torn ornaments were replaced, and the color and style were completely in line with the traditional impression.

However, in the past, it gave people the feeling that newborn calves were not afraid of the recklessness of tigers, but now they are more confident and calm.

- Of course, maybe this is purely psychological.

Although Oda Nobutada is also a young man, he is still at an obvious disadvantage in terms of aura. Every word and every movement of the young governor was too violent, trying to show a posture that was not inferior to the other or even better, but the more it was so, the more unnatural it became.

After a few words of greeting, Oda Nobutada's voice was already a little trembling.

Then Asai Nagamasa suddenly pretended to have an extremely heavy expression, and said in a sad and indignant tone: "Lingzun Oda Danmasa, not only a pillar of the imperial court and the shogunate, but also a righteous brother who is deeply admired by the contemptible, when I heard about his assassination, I was really shocked, regretted, and indignant, and I wanted to replace him!" Fortunately, the Asai family was blessed by the gods and Buddhas and begged for the head of the culprit Miyoshi Changyi, which can be regarded as doing something for the righteous brother! ”

The movements are stiff and the tone is exaggerated, Asai Nagamasa is undoubtedly a very lame actor, and his drama seems very hypocritical, and he can't feel the truth at all, but it looks like a farce intended to satirize the other party.

So Oda Nobutada couldn't help but blush, gritted his teeth, and couldn't speak.

However, no one could help him in this regard.

The world doesn't treat you gently just because you're an inexperienced teenager. Miyoshi Nagakei lost his father at the age of 10 and faced the hostility of the ruler and the suspicion of his retainers, and Tokugawa Ieyasu began to be alone as a hostage at the age of six, and was still regarded as a commodity to be exchanged, compared to Oda Nobutada, what is the reason for special sympathy?

Hirate also attended the meeting.

But it's a pity that I didn't see the Kuroda Kanbei as expected.

The captain of the guards of Asai Nagamasa is Naokei Endo, and the generals directly under the Omi soldiers are Isono Wonmasa, Miyabe Jijun and others, in addition to Araki Murashige and Harima Bun Betsuji Nagaji, these two ambitious guys have officially joined the Asai army.

Before parting, he asked bluntly: "Dare to ask Bizenden, I heard that there is a young man named Kuroda Kanbei Takataka in Harima Country, who is quite talented, I wonder if it is by your side?" ”

Asai Nagamasa, who was originally complacent, was immediately stunned, a trace of unnatural look flashed on his face, but he immediately smiled and shook his head to hide his expression, and replied: "Kankanwei is indeed in our army, but he is escorting grain and grass in the rear, I'm afraid you won't be able to see it now." ”

Hearing this, Pingshou Fanxiu gently "tsk" and shook his head slightly to express regret.

For some reason, this action put great pressure on the other party, and Asai Nagamasa suddenly became serious and nervous, and hurriedly said two words and immediately took people away.

When they returned, the people of the Oda family did not understand this, but they were even more surprised: "Where did Heide nominator hear about this Harima man?" Why do you suddenly ask this question? Could it be that this person has some important role in the Asai family? Could it be related to recent events? ”

Takigawa Kazuyi thought for a while and added: "I remember that there is such a person in the next generation, who was originally a retainer of the Himeji Koji family, and was attached to Asai in the back...... I heard that this guy is sharp and intelligent, and he was close to Asai Beijian, but I haven't heard of any important positions. ”

"I heard about it occasionally from a friend...... "Hirate Hirate didn't want to dwell on this, and immediately changed the subject: "Anyway, I haven't seen you for many days, and the impression of Asai Bizen seems to be quite different from the past!" ”

Shibata Katsuie sighed, his emotions very complicated.

And Takigawa Kazuki said bluntly: "He is about to become a pivotal figure in, and of course he will be more majestic than before." ”

"Does it matter......" Oda Nobutada bit his lip tightly, and a look of neither anger nor helplessness flashed in his eyes.

When Nobunaga was alive, Asai Nagamasa was not at all important! At that time, the Asai family was suppressed to the point of trembling and suspicious, and later going to Harima was just a role for the king, and everyone only thought that they were the little brothers of the Oda family, and their status was not much different from that of Hiratee, Niwa and others.

But now the situation seems to have completely changed.

Nobunaga, who seemed to be only a few steps away from the people of the world, was suddenly assassinated, and in order to calm people's hearts, he had to take the initiative to go to the shogunate's secluded residence to show his sincerity.

The foundations of the regime have been shaken, and the strongest branches have their own problems. Murai Sadakatsu represented the connections of the imperial court, Niwa Nagahide controlled Ikuno Ginzan, Mori Kanari held the stability north of Kyoto, and Oda Nobubuchi was the de facto ruler of southern Ise, all of whom died at the same time within a month, and their losses are indescribable.

Furthermore, Hirate Honhide was forced to nominally transfer to the Ashikaga family, Mino Sanzhong and other forces were ambiguous and wavering, and generals such as Ikeda Tsuneko lacked enough reverence for Nobutada, and the behemoth of the Oda family seemed to be in danger of falling apart at any time.

Now we have survived the crisis with the open support of the shogunate and the hard work of the front-line personnel, but who can guarantee that there will be no next time?

In the event of another disaster in a few years' time, will the Oda family still have enough leverage to exchange the Ashikaga family's support? Are there enough generals to defeat an enemy of Miyoshi Nagayi's level?

The answer to the question depends on how well the young new monarch is doing!

Oda Nobutada was not a confident person in the first place, and he was even more confused in the face of this situation.

Continuing to walk, about 100 towns (11 kilometers) from their destination, the group received new information:

"The Tokugawa family, which is the farthest away, has also arrived in Kyoto, and now there are more than 30,000 people gathered to support the Oda family, and they are waiting for our army at the imperial palace! The Imperial Court also sent two ministers, and representatives from Mt. Hiei, Nara, and Kaimachi all arrived with gifts. ”

When Hiromasa Ryoda brought the news, his expression was very happy, he only thought that the momentum of the Oda family had recovered, and he did not realize the political factors behind it.

Oda Nobutada also didn't think much of it.

Not to mention martial artists such as Ikeda Tsuneko and Sakai Masasa.

Shibata Katsuya and Takigawa Kazuyi frowned at the same time, feeling that something was wrong, but they couldn't say specifically.

Only Akechi Mitsuhide explained the source of this sense of disobedience in one sentence: "Danmasa-sama (Nobunaga) triumphed in the past, and all forces will go out of the city to greet each other; Today, when we are waiting for the class teachers, they are gathered in the palace to wait......"

Everyone was stunned.

Obviously, it seems to be a small difference in etiquette, but in fact, it contains an ultimate question related to the life and death of tens of millions of people!

And that's—

The Ashikaga family, who nominally rules the world, and the Oda family, who actually supported the shogunate by force, who is superior and who is secondary, who is first and who is second, and who is in charge!

In the past, when Oda Nobunaga was in power, the answer to this question was unquestionable.

But what about now?