A rumor that Kaneda and Miyoshi Nagaji had received the help of the Otomo family and were working together to seek revival quickly spread.

If this is the nature of this matter, it means that Hirate Honhide will not be able to get much support from Shikoku Island, and can only rely on the more than 30,000 people currently in his hands to fight against Oda Nobunaga's army of nearly 60,000.

This was the second change that made the people of the "Western Army" panic after Asai Nagamasa joined the "Eastern Army."

After gathering for so long and delaying the official start of the battle, many middle and lower-class samurai were already nervous, and now they have heard bad news in a row, and they are even more worried.

In order to appease the public sentiment, Kawada Nagajin publicly threw out his opinion: "Whether it is the army of the Asai clan or the rebellious party of Shikoku, there is nothing to worry about. Our most important ally is not anyone, but time, and it just so happens that Oda Danmasa is opposite, and his old man's worst enemy is also time. ”

What he meant was that there was no need to rush into a decisive battle, but that we should try to drag on a situation of long-term confrontation and rely on our own strong logistical strength to gain an advantage.

As a well-known cultural person in the world, Hosokawa Fujitaka further concluded: "The rabble of the Eastern Army, the people's hearts are scattered, and if there is no war before the autumn harvest, there will be chaos for a long time." Oda bullets are violent, but in fact, they are strong on the outside and dry in the middle. The tie is in the hands of the criminal department, and the only way to do it is to stick to Hequan. ”

Tieshou didn't say anything, just tried his best to talk and laugh in front of the retainers and guests every day, and behaved as usual. Then on the 10th day of the seventh month, everyone was invited to participate in the Motofu ceremony of the eldest son, Yan Chiyomaru.

The person who served as the ebony hat was the dignified shogun Ashikaga Yoshiaki, who was in charge of various preparations and process arrangements, including the cultural giant Hosokawa Fujitaka, the Rinzai sect monk Toraya Soyo, the famous tea man and merchant of Kaimachi and Tsuda Soka, etc., and the Venerable Master of Ishiyama Honganji Temple, as the quasi-father-in-law, also brought his wife Ruharuni to the scene.

Except for the fact that there were no people from the imperial court involved, all other aspects appeared to be of a very high level.

The thirteen-year-old Yan Chiyomaru was a little thin and weak, not like a person who was skilled in martial arts, but he was courteous, gentle as jade, not shocked by honor and disgrace, and advanced and retreated freely, and his demeanor attracted half-truths and half-truths from the guests and retainers.

What "tiger father has no dog", what "successor", what "South China Sea unicorn" and the like, all kinds of sycophants who don't need money are sent in piles, anyway, they don't want money.

After taking a little extra "magic medicine", Lord Gongfang barely held on for an hour or so, and then he was so sleepy and languishing that he couldn't control himself, so he returned early to rest.

Next, it can only be announced by Hirate Honhide, borrowing the word "righteousness" of "Ashikaga Yoshiaki" and the word "light" of "Honganji Kosa", and then our thirteen-year-old Yan Chiyomaru will officially become an adult, and his name will be "Hirate Yoshimitsu". By the way, he was officially married to Miss Saori of the Ishiyama Sect.

This banquet was arranged in the town of Kishiwada Castle, and not only was it crowded with nobles, but it also cost more than 15,000 yen to operate, and the venue was very luxuriously decorated, and the food and drink were extravagant. Everyone was satisfied, and even the level of trust in the tie family increased by all the participants.

At the same time, 3,000 stone of grain was also allocated, dozens of relief points were set up near and far, and gruel and coarse grain steamed buns were distributed free of charge to the poor people, so that they could also feel the festive atmosphere together.

Yan Chiyomaru - now known as Hirate Yoshimitsu - for the first time as an adult to deal with his retainers and friends, in response to the current potential war problems, he said: "The family is not afraid of Oda's bullets, but because he does not want to be the enemy of the old lord and old friends!" We have been strategizing so far, conquering for ten years, fighting for thousands of miles, and we have long been accustomed to life and death, and we have put it out of the way. Last year, Takeda Daishan turned a blind eye on the crowd and plundered the Tokaido, and thousands of horses were in unison, but the flat hand army rose to the challenge, so that it could not take a step beyond the tail open, how could there have been half a bit of cowardice at that time? ”

His words are well-founded, sincere, and very convincing.

Whether others believe it or not, all the retainers and guests present believe it anyway. Of course, this is because they are well aware of the high wind and brightness of the Hite, and they are not afraid to go to the Metropolitan Police Department for tea to pretend to believe it.

When Pingshou Fanxiu heard this, he said with emotion: "My son knows me." He talked about the old things with the people around him, and said, "If it weren't for the grace of Oda Danmasa, I, as a young son, would probably still be leading horses and guns for others, how could I have today?" ”

When the situation came, he summoned Toraya Sooyi, Tsuda Soyu, Satomura Shoba and others, and sincerely asked them to go to Kyoto again as third-party representatives to mediate.

Someone said: "Now that the matter is over, if we go to discuss it again, Oda Danmasa will inevitably refuse to agree, and will only bring humiliation on himself." ”

Pingshou Fanxiu sighed: "I hope that the world is quiet, and personal honor and disgrace can be thrown away." ”

I still insisted on sending someone.

Sure enough, a few days later, Nobunaga replied in a mocking tone: "The contemptible people called for the heroes of the world to gather troops in Beijing, but because the dignified general was kidnapped by someone, he had to lead the people to rescue." If that person allowed the princess to return to the palace, everyone would naturally disperse, and the disaster of the sword soldiers would be spared, wouldn't it be the best of both worlds? ”

In the face of this humiliation of scolding Huai, Hirate Honohide did not move at all, and wrote back to propose: "Lord Gongfang was not held hostage, but was worried about the situation in Kyoto, so he took the initiative to leave the imperial palace and go to the contemptible Izumi to live temporarily. If Oda Dan doesn't believe me, you might as well find a neutral venue and escort the princess to talk with you in detail and resolve the misunderstanding. ”

After a few more days, Nobunaga replied again, still in a very unceremonious tone: "The world is so big, is there really a place that can be called a 'neutral venue'?" If you ask me to go to Kaimachi, I'm afraid it's just a ploy to invite you into the urn. On the other hand, if I invite you to come to the mountain city, will you come truthfully? ”

After receiving the letter, Hirate said to himself, "Why not", and went to Ashikaga Yoshiaki, pleading with sincerity: "The changes in Kyoto two months ago are now divided into different opinions, and no one can completely determine what happened. How about I, with you, take only a thousand guards to Yamashiro Province and debate with Oda Danmasa? We only need to share common ground while reserving differences and forbear each other for the sake of the country, and we will surely turn the situation from dangerous to peaceful without bloodshed. ”

Of course, the Shogun would not agree.

He was neither a fool nor a three-year-old.

Even if the "miracle medicine" had a certain effect on his brain, it would not affect it to that extent.

Ashikaga Yoshiaki repeatedly recounted the events of the day (in fact, he did not see much with his own eyes, and most of them were also told by Hosokawa Fujitaka but were already convinced), desperately emphasizing that Oda Nobunaga's party was already mad and heinous, and could only be exterminated, not negotiated.

In short, they absolutely refuse to follow to "negotiate peace."

Eventually, at the strong request of the Shogun, Hirate Honhide reluctantly promised that he would never make peace with Oda until Kyoto was recaptured, but he also insisted that "the Hirate Army would not take the initiative to attack the old master, and if Oda Bullet attacked, I would consider an appropriate counterattack."

barely satisfied Ashikaga Yoshiaki.

But the so-called mediation is completely unsuccessful, and the tie can only continue to prepare for the war with a long sigh.

When asked by outsiders, they said: "The relationship between the public and the management is deep, and it cannot be shaken by words, and it is bound to take a battle before we can understand how to clean up the scene." ”

Privately, Kawada Nagakin, Konishi Yukinaga, and others secretly informed the general and general Bei of the flag unit: "Be ready to enter the battlefield at any time, the battle is about to begin." ”

The basis for judging is, first, to estimate the grain and grass consumption of the "Eastern Army", and to infer that the supply capacity of the Oda side is limited. Second, the autumn harvest will be entered in less than a month, and if it is still sluggish, many landlords and peasants will definitely be emotional.

Sure enough, on July 24, information was received that Kyoto, with Takigawa Ichiyoshisho as the spearhead, was attacking Kashiwayama Castle in Yamato Province in the south.

For the time being, there were only 80 soldiers under the command of Pingshou Xiuyi to guard the city, and when he saw the army coming, he resolutely abandoned the city.

Oda's army continued to move south, and encountered the two castles of Shentu and Tatsuyama, all of which went down without a fight.

Although "Ghost Keiji" was brave, he did not have the ability to defeat tens of thousands, he led more than 3,000 people, concentrated his troops and retreated to the county mountain castle to guard, and at the same time asked about countermeasures.

After hearing the news, Tieshou Fan Xiu was in a dilemma, hesitated for a long time, and ordered: "Let's take a step back first, don't expand the conflict, and then try to coordinate one or two in the middle." ”

He even sent someone to greet Nobunaga, saying, "Please withdraw your troops immediately and return to the negotiating table, and the contemptible people are willing to give Yamato land." ”

But no response was received.

After all, the supply pressure of the "Eastern Army" is really not small, and the morale is not very high, and once it is withdrawn, it is difficult to say whether it can launch a second effective attack.

So Hirate Hideyi only resisted for two days, and then led the crowd to break away from the mountain road and transfer to the unfinished Xingui Mountain Castle.

But as soon as the front foot arrived, and before he had much rest, Oda's side came again.

Seeing this, Xiuyi was eager to try, but considering that the conditions of Xingui Mountain City were difficult to hold onto, he had to grit his teeth and retreat again and came to Ruojiang City in Hanoi Province to settle down.

The next day, the pursuers arrived, leaving no room for error, and let the soldiers loudly mock the cowardice of the Tie Army on the other side.

Hearing this, Hisho Xiuyi was already furious, and he couldn't wait to go out and fight. But now that he is the commander of the army, he can't follow his temperament, and after checking the grain and grass reserves in Ruojiang City, he can still only retreat again.

Then we arrived at Takaya Castle, where Iwasari Yudo was stationed.

The two of them were combined, about six thousand, and there was plenty of food, arrows, and gunpowder.

Hitete Xiuyi said: "Even if my uncle has an order, I really don't want to continue to retreat. ”

Iwanari Friendship also agreed: "You have retreated three times in a row, showing enough restraint, it is time to reach the point where you can't bear it anymore, and you don't need to endure it anymore." ”

The two jointly wrote a letter to apply, stating the truth that "no further refund" can be made.

……

In Kishiwada Castle, Hisho Hisho saw the letter, showed his retainers and guests, shook his head and said helplessly: "I really don't want to fight with Oda, but he persecuted too much." In the past few days, letters have been sent continuously, but there has been no reply. If you let it go any further, wouldn't you just have to sit back and watch him come to Hequan and capture Lord Gongfang? The world ridicules me for being afraid of the enemy like a tiger, and the princess urges me every day, which is fine, but the righteousness of the world lies, and I have reached the moment when I have to meet Oda Danmasa. ”

Then he flicked his sleeves and said sharply: "The sword has no eyes, from now on, there will only be opponents, and there will be no old friendships." ”