"It's up to me to tell you I'm sorry, Mitsuhide." However, Yu Qiuping just sighed, shook his head and said.

"Why do you want to apologize?" Puzzled, Akechi Mitsuhide turned around and looked up at the man who was more than a head taller than her.

"Don't you remember?" Yu Qiuping smiled bitterly and staggered his gaze a little embarrassed, "A few years ago, it was I who persuaded you to leave the Gongfang Hall and join the Oda family, it was I who wanted you to ensure that the Lord Guild was a good lord. But now, he's doing something like that..."

"Actually, I have long understood, maybe I know better than you what kind of person the lord is." Akechi Mitsuhide shook his head, not agreeing with Yu Qiuping's words, but said in a low voice: "I never expected him to be a good person with a kind heart. It is impossible for a kind-hearted and good person to unify the troubled times, break out of the shogunate system, and find a way to solve the cycle of chaos. I have known for a long time that he is a violent and moody person. I've long understood. ”

"It's not surprising that the lord did such a unconscionable and unethical thing today, and I think about it afterwards. How can a person who can throw incense ashes at his father's spiritual throne expect him to worship the Buddha and love others? ”

"Then why do you still follow the lord?" Hearing Akechi Mitsuhide's words, Yu Qiuping was stunned all of a sudden.

Akechi Mitsuhide didn't reply immediately, but turned his head to look at Mt. Hiei, who was struggling in the karmic fire, and listened intently to the wailing sound from the hell, and two lines of clear tears slowly flowed down his cheeks.

"Because as Momiji said back then, the lord is the most promising person to find a new system and end the cycle of chaos forever. Only in this way can it be possible to sever ties with the old system and create a new future. Akechi Mitsuhide struggled to keep his tone steady and stopped his whimpering, "That's right, you're not wrong. It's just that I don't know how many more people will be sacrificed on his way to a new future. ”

"I'm not shedding tears for the thousands of people who died in the karmic fire on Mt. Hiei. Throughout the ages, how many more innocent people have died in wars and famines? ”

"But I'm afraid, I'm afraid that my lord will think that as long as it is to end the war forever, even if there are thousands of casualties, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, even if most of Japan is burned in the karmic fire, he will not hesitate to do it. I was afraid of a bright future, too bloody, too cruel. I am afraid that along with the rotten old system, there will be countless innocent beings in the world. ”

·

As he spoke, Akechi Mitsuhide finally couldn't suppress his emotions, lowered his head and sobbed softly. Yu Qiuping, who was listening quietly on the side and was silent for a long time, suddenly spoke.

"I'm not going to let my lord do that."

Akechi Mitsuhide raised his head and looked at Akihei with tearful eyes—he could see the light of the fire on Mt. Hiei reflected in his dark eyes.

"I'm not going to let my lord do that." Yu Qiuping shook his head, nodded again, and solemnly promised.

"If the lord really wants to sacrifice too many people, I will stand up and stop him. I will find a path without blood, a path that will create peace for all eternity. ”

"I'm rainy, and I've always done what I said."

·

As the important ministers of the Oda family had predicted, the karmic fire of Mt. Hiei caused an uproar in the world. Such a shocking atrocity, such a massacre against Buddhist holy sites and innocent people, attracted the condemnation of all the hostile daimyo and all Buddhist sects in the world. As a result, Oda Nobunaga received two less-than-honorable titles: "The Sixth Heavenly Demon King" and "Buddha Enemy." ”

Buddhism believes that the world is divided into three realms, the realm of lust, the realm of desire, and the realm of colorlessness. Among them, the realm of desire is divided into six heavens, which are the Four Heavenly Kings, the Heavenly Heaven, the Night Motian, the Tushi Heaven, the Lotus Heaven and the Transforming Freedom Heaven. And he is the head of the Heavenly Demon in the Desire Realm, and he is a wicked person who specifically obstructs the practice of Buddhists. To accuse Oda Nobunaga with such a title can be said to be a deep hatred for Oda Nobunaga. With this title comes a resurgence of outbreaks in the territory.

However, Oda Nobunaga was not worried, but happy, and often asked the small surname not to call him His Royal Highness, but to call him the Demon King. And it seems that in order to demonstrate against the Buddhists, Oda Nobunaga really wants to make this sixth day demon king to the end. On the one hand, he brutally suppressed all the time, and at the same time, he invited foreign missionaries in Kyoto and built a church, which caused another uproar among Buddhists.

In the second year of Motokame, the relationship between Oda Nobunaga and the Buddhists could no longer be reconciled, and it completely went to a situation of endless confrontation.

·

Oda Nobunaga's bad relations with the Buddhists also brought great pressure to Akihei. Ishiyama Gobo has repeatedly stirred up trouble in the border area with Yuqiu's family, and it turns out that the private armistice agreement between Honganji and Yuakihei is also shaky. Yu Qiuping was incapable of fighting with Honganji and the Miyoshi family at the same time, so he had to turn a blind eye to Honganji's provocations, and privately gave gifts to Honganji through the merchants of the lower house to release his goodwill. On the one hand, he must uphold the tough attitude of Oda Nobunaga towards Honganji and cannot negotiate with Honganji in a fair and open manner. On the one hand, due to his own weakness, he had to make a false deal with Honganji, and he was always worried that his secret negotiations would be discovered by Oda Nobunaga.

However, Yu Qiuping did not have the ability to dance at the negotiating table like Cavour - even if Sardinia was not strong, he could rely on various diplomatic means to take advantage of the contradictions between the great powers to complete the unification of Italy. On the contrary, he felt that Bismarck's unification of Germany was more suitable for him—whoever did not submit would be defeated.

So, during this time, Yu Qiuping was busy training. With the help of Shigeharu Takenaka, he held a large military exercise. Since this was the first military exercise, Yu Qiuhei and Shigeharu Takenaka did not dare to hold those confrontational performances, but simulated a drill in which the Miyoshi family suddenly invaded the border in the middle of the night, and asked Chang Panbei and Ming Di to quickly move to reinforcements and enter the predetermined position. All kinds of unexpected problems encountered in this training are recorded for future improvement.

And Yu Qiuhei and Takenaka Shigeji also creatively researched a new type of chess - war chess. This is not the military chess with the commander bomb of the commander in Yu Qiuping's later generations, but the war chess formulated by Yu Qiuping in imitation of those real-time strategy games in later generations. Each piece represents a unit (such as a platoon or platoon) and has its own values: troops, morale, combat effectiveness, mobility, and so on. Both sides control their pieces and fight in turn-based battles on a sandbox marked with a maneuver grid, with a referee deciding the outcome of each battle.

Although the command made by the two sides with God's perspective is very different from the actual combat when playing chess, this war chess still has its meaning. It allows low-level lieutenants, non-commissioned officers, and ordinary ashigaru to get in touch with some command knowledge, and it also gives ashigaru some fun to those who stay in the barracks all day - otherwise they are gambling with dice every day.

Sure enough, as expected by Yuqiuping, as soon as this war chess was launched, it became popular among the Yuqiu army. From senior commanders such as Fukushima Yasunari and Charlie to ordinary creeps, they all love this game. As soon as it's time to rest, the big guys will immediately get together to play war chess. Yu Qiuping originally only produced so many sets of war chess and chess boards for everyone to try first, but now he had to expand the production to meet the needs of the whole army, and even many people in the parliament fell in love with this game.

·

However, just when the Yuqiu family was thriving, Amano Jingde noticed the surging undercurrent.

On the afternoon of November 3, 1571, Yu Qiuping was playing war chess with Yu Qiuguang in the house, while Naoe Narumomaru and Toramatsu were watching. After the popularity of war chess, not only the soldiers fell in love with them, but even these children fell in love with this chess game. For this reason, Yu Qiuping also specially sent a set to Yu Qiuyu and Yu Qiuyou, so that they could also play - I just don't know if they can find someone to play.

"Your Highness, I feel that the Hatakeyama family has had some problems recently." After entering the house after being informed, Tianno Jingde did not ask the children to quit, but sat directly next to Yu Qiuping and reported to him.

"Quan Bingwei, have you found out what kind of conspiracy they have again?" Yu Qiuping grinned and ate Yu Qiuguang's one, and said to Amano Jingde. This subordinate, whose mind is full of conspiracy theories, basically reports to Yu Qiuping every few days on a conspiracy that may be brewing in Congress and the courts. However, most of them are unfounded. Since Amano Jingde didn't ask Yu Qiuping to let the child out, it was naturally not a major event worth noting.

Amano Jingde didn't seem to be too serious himself, but whispered without pain: "According to the report of the crow during this time, I found that the number of ninjas coming and going in Ruojiang City may have increased subtly. ”

"Maybe? Subtle? Yu Qiuping continued to deal with Yu Qiuguang's attack, and casually pointed out two flaws in the always rigorous words of Amano Jingde.

"Yes, because this is only speculation based on some intelligence that is not directly related, and yet Raven has not directly observed the increase in ninjas." Amano Keitoku replied very sincerely, "But I still want to ask His Highness to pay attention." ”

"I see, you go and talk to the pro-soldier and ask him to send someone to alert His Highness Hatakeyama to attention. If those additions aren't his ninjas, let him be careful. If it's a ninja hired by himself, it's a beating. Yu Qiuping casually made a judgment, and Amano Jingde didn't seem to pay too much attention to it, and left the room after answering "yes".

Yu Qiuping didn't know that at this moment, a conspiracy was unfolding around this Ruojiang City.