In the "assassination incident", Kawada Changqin seemed to be in a very serious condition, but after careful examination by the doctor, it was found that the humerus veins were not injured, but in fact, they were all traumatic wounds.

Sure enough, ten days later, he recovered almost completely, and according to the pre-arrangement, he got on an ox cart and entered Beijing to run for officials.

Shikoku's power was split in two, and Kazuji Nakamura, who was the head of the four acting officials of Kii, was transferred to Nakamura Castle to protect the interests of the Heite family in Nishi-Tosa and Minami Iyo. The name of the city and the name of the person are the same, which is completely coincidental. Asano Nagayoshi, who was in charge of Izumi's government affairs, took on the task of "cleaning up the remnants of the rebellious party" in Awa and Sanuki.

Correspondingly, of course, there will be some personnel adjustments in Kii and Izumi, but there will no longer be overly strong leaders who have an overview of the overall situation, but a number of acting officials and commissioners will perform their own duties and cooperate with each other.

Just like the example of Awaji. These places have been operating for a long time, and the roots are getting deeper, and then they only need to follow the rules step by step, and there is no need to use first-class talents.

In addition, proper job replacement can also prevent the system from solidifying.

At this time, Nagamune's first family, Shikawa Depository, Miyoshi Yasunaga, Suzuki Shigehide and others had finally made preparations for the expedition to Kyushu under the supervision of someone behind them, intentionally or unintentionally. Ready to fly, just ready to fire.

Kawada Nagakin, on the other hand, was appointed as an envoy to Kyoto to visit the imperial court as the spokesperson of Hirate Honhide, and to ask for credit for his colleagues who "fought hard to repel the Kai Takeda clan".

Of course, it is impossible for the imperial court to give money to reward, nor to give the land a seal, except for empty white praise, the only practical meaning is to give official positions.

The rumors have been released in advance, and the plan proposed by Hite-Honhide is - Kawada Nagakin, Ren Zheng six under Awaji Mamoru; Iwacheng Youtong, Ren Zheng six lower Kawachi Jie; Tie Xiuyi, let the six on the middle of the prison.

They are all low-level official positions, but through the numerical advantage, it is enough to show prestige and boost the morale of the retainers.

However, the imperial court will definitely feel embarrassed, and the shogunate will not necessarily show support, and it is difficult to say what the attitude of the unrelated onlookers is.

This matter is very important to Iwanari Yutong and their mentality of the "generals" who were born in the region, and if they can really get official positions, it means that their choice to abandon the darkness and turn to the light is indeed right, and they get better treatment than when they used to work for the Miyoshi family. And Hirate Hideyi, as a "country man from Owari", a representative of the public, is interested in this and does not care much, which is also reasonable.

Kawada's impressions fall somewhere in between.

So after he came to Kyoto, he was still more enthusiastic about his work, but not to the point of impatience.

Needless to say, the people of the imperial court and the shogunate had to pay careful and careful visits to their homes and pay generous gifts; Powerful people in the religious and cultural circles are full of laughter and laughter, and they should not be slackened; The small wealthy families and small businessmen who took the initiative to pull the relationship were also kind and pleasant, and they were well received without humility or arrogance.

In the short term, Hirade has no intention of taking charge of Kyoto – and even if he does, he can't show it. Therefore, there is not much direct stake with the surrounding forces.

Over the years, these exchanges have been made for the sake of Kyoto people who feel that the Hirate family is a civilized, friendly, and pleasant object of communication, rather than a barbaric and rude person who is difficult to communicate.

This impression does not give direct benefits, but it has a subtle effect in certain moments.

When I arrived in Kyoto, there were only two people who actually wanted to meet, first I found Yamashina Yanjing, which was regarded as a report to the imperial court, and then I found Ise Sadako, which was equivalent to communicating with the shogunate.

The ministers were concerned about the issue of donations and public order, and Ashikaga Yoshiaki wanted support for the expansion of the territory directly under the jurisdiction of the shogunate, and these were things that needed to be discussed.

The others are just meeting by the way, and they are just familiar with each other.

Say compliments and auspicious words to each other, and forget about them in the blink of an eye.

The only one who stands out from the rest is an impressive old friend.

This person is Mino Saito Rizo, known as the "civil and military shuangquan", in etiquette, tea ceremony, poetry, arithmetic, martial arts, military science and other aspects of all the outstanding people, is the wise Mitsuhide's right hand.

In the past, everyone worked together for the Oda family, Kawada Nagaqin and Saito Rizo have similar identities, and they are the most conspicuous figures among the courtiers, and the Shibata Katsuya under Mao Shou Zhaochang, Mori Kecheng under the command of the Taoist Dingqing, Takigawa Ichiyi under the command of Ki Quanzhongcheng, Niwa Nagahide under Mizoguchi Dingsheng and others have similar identities, belong to a circle, and have dealt with in some social occasions.

Now that the times have changed, some of these old friends have unfortunately died in battle, some have a bumpy future, and some are still struggling.

However, Saito Rizo came to visit this time and talked for most of the day, but he didn't want to get any help, but seemed to be vaguely trying something.

The problem is that the tie has only one sentence: "The situation in Kyoto may be a little delicate, but I have other arrangements, you don't need to get involved, just be cautious in your words and deeds." ”

Therefore, in the face of the temptation in words, Kawada Nagakin, who had not been to Kyoto for more than two years, was confused and completely unable to understand.

At first, Saito Toshizo said meaningfully: "I see that you have come to Beijing this time and brought 300 fully armed soldiers as your entourage, which is really very powerful and enviable. ”

Kawada smiled calmly and replied casually: "After all, it's not a peaceful generation in the world!" Even in Kinai, there are occasional vicious thieves, so you have to be careful. ”

Then Saito Toshizo nodded thoughtfully, with a slight hint of sarcasm, and cautiously tentatively said: "It seems that Lord Heishou, the Shode Punishment Department, is not very worried about the security of Kyoto." It's a shame that you can't protect the peace of the party in Kyoto. ”

Hearing this, Kawada Changqin only felt confused and confused, so he responded hypocritically: "How can you not be at ease? Actually, the Lord of the Criminal Department has always said that you are doing a good job, but ...... Keep improving, be careful, and there is nothing wrong with it. ”

Hearing this, Saito Rizo's expression changed slightly, and after a while, he said, "Actually, we, not only the contemptible people, but also the contemptible Akechi-sama, we have always felt that the Hirate Punishment Department should spend more time in Kyoto and guide our work. After all, the results of the governance of Izumi, Awaji, and Kii are seen by the world. ”

"Hahahaha, you're too modest." Kawada politely conceded: "After all, the situation is different in different places, and the places of Izumi, Awaji, and Kii are far less complicated and difficult to deal with than Kyoto. In other words, the adults of the Criminal Department often lamented that the way to govern the local area was actually to learn from Oda's Danmasa...... You're close to the water, so you can ask for more advice. ”

Moving out of the great god of Oda Nobunaga, Kawada Naga didn't want to be killed inexplicably, and Saito Rizo couldn't help blinking, and then quickly lowered his head, hid his expression, and changed the topic: "Say...... I heard that Kawada was assassinated at sea when you returned to from Shikoku Island? I don't know if it's injured, it's not serious? Can the murderer be found? ”

Kawada Changqin smiled and shook his head, indicating that it had no effect: "It's just a little fur creation, but it's not enough." I don't know who the murderer is, but as a samurai, I should be upright and play with intrigues, so I don't have to worry. The strong will not be defeated by such small means, and the weak will not become strong by such small means. ”

Speaking of this, Saito Toshizo sweated slightly, quietly wiped it, and missed the topic again: "Since you already have injuries on your body, do you want to recuperate in Kyoto for a while?" After all, there are more famous doctors here, and medicinal herbs are easy to collect. I don't think I will send it to any other side in the short term, right? ”

"This ......" Kawada Changqin thought for a while, and replied very conservatively: "The contemptible person has no ideas, everything can be arranged by the Lord of the Criminal Department." Of course, the Shogunate also had to act according to the orders of the Imperial Court and the Shogunate. ”

"Hehe......" Saito Toshizo lowered his head and smiled reluctantly, and concluded with deep meaning: "Whether it was for the Oda family in the past, or now for the shogunate, the Heide Punishment Department is loyal to its duties, and it is really a model of samurai." ”

In this remark, there seemed to be a little ridicule of the meaning of the second minister, Kawada Naga didn't think much about it, and immediately responded with a straight color: "The Lord of the Criminal Department has always taught us that what a man is loyal to is not a certain person, or a family or a surname, but the righteousness between heaven and earth, and the way of the samurai in his heart!" ”

……

After saying such a hidden sharp word, after talking for a long time, Saito Rizo finally didn't mention anything serious, but left silently with a bitter smile with an expression of "everyone knows it well".

When he got home, he immediately reported to Akechi Mitsuhide: "I think the Pingshou Punishment Department should have noticed some clues about us!" Sending Kawada to Kyoto is ostensibly to ask for credit, but in fact he is here to interfere with and sabotage! Of the 300 guards I brought, many of them may be ninja impersonations! Now it is estimated that the clues and evidence are not enough, so the Pingshou Criminal Department cannot directly exert pressure, and can only act sideways, but it may be ...... after a while."

……

And Kawada Changqin, who thought about it for a long time, didn't understand, and finally couldn't get worried, so he wrote a letter to Hisho Tsuno.

The letter says: "Serve the Lord! After His Majesty went to Beijing, all affairs went smoothly, and the liaison with the imperial court and the shogunate was proceeding normally. There's just one thing, it's very inexplicable...... Old friends, Saito Risanden, recently visited. I talked to him for several hours, as if I didn't understand the language, each saying his own thing, I didn't know what to say, I was at a loss, but the other party seemed to be quite able to comprehend. It's as if I played the harp to a cow and the cow said he understood, and it was wonderful......"