After the official position and service rewards were distributed, the coalition forces slowly dispersed, and many small forces that had not gained anything returned to their respective homes with disappointment, and the troops of the great princes gradually drove back to their stations.

But several dignitaries were left in Kyoto by Ashikaga Yoshiaki, drinking and singing all day long, and talking loudly.

Oda Nobutada and Asai Nagamasa, who were the leaders, were very active in this, in addition to putting on a show openly and secretly and competing with each other, they also took the initiative to contact with celebrities such as court officials, tea craftsmen, giant merchants, and high-ranking monks, looking like two bear children who deliberately made trouble and competed for attention.

However, this is not a frivolous and childish battle of will, but an action that the daimyo had to take under special circumstances.

Yoshiko Ouchi, Kenshin Uesugi and others, who were known for their keen involvement in political events, were criticized by visitors for "devoting more energy to the management of their own territories than to get a false name in vain."

What the commentators don't know, however, is that the righteous fame gained in Kyoto was very helpful for the governance of one's own territory. Those daimyo who did not have imperial court positions or shogunate duties at all, even if they had a strong military force, would still be despised by others, and even would not be respected and trusted by the local powers. The former Asai family is a good example.

is as strong as Oda Nobu's elders, and he can only fight one faction and pull another faction against the old forces, and he can't completely put them aside. For example, honoring the Nichiren Sect to suppress the Tiantai Sect, raising Nijo Harura to the top to drive away Konoe Maehisa, supporting Imai Munehisa to fight against the Red House Soyo, and so on, are too numerous to count.

There are others – such as Yoshitsugu Miyoshi, a flamboyant boy born in a flashy way – who are really enjoying life in Kyoto. Poetry and painting are his strengths, dancing knives and guns is not his wish, and he is purely helpless to support himself in a martial arts family. The huge foundation of the previous generation is far less than his IQ enough to control, guarding the northern half of Hanoi, being kind to Ashikaga Yoshiaki, and being a high-ranking Qingke is quite comfortable.

The second ancestor of the loser, it is understandable.

But Takigawa Kazuki and Araki Murashige's pursuit of tea ceremony culture is a bit unthinkable.

It is said that one is a famous general who has collapsed in front of Mount Tai and his color remains unchanged, and the other is a conspirator who has become a blockbuster if he does not sing...... There are even "famous sayings" such as "I would rather know how to do with ten thousand stones, and exchange one or two tea utensils for Lixiu laymen", "I am not afraid of swords, lights, swords, and shadows, and thousands of troops, lest Master Zongyuan be angry".

Is this genuine, or is there something else going on?

In fact, in the eyes of the world, Tieshou Fanxiu is the real "elegant person". The power of the imperial court is the successor of the mountain and the branch of the people, you know? The level of education is so high that I don't know where to go, and my father talked and laughed with him back then. The "auction" in the castle town of Wazumigishi Wada has become a gathering place for painters and carvers, and Kano Natoku praised him as "a true art supporter in Heisho".

However, he is pragmatic and not very enthusiastic about communication in Kyoto, and just wants to return to the territory as soon as possible to get down to business.

Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was known for his uprightness and simplicity, said that the situation in the east was unstable, and he led his troops back to Enjiang early. Then Hirate Hinohide also made an excuse at random and asked Ashikaga Yoshiaki to resign.

But who knew that the general refused to accept it, but tried his best to persuade him to stay.

I don't know what his old man is thinking.

On the surface, Ashikaga Yoshiaki is extremely respectful of Hinote Honhide, and when he sees people, he says that "Hishoku is in charge - no, it's the Hishoate Punishment Department, and now it is really the Optimus Jade Pillar of the Shogunate." That's right, it's the new owner of 'Onimaru Kunitsuna'. It was originally the ancestral famous sword of the Ashikaga family, but at the moment it is worn on the waist of the flat hand, so that people can make the best use of their talents and make the best use of things......"

In short, it is a matter of repeatedly emphasizing promotion and giving knives.

After coming and going, the prestige of the tie has indeed been further improved.

The image of being described as "the young assistant of the criminal department, the guardian of the Three Kingdoms, and the important minister of the shogunate with Onimaru Kunitsuna" gradually spread in the minds of the upper class, and gradually several ministers and monks in their seventies and eighties claimed that "the righteous and awe-inspiring posture of the Tieshou Punishment Department is quite similar to that of Jiang Yun of Yunguang Temple during his lifetime." ”

Who is Jiang Yun of Yunguang Temple?

That is, the Omi Frost Hall of the past year.

In words that everyone can understand, it refers to the hexagonal determination.

The life of this man is very interesting, for decades, the overlords of Hosokawa, Hatakeyama, Ouchi, Miyoshi, etc., all relied on force to subdue Kyoto and suppress the shogunate. And Rokkaku Joyori, who has a strength of about 500,000 stones, has always appeared as the backing of the Ashikaga family, and has always been on the front line against the conspirators.

Of course, this does not prove how loyal he is, it is just that their survival strategies are different.

Compared with the tie show, the meaning is simply obvious.

What a "righteous and awe-inspiring" evaluation. Ashikaga Yoshiaki was happy to hear this, Oda Nobutada and Asai Nagamasa were embarrassed, and Matsunaga Hideki seemed to see what he looked like he was proud of ten years ago......

Faced with this complicated situation, Hiseki couldn't figure out how to deal with it for a moment. Should we go along with this character to collect political capital, or should we be resolute and return to the territory as soon as possible to avoid chaos?

Between hesitations, two more days passed, and it came to June 14.

It was a gloomy and dreary day, and the air was filled with humidity, and Ashikaga Yoshiaki invited the princes to the pondside of the Imperial Palace Garden to cool off with cold sake preserved at the bottom of the well. As expected, it rained heavily in the afternoon, and the venue moved to a pavilion in the garden.

Then, just then, the guard wearing the hat came with the news:

"Wise Guangxiu Hall has calmed down the chaos in the southern half of Hanoi, and is waiting outside the door to resume his life, may I ask Lord Gongfang, do you want to recruit him in?"

Everyone heard the words and had different colors.

The southern half of Hanoi also had a population of tens of thousands and more than a dozen wealthy clans, and they fell into chaos after the death of Hatakeyama Shotaka and Yusashi Shinko. With only his little private soldiers, Wise Mitsuhide returned in less than 20 days, which is really a good skill. In fact, when the shogunate sent him over, he just deliberately made things difficult, and he didn't think that he could really solve the problem.

Ashikaga Yoshiaki was also slightly surprised, and then lowered his head and said nothing, only "hehe" chuckled twice.

A hint of anger could be heard in the laughter.

Originally, I wanted to let that guy retreat from the difficulty, confess his guilt on the ground, and forgive him, regardless of his previous suspicions, so he casually made up an impossible goal.

Yoshiaki felt in his heart that Wise Mitsuhide had no prestige, and with only two or three hundred private soldiers, unless he had the intelligence of a tie, he would definitely not be able to complete the task - a tie was almost the strongest wise general in the world in the general's heart.

I didn't expect him to do it by mistake, which is a good thing.

However—

Specially picked this time when everyone gathered and ran over to restore their lives, didn't this deliberately slap the leader in the face?

Can't wait until nightfall to sneak back?

Your little brother, even if you suffer a little grievance? Do you dare to hold grudges?

Thunder, rain and dew are all Jun En, do you understand?

In the past few years, Ashikaga Yoshiaki has always been a very forbearant person, no matter how domineering Nobunaga is, he pinched his nose and endured it, which is very different from his brother.

But the more such people are, the easier it is for them to show their harsh side when they don't have to endure anymore – or when they think they don't need to endure anymore.

After a few moments, the general waved his hand and instructed the guards:

"Let's just say that I am seeing the distinguished guest, let him rest first, and it is not too late to come back tomorrow."

After all, these words gave each other a step down.

Ashikaga Yoshiaki's heart still had the upper hand and overpowered the negative emotions. After all, there were too many unsuccessful retainers in the shogunate, and there were very few talented people like Akechi Mitsuhide.

The guards took the order.

The princes, known as "distinguished guests", hurriedly diverted the topic in an attempt to mediate the awkward atmosphere.

But who would have thought—

After a while, the messenger came back from the guard.

"Lord Gongfang! The Hall of Wisdom said that the matter of Hanoi needs to be decided urgently, and if you have a distinguished guest, he will wait in the courtyard until the distinguished guest leaves! ”

At this time, the rain was heavier, and the guard's hat could no longer be covered, and his body was half wet, and he looked pitiful.

The words he relayed attracted everyone's attention.

Akechi Mitsuhide...... I really want to slap the leader in the face in front of everyone!

usually looks gentle as jade and polite, how can he be stubborn like this? The character is too awkward!

Actually, compared to the Demon King, the contemporary general is already the head of the family with a good personality. Wise Mitsuhide's hard-hitting style, if you follow Nobunaga for a long time, then you can't rebel and kill the master? - Tieshou Tsunosu complained in his heart, and then suddenly found that something seemed wrong with this......

Ashikaga Yoshiaki suddenly changed.

He used all his restraint to make a gesture of rage, but he couldn't hide his shame and resentment.

"Then let the Hall of Wisdom wait in the courtyard!" The words almost came out of the bottom of his throat, "Keep drinking, don't mind!" ”

Thoughtful people naturally know that this is angry talk, but the guard in charge of reporting outside the pavilion is about a straight bastard, and he was stunned for a moment when he heard this, so he carried out this angry sentence.

The princes are all outsiders, so naturally it is difficult to say anything, but there is no high-ranking courtier to stop it.

Everyone's minds couldn't focus on the reception at all, including Ashikaga Yoshiaki. All eyes were on the gate of the courtyard, curious about how far Akechi Mitsuhide's play would go.

About half an hour later, under the attention of everyone, Akechi Mitsuhide appeared.

He unsheathed his saber, took off his helmet, and walked without hesitation from the raindrops. The armor was covered with dirt, and there was no shortage of blood in it. Along the way, the dust on his body was washed down and gathered into an ugly yellow mud.

The torrential rain suddenly became so rapid that it almost became a curtain made of water. It's obviously getting closer and closer, but sitting in the pavilion, I gradually can't recognize the face of Zhiguangxiu.

I just watched him walk ten paces away, stopped, knelt on his left knee, and raised his head proudly.

Under the washing of the water, the already thin and short Wise Mitsuhide became more and more unbearable and crumbling, but the image appeared taller and taller.

So the general looks a lot like a villain.

"Come on, come on, drink this one with me!" Ashikaga Yoshiaki already had undisguised resentment in his eyes—though he still tried to pretend he didn't care.

Yoshitsugu Miyoshi was the first to respond, he seemed to be infected by the general's emotions, and his eyes were also unfriendly when he looked at Akechi Mitsuhide.

Asai Nagamasa let out a very light laugh, glanced to his side, raised the saucer and drank it down.

Oda Nobutada hesitated for most of the day, barely took a sip, and put the cup down.

Seeing this, Shibata Katsuie and Takikawa Kazuyi also moved their cups silently, trying not to make any noise.

Tsutsui Shunkei's expression was serious, frowning and motionless, a hint of disgust appeared on his face.

The elderly Matsunaga Shu observed left and right, leaned on the desk, and was about to stand up and speak-

But someone got ahead of him.

Hite-su had already strode out of the pavilion, holding a wine saucer and sending it to Akechi Mitsuhide.

In an instant, his whole body was soaked, and a lot of rain seeped into the dishes.

"The Hall of Wisdom has worked hard from afar, quench your thirst!"

Such a simple gesture made the other party show a grateful expression.

"The master of the tie is ......" (he doesn't know about the promotion yet)

But Hite-ho did not respond, but turned his head, bowed to Ashikaga Yoshiaki, and admonished in a loud voice: "Lord Gongfang! The subordinates did not know much about the old affairs of the shogunate, and they did not know what the Wisdom Hall had done. That is, if there is, it is necessary to report to the Quartet and punish the teaching. Such a humiliation hurts the hearts of people with lofty ideals! Moreover, the Hall of Wisdom pacifies the southern half of Hanoi, triumphantly reinstated, and the first to show off the merits, and then talk about the old mistakes, which is the way of the king! ”

After speaking, he turned over and bowed, and then added: "The courage to speak is all out of justice, but it does offend the princess, and the subordinates have no shame to appear in front of your old man for the time being, so go back and think about it behind closed doors!" ”

After speaking, he got up, did not look back, and strode away.