On May 15, 1567, the Mino Saito family also came to an end.

Saito Ryuko stood on the tower of the West Castle of Inabayama Castle and looked at the enemy troops scattered all over the mountains outside the castle.

Among them, there are not only a large number of papaya flags of the Oda Army, but also the banners of the wealthy clans from Nishimino and the wealthy clans of Higashimino and Midano. The original wealthy clans of Central Mino and Higashimino who refused to surrender and insisted on resistance also surrendered helplessly after seeing that several of the big wealthy clans of Nishimino had already joined the Oda family. In the past nearly a month, the territory of Mino has been planted with the flags of the Oda family. The two giant beasts, Mino and Owari, have finally decided the winner after decades of fighting. The Mino Saito family collapsed with a bang, and the lonely Inabayama Castle was like a flat boat in the vast ocean, and there was no longer a single army or wealthy family in the entire Mino under the banner of the Saito family.

Saito Ryuko looked back to his side, and the loyal retainers such as Komaki Genta, Hineno Hiroshi, and Takeshiro Naomitsu were still patrolling back and forth on the city walls. They urged the Ashigaru to be on guard against the Oda family's incursions, checking the rain of arrows and the reserves of rolling stone trees over and over again.

It's useless, no matter how you prepare, it's useless.

Saito Ryuxing smiled bitterly and shook his head slightly. There are only 4,000 people left in Inabayama Castle now. Many of the main family's ashigaru had fled three days earlier, before the Oda family's army had joined in. The rest of them are not loyal to their own family, and many people's hearts have been shaken. In the past few days, more than a dozen people who had no family in Inabayama Castle and had no support, Ashigaru quietly slipped out of the city from the side road and became deserters.

The army outside the castle may be close to 20,000, and the Oda family has no follow-up troops. No one will come to reinforce the Saito family in the entire land of Ono, and Omi is also an ally of the Oda family. The Asakura family is now dealing with Ashikaga Shogun, but Ashikaga General wants to win over Oda Nobunaga to go to Luo together, so naturally he will not hinder Oda Nobunaga's efforts to unify Owino. And the missiles and Ise are not strong enough to threaten Oda Nobunaga. As for the Takeda family, the mountainous area between Higashimino and Shinano was not at all suitable for the army to pass through, and it was not helpful to want reinforcements.

Desperate, truly desperate. In any case, the Saito family was not spared. As long as Oda Nobunaga made up his mind to storm Inabayama Castle, with these 4,000 troops whose hearts were shaken, Saito Ryuko would definitely not be able to hold out for ten days.

·

At this moment, Saito Ryuxing's heart did not have despair and sadness, but suddenly felt a trace of relief.

I finally don't have to be this damn governor anymore, I don't have to stay in this helpless environment, I don't have to be bound by shackles anymore.

He thinks that he is not bad, although he is not as ruthless as his father and grandfather, but he has also been regarded as a prodigy by the people around him since he was a child. But ever since he became the governor, the wealthy families of Mino have bullied him when he was young, and they have been trying to take power away from him all day long. If he disagrees with them, those people will immediately put on a straight face, teach him a lesson as an elder, and force him to maintain the collegial system of important ministers in the past. If he refuses to fulfill this system, these important ministers will even stand by while Inabayama Castle is attacked.

He also pushed Oda Nobunaga into a desperate situation by disguising himself as a playboy who didn't care about politics, but he was defeated by an unexpected surprise attack and a wild samurai style of play in Jujujo. Since then, his prestige has plummeted. The wealthy clans usurped the few rights in his hands even more violently, and almost overthrew him. His only attempt to regain power was destroyed by the seizure of Inabayama Castle by Shigeharu Takenaka's 17 men. Since then, he has completely lost the power to dominate the Ximino wealthy clan, and the two sides have almost reached the point of equality. He himself was imprisoned in the castle tower for a time, and it was impossible to enforce any decree without the approval of the Joint Council of Ministers. Saito Ryuxing, who has been golden since he was a child, has never suffered such a nest spirit. Disheartened, he really went to what he had pretended to be - obsessed with spending all his time drinking, being sensual and sexy, and handing over all political affairs to the elders. This move also completely confirmed his bad reputation.

Such a family governor, Lao Tzu doesn't do it.

·

On the evening of May 15, a messenger sent by Oda Nobunaga, Takigawa Kazuyoshi, arrived. With a high-spirited attitude, Takigawa Kazuki demanded that Saito Ryuko surrender Kaicheng. The surrounding family elders and samurai were full of righteous indignation, but Saito Ryuxing had no heart. At this moment, he just wants to end this bad experience of being a family governor - a restrained and inexplicable experience.

"Your Highness, you can't surrender!" Higen Nohiro, who was standing beside him, saw Saito Ryuxing's hesitation, and rushed to his side in a hurry, regardless of etiquette, tugging at his shirt and saying loudly: "The inheritance that the ancestor has won after a lot of hardships must not be given up just now!" With the world's strong city Inabayama City, it is definitely not a problem for us to keep it for hundreds of days! At that time, Oda Nobunaga will have to disband the troops and go back to the autumn harvest, and when the time comes, whether it is to recover the lost territory or ask for reinforcements, it will be very promising! How can you surrender! ”

"Yes, Your Highness!" Bamboo waist Naomitsu also said anxiously: "It's all the incompetence of the ministers, which caused His Highness to fall into such a situation!" I am willing to fight to the death to repay the kindness of His Highness and the Prophet! Your Highness must not give up! ”

"Your Highness! If Your Highness surrenders here, you will really be ashamed of yourself! Xiao Mu Yuantai on the side was already kneeling on the ground at this moment, and said loudly with tears in his eyes: "Obviously sitting on a strong city, there are still 5,000 elite soldiers in his hands, but the lord has surrendered with his hands!" What kind of face is there to be a samurai? ”

The persuasion of the retainers made Saito Ryuxing shake slightly, and he was already ready to agree to the conditions of the Oda family's envoy, and he choked up slightly. After Takigawa Ichiyi saw the situation in front of him, he didn't show dissatisfaction, but reminded in a cold voice: "Your Highness Saito, I must remind you." If you surrender now, the Lord is willing to spare your life. This condition was obtained for you by your aunt, Mrs. Nonghime. If you persist in your stubborn resistance, your life is not guaranteed. ”

Takigawa Kazuyi's words were like a straw that crushed the camel's camel, destroying Saito Ryuxing's remaining fighting spirit. He wanted to live, and he didn't want to die for the family that had disappointed him. At this moment, he just wanted to escape from this place quickly, and he didn't even bother to find an excuse to save face, such as "worrying about the people" and "not wanting to increase sacrifices in vain".

"Alas," he sighed, and whispered helplessly, "everything is as you wish." ”

"What! Your Highness! As soon as Saito Ryuxing's words fell, the three loyal retainers spoke in unison in disbelief. However, Saito Ryuko didn't seem to have given them time to persuade them any longer, and had already sent attendants to pick up his family members. And he himself silently followed behind Takigawa Kazuyi and walked towards the outside of the castle tower. Only the three retainers were left standing in the assessment room of the castle tower, watching the figure of their lord disappear around the corner of the stairs, and also watching their last days as the Saito family's retainers quietly fade away.

Genta Komaki's voice suddenly sounded, breaking the brief silence.

"Two highnesses, young master, he will hand it over to you." Xiao Mu Yuantai didn't know why, and changed to a title like "Young Master" that was a bit old and hard to remember. Then, before Hineno Hiroshi and Naomitsu Takeshii could react, Genta Komaki pulled out the ribs around his waist, knelt on the ground, and stabbed himself in the abdomen.

"The old lord... You entrusted the young master to your subordinates back then. In the next humiliating mission, this is to meet you. After Komaki Genta silently recited this sentence in his heart, he slashed the ribs from top to bottom, and ended his life with a cruel cross cut and gushing blood.

Hineno Hiroshi and Naomitsu Takeyo silently watched Komaki Genta die of seppuku, and without much dissuasion, they just touched and closed his eyes. If it were possible, the two of them would not want to commit suicide and martyrdom. It's just that Saito Ryu is still young and inexperienced, and he must have an old minister by his side to maintain the little hope of revival of the Saito family.

At this moment, Saito Ryuko, who had already reached the second floor of the castle tower, suddenly stopped. Taking advantage of the setting sun, he once again glanced at the panoramic view of Inabayama Castle, the castle town, and the surrounding Mino land from this familiar angle, and his heart suddenly throbbed.

This great Mino may not be able to come back in this life.

He had already given up in his heart, but there was suddenly endless unwillingness. It's just that in just six years, he lost all this rich Mino to Oda Nobunaga? Obviously, in the era of my grandfather and father, the Saito family was completely worthy of the Oda family.

If I were like this in my life, I would definitely be ridiculed by countless people for thousands of years.

Is it true that I am inferior to Oda Nobunaga?

No, it's not like that.

Saito Ryuxing clenched his fists fiercely, and quickened his pace under the urging of Takigawa Kazuyi, but the anger of revenge in his heart suddenly rose.

Oda Nobunaga, you wait for me. I lost to you only because of the internal constraints of the Saito family! If I'm in Owari and you're in Mino, you're definitely not my opponent!

I will never let you go in my life, and I must defeat you!

·

On the evening of May 15, Saito Ryuko announced the surrender of Kaesong, and he went to the camp of the Oda family with his family. The next day, the Oda family's army entered Inabayama Castle, took control of the castle, and disbanded all the forces left in the castle by the Saito family. Even when a few people loyal to the Saito family tried to make trouble, the chaos was quickly brought under control.

On the afternoon of May 17, Oda Nobunaga released Saito Ryuko, who had been under house arrest in the camp. The latter, with his family and a few retainers, left Mino from the Kiso River and went into exile in Ise Nagashima Castle. As the boat carrying Saito Ryuko and his party left the Mino Territory, the history of the Mino Saito family as a daimyo came to an end. A total of more than 100,000 koku of the land of Ono was controlled by Oda Nobunaga.