On December 25, 1558, the long-awaited New Year's celebration kicked off in the lobby of Sunpu Castle. In the morning, according to the practice of the Imagawa family, it was still a tea party full of the taste of Gongqing, and several Gongqing who were diners at the Imagawa family also appeared by appointment. During the banquet, Imagawa Yoshimoto and Imagawa Shin and the palace secretaries exchanged songs and songs, in addition to tea powder and tea cakes, there were some snacks, Yu Qiuping felt for the first time that such a tea party was not so annoying.

In the afternoon, it was the summary meeting of the Imagawa family for the year. This year, the biggest battle of the Imagawa family was the battle of the Oda family in Mikawa Owariwa, and at this evaluation meeting, Imagawa Yoshimoto personally called this large-scale battle the Battle of Zhili, which undoubtedly gave Yu Qiuping great glory. And Yu Qiuping's victory in the Battle of Zhili was also announced, and the head of the Sasa family, Sasa Masaji, was beheaded for a total of 76 levels, and some of the gains could not be counted because Yu Qiuping failed to occupy the battlefield, but this is also a great feat. After that, there were some awards in internal affairs, and the most striking one was the land inspection issue that caused a big storm before. The various wealthy clans were forced to return one-third to one-half of the excess land, and Imagawa Yoshimoto harvested nearly 60,000 koku of land throughout the territory at once, rewarding a large number of highly decorated Hachimoto samurai to various places.

After the evaluation meeting, it was time for the evening dinner. However, this year's dinner was very different.

"Yuqiu, you kid really has a lot of ideas." Imagawa Yoshimoto drank it all with a wine glass, and said to Yu Qiuping on the side with a smile, "This buffet suggestion is quite interesting. ”

It turned out that a few days ago, when Yu Qiupei went to Imagawa Yoshimoto's office, Sena and his son happened to be preparing for the New Year's dinner there. Sena Clan Yoshishi complained bitterly to Yu Qiuping at that time: "The Chinese New Year's Eve dinner naturally has to be prepared richly, everyone's table money must be prepared with a lot of things, and most people can't finish eating, how much waste is this!" Oh, my God! ”

"Haha, Sena you boy, don't be so calculating all day, the Chinese New Year's Eve dinner is to make everyone happy." Imagawa Yoshimoto smiled, "Have some of your father's energy, and don't focus on these trivial expenses." Your awesome internal affairs talents are all used to slam the door, but you can't do it. ”

"There is no way to teach the son, so that the hall will smile." Sena apologized.

"But the main hall," Yu Qiuping suddenly wondered, "everyone sits at their own tables, eats their own things, how can they chat?" ”

"You can only talk to people around you." Imagawa Yoshimoto frowned and nodded.

"Isn't that an awkward atmosphere?" Yu Qiuping felt that this was very similar to when listening to lectures in his previous life, everyone was holding back and wanted to speak, but because they were far away from each other, it would be embarrassing for anyone to speak first, "If you are too far away, you can't have a good chat." ”

"Yuqiu, do you mean to let everyone share a table to eat?" Yoshimoto Imagawa asked.

"No, no, no, don't you want to consider the buffet, it's the most lively atmosphere!" Yu Qiuping looked at Imagawa Yoshimoto with a smile, "And as long as you control it properly, it won't be wasted, and you can save money." ”

"My lord?" Sena Toshitoshi was stunned, "Momiji, are you calling me?" ”

"Nope!" Yu Qiuping waved his hand again and again, "I'm calling the family governor's hall." ”

As soon as Yu Qiuping said this, everyone laughed in amazement.

"You're a ferryman, and this may not be very clear." Sena Shitoshi smiled dumbly and explained, "You are a courtier, a retainer of the Imagawa family, the Sena family. Only the governor can be called the main hall, and only the direct minister can call the governor of the Imagawa family as the lord. For example, the governor of the Asahina family is the direct minister of the main hall. ”

"Then why are you, Your Highness... Do you also call the main hall the main hall? Yu Qiuping was confused, "Your Highness, aren't you a direct minister of the Imagawa family?" ”

"I'm not the governor of the Sena family yet, and the etiquette can't be abolished." Sena shook his head, "The governor of the Sena family is the uncle of Xia, he is the direct minister of the main hall, and I am the courtier. However, he has basically taken care of political affairs, and left everything in the family to me to deal with, and it is estimated that after a while, he will succeed him as the governor of the family. ”

"There's so much more to it..."Yu Qiuping sighed.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please don't divert from the topic!" Sena Shiyi's face turned red when he waited, "The way to save money is to say it quickly!" ”

At this time, in the center of the lobby, there are more than a dozen large tables filled with sumptuous delicacies. The adults took their own plates, chose what they wanted to eat, and brought them back to their seats. Although the scene was a little chaotic, it was very lively, and they could communicate with each other without any scruples, without much encouragement. Even a low-ranking official such as a general can talk to a high-ranking old city lord when he fetches food. The samurai gathered in twos and threes to talk about the anecdotes of the year.

And because you can choose what you want to eat, everyone is also feasting, and they don't have to frown at the same food pairings like in the past.

"Your momiji shawl is very beautiful." Imagawa Yoshimoto boasted, "Where did you buy it?" ”

Yu Qiuping's face turned red and smiled sweetly, "Find someone to weave it yourself." ”

Imagawa Shin glanced at Yu Qiuping's shawl, and suddenly frowned, not knowing what he was thinking.

"Boy! So you're here! "Asahina Taihyung, with Itami Yasukiyo, Okuhira Sadakichi, and Sena Clanyoshi, a few juniors, were searching for food in the lobby, and when they saw Yu Qiuping from a distance, they waved their hands.

"Huh! Basilica! You're there too. And Brother Goro! Asahina Taiheng saw that Imagawa Yoshimoto and Imagawa Shin were also beside him, and hurriedly said hello.

"Yuqiu, you can go with them too." Imagawa Yoshimoto said. Yu Qiuping still wants to talk to Imagawa Yoshimoto again, but Imagawa Shin seems to mind the identity of Yu Qiuping's general, and he is not willing to chat with the people below at the usual waka meetings. So Yu Qiuping had no choice but to leave.

The group grabbed the sticky rice balls that had just been served, and after sweeping them up, they went on to look for other seafood. On the way, they met Masatsuna Okabe and his group. Seeing that the two sides were about to clash again, Yu Qiuping was afraid of soiling his momiji shawl, so he hurriedly stepped aside, and happened to meet Matsudaira Motoyasu around the corner.

"Matsudaira-sama, long time no see." Yu Qiuping smiled, "How are you doing lately?" ”

"I'm worried about Lord Yuqiu," Matsudaira Motoyasu smiled bitterly, "The matter of the number of retainers is really a little annoying. ”

"My lord is relieved," Yu Qiuping comforted, "Nabinosuke has practiced martial arts with me, and he is living a good life." At the martial arts tournament a few days ago, he defeated Okabe Masatsuna in a few moves, and he was praised by the family governor's hall for 'monopolizing eight buckets'. ”

"I'm so happy for him." Matsudaira Motoyasu was a little worried, "But if I offend Okabe Gongzi, I'm afraid it will be ... I still need Lord Yuqiu to take care of it, so I'll take care of it here. ”

"Don't worry, I promised the adults that day to take good care of him, and I will do what I say." Yu Qiuping nodded, "But my lord is one by one, I feel so awkward to hear it, my lord's official position is still higher than mine." Just call me Momiji. ”

Matsudaira Motoyasu smiled slightly, "Then it's better to be respectful than to obey your fate, Momiji." Please also call me Takechiyo, that's the young name under it. He hesitated, but then said, "I was in Okazaki Castle before, and I still thank Momiji." ”

"Didn't you thank you just now?" Yu Qiuping was a little puzzled, "I also see that kid is very ambitious, and I hope to help him." ”

"No, it's not." Matsudaira Motoyasu shook his head, "Momiji probably doesn't remember anymore. He sighed, but his voice was slightly choked, "That was the first time I knelt outside Okazaki Castle to greet Abina. ”

"At that time, everyone was riding on their horses proudly, but you were the only one who didn't despise me like that, and helped me and cared about whether I was okay." Matsudaira Motoyasu said in a low voice, "Later, after the banquet, Momiji told me to hurry up and have dinner..."

Matsudaira Motoyasu seemed to be about to say something, but his Adam's apple squirmed up and down, and what he wanted to say was more than how to express it because he had been suppressed for too long.

"I'm really moved," he spat out for a long time.

"Takechiyo, you don't have to... That's just, human nature. Yu Qiuping explained, but Matsudaira Motoyasu waved his hand.

"Is it normal for people to be human? If you become a samurai, you will no longer be human. He smiled bitterly, "I've been used to seeing the world for so many years, and Momiji is the first person who treats me like a friend without being bound by your identity." Really appreciated. ”

"Momiji, if there is anything you need Takechiyo to help with in the future, just ask."

After saying goodbye to Matsudaira Motoyasu, Yu Qiupei went to look for Asahina Taehyung again. I just saw that they seemed to be still messing with Okabe Masatsuna and them, snatching each other for delicious food.

At this time, Iio Renlong and Okabe Motonobu happened to pass by on the side and stopped Okabe Masatsuna's actions. Glancing at Bina Taehyung, he glanced at Renlong Iio and Motonobu Okabe, snorted and turned to leave. Sena Shiyi hurriedly made amends to the two, and the two didn't think too much about it, and turned to leave.

Yu Qiuping was just behind the pillar behind the two of them when he heard such a sentence from Lianlong Iiao.

"Originally, I got along with Sena-sama happily, but this time I came out to pick my head, and I tore my face."

"Ii-sama, this time it was really ill-conceived." Okabe Motonobu said apologetically, "I heard that the Iio family is preparing more than 200 people, but I wonder if there is a place where we can do our best?" ”

"Thank you, then, Okabe-sama." Lianlong said gratefully.

"Also, I'm going to be Naohei-sama of the Ii family, so please help me bring an apology with you." Okabe Motonobu continued, "Ii-sama has always been wise to protect himself, but this time he came out under the persuasion of his subordinates, which is really unacceptable. ”

"It's really a bit difficult for Lord Jingyi, and the Jingyi family has always been a thorn in the side of the family." Iiao Lianlong said in a low voice, "If the Governor's Hall tracks down the Jing Yi family this time, I'm afraid that I will also be loyal to the family and be the enemy of the Jing family, don't blame Lord Okabe." ”

"Huh." Okabe Motonobu sighed, "Each family has its own plans, so how can you be harsh in the future?" It's just that this time, I have some doubts about whether His Royal Highness the Governor and Yuqiu Red Leaves have been connected, and deliberately dug a pit for the retainers to jump. ”

"yes, that Fujita Nakayasu." Iio Lianlong said in a low voice, "We've been adjusting for a long time, and we've always been in a subtle attitude, but recently we suddenly changed our minds, leaked information, and was later killed, I don't know why." ”

Yu Qiuping originally wanted to listen to it again, but seeing that the two of them had the intention of turning around, he hurriedly took a detour and left.

"Is this what is called a PY transaction?" Yu Qiuping complained secretly. As he was walking, he suddenly saw a figure flashing behind the lobby. Yu Qiuping smiled slightly and walked over quickly.