On December 27, Oda Nobunaga held a large tea party in Kyoto.

"Yo, our celebrity is here!" As soon as Ikeda Hengxing saw Yu Qiuping coming over, he immediately swallowed the snack in his hand and laughed and coaxed.

"What celebrity, be quiet, don't mess around here." Yu Qiuping covered Ikeda Hengxing's mouth, "This is the master's tea party, and the lord is the protagonist!" I was in the limelight yesterday, so don't make a fuss and roast me on the fire. ”

"It's a tea party, but it's not an undercurrent underneath." Maeda Toshiya laughed dryly a few times and looked at the bustling guests at the tea party. His words made Yu Qiuping feel a little unaccustomed. He suddenly realized that the big brother who was swaggering before had gradually changed.

As early as a few years ago, Yu Qiuping felt that the Maeda Toshiya was slowly transforming. He has more heart and eyes, more sophistication, and is no longer the straight inu Chiyo he used to be. Whether it is a person in the world or a good person, he has matured a lot - this can easily be seen from the comparison between him and Ikeda Hengxing, Ikeda Hengxing is still the same as before.

What shocked Yu Qiuping even more was the incident earlier this year. Oda Nobunaga suddenly took back the fief of Maeda Toshihisa, the governor of the Maeda family, in Arako Castle and transferred it to Maeda Toshihisa's younger brother, that is, the Maeda Toshiya. The reason is simple: Maeda Toshihisa, who is sick and weak, has almost no achievements on the battlefield and cannot help the Oda family. Compared with him, the Maeda Toshika, who is obviously a martial artist, is more suitable to inherit the Maeda family.

This incident caused a huge controversy in Oda's family at the time. The lord changed the fiefdom of the retainers without authorization, and the Maeda Toshiya usurped his brother's territory, which made everyone very dissatisfied. Although Maeda Toshiya privately said that this matter had nothing to do with him, it was all Oda Nobunaga's insistence, and he felt very guilty. But according to Maeda Toshihisa's adopted son, Keiji Maeda, who served under Akihei Amakihei, Oda Nobunaga gave such an order at the suggestion of the Maeda Toshiya – all of which were agreed upon by Maeda Toshihisa and his retainers.

During the handover of the territory of Arako Castle, the original Maeda family retainers were very resistant, Okumura Nagasuki and other important ministers ran out, and some people tried to attack the Maeda Toshiya. Maeda Toshihisa also broke with the Maeda Toshiya, and even Maeda Keiji was very dissatisfied with the Maeda Toshiga.

After all, Yu Qiuping is not a stakeholder in the incident, and he does not know the accuracy of these rumors, so he does not have too deep prejudices against the Maeda Toshiya, but he always can't help but leave a pimple in his heart. Because he knew that in the history of his previous life, Maeda Toshiya later grew into a sleek and sophisticated politician, who was comfortable between the Shibata family and the Yushiba family, and finally relied on political speculation and choosing sides to obtain the fiefdom of Hokuriku million stones.

"If you know how to understand, you don't need to say much." Niwa Nagahide, who walked behind the three of them at some point, lowered his voice and said, "There are a lot of outsiders around, you guys should pay attention." ”

"Yes, Your Highness Changxiu." Akihei Yu, Toshiie Maeda, and Tsuneko Ikeda answered in unison.

Among the group of guests that Maeda Toshiya was looking at, standing in the center was the shogun Ashikaga Yoshiteru. He was dressed in a rather dignified attire and was chatting with the people around him. Around him, there were daimyo such as Matsunaga Shu, Hatano Shuji, and Isshiki Yoshimichi, as well as many palace officials, samurai, and envoys of daimyo such as the Mori family, the Uesugi family, and the Takeda family, which was quite lively.

"The Gongfang Palace still has gathered a lot of people's hearts." Maeda Toshiie squinted at Ashikaga Yoshiteru and the circle around him, "Unlike previous generations of shoguns, the palace worked hard and kept mediating between countries, but it restored some dignity to the shogunate. ”

"Listen to the monkey, the Gongfang Palace is still training in the mountain city country, and now there are five or six thousand people in hand, although the combat effectiveness is not very good." Ikeda sneered disdainfully, "Most of his men are wine bags and rice bags, how can they be good soldiers?" ”

"Training? Does the lord not care? Yu Qiuping said with some surprise when he heard this. Ashikaga Yoshiteru's shogunate was located at the flank and rear of his domain, and if an ill-intentioned force appeared here, it would be very disadvantageous to him, and it would be possible to cut off the Oda family's reinforcements from his enclave.

"The monkey and His Royal Highness Wise tried to stop the Gongfang Palace, but the monkey was humble and light-hearted, and His Highness Wise was an old minister of the Gongfang Palace, so he couldn't bear it, so he couldn't hold his mouth and not let go. The lord was in Ise at the time, so he couldn't control the palace. Ikeda spread his hands and explained helplessly.

"That's not going to be easy." Yu Qiuping's brows gradually furrowed, and the tea bowl in his hand was also placed on the table by him, "In the final analysis, the Gongfang Hall and we are not of the same mind, and it is not a good thing for the Oda family to let his power grow like this." ”

"Momiji is right." Niwa Nagahide also put the tea bowl down on the table, and after making a gesture to signal everyone to come closer, he lowered his voice and said, "I'll give you a message first, you should be strict, don't talk nonsense." ”

"The lord plans to draft a "Book of Five Articles", and knock the palace of the public palace well, so that he can be honest." Niwa Nagahide paused, looked around, and continued to whisper after making sure it was safe: "It is estimated that it will be made public after the New Year." ”

"The Book of Five Articles? What is it? Maeda Toshiya scratched his hair curiously and asked softly.

"Roughly what it means." Niwa Nagahide sighed, as if he was not so satisfied with Oda Nobunaga's decision, "All orders from the shogun must be countersigned by the lord; All the rewards and punishments of the shogunate were carried out by the lord; All previous orders of the Princess's Palace are null and void; The lord had the right to dispose of government affairs without going through the shogunate. ”

"Oh my God!" Ikeda couldn't help but scream when he heard this, attracting the attention of the people around him. Seeing this, Yu Qiuping knocked on his head in annoyance, and muttered dissatisfiedly: "Be quiet, be quiet!" I'm afraid that others don't know! ”

"But the conditions are too harsh." Ikeda Hengxing had a dissatisfied expression, and lowered his voice and complained: "That Gongban has been committed to restoring the former glory of the shogunate, trying to establish authority and expand its power, and wants to break away from the shadow of the Oda family. The lord's set of this set directly knocked him back to his original form, even worse than when he was in the Miyoshi family! Isn't that humiliating him? ”

"I don't think it's right either." Yu Qiuping, who knew the history, faintly felt that something was wrong, "Gongfang Hall has a strong personality, which will only anger him, and it may backfire." ”

"His Royal Highness Lin and I have persuaded the lord, but the lord doesn't listen, and is bent on letting the princess be an honest puppet." Niwa Nagahide sighed again, and his tone became even lower, "Momiji, if this "Five Strip Book" is really issued, it is impossible for the Gongfang Hall to have a good face for us. At that time, Fujiyoshiro and His Highness Akechi are estimated to be in trouble, and you will be isolated there. Have you dealt with the separation of powers or something? In case the three good families call, will you be able to hold on? ”

"It's almost time now, and it's taken a year for their merchant to get the law almost done. So far, there have only been two instances in which my armaments and interior budgets have not been approved. However, after I revised the budget, it also gave me face, and it was all passed. Yu Qiuping nodded a little reluctantly and said, "His Royal Highness Hatakeyama gets along well there, but he is more tenacious, and he has found a lot of trouble with the samurai of the Yuqiu family these days, and several of my subordinates have been investigated and prosecuted, but it is generally fine." If the Miyoshi family calls, there should be no infighting. ”

"That's good, you have to take care of yourself." Niwa Nagahide patted Yu Qiuping on the shoulder with some concern, "Let's go, let's go to the lord's side, the lord may have something to do with us later." ”

·

The four of them walked and talked, slowly passing over a group of people who were attending a tea party inside and outside the courtyard. Yu Qiuping observed the family crest on the back of the passer-by, and suddenly asked with some surprise after a while: "Why haven't you seen the family crest of the Asakura family after walking for so long?" ”

"Not only did His Royal Highness Asakura not come this time, but no one from the Asakura family came." Maeda Toshiya scolded in a low voice with some dissatisfaction, "The lord has sent an invitation to all the Daimyo of Kinai and, but this Asakura family doesn't know what to do, so they didn't come." It seems that none of their family came, and they didn't even send a messenger. ”

"This kid just doesn't clean up." Ikeda Hengxing snorted coldly with disdain, "When Kyoto fought before, he was watching the fire from the other side and refused to help, and when he saw that we were going to lose, he retreated. I haven't settled this account with him yet! He's fine now, and he still kicked his nose in the face, and no one was sent, so he threw his face at our lord in front of all! ”

"Before, the lord and His Royal Highness Asakura had an unpleasant quarrel because of the leadership of the coalition forces. Later, when he was commanding the joint battle, he was also crowding out His Royal Highness Asakura. The misunderstanding between the two families is estimated to be indispensable. Yu Qiuhei felt that the diplomatic problem in front of him was too thorny, and he tried his best to think of a way, but Ikeda Hengxing and Maeda Toshiie didn't have so much heart, but you counted Asakura Yoshikei one by one. At this time, Asai Nagamasa, who looked a little worried, came to him.

"Brother! Three Highnesses! Don't come unharmed! After Asai Nagamasa saw Yuqiu and others, he immediately saluted. While the four of them hurriedly returned the salute, they also stopped the topic. Everyone knows that the Asai family and the Asakura family have been allies for generations, and the bond is very deep, and every time the Asai family encounters a crisis, the Asakura family will lend a helping hand and pull them, which is kind to the Asai family. Many retainers between the two families have also formed deep friendships and even marriage ties because of decades of cooperation.

And now, Asai Nagamasa is Oda Nobunaga's sister-in-law, and the Asai family is also an ally of the Oda family. The relationship between the two allies of the Asai family is getting stiffer and stiffer, and Asai Nagamasa, who is sandwiched in the middle, is naturally uncomfortable.

"His Royal Highness Asakura didn't come this time, so I'm really causing trouble for you." Asai Nagamasa apologized to everyone very apologetically, "His Royal Highness Oda is generous, when I mentioned this matter to him just now, His Royal Highness Oda was not angry, but comforted me a few words. His Royal Highness said that the contradiction between him and His Highness Asakura is also his own fault, and it cannot be all blamed on His Highness Asakura. ”

"Huh?" Yuqiu and the others were all taken aback when they heard this. After sending off Asai Nagamasa, the four of them immediately buried their heads in discussions.

"That's true," Ikeda muttered hesitantly.

"But with the lord's temper, it is impossible to say such a thing!" Maeda Toshiya picked up the road quite tacitly.

"It's weird." Niwa Nagahide nodded, agreeing with the views of the two, "I thought that when the lord heard that His Royal Highness Asakura was not here, he would definitely be furious. As a result, in the past few days, he has not been unhappy at all, and sometimes he is even smiling when he mentions it. ”

"That's it..."Yu Qiuping smiled bitterly, and suddenly began to ache faintly in his head. As a time-traveler who knows history, he can already clearly see the deep meaning behind Oda Nobunaga's strange actions.

Oda Nobunaga has long known that he has a conflict with Asakura Yoshikage, and he also knows that Asakura Yoshikage looks down on him very much. Therefore, when he sent Shangluo invitation to Asakura Yoshikage, he didn't expect him to come, but just hoped that Asakura Yoshikage would not come and throw him in the face.

However, this Shangluo invitation is not an ordinary Shangluo invitation, but an invitation signed by the general. Although everyone in the world knows that this invitation is what Oda Nobunaga meant, it clearly bears the seal of Ashikaga Yoshiteru. If Asakura Yoshikage does not come, it can actually be said that he is "without a shogunate, and he treats the general's orders as child's play".

And doesn't this provide Oda Nobunaga with a justifiable reason to crusade against the Asakura family? No wonder Oda Nobunaga laughs.

Thinking of this, Yu Qiuping suddenly shuddered. He turned his head and looked at Asai Nagamasa's back as he faded away.

Could it be that the scene in history when the Asakura family and the Oda family went to war, and Asai Nagamasa was forced to make a life-and-death choice, is it going to be repeated in this life?