The moment the two looked at each other, they both withdrew their gazes. Sabei's gaze did not continue to fall on the hostages, and after retracting his gaze, he said to his wife and Munoyuki: "Tadaemon, now that the hostages have been taken out, do you want to protect them from Yodo Castle?" ”

After hearing this, he trotted to Sabei's side and whispered, "Lord Mingwei, the lord did not order us to escort the hostages to Yodo Castle, but asked me to find a secret place to protect the hostages. ”

Sabei nodded after hearing this, the Oda family is not monolithic, and it would not be good if the hostages were assassinated.

Seeing that Sabei nodded in agreement, and after bowing to Sabei, he said to the hostages behind him, "Come with me!" ”

The hostages who heard the order immediately bowed their heads and followed Tsumiki Fanyuki and Akechi Mitsu and broke away from the guards of the Sabei guard. Sabei looked at the four lonely people and said to his wife Fan Yuki, "Do you need me to send some close guards to escort you?" ”

After listening to Sabei's words, another inconspicuous person among the hostages bowed his head to Sabei and said respectfully: "Don't bother your lordship, just have a wife-sama to escort me and wait, there are many people, but it is easy to be found." ”

Hearing this, Sabei looked at the middle-aged samurai in front of him with a dusty face, although the tone of his voice was very polite, but the arrogance in his eyes was difficult to hide. When Sabei was still guessing that this person was a relative of Noma Sayoshi, Tsugumi Fan stepped forward and said to Sabei: "Lord Mingwei, we will be with the team for a while, and we will leave the team on our own halfway, so don't worry." ”

After hearing this, Sabei nodded, didn't say anything, and walked in the direction of Yodo Castle with the attendants behind him.

As soon as he entered the territory of Yamashiro Country, he didn't walk long before Sabei found that there was no trace of his wife's Mufan and his party. Seeing this, Fushiwa Akijiro in the team stepped forward and said to Sabei: "My lord, forgive me for being rude, why didn't Lord Akechi place the hostages in Yodo Castle to protect them, but mysteriously placed the hostages elsewhere?" ”

After listening to Fushiwa Akijiro's words, Sabei shook his head and said, "There are some things that people of our status can't know; By the way, do you know how Tsumiki Fanyuki swapped out the hostages? ”

Fushiwa Meijiro hesitated for a moment after hearing this, and then said to Sabei, "My lord, during the lunch meal, 'Noma-sama' came to bring some food and water to the warriors who were guarding us, and there was nothing else. After that, Fushiwa Mingjiro lowered his head and thought for a while, and said to Sabei in a low voice: "It should be the person who changed at this time." ”

After hearing this, Sabei looked at the team's attendants, and after confirming that they were all familiar faces, he continued to march towards Yodo Castle.

After returning to Yodojo, Sabei reported the false peace talks he had negotiated with Yoshitsugu Miyoshi and others to Akechi Mitsuhide and others, and informed everyone about the hostage escort by his wife and Nomiyuki Mitsuki.

After listening to Sabei's report, Sakuma Nobumori said to Akechi Mitsuhide: "You have to make your subordinates properly settled in the hostage matter, and if something goes wrong, you will be responsible." After receiving an affirmative reply from Akechi Mitsuhide, everyone commented on Saheo's exploits, and Akechi Mitsuhide also said that he would report Saheo's exploits to Oda Nobunaga.

Then, under the auspices of Sakuma Nobumori, everyone discussed the matter of tomorrow's battle. Sabei also told everyone about his experiences in Hanoi. But in this battle discussion, Akechi Mitsuhide was uncharacteristically silent throughout the discussion.

After the discussion, Sabei felt that Akechi Mitsuhide was a little abnormal, but he still went to the camp with Tsuda Nobusumi to inspect it. During the inspection, Sabei and Nobusumi Tsuda exchanged their findings and suggestions. However, neither of them made any key discoveries, and Akechi Mitsuhide's silent performance could not explain anything, perhaps it was some kind of agreement between him and Sakuma Nobumori. Later, Sabei conveyed the order to his subordinates to go out tomorrow.

The next day, the forces inside and outside Yodo Castle had eaten early and advanced towards Kawachi Province under the command of Sakuma Nobumori. Since the Sabei was in charge of guarding the siege equipment, he walked at the end of the entire procession. Fujido Gaohu, who was riding on a horse, looked at the black pressure in front of him, and said to the Sabei in front of him: "Lord, when will I be able to reach Ruojiang City?" ”

After hearing this, Shinsuke Yamashita on the side said to Fujido Takatora: "With Youemon, no matter what task is assigned, it should be completed conscientiously, and besides, siege equipment is an important weapon in the siege, and the lord is responsible for guarding the siege equipment, and it is also the trust of Lord Sakuma to the lord!" (The connotation is everyone's own understanding!) ）

Fujido Takatora was stunned for a moment after hearing this, and then Fushiwa Akijiro's one-eyed eyes looked at Yamashita Shinsuke, and said with a sneer: "Taoya-sama, what do you mean by this?" ”

Sabei listened to their conversation, first stunned, then surprised, then angry. Seeing the drastic change in Sabei's complexion, the silent Right Ichisuke said, "Lord Taowu, Lord Fuyu, can't you see the lord?" ”

After hearing this, Fushiwa Akijiro and Yamashita Shinsuke and others immediately realized something, and bowed their heads to the Sabei in front of them and said, "I'm rude, look at the lord..."

"Shut up!" Sabei suddenly shouted at the crowd.

When the surrounding troops heard the roar of the Sabei guard, they immediately stopped communicating with each other, and even the entire team stopped advancing.

Right Ichisuke and Fushiwa Akijiro were the first to turn over and dismount, kneeling down in front of Sabei. Shinsuke Yamashita and Takatora Fujido, who reacted later, also immediately dismounted and half-knelt on the ground.

Sabei looked at the kneeling retainers in front of him, and said to Yamashita Shinsuke: "Taoya Yamashita Shinsuke Masataka, reduce your salary by 100 koku, and go to Mihama Town to perform your duties, you can return to Kuniyoshi Castle for reflection, and when I return to the city, report to me for reflection." ”

Before Yamashita Shinsuke could speak, he heard Sabei continue: "Fushiwa Akijiro Naosumi, temporarily go to the position of military attendant, and lead his subordinates to escort Yamashita Shinsuke back to Kuniyoshi Castle with the position of Yushita; Haima Tadachi Yoshiya temporarily took his place. ”

Hearing this, Fushiwa Akijiro immediately agreed, then got up and summoned his subordinate Ashigaru to the front, and said to Sabei: "You need the black seal of the lord below, otherwise you will be beheaded by the Suzuki-sama who stayed behind for the crime of escaping from the battle." ”

Shinsuke Yamashita on the side finally reacted, and after apologizing to Sabei again, he left the team with Fushiwa Akijiro, who had already obtained the black seal of Sabei, and headed towards Kuniyoshi Castle.

Looking at the departing Fushiwa Akijiro and Yamashita Shinsuke, the wealthy clans and local servants under Sabei couldn't help but shudder for a moment, and then avoided the gaze of Sabei with a gloomy face.

After this incident, Sabei once again emphasized the concept of unity to the retainers, and said that any small contradictions can be resolved by themselves, but they must not be brought to the battlefield. If such a thing happens again, he will be severely punished.

After hearing this, the retained retainers repeatedly agreed, and Sabei did not continue to grasp the matter, but apologized to the packers who transported the siege equipment. He also sent someone to explain the situation to Sakuma Nobumori, informing him that he would immediately escort the siege equipment to keep up with the brigade.