Boom... The fish floats and sinks... But no one took the pole...

Hosokawa Nobumoto and Honda Masanobu are discussing something.

"You mean, the Uki family is ready to take their adopted son Ki family hostage? Still trying to keep the existing territory? Hosokawa Nobumoto was half-leaning on the boulder, and in front of him was Honda Masanobu sitting cross-legged.

"Exactly, through the contact of His Majesty in the past few days, the Uki family does have this plan." Honda Masanobu was in charge of receiving Nagafune's Sadako, and had a preliminary understanding of the purpose of Ukika's visit.

"Humph! What a good calculation! Hosokawa Nobumoto snorted coldly, it's all this time, and the Ukita Naojia is still calculating the benefits.

"Ukita Naoya... Time is running out. Hosokawa Nobumoto glanced at the undulating fish float, and had no intention of starting the pole.

"Yes, after the last time our army conducted a military exercise under the city of Last Moon, they let them stay in the ice and snow for most of the day in vain. After going back, the Ukita Naojia had a serious illness, and his health was already not good, and this serious illness is estimated to have shortened his life expectancy even more. "Honda Masanobu has been paying attention to the situation of the Uki family.

So, knowing that his time was running out, he began to look for a way out for the Uki family. By the way, how old is his son-in-law? It seems to be very small. Hosokawa Nobumoto suddenly remembered Ukita's child.

"Hui Lord, he is only five years old this year. So he had to plan early for the continuation of his family name and the future of his children. Honda Masanobu can still understand him, and now the situation of the Uki family can only choose between the Mori family and the Hosokawa family.

And one of the heads of these two families is Hosokawa Nobumoto, who is wise and virtuous, and has a lot of military and political power, and the other is Mori Terumoto, who is submissive and subject to his two uncles. Even a smart person will know how to choose, not to mention that the Ukita Naoya was the second only conspirator in the Sengoku period after Saito Michizo, and together with Izumo's Niko Sukusa and Yasui's Mori Moto, they are known as the "Three Great Masters of the Warring States".

"Humph! You go, tell Nagafune Sadakin, and let him go back and tell the Ukita Naoya! Don't think about playing with me anymore, Iyo's Kono is a copy of him! Is that still my loyalty to the courtiers, so I reluctantly spared Tongzhi's life, and the Uki family? Only death! Hosokawa Nobumoto was obviously a little annoyed, he had been in the position for a long time, he was used to manipulating the fate of others, and he didn't like to bargain with him. The tough treatment of Tokugawa Ieyasu in the first place is an example, either die or accept his own arrangement unconditionally.

"My lord... Wouldn't that be too tough? After all, the Uki family has not lost its combat power, and it still has the power to fight. Honda Masanosin tactfully persuaded that the tone he and the lord had set at the beginning was to divide the Mori and Uki families. If he replied like this, he was afraid that he would completely push the Uki family to the opposite side, not that he was worried that he would not be able to destroy the Uki family, but that it would prolong the time of reunification.

"That's the answer, don't worry, he's a smart man, not a gambler, he'll know what I want." Hosokawa Nobumoto knew that conspirators like them often dared to give up things that ordinary people did not dare to give up.

"Yes!" Honda Masanobu didn't say anything, and the low leader ordered.

"Also... In the future, you will be the leader of the docking with the Yuxi family, and then let Xinkang accompany the longship to go back, and you can't let people say that we have no courtesy. "Hosokawa Nobumoto handed over the affairs of the Uki family to Honda Masanobu, believing that he can come up with a result that satisfies him.

As a result, Nagafune Sadako finally failed to meet Hosokawa Nobumoto, and returned to Okayama Castle in Bizen Province full of loss, accompanied by Tokugawa Nobuyasu.

"Oops... The arrival of Lord Tokugawa really made the humble house shine, hahaha! The Ukita Naoya didn't care about this futile return at all, but happily met with Tokugawa Nobuyasu, who was slightly flattering and praised Nobuyasu, and blushed a little.

"Don't dare, don't dare, Ukita Hall is falsely praised, it's just a hostage at the moment, and you can't be an adult, so call me Xinkang." Tokugawa Nobuyasu made a big bow in a proper manner.

"Hahaha! Young Master Xinkang is really humble and virtuous, come on, come on, I'm going to have a banquet tonight! I also want to have a long talk with the young master Nobuyasu all night, by the way, it's good to be at the Hosokawa family recently..."The Ukita Naoya had a kind face, like a hospitable elder, and began to shush Tokugawa Nobuyasu and ask for warmth.

That night, after a full meal and drink, Ukita Naoya and Tokugawa Nobuyasu played a chess game.

"It's... Is it the backgammon invented by Yagatata-sama? Ukita Naoya looked at this small chess piece and listened to the big truth spoken by Tokugawa Nobuyasu, and the whole person was shocked, this is epoch-making thinking after all.

"Hey... It seems that the older you get, the more useless you are, Young Master Xinkang, please wait a while. With that, Ukita got up and left his seat, went to the table beside him, pondered for a while, and began to write a few lines on the paper.

After writing, the paper is folded in half, put into an envelope, then sealed with purple clay, stamped with a seal, and finally packed into a wooden box.

"Young Master Shinyasu, please hand over this letter to Yagata-sama, and I will send a messenger again in the future, hoping to see Yagata-sama. In order to show their sincerity, the family will abandon Kamitsuki City and completely withdraw from Harima Province. Ukita Naoya solemnly handed the wooden box to Tokugawa Nobuyasu.

"It's... Well, I'll hand over the letter to Yagata-sama, and as for whether Yagata-sama will personally summon your envoy, I'm not sure. Tokugawa Nobuyasu hesitated, but finally took the wooden box.

"Thank you very much, whether it is successful or not, I will be grateful. Come on, come on, this backgammon is quite interesting, let's have another game! Ukita Naoya smiled easily, and his interest suddenly increased a lot.

"Hehe... Then it is better to be respectful than to obey the fate. "Tokugawa Nobuyasu is also obsessed with backgammon now, and he always loses when he plays with Hosokawa Nobumoto, but now it's okay, how can he miss it when he meets an opponent in chess.

Syllable! Syllable! The sound of falling pieces echoed in this hut, and the black and white chess pieces were playing with each other...

Three days later, Tokugawa Nobuyasu and the others returned to Yuzuki Castle, along with Nagafune Sadakin, the Ukitaki family, and the Nao's son-in-law, Hachiro. (Historical Ukita Hideya)

"Hehe... The Ukita Naoya seems to understand my intentions.,No.,Sent the man over.,That's the sincerity.。 Hehe..."Hosokawa Nobumoto was in a good mood, and the Ukita Naoya not only sent the concubine over as a hostage to prevent him from stepping on two boats, but also withdrew his troops from Harima Province to make a stand with practical actions.

"My lord, this is a letter from Lord Tokugawa, written to you by Ukita Daiden himself." Honda Masanobu sent over a wooden box, which was brought by Tokugawa Nobuyasu of Ukita's Naoka.

"Hehe... It's nothing more than a condition for subjugation. Hosokawa opened the box casually, pulled out the letter, and expanded it to look at the contents of the letter.

"What! How could such a thing happen! After a moment's time, Hosokawa Nobumoto stood up, his face showing a rare gaffe. Please pay attention to the latest chapters in the future