The next night, when Katakura Keissuna returned to Hojo Castle, where Date Masamune was located, it was already past dinner.

Date Masamune is still drinking, and on weekdays, he is an alcoholic, but he rarely drinks in the barracks.

[Well, Kojuro, it's you back, that's great! Tired or not? Hungry or not? …… Come on, prepare a pair of chopsticks for Katakura-sama! 】

[No need, my lord, I have already eaten on the road. 】

[Really? Well, how is the peace negotiation? Uesugi Keitora and Akechi Kogoro don't have any difficulties for you, right? 】

For Date Masamune, the past two days have not been too comfortable, those shallow-eyed retainers have repeatedly asked him to fight, but they have been rejected by himself, why can't these guys understand their own thoughts?

When he was in Tochio Castle, his father Date Terumune's words made him feel a little depressed, so he gritted his teeth and temporarily stopped the attack on Kasugayama Castle, although he had implemented a new strategy, his heart was extremely impatient. His father had repeatedly given him that he should never spare the lives and deaths of the soldiers and the safety of the people just because he unified the world, so that even if he occupied a new territory, he would soon lose it. He stubbornly agreed.

In fact, young people are hot-blooded and warlike in their hearts, and they don't have so many scruples, and of course Date Masamune wants to defeat his opponent openly on the battlefield than using intrigues.

In fact, in the early years, Date Masamune was a relatively traditional samurai, and he didn't bother to play some intrigues at all, and it wasn't until he entered middle age that he understood that a good mind was better than a strong one.

But now, as the voices of his retainers asking for war are getting louder and louder, even he himself is beginning to doubt his original decision.

What my father said was from the bottom of my heart?

Sometimes, Date Masamune even had deep doubts about his father's [theories of God and Buddha]:

Could it be that the wish of the gods and Buddhas is really for the peace of the world, as my father said? Is he really that powerful? No, not necessarily! And if the world is unified, there will be no war at all, so that no one will lose their lives, and that is the wish of the gods and Buddhas.

Date Masamune is also a Buddhist, and regards the [God and Buddha] as the support of the soul, but according to what Zen Master Toriya told him back then, although he can study the Buddhist scriptures, he must not have the heart of the Buddha, otherwise he will not achieve anything.

Date Masamune sometimes wonders why his retainers always say that they are inferior to their fathers.

But what is the difference between yourself and your father's direct love for you? And how big is the difference?

On the surface, his father is more modest than himself, more patient, more able to endure hardships, open his mouth to the gods and Buddhas, and close his mouth, but he has been the governor of the family for so many years, in addition to taking advantage of the Tianzheng rebellion of the supreme family and reaping a little benefit, what else has he done to be proud of?

Compared with this, he has been forging ahead, constantly expanding the family's territory, the Date family in his own hands, has expanded from a country name of 300,000 stones, to a territory of up to one million stones of the [Big Mac], it stands to reason that he should be greater than his father, more recognized by everyone, right? But why......

Seeing Katakura Kojuro Keitsuna come back, Date Masamune's mood was slightly better, and he took the contract signed by Naoe Kanetsugu and Fujita Nobuyoshi from Katakura Keitsuna's hand, looked at it a few times, and threw it on the tatami mat disdainfully.

[Xiao Shilang, have you seen it, what is called [false affection], this TMD is called [false affection]! ] ……】

He took a sip of wine, and then listened to the piece of paper on the ground:

[Even if you are willing to agree to such harsh conditions, the sincerity of the Uesugi family can be imagined, then Uesugi Jinghu clearly wants to play me from the pig, hehe, I'll play with him and see who is the pig! ] 】

Katakura Keixuna stood quietly to the side and did not speak, although he admired Akechi Kogoro very much now, but he also knew that not a word of this peace agreement was true.

[Yes, I'm afraid there is a big conspiracy in this. 】

[It's not that I'm afraid, it's all a conspiracy at all!] When people are cornered, they want to push others into a corner. Even the famous wise Kogoro has this problem......]

Date Masamune was stunned for a moment and continued:

[When he passed from the Hojo family to the Uesugi family, didn't Hojo Shiro also leave Odawara Castle for nothing? All his words are empty...... Forget it, it's not interesting to just talk about others, let's mention ourselves. 】

It is not uncommon for Date Masamune to have expressed his dissatisfaction with the delay in the war in recent days. Katakura Keixuna and the other retainers are not at ease, and now, once Date Masamune's mind goes wrong, things will be difficult to clean up.

[I don't know if Zuo Yue saw through my mind? 】

Katakura Jingzuna breathed a sigh of relief and said in unison: [Actually, except for the lord and the regent, no one in the army can understand what is going on with the recent movements of the army? 】

This is true, and until now, no one knows exactly what Date and his son are thinking.

[By the way, I received another letter from Shigenobu today, and the rebellion in Aizu has gradually been put down. 】

[Has that Ashina Morishin been defeated? 】

[Well, what can a rabble do? He is now hiding in the mountains of Aizu with the remnants. The situation on Chengshi's side is also slowly improving, and as soon as the Satake army retreats, Xiandao has slowly stabilized. 】

[Really? That's great. 】

[Don't be too happy yet! …… My mother, who was not a worrying mother, and my brother had a new twist. 】

Katakura Jinggang's face suddenly turned pale, and he was very aware of the disputes within the main family.

Date Masamune's mother, Mogami Yoshihime, is called "Lady East" by the Date family, she has a tough personality, brave and resourceful, and can be called a heroine among women. But because she has an abnormal dislike for Date Masamune, the relationship between mother and son is very bad. Especially in recent years, Mrs. Higashi has always planned to let her youngest son Date Masado replace his eldest son as the governor of the Date family, which made Date Masamune angry, and in retaliation, he continued to go to Mrs. Higashi's maiden family, picking quarrels and provoking trouble, making the relationship between the two families worse and worse.

Take this war as an example, even if the two families send troops together, they do not have any cooperation between each other, you fight yours, I fight mine, the two have nothing to do.

Date Masamune was full of pride, from Aizu all the way to the Shinano River, occupying almost half of Echigo, but Mogami Yoshimitsu tasted it slightly, after getting the three counties of Shonai, he only advanced a little towards Echigo, occupied a few cities of little strategic significance, and then stopped moving troops, leaving his [good nephew] alone in front of the toss.

The thing that made Date Masamune angry the most was that his uncle, who went to meet with the Oda shogunate in private, concealed that he had gone to meet with the Oda shogunate in private, and after the mediation of the shogunate, he reached a real reconciliation with the Uesugi family.

This made Date Masamune embarrassed, originally he sent troops under the banner of aiding the Mogami family, but now the Mogami family suddenly stopped, which made him suddenly lose the name of the division.

However, the one-eyed dragon is a one-eyed dragon in the end, and it is simply impossible for him to give up his immediate interests for something that only exists in books!

So even if the Mogami family retired from the army, the Date family was also entrenched here.

Katakura Keixuna understands all these things, but what is [New Change]?

[Mogami's army suddenly assembled on the border of Date Ryō, but it didn't say exactly what it was going to do, and the reason why Mogami Yoshimitsu's old fox really did it was said to be because of my mother's letters.] 】

Katakura Keixuna's heart suddenly cooled in half.

[Could it be that Mrs. Higashi and Mogami Dehan Mamoru want to take advantage of the opportunity of our army to go out and send troops to Mutsu and subvert Yonezawa Castle?] 】

[Hee-hee, maybe that's really the case...... My mother, but I always dreamed that Kojiro could become the patriarch of the Date family, hehe, what kind of ...... am I, a monster with one eye, counting]

The further he spoke, the deeper his voice became, until he couldn't hear it. Katakura Jingzuna was sad when he heard it, and he finally understood that even a tough husband like [One-Eyed Dragon] hoped that there would be a time when he was tied up by family affection.

[Hahaha...... Look at what I'm talking nonsense, depressed by this kind of thing! 】

I don't know if I want to break the awkward atmosphere in this camp and liven up my emotions, or if Date Masamune is deliberately hiding his loss

[In short, we are in a very delicate situation now, with Uesugi in the front, Ashina in the middle, and Mogami in the back, all three of them have the possibility of harming us, so ah, we have to be more careful, and they may attack us at any time. 】

[Got it, lord! 】

[It's good to know, I appreciate your this, whether my orders are useful or not, you will carry them out meticulously, Kojuro, you are both a retainer and a good friend to me. However, this world is indeed sinister, and family affection is the most unreliable thing. 】

【Lord! 】

[Hehe...... Okay, I won't mention my mother...... By the way, you still remember what Zen Master Huzai said to us when I was in the Buddha Hall: The world is just like this, no matter who wins the world, no matter who sits in the world, it is the same, the world is still dirty as before, and it will never become pure as dew. 】

【……】

[Forget it, don't talk about it. No matter who it is, no matter what the battle situation is, I'm a stupid person who just looks at it silently, haha...... Come and have a drink with me. 】

The sky that had just been clouded and foggy and starry was darkened again, and it didn't take much effort to overcast the clouds, and the area around Hojo Castle was shrouded in heavy clouds