In Yoshiki County, Zhou Fangguo, there is a Xuangong Garden, which was killed by Tao Qingxian and built by Ouchi Yoshitaka, the former head of the Ouchi family. During the reign of Yoshitaka Ouchi, he was greedy for pleasure and luxury, and vigorously introduced Kyoto culture with Yamaguchi Castle as the center, making Yamaguchi Castle more and more prosperous, and it is known as Little Kyoto.

And this Xuangong Garden, is modeled after the Tang Dynasty Xuanzong's palace courtyard built, the courtyard of the small bridge flowing water, cherry blossoms full of trees, flowing beautiful. At the head of the bridge, there is a particularly thick cherry tree, which is said to be the standard cherry blossom tree in Japan, and as soon as its flowers bloom, it announces the arrival of spring in Japan. At the end of the bridge, an elegant Fengxiang platform can overlook Yamaguchi Castle from the bottom up, and two men and two women are sitting cross-legged between the platforms, drinking tea and enjoying the scenery.

At present, the owner of this room is the head of the Ouchi family, Yoshinaga Ouchi, and the entertainer is Hosokawa Senimaru, who has been here for more than a month. Since the defeat of Tao Qingxian in the Battle of Itsukushima in October, the Ouchi family has fallen into an unprecedented desperate situation, and the wealthy clans in various places have defected, resulting in instability in the territory. If it weren't for the fact that the Maori family had just experienced a big war, they would have temporarily halted the army and rested as winter was about to begin, so that the Ouchi family would have this opportunity to breathe.

"Yagatata-sama, how about this place?" Yoshicho Ouchi asked with a little pride.

"It's not just good, it's just wonderful here, and I can't think about it." The place is indeed a good place, and it is the first time that Hosokawa Senchomaru has encountered it when he came to this Warring States, such a world with pleasant scenery.

In the past two months, it has been very speculative to talk to this twenty-three-year-old man. Of course, Hosokawa Senchimaru, who is a man of two lives, basically belongs to the lord of "talking nonsense when you see ghosts, and watching people talk about people". Relying on the evaluation of later generations, coupled with actual feelings, can make anyone feel like they are late to see each other.

"Yagata-sama, what do you think the Mori family plans to do next?" Yoshinaga Ouchi placed the freshly brewed tea in front of Hosokawa Senamaru by holding the bowl with the palm of his left hand and holding the edge of the bowl with the five fingers of his right hand.

Hosokawa Senimaru looked at this bowl of turquoise tea soup [I'll go, it's so green, why is it that the tea of this era is like highly poisonous. But thinking about it, he still showed sincerity and bowed to Ouchi Yoshicho first, "I'm bothered." Then he picked up the tea bowl with his right hand and handed it to his left hand, and then stroked the tea body with his right hand, turning the pattern towards Ouchi Yoshinaga. After setting the position correctly, he held the bowl with his right hand, took three sips, and finally wiped the water marks on the edge of the bowl with his thumb and handed it to Mochizuki Snow beside him.

"Lord Xie Zuojing's hospitality." Mochizuki bowed to Yoshicho Ouchi, and then took three sips as well, and then Hosokawa Senimaru took it again and kept praising the broken cup.

"I think the next step of the Maori family will definitely be to win over and encroach, and Lord Zuojing still has to do a good job of pacifying the family." After tasting the tea, Hosokawa Senmaru expressed his opinion. During this period, although there was a blockade of the Maori navy in the Seto Inland Sea, Tao Qingxian could not return. It is also because Ouchi Yoshicho wants to take the opportunity to get rid of his puppet status, relying on the help of his brother Otomo Yoshijin, he has been hindering Tao Qingxian's return from the direction of Kyushu, which makes Tao Qingxian even more disheartened with the Ouchi family.

During the chat, I saw a small surname hurrying from the bridge, kneeling down on one knee and saying: "Report to the lord, the envoy of the Ming court, Lord Zheng, send Lord Shen and Lord Hu to visit." ”

"What? An emissary of the Ming Court? Hurry up and go to Liuliguang Temple. After saying that, he confessed to Hosokawa Senimaru and left in a hurry.

"Humph! It's so rude. Mochizuki Xue on the side pouted angrily and said.

"Haha, it's okay, he'll ask for us." Hosokawa said disapprerovingly.

Because in recent years, the Ming court was furious because of the repeated violations of the Ming coast. Yang Bo, the secretary of the Ministry of War, sent an envoy Zheng Shungong to the Japanese king (shogun), ordering him to control the Japanese people and release the captured subjects of the Ming court.

Zheng Shungong recruited Shen Menggang, Hu Funing, etc., and made an alliance with blood, Yu Jia

In May of the 34th year of Jing (1555), he departed from Guangdong and traveled north through the waters off the Diaoyu Islands and along the waters off the Ryukyus coast. I was going to go straight to Kyoto, Japan, but I was hit by a storm, and finally drifted to Kyushu, Japan in July of that year. Subsequently, Zheng Shungong got in touch with the Daimyo Otomo Yoshizhen of Bungo, and in order to get a glimpse of the exploration trade, Otomo Yoshizhen sent an envoy to apologize for his crimes, saying that "before and after the invasion, all the maritime profiteers lured the islands to destroy the people, and Yoshizhen did not know." And returned the plundered population, and the monk Qing Zhi accompanied Shen Menggang and Hu Funing to Yamaguchi City. Let his younger brother also return the plundered population, and then go to Beijing to send a message to the shogun, asking him to control the people and capture the bandits.

"How can this be true? How unreasonable! Lord Yagatata, why do you say that the Ming Court does not agree with the position of the head of my family? Don't agree to renew your contract with me? "Yoshicho Ouchi, who returned to Fengxiangdai, poured bitter water straight at Hosokawa Senimaru.

It turned out that the envoy thought that he was the adopted son of Yoshitaka Ouchi, the younger brother of Yoshijin Otomo, and had no blood relationship with Yoshitaka Ouchi at all, thinking that he was a usurper. This is the conflict of ideas between the Chinese people who pay attention to blood relationship and the Japanese people who pay attention to family names.

Looking at Yoshicho Ouchi, who looked incomprehensible, Hosokawa decided to give him some eye drops: "Lord Zuojing, do you know that the Ming Court pays attention to the innocence of blood, not the inheritance of family names. ”

"But the inheritance of the family name is the most important thing, and now because of this bloodline, the Ming envoy is ready to play the Ming Court and break off relations with my Ouchi family, how is this good? Without the exploration trade, what does the family rely on to compete for hegemony? ”

[Still thinking about an unrealistic battle for hegemony?] He really deserves to be a traitor who has lost his country, and he can't recognize the situation in front of him. Hosokawa Senomaru decided to induce him: "Sakyo-sama, do you know who is the envoy who told you about your background?" ”

"Huh? Life? It's a well-known thing. Ouchi Yoshicho didn't react at all.

[Stupid!] Hosokawa Smart Pill scolded secretly and said, "Lord Zuojing received the Ming envoy, it is impossible to expose his family background, right?" When intermediating with the Ming envoy, the people of the Ouchi family will not talk about the life experience of Sakyo in detail, right? ”

"Huh? At the time of reception, it was naturally in the name of the head of the Ouchi family.,The family's external affairs have never been mentioned.,Yagatata-sama, don't go around the bush.,What do you want to say.。 "Yoshicho Ouchi didn't understand Hosokawa Senmaru's allusion at all.

"Hey, where did the envoy come from?"

"Brother Toyogo, I'm there."

"If Lord Repair and the envoy talk about your life experience, does it happen to match the envoy's attitude towards you?"

"Huh? Ah! Brother is really, why did he say it so carelessly? He didn't expect that Ming Court would pay attention to blood. What can be done now? Yama Yakata, please give me an idea. ”

[Accidentally?] Didn't expect that? I don't even believe it if I die! He Otomo Yoshizhen has been peeking at the trade for a long time, and he is so scheming that he deserves to be the name of the one who once dominated Kyushu. However, since your two families can return the plundered people of the Ming Dynasty, it means that you have secretly participated in the plundering of the Ming Dynasty. In that case, you don't want to get the prospect trade! I'll put an end to the wokos! ]