"You...... Nothing happened, right? After the initial stunned I made sure he wasn't joking, but then another concern arose, and I turned my head to look closely into his eyes in the dim light.

Niwa Nagahide's loyalty to the Oda family is unquestionable, and even if someone tells me that his loyalty is more than the sum of all the people of the Oda family combined, I will not hesitate to agree! But because of this, I would never have imagined that he would leave it alone, and that it would be in such an eventful time.

"Alas~! I'm also weak......" He let go of his grip on my hand and let go of it a little, and let out a long sigh. "The lord left behind the huge family business of the Oda family in his ancestors, and I have the heart to maintain it, but it is difficult to resist the covetousness of people with ulterior motives. In order to support the Oda family at such a time, it takes a strong hand and a wise mind, but I don't have either......"

"Your Royal Highness Niwa, you can't say that, only you can support the overall situation of the Oda family right now!" I feel a little uncomfortable to see him like this, but I can only give him some comfort, and I will never accept this position. "You are in the Oda family, and you need to give you some face in every way. I'm different, no matter what I do, it's going to be a pretext for others to criticize. At present, the Oda family is still the number one force in the world, and as long as we don't have internal disputes, everyone is helpless against the Oda family. So now only you can stabilize the Oda family and continue to walk! ”

"But now I really feel powerless, what the Oda family needs is a strong ......" He still didn't want to give up his efforts, as if this was the last thing he could do for the Oda family.

"Neither Yuchai nor Shibata will agree, and the Oda relatives will have other thoughts!" I shook my head, resolute and helpless. "I know a lot of people are worried, worried that I'm too powerful. Yes, this is true, and it has threatened the interests of some people, making them feel insecure. However, please understand that if each of them has a sense of security, my security will be gone, so even if I give in, I will not give up too much. Therefore, after the meeting, I will shrink the main force back to Shikoku, and the men and horses left in will only be enough to ensure the safety of Izumi, Tamba, and other places. Maybe it's best for my force to stay in Shikoku, both to reassure those people and to keep them from fighting unscrupulously! ”

"Who are you...... It's too much to cherish your wings! Niwa Nagahidematsu reached out and patted me on the shoulder, sighing with emotion. Fame is sometimes really misleading, like an invisible rope that binds people's hands and feet. If you can stay in, Hashiba and Shibata won't be so good! ”

"Instead of worrying about these trivial matters, you might as well think carefully about the fundamentals, time is running out!" I saw that he was still immersed in unrealistic fantasies, so I couldn't help but remind him.

"Fundamentally? What at all! At first glance he didn't understand.

"Who should be appointed as the heir of the lord, even if you can't decide, you should have an attitude, right?" I kept my tone as slow as I could, and I said it lightly.

"As long as the main ministers are stabilized, the ancient system of etiquette ...... law" Niwa Nagahide, who was originally full of confidence, suddenly couldn't speak, opened his mouth and couldn't make a sound anymore.

"It's a seemingly simple question, but it's not simple, especially at a time like this!" I didn't deliberately stare at him, but I looked deeply worried. “…… If the faithful young master is still here, then there is nothing to say, but in the current situation, it seems that it makes sense to stand up to anyone and not to set up. I believe that there are people behind these major succession candidates, and those supporters probably have their own agendas. While it should be possible to force a resolution, it will not be long before a counterflag is raised in the name of those who are defeated. Therefore, this matter must be carefully and prudently planned, otherwise it will simply be prepared for war! ”

"Alas......" Niwa Nagahide stood there for a while, and finally left without a word. In the night, his figure gradually faded, looking so lonely and bleak.

"Ahhh......h His sympathies and perceptions of the situation at hand are genuine, so real that they do not need to be proven.

The era of the Oda family has passed, and no matter how much you pull it, it won't help, and even if I don't reach out to get it, others won't be polite at all. If I really give up like that, then this force of mine will quickly dissipate after my death, and those former competitors who climb up will not be able to have compassion.

"Huh?" My eyelids jumped twice as I walked through the door, and my hand holding the door frame didn't push any further. "Stand down! I'm going to be alone for a while! I stood there and said.

"Yes!" Sakurai Sakichi agreed, and respectfully handed over the lantern.

"I don't need lights!" I waved my hand and walked into the room, then sat down in the middle. "Why are you back?" When the door closed, I asked a man in white in front of me.

"Lord Takenaka expects that the lord will make a big move in the near future, so he urgently ordered the general to be recalled from Kyushu. It took a lot of effort for Kato-sama to send the minister in! The man in white bowed and returned.

"The situation has changed in the past few days, and communication is inconvenient, and Chongzhi may have misunderstood what I meant!" I remembered that the letter to Hanbei Takenaka in recent days was too simplistic, which led him to make some preparations according to his guess. But that's nothing, it doesn't affect the big picture. “…… How are things going in Kyushu, have you achieved your goals? I asked after a sigh of relief.

"All the arrangements have been made, just wait for the lord to shine in Kyushu!" Although he didn't understand how I could think of such a remote thing at this time, he replied simply and clearly.

"That's good!" I nodded, thinking that I should take some proactive steps, and said, "The Oda family's aftermath meeting will be held in Cheongju, so the scale will definitely expand a lot." You can rush over now and make some preparations in advance among the middle and lower forces! ”

"Wechen obeys!" Although the man in white immediately agreed, he was not without worries in his heart. His style of acting has always been steady, so he hesitated for a moment and asked: "There are many goals in the urgency of time, and Weichen is really not sure that he will achieve too good results." I don't know if the lord can give Weichen some ......"

"You don't have to worry about this!" I shook my head, and there was some amusement in my heart, even the half-guards of Takenaka misunderstood, let alone him. "Although I was the one who made this meeting happen, I had no intention of achieving a decisive political advantage at the conference. The main purpose of this meeting was to maintain a balance in the leadership of the Oda family, and it was a dynamic balance. Be sure to emphasize 'dynamic', you know? I gestured with my hands in front of me.

"Dynamic? …… Dynamic...... Got it! He muttered twice before answering. I couldn't make out his face, but his voice grew clearer.

"Shibata and Hashiba will definitely try their best to absorb the supreme power, and they must not be allowed to succeed in this!" My voice suddenly became stern, and there was no room for ambiguity on this issue. On the battlefield, you can make a temporary retreat, but you must never leave victory in the hands of the other side. "I've already told Duan Zang that he'll have people spread rumors about Shibata and Hashiba's ambitions, and that he can use this wind to move around Oda and make them doubt what they say. However, your identity is different, you can't be too public, you can control this scale yourself! ”

"Please rest assured that this lord will act indirectly, and no one will think of the lord!" This is not the first time that the man in white has done this kind of thing, and he has an invisible "ruler" in his hand.

"To what extent has the 'Stone Refining Project' been carried out?" I asked suddenly.

"This thing...... It's still going slowly! "Hearing me mention this question, the man in white seems a little cramped." Because there is no trace of what is to be done, it is impossible to take those drastic actions. After that, the incident in Kyushu happened again, so ......"

"Hurry up!" I don't blame him, absolute safety is a requirement made by myself. But I used to be a little relaxed, but things have touched me a lot lately. "Have you heard about the Lord's suffering?" I asked, calming down.

"I've already seen the relevant materials at Kato-sama!" In the darkness he was nodding.

"Who could have imagined that a person who had already pinched the world in the palm of his hand would die so easily!" In the darkness I seemed to see the two falcon-like eyes again, but in fact they were closed forever. "I should be the only one who can accomplish great things behind my lord, but I don't want to die like that at the last moment." Compared with other plans, the goal of 'refining stones' is much less, but it is more elaborate, and there is no room for the slightest mistake. I don't want it to be launched, but I have to see it as a means to save my life, and then I will allocate you another 200,000, and it must be perfectly deployed! ”

"The lord has worked hard and the ministers already know it well, please rest assured!" The man in white knelt down again and bowed.

"Nothing else, things in Cheongju shouldn't be too difficult!" I still have to implement a strategy of taoguang and obscurity, so like a game of Go, I have taken the initiative in this area.

"My lord! As far as the minister knows, Shibata and his gang are already preparing to strongly push His Royal Highness Shintaka to succeed to the throne! "He suddenly mentioned it to me explicitly." …… If they are allowed to succeed, it will cause great distress to the lord. I don't know......" he didn't say the following.

I was silent for about three minutes, then spread my hands out and stretched straight forward. "Do you see those two hands?" I asked, waving.

"Yes!" He nodded inexplicably.

"I will not 'personally stain' the blood of the Oda family, never!" My throat was a little dry, but my tone was unmistakable.

"Got it!" After a while, the man in white replied.