In the ninth year of Tensho (1581), August began, and a steady autumn rain fell on the land of Shikoku. The cold north wind and the warm south wind meet in the Seto Inland Sea, the former resolute and the latter unwilling to give up the advantage they have held for months.

My fleet departed from Funai at the end of last month, and in order to avoid the backflow of the northern currents, I did not take the shipping route between Sanyo and Shikoku, and the sea route on the outer side of Shikoku was much smoother than on the other side, although it was said to be farther. I've been here many times before, so naturally there won't be any problems.

When the fleet passed through Awa, it stopped for a short time in the city of raising, in fact, the main thing was that the soldiers and horses had to be diverted. Naturally, the soldiers and horses of the four countries will return to their territories, and the fleet of the Nine Demons will also go east from here, and the broker Yi will return to Shima. Since it's a stopper, I'll ask him to bring back Kii's Hao clan's soldiers and horses.

After a few days of commotion, everyone left contentedly with the spoils and rewards, and less than 20,000 men remained with me, and in an instant they became much clearer. There is no special reason why I should go to Izumi again. But at this time, I was very "accidentally" contracted a cold, and decided to recuperate in Awa for a few days for health reasons.

After another three days, my health was still not improving, and I discussed with Takenaka Hanbei and others that it would not be possible to delay the official business, so he returned to Izumi with a few thousand people. Both the armor and Cossack light horsemen remained in Shikoku, which had better pastures than in. The main ones who went back were the iron artillery reserves and the star ships, which were in urgent need of maintenance after several months of campaigning.

The remaining troops were scattered in several cities in Awa to recuperate, and I came to Katsurui City for the purpose of recuperation. It's not that I'm squeamish, it's that the conditions in which I raise the city are really bad.

"This castle is not bad, isn't it?" After some careful consideration, I picked up a white piece and gently pressed it on the chessboard, looking left and right and still satisfied.

"Very good!" Coral glanced at the chess game very casually, and without thinking too much, he directly knocked the sunspot in his hand on it, and then shook his head and looked around.

"This ......," I frowned, clasped my hands together, and began to take the long test again in earnest.

As I said before, my chess skills are really miserable, and it is not easy to find one who can play chess worse than me. Originally, through my observation for a few days, the girl Coral also inherited the fierce temper of the Shimazu family, and it should not be good at delicate work like playing chess! But I didn't expect that after a few rounds, I still fell into trouble.

"The landscape here is quite good, so it can be seen that the person who designed this city had some knowledge!" Because the chess game really doesn't involve much energy, she observes the surroundings very carefully, and consciously or unconsciously uses the tone of the hostess. "It's better than the inner city, at least it's basically the whole of Shikoku. Unlike our inner city, when the Shimazu family was built, it was still a medium-sized wealthy family that was attacked from all sides, so it was inevitable that it would be a little smaller, not a pattern of hegemony! ”

"After all, I haven't seen it once, and I really want to go there once when I have the chance!" I carefully placed a white piece on the chessboard again, and this time it was a steady "growth". "Although this castle has a lot of history, it was after Miyoshi Nagakei took power that really made it develop rapidly, although this man had all kinds of mistakes in his later years, but it is undeniable that he was indeed a man worthy of being called a hero. Thinking back then, when he thundered out of the four countries, he swept through with the momentum of ten thousand jun, and his subordinates were full of wisdom, bravery, and sages, and he was proud of the crowd, what a majesty it was. It should be said that the failure of the last three good families is quite large due to the will of heaven, and when it comes to the personal merits of the three good Changqing, it should be said that it is three seven open! ”

"Smack!" On the edge of my "long" position, she "bumped" the black piece very hard, which was literally bullying. "Three-seven open? This is a very new idea! By the way, I think this castle tower is still very new, and it obviously doesn't fit in with the other buildings around it, what the hell is going on? ”

"You've been looking closely, this castle tower was built a few years ago!" A few white pieces collided with each other in my hands, and I searched left and right on the chessboard, but there seemed to be no hope. "When the Miyoshi family collapsed, one of Miyoshi Yoshitsugu's favorite concubines set fire to the original castle tower. There are also all the direct blood relatives of Miyoshi Yoshitsugu who were burned, and this one is completely annihilated, and it also marks the end of the Miyoshi family as a powerful daimyo! ”

"I've heard about this too......" Shimazu Coral nodded thoughtfully, and said very regretfully, "If I'm not mistaken, that favorite concubine of Miyoshi Yoshitsugu should be called Kagamihime." Although I mostly disagree with what she did, I have to admit that she is really an amazing woman! Although it seems that the troubled times are full of all kinds of opportunities, for women, there is not much essential difference from hundreds or even thousands of years ago! ”

"Since Pangu opened the world, the three emperors and five emperors to the present, men and women have never been the same, what is there to complain about!" Although I knew I couldn't do it, I still tried hard to find the "robbery" on the chessboard, and even if I lost, it shouldn't be so undignified. "Men manage the world, and some women can manage men, although there are also female emperors like Wu Zetian, but that's just a temporary reversal. If you want to truly achieve the same level between men and women, it is unless you wait until the day when there is no difference between men and women! ”

"Then you can talk about the gap between men and women, what must be what men can do and women can't?" My words seemed to irritate her severely, and she suddenly turned her head to stare at me.

I glanced at her, a playful smile on my lips. "I remember that you seem to be 18 years old this year, and you have been married for so many days, why do you still ask such a childish question?" After that, I went to watch chess again.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" She blushed and turned her head to look out the window again.

I peeked at her silhouette again, and I couldn't help but feel a little strange in my heart. It stands to reason that she should be a strong woman, I don't know why she has become so childlike now, and she herself has been thinking about each other with her brothers for a long time, why is she so careful when she comes to me?

"Hey! I said...... "I still want to ask her." "What you just meant was that the location and layout of the inner city is not good, so what place do you say is the key to controlling the overall situation?"

"Naturally, it's in Kyoto, so you need to ask?" Shimazu Coral rolled his eyes with a slanted face, and "retaliated" against me a little.

"I'm naturally talking about the situation in Kyushu, and it's a little difficult to ask you Shimazu people to think about the problems of the world!" I laughed and spilled the chess pieces in my hand on the table, and I didn't bother with that anymore. I don't know why, but I like the feeling of fighting with her, as if it suddenly fills me with childlike innocence. Of course, I also love her youthful and energetic body.

"Humph!" She protested softly with her nose, but after a pause, she said, "In a hundred years, the center of Kyushu must be the Bungo Prefecture. But if it's a hundred years from now, I think it's probably Hizen Hirado! ”

"Why?" I'm really a little surprised, this woman really surprises me a little from time to time.

"There is no need for me to talk too much in the house, as you can see from what you have done, you know very well how important it is. As for Hirado...... "She hesitated a little and put the pieces back in the box. "Although I often go to Hirado, I can't say why, but I feel that the world is changing faster and faster over the years, and this is more or less related to the business of the Nanban. In Kyushu, our Shimazu family was the first to come into contact with the Nanbans, which also enabled my father to quickly and powerfully unify the two countries of Satsuma and Osumi. But it was the Otomo family that had risen the most in the past thirty years, and the threat to our Shimazu family was almost deadly. Sometimes I wonder if it's because they have converted to a foreign religion, is that Western god really that powerful? Also, I heard that after Oda Ukin entered Kyoto, he also converted to Western religion, and he actually caused Shingenko to suddenly die and defeated the Takeda family in Nagashino! Every time I go to Hirado, I feel that the importance of it is rising, but I can't figure out why! ”

"Have you converted to a foreign religion?" I asked.

She shook her head and said, "I thought so too, but I felt a little scared!" ”

I let out a long breath and felt a little amused in myself. Although Shimazu Coral is smart, it is impossible to look beyond the limits of historical understanding, which also makes me more confident in governing the world. "Don't worry! There are only a limit to what the gods of the foreign religion can decide, otherwise everything would be easier! I said half-jokingly.

"Did you get the hang of it? Listen to it! Her spirits were lifted, but then she said with some disapproval: "Although I don't know your arrangement yet, I feel that it seems that it is not so difficult to enter Beijing to seize the world. You're really a bit unruly, and it makes people anxious when they look at it! ”

"This is indeed the difference between me and ordinary people, and it is also the difference between Han Gaozu and Chu Overlord!" I was happy for a moment and became interested in being a teacher. "The overlord is a representative of quick success, even if he won the world back then, it is impossible to establish a long-term regime......

I gushed on and on, and although Shimazu Coral seemed dismissive, he actually listened very carefully.

"My lord!" Sakurai Sakichi quietly walked in, and waited for my words to come to an end before saying, "Saji and Kuro, the envoys of His Royal Highness Oda Right General (Nobuo), have come to meet you secretly!" ”

"Let him in!" I wasn't surprised in the slightest.

"Can I learn your theory on the spot?" After Sakurai Sakichi went out, Shimazu Coral said with a somewhat provocative look.

"Whatever you want!" I pointed to the small door in the middle.