The smog that hung over the Fuji River finally lifted, along with the dark clouds that had hung over the minds of the daimyo of Katsuyama Castle for months. The depressed mood of the past few months has finally unfolded, and it is getting better and better.

August of the 10th year of Tensho (1582) was a very ordinary month, and there seemed to be nothing special compared to previous years, the wind was not particularly light, the rain was not particularly much, and the sun was even brighter than usual. But many people don't think so, Hojo Masa is one of them, he is now lifting his nose, and he feels that the air is filled with a faint fragrance of flowers.

"What stupid people!" Looking at the room full of excited or hesitant people, although the Hojo clan had a friendly smile on his face, he couldn't stop the feeling of disdain in his heart.

The descendants of the Hojo clan (although many people take this as a joke, but he himself is serious) descendants, the Taishou of Sekihashu, is sitting with these guys today, which is really a loss of identity. He really can't be interested in looking at these people sometimes, but he has to do so at such a critical moment.

"Have fun with you guys! For the sake of you who are about to send me to Kyoto to become the general of the Expedition, I will reward you with a share of glory and wealth! Thinking of this, the Hojo clan couldn't help but feel a little regretful, why did the "oracle" under the leadership of the early cloud only reach his father's generation?

According to Hojo Sakumo's own account, on the night of his visit to the Mishima Shrine as a young man, he had a strange dream: two huge cedar trees growing on a large plain, and suddenly a mouse came and frantically gnawed the roots of the trees. The rat grew bigger and bigger, and the cedar tree crumbled, and finally fell to the ground with two loud bangs, and just then a big tiger came......

Because of Hojo's early clouds, the Hojo family has seen this as an auspicious omen for the past generations to replace Ryokasugi (Yamauchi and Ogiya) and dominate the entire Kanto, and it was indeed fulfilled for various reasons. As for the big tiger, whether it is Takeda Shingen (said: Kai no Tiger) or Uesugi Kenshin (original name: Nagao Keitor) has not been decided, but anyway, these two people are now history, and everything is not important.

"Maybe it'...... Zaoyun Gong's blessings are not enough, and it is difficult to see the dignity of his extremely human minister! Hojo Clan Masaa suddenly thought of such a reason, and his heart was relieved.

At present, the daimyo of the Tohoku and Hokuriku have moved, and the good days of the Zhuxing Qing clan are not a few days away, although they ...... It may not be easy to control the whole world in a short period of time, but once you enter Kyoto, it will be considered an immortal achievement. That's right, it's like Ashikaga Takaji!

Thinking of this, the Hojo clan subconsciously looked at Tokugawa Ieyasu, this time the matter is thanks to him for such a reason, and in a series of strategies of combining vertical and balance, he has not lost his money and strength. Besides, this person is honest and honest and his own in-laws, and he also has dealings with various forces in the territory of the original Oda, and he can consider giving him a manager or something after he controls the world in the future.

"Now His Royal Highness Uesugi Keikatsu in Hokuriku is like a bamboo, and the Zhuxing Qing clan here is afraid that the successor is also weak!" At this moment, a voice interrupted the continuous reverie of the Hojo clan, a young man in his twenties. "Although the army of stars claims to be 100,000, the world is only afraid of a lack of succession. Now their ninjas are no longer coming out, and I'm afraid that they are thinking about how to escape back to Kyoto! ”

"Childish!" Although he didn't make a sound and was still smiling, in his heart, the Hojo clan scolded fiercely. The person who spoke was the new governor of the Ashina family, Ashina Shenglong, although this collaboration was the first time that the clan and this person met, but in his heart he gave him a guy who could only play some tricks and was ambitious and talented.

As the leader of the coalition, the Hojo clan did not bother to refute this nonsense, and it was not good to combat this fanaticism. He wants someone to come up with the right point of view first, and then he will guide him.

"What His Highness Ashina said is indeed right, now is a good time to attack with all his might!" Things did not develop according to Hojo Clan's expectations, and a younger and more radical person jumped out and said: "The news from Hokuriku the day before yesterday came to report: the Uesugi army has invaded the border of Vietnam, and Maeda Toshiya is simply powerless to parry!" If we continue to hesitate like this here, all the benefits will be taken by His Highness Uesugi! ”

"Idiot!" The good mood of the Hojo clan was being worn away little by little, and now he really wondered how it seemed that all the weak people in the world had gathered around him. He is a little more familiar with this person, it is the Utsunomiya family governor Utsunomiya Kunitsuna, who is just sixteen years old this year. If you want to describe Ashina Moritaka as having a bad brain, then this Utsunomiya Kunitsuna just doesn't have a brain at all.

"I think we should immediately send troops to attack the Star Alliance, and take them by surprise at once!" Now that there was a cheer, Ashina Moritaka was naturally more excited and played endlessly. "Although the Fujigawa Valley and Kambara-Castle have fallen into the hands of the allied stars, our army occupies the northern and eastern slopes of the mountains without losing the geographical advantage, and the narrow area is not conducive to the deployment of the army, and the retreat will cause confusion. As long as our army drives the Zhuxing Army out of the Far River and into the Three Rivers, Shimazu and Maori will have different ambitions! At that time......"

"The two highnesses said very well, and they are very reasonable!" The Hojo clan really couldn't listen to it anymore, so he had to stop it himself. "But if you listen to it partially, it will be dark, and if you listen to it at the same time, you will be clear, I would like to hear what other highnesses have to say!"

"If Your Highnesses don't dislike the old decay, then the old decay will say a few more words!" Rima Yoshiyori coughed twice, cleared his throat and said: "The Zhuxing Qing clan has been in charge of the southwest for many years, and also controls the sea trade with the Nanban, it is not realistic to drag him down with three or four months of war. Although His Highness Uesugi has achieved some victories in Hokuriku, reinforcements led by Nobukiyo, the eldest son of the Zhuxing Qing clan, have also arrived, and the outcome is still unknown. However, I also agree with what the two highnesses Ashina and Utsunomiya said just now, that is, the Zhuxing Qing clan is eager to end the war in this regard. There are only two ways to achieve this, one is to win a big victory, and the other is to negotiate peace. According to the shallow view below, that is, the Zhuxing Qing clan obviously wants the former, and the so-called stop harassment is also to lead our army to advance, at this juncture, our army should be held tightly, and wait for the North Continent to see the difference! ”

"Phew......" The chief of the Hojo clan sighed long, thinking that there were finally a few people who understood. By the way, he looked at Tokugawa Ieyasu, who had been sitting upright, and put Satoma Yoshiyori and him into a group that could discuss things.

But...... That doesn't seem like a bad thing! Suddenly, Hojo thought of another prospect, and one that was gratifying.

In the past two years, Koshin,, and Kyushu have been in constant war, but the Kanto and Tohoku regions have been relatively calm, and at most there are some regional territorial skirmishes. But this is not all alive, several old and mature guys have died, and a new batch of people have come up. However, this group of people is either inexperienced or simply too young, but it is convenient for the Hojo clan to rub and pinch the round.

"I agree with His Highness Satomi about it, and we should wait for His Highness Uesugi to make progress in Hokuriku!" After being given the eighth look by the Hojo clan, Tokugawa Ieyasu finally spoke. "At present, in terms of strength, the East China Sea led by the Zhuxing Qing clan is definitely in a strong position. I'm here today to say a very polite word, if it were to be fought on a plain like the eastern part of Suruga, we people would not have the strength to fight at all! ”

Tokugawa Ieyasu's words were a bit heavy, and for a while the room fell silent, and Utsunomiya Kunitsuna and Ashina Moritaka looked at each other. Hojo nodded with satisfaction and exchanged a few more glances with Tokugawa Ieyasu.

"But it's not terrible, the stars can't fight for long!" Tokugawa Ieyasu waited for a while, and then continued: "The reason why the daimyo of Kyushu, Nishikoku, and formed an army was not because they were so kind of to see the Shisei clan, but because they were afraid of their strength. Once the battle cannot be fought for a long time, and the news of the defeat of the Hokuriku comes, the army's morale will be chaotic. The foundation of the Zhuxing Kiyoshi clan in Kyoto is not stable now, and at that time, Mori, Shimazu and others will also have different hearts! ”

Hojo Iemasa's psychological state has finally returned to its peak, and what Tokugawa Ieyasu said was something they had communicated privately before. The Seishi clan was just a nouveau riche who started as a small businessman, so how could people like Mori, Shimazu, and Otomo be willing to be subservient to them? As long as the Hokuriku Stars Nobukiyo is defeated by the Uesugi army, then they will immediately take advantage of the chaos to fight for territory, and this situation will not depend on me to clean up in the end!

"But...... Is His Highness Uesugi certain in his ability to win? Sano Sotsuna looked at all the people in turn, and said a little timidly: "The Zhuxing Qing clan is known for its deceitful use of troops, and his son Shinqing must not be a good person, and this time the army has exceeded 50,000 with the original soldiers and horses of Hokuriku Maeda. Although the Uesugi army is known as the strongest army in the Hokuriku, there are only 20,000 men and horses after all, is there really a guarantee of victory with such a huge difference in strength? ”

"Your Highness Sano, you're really a little worried, aren't you?" Hojo Clan Masato finally couldn't help it, and two cold lights appeared in his gently squinted eyes. "Zhuxing Xinqing is no more than a yellow-mouthed child, how can he be able to fight against the strong army of Uesugi? Hmph, Oda Nobunaga and the Zhuxing Kiyoshi clan were defeated in front of the Uesugi army, not to mention the Zhuxing Shinkiyoshi who led the army for the first time? ”

"Yes, yes, yes, it's a gaffe!" Sano Sotsuna also immediately realized his recklessness, and a layer of sweat suddenly appeared on his head.

"The elites led by the Zhuxing Qing clan have been dragged here by us, and the so-called Northern Continent reinforcements are just a weak division that has been put together temporarily!" Seeing that the scene became a little stiff, Tokugawa Ieyasu came out of the round. "Now that the Maeda Toshiya has become a frightened bird, the stars are not enough to worry about although they are numerous. And according to the information we have repeatedly verified, this time Takenaka Shigeji stayed in Kyoto to supervise the country, what can only one star Shinkiyoshi do! ”

"Oh~!" The crowd let out a sigh of sudden realization.

"Actually, there is one more point, which I can tell you now!" The Hojo clan, who was in the main position, also showed an unfathomable and profound smile at this time.