I was stunned for a moment, I didn't expect the contradiction to have intensified to this extent. He put things on the bright side with a single sentence, could it be that a scuffle began like this?

"If you borrow soldiers, you can only say how much you need, not how much I can lend you!" I said with confidence that I couldn't persuade him directly at this time. Right now, he is on the tip of the bull's horns, and the more he is persuaded, the easier it is to think narrowly, and the only way to distract him is to distract him first, and then find a way to resolve it.

"Or are you a real brother, finally I haven't read it wrong!" Ikeda's excitement suddenly increased, and he waved his fist at me excitedly.

"But I'll still say a few words to you, this thing is too frivolous!" I frowned, clasped my hands to my chest, and looked at him with a reproachful look on my face. "Fighting a war is not such an easy thing, and you have to be especially careful when dealing with the cunning guy 'Monkey'. Why didn't you send me a letter before, or send someone to deliver a message. Now that my main force has returned to Shikoku, it will not be an overnight matter to mobilize again, and even if we start immediately, it is impossible for such a large-scale move to go unnoticed by him, and it will be difficult to win again. And now that the Cheongju Conference is about to be held, aren't we doing this to slap His Highness Niwa in the face? You're really ignorant, and if you catch up with me in such a hurry, I won't be able to conjure up troops for you......"

I know that what he just said was just a moment of excitement, and in fact, he didn't really make up his mind to start a war with the "monkey". I'm just saying this now to see his true intentions, after all, he's not a fool, as long as he calms down, he can still listen to the reason.

"Please, where am I so unbearable as you say!" Ikeda rolled his eyes at me unconvinced, but his tone had slackened significantly. "Fighting a war requires hundreds of deaths, and I naturally won't be so unmeasured. I just want to know your attitude in this matter, so that I will have the bottom of my heart! ”

"Then why are you in such a hurry, even if I arrive in Cheongju, there will be a meeting for a day or two!" I looked relaxed at this point, and if he could think like that, things wouldn't get bad.

"It turns out that because of the tense situation in the Stone Mountain Imperial Castle, I really didn't plan to come!" Probably just to accentuate his tone, he picked up an empty cup on the table that was nothing, and slammed it on the table. "It wasn't until I later found out that 'Monkey' and his dog-headed military advisor Kuroda had already left Settsu, and I realized that something might be going bad. Although the Cheongju meeting was a huge statement, in fact, the basic content had already been decided before it was convened, and as long as the five or six people led by it reached an agreement, it would be useless for the others to say anything. Those minions who are shouting and drinking are just making a strong stand for their respective masters! The 'monkey' guy wants to create a fait accompli at the meeting, so I can only accept it anyway, otherwise I will be the enemy of the entire Oda family. Thinking of this kid's viciousness, I was in a cold sweat, so I rushed to discuss it with you first! ”

"Your guess is correct, the 'monkey' will do it!" I nodded heavily, making a rattle as I pinched my knuckles. "At the moment, the situation of the Oda family is already stormy, and the 'monkey' is afraid that he wants to ......"

"At the moment, where can the Oda family talk about the 'situation', even if the 'monkey' doesn't think so, others will think so!" He interjected contemptuously, rather dismissive of the question.

"Oh!" I looked at Ikeda with some surprise, and he, a member of the Oda family, actually had this idea. But now people who are sober-minded should also see that the weak heir, the huge inheritance, and the covetousness of powerful people inside and outside the country can only be a matter of one day sooner or later. Now that he has expressed this meaning directly, I will be able to say the following things.

"I just don't get it!" He suddenly said: "Not to mention what will happen to the Oda family in the future, but in the future, the Oda family will be in the hands of a foreign minister." Don't tell me those vain words, that's an insult to my wisdom! "He saw that I was going to open my mouth, and hurriedly stopped it first." …… Although the Oda family also has several adult close members, they generally have no ability and no strength, so the support within the family may not be established at all! ”

"Then why can't it be a coalition of several people? Judging by the current situation, this is the most likely! I grinned at him, but anyone could see the helplessness in it. ...... 'Monkeys' occupy the western provinces, Shibata holds Hokuriku, Koshin is wise, I have maritime superiority in Shikoku, and and the East China Sea are in the hands of His Highnesses Niwa, Tokugawa, and Oda. Although this situation is chaotic, it seems that a full-scale war is not beneficial to anyone, otherwise everyone would not be able to sit together! ”

"It may be possible in a year or two, but it will not be realistic for a long time!" Ikeda Hengxing is no longer the immature young man he was back then, so he naturally has his own views on such a major matter. "Most of you actually don't like others, and it's a last resort to be able to cooperate temporarily. Once the conditions are ripe, they will definitely attack each other, and in the end, even if they don't end up together, the power can only be in the hands of one person! ”

"You can see that's good, it's really good!" I really compliment.

"That's, don't look at who I am?" His smugness flashed on his face, and he immediately said: "This is what I just said 'I don't understand', you would have had a chance!" Before, 'Monkey' and Shibata faced off in Kyoto, and they gave you time to take care of each other. After the return of the Takenaka Hanbei with the army, you actually have the strength to suppress both of them. Why didn't you just occupy Kyoto at that time and let go of such an opportunity, don't you think it's a pity? ”

"I can do that, but do you think it's good?" After talking for a long time, I felt that my mouth was a little dry, so I picked up the teapot on the table and shook it, and sure enough, there was still half of it inside. "Then the 'monkey' and Shibata may be able to bear with it, but they will definitely collude in secret. At the same time, because of the strong method I have adopted, there will be suspicions among Oda's former ministers, and even His Royal Highness Niwa may rise up against me......"

"So you're scared, and you just give up a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?" Ikeda's eyes widened, and he acted more anxious than himself. "What will happen to the Oda family in the future can only be left to fate, but after the death of the lord, it is impossible for others to tolerate you. If you don't go to power to fight for the most power, then you can only wait for death, are you willing to wait for this result? ”

"I'm naturally not afraid of them, but there will be others besides them!" I took the cup, poured a glass, and drank it. "At most, they will make a comeback, with 'Monkey' uniting Mori, Shibata uniting Tokugawa, and possibly Uesugi and Hojo. It is precisely because I am stronger than the combination of the two or even the three of them that I will definitely become the target of everyone! ”

Ikeda was silent for a moment, knowing that I was telling the truth. "Rare...... Can't you just strike first? It was a long time before he spoke.

"Of course you can, and you're going to win in the early stages!" I had finished my tea in my hand, and I hastily laid out the current situation with a few cups on the table. "But if they lose, they can retreat, but there is nothing I can do about it. Pursuing HashibaI was worried that Shibata would attack Kyoto, and to pursue Shibata, I had to consider Hashiba capturing Sakai Town. Even if I didn't care about it, Tokugawa would go to war before and after Echichi, and I guess I wouldn't have watched it when I hit Echichu Uesugi and Hojo. Therefore, I had to stay alone in Kyoto, and not only had to withdraw from Kyushu, but I also had to worry about Shikoku being attacked or rebelling. Do you know what the end result is? I asked him, but I didn't expect an answer.

I didn't get an answer, he just shook his head.

"The result is to die like Miyoshi Chokei, because the base is not in and he wants to occupy Kyoto!" I was a little depressed when I said this, and reached out and patted him on the shoulder.

"You're so unconfident?!" Ikeda's voice was low but agitated, and he was angry at my lack of confidence or to hide his own pessimism. "Sanhao Changqing can't suppress the four countries and hurriedly marches into the army, which is naturally an extremely stupid act, but you are in control of the entire territory of the four countries today; Miyoshi not only has to contend with the Rokkaku family, but also the Hosokawa clan's counterattack, but how can there be such an enemy in front of you today; At that time, the prestige of the general could still gather a group of people to restrain his behavior, but now it is ......"

"You forgot to talk about economic power, which is also incomparable to Miyoshi Changqing!" I calmed his excitement, but because of his performance, I felt more grounded. "Whether it's out of arrogance or not! I do feel that I am not as pessimistic as I just said, as long as things are treated with caution, there is a way. Although they will unite against me out of fear, they also have deep-seated contradictions among themselves, and they can also do everything to defeat each other! ”

"Then ......," Ikeda said, and a fire burned in his eyes.

"That's also very difficult, and all of this takes time to set up and schedule!" I subconsciously looked left and right, and there were only two of us in the room at this time. "I haven't said this to Takenaka clearly, so I might as well make a break with you today. I will not be at the mercy of those people, so I will have to eliminate them one by one in the future. But if I break openly with all of them now, it will take at least 10 years for me to take control of this part of the central part of Honshu, and another five years before I can suppress all the powerful forces in the country. In order to avoid this situation, I decided to make some compromises with them for the time being, and many of the interests of will be given up at this meeting! ”

"You've made so many concessions that you can shorten that time?" When he asked this, his expression was very mixed, with excitement, regret, guilt, and a lot of worry.

"In a year, at most two years, I'll be back in charge of Kyoto!" My cocked fingers kept shaking in front of his confused eyes, and my voice was full of temptation. “…… Now it's up to you to be in the same boat as me! ”