"Kyoto is Kyoto after all, and it was restored so quickly!" Walking through the bustling streets of Kyoto, I felt a little joy and a little pride in my heart.

Hideyoshi Hashiba's drama on the political stage is over, and there won't be many people left on the stage of life, but many people, including himself, don't seem to know this, so there are not a few people who go with him to the penal colony of Oki Island.

The only remaining Fukushima Masanori, Kato Kiyomasa and Takenori Ya of the Seven Tigers went with him, which made me feel a little regretful, originally I was quite appreciative of Kato Kiyomasa, but after all, this is not convincing. There is also Asano Nagamasa's son Yukinaga, who also wants to retain the status of this branch of the family, but he became a monk with a very resolute attitude, and it seems that his father's death touched him a lot.

The only thing that made me a little uneasy was the Kuroda Kanbei, who suddenly disappeared without a trace as if he had evaporated from the world. Not to mention that I also sent someone to monitor him, even if I wanted to escape from the siege of 100,000 troops silently, it was also incredible.

According to the person I was lurking inside Yushiba and was in charge of monitoring Kuroda, he had been doing his best to arrange the defense and breakthrough of the castle in the last few days, and he didn't see anything unusual in the slightest, except that the lights in his house were on late that night, and it seemed that he had been making some kind of plan. But the next morning, Kuroda was gone, and all the items in the room were in their original places, and if there was something missing, it was probably the clothes he was wearing.

At first, the "monkey" thought that he had gone to inspect the city defenses again, and sent people to look around, until the whole day had passed, and there was no trace of him, and it was determined that this clever "mouse" had escaped from the shipwreck.

Actually, not only me, but many people have had a gloomy, chilling feeling about Kuroda Kanwei. This person is by no means simple, and it will be a scourge to stay sooner or later, and I asked Kato Duan to issue a "lore order" that will never be revoked in the dark world!

The backbone who is loyal to Hashiba Hideyoshi can give up his family and business for him regardless of life and death, but for ordinary people, life has to go on, and a large number of ashigaru returned to his hometown after receiving a sum of money, and there are also many lower-level samurai who are not so determined to become "unemployed" wild samurai and re-embark on the long road of seeking employment. This is not a shameful thing in the troubled times of the Warring States, but as the world gradually settles down, the positions under the various daimyo are getting fewer and fewer, and I wish them all good luck!

There were also some people who wanted to join me, but most of the time I just let my retainers decide what they wanted, but there were two cases that I paid a little attention to, and that was Hidehisa Senshi and Mitsunari Ishida. I can't really say what is going on with them for a while, but I am really short of internal affairs talents right now. Under my personal "care", they each arranged a position in my office in Sakai Town, under the leadership of Murai Sadakatsu, and each of them was paid 150 koku. They actually accepted such a position, and it seems that they really have other "ideas".

These are small things, at least for now! Now the area west of the central part of Hokuriku, Higashiyama, and Tokai has fallen into my hands, but it will take some time to completely stabilize, but I don't want to slow down the pace of eastward expansion, so there are still too many important things for me to care about at this stage.

The gathering of 100,000 troops in Harima inevitably aroused the vigilance of Tokugawa, Uesugi and others, and it seemed that my eastward march would be a smooth sail, but in fact I knew that the forces mobilized by the various families at this time were seriously ill-prepared for the eastward advance. For this reason, after the official decree of the imperial court, I dispersed the soldiers and horses on the spot, and because it was already the beginning of January of the tenth year of Tianzheng (1582), I also avoided the rush of them to Beijing in the first month of the first month. It's too tight to rush back and forth, and the indispensable routine has been changed to March, but even if it's like this, I'm afraid that I've just returned to the territory, and I'll have to rush to Kyoto again!

While the Imperial Court and the Daimyo praised my virtues, the Tokugawa, Hojo, and Uesugi clans were relieved at the same time, and the Hojo family, in particular, gradually disbanded the 40,000 troops gathered from the vast lands of the Eight Kingdoms of the Kanto region. Seeing that spring ploughing is imminent, they have to do the same.

I snickered when I heard this, and I wanted this to be the result. I don't want to think about how I am a person from the Oda system after all, how can this "hooligan tactic" of using spring ploughing and autumn to send and send troops also be a tradition! This time, I wanted to take advantage of the lack of reserves in the east and take advantage of the huge economic advantage to defeat them in one fell swoop, so it is essential to relax their spirit first. In addition to being extremely shrewd and guessing by myself, I only told the three people of Takenaka Hanbei, Gamo Clan, and Ikeda Tsuneko privately about the strategy this time.

I returned to Kyoto seemingly contented, concentrating on the minister's affairs, and who could think of anything else if anyone thought I was a happy rich man? Besides, there have been rumors about my greed for money, and now it has strengthened people's suspicions, and I will not refuse the gifts I have received during this time, and people are happy to give them.

There were so many people who gave me gifts, and some of the daimyo didn't have time to return to their territories, so they handed over their troops to others on the way and came to Kyoto themselves. In fact, it is not unreasonable for them to have this thought, except for the gross profit compressed to Nagato and Ikeda's entry into the Sanyang 600,000 stone, the others have not been explicitly released, and if they are not active, they will suffer a big loss.

I looked at these but I was not in a hurry, and I did my own thing steadfastly, as if I was still weighing the pros and cons repeatedly. Those who had come to Kyoto early were anxious but could not do anything, and those who were watching carefully from a distance were more convinced that I was busy digesting what I had eaten.

As we dragged on in a hurry, we received a secret letter from Ikeda that I had stabilized the western kingdom, and at the same time received an edict from the imperial court officially appointing me as the second great minister.

I walked slowly along the cobblestone road in casual clothes, watching the street scene with my eyes attentively, and although it was still a little cold on a sunny day in March, the shops and pedestrians on both sides could not stop their enthusiasm. This caused a lot of trouble for the guards, both overt and covert, and kept their nerves tense at all times.

Just a few short months ago, Kyoto seemed to be on the verge of destruction, with daily news of riots and murders. "Is another round of scuffle about to begin?" Almost everyone thought so at the time.

But just when most people were planning to escape, a "savior" came! The rioters who had run amok through Kyoto disappeared, and the streets reappeared with troops to keep the court and the people safe. "Your Highness Zhuxing is truly the guardian of the peace of the world!" Many said this with tears in their eyes.

Since Kyoto is guarded by such a powerful and compassionate daimyo, it is natural that there will be no problem with peace in the future. Because of this belief, Kyoto quickly regained its prosperity.

In this way, Kyoto and the world were settled, and after burying dozens of ministers, everyone continued to live their lives, and even a figure like Oda Nobunaga, who was able to swallow heaven and earth, died for just over a year, and there was no need to talk about the others.

I continued on my way through Shijo Kawamachi to the Gion area. It's still early in the morning, and it's not the time for a serious master, but it's a different scene than the commercial district.

"Long letter!" I suddenly stopped and changed gently.

"Yes!" Suddenly a small figure appeared beside me, a samurai dressed in ordinary clothes.

"Do you think there's anything different here than usual?" In order not to disturb others, I took a few more steps forward and came under the railing of a small bridge.

"Most of the people who usually linger in this kind of place are big businessmen or the children of ministers with better circumstances. Now......" His lowered eyelids twitched rapidly, not so much to look at his surroundings as to observe my expression. "Most of the people here now are samurai, both low-level and high-level, and there are even a few daimyo who are not so exquisite!"

"What does that mean?" I asked, looking at the fireworks on the other side of the bridge. It seems that even today he has not been able to let go of his front-line work, and I am very satisfied with that.

"This shows that the lord's noble body is not suitable for staying in such a place for a long time!" The companion Changxin seemed nervous, and his professional instincts kept him on his toes. "Nowadays, most of the people who come and go here are samurai from all walks of life, and it cannot be ruled out that there are people with bad intentions hidden in them. Once the identity of the lord is recognized, won't it ......"

"It's almost time, let's go!" I interrupted him and crossed the bridge to continue walking.

I'm not a bold person, but I don't have to be so careful about everything, or I won't do anything. Now, although Kanamori is nominally serving as the guardian of Kyoto, it is only to maintain law and order. Every important or suspicious person who enters Kyoto will be noticed by Kato Danzo's men, and even if one or two are missed, it will not be able to make too many waves. It's a joke to want to break through my "protective circle" without thorough intelligence and preparation!

As I walked along, I passed through the most popular "flower town" in Japan, and although there were many janitors and women wearing heavy makeup, no one came to pull me in. "Maybe this is the subtle momentum of being a superior!" Looking at the high-end but not flashy samurai uniform on my body, and the badge on it, I thought with some complacency.

Came to the three-storey building of "Juyun Pavilion" again, after more than ten years, it is still prosperous here, and it seems that those big businessmen in Kakukura have "taken care" of this place. I only remember this place in Gion, so I subconsciously said it when asked.

"Welcome to the shop, I don't know what you say!" A doorman walked up quickly.

"Oh......" I snorted softly, and since I was here, I had to go in. Is there a quieter place? ”

"Yes! Please ......"

"You have to see the hall!" I added.