"Thanks to His Royal Highness Yuzhou's timely arrival this time, otherwise we might have suffered a big loss at the hands of the traitor Araki Murashige! In public and private, please accept this cup from His Royal Highness the state! Niwa sat down heavily in front of me and respectfully raised his glass to the height of his eyebrows.

"I don't dare to do that!" Although it was inconvenient for me to help him across the table, I immediately turned around slightly and did not accept his salute. He's all my seniors, so even if it's a toast, it shouldn't be this way. "You worked hard in the most difficult time to block the crazy attack of the rebel Murashige Araki, and the overall situation was stabilized. Please think about it, if more than 10,000 people from Araki were released to the past and form a flank attack on His Royal Highness Yuchai, then the hard work of the lord for so many years and our efforts would have been all ruined! ”

"It's always ......," Niwa Nagashige still felt the need to complete this "respect".

"I don't think you should praise each other, sour or not!" Ikeda smiled there, his usual cynical demeanor. "Actually, don't look at the hot fight in Settsu these days, but Arakimura is only a supporting role from beginning to end. As soon as Matsunaga Xiu dies, what kind of drama can he have, but it's just a matter of one day earlier and one day later! ”

Although his words were a little less serious, they were all true, so they caused a low chorus of approval in the room.

The banquet was held on September 27, 1580, in Arioka Castle, Settsu, the former residence of Araki Murashige. Now its original owner's head had been lifted on a high pole outside the gates, and we, the intruders, feasted on the high hall.

As soon as the news of Matsunaga Shu's death came, Yoshikawa Motoharu immediately withdrew his troops, and the cadres who gathered under the banner of Arakimura Shigege to participate in the rebellion were also scattered. He fought two more battles, but the men and horses became less and less, and the two breakthroughs to the west into the west and the sea to the south were unsuccessful, and finally retreated to Arioka Castle under the siege of the main army of the various roads. In desperation, Araki committed suicide in the castle tower of Arioka Castle in the middle of the night on September 25.

"I'm also responsible for this matter, and I even once suspected you!" Niwa Nagahide drank the wine in the cup and sighed, and two tears slowly flowed from the corners of his eyes.

Hearing him say this, Niwa Changzhong shuddered slightly, pretending to have no intention of turning his head to look at him. The others stopped their glasses and looked at each other.

"Maybe I'm really old, and I'm actually confused to this point!" Niwa Nagahide wiped his tears and didn't see his son's eyes, but it is possible that he saw it and ignored it. "Hearing that you ignored the will of the imperial court and led troops into Beijing without authorization, I chuckled in my heart at the time, and I couldn't tell what it was like. I also hate Matsunaga Hide, but there is nothing to blame for this action. Now I understand that everything was planned by Matsuya Hisahide a long time ago, and if you hadn't killed this traitor immediately, maybe it would have really secured his position in Kyoto! ”

"His Royal Highness Niwa can't say that, the younger generation can't afford it!" I hurriedly persuaded Niwa Nagahide, and I was very touched and ashamed of his words. "It was really sudden, and I had no choice but to deal with it from the authorities. To be honest, I knew what was going on, but I didn't have the hard evidence in my hands. But for the sake of the entire Oda family, I'll take this risk! ”

"It's not just the great cause of the Oda family, but the lives and deaths of our people are all on this!" Ikeda said with a grin, but it always felt a bit pretentious to let others look at him. "Once Matsunaga Shu and Arakimura get their hands on it again, they will definitely put a crime on us people, and then collude with Mori, Uesugi and others to clean it up one by one. Although I didn't know what was going on at the time, I was absolutely convinced of one thing, and that was that my friendship with Tadabei for so many years was more reliable than that guy from Matsunaga Hide! So I don't want to think about the things I don't understand, and I just do my own thing and keep an eye on Araki Murashige. Tell me for yourself: If you had been flanked or opened the passage for the Maori army, what would it be like today? After saying that, he smiled smugly again.

His words were very timely, and some of the atmosphere was really lively again.

"Several highnesses are brave and loyal to serve the country wholeheartedly, and some small misunderstandings will not affect the overall situation!" Mamoru Ando also had a smiling face and mud.

"Although Matsunaga and Araki have been wiped out, the crisis of the Oda family cannot be said to be over!" Niwa Nagahide was not with everyone, and he still had a worried face. "The first monarch and the young lord have suffered successively, and the Oda family is currently facing a huge test, and Maori, Uesugi, and Hojo are all looking at each other, but I am afraid that this storm has only just begun. In this eventful season, we still can't relax in the slightest! ”

"This Niwa Highness just rest assured, at least Shikoku and I can be safe!" I immediately patted my chest and assured him. "Of course, the current expedition to Kyushu is no longer appropriate, but I still ordered Shigeji to leave enough troops behind in Bungo, and Kanosuke is also on guard in northern Kyushu. Such an arrangement can not only suppress the momentum of Shimadzu, but even the Mori family cannot be completely worry-free. However, you should not be worried, so I plan to return to Shikoku in the near future! ”

"Now that Oda's great calamity is within the walls, is it really so simple for you to return to Shikoku?" Ikeda's voice seemed to come out of his nose, and he asked with a hint of anger.

I didn't answer his somewhat provocative question, looking down at anyone staring at the glass in front of me.

"Nobutaka and Nobuo, the two highnesses, have made a lot of trouble in Kyoto, who doesn't know how!" Ikeda snorted angrily, and although I didn't answer, he was still impressed. “…… These two really gave Oda the face of the family, and now their 'fame' among the nations simply exceeds that of the lord in Japan. I don't want to say anything more, the most ridiculous thing is that they actually let those ministers in the capital lead the way, don't they know that the status of the martial arts family is supported by the imperial court? It's sad that you still want to go back to Shikoku at this time......" After saying that, he snorted twice like a toothache.

"Your Highness Zhuxing, since you respect me as a senior, then I will be cheeky and rely on the old to sell the old once!" Niwa Nagahide may have drunk a little too much wine just now, and his tone of voice was a little heavier. "At present, although the Oda family is controlled by external enemies, internal strife is about to break out, and chaos and chaos are all in the thoughts of our important ministers. As the first contributor to this martyrdom, you should come out and say a word at this time, how can you stay out of the matter? ”

Niwa Nagahide stared at me with a serious face as he finished speaking, and the others stopped all their movements and turned to this side. Not everyone thinks about the Oda family as wholeheartedly as he does, but my opinion is closely related to their interests, so no one will relax this first-hand information.

"If it was really just one sentence, then I would have said it a long time ago!" I couldn't escape everyone's gaze, so I had to let out a long sigh. "My ears are not deaf, and I naturally heard about the two highnesses in Jingdu, but ...... Although the two Highnesses have less experience, they are not completely confused, and you must have received a letter of help from the two Highnesses, right? If my guess is correct, there must be more than one! ”

Niwa Nagahide and Ikeda Hengxing both nodded, and Mamoru Ando and Kazutetsu Inaba hesitated for a moment, but that look was completely revealing.

"Hey, it's mine!" I dug my hand into my arms and pulled out a large stack of envelopes and placed them on the table. "This is what I received, a total of 35 letters, including direct and indirect. Now that the armies of Hashiba and Shibata are approaching Kyoto, the most important thing is that neither of them has made their attitude clear. If I intervene at such a sensitive time, no matter how I express my position, it is very likely to lead to the outbreak of a big war. So at this time, someone can adjust, so the most unlikely person is me! ”

"Hey! There is some truth in what you said, Yuchai and Shibata are really disappointing to me! Niwa Nagahide shook his head with difficulty after being silent for a long time, showing a kind of decadence and old age that he had never seen before. His Royal Highness Yuchai's heart is too heavy, and His Royal Highness Shibata is stubborn and narrow-minded, and they are afraid that no one will obey anyone at this time. If a powerful minister like you is mixed in, it may indeed provoke a violent reaction from them regardless of the consequences! ”

"It's not just that the knot is too heavy, I think he has no intentions now!" Ikeda Hengxing suddenly slapped the table and said angrily: "Our siege of Arioka Castle is at a critical juncture, and it doesn't matter if he doesn't help his army cross the border, he actually took away a lot of local wealthy forces without notifying. If this is for him to control the power of the Oda family in the future, I don't know what he will do! After Araki Murashige, he began to see Settsu as his sphere of influence, and the actions of the "monkey" certainly caused him to be dissatisfied.

"His Royal Highness Yuchai is doing this, maybe...... Maybe there's something unavoidable! Ando Mamoru hesitated and said: "It is said that when the Shibata Army crossed the border in Kita-Omi, it was very unpleasant with the troops left behind by His Royal Highness Hashiba to guard Nagahama Castle, which may be the reason why His Royal Highness Hashiba is impatient!" He looked at Ikeda's face for fear of causing a misunderstanding, and immediately added, "I don't mean anything else!" ”

"Humph!" Ikeda snorted as he watched him, but said nothing else.

"So at this time, you are needed to reconcile their contradictions, how can you return to Shikoku instead?" Niwa Nagahide looked at me and said earnestly, hoping that I would change my mind.

"As I said earlier, as soon as I show up in Kyodo now, they will immediately think that I am the helper that the other party has found!" I smacked my lips with a bitter look on my face, still unable to accept his kindness. "It's better to simply go to Beijing to mediate with them, and we are willing to fully support you. When you and they don't have a conflict, it's easier for them to listen! I kicked the ball back in.