The vast night sky was hung with a bright moon like an ice disk, and the stars were dotted with light and dark, and these many light sources gathered in everything, illuminating the sky that should have been pitch black into navy blue.

It was a moonlit and starry night, and the heat that had been left of the day had completely disappeared and was replaced by a cool breeze. It's a cool early summer night, and it's poetic for sleepless people to walk in the wild. If you are on the streets of Kyoto or Nara at this time, you will probably meet many people who have money and leisure, and moaning without illness.

Unfortunately, it is a small mountainous area in the eastern part of Tamba, and although it is located at the entrance of Kyoto into the Tamba Basin, the mountain is not steep and the road is wide and flat, but it is still a mountainous area. The tall trees on both sides of the road reflect their strange shadows on the road, like overlapping and shaking ghosts, which will really scare off the faint of heart. After all, the troubled times are not over, people who are not very urgent can't rush the night road in the mountains, and it seems that it is nothing to leave some things until tomorrow, so why rush yourself so hard!

"Click, click, click......" It was at this time and place that no one should have come, and a cavalry of more than 30 people galloped from the direction of Kyoto. It was the sound of horses' hooves, which shattered the silence, that woke up the sleeping land and disturbed the schedules of the nocturnal animals in the woods.

This is a cavalry with no obvious signs, but it can be seen from the excellent equipment that they must have an extraordinary origin, and it seems that the mission is also a little suspicious of the mission in such a hurry at night.

This cavalry was me and my personal guard, and out of caution and urgency I did not let them raise their banners, even if I was dressed in the same way as the squires around me, not the usual style of armor. In fact, I was also busy and dizzy these days, and I shouldn't have had the heart to rush in this night.

When Oda Nobunaga decided on the general policy of attacking Takeda, he didn't know what he was going to do, and he gave me instructions to draw up a few concrete plans that could be implemented. This is easy to say, but it is not the same thing when it comes to doing, the deployment of personnel and materials; analysis of changes in the hostile situation; Survey of attitudes of peripheral forces; …… In short, it is very cumbersome. I don't usually do these things by myself, so how can I do it for him?

A staff team headed by Hanbei Takenaka rushed to Kyoto to consolidate the situation and begin to arrange steps. But I can't completely stay out of the matter, otherwise Oda Nobunaga won't be able to tell me why when asked in detail, and it won't look good on my face. Oda Nobunaga was always adding to the problem, and in a day or two he would send some new information and instructions.

Things have finally come to an end, and Katsuie Shibata and Mitsuhide Akechi will arrive in Kyoto in a day or two, and I am putting the finishing touches on it. At this time, news came from Tanba: Nagano Yoshimasa's condition suddenly deteriorated, and he wanted to see me when he was dying! I didn't delay when I heard the news, and immediately mounted my war horse, and never stopped except for two meals along the way.

"Lord, do you want to take a break!" Sakurai's horse leaned over to my side and whispered the suggestion in my ear. Because of the hurried hooves of the horses and the sound of the wind, the whisper that should have been turned into a loud shout.

"It's coming soon, hold on a little longer!" My waist was actually stiff for a long time, but the anxiety in my heart still kept me at ease.

Nagano was my first and most important advisor, and he began to quietly play the role of a rudder when I was a pre-runner in Owari. Later, he gradually faded out of the formulation of specific tactics and strategies, but every time he reminded the juniors at critical moments, it can be said that every part of my think tank system has left traces of him. I also know that human beings cannot resist the destiny of heaven, but at this moment I always feel an indescribable sadness in my heart.

"Sigh yo-yo ......" After a neighing of the leading horse, a circle formed on the spot, and our group had come to a huge and majestic castle in the mountains.

"Who's coming?" The lights on the city flickered, and a man shouted at the top of his voice.

"I'm the messenger of His Royal Highness Zhuxingyu, and I have urgent official business, so I'm going to inform Lord Nagano quickly!" Ishikawa Sadatomo also replied loudly to the castle, although he shouted with his neck tilted up, but he should be able to hear it clearly in such a quiet night.

"How can you rely on it!" The guards of the city were well-trained and kept a fair handle on all odds.

Ishikawa took a longbow from the right side of his saddle and shot a feathered arrow that had been prepared long ago into the castle, with a small wooden plaque tied to it and a special pattern with a soldering iron.

With a creaking sound of the doorway, the huge gate was slowly retreated a gap, and before the door could be fully opened, I took the lead in rushing into the dark doorway.

"Lord, you're here!" When my horse stopped at the gate of the castle tower, Nagano Yoshimori rushed out of it. Seeing that I nodded hurriedly, he came up and took the reins for me.

"How's the teacher doing now?" I jumped off my horse and tore off my helmet, flicking my hand and throwing it behind me. At this moment, I couldn't care much about it, but instead took Nagano Yemori's hand and ran forward.

"My father suddenly fell into a coma the night before yesterday, accompanied by bouts of suffocation and suspended animation!" Nagano Yemori led me straight inside, and introduced me as I went. His burnt face and chapped lips were reflected in the light, showing his recent emotions. After all-out rescue, he was finally temporarily out of danger, but he was still in a state of groginess, and he was slightly conscious of calling the lord. I've talked to several doctors, but I'm afraid ...... It won't be long! ”

"It's good to stabilize it, let's go to Kyoto to get a famous doctor!" I comforted him with these words, but I also knew that this was no longer something that could be solved by the power of the medicine stone. This kind of thing is sometimes like a war, and you have to do your best when you know you can't do it, but it's a war that everyone knows will eventually lose.

We arrived outside the bedroom of Nagano Yoshimasa on the third floor of the castle tower, and before we could open the door, a strong smell of medicine came to our noses. Figures flickered frequently in the bright candlelight inside, and it seemed that they were still busy with something. "Whew!" The façade was pulled open, and the two doctors and three of the servants inside saluted me, but now my eyes were only on the man on the sickbed.

Nagano was lying in the back of the room, covered with a thin quilt, and because of that I couldn't tell how weak he was. A face exposed under the candlelight looked so eerie that I could scarcely recognize his appearance, whose face had lost its vigor, and its dense wrinkles were like the marks of a knife and axe carved into a piece of black dead wood; A thick silver hair that had once flowed like an extraordinary head had become mottled, revealing a large patch of speckled scalp; The most important thing is that the eyes that were like swords and lightning back then have been tightly closed.

"Teacher......" came to his side and was just half a call, and I had to stop, because I also felt that it was hoarse.

"Uh-huh......" Nagano let out a soft groan from the wings of his nose, and his tightly closed eyelids moved slightly.

"Teacher!" I stabilized my emotions and screamed again, it seemed that it was not yet the final point. For some reason, I felt as if I wanted to talk to him at the moment, but I didn't know where to start.

"Ah......" I called out in a small voice, and Nagano Yemasa, who seemed to have fallen into a deep coma, actually reacted. The eyelids opened slightly, and the exposed pupils moved slightly.

"Teacher! I'm here, are you feeling better? I couldn't help but feel happy, but he still didn't dare to speak out for fear of overstimulation.

His gaze gradually focused on my face as he roamed, and slowly a trace of his brilliance recovered in it, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly, probably wanting to speak. "Lord!" There was a sound coming out of his mouth, not loud but clear.

"Teacher, aren't you okay? Nothing to do with it! I bent down and brought my mouth closer to him, encouraging him.

"Yes! Lao Chen didn't die so easily...... "I don't know if my arrival really played a role, Nagano Yemasa's already gray face actually flashed with a luster of life again." Although it is still difficult to speak, it is no longer the kind of dying look. "There are still many things in Lao Chen's heart, these things can't be done, even if I go to hell, I will climb back again!" As he spoke, he poked out his hand, which had been black and thin like a dead branch, from under the quilt, and slowly leaned towards me.

"Teacher!" I grabbed the hand, feeling how little life was left on it. "I'm here, tell me if you have any wishes!" My voice shook along with my body.

"You ......" Nagano raised his eyelids as he tried to give instructions to the others in the room.

"You all quit, I'll talk to the teacher about something alone!" I understood what he was trying to say, and I hurriedly commanded the people around me.

The doctor and the servant put down what they were busy with and crept out. Walking at the back was Nagano Yosamori, who led the door from the outside.

"Takeda family...... Is it going to perish? Nagano was struggling to half-raise his head and look at me with fixed eyes.

"......," I nodded wordlessly.

"Finally, it's finally time for this day!" His head fell limply back onto the pillow, but his voice suddenly exploded. "Harunobu Takeda, you also have today! I finally see the day, and see your inheritance fall apart......"

"Teacher, take care!" An inexplicable fear struck me as I tried to stop his madness.

"The old minister is fine, the old minister is happy!" Nagano's tone gradually returned to normal, and his spirit seemed to improve a lot. "The Takeda family is about to perish, but this is definitely not just a matter of the Takeda family! Many people may not be able to see the peace of the world at the end, and I wonder if the lord is ready? ”

"This ...... Thought about some, but not completely! I looked at him and shook my head.