I spent a leisurely period of time at Katsura Kawaguchi Castle, not very long, just ten days. During this period, many events took place, but one of the most closely related to me was the landing of 40,000 troops led by Takenaka Hanbei at Kishiwada. Coupled with the more than 8,000 people I originally had at hand, my strength has surpassed that of "Monkey" and Shibata Katsuya combined.

I wasn't in a hurry when my strength was insufficient, and now I'm even less anxious, and even ordered the Takenaka half-guards to stay in Kishiwa and Tian Castle without moving. I think there will be many people who are more anxious than me at this time, so hunting and fishing became the main part of my life at Katsura Kawaguchi Castle.

Oda Nobuo was at a disadvantage in the struggle to become open in Kyoto, and Oda Nobutaka's exploits in the first rebellion and his invasion of Kyoto made Oda Nobutaka much more hardened, and Niwa Nagahide's efforts to suppress Nobuo's radical moves to get rid of his disadvantage caused this power gap to widen further.

Probably feeling that he was about to ascend to the throne of the Oda family, Oda Nobutaka began to prepare for taking over the throne in a hurry, but at this time he did a very stupid thing and personally visited Shibata Katsuya in Sawayamashiro. This may have been done out of dissatisfaction with Hideyoshi Hashiba's repeated suspicions about him, or it may have been because he felt that he could not rely on me as a powerful retainer alone, but he did so anyway, and he saw the consequences immediately.

First, I withdrew all the staff officers and attendants who had been sent to work beside him; secondly, Hideyoshi Hashiba bypassed him and directly proposed a formal meeting with Sekihaku Konoe Maehisa; Thirdly, Nobuo Oda re-energized and raised the issue of reordering the pedigree within the Oda family (where Nobutaka's mother was of low origin and status). The order that had begun to stabilize was once again chaotic, and the situation in Kyoto became simple and vague again.

In the face of the new form, the combination and balance are naturally indispensable, and the envoys from all sides are constantly shuttling back and forth, and I am naturally no exception here, but I have never expressed a positive attitude except for the people of Niwa Nagahide.

The problem of food shortage in has not been fundamentally solved, and few people really cared about it during this time. The situation seemed to be deteriorating again, and it was not until the news of the return of the 40,000 troops of the Takenaka Hanbei Army that it became quiet again, but this was only a superficial effort, and in fact, the dark tide was even more turbulent under the water. There are fewer people coming to me, and I continue to remain silent indifferently, but just because there are fewer people doesn't mean that no one comes.

"This is an edict for you, you can read it for yourself!" Ji Xiu handed the chopsticks to his left hand, took out a roll of white silk from his bosom and handed it to me across the table, because the food in his mouth was not completely swallowed, so his speech was a little unclear.

"Only then did I think about it, is the court a little dull!" I wiped my hands with a handkerchief before taking it, feeling that it took him a long time to remember this "serious matter".

Ji Xiu arrived near noon, and when he came, he yelled that he was hungry, so I had to entertain him to eat first. However, the place and mission are the same as 15 years ago, and I will be promoted to a knighthood.

"One is four senators, and the 'capital' of the imperial court this time is not small!" After reading it, I rolled up the white silk again and placed it on a small table not far away.

"It's not small, except for Oda Youfu, there are a few daimyo in the world who have reached this level!" As smart as he was, he naturally heard the dissatisfaction in my words, but he still had to argue two sentences when it was his duty. "But your status is indeed different now, this is just an excess, everything will be discussed after you enter Beijing!"

"Am I the only one who has been sealed?" I picked up a glass of wine and drank it unhurriedly, without the slightest hint of excitement or anything like that.

"Of course not, wouldn't that be the case and roast you on the fire?" He looked at me with some surprise, imagining that I shouldn't have been so naïve. "This time, the imperial court tried its best to settle this matter, and repeatedly weighed the interests of all parties. In the early hours of this morning, Hararashi Nijo said to the emperor, in addition to you, Niwa Nagahide awarded Dan Shoyin, Yushiba Hideyoshi awarded the head of the Tibet, and Shibata Katsuke awarded the right emon governor, all of whom are of the rank of the four......"

"Skipped the two highnesses Nobutaka and Nobuo?" I reached for a plate of dried anchovies, and my chopsticks suddenly stopped in mid-air.

"The two highnesses have been awarded the left and right guard generals respectively, but the rank is also the fourth!" Masamichi Hisahide shrugged his eyebrows, revealing a hint of disdain. "With the actions of the two highnesses in Kyoto in recent days, the great task of leading the Oda family has no chance for them. The imperial court has been playing political tricks for thousands of years, but it is far superior to the samurai family in this regard, so naturally it will not even fail to see this. No matter who these two sit in the position of the governor, it can only be an excess, and the final decision depends on the strength of several of you. Of course, they can't make up their minds about who to bet this treasure on, but that's why they ...... to whom."

The chopsticks resumed their movements and continued to glide along their original trajectory towards the plate of dried fish, but my ears were listening very carefully.

When I came this morning, I received a report that Haruma Nijo and Konoe had entered the palace in the middle of the night and had a secret consultation with the emperor and the crown prince. In the early hours of the morning, five or six more ministers were summoned to meet and issued some decrees that had just been written. Because of the rush of time, I haven't inquired about the specific content yet.

I was slightly excited when I heard the news, it seemed that the worries of the imperial court had accumulated to a certain extent, and I couldn't wait to calm down the matter. But when the will was in front of me, I hesitated, and there seemed to be a loophole in it.

"I've been talking about it for a long time, but you have a statement!" After talking for a long time, Ji Xiu realized that I was fluting, so he raised his voice and shouted.

"Oh...... You say yours, I'm listening! "I wasn't caught up in his high spirits, and I still coped with it.

"This is a good opportunity, once you enter Beijing first, it means that you will conform to the will of the court and the people of the world, but I don't think you seem to be very positive!" He didn't understand it very much.

"It's not 'as if', it's that I really don't have any motivation!" I corrected him to.

"Why is that? Looking at the ......, "said that Ji Xiu, who is here in the town, suddenly changed his expression drastically, as if he had seen something terrible. "Is it possible...... Could it be that you want to use troops against other people? It's ......" He had a tendency to get excited quickly.

"If I really wanted to do it, I myself wouldn't stay here now, and my army wouldn't stay in Izumi forever!" After calming him down, I continued: "If this decree of the imperial court was three months ago, then I think the few people who received the edict would have been grateful, but today the situation has changed, and I am afraid that many people have other plans in their hearts. I want to say that although this strategy of His Excellency Nijo is clever, it is a bit too wishful thinking, and in addition to His Royal Highness Niwa and Nobutaka and Nobuo, who are already in Kyoto, I am afraid that at least one of Hashiba and Shibata will find an excuse to excuse themselves. Although it is not impossible to leave aside one or two people, their spokespersons in Kyoto and the local area will definitely jump out and make trouble, and the effect is much worse. For example, if Shibata does not move, then His Royal Highness Nobutaka will definitely obstruct the progress of the meeting as much as possible, and even if a resolution is formed, it will not be implemented for a long time! ”

"And what are you going to do?" Hearing this, he calmed down again, but after thinking about it for a long time, he had no idea. "You also know the current situation of the imperial court, and there is really nothing that can be taken out anymore. At present, as long as you are not allowed to fight in Kyoto, the imperial court doesn't even care about appointing a minister, but in that case, it will definitely stimulate other people, but I am afraid that it will fight faster! ”

"I understand the hardships of the imperial court, so I plan to help the imperial court!" I filled the cup for him again, and I was touched in my heart. Maybe his character is far from being honest, but at least he takes the money and belongs to the kind of real work.

"So you're willing to enter Beijing under the edict?" He hurriedly asked, covering the cup with his hand.

"I didn't say that!" I sat back and smiled as I put the pot back on the table.

"But if you don't go back to Beijing, how can you help the imperial court?" He was a little confused by my words.

"If I don't go back to Beijing, I'm doing the court a favor, not the kind of help you said, but helping the court put on a 'good show'!" I've figured out a way to deal with it, and it's not necessarily a good thing for me to put it off any longer.

"How is this 'play' going to be played?" He kind of understood what I meant.

"That's right......," I began to explain to him. Although I will not follow you into Beijing, I will write a copy of the note for you to take home. I will say: Although the guilty have now been prostrateged, they have not been able to praise the ancestors who have conquered the world, and this makes me feel really guilty. Therefore, I implore the imperial court to posthumously appoint the former monarch as the minister of the imperial government, otherwise I will not be able to go to Beijing to accept the emperor's favor, otherwise I will immediately enter Beijing to thank the former monarch! ”

"Wonderful...... It's amazing! After being stunned for a moment, Ji Xiu shook his head and sighed: "If the imperial court explicitly announced this will, then neither Yuchai nor Shibata could not help but make a move." If they don't even attend the ceremony of His Royal Highness Oda's posthumous appointment, then they will be determined by the Oda family, and they won't have to express anything in the future! ”

"Looks like you know what I mean!" I nodded again and again, feeling very pleased.

"But I don't see it that way!" He shook his head, not as excited as he had just been. "Once this recital spreads in the world, the name of benevolence and righteousness of Your Highness Zhuxing will definitely shake the sea, and the imperial court will definitely do the same for its own safety. It seems that the change of samurai leaders has become inevitable, and the great war in Kyoto is finally inevitable! ”

"It's hard to say, who dares to say that I can't finally surrender without a fight?" I drank the wine incomprehensibly, and did not explicitly deny his temptation of my "ambition".

"I hope so! But I can't think of such a possibility...... "Masahimachi Jishu was already satisfied with the results of the trip, so he didn't dwell too much on this issue.