"I'm relieved to be able to hand over Hequan to you quite completely, it's really powerless here!" After sending this sentence, Niwa Nagahide raised his glass to me, and drank it without waiting for me to touch him. To say that the image is always a well-dressed diplomat, but I noticed that this time he had a lot of silver on his temples and forgot to embellish them.

"His Royal Highness Niwa is polite, the younger generation has to rely on it a lot when he first arrives!" I took the lead, and Hidemasa Hori and Kazushi Nakamura accompanied me for a drink.

In recent years, Niwa Nagahide's main work has been the politics of Kyoto, and he has indeed done a remarkable job in this regard. However, as the head of the Oda family's army, the war in the western area is also his unmistakable responsibility, and the progress made so far can only be described as "size"!

Niwa Nagahide is the weakest among the several major armies of the Oda family, and the absolute number is not small, but there are no strong direct troops in his hands, and the "landlord armies" put together by the local small wealthy families account for more than 85%! In the face of the Saga people who are active in the forests of the Kii Mountains like wolves, and the Kurishima and Awaji pirates who are watching the sea like sharks, although he is also trying his best to wait for the day, he still falls into the embarrassing situation of taking care of one and losing the other.

It was at this time that I came, and he could leave this place of right and wrong without any responsibility and return to his familiar field of work, and he was really happy!

Although I have some confidence in dealing with the problems here, I am definitely not blind. These enemies are not easy to deal with, and it is impossible to solve them with one or two decisive battles as before, not that I don't want to fight together, but there is no one to fight with me at all! Although the official handover should be after the Chinese New Year, I will come over with Hidemasa Hori and Kazushi Nakamura, who have come to take over Kishiwada Castle, while there is still more than a month to go.

This time, I'm just researching, and I don't have any clear plans. Besides, there are only 1,000 personal soldiers and 1,600 people from Hori Hidemasa and Nakamura Ichishi around him, and even if there is any plan, the hardware conditions are not supported.

Passing by Iimori Castle, he just wanted to quietly meet Niwa's seniors, but he was extremely enthusiastic about staying for a banquet. But it was just a good intention, so I had to stay here for a day.

"To be honest, Izumi and Kii have become what they are now in the past few years, and when no one thinks about it privately, I really feel sorry for the lord!" After drinking to Sancheng, Niwa Nagahide also committed the common disease of ordinary elderly people, and he felt a little sad. “…… I think that when I was in Owari, I was able to ask for friends, Ke Xinqing, and Pingding Mino, and I asked myself how easy it was to deal with it. But since I followed the lord Shangluo, I often have a feeling of powerlessness, and it seems that my long-term talent is only ......"

"Father...... "Thinking that my father's words might cause me to misunderstand, Niwa Nagashi took the words with a heavy shout." It is really a pleasure for His Highness Zhuxing and the two adults to be here today, and we should still wish them more great achievements! ”

Niwa Nagashige is almost thirty years old this year, but he has always been by his father's side so that he has not performed too prominently, and although his performance on the battlefield is not outstanding, it can be regarded as moderate, but he seems to be a little cautious in politics. According to the analysis of various information I have obtained, it is true that he is not Taoguang and obscure, but only a lack of strategic self-confidence, but he still has a good impression of him.

"The elder is polite, since he has reached this position, the Qing clan will naturally do his best!" I leaned sideways and bowed deeply to Niwa Nagahide, which was already a great gift to me today. “…… Since I entered the Oda family, I have been under the command of His Royal Highness Niwa, and I dare not forget for a moment the kindness of His Highness's cultivation and support. It can be said that without His Royal Highness Niwa, there would be no today! This time, I took over Izumi from His Royal Highness, even if it is to not embarrass His Highness Niwa, I should move forward bravely, and if there is anything, please ask Your Highness to order the Qing clan as before! ”

"Okay...... All right...... I was not mistaken! I don't know if it's because I drank too much, but the dense crow's feet at the corners of Niwa Nagahide's eyes are a little damp.

"The lord will not forget His Highness's merits and abilities, won't he be entrusted with a heavy responsibility this time?" After the confession, the compliments began, and before leaving Kyoto, I already knew about Oda Nobunaga's plan to build Azuchi Castle.

"Yes, maybe the lord wants to show his status as the overlord of the world!" He put down his glass, a look of delight rising across his face. “…… Since the Battle of Nagashino broke the Takeda Army, the status of the lord has actually been well deserved. Although there are some people in the eastern kingdom who are committed to a tripartite alliance between A, Xiang and Vietnam to jointly deal with their own family, it is not an overnight matter to resolve decades of grudges, and it may be possible to achieve harmony, but it is absolutely impossible to act in concert against the enemy! It is indeed necessary for the lord to establish an image of governing the world on behalf of the emperor, and it is not wrong to say that the idea of building a giant city for the ages will go down in history, but ...... It's really too much investment! ”

"Not really!" I shook my head and said that I did think Niwa Nagahide's concept was a bit conservative. “…… Once Azuchijo Castle is established, then the original small towns such as Chokoji Temple near Minami Omi will be useless, and I want to ask the Lord's permission to demolish them before making up for the lack of stone in Azuchijo! As for the money, it is not impossible, which time has not been astronomical in the past few years, and I have not seen how the people of are struggling to make a living. In the following shallow opinion, the internal affairs algorithm in recent decades is not what it used to be, and money is earned rather than saved! It's just that the lord is impatient and does things but seeks results, and he needs our subordinates to 'dedicate himself' to some things. If it is coordinated by His Royal Highness Niwa this time, I hope to be more merciful to the younger subordinates! "I gave it up again and again.

"It's really terrifying...... Niwa Nagahide shook his head and sighed after hearing my words, as if endless emotion rose in his heart, and then he said with some embarrassment: "Now the most powerful retainer in this family belongs to you, if you really encounter something......"

"Please do your best!" I hurriedly added, I didn't expect him to be so serious about a half-joking remark.

"Since Izumi is going to give you an explanation, I must make it clear what I need to say!" Niwa Nagahide put down his glass and said to me, although the wine on his face did not fade, his expression was extremely solemn. "The threat to Izumi now mainly comes from two sides, one is the evil party of Kii, and the other is the Awaji pirates under the command of Miyoshi. Although they came from the sea and the mountains and forests, their methods were much the same, they all attacked and disturbed with small groups of men and horses, and did not engage our army. Once the main force goes to fight in a foreign city, these guys will gather together to attack the city! ”

"Is it frequent?" I added a grilled sea bream and put it in my mouth. According to intelligence, Izumi fights every month, but he hasn't seen much damage along the way.

"Most of them are concentrated in the border areas, and they generally don't come here unless I leave!" Niwa Nagahide sighed again. "When I first arrived, it was so much more than that, I was almost in a hurry. Fortunately, it didn't take long for you to kill Iwaki Yumi in Sanqichuan, and the Awaji water thieves were more honest. However, those people are just ringworm scabies, and Izumi's henchmen are still miscellaneous people! ”

"Shigehide Suzuki, those brothers are not easy to deal with, are they?" Speaking of this legendary general, I can't help but think of the dense iron cannons at the head of Honganji Castle again.

"Originally, they were always thinking about revenge, and when Fujiyoshiro left, the account was inexplicably counted on me!" Niwa Nagahide smiled bitterly and picked up a glass of wine, raised his head and took a sip, his throat squirming unnaturally. "At first, they really chased me all the way, but after all, they had no cavalry, and when they arrived on the plains of Hequan, they were useless. In the end, he retreated to the mountains and forests of Kii, but still formed a semi-siege state against Kii's Saga and Yachikan defenders. Now those two cities are very difficult, and they often can't get supplies because they are attacked halfway! ”

"Isn't it...... Are there other 'possibilities'? "I couldn't tell me what I was saying, and I didn't look at him when I spoke. Everyone knows Oda Nobunaga's attitude towards underworld figures, especially these Saga "evil parties" who have repeatedly made him lose face.

"There is a lack of an 'opportunity'!" Niwa Nagahide gave me a quick look and lowered his eyelids, apparently he understood what I meant and had been moved by the thought.

"Isn't there anyone available in the wealthy family of Izumi?" Oddly to me, it stands to reason that this is the first power that a ruler must grasp and control when entering a new occupation, and the most effective way to quickly grow himself.

"Most of the local forces here are connected to Ashikaga or Honganji, and few are reliable!" Niwa Nagahide frowned at the question, with obvious disgust in his emotions. “…… I really don't know what's in their heads about these people, everyone in front of me swears to me, but in the blink of an eye, all my plans are known to those people in Saga! I haven't been able to find out who it is, and maybe every one of them has a part to play. Who knew they played a ...... in all of this."

"Oh......" Listening to his complaints, I suddenly understood, it turned out that Niwa Nagahide had some prejudices against the locals because of the past. Although I am not able to say whether this suspicion is justified without careful investigation at this time, it is at least not conducive to unity. It seems that if I want to change the current unfavorable situation, I have to start from this, although I have not been here for a long time in the past, I have also formed some "popularity", and in the past few years, I have not stopped "private" funding.

"If possible, I'd like to ask you to help me gather some of the nearby wealthy families to meet here, okay?" In this way, I further expressed my respect for Niwa Nagahide, which will be more conducive to the smooth handover. "Whether it's an enemy or not, you should always find out, so everything is please!"

"There's nothing wrong with that!" He readily agreed, but immediately reminded me: "You still have to be careful with those people, your own team is the most reliable at all times!" ”