"Your Highness the Stars doesn't need to explain, we fully trust Your Highnesses of the Oda family!" Konoe Maehisa looked like he was laughing and crying, and he took out a handkerchief from his wide sleeve and wiped the beads of sweat from his head.

"When the ancestor was alive, everyone was a good brother who shared life and death, how did it become like this in just one year!" Tears flowed from my eyes, and I hurriedly turned my head and reached out to wipe them. Although I was fast, the two people on the other side noticed it. "I'm out of shape, please don't laugh at the two Excellencies!" I said to myself, mockingly.

"Your Highness Zhuxing is really a sincere gentleman, if everyone in the world ...... you like this" Konoe Qianjiu's expression was a little dazed, and it seemed that he was really moved by me. However, he soon realized that he should not have said such a thing, but the words were out of his power to guide the situation. "Since His Highness Zhuxing has this kind of benevolence in his heart, he is naturally extremely unwilling to see the current situation. is also a loyal and righteous person of the imperial court, no matter who is injured, it is a tragedy in the world. Your Highness of the Stars, you have always been highly respected, can't you stop the actions of Your Highness Ikeda and others? ”

"You both saw what happened just now, did you say I could stop it?" I still shook my head and smiled bitterly. "Their Highnesses Hashiba and Ikeda had a lot of disagreements in their early years, and they have been even worse since last year's upheaval. I'm not afraid to say a word to the two of you, I'm more inclined to His Highness Ikeda. At the Cheongju Conference, I supported His Highness Hashiba's territorial claim to Settsu Ichikoku, but it was only an expedient measure for the sake of the overall situation, so I felt more and more sorry for His Highness Ikeda. It's still getting to this point, and I really don't have anything to say! ”

"After this battle, I'm afraid that the Oda family will collapse from now on, doesn't His Highness Zhuxing feel regretful?" At this time, Qingfeng also recovered from the fright, and his eyes rolled tentatively and said: "The Oda family is undoubtedly the guarantee of maintaining the right path in the world, Oda Taimasa and your highnesses have been born and died for more than 20 years before they have today's situation, once something happens, the world will collapse again, I am afraid that the Oda family will also be removed from the samurai family, which is really regrettable!" ”

"Your Excellency the Persuasion Temple is indeed an old man seeking a country, and this is exactly what he is doing next...... cough, cough, cough ......" I coughed one after another without taking a breath, and I drank two sips of tea before I could suppress it, but my face was already red with suffocation, and it was finally relieved. "Although I am now in Kyoto, neither His Highness Hashiba nor His Highness Ikeda nor others will listen to my opinion at all. As long as they can come to an agreement, I can't do it. But at present, I really can't do anything, and the Qibu side has been slow to give me a clear answer. I really regret that I had a hot head in the first place, so why did I come to Kyoto when I stayed in Sakai Town so well! ”

"Your Highness the Stars...... Is it possible to have the courage to retreat from the torrent? Persuasion Temple Qing looked at me in surprise and asked, her tone full of doubt.

"I'm afraid no one wants to take over this mess at the moment!" I nodded very generously, but immediately added, "But it doesn't matter who I took it from, after all, this is a legacy created by the ancestor Nobunaga. Even if His Royal Highness the Third Mage can't come in person, then at least there must be a clear attitude. What kind of decision will be made about the future of the Oda family, and where we will go, there must be an official statement from the Gibu side! ”

"That's ......," said the right voice of the temple, which fell into deep thought, but quickly recovered. I'm sorry to have caused you so much trouble! He and Konoe looked at each other for a moment.

This is a sign of resignation, Konoe knew it for a long time, but as soon as I said that, he turned to stare at the temple and seemed to have something unspeakable. "Then we will go back first, and we will definitely restore the loyalty of His Highness Zhuxing to His Majesty the Emperor!" It may be inconvenient to say it in front of me, but Konoe can only sigh secretly and stand up in the end.

"In that case, I won't keep you two more!"

********************************************

"That's what it's going on anyway, then I'll go!" It seems that Ji Xiu doesn't want to stay with me any longer, and he has already opened the door as soon as he finished speaking.

"Won't you stay for a meal?" I asked

"No, I'm not in the mood right now!" He rejected my offer, but hesitated. "If you can still listen to me, then ...... Enough is enough! With that, he walked out without looking back.

Ji Xiu, who was in a hurry, seemed to have something terrible chasing him behind him, so that he forgot to close the door, and Sakurai Sakichi, who was standing outside the door, pulled it for him. The room was getting a little dark again, and my eyes slowly fell back to the table, where there was a letter from Masahimachi Jixiu.

Today is the 19th day of October in the 9th year of Tensho (1581), and four days have passed since the visit of Konoe Maehisa and Seshuji Haruhyo, and many things have happened during these four days, but most of them are concentrated in the central Honshu area. Compared to the little things that Shikoku and Kyushu are still going on, it is really nothing, and Tokugawa Ieyasu, who should be half the protagonist, also maintains an inexplicable silence.

The war began in western Settsu, where the combined forces of Nakagawa Kiyohide and Takayama Shigetome first attacked Ishiyama Gosumi Castle, which had few defenders, but was unable to succeed due to the strong fortifications of the castle. Immediately, Kato Kiyomasa, the vanguard of the Hashiba army, arrived, and the combined forces of Nakagawa and Takayama were defeated.

After two or three defeats, the combined forces of Nakagawa and Takayama began to retreat, and the pressure on the approaching Yushiba army was increasing. Fortunately, at this time, Ikeda Hengxing led 13,000 troops to the battlefield, and some wealthy families of Izumi and Hanoi also joined their side, but the more than 30,000 troops facing Yuchai were still at a serious disadvantage, not only in the army, but also in generals.

The Imperial Court sent an official envoy to Gibu, but the reason is unknown to most people, and it is said that the first meeting between the two sides was very unpleasant, but when Mamoru Ando quickly approached with his army, the situation changed somewhat.

After obtaining what he wanted, the envoy returned to Kyoto, and it was as inexplicable as when he went, and some people in the court seemed to be very excited, but also seemed to be a little hesitant. Finally, today, Ji Xiu was squeezed out and brought a letter written by someone else and officially signed by the three masters.

Picking up the letter, my hands trembled a little, this is the end of one era and the beginning of another, where history stops and changes a "wheel". The third mage is still just a child, and he may not understand what this letter represents, but the people in charge of drafting it, Yamauchi Kazutoyo and others, must be full of contradictions and pain, but they can't change anything.

Indeed, as I expected, the heart of Qibu City is quite deep in the "west", and naturally there is no reason to directly make any "special" decisions. However, now the cold court of Qibu Castle can no longer face the naked threat of Ando Mori and others, and in the face of internal and external difficulties, this method has been chosen: the Oda family is no longer able to assume the responsibility of guarding Kyoto and the imperial court, and wants me to obey the will and arrangements of the imperial court!

The letter was written simply and crisply, and the entire thirty-four words were not even written on a single piece of paper. But after reading such a short letter seventeen times, I suddenly couldn't help but have a sour nose and tears burst out of my eyes.

"Father...... What's wrong with you? "Toragichiyo didn't know when he slipped in, and he was a little overwhelmed to see me like this.

I didn't have the slightest restraint, and I whimpered, though not a sudden. "Look at this!" I scratched back and forth on my face with the sleeve of my right hand, and with my left hand I picked up the letter on the table and handed it over.

"The Oda family has given up on?" Tiger Chiyo asked suspiciously after reading it. After all, he is now less than ten years old, and can only take the problem literally.

"That's right! Giving up, and at the same time giving up the world...... Woo, woo, woo...... "I just feel a wave of sadness coming from it, or...... It should be said that it is a mixed taste. I can't tell what it feels like, but I just want to cry.

"Oh......" Tiger Chiyo seemed to understand a little bit at this time, and let out a long snort. Isn't that a good thing? Why should you be sad! ”

"I can't tell, but I feel very uncomfortable!" I finally managed to hold back my tears, but my eyes were still wet and red. "For many years, I have always stood under this 'tree', watering, fertilizing, cultivating and loosening the soil. It can be said that this tree is not only the Oda family, but also has shed countless efforts with my heart. But it has always blessed me, sheltering me from the wind and rain, and my affection for this tree will definitely not be less than others. Today the tree is going to fall, either by itself or by someone else, and countless people want to use the wood of this tree to make a ladder to the sky. Since the tree is definitely going to fall; Since there are countless people vying for this ladder; Since there is only one person standing on this ladder in the end, then I will do it! My face was still stained with tears, but the tone of the last sentence had become unmistakable.

"So what's next?" Toragichiyo's eyes sparkled, and there was excitement in every scale of his words.

"Below? The following things are waiting for you! "Looking at my son's expression, my heart suddenly felt relieved again, it was a sense of freedom from the shackles." This letter is a sword that has cut the shackles from me. In fact, the future has been arranged a long time ago, just waiting for them to surface on their own. You have to watch all this and watch it happen and the results! ”

"Yay!" Tiger Chiyo cheered loudly, just like how I behaved before I went to the movies as a child. "So what are we going to do next?" His emotions had all been stirred.

"It's time for me to leave Kyoto now, and we'll head to Katsura Kawaguchi Castle early tomorrow morning!" I took the letter back and clutched it tightly in my hand. "We are loyal servants of the imperial court, and since the imperial court wants us to leave, we naturally want to leave! Not only do you have to go, but it's not so easy to come back......"