"Lord, it's time for you to take medicine!" Goto reported to me again, his eyes full of worry.

"Oh......" I snorted from my swollen mouth, twisting my stiff neck and holding out my hand. The joints of the whole body are burning and painful, especially behind the left gum, which makes people feel pain, I really don't know why moving the body will seriously affect the mouth?

"Please...... Do you ...... medicine?" a little girl of eleven or twelve years old lifted a tray above her head and presented it in front of me, her voice trembling with her arms. On top was a fine porcelain white bowl containing blue-black medicinal soup, which shook but did not spill. Under the watchful eye of Goto Matabei, the girl was obviously scared, but she resisted the slightest mistake.

When I brought the bowl to my mouth, I felt a strong smell of medicine, and I frowned but drank it anyway. "It's so bitter!" I grinned and quickly put down the medicine bowl, took a sip of the sugar water in my hand. Because there is a conflict of medicinal properties, honey is not used.

The battle to attack Inaba went very smoothly, and the division of troops was still progressing rapidly. Towns and cities were conquered, and stubborn enemies were crushed to the ground, and Yamana's command system was not chaotic, but completely absent, and in the face of repeated defeats, there was still no order to shrink or rally.

Originally, the weakness of the Yamana family had shaken people's hearts over the years, and since I entered Tango, there have been many small wealthy families of Inaba secretly expressing their allegiance to me. As the war progressed naturally, there were fewer and fewer people loyal to the Yamana clan, but more and more people came to my banner, and by this time my soldiers and horses had exceeded 30,000 in one fell swoop. The army was about to start besieging Tottori, and the Yamana family was barely holding on to hundreds of years of grace, and it was already clear that the people were going to disperse, and it was only a matter of time before the "monkeys" dispersed.

At this time when I should have been in high spirits to point out the country, I was sick, nothing serious, just a fire. At first, I was forced to continue to march into the army, but my condition deteriorated, and in the end, not only was my cheek swollen like two walnuts, but even my left eye was almost open!

After discussing with the half-guards and half-guards of Takenaka in a babbling voice, my main camp of the Chinese army stopped at Wakasakura Castle, which had just been taken, and the soldiers and horses continued to march to surround Tottori Castle, and when they were ready, they listened to my orders to attack the castle. After more than ten years of raising, my condition has improved slightly, the goldfish eyes have disappeared, and I am afraid that my mouth will have to wait for another two days.

I didn't have anyone close to me with me this time, even Ah Xue was left in Izushi City. Originally, it was always the attendants and the little ones who took care of my daily life and food, which can be said to be a normal thing in the military, but now that I am a patient, the rough warriors are inevitably not meticulous enough.

The head of the Takenaka half-guard selected a few girls from among the captives and put them in charge of taking care of my life temporarily, and he showed a hundred times more caution in this matter, and each one of them had to be seen and instructed in person. I don't know exactly what he talked about with these girls, but it's not hard to guess that the lives of their parents and families are in their hands, and the slightest accident will wipe them out. I sometimes think it's a little funny, no matter what these maids do, there will be nice eyes around them, what else can they do in this situation?

"My lord, Gamo-sama has been waiting for a long time!" The maid who had drunk the medicine and took the bowl and pushed it out of the way, and only then did Goto Matabei report to me.

"Oh, is he here?" I pushed away the quilt and stood up, and the guards hurried over to hold on. "Invite him to the study, and I'll go see him!"

"The lord is just recovering from his illness, so why don't you invite Gamo-sama here?" He looked at my face and said worriedly.

"It's okay, I'm just thinking about moving!" I didn't take his advice to reach for my coat, and I actually felt that the reason for the soreness in my joints was the lack of activity lately.

"This ...... Be! Outside, please come to the study! Goto Matabei turned his head to the girl who was standing on the side and said, "What are you doing in a daze, quickly change the clothes for the lord!" ”

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

"Congratulations, Your Highness, it seems that your body is already in good condition!" Seeing me coming in from outside the door, the Gamo clan first took a closer look, and then said with relief.

"I'm really embarrassed to fall at this time, and I've caused you a lot of trouble!" After sitting firmly on the main seat, I apologized to him and said that he had served as my "secretary" in handling government affairs since he led his troops forward.

"This is all an inferior duty, Your Highness has a good reputation!" The Gamo clan said politely, and took a stack of documents from his side. "The situation is stable on all fronts and there is nothing particularly noteworthy. After a preliminary sorting out of the information that has come over the past two days, I don't know what kind of report His Highness wants to hear first? ”

"Let's talk about Bizen!" I've always been concerned about the situation of the Ukita family, not to mention that at this time, "Monkey" and Yoshikawa Motoharu were also fighting in that area.

"Yes, Your Highness!" The Gamo clan pulled out a fold with a red cover, unfolded it and flipped it over. “…… In the previous stage, His Highness Hashiba rebelled against the two Bizen Castle Lords, causing the flank of the Maori Army to be raided, and then Yoshikawa Motoharu contracted his defensive line and is currently facing off with His Highness Hashiba near Torakura Castle. Both sides tend to be conservative in their strategies, and I am afraid that it will be difficult to make breakthroughs in the near future......"

"Didn't the Ukita family make any trouble?" I'm thinking about the current situation in Bizen, and I'm honestly a little puzzled. If the Ukita family had done their best to help Yoshikawa Motoharu, then Bizen would not have been in this situation. Since "Monkey" is now adopting a military-based and political-supplemented strategy, it shows that his confidence does not only come from those forces that have surfaced.

"The Ukika's current measures are quite cautious, and they only send Oka Toshikatsu to lead 5,000 men and horses to the periphery of the battle site of Maori and Hashiba, which does not seem to have the intention of intervening. And then there was a message from our ninja this morning...... "He pulled out a small note from the red fold. "Last night, the Ukita Naoji family earned a small wealthy clan named Matsuoka Naoji into Okayama Castle and killed him, accusing him of intending to rebel!"

"Oh, is there such a thing?" I became interested in it.

"Not entirely sure!" The Gamo clan shook his head. "This Matsuoka can also be regarded as a veteran of several dynasties, and he made meritorious contributions when Akamatsu and Yamana fought, but he is not an important person, and his territory is only two hundred stones! To be honest, I don't think it would make a difference for His Highness Hashiba to turn against him, and our ninjas weren't aware of any signs of this beforehand. ”

"I can't completely rule out this possibility, Kuroda Kanbei and Ukita Naoke are not 'good stubble'!" I pondered and said, "Maybe the 'monkeys' are trying to crucify Ukita in this way, or maybe Ukita is trying to shirk the Maori family's request to send troops under the pretext of such internal instability." In any case, we need to pay more attention, and if possible, find out about this matter! I waved my hand away from the troubled thoughts. How's it going on there? ”

"All the best!" Gamo put down the red fold and picked up a yellow one. "Under the strong pressure of our army, the resistance forces in various places collapsed, and all but a few die-hard elements fled to Tottori Castle. Lord Takenaka has already ordered to slow down the attack, in the hope that more people will turn to us, and this is also to force the Yoshikawa Kiyoshi of Boqi to express his position as soon as possible! But even then, in about 10 days, the siege should begin. ”

"The disposal of the heavy rule is very appropriate, the later the siege situation will be in our favor!" I nodded in approval of Takenaka's Hanbei's approach. “…… As time drags on, expectations of Maori reinforcements will be lowered, and some of those who still have illusions will collapse. And when the Yoshikawa family can't afford not to send troops, we can solve him and the Yamana family together! ”

"Your Highness is right, Lord Takenaka is indeed proficient in the art of attacking the heart!" Takenaka Hanbei can be regarded as half of his teacher, and the Gamo clan maintains a lot of respect for him.

"I don't think we can blindly suppress it, and we can properly 'Huairou' when the overall situation is established!" I touched my cheeks, and after talking for a while, my toothache got better. "Some time ago, we also arrested a lot of people, you can carefully screen them, and if there are those who do repent, let some of them out. They will definitely have a connection with the people who fled to Tottori, which will also help to further break their morale! ”

"What Your Highness said is very true!" He nodded, and suddenly seemed to remember something. "I wonder if Your Highness feels that the meal and the people are still in line with your illness during the past few days of recuperation?"

"It's okay......" I don't understand why he suddenly asked about this.

"In that case, I have an idea......," suggested the Gamo clan, "Your Highness may wish to release some of the relatives of these temporary subordinates, and give back some land as appropriate." In this way, it will show them His Highness's mercy, and secondly, it will show them that if they repent, they will be forgiven! ”

"Very well, you can do it as you please!" I don't think I need to bother with these kinds of little things.

"Lord!" At this time, Sakurai Sakichi walked in with an embarrassed face, holding several letters in his hands. "There was a man outside the castle who asked to see the lord, and he said that he was a merchant from Kura-o-cho and his name was Abe Yoshisada......"

"Nonsense!" The Gamo clan suddenly changed color and said: "Your Highness is recovering from a serious illness and needs to recuperate, why do all the messy people come to report?!" ”

"Yes, yes, yes......" Sakurai replied busily, bowing down, "But he said he was commissioned to come, and he had confidential matters to face!" I didn't believe it either, but he had several ...... of recommendations."

"Bring it and I'll see it!" As soon as I stretched out my hand and took the few letters he handed over, I looked down and saw that there were Sueyoshi Sunshiro's, Hasegawa Munehito's, and even one from Kanai Munehisa, it seems that this person's energy is really not small. In my dealings with businessmen, I often bring some good things. "You say...... What's his name? ”