"Pour me another drink!" I lay comfortably on the lawn in civilian clothes, and instructed the maid to fill the cups at hand. Looking at the white clouds in the sky slowly drifting by with the breeze, my bones seemed to spread out.

Xianzhi and Ying also changed into gorgeous costumes, and their outfits were quite casual. Xue is no longer dressed in full uniform, she is dressed up like Fluttershy and Crane's maids, and at the moment they are teasing my three sons together. Only Mirage Little Fox hasn't changed much, but it turns out that she doesn't look like a ninja anyway. In the distance, more than 30 people from the guards, attendants, and coachmen gathered around, guarding against some "accidents" that would not happen at all.

It is a secluded mountain woodland, surrounded by ancient trees and a babbling stream, which is about two acres of lawn. Although the cherry blossoms have long since fallen, the mountain flowers in the bushes are in full bloom. Presumably, Kyoto has fallen into a lazy state under the scorching sun at this time, but the coolness in the mountains is a good time. It is 12 miles from Katsura Kawaguchi Castle and 8 miles from Kyoto, and you can see the official road when you climb the hillside on the left. I chose this place to visit today, and I have been wandering in all kinds of lakes and mountains for the past two months.

"Those guys...... Maybe you are in the sun at the moment, sweating like a pulp to command the battle! In a cozy and tranquil atmosphere, I was reminded of a few "old friends" again.

Shibata Katsuie's war in Echizen was in full swing, and the power of the small wealthy clan that had lost its heavyweight role fell apart, and the former Asakura general Asakura Keiken, who had been retiring at home, came forward to mediate and return to Oda's banner, and Shimoma Yoriteru had to return to Kaga. Shibata Katsuya was arrogant for a while, and his army invaded Kaga overwhelmingly, but the consequences were not as smooth as he expected. Ichijomune had an extremely deep mass base in Kaga, but Shibata Sora's 50,000-strong army was caught in a bitter battle from city to city, small patrols and sentry posts were constantly attacked, grain and grass were burned, and well water was poisoned.

Niwa Nagahide had already gained a foothold in Izumi, but he was not too anxious about Kii's attack. After the continuous attack in the past few years, the power of the Zaga people is indeed much worse than before, but it is far from being without the strength to fight. The Niwa army won some small victories on the border, and for a time entered Saga Castle, which was abandoned by their opponents, but eventually retreated due to constant harassment and changes in the Shikoku Miyoshi family, but fortunately did not suffer much damage.

The "monkey" had already taken control of most of Harima, and the retired Akamatsu Yoshisuke and his son Noribo handed over Himeji Castle. Under the persuasion of Kuroda Kanbei, Bessho, Kodera and others surrendered one after another, and Akamatsu Hiroei of the Uno Akamatsu family also offered Tatsuno Castle, among which Bestsu Nagaharu also volunteered to be the vanguard. Only Sayo Akamatsu Masaho of the Akamatsu family resolutely resisted, and welcomed reinforcements from the Mori and Uki families into Kamitsuki Castle. Although facing a fortified city with strong guards, the "monkey" was still full of confidence, but there was a situation halfway through.

First, the Miyoshi trio landed in Settsu, and some of the Ikeda and Araki troops who were operating with the Hashiba Army had to retreat. Then the Mori-owned Nojima Navy began to harass the Harima coast, and Hideyoshi Hashiba had to deploy manpower to prevent it. Now in the face of the almost equal number of people inside and outside the city, the genius military advisor Kuroda Kanbei couldn't help but scratch his head.

In the midst of my struggle, a letter was delivered from the front line of Kamitsuki Castle to Katsura Kawaguchi Castle and placed on my desk. With a certain amount of psychological preparation for this situation, I issued an order to Tango.

"Your Highness! Although such a day is very pleasant, ......" Ying said with a little worry in relief: "If we don't go back to Danhou like this, will it really be fine?" ”

"Something? What will happen? I asked her halfway through. For example, today's Emperor Shengming's right general Shenwu, the government has a group of pillars of His Excellency Konoe to take care of, and it is naturally the Haiyan River that is peaceful in the world! With such a 'good' world, what else can happen in the world? ”

"Poof......!" My words made Xianzhi and Xue laugh, and my sons and maids looked at the "joyful" effect I caused with blank faces.

"Always make fun of me!" The warbler was a little dissatisfied with my words, and her apprehension was mainly out of concern for me. "The current area of Izumi, Settsu, and Harima has been in chaos, and not only the three of Miyoshi have made a comeback, but the Maori family has also intervened! The entire western kingdom is already in chaos, and you can't ...... your highness."

"What can't I do, and what can I do?" My good mood has dropped a bit. "Isn't San'in okay now? It's good that we can manage our own affairs well, and others may not appreciate it if we manage too much! ”

"In fact, many people are still very optimistic about you, maybe you don't know it yourself!" Xianzhi picked up a rose cake and handed it to me, replacing the wine glass without a trace. "The people from Izumi who were sent away by you last month are here again, and yesterday I asked the chief chef Inoue to send a gift list!"

"What do they want to do?" I took a big bite of the rose cake impatiently, as if I was back in the "net".

"The three of Miyoshi and the Mishima Navy are very fierce in that area, and their lives are very hard!" Xianzhi didn't complain about my temper, but gently massaged my back. "They hope that Lord Oda can increase his troops and Izumi, and if that doesn't work, at least you can send some! They also heard about you lending troops to His Royal Highness Yuchai......"

"What did you say to them!" I asked, frowning.

"I didn't answer them directly......" Xianzhi turned and took out a few letters from a small box and handed them to me. But I've got the manager to have some money ready, at least I shouldn't be too blunt with them! ”

"You're doing a great job!" I nodded, and thought about the whole thing again. "Tell them that for the sake of the past feelings in Hosen and Hanoi, we can 'express' their losses, and nothing else can be helped! The money was sent by Inoue and spent from the family's expenses. He took one of the native products from each of them, and returned all the other valuables, saying that he knew their difficulties and accepted their wishes. Tell them it's all your own meaning, and don't say I know about it! ”

"Okay, I'll do it when I get back!" Xianzhi agreed softly, and when she saw that I was not interested, she talked about another matter. "Anyway, you don't have anything else to do now, so it's better to take care of Shinhachiro!"

"Shinhachiro! What happened to him? "I squinted my eyes and looked into the distance, where Shinhachiro was throwing a large tree with a stone by himself. Recently, his situation has not been quite right, and he often does not see anyone for three days.

"He's in love with a girl!" Xianzhi said softly, looking both relieved and anxious.

"Is there such a thing?" I sat up straight. Shinhachiro is 23 years old this year, and according to Japanese custom at this time, children should have run all over the ground, but he himself didn't care at all. With his brave name spread all over the world, many people are staring at this family business, including small daimyo who is about the same status as me, as well as wealthy city lords who belong to me, and some people, although their status is not very high, have put forward the conditions for him to inherit the family business. I didn't interfere too much in this, and Xianzhi also personally met one candidate after another, and some of them were really good in all aspects, but Shinhachiro himself didn't let go. Today he actually found one himself, and I was really curious. "Whose lady is it?" When I asked, Ying and Xue also came over.

"Yes...... Hey, you better ask himself! ”

Looking at Xianzhi like this, I was even more eager to know his choice. "Shinhachiro, come here!" I waved over there.

"Hmm......" Shinhachiro walked over with a depressed face, completely devoid of the lively atmosphere of the past.

"Your sister said you had a crush on a young lady, which one?" I couldn't go around in circles with him, so I asked directly.

"Oh?" Shinhachiro was stunned and quickly looked at Xianzhi, and his face turned red. Ying and Xue covered their mouths and snickered on the side. "I ...... I do not know! ”

"Don't know?" I was also stunned for a moment, there was such a thing. "That'...... Where did you meet? ”

"We ...... I don't know! "Shinhachiro wasted his energy for a long time, and I realized the gist of the matter. It turned out that at the tea party a few days ago, Shinhachiro was in charge of taking care of our carriage and horses outside, and at this moment, a young lady got out of the car and entered. I won't describe the scene at that time, anyway, Shinhachiro was waiting outside as if he had been struck by lightning, and he wanted to watch her come out again. But when he came out, Shinhachiro still didn't have the courage to go over and inquire, and he didn't even have the courage to ask the next person, so he just watched the people leave stupidly. After that, for more than a month, Shinhachiro rode to Kyoto every morning, wandering aimlessly in the streets and alleys, but the people of Yi have been nowhere to be seen.

"Hiss~!" When I heard this, I immediately snorted. Except for the young lady, Shinhachiro's waste didn't leave any impression of the ox cart, the attendant, and the family crest. At that time, there were hundreds of families and thousands of people, and how could you let me find them? I suddenly remembered another question, and I couldn't tell if he was in a state at the time. "Are you sure...... Is it a young lady, not a lady? I asked tentatively.

"What are you talking about!" Shinhachiro shouted dissatisfiedly, and it seemed that if someone else was changed, he might be about to fight immediately.

"That's good, that's good......" I hurriedly calmed his excitement, and then turned my head and asked Mirage Little Fox, "Is there a way to find it?" ”

"Do you want me to arrest all the unmarried women who attended the tea party at that time for this Shinhachiro-sama to see?" She habitually rolled her eyes at me, and went back to teasing her Haidongqing falcon. "It's a big project!"

"Oh!" I also felt a little dazed for a moment. "Don't worry! Even if it's heaven and earth, I'll help you find her for you! I patted him on the shoulder, and now I can only trouble the still water Yuhu and Kato Duanzo at the same time.

Shinhachiro's incident distracted me a little, and the pressure on my heart was not so heavy. At about four o'clock in the afternoon, we came to the official road and prepared to return to Katsura Kawaguchi Castle.

"Look at !!" Shinhachiro suddenly shuddered and pointed his fingers forward, and his eyes radiated a light comparable to that of the sun. "That's it...... That's the car! ”