Nijo-jo Castle. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

Ashikaga Yoshiaki leaned on a small stool, looking at Hosokawa Fujitaka kneeling below with an indifferent expression, and when he heard those rumors, his expression changed slightly, but it was nothing more than that, as if he didn't have much thought about this matter at all.

"What do you mean?" Ashikaga Yoshiaki asked lightly.

Hearing this, Hosokawa Fujitaka looked at Ashikaga Yoshiaki with some surprise, he obviously didn't expect Ashikaga Yoshiaki to be so calm when he heard about this. In his heart, when Ashikaga Yoshiaki heard about this, even if he was not overjoyed, he would humiliate himself fiercely.

Seeing Hosokawa Fujitaka's surprised eyes, a trace of resentment flashed in the depths of Ashikaga Yoshiaki's eyes, but he still chuckled and said, "Isn't it strange?" In fact, I thought about it for a long time during this time, and I think that Fujitaka is right in your idea. Now that things have come to this point, the best option is to stabilize the Oda family and prevent the shogunate from perishing at my hands. ”

Hearing this, Hosokawa Fujitaka suddenly said excitedly, "Your Highness can think like this, it's really a blessing for the shogunate!" ”

"Hehe, what I thought about before was too simple, but I made Fujitaka suffer too many grievances, from today on, I hope you can still continue to maintain your loyalty to the shogunate."

"Minister! We will definitely live up to Your Highness's expectations! Hosokawa Fujitaka said loudly. Ever since he was completely disappointed in Ashikaga Yoshiaki, he never expected him to change anything, and because of this, he slowly came to the idea that it would be enough to keep the Ashikaga family.

Hawkers, the Ashikaga family he is talking about is a direct blood relative of Ashikaga Yoshiteru, and now, in addition to Ashikaga Yoshiaki, there is only his 1-year-old son Tsurumaru. Ha? Isn't the Imagawa family the same clan as the Ashikaga clan? Ahem, the Imagawa clan is a descendant of the Seiwa Genji, although it is true that it can be regarded as the same clan of the Ashikaga clan, but if it goes up all the time, basically all the samurai and ministers in the world can be classified into four families, the Genji, the Taira clan, the Tachibana clan and the Fujiwara clan.

Hearing Hosokawa Fujitaka's words, Ashikaga Yoshiaki nodded with satisfaction, and then said with a smile, "Then Fujitaka, what do you think should be done with this matter?" ”

"Your Highness, I think the most important thing now is to clarify the rumors with the Oda family." Speaking of this, Hosokawa Fujitaka cautiously glanced at Ashikaga Yoshiaki, and after finding that he showed no signs of anger, he breathed a sigh of relief, and then said again, "Although this matter will undoubtedly make the Oda family questioned by the whole world if the shogunate does not come forward, but it also passively admits the truth of the rumors." At that time, if any of the forces move out a Ashikaga clan to be appointed as a general, it will be very embarrassing for us to come forward at that time. ”

Although Hosokawa Fujitaka did not elaborate, Ashikaga Yoshiaki naturally knew who he was referring to. "Humph! You're right, if I don't show up, they'll think I've been killed by the Oda family, and then elect another general! At that time, the tragedy of the Onin Rebellion will be staged again. Although this situation would cause the Oda family to suffer great losses, the authority of the shogunate would be completely lost. ”

"Your Highness is wise!" Hosokawa Fujitaka said respectfully when he heard this. Although Ashikaga Yoshiaki said it beautifully before, Hosokawa Fujitaka never thought that he would agree to help so easily. After all, before this, Ashikaga Yoshiaki had always expressed his desire for the Oda family to perish immediately.

And what I didn't expect was Oda Nobunaga. When he came to Nijo Castle to meet Ashikaga Yoshiaki, before he could speak, Ashikaga Yoshiaki himself mentioned it. "Nobunaga, I have already learned the specific situation from Fujitaka, and the shogunate will cooperate with the Oda family to clarify this matter, and the traitors who create rumors must not be allowed to succeed!"

Hearing this, both Oda Nobunaga and Kinoshita Hideyoshi, who was sitting behind him, were all stunned, and they looked at Ashikaga Yoshiaki with a confused expression, obviously not understanding what medicine this great god had taken wrong today. At this time, the words of Hosokawa Fujitaka on the side brought them back to their senses.

"Oda-sama, I wonder how the Oda family is going to clarify this matter? In my opinion, it is best to resolve this matter as soon as possible. Otherwise, when the rumors spread completely, I am afraid that it will cause unexpected trouble. Hosokawa Fujitaka said respectfully.

"That's nature!" Oda Nobunaga nodded when he heard this, and then said in a deep voice, "The idea is that the family and the shogunate will invite the governors of the surrounding forces to come and meet His Royal Highness the Shogun, so that all rumors will naturally disappear." ”

Hearing Oda Nobunaga's words, Ashikaga Yoshiaki pondered for a moment and asked, "Then I wonder which forces Nobunaga are going to invite?" ”

"In the following opinion, the Echizen Asakura family, the Omi Asai family, the Izumi Tayama family, and the Kawachi Miyoshi family should be invited...... and many other Daimyo of Kinai. Oda Nobunaga kept talking, and while speaking, his eyes kept looking into Ashikaga Yoshiaki's eyes, hoping to see something flaw in Ashikaga Yoshiaki's eyes. It's just a pity that until Ashikaga Yoshiaki spoke, Oda Nobunaga didn't see anything wrong.

"Very well, just do what Nobunaga did! I am writing an edict to let many forces see it. Ashikaga Yoshiaki nodded and said. Hearing this, Oda Nobunaga glanced back at Kinoshita Hideyoshi, and he immediately stepped forward to feed Ashikaga Yoshiaki to prepare pen, ink, paper, and inkstone.

After finishing writing, Ashikaga Yoshiaki stretched out his hand and reached to the side, wanting to stamp the edict with the general's seal as before, but as soon as his hand was stretched out, he froze there, because he suddenly remembered that his seal had been kept by Hosokawa Fujitaka because of the previous incident of the world's first martial arts competition.

Seeing this, Hosokawa Fujitaka hurriedly stepped forward and took out the seal ribbon and respectfully placed it in the place where Ashikaga Yoshiaki used to put it before. And Oda Nobunaga didn't say anything about this, he just quietly watched Ashikaga Yoshiaki's every move.

Ashikaga Yoshiaki calmly picked up the seal ribbon and covered it, and then handed it back to Hosokawa Fujitaka. But where does Hosokawa Fujitaka dare to pick it up? After all, at this time, Ashikaga Yoshiaki seems to have decided to reunite with the Oda family, and there is no need to put the seal ribbon on his side. But if you say it bluntly, I'm afraid that Oda Nobunaga will be unhappy. Helpless, Hosokawa Fujitaka could only turn his head to look at Oda Nobunaga, his eyes showing a hint of pleading, and the meaning was self-evident.

In this regard, although Oda Nobunaga still doesn't quite understand why Ashikaga Yoshiaki suddenly has such a change, but since Ashikaga Yoshiaki has revealed the meaning of reconciliation, he naturally will not be ignorant. After all, if you can really reconcile with the shogunate, then it will only be good for the Oda family.

Although Oda Nobunaga can still do many things through the shogunate even if they don't reconcile, it is clear that the effect will not be as good as that of Ashikaga Yoshiaki. It's like a rumor today, if it weren't for the fact that Ashikaga Yoshiaki barely showed his face, how could it have spread?

And most importantly, with the bad relations between the shogunate and the Oda family, the Oda family had to rely on the imperial court in many places. Although the cooperation between the Oda family and the imperial court was very harmonious for now, Oda Nobunaga clearly did not want to rely on the imperial court for everything. If this is the case, if something goes wrong and the Oda family and the imperial court are at odds, then the Oda family will completely lose its righteousness.

Seeing Oda Nobunaga nodded, Hosokawa Fujitaka hurriedly said respectfully, "Before, it was only because of something special that His Highness's seal was kept by his subordinates, but now that the matter has been resolved, it is still kept by His Highness himself." ”

Hearing this, Ashikaga Yoshiaki looked at Oda Nobunaga again, and when he saw this, Oda Nobunaga said in a deep voice, "That's true, there was a reason for things before, and now the seal ribbon should naturally be in charge of Your Highness personally." ”

Nodding, Ashikaga Yoshiaki didn't say much, just casually put the seal ribbon on the desk, and then handed the written edict to Kinoshita Hideyoshi.

As a result, Kinoshita Hideyoshi presented the edict, and Oda Nobunaga took a closer look at it and found that there was indeed nothing suspicious in the edict. Only then did he respectfully bow down in front of Ashikaga Yoshiaki and said, "In this case, I will send the edict here." ”

"Well, I'll leave everything to Nobunaga." Ashikaga Yoshiaki nodded and said. As he spoke, Ashikaga Yoshiaki changed his words, and suddenly smiled at Oda Nobunaga, "Nobunaga, I have something I want to ask you, I wonder if you can agree?" ”

Hearing this, Oda Nobunaga was stunned for a moment, but still said respectfully, "Your Highness, please say, as long as you can do it in your future, you will definitely not refuse." ”

"Hehe, it's actually a very simple thing, my shogunate Fujitaka you know, is a retainer with great talents, but now that the shogunate is in decline, he can't show his talent at all under my command, so I decided to let him serve you. In this way, not only will they be able to make the most of their talents, but they will also be able to strengthen the relationship between the shogunate and the Oda family, how do you think? Ashikaga Yoshiaki said with a chuckle.

Hearing this, everyone was immediately stupid, and they looked at Ashikaga Yoshiaki who was sitting there smiling in amazement, and there was only one thought in their hearts, "This is a fake Ashikaga Yoshiaki, right?" ”

And Hosokawa Fujitaka shouted in panic, "Your Highness, did your subordinates do something wrong?!" Please make it clear to Your Highness, don't expel your subordinates! ”

Although Hosokawa Fujitaka was very disappointed in Ashikaga Yoshiaki before, now that it has changed, as a loyal minister of the shogunate, Hosokawa Fujitaka will naturally continue to assist. It's just that he couldn't have imagined that he had just made up his mind, and Ashikaga Yoshiaki gave him to Oda Nobunaga.

Hearing this, Ashikaga Yoshiaki chuckled and said, "Fujitaka, don't worry, I'm not expelling you, I'm just asking you to serve Nobunaga as a representative of the shogunate, so as to build a bridge of communication between the shogunate and the Oda family." I thought about it for a long time, and the reason why there were so many misunderstandings before was because there was too little communication between the shogunate and the Oda family. ”

After speaking, Ashikaga Yoshiaki turned his head to look at Oda Nobunaga and smiled, "Nobunaga, I believe you shouldn't refuse, right?" ”

Hearing this, Oda Nobunaga, who hadn't reacted to what was going on, subconsciously replied, "That's natural, Fujitaka is a great talent, and if he can serve his family, it will be a blessing for his family!" After saying that, Oda Nobunaga came back to his senses and hurriedly asked, "But in my opinion, it still has to be volunteered by Hosokawa-sama." ”

"So, Fujitaka, would you like to?" Ashikaga Yoshiaki chuckled and asked, "Don't worry, even if you go to the Oda family, you will still be my shogun." ”

Hearing this, Hosokawa Fujitaka believed that Ashikaga Yoshiaki did not intend to expel him, and hurriedly bowed to the ground and said respectfully, "Since this is the case, my subordinates are willing." Please also rest assured that your subordinates will definitely communicate with the Oda family in all aspects, so that the relationship between the Oda family and the shogunate will become more harmonious. ”

Nodding, Ashikaga Yoshiaki looked at Oda Nobunaga again and asked, "Fujitaka has already agreed, so Nobunaga, Fujitaka will ask you in the future." ”

"Please rest assured, Your Highness, I will definitely live up to Hosokawa-sama's talents." Oda Nobunaga said respectfully. Although he still doesn't understand what Ashikaga Yoshiaki means, Hosokawa Fujitaka will definitely not refuse to become his retainer.

"Well, then that's it, I'll leave it to Nobunaga for the rumors." Ashikaga Yoshiaki said lightly.

"Yes!"

Everyone bowed down, and then Oda Nobunaga was about to leave, but when he walked to the gate of the palace, Oda Nobunaga suddenly turned to Kinoshita Hideyoshi and said, "Monkey, return to Mino with me." ”

Kinoshita Hideyoshi was stunned for a moment when he heard this, but immediately reacted and said, "Yes!" ”

"Thank you Oda...... Lord. Hosokawa Fujitaka on the side said in a respectful voice. He heard Oda Nobunaga's subconscious meaning. Although on the surface Oda Nobunaga only asked Kinoshita Hideyoshi to return to Mino with him, why did Kinoshita Hideyoshi stay in Nijo Castle? Isn't it just spying on Ashikaga Yoshiaki? In this way, letting Kinoshita Hideyoshi return to Mino naturally means that the house arrest of Ashikaga Yoshiaki will be lifted.

"Hehe, since His Royal Highness the General took the initiative to show favor, I naturally won't be unappreciative." Oda Nobunaga chuckled.

It's just that after returning to Mino, Oda Nobunaga's first order was not to send people to deliver edicts in various places, but to recruit Kinoshita Hideyoshi. The purpose is naturally to find out what the hell Ashikaga Yoshiaki is doing.

"Yes!" Kinoshita Hideyoshi immediately responded when he heard this, took out the small book that had been prepared a long time ago, and read it quickly.

It's just a pity that Oda Nobunaga didn't hear anything suspicious throughout the text, from the various curses at the beginning to the silence later, it sounds like a normal performance.

After listening to it again, Oda Nobunaga suddenly asked, "Does Ashikaga Yoshiaki have a child?" ”

"Yes, in February last year, Prince Aikonai gave birth to a son, and His Royal Highness the General named him Tsurumaru." Kinoshita Hideyoshi said in a deep voice, "His Royal Highness the Shogun loves this child very much, and bluntly said that he will be the hope of the shogunate, and even because of this, the relationship with Prince Aikonai has become much better." ”

"Hmm......" Oda Nobunaga nodded, then waved his hand. Seeing this, Kinoshita Hideyoshi bowed respectfully and went down.

"Is it really because of the child?" Oda Nobunaga muttered suspiciously.