This time, it was still with Ii Ibi as the scout, and Wasuka Keikatsu and Tsubouchi Toshida led the crab river to take the lead and marched directly to Okayama Castle. The difference is that due to the internal strife in Harima, Hideyoshi Yura was unable to take care of the Bizen Province, and even had to guard against the attacks of the Mori family and the Ukita family, so I was ordered by Nobunaga to temporarily take over the strategy of the Ukita family.

As a result, it didn't take long for Jing Yi Xuanzhi to return with more than 200 horsemen. He rode straight to his own camp and jumped off his horse in front of me. Then I noticed that his face was very strange.

"Is there something going on up ahead?" I asked.

"Yes," he nodded, "we caught a woman in front of the Great Cloud Temple. ”

"It's a miracle!" I couldn't help but laugh, "A woman...... It's worth it for you to lead so many people to escort you, is it Hosotake Heeihime (Kaguyahime)? ”

"The person is indeed very beautiful," Jing Yi nodded straightly, "and, according to the maid next to her, she is the Lady Funazu of the Ukita Nao's family......"

"What!" I was really stunned right now, "The main room of the Ukita Nao's house?" How could it be in Dayun Temple? ”

According to the maid, Daiunji Temple was built for Lady Funazu after she gave birth to her son-in-law, and was built by the Ukita Nao family to worship the ancestors of the Funazu family. And today, it seems that it is the sacrifice of Mrs. Funazu's father, so she will go to worship in person," Jing Yi Xuanzhi explained, but his face was full of confusion, "Father, isn't this strange? We were about to go out to Okayama Castle, and the Ukita Naoya must have known about it, so how could they allow their main room to go out of the castle to worship their ancestors at this time? Although this matter is important, it can't compare to the safety of the main room itself, right? ”

"It's weird......," I sighed, trying to think about it. Ukita Naoya is the ultimate plotter, and to say that it was his negligence would be impossible. He must have done it for his reasons.

"So, what should we do with this lady now?" Jing Yixuan asked directly, "If I continue to be detained in my queue, I must be protected by a large number of people, and my own movement must be restricted." In this case, it will definitely affect the reconnaissance mission delivered by the lord. ”

"Then let's send it back to Changshan Castle first," I thought for a moment, and my eyes fell on the close attendant of Gang Yuanfu, Kira Jiro, Zuo Jinxiuxing, "Well, Kichimaru, you are in charge of this matter!" ”

"Uncle, this is my first battle!" He cried out in dissatisfaction.

"You boy! Thought it was fun to fight? I laughed and scolded. In my opinion, he is not ready to go to war at all, but he is already fifteen years old this year, and Xiujing does not want to delay any longer, so he took this opportunity to let him submit and catch up with this revenge battle against the Yuki family.

"Let's just trade it for territory!" Hideko suggested, "I heard from Xuanxiu, Mrs. Togawa last time was transferred to the territory of Kojima-gun......"

"What do you know!" Xiujing scolded loudly, "How can there be such a simple thing? ”

Indeed, the last time, on the surface, the Uki family exchanged territory for prisoners, but in fact, it was to make up for our losses and as a condition for our withdrawal of troops. If it were a normal situation, the Ukita Naoya wouldn't care so much about the hostages. He even killed several of his sons-in-law, his brother-in-law, and his own son-in-law, and also caused a sister and two daughters to commit suicide because of this, how could he care about the main room of the retainers?

However, Xiuxing's casual words reminded me.

This time, our army came in a big way, and it doesn't seem to be an ordinary situation, so sending out his main room in such an ambiguous way would it be a deliberate act of reconciliation by the Ukita Naoka? After all, he now belongs to the Maori family, and if he openly surrenders hostages, it will be tantamount to betraying the alliance between the two families, so that the Maori family can find a place to gather a crowd to fight and be destroyed like the Mimura family in the preparation.

When the Mimura family and the Maori family formed an alliance, the Maori family was still at war with the Niko family, and they needed to be contained by the Mimura family; However, when the Niko family was destroyed and Niko Katsuhisa and Yamanaka Yukimori fled to Kyoto, the Mimura family lost its use value, and instead became a destabilizing factor that needed to be eliminated because of the Anyu base in China, which was close to the Maori family. In the same way, the alliance between the Maori family and the Uki family was only to force the Mimura family to rebel and annex China together; Now that the Mimura family has gone, the Maori family has begun to attack the Harima country, and the Uki family, which has a considerable degree of freedom in the middle, is a bit of a hindrance, such as the previous capture of Shangyue City, which is currently an enclave across the former country, and it is very inconvenient to defend.

It is a very unfortunate thing for a weak family to be around a strong overlord. When it has value, it will be used as a shield to block the front; Once this shield becomes abnormal or loses its usefulness, it will become the target of the opponent's annexation...... At this time, another reconnaissance team of more than 20 people returned. They also brought someone with them, and they still knew each other - the longship Sadakin, who was in charge of the negotiations last time.

"His Royal Highness Kira Kingo, it's been a long time!" He said casually.

It's coming so fast! I thought to myself, and I almost affirmed the intentions of the Ukita Naoya. However, on the surface, I still have a businesslike attitude: "His Royal Highness Longship is here, what is the matter?" ”

"That's right," said Nagafune Sada, "I heard that His Royal Highness Jingo was hunting in this area, and the head of the family was very honored, so he ordered the foreign ministers to come and pay a visit, so as to show the friendship of the landlord...... In addition, I heard that the housewife of the family was a guest here with His Royal Highness Jingo, and the ministers should also welcome them back by the way, so as not to worry about the head of the family and the young master. ”

"Haha! Is this a hunt? I laughed, "Your Highness the longship would really be an understatement...... As far as I know, the two sides are currently at hostilities, right? Is it just for hunting to lead an army into enemy territory? ”

"This, His Royal Highness the main family and Harima's Harachima-mae Mamoru have temporarily reached a rapprochement, doesn't His Highness Kongo know yet?" Nagafune Zhen was surprised, "With the actions of His Highness Jingo, I guess I would not do such a thing that deviates from the covenant...... Could it be that everyone in the Oda family is doing their own thing? ”

"When is peace reached?" Miyata Mitsuji, who was beside him, couldn't help but shout, "Just ten days ago, you were still attacking your family's Tsuneyama Castle!" ”

"Is it Miyata-sama?" Sadako Nagafune recognized Miyata Mitsuji at once, "I want to teach Miyata-sama that it was in the last few days that the agreement between the foreign minister and Hayashi was officially signed. Speaking of which, this was brought up by the Chikuzen Mamoru when he supported Kamizuki Castle last year, and the family was just responding," he smiled kindly and bowed to me, "Because I am worried that the Maori Warfair will be in trouble, the agreement is in the form of a secret, and if His Royal Highness Chikuzen Mamoru wants to make it public, the family will naturally not admit it...... For specific situations, His Royal Highness Kingo may wish to consult His Highness Mamoru Chikuzen. ”

"Isn't this kind of delaying tactics too clumsy?" Xiujing couldn't help but speak, "Consult with His Royal Highness Chikuzen Mori, if you come and go, it will take at least three or four days, and then you can be ready, right?" ”

"I guarantee that the secret contract does exist," Nagafune said seriously, "The Mori family and the Oda family are both powerful forces that the family cannot compete with, and the head of the family does not want to get involved in the dispute between the two families. However, with the position of the family, it is impossible to get out of the trouble...... For example, the attack on Tsuneyama Castle was because of the request of His Royal Highness Mihara, and the family had to be perfunctory. With the kindness and wisdom of His Royal Highness Jingo, I should be able to understand the suffering of my family! ”

"I can understand," I nodded, "thanks to His Highness Ukita's kindness, I am very grateful that I have not been cruel to Miyata several times." ”

"Hehe, four times in total!" Sadako Nagafune laughed, "Miyata-sama's bravery has also been seen by the foreign minister. Sometimes, however, it is too conceited! ”

Hearing this, Miyata Mitsuji stopped talking, and his face became extremely ugly.

I knew it was going to be. He and Kazuki Joto, one is brave and good at attacking, the other is tenacious and defensive, and they have been like this since childhood. According to history, he was killed by the enemy's bow and arrow because he charged too far forward during the strategy Harima. The Ukita Naoya, who had been out of battle several times outside Changshan Castle before and was known for being good at assassination, would definitely notice this shortcoming of him, and he would definitely not miss a few times in his secret calculations.

As for the conclusion of a secret pact between Hideyoshi and the Ukita Naoya, that is also understandable. Judging from Hideyoshi's style and stance, he has always liked to make small moves, and he often has some careful thoughts, and reaching a peace with the Ukita Naoya can relieve the pressure on the west and concentrate on besieging Miki Castle, and at the same time, there may be plans that I will not be able to expand my power in the country of Bizen. On the side of the Uki family, with the strategy of the Nao family, it is natural that it will not completely fall to the Maori family, and if it really wants to submit to a certain party, maybe it will be more towards the Oda family - after all, the Maori family is formed by a huge family of kinship, and there are not many direct leaders of the clan family, so they will not allow such a powerful retainer as the Uki family; And on the side of the Oda family, the direct collar of the two Nobunaga and Nobutada can almost catch up with the entire Mori family, and as for the minister-slave family that is stronger than the Uki family, not to mention the appearance, there are several generations of the people who have personally divided the seals.

With this in mind, things seem to have taken a turn for the better. With the position of the Uki family, and considering the Nao's clever move to send out the main room, maybe he can directly persuade the Uki family to surrender...... "His Royal Highness Nagafune," I called Nagafune Sada.

"What does His Highness Jingo command?" He owes his way.

"Please go back and talk to His Highness Quanzhou, if you want to welcome back Mrs. Funazu, please go out of the city and meet me, the place is designated by His Highness Quanzhou; As for whether or not to withdraw from the army, it depends on the outcome of the interview...... Now, on the orders of His Highness the Inner Palace, I have taken over the responsibility of His Highness Hara's preparation and subordination, and if I feel that it is necessary, I can abolish the previous secret agreement. ”

"Don't hide it from His Royal Highness Jingo, the head of the family also has the intention of meeting with you," Nagafune Sadako smiled slightly, "Before the foreign minister came, he once explained that if it is convenient for His Highness Jingo, please go to Guangzhen Temple, and the time will be designated by His Highness Jingo." ”

"Gwangjin Temple?" I nodded, "His Royal Highness Ukita has a heart, please reply to His Highness Quanzhou, I will arrive on time in the afternoon." ”

……，…… Kojinji Temple is a Bodhi temple of the Ukido family, located on Mt. Shibaoka in the north of the city, and belongs to the Tendai sect, dedicated to King Aizen (by the way, Naoe Kanesu's "love" prefix comes from the belief in King Aizen, similar to Uesugi Kenshin's "Bi" character military flag originates from Bishamonten). This is a very suitable place to meet, which fully demonstrates Ukita's sincerity, after all, the words and promises made in front of his own ancestor spirit are naturally extremely serious and solemn. At the same time, this also takes into account the safety of both parties - for him, no matter how ruthless he is, he will not be able to raise a sword in his own Bodhi Temple; And in my style, I will definitely not make unkind actions that offend other people's Bodhi Temple.

In the middle of the day, I led the troops of the department and brought Mrs. Funazu to the outside of Guangzhen Temple on time. In front of the mountain gate, in addition to Nagafune Sadakin, there is also Togawa Toyasu, who has met once, and two other samurai who have never met, judging from the fact that the two can be juxtaposed with Nagase, Togawa, it is probably the younger brother of the Naoya family, Ukita Tadashi and one of the three elders of Ukita. All four of them were dressed in formal dresses and looked very solemn.

But they are not the point, the focus is on the Ukita Naoya in the temple. I accepted their common names and greetings, nodded faintly, and followed them into the temple. In line with the principle of reciprocity, I also chose four people as my retinue, namely Hideko Kira, Nobunao Ii, Miyata Koji, and Kazuki Shiroto. Among them, Xiuxing is Xiujing's agent, and Xiujing himself stays outside to control the military situation in case of safety.

As a matter of etiquette, I had all four of them remove their head pockets and wear only soft black hats as linings. The young and energetic faces of the four of them were in stark contrast to those of the Uki family, who were generally in their forties and fifties and had already shown their old state. And when Nagafune Sadako saw Xiuxing's appearance, he was obviously taken aback.

"Is it the son of the former keeper of the house by Yura?" He asked tentatively, apparently mistaking him for Yura Keishu. This made me even more convinced that he had indeed been to Hideyoshi's army and had contact with Hideyoshi himself.

As far as I know, Jingxiu is now Hideyoshi's most trusted and relied on attendant, and it is not something that can be seen casually.

I didn't answer this question specifically, just shook my head with a smile, and followed them to the root hall dedicated to the spiritual throne of the ancestors of the Uki family.

In the main hall sat a samurai with a clear face and a weathered face, accompanied by two children, one about thirteen or fourteen years old, and the other five or six years old. Obviously, this samurai is the current head of the Ukita family, and this year's Ukita and Izumi Mamoru Nao's family. According to intelligence, he is forty-eight years old, but he definitely looks more than that, probably because of the hardships he suffered when he was young.

I left the four of them at the door, walked straight over, and sat down across from Nao Ukita's house.

(To be continued)