In early September, I was driven back to Sumoto Castle by Nobunaga.

He did use it in a hurry, and he was not exaggerating at all. Personally, I'm very willing to stay in Mie Castle for a while, so that I can continue to suppress and weaken the Ichijo Sect in my domain. This is my foundation, and I can't take it too seriously. Anyway, Awaji has a relatively strong military force and an absolutely superior naval army, so there is no need to worry about security.

However, Kinai became more and more turbulent, and it gradually showed a situation that was unfavorable to the Oda family.

At the end of last month, the Settsu Ikeda family, who had made peace with the Oda family last year, suddenly broke their promise, and Ikeda Tomomasa, together with the officials Araki Murashige and Nakagawa Kiyohide, raised troops and killed Wada Yumasa, a guardian loyal to Nobunaga, in Shirai Kawara, almost completely turning the entire situation in Settsu around. Hearing this, the Miyoshi family, who were trapped in Shikoku, were greatly encouraged and began to make a move to try to retake the Awa country. Yamato's Matsunaga Hide, who was not calm, did not directly confront Nobunaga, but instigated Miyoshi Yoshitsugu in Kawachi to attack Nobunaga's brother-in-law Hatakeyama Akitaka on the grounds of pacifying the civil strife of the Hatakeyama family; Miyoshi Yoshitsugu wanted to expel the Hatakeyama family and monopolize the entire Kawachi country, so he gladly listened to Matsunaga Hide's advice and began to attack the castle of the Hatakeyama side.

Faced with such a situation, Nobunaga was naturally very worried. If Ikeda Tomomasa of Settsu led his army into Hanoi, the Hatakeyama family would definitely have to get a bento, and then Yamato's Matsunaga Hide, it is likely that he would also completely deviate, causing the Oda family to lose control of most of the Kinai. Alternatively, Ikeda could reunite with the Miyoshi family and contain Awaji so that the Miyoshi family could regain Awa and counterattack Kinai, which would also cause great trouble for the Oda family.

At this time, he urgently needed me to sit in Awaji, on the one hand, to contain Settsu Province, and on the other hand, to help Awa's Hosokawa Shinyuki guard the Miyoshi family.

It was not surprising that Nobunaga thought this way, because he did not know that Ikeda Chimasa had begun to be overshadowed by Araki Murashige, and he did not understand the surname of Araki Murashige.

Like Matsunaga Hide, Araki Murashige is also a seasoned conspirator, and it can be said that he is not inferior to Matsunaga Hide. Matsunaga Hidehide is good at taking advantage of others, while Araki Murashige is good at taking advantage of other forces, especially good at taking things out of chaos, attacking people on the other side in the name of warring, and wantonly expanding his own strength and territory. For him, it doesn't matter at all who is subordinate, what matters is profitable. Compared with those who have no opinions at all and just fall to the strong according to instinct, he is undoubtedly much more practical and clever.

So he will not meddle in the affairs of other countries now, but to strengthen the reputation of the head of the Ikeda family, Tomomasa Ikeda. He will only stabilize the Tsutsu Province and continue to overthrow Ikeda until he replaces him.

However, since Nobunaga gave me a strict order, I had no choice but to obey it. Fortunately, he didn't send any indiscriminate envoys, and he knew that my territory was generally settled, so he let me go to Awaji Province. In addition, he gave me the power to act on the fly, which meant that I was free to choose the direction of my strategy, whether it was the Ikeda family or the Miyoshi family, and it was entirely up to me to make my own decisions.

When I left Mie Castle, I still entrusted Shigeharu Takenaka with the general manager, Naoko Ii to deploy the defense, and Kazutoyo Yamauchi and Genei Maeda to take charge of government affairs. The education of Keitaro, Jiro, and Saburo was carried out by Yoritsu Ishitani, Naotoro Iii, and Hyotaro Roshina, and was carried out at Bodhi Temple, and Yujin, Akitsu, and Kaizu were placed in Joruri-in Temple, and were taken care of by Hoshin-in, Nana, Mitsu, and a group of maids, while the one- and two-year-old Keishiro, Mingzu, and Wazu remained in the city, because they were raised by a nurse and maids. The only exception is Senjuhime. She's always been more introverted and only willing to follow Natsu, so she went to Awaji Province with me.

Sailing on the sea is always pleasant. Under the blue sky, there is an even bluer sea, and the eyes are cast into the distance, and the sea and the sky gradually merge into one color, and the vastness is endless. The sound of the waves on the sea is pleasant, and between the ups and downs of the waves, large areas of golden rippling waves are shining, and occasionally seagulls and dolphins visit. On the shore side, because it is an offshore drive, you will never get tired of seeing the various scenery along the way.

Whether it is the vast sea or the inland behind the shore, there seems to be a lot of unknown hope.

Seeing such a scene, even the introverted Senju Ji became much more cheerful. She followed Natsu and me on the deck, laughing cheerfully from time to time.

I'm also in a good mood and often walk on the deck with my mother and son. This is also when my thinking is the clearest.

Within a few days of sailing, I had already decided on a general plan. In the direction of Settsu, see if you can find one or two entry points, and then use the naval army to provide support to contain Araki Murashige's energy. In the direction of Shikoku, one is to assist Hosokawa Shinyuki to resist the Miyoshi family, and the other is to pay attention to Tosa Province and carefully establish a tacit understanding with the Miyoshi family.

The flotilla sailed through Kumano, through the Kii Suido, and into Osaka Bay. On the way, he met a patrolling navy, and immediately sent a speedboat back to the port to inform him, and then joined the formation and escorted the fleet directly to the city of Zhouben.

At this time, Xiujing was already waiting on the shore. He temporarily lives in Ninomaru in Sumoto Castle and handles the affairs of the territory on my behalf.

"How's it going?" I asked him as I walked.

"It's not good," Xiujing frowned, "Over there, at the beginning of the month, the Araki family captured Ibaraki Castle from the Wada family, and the Ibaraki family has perished, and now only His Royal Highness Wada Yuenaga is supporting ...... in Takatsuki Castle."

I nodded slightly. Wada Weichang, this is a second ancestor comparable to Rokkaku Yoshiji, his ability is limited, not enough to convince his retainers, and his suspicion is extremely serious, first he killed his own uncle and later served Wada Weizeng, and then tried to assassinate the family's highly prestigious Takayama Yuzhao, Chongyou's father and son, causing the rebellion and separation, and finally escaped from the territory and was replaced by Takayama father and son.

"Since my brother is back, I can send troops...... Do you want to enter the Settsu to support the Wada family? Xiujing asked.

I didn't answer, but asked him, "What is the situation of the Miyoshi family?" ”

"The Miyoshi family seems to want to retake the Awa country, and there have been a few frictions with the Hosokawa family recently. However, according to the information obtained by the Hattori family, their situation in Sanuki Province is not good, and not only do they have conflicts with the wealthy families of Sanki Country, but they also have different opinions with each other. With their eyes on the whole of Shikoku, the trio actively united the Chomune Ibe clan in Tosa and the Kono clan in Iyo, with Miyoshi Choji bent on retaking Katsurui Castle, while Tokawa Kurbo wanted to suppress the centrifugal wealthy clan first and stabilize the Sanki country first. Xiujing replied.

"Hehe, if that's the case, there's nothing to worry about." I smiled and walked into the castle tower.

"One more thing," Xiujing looked at my face seriously, "Last month, a boy was born to the Great Shape Hall of Katsurui Castle, who was adopted as an adopted son by His Highness Shinyuki, and named Hosokawa Rokuro. ”

"Rokuro Hosokawa?" I was amazed. This is the young name used by the sons of the Hosokawa family! Hosokawa Shinyuki and his father, Hosokawa Chitaka, are both Rokuro by their young names. There is also Chitaka's uncle, the Awa Hosokawa family (Sanshu family) Hosokawa Sumimoto, who became Hosokawa Masamoto's adopted son, Hosokawa Takakuni, the Noshu family who also became an adopted son and inherited the stewardship, and Hosokawa Uekuni, the son of Takakuni and who also served as the steward, and the young name is Rokuro.

He knew that the child was mine, so he just made it his adopted son, why did he make him a sister-in-law? Although he has no heirs yet, he is only in his thirties, and it is still very likely that he will give birth to a son-in-law.

If it's just to get my support, there's no need to do that. Even for the sake of the Oda family and my Kira family, I will try to support him.

“…… It seems that it really has something to do with my brother. Seeing that I was lost in thought, Xiujing showed a strange smile.

"Not bad. The Great Shape Hall once sent someone to tell me. I graciously admitted. It's not something embarrassing, there's no need to hide it at all, even for Nana and Xiao Xia. What's more, it's not easy to hide it, calculate the time, when the Great Shape Hall was pregnant, Shengrui City was dominated by me, and only I had the opportunity and power to make the Great Shape Hall sleep - although it was actually her own initiative.

"So, for the sake of His Highness Zhenzhi's heart, my brother wants to help deal with the Miyoshi family?" Xiujing continued to ask with a smile.

"It's true that you have to deal with the Miyoshi family. But it's not because of this that I've already made a decision on the road," I explained, "and there won't be much change in Settsu for the time being, and we have no roots. The Miyoshi family is different, there is not only the name of meddling, but also the opportunity to meddle, and our interests are involved. ”

As I spoke, I ordered Miyata Mitsuji to take the map and point out one of the strongholds to Hidekei.

"White Ground City?" Xiujing asked.

"It's the White Land Castle of the Onishi family," I nodded, "You can see the location of this castle, which is in the mountains of the central part of Shikoku, and it is the crossroads of the entire Shikoku. Crossing the Medo Pass to the west is Iyo Province, and to the north crossing the Honobi Pass is Sanki Province, and downstream along the Yoshino River is the center of Awa Province, and upstream is our Tosa Province...... Therefore, once we start with the Miyoshi family, we will first help the Hosokawa family recover Awa, and then occupy this place to resist the Miyoshi family, while taking into account the direction of Tosa. ”

In fact, it is not only a pivotal point for the entire Shikoku, but it is also easy to defend and difficult to attack, and the terrain is excellent. At its most powerful, the Onishi family, which occupied this area, included the entire Miyoshi gun of Awa Province, the northern part of Tosa Province, and part of Toyota-gun of Sanuki Province. However, in recent years, the power of the Onishi family has gradually shrunk, and the northern part of Tosa has been reclaimed by the Nagamune family.

"Brother said so, that's naturally safe," the show nodded in agreement. He believed my opinion almost without hesitation.

As he spoke, he stretched out his hand to summon his attendants, gave him an order, and then smiled at me, "I also want to introduce two people to my brother." ”

"Really? That's a good time to see. I laughed too. I have the impression that this is the first time he has recommended someone to me.

After a while, two people entered the room and looked at me stunned: it was actually two monks?

"This is Hideyoshi Nakayamada. This one, because he was a monk since he was a child, he only has a Dharma name, called Ruyuan," Xiujing introduced the two of them one by one, and explained to me, "The Nakayama Tian family is the genealogy family of the Xiangzong family, Hideyoshi was originally the husband of Sister Awei, and Ruyuan is the first child of Sister Awei......"

"Oh!" It dawned on me that it was them! When I first met Iwamatsu Jingding, he mentioned it to me.

Of the two of them, I don't know about Hideyoshi Nakayamada, but Ruyuan is quite famous in the history of this culture. The Nankai School, which was one of the pillars of government education in the Edo period and the basis for the theory of honoring the king in the late Edo period, began with Minamura Ushiken, the person who taught my nominal grandfather Xuanjing and my uncle Xuanyi. There are three outstanding disciples under Mei Xuan's sect, namely the ninja surname of Sujiang An, the Ruyuan of Zong'an Temple, and the celestial quality of Xueqi Temple. is known as the three men under the door, and Ruyuan among them is the fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy in front of him, the half-brother of Kira Xuanzhen.

"What a blessing! I'm Kira Xuanjing," I nodded to them, then sighed, "It's a shame that I tried to visit the two of you last time, but I couldn't see each other. ”

"The poor monk is like Yue, and I have seen His Royal Highness Xuanjing." Hideyoshi Nakamada said politely.

"In the past two or three years, the father and son have been conducting a tour of the Four Kingdoms Spiritual Field, so they were not in the temple last time." Xiujing explained.

Shikoku Spiritual Field Tour, it's really perseverance! The entire pilgrimage starts at Awa Province Reizanji Temple and ends at Sanuki Province Daikoji Temple, a total of 1,400 kilometers of trekking and visiting all 88 temples. Among them, there are 23 spiritual sites in Awa Province called the Hair Heart Dojo, 16 in Tosa Province and called the Cultivation Dojo, 24 in Iyo Province and called the Bodhi Dojo, and 23 in Sanki Province called the Nirvana Dojo. Without the help of any external force, only by begging for food to complete the whole journey, can it be considered to have completed all the cultivation.

There are many other places where this kind of pilgrimage is practiced, but the Shikoku Pilgrimage is the most famous because it is the place where Kobo Daishi Kukai preached. Most of the 88 shrines are Shingon temples, and all of them were founded by Kobo Daishi. Completing the Shikoku Pilgrimage is a personal practice on the one hand, and a tribute to Kobo Daishi on the other.

"The two of them have achieved great success in cultivation and made great progress, which is gratifying." I said with a smile.

"What kind of cultivation is successful, he is still a layman who can't see it!" Nakamada Hideyoshi, whose legal name is like Yue, sighed slightly and shook his head.

"Why did the master say this?" I asked strangely, I still admire a monk like him who focuses on personal enlightenment and practice.

"The poor monk has already broken off his vulgar thoughts, but after Sanki Province heard about the prestige of the two, he still can't let go of the samurai's obsession!" Ruyue smiled self-deprecatingly, called Ruyuan, and asked him to bow in front of me, "This is Ruyuan, a dog who has been very intelligent since he was a child, and his determination and perseverance are also very considerable, and he can still do something if he wants to...... The poor monk wanted him to return to the world, on the one hand, to help His Royal Highness and Jiro Zuojin, and on the other hand, to continue the family name of the Nakayama Tian family. ”

"I understand your feelings." I nodded. Being forced to divorce his wife and leave the house is a great shame and resentment. Changzong's family is indeed too much, Xiujing has obviously left the Zhongshan Tian family to run away, and they still haven't let go of this father and son.

After thinking about it, I said to Xiujing: "Xiujing, I want to ask you to adopt Ruyuan as an adopted son, what do you think?" ”

"It's my honor," Xiujing nodded to Ruyue and Ruyuan, father and son.

"Then the poor monk can be completely relieved." Ruyue said with relief.

"Master—" I tried to convince him to become a member of his own family.

Ruyue understood what I meant, and he waved his hand: "Poor monks will not be able to go out." Now that I have this obsession, I should focus on my studies and devote myself to the Buddha in the future. Please don't bother, Your Highness Xuanjing. ”

……，…… Ruyue left Awaji Country, Ruyuan worshiped Xiujing, changed his name to Nakayama Tian Hidemasa, followed Xiujing back to Yura Castle, and studied government affairs as Xiujing's right hand.

During this period of time, due to the gradual tension of the situation, Xiujing expected me to make a big move, and recruited nearly 2,000 people in Awaji. These people had already undergone preliminary training with the standing station, and they had the appearance of professional soldiers, and I selected 1,500 of them to form the fourth reserve of my family, named Awaji Bei. Correspondingly, the standing standby, auxiliary standby and reserve were renamed Tsushima Standby, Crab River Standby and Triple Standby respectively.

Subsequently, I issued an order to Iwamatsu Noyosa of Iwaya Castle, asking him to send a naval army to attack the Settsu Province and to get in touch with the Takayama father and son of the Wada family; In addition, I sent the new Awaji Bei to the Raising Castle and ordered Wasuka Masakatsu to dispatch Kanie Bei and Awaji Bei to support Hosokawa Shinyuki.

With the support of 3,000 people from Masakatsu Wasuka, the situation in Awa Province immediately changed, and Shinyuki Hosokawa began to gain the upper hand. Miyoshi Changji provoked several times, but it did not fall to the good, and he was forced to settle down. Subsequently, the Miyoshi family adjusted their focus and spent most of their energy in Sanuki Province, while at the same time began to strengthen their ties with the Tosa Province Chosō family.

It's a nerve-wracking thing. My navy currently needs to control the Akashi Strait and partially contain Settsu Province, while Kanie Bei and Awaji Bei also need to be on guard against Miyoshi Nagaji, and there is no way to use troops on a large scale in Tosa.

Fortunately, after I won the Katsurui Castle and the Miyoshi family last year, the prestige and momentum were extremely high, which greatly shocked the countrymen and wealthy families of the two counties of Takaoka and Wuchuan in Tosa Province, and also made the family of Changzong and my family even more afraid to act rashly.

But this is not a long-term solution after all, and I have to do something in order to free up the troops.

The most convenient way is to have another fight with the Miyoshi family. With the support of Shinyuki Hosokawa at home, coupled with the serious decline of the power of the Miyoshi family, there are different opinions within the family, and it is probably not a problem to win. This is enough to keep the Miyoshi family in peace for a while, and at the same time to shock Tosa Province again. And if you can take the opportunity to get the White Land City, then there will be more room to use it.

However, how did you find the name and opportunity to send troops? At present, the two families still maintain a superficial harmony, and the dispute between Miyoshi Nagaharu and Hosokawa Shinyuki is also carried out in the name of the wealthy families such as Shinohara and Kawashima at the junction of the two sides, and it is likely that Shinohara, Nagabo himself is the leader. As an outsider, if I rashly break the peace treaty, I will fall behind in terms of rank, which will not be conducive to the unification of the wealthy families in the future.

Fortunately, it didn't take long for the Miyoshi family to provide me with a ready-made position to send troops.

(To be continued)