Xiao Xia did what she said, and she really planned to bring Keirokuro, Senjuhime, Akitsu, and Kaizu to live in Kyoto with me. Unfortunately, due to Nana's death, I was not interested in the reconstruction of Kyoto, and I decided to go to Kyushu immediately.

"The rest of the things can be done by Mitsui Takayasu, Li Fangliang, and Mitsui Takatori, and we can further strengthen the connection with the people of Kyoto." I confessed to Xinjing.

However, now that the temple has been completed, and the period of death of the Taisei Gong (Nobunaga who was posthumously presented to the Taisei Minister) is approaching 100 days, it is estimated that a funeral will be held soon...... If my father doesn't participate, will it affect my reputation? Xinjing said worriedly.

"The fact that the Sokan Yuan was funded and built by me is well known, and it is enough to express my heart for Taizheng Gong......" Speaking of this, I couldn't help but feel a pain in my heart. Nobunaga's Somiin was built in Shino, Kamigyo Ward, which is where Nana's illness occurred.

However, now that the Siren has passed away, I have to continue what I have to do...... "As for participating in the funeral," I continued, "I heard that His Highness Hideyoshi has only prepared four presiding seats, namely him Hideyoshi, you, His Highness Nagahide, and Shibata, and the rest, even His Highness Takigawa, His Highness Hengxing, and His Highness the Patriarch can only worship in the lower seats...... Do you think I can be in the lower position? ”

"My father's words are very true. It seems that His Royal Highness Hideyoshi doesn't want you to attend the funeral either," Shinkei nodded, "Then about the next governor of the Oda family......"

"This matter can be said to have a result, and there is no need to continue the discussion," I shook my head, "If Lady Shiogawa gives birth to a male heir, the main family, the Hara family, and His Royal Highness Nagahide will support it, and Shibata's opinion can be ignored; If it is a princess, then the Oda family is even more uneasy. Although His Royal Highness Nobutaka has the support of his own family and His Royal Highness Nagahide, and even Shibata can almost be co-opted, and the likely surname of the successor is very large, however, most of the powerful retainers in the current Oda family, including His Royal Highness Hideyoshi, are actually only responsible for Taisei Gong alone, and at most His Royal Highness Lieutenant General Zuo, so they will not listen to the new governor who is a concubine, has been in another family, and has only a few hundred thousand stones, but will secretly encourage His Royal Highness Nobuo to fight with him. In this way, the lord's house will be in great trouble, and will soon be completely weakened, and they will be given a more readable position, and will be freed from the status of retainers......"

Speaking of this, I smiled self-deprecatingly, "Isn't this the case with this family?" Although he superficially supports His Royal Highness Nobuko, in fact, he has the idea of watching the fire from the other side and watching the battle between the two factions, and will not provide much substantive help. ”

In fact, given Lady Shiokawa's pregnancy, I can already be sure that she will give birth to a male heir, as she has historically done. Therefore, the probability of this latter situation occurring is basically negligible. And if it happens, the future of the Oda family will be even worse, and the strife will be more serious, which may be a more pleasant situation for me, who has faded out of the center.

"In other words, you just need to make a statement when the time comes?" Xinjing asked.

"Yes, in normal times, you can let the Ikoma parents of Nanhanoi participate in the center instead of you, and you can withdraw and return to Shikoku to govern." I said half command, half suggestion.

"If you want to participate in the center, how about considering His Highness Maeda? …… Although it is a little disrespectful, His Highness Ikoma's ability still can't catch up with His Highness Maeda. Xinjing thought for a moment and said.

"Isn't that just right? Anyway, the family is not prepared to intervene too much," I smiled slightly, "The words of the Li family are very close to the three highnesses of Hideyoshi, Nagahide and Shibata, so it is inevitable that it will be too deeply involved, so it is better to go back to Kyushu with me to fight!" ”

"Yes," Xin Jing nodded, and suddenly mentioned another matter, "By the way, Jing Zheng and Xuanzhi of Mie City discussed and sent Chao Mingbei over. They said that to support the Tokugawa family, it was enough to dispatch Ii Akabei to show the goodwill of the family, and it was easy to command. ”

"Their disposition is good," I nodded appreciatively, "in this case, the triple reserve of Miyata and Joto can be drawn out and go with me on the expedition to Kyushu." ”

"One more thing," Shinkyo looked at me, "In addition to sending Asaki Bei, Keimasa heard that you had set up the mother of Imabari as the main room, and asked me to return to the clan...... What do you think should be done? ”

"Tell him, don't think too much, just be the head of his Renmu family with peace of mind," I flatly refused this request, and admonished him seriously, "Otherwise, if he returns to the clan, won't the name of the Renmu family be extinct?" How can we be worthy of His Highness Yizheng, who entrusted him with his family business? ”

"Perhaps, we can let Jing Zheng return first, and let one of his children inherit the family name later......," Shinjing suggested.

"You're really enthusiastic about Jing Zheng!" I couldn't help but glance at him, "It's just that the ready-made agreement is not kept, but it is promised a more ethereal agreement, can this prevaricating attitude convince the world?" ”

"The retainers have been taught." Xinjing had no choice but to reply, but there seemed to be some disapproval on his face.

Perhaps, it's time to tell them about that...... I made a decision.

"You probably don't think it's that serious...... However, if this precedent is really to be set, not to mention what others do, at least His Royal Highness Hosokawa of Awa will definitely have doubts, worried about his own family name, "Speaking of which, I am a little embarrassed, after all, it was my absurdity back then...... So I looked away and looked at the courtyard outside the main hall, where there were a few evergreen bamboo-leaved cypresses, which added a lot of life to the courtyard: "His only heir at present is actually the child of the family. ”

"His Highness Shinyuki Hosokawa? The one who currently sits in Higo Province? Xinjing was really surprised. However, he soon reacted and suddenly realized: "No wonder...... I said, why doesn't the family have Keigoro! ”

"Well, this matter is not for outsiders, you know it in your own heart, and you just need to know how to deal with it." I said as seriously as I could.

"Yes," Xinjing agreed, but asked me again, "So do you need to explain it to Jingzheng?" ”

"What's the explanation for that? Both the clan and the branch still have heirs, but let the inherited clan lose their heirs, this is an unkind and unrighteous act! If you do this kind of thing, what kind of reputation will the family have? How will the people of the world view the credibility of their family? Therefore, whether there is a matter of the Awa Hosokawa family or not, he cannot return to the clan," I replied a little impatiently, "Do you think that with Keimasa's concerns, he will not be clear about the stakes and connections?" It's just that now the family has the hope of the world, and after the Dingding, the division of the family with the same surname and the branches with other surnames will be different in terms of status and interests, so he is a little unwilling...... In short, Jing Zheng has a good strategy and can be used as your assistant, but he also has his own selfish intentions. If you really want to reuse him, there is no need to let him return to the sect, that would be more appropriate. ”

"Yes. I see," Shinjing nodded.

……，…… In the middle of the first month of the first year of Eisadada, I ordered Maeda Toshiie, Miyata Mitsuji, and Joto Kazuki to return to Kyushu to prepare to participate in the war against the Akizuki family. Originally, I planned to bring Yu Jia with me, but she couldn't let go of the matter of the Forgotten Worry Courtyard, and wanted to preside over it for a few more days, and then leave after the Shangyuan Festival. I thought about it, didn't force her too much, and agreed to let her go back to Imabari with Shinkei later.

When I arrived in Sakai Town, I asked Natsu if she was going to go back to Imabari Castle or if she was going back to Kira Castle to continue taking care of Akiko.

"Where is Your Highness going back?" Xiao Xia asked me rhetorically, "Imabari Castle has been ceded to Shinkei, and the prefecture castle where I lived recently is ready to be ceded to Yoshikei, Your Highness is probably going back to Kira Castle, right?" ”

"You're still worried that I don't live in the city?" I smiled slightly, "Higo's Kuma Mansion and Chikugo's Yanagawa are both well-known fortified cities in Kyushu!" It's really not possible, and it's okay to capture Chikuzen and Bunzen. ”

"Then Your Highness should bring the concubine with you!" Xiao Xia hurriedly asked, "Although the concubine body has not gone out with His Highness for many years, but her skills are still there, and His Highness should ......know it" She suddenly realized something, and her face suddenly flushed.

"Yes, I know, I've seen it several times in the past few days," I knew what she had in mind, and couldn't help but laugh ambiguously, "It's just that Akiko also needs someone to take care of her!" …… Before going to Kyushu this time, I will also go to Kira Castle to enlighten her. ”

"Then the concubine will go back to Kira Castle." Xiao Xia had no choice but to blush.

So, I left the Jokai in Sakai as a ship for Shinkei, and then boarded the Fuba with Yoshikei and Konatsu and sailed to the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Shikoku Island. The Fuba is the flagship of the main naval force of Iwamatsu Jingding, and its combat effectiveness is higher than that of the Dingkai, and in order to cooperate with the flagship, most of the warships under its command have been transformed, and the old-fashioned ships that cannot be transformed are organized into the Osaka Bay garrison fleet together with the three ironclad ships of "Ise Maru", "Kumano Maru", and "Awaji Maru", and entrusted it to Yasuya Kiyoyasu of Yoshikei's family.

After the ceremony, Yan Song Jing ordered his sister-in-law Jing Jing to arrange Xiao Xia and my close attendants, and welcomed me and Yijing into the main cabin. He looked Yijing up and down, and said appreciatively, "You are worthy of being the children of the main hall and the palace of forgetting worries!" Although he is only ten years old, he has the spirit of a samurai...... Last month, when you were in the Yuanfu, you were very busy with affairs because you had just sealed the territory, so you couldn't rush to congratulate you. This is really rude! ”

"It's mainly because you're in a hurry, how can you blame you?" Yijing replied sensibly.

"Hmm." I nodded to Yijing with satisfaction, and turned to Iwamatsu Jingding with a smile, "You can see it, that's the best, I was just about to propose marriage to your eldest daughter Hai Ruoji for him...... However, I'm really sorry, because the main room has been arranged by the Forgotten Worry Temple, and it was decided that it was the daughter of the Ye family, so I had to wronged Hai Ruoji as a side room. ”

"This is the honor of the little girl!" Yan Song Jingding happily agreed, "His Royal Highness Yijing is the second son of the main hall, and the position of the main room, the little girl really doesn't dare to expect it." ”

"Then it's decided," I said with a smile, "and when Shinkei returns to Imabari, he will soon hand over Awaji Province to Yoshikei, so that he can set up another Awaji Kira family and be in charge of his own navy...... Now that Yifeng has returned to the Zong family to take charge of the Qian Seat, how about asking you to succeed Yijing's assistant? ”

"Your Majesty dares not to do your best!" Yan Song bowed down and said, then took down the Nanban clairvoyant mirror from the hands of the servants, and handed it to Yijing with a smile, "Since His Royal Highness Yijing will be in charge of the naval army, then His Majesty will present this thing as a late Yuanfu He Yi!" ”

"Thank you, Lord Yansong," Yijing took the clairvoyant mirror, gently placed it beside him, and bowed his head to Yansong Jingding, "In the future, please give me more advice." ”

His etiquette is meticulous and looks very dignified. In my eyes, I felt both relieved and a little sad. In fact, he was originally a very naughty child, and he once gave Yamauchi a lot of headaches. But as soon as Nana died, he seemed to grow up immediately, and became the way he behaves now.

"Jing is a major minister who has followed me for more than 20 years, although you want to respect, but you don't have to be too restrained." I commanded him.

"Yes." Yijing bowed his head and replied, still very solemn.

Never mind...... I shook my head slightly, and asked Yan Song Jingding, "Everything in the new collar has been arranged, right?" ”

"Pretty much that...... So after receiving the order from the main hall, he immediately rushed over," Yan Song Jingding said with a smile, "What, are you going to conquer the Qiuyue family?" ”

"Yes, now is a very opportune time," I nodded, "Ryuzoji Takanobu has always been cold and strong, and now that he is dead, the previously suppressed contradictions in his family will erupt, and it can be said that it is no longer a problem. If you don't attack them for the time being, then they don't have external worries, and they are likely to fall apart on their own...... However, if you don't conquer it immediately, you may take the opportunity to unify Chikuzen and Toyozen, and even extend your tentacles into Hizen and become the second Ryuzoji Takanobu. ”

"This is indeed something to be worried about," Iwamatsu Jingding agreed, "The last time His Majesty visited Hakata Port, he saw the prosperity of the port, and he also dealt with Akizuki Taneshi, so it is indeed not easy to match. ”

"So, I'm going to let you attack Hakata Port at once, and attack the strength of the Akizuki family and the arrogance of Akizuki Tanemi himself," I said with a smile, my tone full of confidence, "At the same time, I will enter the southern Kyushu Shokoku country, and with the power of defeating the Ryuzoji family, order all the countries of southern Kyushu and Central Kyushu to converge, and then destroy the Akitsuki family in one fell swoop!" ”

"If this can be done, then Kyushu will also be under the match of this family, which is extremely beneficial to the great cause of this family!" Yan Song bowed down and looked extremely solemn, "Your Majesty will live up to the expectations of the hall and build this first contribution for this family!" ”

"Well, I believe in your promise," I nodded, "then Yijing will be entrusted to you." This battle will be his first battle, please help him to complete it smoothly. ”

(To be continued)