And the day after I got the news, Yoshishu sent an envoy to Imabari Castle in the name of the imperial court and the general of Seiyi. I didn't want to meet his envoy, because at this time, both Ikoma and Maeda Toshiya had already set out from Imabari Port as the vanguard, and I was preparing to lead my army to Kishiwada Castle. However, when I heard that the envoy was Akiko Hatakeyama's uncle and the current samurai clan, Gondai Nagon No, I changed my mind and soon met him in the main hall.

This attitude made Yuno Huizi very happy: "Before I came, the Gongfang Palace once said that he had been friends with His Royal Highness Jinwu for more than ten years, and the relationship has always been very good, and they are in-laws with each other, so they can be described as the most friendly people...... Now it seems that this statement is indeed true! ”

Friendship with Yi Zhou? Perhaps. However, in the current situation, I had to draw a line with him, so I immediately made my attitude clear: "Your Excellency Yaxiang is an envoy of the imperial court, so naturally it is not easy to be lazy. If I want to preach anything for Hatakeyama Kingo, I will listen to it in vain. ”

"His Royal Highness Kingo doesn't know, and now His Royal Highness Yoshishu has returned to the Ashikaga family and succeeded to the position of general, not the Hatakeyama Kingo who was said in the past......" Yuno Teruzi thought that I hadn't received the news yet, and hurriedly reminded me.

"Then let's call it His Highness Yizhou!" I didn't want to dwell too much on the side branches and leaves, so I directly interrupted his words, "What does His Royal Highness His Highness Toya Xiang convey to His Excellency Yizhou, how about you make a long story short?" I still have to be busy with the revenge of His Royal Highness Zuofu, and I'm afraid there is not much time. ”

"This ...... It's good. "I probably understand now that my attitude towards Yizhou is not as kind as Yizhou imagined. In order to accomplish his mission, he also adopted a pragmatic attitude: "His Royal Highness Yoshishu said that now that the shogunate is revived, there are all kinds of things to be done, and I really hope to get the help of His Royal Highness Jingo. If His Royal Highness Kingo is interested, His Highness Yoshishu can accept your eldest son, Zhou Jing, as his adopted son-in-law, and inherit the status of the Hatakeyama family, as well as the guardian of Hanoi and Kii; His Royal Highness Kingo's Kira clan replaced the Hosokawa Kyotsu family as one of the three leaders, and asked His Royal Highness Kingo himself to serve as the leader to help pacify Kinai and the world. ”

It's two leading families at once? Yi Zhou is really sincere. Perhaps, because I helped him a lot before, he really trusted me very much, right? It's a pity that in order to avoid being saddled with the reputation of a rebel, I can't accept his kindness.

"Your Excellency's words, I didn't hear them. I'm sorry! I bowed my head to him, "So let's get down to business now...... I heard that His Excellency Yaxiang is here with the will of the imperial court, why don't you announce it now? I will listen attentively. ”

"The Imperial Court does intend to promote His Royal Highness Kingo to the post of Governor of Saemon from the four ranks; In addition, the eldest and second sons of His Royal Highness Kingo were also appointed as the lieutenants of the six lower Saemon," said Yuno Teruzi, who hurriedly took out a copy of the decree and handed it to me, and then continued to persuade, "If His Highness Kingo wants to get down to business, that is His Highness Yoshishu's proposal...... His Royal Highness Yizhou admires your talent very much, and is also very grateful for the previous many helps, and now he is succeeding to the throne, the first thing that comes to mind is your Royal Highness Jinwu, hoping to share wealth and honor with you, one door and two leaders, this is the return of His Royal Highness Yizhou. Even the wise Doctor Sakyo admired the talent of His Royal Highness Kingo, so he specially resigned from the appointment of the head of the office, and only accepted the position of the head of the chamberlain, and preferred that His Royal Highness Kingo should lead the affairs of Kinai alone; This time, I heard that my younger brother sent to Shore Wada Castle, and persuaded His Highness Hatakeyama to take the initiative to give in to the castle to avoid unpleasant things......"

"Evacuation of Kishiwada Castle, is it Mitsuhide's proposal?" I asked.

"Exactly." Kano Teruzi nodded.

"Hehe, this is really 'good intentions'!" I laughed. I have to say that this trick of Wise is very ingenious, not only to avoid the collapse of my reputation caused by the fall of Xiujing, but also to drag me further into the rumors. Now, I have no choice but to come forward in person, clarify with the nearby Ikeda Tsuneko and Niwa Nagahide, avoid causing a misunderstanding between the two armies, and then attack the Minami Kawachi Province of the Hatakeyama family as soon as possible, and refute the rumors of my collusion with Yoshishu and Mitsuhide with practical actions.

Thinking of this, I decided to end this meeting and immediately march to Kishiwada Castle: "I have already understood the intention of His Excellency Axiang. It's just that as a retainer of the Oda family, I can't accept this appointment from the imperial court or the proposal of His Royal Highness Yoshishu...... In addition, please tell His Highness Mitsuhide that I will immediately go out to Kinai, and I hope that when I attack Nam Hanoi and Yamashiro Province, he will still have the 'kindness' to persuade His Highness Yi Zhou to give up, then I will really thank him! ”

"Is His Highness Jinwu really no longer thinking about it, and still attacking His Highness Yizhou?" Kano Teruzi asked.

"This is a position that cannot be discussed." I replied firmly.

"Then, once the two families are at war," said Kano Teruzi, with a helpless expression, "...... How should I negotiate with Dr. Sakyo, who was invited from Azuchi Castle to Kyoto as a guest and currently resides in the Mie Hall of Sokokuji Temple? ”

Triple Hall? Dish? She was caught in Kyoto by Akechi Mitsuhide?

I felt as if I had been hit hard...... Over the years, I have often been absent from Mie Castle, and I have not paid much attention to Caicai, so I have ignored her problems. According to the current law of the Oda family, every year in the summer after the spring planting and the winter after the autumn harvest, the main family of each important retainer family must go to Azuchi Castle and stay there until the next agricultural season arrives. Some retainers with positions simply lived in the town with their whole family throughout the year, entrusting all their domains to the acting officials. This system of restraint was to ensure Nobunaga's control over the powerful ministers, especially the commanders of the army, and it was also the beginning of the later Edo shogunate's system of accountability.

Because Nobunaga is by Nobunaga's side, Nana is relatively comfortable, and he only needs to leave after the autumn harvest and stay until the New Year's celebration of the following year. However, Akechi Mitsuhide captured Azuchi Castle on the afternoon of October 4, and Nana happened to be two days after she arrived at Azuchi Castle!

In real history, it is clearly recorded that Hideyoshi's main room Nene is there. When the Akechi Army was about to arrive, and the remaining resident service Kamo Kenhide escorted Nobunaga's family to retreat to Tsunono Castle, she immediately fled to Kita Omi, but did not dare to return to Nagahama Castle directly, but hid in the Daiyoshi Temple in the territory, and did not reunite with Hideyoshi until after the Battle of Yamazaki.

However, now that the goal of my Kira family is too big, whether it is for coercion or co-optation, Akechi Mitsuhide will definitely control Nana with his few cronies before leading his army to attack Azuchi Castle. This has nothing to do with personal qualities, nor does it have anything to do with personal grudges, it's just out of the need for strategy, and a person like Akechi Mitsuhide, who is good at strategy, will naturally not let go of such a goal...... However, at that time, the Ming Bei and the powerful samurai all went to Kyoto with Shinkei, and the Kira Jinya was almost without any guards, so Nana naturally couldn't escape. After all, she is not as good as Xinjing, and she has the ability to charge into battle alone.

At this moment, I couldn't help but feel extremely guilty about Nanacai in my heart. In any case, this matter is my negligence, and I can't afford to let her be hurt any more.

"What did Guangxiu say about Humble Jing?" I asked as calmly as I could.

"Please rest assured, everything is fine in the Triple Palace, and even the maids around you have been invited by Dr. Zuo Jing. Dr. Sakyo said that it was really helpless to rashly invite the triple hall to go," Yuno Teruzi sighed, obviously not wanting to make it so stiff, it would be very detrimental to him to complete his mission, "If His Royal Highness Kongo is willing to help the shogunate, he will immediately go to Xiangkokuji Temple to apologize to the triple hall; Even if His Highness Kingo is unwilling to help, please don't push it too much, so as not to embarrass the shogunate and himself. ”

"That's it, right?" I waved my hand, "I'm so sorry, and I also wronged His Excellency Yaxiang to stay for a while." When I have made up my mind, I will ask you to go back and convey it. ”

……，…… Sending Teruko Sano away, I quickly called Hattori Masanari of the Iga people.

"What's going on with the Triple Hall?" I was unusually angry at him, "Don't tell me you don't know...... It's been almost half a month! ”

"Yes. We do know about the disappearance of the triple hall in Azuchi Castle. Hattori replied. Listening to his tone, it seems that the actual situation is still unclear: "At present, the people of Tsuya and Koga are trying their best to search!" ”

"Missing, you say? …… Well, even if it's missing, why hasn't it been reported? I snorted angrily, "Do you think that the affairs of the Triple Hall are irrelevant?" ”

"Don't dare!" Hattori Masasari bowed down, "Your Majesty received the news and was supposed to report it to the lord, but both of them, Master Amami of Tsuya and His Highness Yamaoka of Koga, both of them, asked His Majesty not to report it for the time being at the end of the information...... Among them, the reason for the Koga people is that there are many samurai family members who disappeared in Azuchi Castle, and many of them already know that they hid in nearby temples to avoid the scourge of war, so it is speculated that the triple hall is probably the same; At present, they are secretly investigating, and promise me that they will soon find the whereabouts of the Mie Temple. Master Tianhai heard that there was no sign of clutter in the formation house, and thought that since the Triple Hall had left so calmly, and had taken away all the maids, subordinates, and even clothes and accessories, there would definitely be no danger; Rushing to report the disappearance at this time will only distract the lord's attention and is not conducive to dealing with the current priorities...... His Majesty thought that the two of them were very reasonable, so they decided to hold off for a few days and wait for further news from Mie Castle. ”

"Actually...... Never mind! "I thought about it and decided to gather all the retainers to announce the news of the arrival of the Yizhou envoy and the fact that Nana was taken hostage by the wise family, on the one hand, to brainstorm and seek countermeasures, and on the other hand, to take this opportunity to unify the thoughts of the family. Otherwise, everyone will have their own thoughts, and it will inevitably be uneven, which will affect the exertion of their own strength.

"You immediately take my warrant and send people to Nakaiyo, Tosa and Awaji provinces, and ask all the important ministers over 3,000 koku to come over and discuss the matter. In addition, I sent a clipper to catch up with Ikoma and Maeda, and informed them that there was a change in my family, and I couldn't go out for the time being, and asked them not to attack for the time being after they were stationed in Kishiwada Castle! ”

"Yes." Hattori Masari said.

As it turned out, my decision was really timely. It was only after gathering the crowd that I realized how confused their opinions were. When I announced the conditions brought by the Noe Teruzi and let everyone speak freely, whether it was the appointment of the imperial court or the proposal of Yizhou, it was all in favor and against, and there was no unified voice. There are those who advocate accepting the appointment of the imperial court and taking the opportunity to break away from the Oda family, while others advocate recognizing the shogunate and founding the Kira-ru-Hatakeyama family...... In short, they are all insisting on their own words, and they are not the same. The Wasuka Masakatsu, Iwamatsu Norita, Ishiya Yorichen, Tsubouchi Toshita, Kaneko Mototaku, Watanabe Kyotadashi and others of the Tosa Yoshira family are one kind of saying, the Tosa Yoshira family's Kira Kinsada , Honda Masanobu Katsugano Motonobu Narumi , Tsuno Dingkatsu Satake Yoshihide and others are another way of saying it, Iyo Yoshira of the Iyo Kira family, Kamune Ibe Hidemasa, Tokuju Tsuenen, Murakami Tsuyasu, and Ohno Naoyuki are relatively modest, and the Awaji domestic that is scheduled to be separated, Keishiro's assistant Yamauchi Kazutoyo, with Yamauchi Yasutoyo, Kiyoyasu Ataka also has their opinions. And even the retainers of the same branch of the family also have different opinions on whether or not to adhere to the righteousness of the Oda family and to what extent.

At first, everyone's mood was quite stable and they were able to discuss calmly. But seeing that I had not expressed my opinion, they began to argue and try to persuade each other, but the argument became more and more intense, and there were many excessive words, and even pointed the finger directly at Xinjing.

"It's a great time for my family! If you defeat the opposition party and continue to expand the strength of your own family, you can control the world, right? ”

"If it weren't for the young lord giving up the name of advocating righteousness, the family would almost be able to dominate the entire Oda family, then it would be easy to defeat the rebel party, why did it fall to the point where the current legions and important ministers went their own way? …… The young master should always be responsible for this! ”

"How do you want the young master to be responsible? I heard that there were samurai chasing after Minami Omi and Mino, so as to apologize to His Royal Highness Safu or His Royal Highness the Left Lieutenant General. Do you think that the young master should do the same? ”

"Hey! That's what you said......"

At the moment when the controversy was at its most intense, Jing Shilang, who did not have a yuan suit, actually ran into the evaluation room. He seemed to have gotten the news of Nana's disappearance, and rushed directly to Xinjing, who was sitting in the first place, and condescendingly punched him over. Shin Jing's face was very bad, and he ate a few cold times, and immediately stood up angrily, holding Jing Shiro's belt and throwing him aside. Jing Shilang refused to give up, and pounced on Shinjing again, scuffling with him. Seeing this situation, Ishiya Xuanzheng and Yasutoshi Yamauchi, who were a few steps away, hurriedly came over and pulled away the brothers one by one, which can be regarded as stopping this farce.

"You coward! I only care about running for my life, and I don't care about the life or death of my mother! Keishiro struggled in Yasutoyo Yamauchi's hands, and scolded Shinkyo loudly.

His words obviously shocked many people. Xinjing and Keishiro's mother is the main mother of the family, Nana Ishitani...... Some of the people looked shocked, some began to exchange ears, and many more cast puzzled glances at me. Even Xinjing turned his head and looked at me in disbelief along with Ishiya Xuanzheng who was dragging him.

"Mother, what's going on?" He asked in a whisper.

I didn't answer his question, but looked around the entire assessment room and said to everyone, "It's finally over, isn't it?" ”

Such a sentence made many people notice the previous gaffe, and they immediately bowed down and apologized: "I'm really sorry! I beg your pardon! ”

"I knew that in the face of such a shocking change, and the opportunities and challenges that came with it, there was likely to be some disagreement in the family. However, I did not expect that the differences would be so serious that they would simply cause disputes in the family. Compared to this kind of disagreement and strife, the disappearance of the Triple Hall is nothing at all," I sighed slightly, "Fortunately, I found out in time, so I didn't let the disagreement turn into internal friction, which is a great luck...... Now, I would like to announce my family's general policy for the near future, and I hope that you will act accordingly. ”

(To be continued)