Two days later, my Hamatate assembled at Sumoto Castle, crossed Osaka Bay eastward, landed at Fukakura Port on the border between Sennan-gun and Kii-nakusa-gun, and began attacking the various strongholds of the Saga people.

First and foremost is Nakano Castle, the northern gateway to Kii Province. The castle was built by Kii, a local tyrant of Kii, and during the Battle of Kyokoji, Hatakeyama Takamasa was defeated, and after the Kii people and Nerai were broken, many samurai of the country, including Yukawa Naomitsu, the guardian of Kawachi at the time, were killed in battle, and the Kishi Kyoshin clan was almost wiped out, and the castle was owned by the Saga people, and became an important town in the northern part of the Saga people's domain.

Due to the suddenness and swiftness of our offensive and the extreme strength of the battle, the city only lasted half a day before it was taken by the Maeda Toshiya as the vanguard, and most of the defenders of more than 430 people who had gathered temporarily were killed, and the rest fled in all directions.

The swift victory in this battle broke the pace of the defense of the Saga people. They were already in a hurry, and the town on which they had high hopes suddenly fell, and the territory was almost undefended, and it was not a defense at all. We took advantage of the opportunity to advance quickly, seized important places such as Takako Pass and Tsuchiiri Kawaguchi, and then arranged defenses on the spot, separating the Miyako, Nakago, and Nango of the Saga people along the line of Kii Street.

On March 12, Yoshiyuki Sawaku, Toshiie Maeda, and Ikoma Parent arrived at Kikawa with Awaji Bei and Nishiawa to join forces with the Tosa Naval Army and Kumano Imperial Army on the mountainous side. At this point, the first phase of Hatamate's mission was completed.

On the afternoon of that day, Tsushima Bei, who was directly subordinate to Shinkei, arrived at Hirai Township on the north bank of the Kigawa River and surrounded a living house near the Kuzu Shrine on the riverside. The door of the residence was closed, and several iron cannons protruded from the holes in the wall, all pointing in the direction of the path in front of the door. Seeing this, I was even more sure. It seems that the person living in the house is indeed the eldest son of the leader of the Saga clan, Suzuki Shigei, and the brother of the Suzuki family's heir, Ichiro Shigehide.

Suzuki Shigekan's young name is Sun Ichiro, and he was originally the identity of his son-in-law. However, he was frail and sickly since he was a child, and not long after the Motofu, he gave the inheritance to his younger brother Shigehide Suzuki, who was six years younger than him, and he left his family's Tonosato and moved here, so he was also known as Hirai Sunichi.

I instructed Miyata Mitsuji to call out to the house, specifying that he should ask Suzuki Shoichiro to come out again. Perhaps because they were called to break their names and surnames, and understood that we were prepared, the people in the residence quickly withdrew their defenses and opened the door of the residence hall.

Since they are interested, I can't help but show sincerity.

"Iron Artillery Group, let your guard down." I ordered, and then asked Miyata Mitsuji to call out again.

After a while, a thin middle-aged man dressed in linen clothes walked out of the door alone and stood at the door of the residence.

I stepped forward and took two steps, facing him from a distance, and announced his name with a smile: "His Royal Highness Shigekane Suzuki, right?" I'm Kira Xuanjing. ”

"The identity of Awajiden, I can probably guess it below," Suzuki nodded, "However, I don't know what Awajiden's intentions are?" …… I've long lived in seclusion, and I'm just a sick man in the mountains, I'm afraid I can't be the master of Awaji Hall! ”

"Speaking of intentions, I really can't talk about it," I deliberately toned down, "it's just that I have marched here occasionally, and then I heard about you, and I feel a little curious, so I stopped by to pay a visit." ”

"Is that so? That's a real honor. Suzuki replied politely, but there was obvious suspicion in his tone.

"Yes! It's mainly because of Brother Ling's relationship," I nodded, "Brother Ling, the leader of Shigehide Suzuki, has fought side by side with me a few times, and even a few days ago, I asked my younger brother, who is the guardian of Awaji, to come to contact, but it's a pity...... Although they are hostile now, I still appreciate Brother Ling very much. ”

Shigekane Suzuki was silent, a thoughtful look on his face.

"Now that my wish has been granted, then I should also leave!" I suddenly clapped my hands and asked the attendant to bring a basket of whale meat over, "This is my favorite whale meat, it is a rare delicacy...... I met in a hurry, so I gave it away, and I hope His Royal Highness Suzuki will take care of it. ”

"Oh! ......" Shigekane Suzuki was a little surprised, "Then thank you for your kindness." ”

"You're welcome," I smiled and nodded, "maybe we'll meet again soon!" ”

After saying this, I led the army out of Hiraikan.

Xinjing followed me, obviously a little confused, probably thinking in his heart that for this kind of enemy that might come in handy, he should be arrested and subdued first! If that's the case, it's not wrong, because I do have plans to use Shigekan Suzuki to bring down Shigehide Suzuki. However, this was a move to prevent them from striking a death blow after severely weakening the Saga people, and as the chief of the Saga people, their father Suzuki Shigei had to be ambushed.

Killing the father and then subduing the son is a very difficult thing, and I am afraid that the only one who can convince Shigehide Suzuki is Suzuki Shigekane. Then, it is impossible for him to pose any threat to us anyway, so let him maintain his current identity and position, which is definitely more convincing than after surrendering to us!

Since he didn't ask, I didn't have to tell him the trick. It is good to let him hold his mind for a while, which will help improve his habit of not thinking deeply.

Next, I handed over the military affairs to Shigeharu Takenaka, and left the camp with Shinkei and a dozen or so guards with outstanding martial arts, and marched east along the Nelai Street in the mountains. Realizing that I had actually left the camp, Xinjing finally couldn't hold it anymore and asked very curiously, "Father, where are we going?" ”

"This is Genrai Street, of course it's going to Genrai Temple!" I say it as a matter of course.

"Neraiji?" Xinjing was a little dumbfounded.

"Yes, visit a master," I said, gesturing to the amulet around his neck, "you should know that when you were born, you were blessed by the emeritus master of Yamato-Haseji, right?" Now he has returned to Genrai Temple and has taken up the position of head of the temple. ”

To be honest, at the beginning, he specially spent a lot of money to ask for the blessing of Xinjing, in addition to letting Xinjing break away from the connection with the Yixiang sect, another main reason was that he took a fancy to the future of the reputation. The Toyoyama sect of Shingon sect, which had a great influence in later generations, is in the same vein as the ancestor of the sect, which is in the same vein as Kukai, the master of Kobo who is the ancestor of Shingon sect, and the Chungko ancestor Kakuga, who left Koyasan and founded Genraiji Temple. Of course, I didn't expect the current situation, nor did I expect him to take on such an important position as the head of the Genrai Temple so soon. The sudden emergence of such a relationship bond can only be said to be a coincidence!

"But what are we going to see him for?" Xinjing still didn't understand, "Aren't we attacking the Zaga people now?" ”

"Going to Genrai Temple is the most important strategy." I say.

Xinjing thought about it and shook his head, obviously unable to understand.

"Well, if you don't understand, it's reasonable," I expressed my understanding, and took advantage of the situation to teach him, "There is a saying in the art of war of the Ming Kingdom: know yourself and know your opponent, and you will not be defeated in a hundred battles." I think that's the basis of all the art of war. If you do that, you'll quickly understand the whole thing. ”

"Please ask my father for advice." He said respectfully.

"This begins with the rise of the Miscellaneous Crowd...... The rise of the Saga clan relied on the support of one of the two major leaders of the Root Clan, the owner of the Izumi Shibo family. And the original leader of the Saga clan was the Tsuchihashi family who controlled Saga Village, and they were the same clan as the owner of the Izumi Shibo family. ”

"But now the leader of the Saga clan, why is it from the Suzuki family?" Xinjing asked.

"Because things have changed......" I explained to him slowly.

It goes back to the eighth year of civilization (1476). At that time, Honganji Renru went to Minami Kii to visit Kumano Shrine, and when he returned, he visited Ramsuoura, Arita County, and shaved the local tycoon Kilrokuto, so Lengshui became the main place of Honganji in Kii, called Lengsui Dojo. Later, the Coldsui Dojo moved to Saginomori on the north bank of the Wakayama River, and a large-scale Maitreya Temple was established on Mt. Akiba, renamed Sagimori Besin Temple, and also known as Kii Gobo (Honganji Shoru stayed here after leaving Ishiyama). After a long time, except for a few people such as the head of Saga Sho, the Hashigashi family, and others still adhered to their beliefs, most of the Saga people in the nearby Saga Sho and Ten no Sato converted to the Ichijo sect, completely overpowering the influence of the Shingon sect. The Suzuki family, who believed in the Ichijo sect in Tono-go, also rose with the tide, gradually controlling Saga Sho, gaining a position on an equal footing with the Saga Tsuchihashi family, and even faintly gaining the upper hand.

It was after this that successive heads of the Suzuki clan called themselves Saga Sunichi or Saga Sunichi (the common name of the Suzuki family's heirs was called Sunichiro) to assert their position as leaders among the Saga clan...... "However, Miyago, Nango, and Nakago in the north of Kikawa did not convert, and they still maintained their Shingon faith and maintained a very close relationship with Naga-gun-Neraiji Temple in Naga-gun, east of Nagusa-gun...... It would be very easy to get the cooperation of the Genraiji temple and let these three villages subdue to me and break with Sagaso and Tonosato in the south of Kikawa. I finally explained.

……，…… After about ten kilometers of walking, we crossed the Kazedo Pass and soon entered the town of Monzen of Neraiji Temple. Genraiji has the privilege of guarding and not entering, inspecting and not entering taxes, and is completely a country of its own within the temple territory, with its own various industries and facilities, and maintains strict political and military neutrality. The defense of the territory, various miscellaneous affairs, and the management of the monzen town and the town of Terauchi are all in charge of the low-ranking monks who are subordinate to each workshop and courtyard, called the pedestrian side, and the famous Nerai people are the main body of the pedestrian side monks led by the Suginobo Tsuda family and the Izumi Chibo Tsuchihashi family, who are in charge of the defense of the temple.

The pedestrian side corresponds to the scholar side. They were the top of the monastery, originally monks who focused on the practice of the Dharma (but now ...... Later, because of his various religious privileges, he received offerings or sent land from various lords, and gathered a huge temple domain (at the peak, the temple domain of Genrai Temple reached 700,000 stones). The nearby landowners were also willing to hand over their land or their children to the temple, so that they could gain the right to guard, inspect, and not enter the temple, and they themselves became hereditary high-ranking pedestrians who worked for the temple like the Tsuda family and the Tsuchihashi family.

We were all samurai at a glance, and it was a bit eye-catching to walk in the town. However, as long as we don't make trouble, the temple will not interfere, and it will not care about our identity, just like the four sentences in the Machimae book: "Those who come do not refuse, those who enter do not ask, those who stay do not check, and those who go do not chase". In this sense, it is a very free place, a different kind of world from the world.

It wasn't until we arrived near the Xingshitang that we were about to enter the main workshop of the temple that the monk came and asked us, "How many donors have come to pray for it?" Is it vows? Or Buddha? Please inform the little monk and let the little monk guide him? ”

I turned my head to look, and there were a lot of people in the Xingshitang area, but it seemed that only our group had this treatment.

Xinjing also discovered this. His mouth was quick, and he immediately asked bluntly: "This master, doesn't Buddhism say that all living beings are equal?" Why do you just entertain us? ”

"The little benefactor is reasonable," the monk folded his hands and smiled slightly, "Although all beings are equal and the door is wide, after all, the doors are different...... Several of them are not bad, and they are in a hurry, so they must have important things to do, and they should be treated exceptionally. ”

"That's right," I smiled and nodded, pointing to Shinjing, "I came here to repay my wish for the dog!" ”

"But I don't know which house and which class?" The monk asked.

"The head of your temple is a master with honors, in which academy and which class is he practicing?" I asked rhetorically, and explained to him, "When the dog was born, he was blessed by the master of special honor; Now that the dog has become an adult, he has come to make a vow. ”

The little monk understood, and the monk's attitude became more respectful. Nowadays, those who can receive the blessings of the high monks when the heirs are born should at least be the wealthy family of one side: "Master Zhuan Yu practices in the Great Buddha Court...... Invite a few highnesses to come with the little monks. ”

Soon, we arrived at the Big Buddha Court in the center of the temple. This is the oldest courtyard in the temple, and it was built by Emperor Toba when the founder of Neraiji Temple, Kakuga, ruled Koyasan. More than 150 years after he left Koyasan and founded the Shinyi Shingon sect at Genraiji Temple, the then head of Koyasan Studies, Yu Yu, transferred his membership of the Great Buddha Court to Genraiji Temple, becoming the head of the Genraeji Temple.

I took off the talisman around Xinjing's neck and handed it to the monk of the Great Buddha Court, so that he could pass it on to the Master of Honor, who was the head of the school. It didn't take long for Zhuan Yu to come to the lobby with the monk and invite me and Xinjing into the apse to talk.

"I really didn't expect that it was Awaji Hall who came in person, which really surprised the poor monk!" Rubbing the talisman in his hand, there was both surprise and emotion in his words.

This talisman was made, consecrated and recited by him himself, and it was naturally different from ordinary road goods, and he could immediately distinguish the shape, material and runes of the talisman when he saw it.

When he was asked to pray for Keijiro's blessing with a lot of money, he was still practicing at Yamato-Haseji Temple, and I was just the lord of Crab River Castle with a territory of more than 20,000 stones. Now, 12 years later, everyone's circumstances have changed dramatically.

(To be continued)