"Since you call me father-in-law, then I'll just call you Xinxiao," I sighed, "Xinxiao, I understand your kindness." However, the temple of forgetting sorrows has just passed away, and I will marry a new person immediately, what is this? As Xinjing said just now, I have been concentrating on carving her Ruyi wheel Guanyin statue in the past few days, and remembering the bits and pieces of the past, my heart is almost completely occupied by her, and there is no room for other main rooms...... I really can't accept your proposal. ”

"You say that...... Nobutaka frowned, "but this is a very important matter of government!" Aren't you willing to do your best for my Oda family? ”

"The Kira family will naturally do their best for the Oda family, isn't Shinkei participating in the center? It's okay for me to retire from being able to watch you and the next generation like him active," I looked at Niwa Zhang Xiu, "Moreover, you say that, you really underestimate Niwa, Shibata and the rest of the seniors, can't they preside over the center of the Oda family?" Even His Royal Highness Yu Liang is a solid person who presided over the rebellion and pushed you to crusade against the wise Mitsuhide, you should have more trust......"

"Trust that monkey? Is he trustworthy? Shin Xiao interrupted me angrily, "Didn't you see his smug attitude...... Therefore, even if it is purely for political reasons, I implore you to marry Aunt Aichi as the main family and participate in the central affairs of the family again. ”

"Well, Politics," I shook my head, "I have done a number of things in the past for the sake of Strategy, such as marrying the daughter of the Otomo family at the behest of the lord, and marrying the main family of the Uki family in front of the Lord. But now that I've retired, I guess I can find some comfort and don't have to be so reluctant...... In short, I already have too much guilt for the Forgetting Sorrow Temple, so I will never do this kind of thing to be sorry for her. ”

"You're so stubborn!" Xinxiao saw that I didn't eat oil and salt, and finally couldn't sit still. He stood up in a huff and strode out of the meeting room.

"Xinjing, you go and send His Royal Highness Xinxiao." I hurriedly commanded.

"Yes." Xinjing agreed, and got up and chased after him.

"What a young man!" I shook my head and asked Niwa Nagahide, "His Royal Highness Nagahide came over, wouldn't he be the same as His Highness Nobutaka, and want to persuade me about this?" ”

"I was forcibly brought here," Niwa Nagahide smiled, "As you said, His Highness Nobutaka is indeed a little younger. ”

"However, from a purely strategic point of view, his suggestion is quite meritorious," I muttered, "did Nobutaka come up with it himself?" ”

"Exactly," Niwa Nagahide nodded, "Actually, he has prepared two plans, and this is one of them. ”

"And what about another plan?" I asked.

"I hope to get the support of the Kira family and you to directly succeed the Oda family governor," Niwa Nagahide smiled, "However, I told him that His Royal Highness Xuanjing has always attached great importance to his reputation, so he will not support anyone to succeed him as the family governor until the widow of Lieutenant General Zuo is born, so he retreated and wanted to pull you into the center...... Of course, there may be the next step, that is, when Lady Shiogawa gives birth to a princess, you can justifiably ask him to support him in succession. ”

"His Royal Highness Nobutaka, do you want to get that position so much?" I asked Niwa Nagahide.

Seriously, I'm not impressed. What about the inheritance of the governor? It's just roasting yourself on the stove. Today's Oda family is no longer the same as in the past, because of Nobunaga's death, many people have already made their own small calculations. In this case, even if Xinzhong, who is the official family governor, is still alive, he may not be able to win the hearts of the people in the family, let alone him, the concubine who returned to the clan from the clan?

"He wants to succeed, not entirely for his own power, but mainly for the sake of maintaining the Oda family and maintaining the prestige of the world's number one samurai. Therefore, before he came, he told me that it would be okay to only serve as the new governor's posterior, but I must ask you to go out of the mountain and maintain the balance in the family," Niwa Nagahide's tone was very emotional, "I believe that this is his sincere words, so I came with him...... Although he is a little impatient, he is quite a knowledgeable person, and I have watched him grow up, and I can still understand his mood very well. ”

"So, why didn't you persuade me just now?" I asked curiously, "If you persuade me too, maybe I ......."

"Don't talk to me about this," Niwa Nagahide shook his head with a wry smile, "I'm sure that even if you put aside the factor of the Forgetful Courtyard Palace, you won't agree to this marriage, because you also have your own ideas...... Do you want to stay out of the whirlpool and finally come forward to clean up the situation? ”

"I really don't want to be a part of it. At first, I was ready to raise troops to avenge the Lord, but I encountered many rumors inside and outside the house, so I had this consideration. I said simply.

And so it was...... You've always been a cleanliness person! Niwa Nagahide said with a pun.

"So, what does His Highness Changxiu think about?" I asked further.

"What can I think about? Without your strength and trust, nor your courage and spirit, I can only do my best to maintain it, even if I lose some fame," Niwa Nagahide's tone was tinged with a bit of desolation, "For example, this time, Nobutaka complained about my acceptance of Minami Omi, and felt that I should not participate in the division of the lord's domain...... However, without the support of these hundreds of thousands of stone territories, what influence can I have? And what do you use to support the Lord's house? ”

"I can fully understand your consideration," I was silent for a moment, then continued, "In any case, please take care of Your Highness Changxiu. ”

"Do your best!" Niwa Nagahide sighed, "In my life, I have been deeply favored by my lord, and I have always been in the center, so I can't stay out of it like you...... It's just that I'm old, and since the lord and the young lord returned to heaven, I always feel that the familiar way of the world has collapsed, and every time I think about it, I inevitably have a kind of sadness that seems to be weak, but it is deep in the bone marrow, and it is estimated that there is not much time left! ”

Speaking of this, he suddenly bowed down solemnly to me: "His Royal Highness Xuanjing's character, I Changxiu is very trusting. Therefore, even if His Highness has any ideas, even if there is anything wrong with the lord in his old age, I hope that His Highness can take care of the Oda family, at least to keep the Oda family's family business as a daimyo! Keep the blood and sacrifice of the lord! ”

“…… You can rest assured. I looked at him for a moment and nodded solemnly.

He is a true pure minister who can give up his reputation and even his surname for his family. People like this are worthy of respect no matter what.

……，…… After two days, Nana's funeral was finally completed, and the Forgotten Worry House was officially opened to the outside world. As Tenkai said, when the townspeople in Kyoto learned of this, there was an endless stream of people who came to pay their respects, including merchants, craftsmen, and even a few family members of the ministers. Most of them brought their children over to thank the temple for their kindness, and the children knelt in front of the shrine reverently, looking at the quiet and kind contemplative Guanyin statue with reverence. At that moment, Nana Cai was the Guanyin Bodhisattva in their hearts.

This scene was so enthusiastic, although several maids of Nana stayed behind and practiced in the Forgetfulness Temple, and the main room of the Miyata family, Ah Instant, did not return to Awaji Province, but he was still very busy. Fortunately, Yuka heard that Nana had passed away, and he also rushed over from Imabari Castle. She assisted Xinjing to finish the funeral, and only rested for two days, and saw that the Forgotten Worry Temple was understaffed, so she hurriedly took her maid to the temple to help. And with her hosting, the situation is finally better. Then, she suggested to me that a side door should be opened on the side of the temple near the temple to receive the townspeople who worshiped the temple.

At the same time, Kyushu's Wasuka Keikatsu and Akitsu also came to Kyoto to personally mourn their mother, and at the same time conveyed their condolences on behalf of Zhou Jing, Gamo Nobuhide, Satake Nobunao and Mitsu.

"Sister Mitsu is pregnant again, so it's really inconvenient to come; The brother-in-law of the Gamo family was tasked with monitoring the Shimazu family, and he couldn't leave for a while. Keikatsu Wasuka explained.

"Hmm," I nodded understandingly, "Zhou Jing and Xuanzhi must be the same...... How is he in Kitakyushu? ”

"So that my father will know that His Royal Highness Zhou Jing and Lord Xuanxiu have entered the old land of the Shimo-Kamachi family and the Kami-Kami-Kamachi family respectively, and have completely controlled the Chikugo country," Wasuka Keikatsu's tone was not without reverence, "In addition, there is another important news, at the beginning of the year, in order to aid the Omura family who surrendered to Cheng, His Royal Highness Zhou Jing, Lord Xuanxiu, His Royal Highness Higo Shimazu, and Lord Kikuchi joined forces to enter Hizen Province, defeated the 30,000 troops of Ryuzoji Takanobu to defeat the Omura family at Okita, and won Ryuzoji Takanobu himself!" ”

"Yes!" I'm so happy that the Battle of Okita in history finally happened! This victory came at the right time, not only stabilizing the situation in Kitakyushu, but also making the entire Kyushu realize the majesty of the Kira family, thus calming the undercurrent caused by Nobunaga's death. At the same time, within the former Oda family system, the prestige of the Shinkyo and Kira families will also soar, and the presiding over the rebellion will not be allowed to be dominated by Hideyoshi.

"Tell me about the situation!" I continued.

"Yes......" Wasuka Keikatsu took the order and told me about the battle.

This war began with the strategy of Nobuhide Satake. Previously, he used the hands of the Ryuzoji family to clear out the two wealthy families of the upper and lower Kamachi families in Chikugo Province, but this time he used the pull of the church and the threat of the Futami Mitsunari Anlan detachment to successfully win over the Omura family, so that Omura Juntada severed the relationship with the Ryuzoji family. Upon hearing the news, Takanshin Ryuzoji took advantage of the New Year's greetings of the wealthy clans to mobilize 30,000 troops from Hizen and half of Chikuzen, and launched an attack on the Omura family's Hiki-gun. While resisting, Omura Juntada sent people to Hosokawa Shinyuki, who was in charge of Higo, and Zhou Kei and Nobuhide, who controlled Chikugo, and then Kitahigo guarded Shimazu Iehisa took the initiative to ask for battle, leading the 5,000 troops of Shimazu and Kikuchi, as well as the two preparations of Tsushima and Hasuike that I had allocated to march into Hizen Province and engage the Ryuzoji family's army.

Considering the number and structure of the Ryuzoji family's army, he also adopted the tactics of fishing no ambush this time, first setting up an ambush in the Okita area, and luring Ryuzoji Takanobu to attack with the cavalry of Tsushima Bei. When the chaotic enemy army entered the ambush circle, he immediately mobilized all the iron cannons and launched a series of fire from the reserve position at the Hao clan in the half of Chikuzen, knocking down two or three hundred people at once. This half of the country is only a vassal of the Longzao Temple family, the wealthy clans are not loyal to the Longzao Temple Longxin, naturally they will not fight to the death for him, so they began to retreat, the Longzao Temple Takanobu saw this, and ordered his own camp to go to the front of the battle, on the one hand, to stabilize the situation, on the other hand, but also to deter the Zhuqian Hao.

However, at this time, Zhou Jing's Chikugo [***] momentum has also arrived. He used Wasuka Keikatsu's Crab River Bei as his arrow, and rushed directly to the place where the Ryuzoji Takanobu military flag was. There were only more than 100 guards around Longzo Temple Longxin, and he was soon defeated in front of Xiejiang Bei, and Longxin himself was also taken by Xiejiang Bei, and the army under his command left three or four thousand corpses, and they fled back to their own territory one after another...... "Ah, why didn't you say it before, it was you who took Longzao Temple Longxin?" I asked with interest, "This is the key to defeating the forces of the Ryuzoji family!" ”

"When you say this, you are probably studying your subordinates," Wasuka Keikatsu was very modest, "If you want to say the key thing, the strategic planning of His Royal Highness Zhou Jing and His Royal Highness Shimazu is the key, and His Majesty got this credit just because it was just a coincidence." If it were someone else, it would be easy to win the Ryuzoji Takanoshin. ”

"Credit is always credit! Neither I nor the head of the family will ignore your great achievement," I nodded with satisfaction, "After this battle, the Ryuzoji family will soon fall apart, and if you defeat the Akizuki family, the entire Kitakyushu will belong to the family." ”

"Yes......" Seeing that I was in a good mood, Wasuka Keikatsu mentioned another matter, "The Otomo family also sent His Royal Highness Yoshioka to congratulate my father on his success and to mourn the passing away Forget-Sorrow-in Temple. ”

"Yoshioka," I smiled, "I have a heart...... Let Xinjing come forward to receive him! ”

"Well, I heard that His Royal Highness Yoshioka wants to pay a visit to you personally," Wasuka Keikatsu looked up at me, "It seems to be for the sake of Mrs. Otomo!" ”

"For Janet's sake, you want to see me in person?" I frowned, vaguely understanding what was going on.

"Yes. On the way, His Royal Highness Yoshioka made a little remark to me, saying that His Royal Highness Otomo Kingo had asked him to promise that as long as you made Mrs. Otomo the main house, he would immediately support His Royal Highness Keishichiro to succeed him as the governor of the Otomo family...... His Royal Highness Yoshioka also said in private that Mrs. Otomo had a noble status, and she married into the family as a side room, because she had to condescend because of the Forget Worry Temple. Now that the Immortal of the Forgotten Courtyard is gone, you should compensate Mrs. Otomo. Wasuka Keikatsu said.

Let Janet succeed the main room? Really, there is no worse decision. What about being of noble birth? What about being young and beautiful? With her surname and mind...... I shook my head.

"His Royal Highness Otomo Kingo, I'm really a little confused...... Ah, or maybe it's too blind," I snorted slightly, "of course, my own daughter, it's always good to look at." ”

"It stands to reason that neither a subordinate nor a son-in-law should have a beak," Wasuka Keikatsu said boldly, "However, if it is discussed as a family matter, the son thinks that Lady Kamikawa has been following you and has experienced so much with you, and if it is the main house, it will definitely be unanimously approved by the family." ”

(To be continued)