Hesitate? Who would hesitate at this time?

It is certainly impossible to come to this point and know the direction of history, and to say that you have no idea about the highest position. Even for self-preservation, I had to sit in that position, and if the rest of my family was in power, it would be impossible for either Shibata or Hideyoshi to bypass me and allow me to continue to maintain such influence, and the result would either be to defeat me or severely weaken my power. It is impossible to be treated like Tokugawa Ieyasu in history, after all, he is not a descendant of the Oda family, and he does not have that much influence in the Oda family.

Moreover, even if I didn't have an idea, the ministers in the family wouldn't agree. Once I understand the situation, it will definitely push me to fight for that position, so that I can rise to the top and gain more territory, power, and fame.

Although things were different from what was expected, Nobunaga and Nobutada did indeed return to heaven. Since Nobuo, a fellow mother, has already joined the Kitabatake family, the Oda family is now in the same lineage, and only the widow who is still in the womb of Mrs. Shiogawa remains. This situation was more favorable than what Hideyoshi faced in history, and my power greatly exceeded that of Hideyoshi at the time of the incident.

Although I was in a much farther position than Hideyoshi's Beichukuo, and farther than Echizen of Shibata Katsuie, it took seven days for the news to arrive here alone. However, Shinkei should have returned to Mie Castle at this time, and then gathered the forces of Kita-Ise, Naka-Ise, and Iga as the son-in-law of the Kira family, and took the lead in fighting the rebellion, so that the first initiative to avenge Nobunaga would belong to my Kira family. Of course, with his strength, it is certainly not enough to defeat Hatakeyama Yoshishu and Akechi Mitsuhide, in fact, he only needs to lead his army into the border area between Iga and Minami Omi, and put on an attitude of attack, with the strength in his hands, this can definitely be done; In addition, Tokugawa Ieyasu, on the other side of Ise Bay, has always had a good relationship with me, and he is a rare smart person, so he will definitely send troops to respond to Shinkei's call when he hears the news.

The ones who will really participate in the war are Iyo's Hideki and Tosa's Shukei, and I left them and the two [***] forces behind for this moment. Then, no matter who finally defeats Hatakeyama and Akechi, I will have to play a part in the rebellion. When I lead the army of Kitakyushu to Kinai, if the war has not subsided, it will naturally be me who will continue to rebel; And even if, as in history, the war subsides in just twelve days (which seems unlikely given the current situation), my position and prestige in the Oda family, as well as my initiation and rebellion, will certainly dominate the distribution of territories after the war.

Thinking about it this way, the position of the people in the world seems to be close to me, as if I can touch the dazzling halo as soon as I stretch out my hand...... "Take pen and ink!" Call Nobuhide Satake! I raised my voice and commanded outside the room.

Soon, the little maid sent the prepared pen and ink. I thought about it for a moment and wrote down an order for Hidekei, Shukei, Shigeharu Takenaka, and the Awaji Navy to jointly attack Kishiwada Castle. The order was written in triplicate, respectively for Xiujing, Zhou Jing and Takenaka Shigeji, with slightly different wording. After I finished writing, I drew all the monogram at the end, sealed it, wrote the name of the recipient, and handed it to Nobuhide Satake, who had just arrived.

"You set off immediately, quickly deliver the letter to Nakayiyo Takamatsu Castle, and hand over all the letters to His Royal Highness Xiujing. Don't make a mistake! ”

"Yes." Satake Nobuhide was obviously a little puzzled, why was it overkill, and let him personally serve as a messenger? However, such a crucial order, only his capacity as my adopted son and close attendant can he be fully trusted by Xiujing and carry it out without hesitation. And he didn't ask anything, and left directly.

I looked at the messenger in front of me, "Your name is Tarao Kuzo, isn't it?" Well done this time, I'll remember it...... However, in the past few days, I have to wronged you, I will live alone in the secret room for the time being, I am not allowed to move around at will, and I must strictly abide by the news of the people who deliver food and water! ”

"Yes." Dorao Kuzo replied. As someone from a family of Koga ninjas, he naturally understands the connections and rules.

After arranging these two things, the next thing is to report to Maeda Toshiya and other former Oda ministers, and then arrange for someone to stay in Kyushu and lead everyone back to Kinai together. As for the rest, Toyotomi Hideyoshi in history has set an example for me, and with the situation I am talking about today, I can even reach a reunification more quickly than him...... But wouldn't it seem too urgent? In the original history, Hideyoshi usurped the Oda family's family business, and the methods used were very criticized, even when he was like Zhongtian, there were not a few people who slandered him.

Other than that, my reaction seems to be too calm? Although I have always been a calm person, it is definitely not appropriate to be too confident at this juncture. Yes, I expected it myself, and I didn't feel very abrupt, but in the eyes of the people involved, what should I think? You might think that I had a plan, or even participated in a conspiracy.

According to my relationship with Nobunaga, I have to express a certain degree of sadness and indignation in the face of this.

I instructed the little maid to bring cold water and a cloth towel, and put them on my face until my face was slightly cold, and then I touched the surface of the water and brewed my emotions. Now it seems that there is a sad expression, but it always feels like something is still missing. After thinking about it, I pulled out the ribs around my waist and cut off the bun on my head at once, so that all the hair was loose. The little maid did not expect me to do this, she covered her mouth with her hand and let out an exclamation.

"Let's go down!" I pointed to her with my eyes to take the basin of water, and then came to the hallway and shouted, "Inuchiyo! ”

Maeda Toshinaga quickly rushed to me, and when he saw my pale expression and loose hair, he was obviously taken aback: "My lord! …… What do you command? ”

"Immediately summon the five highnesses Hosokawa, Ikoma, Maeda, Sawaki, and Shimazu in the city, as well as the three adults Keikatsu, Naomasa, and Rita, to come over and discuss the matter!" I commanded him in a calm voice.

Soon, everyone gathered in the assessment room. They didn't seem to know about me shaving my bun yet, and apparently Toshicho didn't reveal a single thing, even to his father, Maeda Toshiie. When I walked to the throne and sat down, I could see that the face of the Lee family was also full of doubt.

As a result, Naomasa Ii asked first: "Father! What are you? ”

"I got a bad news just now, seven days ago, His Royal Highness the Lord Zuofu and His Royal Highness the Young Lord Zuo Lieutenant General returned to heaven in Kyoto," I said in a deep voice, "I received the great grace of the Lord Lord, and when I heard this bad news, I was extremely sad, so I cut off my hair bun as a sign of mourning." ”

As soon as the words fell, the expressions on everyone's faces immediately froze.

"The lord and the young lord have returned to heaven together?!" Maeda Toshiie asked, his tone looking very shocked, "How could such a thing happen?" Could it be an accident?! ”

"Yes, it's not the end of life, but the rebellion!" I closed the folding fan vigorously, "The people who plot rebellion are Hatakeyama Yoshishu and Akechi Mitsuhide!" ”

"Hatakeyama Kingo and Akechi said to be Mamoru, how is it possible?" Mayuki Hosokawa couldn't seem to believe the news. Those two people have always been highly valued by Nobunaga: "Could it be a mistake?" ”

"The news is conclusive, it was sent by Koga's Tarao Kuzo...... He was the son-in-law of Yamaoka Keitaka, who had taken refuge in me during my expedition to Koga, and remained at Mie Castle to deliver the news. ”

"Is it news from Mie Castle?" Pinguchi Liding hurriedly asked, "Then how about the young master Xinjing who is following the main hall?" ”

"Xinjing...... His whereabouts are unknown," I chose to be more conservative and stopped Tsubouchi from further questioning, "but now is not the time to talk about my own family affairs...... The lord returns to heaven, this is a major event for the entire Oda family, all of you here, whether it is the genealogy of the family or the outside, have received the kindness of His Royal Highness Zuofu, so I hope you can work together to help me defeat the rebel party! ”

"Yes. Be sure to avenge the Lord! Ikoma parents were the first to respond. His performance is the most typical example of all, both the shock of sudden news and the panic of not knowing what to do. Now that I'm taking the lead in the crusade against the Hatakeyama and Akechi families, it seems that he has suddenly found the backbone.

"I am willing to obey the command of His Highness Xuanjing." Shinyuki Hosokawa agreed.

"Then it's decided......" I nodded, making it a formal decision.

"Wait a minute!" Shimazu Iehisa suddenly interrupted me. If there was anyone in the crowd who could hold his breath, it was him, and he even seemed calmer than me, the one who made the announcement. However, seeing Maeda Toshiya and others looking at him with unkind eyes, he also hurriedly said: "His Royal Highness Zuofu's revenge is naturally to be avenged." However, what about the strategy of Beifeihou? You can't just give up halfway, right? Moreover, it seems that the Ryuzoji family also has signs of sending troops, so it really has to be guarded against. ”

"What Jia Jiu said is very true. If you evacuate your troops, you will definitely not be able to. Although I have temporarily blocked the news, but the paper can't contain the fire, sooner or later, the Kumabe family and the Ryuzoji family will learn about the return of His Royal Highness Zuofu, and then they will take advantage of the situation to invade, not to mention the Northern Higo, and even the entire Higo country may fall. I nodded slightly, affirming Shimazu Iehisa's statement.

The current strategy of the Northern Higo Raider,At a critical juncture,Shimazu Iehisa's tactics of cutting branches and cutting dry,Has achieved great results,In the past month,Those small and medium-sized wealthy clans who followed Kube Kinei,Almost all of them were broken by him,And the leader of Kuma Kinei has always been held back by Kikuchi Takeshige's forces,Unable to provide support at all。 In this way, the Kumabe family not only lost their wings, but also lost their faith, and could only be trapped in their own cities and villages. And Shimazu Iehisa came back this time, originally preparing to gather all the forces I allocated to him and give the Kumabe family the final blow.

However, now that the situation has changed, the plans have to change with it...... I thought about it for a moment and made a further decision: "In order to protect Higo Province, I have decided to leave Sawaki Ryonobuku's department behind. In addition, please lead the Awa people to stay behind and sit in Kumamoto Castle on my behalf; The Shimazu family led my direct subordinates, Tsushima Bei and Hasuike Bei, and Kikuchi Takeshige to continue the attack on the Kumabe family and resist the attack of the Hizen Ryuzoji family. ”

"I do what I want." Yoshiyuki Sawaki nodded. He became my strength very early, and compared to the Maeda Toshiie, who was born as Nobunaga's small surname, and the Ikoma family, who was Nobutada's own uncle, the relationship with Nobunaga's father and son was more estranged, and he didn't have to personally participate in the revenge battle. Moreover, the territory of Nanhigo Country is not easy to come by, and it really needs to be taken care of by one person.

"Then it's settled. After I leave with my army, Yoshiyuki Sawaki will be in charge of Nanhigo, and Shimazu Ihisa will be in charge of Beihigo," said I, who promised in advance, "After the matter is completed, I will come forward to fight for you to become a full-fledged guardian." ”

As soon as this promise came out, everyone seemed to realize that now that Nobunaga and Nobutada's father and son have died, it seems that in the entire Oda family, I am the only one who is the most qualified person to clean up the situation. Then, after pacifying the rebellion, he will definitely take charge of the Oda family's affairs, and even override the Oda family...... In an instant, everyone's eyes seemed to be a little more awe than usual.

"Thank Your Highness for the seal! My family will serve wholeheartedly for a long time and stabilize the Northern Higo Kingdom for His Royal Highness. Shimazu Iehisa was the first to speak.

"I'm very relieved to have your words," I smiled at him, "when I said that I once promised you, it seems that I should be in Beifeihou...... Although it is only half a country, the stone height in the collar is a little higher than your previous Xiangguo. The so-called lost east, harvested mulberry elm, that's it! ”

……，…… Nobunaga's return to heaven is a first-class event, and the news will surely spread quickly. Although I control Tarao Kuzo, sooner or later the Kyushu Lords will learn about this, but they are a few days behind in time and cannot interfere with our arrangements. In view of this, I also sent a letter to the two of them, Beehouse Yoritato of Kokoku and Nobuhide Gamo of Osumi Province, informing them of the death of Nobunaga and his son, and then asking them to focus on staying at the Shimazu family in Satsuma.

As for Shimazu Iehisa, I'm very relieved. He was an unruly man and a man of great pride, and since I believed in him so much, and he had spoken to me in public, he would certainly have done what he said. Moreover, as a concubine from his side room, even if he returns to the Shimazu family, he will have to be subservient to the two brothers, how can he be able to serve as the guardian of the North Higo under my command and be on an equal footing with the Shimazu clan in Satsuma?

With such an arrangement, whether it is to attack Kyushu or to fight for the dominance of the Oda family, it seems that it is foolproof, and I only need to follow the plan and continue to do it step by step, and I will definitely be able to occupy a favorable position.

By the 16th of October, I had led the Sanuki people, Maeda people, Kwaie Bei, and Ii Chibei to Mitsu Castle in the southern part of the country, and prepared to cross the sea to Shikoku and then march to Kinai.

However, at this moment, Nobuhide Satake, who was on his way to Shikoku to deliver a message, came back and brought me a very bad piece of information.

(To be continued)