Hattori Masanari and Zhezhi Baozhong left the main tent, and the rest of the people stayed together. Either my retainers or my allies, they are waiting for me to explain the situation. I have no intention of hiding anything, let Xiao Xia take the thousand-armed Ji who has woken up back to the camp, and then tell the plan and plan in my heart.

At this time, it is necessary for everyone to tide over the difficulties in harmony.

None of you here are stupid people, so you naturally understand this truth. That's why the Kitabatake family supports me. As for the person who caused this predicament, everyone knows it, and there is no interest in pursuing it. Kitabatake Guyu went out this time in order to gain prestige and then successfully inherit the Kitabatake family. If he takes on this responsibility, not only will Nobunaga's plan fail, but he will also hurt Nobunaga's face badly - after all, he is Nobunaga's first son in the Yuanfu.

"His Royal Highness Xuankei's intention is for us to maintain a restrained attitude towards the Iga people to prevent the situation from deteriorating, and then rely on the intermediaries of the Fukuchi family and the Fujilin family to reach peace with the Iga people?" Nagano Fujitashi roughly understood what I was thinking.

"Exactly." I nodded.

"Are you looking too highly of them?" Yoshiyuki Sawaki was a little unimpressed, "Iga Country is less than 100,000 stones, how many people can be gathered?" It's a big deal to defeat them in one go, is it so compromised? ”

"His Highness should not be taken lightly. The strength of Koga and Iga cannot be measured by the strength of troops. If they were to be enemies, even ordinary peasants could suddenly become enemies, and they would have to deal with endless harassment and elusive surprise attacks. "Yoshimasa Nishiki explained to Yoshiyuki Sawaki, "At that time, General Yoshisho led the troops of Hosokawa, Hatakeyama, Spo, Isshiki, Ouchi, Kyogoku, and Akamatsu into Koga to pursue His Royal Highness Rokkaku Takayori, but it took two years to fail to conquer Koga, but he died of illness in battle......

He's talking about the famous Hook Array. It was that battle that established the prestige of the Koga people. At that time, there were 53 local servants from Koga County who participated in the Rokkaku, and 21 of them made great contributions after the war and received the Rokkaku family's impression, so there are two theories: "Koga 53 families" and "Koga 21 families". Among them, the Yamanaka family and the Sankumo family have been used as genealogy generations to produce the Rokkaku family, the Wada family is the one who took in Yoshiaki, the Takayama Youjin family has been out of Shimatsu Nagahide, and the Oda family's Takigawa Ichiyi and Nakamura Ichishi are both from the Taki family of the twenty-one families.

As Yoshimasa Nishiki said, Koga used that kind of guerrilla warfare to bring down the shogunate's crusade army. Later, Yoshisai succeeded as a general and continued to crusade against the Rokkaku family, but when Rokkaku Takayori hid in Koga, he immediately broke off the pursuit of the family.

There is only one person in the history of the Warring States who really conquered these two places, and that is Nobunaga in the later period. The early stage was not good, and he could only give up the pursuit of the Rokkaku Yoshiken father and son who fled to Koga. Later, he conquered Iga, and adopted the policy of attacking with a large army, plowing the court and sweeping the caves. The 40,000-strong army passed by, and almost all the people around the strongholds such as Yamajo Castle and Kashiwahara Castle were killed. Whether it's ashigaru, ninjas, spies, or peasants, whether or not there is a hostile attempt, as long as they approach the siege of the city, their heads will immediately fall to the ground.

Even so, in the second year, after receiving the news of the Honnoji Incident, the Iga people immediately swarmed again, causing the Third Tensho Iga Rebellion.

Yoshiyuki Sawaki did not have Nobunaga's determination, and when he understood the power of Koga and Iga, his face immediately became solemn. I couldn't do it to any extent, so I immediately agreed: "What Nishiki-sama said is very true. I don't want to fight for nothing, and I don't want to reap the hatred of all Iga. Therefore, please shrink your defense line a little and try not to take the initiative to show our sincerity in negotiations. However, the defense must be strengthened...... Everyone, please! ”

"Yes!" Atsushi Nagano, Masakatsu Wasuka, Yoshiyuki Sawaki and others received the order together, and then went down separately to make arrangements.

Shigeharu Takenaka stayed, and he had been thinking about it since I had instructed Hattori Masanari and Zhezhi to take care of it, but he didn't say anything to interrupt our discussion.

"What are you thinking? Is it a matter of dealing with the Iga? I asked.

"Regarding that matter, the lord and your highnesses will have proper arrangements, but there is no need for your subordinates to worry about anything," Shigeharu Takenaka's brows were still locked, "Your Majesty is worried about the issue of military rations. Even if peace can be reached with the people of Iga now, it is too risky to use this channel to transport military rations from Ise! But in this case, how can we maintain the supply of military rations and continue to enter the campaign in order to complete the tasks assigned by the main hall? ”

"According to the opinion of the following, I can only go to Minami Omi and join the main force of His Highness Danmasa." Yoshimasa Hitoshi of Renmu. He's pretty much my guest now.

"In that case, it's best to bypass Koga and head to Gamu-gun...... The road is a little farther, I'm afraid there will be twists and turns. However, it is too dangerous to go straight through the Koga gun. Shigeharu Takenaka sighed.

"It's impossible to go straight through Kaga-gun, because the father and son of Rokkaku Yoshiken are already there! The two of them were in a state of panic, and if we went, it would be extremely unpopular! I laughed.

"Rokkaku Yoshiken father and son in Koga? The lord is saying ......! Shigeharu Takenaka looked at me in surprise.

"Yes, this is the news confirmed by the Hattori family. In other words, the lord has captured the castle of Guanyin Temple. I nodded.

"So fast!" Even Shigeharu Takenaka didn't expect it to go so smoothly, "Today is the eighth day of the battle, plus the distance on the road...... The Hexagon hasn't actually lasted three days?! ”

"yes, so I have an idea...... "I instructed my attendants to lay out a simple map, "I guess the wealthy families of Yamato and Yamashiro will be shocked when they get the news!" We might as well just enter the Yamato Kingdom, and there will definitely be a lot of room for wooing. ”

"Then you can get the ration supply!" Shigeharu Takenaka added happily.

"Not bad." I pointed to a salient in Yamato Province and said to Shigeharu Takenaka, "I'm going to enter Yamato Province directly from here." ”

"Kasamaguchi of Yamabe-gun?" Looking at the name of the place I specially marked, Shigeharu Takenaka understood, "Has the lord already made a decision?" ”

"It's probably decided, but it's not sure yet, so I'll only need three days," I nodded, "although according to my understanding, it's the best way to go, and it can go straight to the hinterland of Yamato." But the stakes are high, and I have to be cautious, so I'm getting people to investigate. ”

Kasamaguchi is the place where the Kizu River flows from Yamato Province to Iga Province, and in modern times it belongs to the territory of Toki Village, and from Kasamaguchi to the west across Yamabe-gun, it is the boundary of Nara in Tamage-gun, which is already the traditional sphere of influence of the Tsutsui family. For me, this is not a choice in the first place, it just needs to be verified. I remember that when Tsutsui Shunkei sent troops to Iga, he took this passage.

I've even asked the Hattori family to send someone to Yamato Province with the token and get in touch with Tsutsui Shunkei. I had supported him at the beginning, and there was a karma between the two families, and if we could unite again this time, it would be beneficial for both sides. I can get food supplies, he can get reinforcements against Matsunaga Shu, and at the same time form an alliance with the Oda family.

At this time, Tsutsui Shunkei was far less sleek and insightful than the sleek and insightful nature that stayed in the cave pass and was between Hideyoshi and Mitsuhide. According to history, he was only bent on being hostile to Matsunaga Shu at this time, entangled in the affairs of the Ten Ichchi family, did not consider the changes in the situation in Kinai at all, and was indifferent to the Oda family that was about to take control of Kinai, and as a result, the cunning Matsunaga Shu preempted the relationship with the Oda family, and he was attacked as a fellow party of the Miyoshi family, so he lost his position as Yamato guardian and was driven to the mountains east of Nara. It wasn't until Matsunaga Hide's rebellion against Nobunaga that he surrendered to the Oda family through Akechi Mitsuhide and Sakuma Nobumori and regained his own territory.

So I reached out to him, and I was actually helping him. When he understands this, he will be very grateful to me...... For the next three days, my entire army gathered around Kashiwahara Castle and confronted the people of Iga Province. Due to the fact that there are many political parties and there are two families of Fukuchi and Fujilin mediating between them, the actions of the people of Iga Province are not uniform. Some of them accepted explanations and good offices, and reached a de facto rapprochement with our army; Most of them have an ambiguous attitude, and although they do not attack, they continue to make small movements to test our attitude and adaptability. Fortunately, my words were more effective, and when I went to the ignorant Kitabatake, all the families in the coalition army maintained restraint and did not cause a major conflict.

However, there is still a part that seems to be determined to oppose us. Among them, the leader is the Ueda family, who once shared the old collar of the Zhe Ue family with the blessed land and the Takino family. I understand that his reason is nothing more than to muddy the waters, so that he can take the opportunity to encroach on the land of the Takino family. His family's territory is east of the Takino family, and if he wants to invade it, he will have a geographical advantage.

I communicated with Muntaka Fukuchi and then issued a warning to Ueda Mitsuji. Ueda Mitsuji still didn't stop, thinking that I wouldn't dare to fight back easily. Seeing that he was not in good shape, I quickly dispatched my family's spear array to attack an ambush of the Ueda family, and then beat him with 500 iron cannons, and even Ueda Mitsuji himself was seriously injured.

Since I reported it earlier, this action did not cause much contradiction, but it succeeded in deterring several Iga clans that attacked us, and even those who had an ambiguous attitude have reined in a lot.

With strength as the backing, the attitude of restraint is more sincere.

By the third day, the pathfinders had returned, bringing the expected good news. I withdrew from Kashiwabara Castle as agreed, and then drove west to Yamato Province with my whole army under the isolation of the Fukuchi family's forces.

Kitabatake Gotoyo was the lord of the castle for the first time, and he seemed to have found a feeling that three days of giving orders could not satisfy his interest at all. When I told him to withdraw, he insisted on continuing to defend the city. Without saying a word, I immediately ordered the Nagano family to lead the Naka-Ise Army to leave as the vanguard, exposing the eastern side of the castle to more than 10,000 Iga people. Seeing this situation, he had to lead his army to leave, and cede Kashiwahara Castle to the Fukuji family army that was separated between the two sides.

When I entered the territory of Yamato Country, I was relieved that I had finally crossed this ninja country safely! Although the ninja who went to contact the Tsutsui family has not returned, there is nothing to worry about. Most of the reason why I sent people in advance was out of courtesy and respect. The Tsutsui family is currently at a low ebb, and they will not refuse the Kira family, who once sent troops to help; Even if he had any doubts, in front of the nearly 20,000 troops, the best way out was to reach peace by virtue of the causes and conditions of the past.

In terms of merit, this time I was able to transfer safely thanks to Hattori Masanari's running and contact. I decided to give him a reward.

"Hanzo, thanks to you for this incident." My attitude was very kind.

"It's my subordinate's duty." Hattori replied.

"As a reward, I have decided to reward your family with a thousand stone of land...... Also, I want you to be a samurai in my Kira family, I wonder what you think? I said.

Being able to stand out as a samurai is a rare privilege for ninjas.

As a ninja, because he is good at reconnaissance, sabotage, espionage or assassination, etc., he is much inferior to the samurai in martial arts, battle formations, and political affairs, so he can rarely be reused by the lord. Among the fifty-three families of Koga, there are some families who have given up the inheritance of ninjutsu and become famous families as ordinary wealthy families.

"His Royal Highness's kindness should not be rejected in Shimohara," Hattori Masanari owed, "However, the Shimogaku family has inherited ninjutsu for generations, and it is really impossible to give up." And everyone in the family is good at ninjutsu.,As the head of the family.,There's a responsibility to lead them.。 ”

“…… Yes, the Hattori family is a family of upper ninjas, and it is true that they cannot give up the inheritance. If you lose your ninjutsu, you lose the pride of your inheritance," I nodded earnestly, "I understand your intentions." ”

"Thank you, Your Highness, for your understanding." Hattori is a respectful salute.

"So, are you willing to serve my Kira family as the official master?" I made another proposal, "Your father passed away while working for me, so I'll treat the Hattori family as a genealogy." In the future, all the intelligence work of the Kira family will be borrowed from your Hattori family, how about it? ”

Hattori Masanari thought for a moment and bowed in front of me: "In the name of the eleventh generation of the Hattori family and the seventh generation of the Nakahattori family, I would like to serve the Kira family as the lord of my Hattori family for generations!" From now on, please feel free to drive the lord! ”

"It's really reassuring to have a servant of the Hattori family!" I was relieved to accept the surrender of the Hattori family, "By the way, you mentioned the Chiga family...... The Hyakchi and Fujilin families seem to be the divisions of the Chigaji family, right? ”

“…… The Lord is wise! ”

"Then, in the future, the Iga ninja will entrust you to the Hattori family."

"Is the lord trying to subdue the Iga ninjas?!" Hattori Masanari hurriedly asked, with a rare hint of surprise in his tone.

"Huh!" I smiled a little smugly, "Since I'm involved in Iga, and there is a conflict by accident, is there a better option than to accept it?" …… Moreover, I have already laid two powerful chess pieces! ”

(To be continued)