The temperature in the room gradually cooled down, which made me a little uncomfortable for I'm used to the warm autumn in Ise. Although it is less than 70 kilometers away from Mie Castle, the climate of the two places is very different. Mie Castle is located on the sea, and even in the coldest winter, the temperature does not reach freezing; Iga Province, on the other hand, is a basin with most of the Ueno Basin, and the temperature difference between winter and summer is very large.

Four million years ago, it was the bottom of Lake Biwa, so most of the land today is sandy, which is difficult to store water, making it unsuitable for rice farming. Only the territory near the Takino family is close to Yamato Province, and it is very convenient for irrigation because it is close to the Kizu River and its tributary, the Celestial River. The Qingrenji River, also known as the Xiangluo River in this upper section, winds down from the Aoyama Plateau to form a multi-level waterfall known as "Akame Forty-eight Takaki", which is a famous tourist attraction in modern times. The Miao word "Takino" comes from this. And another wealthy family nearby, the Miao character is simply "blessed land", and its meaning is clear at a glance.

Speaking of Takino Forty-Eight Taki, the most famous of them are Fudo Taki, and Senju Taki, and the name of Senju Taki comes from the Senju Ji who slept in Konatsu's arms next to me. According to history, the second Tensho Iga Rebellion fourteen years later was the place where she and her lover Kusanosuke Honma were martyred...... I smiled bitterly, sure enough, I couldn't sleep, so I was easy to think cranky! Seeing that Xiao Xia's clothes were extremely thin, I pulled a nearby piece of muslin and unfolded it to cover her.

The sky gradually brightened, and a thick white fog shrouded outside the house, and sometimes the cries of night owls came, which seemed particularly sad in the silent night, and added a bit of melancholy to the ears. At about five o'clock in the morning, a figure suddenly appeared in the fog, and it seemed that the figure was formed by condensation of the fog. This figure flashed into the room, and it was Hattori Masanari who went out to inquire about the news.

"Your Highness, the news has spread. The Fujibayashi family near Koga in the northeast and the Fukuchi and Ueda families in the southeast had gathered their men overnight, but instead of trying to attack, they were defending their own place. ”

"Good work." I nodded.

"Then the subordinates will retire, and as soon as there is new news, they will come to report immediately."

"Wait!" I stopped him, "Let's rest for a while, you've been busy all day and night." ”

"Yes." He replied calmly, then sat down against the wall under me and closed his eyes.

But it didn't take long for him to seem to hear something, and suddenly he opened his eyes and flashed out quickly. I tried to prick up my ears, and vaguely seemed to hear a faint whistle, which was probably their contact information? Well, there must be some new news coming.

Sure enough, then Hattori Masashi came in and reported: "The Hyakuchi family in the south is very angry, as well as the Kozawa family, the Sumiyoshi family, the Momoda family of Hizayama Castle, etc., Morita Joun of Ichinomiya Castle has issued an initiative to defeat His Highness, and there are Kobe, Kamibayashi, Bito, Caira, Komura, Oki, Ichibu, Inoda, Inagu, Forty-nine, and Hizigi to converge ......"

It's really a ninja town that is good at reconnaissance and contact, and this action is really fast enough! So many small and medium-sized wealthy families...... I stroked my forehead: "Just tell me how many people are okay!" ”

"It is estimated that there are more than five thousand people." Hattori replied.

"By the way, I've heard that all major affairs in Iga are decided by an autonomous organization called the Twelve. The heads of the families you mentioned are all from the twelve, right? ”

"Yes. Tomosen Kozawa of the Kozawa family, Ichihei Sumiyoshi of the Sumiyoshi family, Momoda Fujibei of the Momoda family, Fukuchi Sotaka of the Fukuchi family, Ueda Koji of the Ueda family, Hyakuchi Tanba Mamoru of the Momochi family, Fujibayashi Nagato Mamoru of the Fujibayashi family...... and the late Sadakiyo Takino. Hattori Masanari reported the names one by one.

"Presumably you're one of the Twelve." I looked at him and said.

"Yes...... After the death of his father, he inherited the position. Hattori replied.

"Then your position is awkward...... Perhaps, he has been regarded as the murderer of His Highness Takino with me! "I suddenly understood why he was working so hard to cooperate.

Hattori nodded.

"So, what do you think?"

"What do you think of the next?" Hattori gave me a surprised look. Generally speaking, even in a master-slave relationship, it is rare for a military commander to ask for advice from his ninjas, let alone just as an employer.

"yes. You're from here, and you're very wise, so you must have some ideas! …… Originally, I wanted you to take on a greater responsibility for the selection and training of personnel here, but now it seems that it is not possible. I sighed.

"Then I said a few words in a panic mood," Hattori Masanari bowed to the courtesy, "I think that the matter has come to this point, and it probably can't be good, and there will definitely be a fight." With His Royal Highness's ability and possession of Kashiwahara Castle, he will not suffer a loss. ”

"But it's a pointless fight." I shook my head. My goal is Yamato and Yamashiro, and I am the main force that echoes Nobunaga, and I don't want to start a war here...... If you really want to fight, the department is such a wealthy coalition army, I really don't know much sure, and the victory or defeat is still between the two. But once it is dragged down, it will definitely be difficult for military rations to support.

Thinking of this, the idea of retreating without a fight in my heart is even stronger. It's just that it's not so easy to return now.

Speaking of which, I also have a responsibility to know that Minami Omi is vulnerable, so my march direction is biased towards Yamato. As long as Nobunaga's troops enter Yamato, I can advance along the way, reducing the number of rushes and saving the dangers along the way. But now I obviously can't wait here, and I'm in a dilemma in this hillside area near Yamato, Yamashiro and Minami-Omi Koga.

"To avoid war, maybe you can go and see the two of you." Hattori Masanari suddenly took the initiative to propose.

"Wouldn't it be too risky?" I asked, frowning. I've always been very kind of borrowing from Hattori Masanari, and now it's almost my eyes, and I can't put him in danger.

"The news I got below is that the two are very restrained, and it is estimated that because they are not far apart, they roughly know the reason for the incident. Moreover, I saw a person behind His Highness Kitabatake, which should help. Hattori Masari still looks calm.

"Who is it?"

"Zhezhi Saburo Saemon take care. He was the son of Fudi Zonglong, and he succeeded to the Zhezhi family. ”

"Zhezhi take care, that's the old man of Kitabatake...... Is he from Iga Province? I asked Hattori Masanari. All I know about this person is that he was originally a wealthy clan attached to the Kitabatake-gu religion, and that the main room was the daughter of the former head of the wooden family, and because he was attached to Nobunaga before the Battle of Okochi, he stayed in the main room of Okochi Castle and was executed in public. When he arrived in Kitabatake, Nobunaga thought of this past and specially made him the elder of Gootoyo's family.

"Yes. The Zhezhi family he inherited was once the largest wealthy family in Iga, and his skills were in this area. The Zhezhi family originally supported the Nishiki family, but later had a fight with the Renki family, and as a result, both declined, and the territory was divided between the two families of Fukuchi and Takino. ”

Is there still such a relationship? In this way, it may be possible to make peace with the Fukuchi and Fujibayashi families, and then influence the people of Iga Province through them. Now, because Hattori Masanari is under suspicion, there is a lack of communication channels with the people of Iga Country. I believe that as long as the nobles of Iga understand the truth of the matter, or only understand that I have no intention of sending troops to Iga, at least a temporary peace can be reached.

If they don't have to worry about their own territory, they are willing to fight against the army of 17,000 people? That's hell to go.

Of course, there are also some things to do on my side, especially the military situation, and we must maintain a restrained attitude. Kitabatake Guyu's lawless doll, this time it must look like it, otherwise it is likely to stir up contradictions again and make trouble out of control...... "In this case, when the day dawns, I will let him go with you." "After figuring out these tricks, I quickly made a decision, and I thought a little more highly of Hattori Masari in my heart.

As soon as my mind was relieved, I didn't know when, so I fell asleep.

It turned out that Natsu woke me up.

"Your Highness, Masakatsu and His Highness Nagano have arrived with their troops!" She said.

I hummed, feeling like my mind wasn't quite clear.

"The concubine is going to fetch water!" Xiao Xia said, put the sleeping Senju Ji into my arms, and quickly walked out of the room.

I put a cloth towel in my face, and I suddenly felt a lot more sober.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"It's just past midnight. Masakatsu and His Highness Nagano came up very quickly! Natsu replied.

"Then go to the main camp now." I stood up with Senju Ji in my arms and led the guards to the army. He was greeted by Masakatsu Wasuka, Yoshimasa Hitoki, Atsushi Fujino, Shigeharu Takenaka, Yoshiyuki Sawaki and Asanari Fujikata, among others.

Entering the main tent with them, I felt the strength return all at once, and at the same time regained control of the situation.

"Are you okay on the way?" I sat down on the throne and asked Masakatsu Wasuka.

"It's okay, I didn't meet a large group of enemies, just a little bit of harassment." Wasuka Masatsu retribution.

"Oh," I replied, it seems that the Iga people have not yet finished assembling, "Your Highness Fujikata, I have something to entrust ......"

"Don't dare! His Highness Kira, please do not hesitate to command. He hurriedly thanked him.

"To tell you the truth, the current situation on our side is not optimistic, and the people of Iga are already hostile. If you fall here, not only will you not be able to complete the commission of the main hall, but you will probably fail miserably because of the lack of food and clothing...... I won't talk about the past, from now on, I hope that all of you around His Royal Highness Kitabatake can restrain him, and no matter what, he can't act privately! His Royal Highness Fujikata is a military officer, and he must take responsibility in earnest. ”

"I'm so sorry! But...... Is this to ban the young master? Fujikata asked uncertainly.

"In this way, how about letting His Royal Highness Kitabatake serve as the lord of Kashiwahara Castle and lead two thousand people to garrison?" I thought for a while, "Kashiwahara Castle is our only support at present, and now that the war is imminent, the enemy may besiege it at any time, please Your Highness Kitabatake must concentrate on defense, not only to strengthen the defense of the city, but also not to go out of the city easily, so as not to be taken advantage of by the enemy." ”

"I see." Fujikata bowed down and said.

"In addition, please let His Highness Zhezhi take care of his highness, I have something very important and need to borrow the power of His Highness Zhezhi!"

"Yes." Fujikata went to Cheng Cheng.

"His Royal Highness Xuanjing, what are you talking about, ...... this Zhezhi take care?" When Renmu Yoshimasa heard the surname "Zhezhi", he couldn't help but ask out loud.

"I was about to ask an adult for advice. I don't know if adults know about this person? "I remembered what Hattori Masanari said, the entanglement between the two families of Renki and Zhezhi.

"Zhezhi family," Renki Yoshimasa sighed, a look of remembrance on his face, "Speaking of which, it was decades ago, when the Zhezhi family had a fight with the ancestors of the Renmu family in the name of protecting the generation, and as a result, the vitality of the two families was greatly damaged. The territory of the Zhezhi family was encroached upon, and the two brothers Zongjia and Zongzhong, who were the heads of the family, fled to the Yuanjiang River and finally died there; And the Renmu family has also lost its roots, although it relies on the short-term revival of Dinglai Gong, it will inevitably decline in the end. ”

"In other words, Zhezhi Baowei actually has nothing to do with the Zhezhi family?"

"It shouldn't matter." Yoshimasa Hitoki affirmed.

"Then I'll understand." I nodded. This Zhezhi takes care of it, probably because the Fudi family passed it on privately in order to obtain the name of annexing this territory...... I had a plan in my mind.

It didn't take long for Zhezhi to take care of it.

"The general is here, I don't know what to order?" Because it was in the Lord's tent, he used the formal name.

"Go and ask your leader to come here." I commanded the front, and then asked Zhezhi Baozhongdao, "Is there any relationship between His Royal Highness Zhezhi and the blessed land family here?" ”

"Don't hide it from the general, the contemporary head of the family is the father." Zhezhi replied.

"So, why did His Royal Highness Zhezhi inherit the Zhezhi family?"

"The Fudi family is a branch of the Zhezhi family, and like the Zhezhi family, they all use "zong" as the family word. Later, the Zhezhi family declined, and his father let him succeed him. However, I heard that His Royal Highness Zhezhi Zongjia, the head of the Zongjia family, extended the Zongneng lineage, and continued His Royal Highness Zongzhong, the younger brother of His Royal Highness Zongjia, and named it Baozhong, as the branch of the Zhezhi family. "Zhezhi Bao is a very frank explanation.

It turned out to be like this, and he also considered himself a concubine, obviously not to annex the name of the Zhezhi family's land. This blessed land Zonglong is a rare kind-hearted person. Perhaps, you can rely on the Fukuchi family in the Iga place? Coupled with the name of the Nishiki family and the influence of the Fujibayashi and Hattori families, there may be an opportunity to control Iga later...... I had a plan in my mind.

At this time, Hattori Masanari happened to enter the main tent and half-knelt in front of me.

"Hanzo, this is His Royal Highness Zhezhi Baozhong. This time, the two of you will send the blessed land and the Fujilin family! My voice was very pleasant, "You two tell Your Highness Fukuchi and Fujibayashi that I have no ambitions for Iga Country, and I hope that the two sides can exercise restraint and not have a needless fight!" After all, it is a pity for both sides that the war is together! ”

"Yes." The two of them received their orders together.

"Also, you can guarantee for me that within three days, our army will leave Iga Province. As long as the two heads of the family maintain the harmony between the two parties during the withdrawal of our army, the land of the Takino family and this Kashiwahara Castle will be handed over to the two families, and the two highnesses will dispose of it casually! ”

(To be continued)