Kyoto, Nijo Imperial Palace.

A tall old man, dressed in a Wu suit, walked majestically under the corridor with a knife hilt in his hand.

The old man had a white beard and was almost seventy years old, but he was in great spirits, even if he walked with his vest straight.

Although this person is old, he was also a figure who mastered life and death and plunder when he was young.

His gaze was intense, and there was a hint of ruthlessness.

The attendant of the Nijo Imperial Palace on the side slowly led the way, and the old man walked vigorously, and when he came to a side hall, he immediately untied the katana at his waist and handed it to the attendant.

The paper door was pushed up, and Ashikaga Yoshiaki, who was wearing a tall black hat in the hall, was writing a letter when he saw the old man and smiled slightly.

After bowing to Ashikaga Yoshiaki, the old man immediately entered the temple and sat down in front of Ashikaga Yoshiaki.

After Ashikaga Yoshiaki finished writing the letter, he put his pen aside, raised his head, and said to the old man with a smile: "Lord Sakyo, there have been many wars recently, there are small nights in Kyoto, and the law and order are very chaotic, are you considering moving to the Nijo Imperial Palace?" ”

The old man smiled and said proudly: "The Gongfang Palace is too worried, and a few thieves are not in my eyes. ”

Ashikaga Yoshiaki said with a smile: "A few thieves may be nothing, but I heard that the Oda family seems to be trying to disadvantage your Excellency. ”

The old man raised his eyebrows when he heard this, but then he snorted and sneered a few times, revealing a little disdain, and said: "The ministers are dedicated to serving the court, and if the Oda family wants to do something to me, it will ignore the court." ”

Ashikaga Yoshiaki sighed slightly when he heard this, and said, "At present, there is still some authority left in the imperial court today. Nobunaga, a rebel minister, is arrogant and rampant, even more than Miyoshi, Matsunaga. So please be careful, if something happens to you, I won't be able to explain it to Ling Lang. ”

The old man then said, "Gongkata, please be patient for the time being, Nobunaga's days will not be long." ”

Ashikaga Yoshiaki shook his head. Yan said: "Lord Zuojing, I don't know. The Asakura family wrote to me, claiming that the heavy snow blocked the road and made it difficult to pass, and that Yoshikei had decided to withdraw his troops and return to Echizen. When the Asai family heard that the Asakura family had withdrawn from the army, they also decided to return to the army to defend Kotani Castle. ”

"Bastard. This is betrayal! ”

The old man was so angry that he couldn't bear to open his hair, and he didn't care about losing his honor in front of Ashikaga Yoshiaki, and said loudly: "At the beginning, I was a coalition of Takeda, Asakura, and Asai, and I swore to march into the east and west. Attacking the Oda family together, if the two of them retreated, wouldn't it be the Takeda family fighting Oda Nobunaga alone. ”

Ashikaga Yoshiaki saw that the old man was rude in front of him, although his brows furrowed slightly. But he still endured it and said: "So I was about to write a letter to persuade the Asakura family not to withdraw the army, but Asakura Yoshikage did not wait for my reply, and actually took it upon himself to lead the army to retreat. It's really hateful. ”

When the old man heard this, he snorted coldly and said, "Wu'er led an army of 50,000 to Luo, and he is already on the way. In a few days, it will attack Nobunaga's old lair, Owari, and the destruction of the Oda family is imminent. But Asakura and Asai are both blind. Don't know the general trend of the world, don't they know that if Wu'er hadn't sent troops to Shangluo to relieve the siege for them, I'm afraid that the heads of these people would have been placed in front of Nobunaga, and now they are retreating, not only treacherous, but also ungrateful. ”

Ashikaga Yoshiaki glanced at the other party and explained: "But I heard Asakura Yoshikage say that at present, the army of the Takeda family, even a Nimata Castle, has been unable to capture it for a long time, and the old division is tired, I am afraid that he has missed the opportunity to enter the army." ”

The old man's face changed, and he said: "Chaocang Yijing is a mediocre and incompetent person, where does he know what the art of war, how can his words be trusted, Gongfang Palace, Wu'er is a person who knows the art of war in the world, and it is better than the old man back then, how could he make the mistake of being old in the city." ”

Ashikaga Yoshiaki's eyes lit up and he said, "Could it be that Takeda Daizen has something else planned?" ”

"Yes," said the old man in a deep voice, "it is my son who lured Nobunaga to lead the main force from Mino and go to the Enoe to rescue Tokugawa, so that Oda's nest is empty, and the two families of Asakura and Asai can take the opportunity to attack it." If Nobunaga is so hard to take care of, he will surely be defeated! ”

"I see." Ashikaga Yoshiaki suddenly realized.

The old man said: "Now that Asakura, as soon as Asai retreats, I, the Hida Echichu Army and the Minami Shinano Army of Takeda's strategy in Mino, will inevitably be divided and surrounded by Nobunaga's army, and I am afraid that it will ...... then."

Ashikaga Yoshiaki said helplessly: "Then it is better for me to write a second letter immediately, so that the Asakura family can re-enter the army after the spring flowers bloom in the coming year." ”…,

"Spring is blooming," the old man sneered, "and I'm afraid it's too late." ”

This old man is naturally the father of Takeda Shingen, the former governor of the Takeda family, and the Takeda Shintora who was exiled by Shingen to Kai.

At present, Shintora is in Kyoto, serving as the shogunate's companion as a daimyo, and at the same time, he is also secretly connecting Takeda and the shogunate, as a secret liaison and communication.

Because of the unauthorized withdrawal of the Asakura family, Nobunaga's encirclement network was withdrawn, and the situation was very bad for the Takeda family at the moment, and for a while, Ashikaga Yoshiaki and Takeda Nobutora were stuffed in the room, and they were silent.

"Lord Gongfang, there's a battle report from Mino!"

"Read!"

Ashikaga Yoshiaki didn't bother to read any battle reports at the moment.

"Oh! On November 25, the Takeda Army flew out of the 4,800 troops of the Etsuchu Army and sent troops to attack Kajida Castle. ”

Takeda Shintora said: "Kajida Castle is guarded by Saito Toshiji, this person is the last son of Saito Michizo, and he has a little bit of his father's ability." ”

The reporter approached and said: "Exactly, the lord of this castle is Saito Toshiji, and there are 1,500 defenders in the city, and when the Takeda army has not yet attacked the city, it was ambushed behind the 5,500 troops of the Shibata army of the Oda family!" ”

"Shibata Katsuie!" Ashikaga Yoshiaki naturally heard the name of the first fierce general of the Oda family.

Ashikaga Yoshiaki listened to the words and said: "The Oda army has 7,000 troops, and the Takeda army is attacked from the front and back, and the enemy is attacked on the back and back, so I am afraid that this battle will be more auspicious." ”

Ashikaga Yoshiaki knew the art of war, knowing that in this situation, the Takeda army, which was inferior to the army, might not be able to support it.

"Back to the Gongfang Palace, in fact, on the contrary, the Takeda army was under Kajida Castle, and the Oda army was defeated with fewer victories and more than 2,000 casualties, and the Shibata army alone suffered more than 2,000 casualties, and the elite samurai were killed in battle, which was an unprecedented defeat for the Oda family since Shangluo!"

"What?" Ashikaga Yoshiaki was taken aback.

Ashikaga Yoshiaki said, "You said that the Takeda Army actually won? ”

Ashikaga Yoshiaki took the letter from his subordinates, read it again, and confirmed it.

On the side, Takeda Shinhu said with a smile: "Gongfang Palace, if it were someone else, I don't believe it yet, but the Hida Echichu Legion is under the command of Li Xiao, the number one under my command, so it is not surprising at all." ”

Ashikaga Yoshiaki nodded and said, "Li Xiao, the people of the Ming Kingdom are from Takeda, I have heard of it, this is quite difficult. Ling Lang can be eclectic and reduce talents, which really makes me admire. In that case, Lord Zuojing, can the victory in this battle help the overall situation? ”

"Of course there is," Takeda Shintora said confidently, "Li Xiao's defeat of Shibata in this battle was enough to make the Oda army fearless, and after taking advantage of the situation to capture Kajida Castle, Okumino and Higashimino could be connected." ”

Takeda Shintora did not have a map at hand, but he knew everything clearly, which shows that Takeda and his son were both first-class military masters in the world.

Now in Takeda Shintora's words, there is a breath of contempt for the world, and he said: "And in the next step, after Li Xiao and the Akiyama Nobuyo Army realize the meeting, they will definitely gather troops from Higashimino to the south of Owari, and the Wu'er Association will also lead the army from the Enjiang River to attack Owari, if the two streams converge, the Owari country, the root of the Oda family, will be in danger." ”

The next words Takeda Shintora did not say, but said in his heart: Owari Province is lost, so that the Takeda family can attack the Oda family, and then you can take the opportunity to go to Luo, and then you can either play with this ignorant Gongfang Palace, or uproot the world of Muromachi for hundreds of years, and also in the thought of Taro, when the time comes, your father will wait for you in Kyoto, and see you lead the army to Shangluo to complete the long-cherished wish of the twenty generations of the governor of my Takeda family.

Thinking of this, Takeda Shinto's tiger eyes shone brightly, obviously aiming to win.

After Ashikaga Yoshiaki and Takeda Nobutora discussed it for a while, Takeda Nobutora got up and took his leave.

Ashikaga Yoshiaki saw Takeda Shinho go, his eyes showed a hint of calmness, and then there was the sound of the paper door sliding open by Arimi behind him, and a person slowly stepped out, standing behind Ashikaga Yoshiaki, and said: "Shinto, this person is too arrogant, and he doesn't put His Royal Highness in the eyes at all." ”

Ashikaga Yoshiaki heard the voice of the close minister Siemkei, smiled slightly on his lips, and said: "He has always had such a temper, there is nothing to blame, let alone ......"

Ashikaga Yoshiaki changed his gentle complexion, snorted coldly, and said: "What's more, I deliberately pretended to be weak and deceitful in front of him, and it was through his mouth that Shingen thought that I was easy to hold in my hands, so I was not wary of me. As for the ambitions of Xinhu and Xinxuan, don't I still know? ”

"I see." When Siamqing heard this, he suddenly realized.

Ashikaga Yoshiaki turned around and said, "If Shingen defeats Nobunaga, he will be the second Nobunaga, and he may not be as good as him in the slightest." So I have to keep my hands in secret, anyway, Shingen and Nobunaga have already torn their faces, although let the two of them fight to the death, so that they can reap the benefits. ”

Motogame three years, Gifu Castle.

In the main hall, the retainers of the Oda family were discussing the matter of the withdrawal of the Asakura family.

Oda Nobunaga was sitting cross-legged on the main seat, his eagle eyes were lowered, he folded his fan and pointed at the general Takigawa Ichiyoshi and said: "Hikoyou, you did a good job this time, this time you bribed a few close ministers around Asakura Yoshikei and asked them to persuade the Asakura family to withdraw their troops, and now Yoshikage is such a stupid person, he has listened to the opinion and led the army back to Echizen, such a foolish person dares to compete with me Nobunaga for the world, it is really ridiculous." ”

After saying that, Oda Nobunaga laughed out loud.

Takigawa Kazuki and the Oda family generals also burst into laughter.

Takigawa Kazuyi said: "All this is the work of the lord's plan, now that Asakura has withdrawn his troops, and the Asai family cannot protect itself, my lord, we can draw part of our troops from the North Omi front line and turn back to meet the Takeda army." ”