Higasaki Pavilion.

In the main hall.

A trace of cold sweat oozed from the corner of his forehead, and now there was an extra slash on his right arm, and the blood was dripping downward.

Two of his retinues, the moment they entered the main hall, were attacked by several samurai, and they were killed on the spot, and their bodies were lying on the ground.

At this moment, more than a dozen samurai armed with katanas had surrounded him from all sides.

"Lord Race, my lord, I suspect that you are colluding with His Highness Shenglai and intend to rebel, so I specially ordered us to take you down, please do not resist." Takeda Yoshinobu is close, and Nagasaka Masakuni, who was born in Takeda Shingenoku's close practice, said loudly.

Baba Nobubo said with a gloomy face: "Presumptuous, this is the Hesaki Pavilion, Nagasaka Masakuni, you dare to falsely pass on the order of Mrs. Sanjo and lead me here." No, Mrs. Sanjo is the mother of His Highness Yoshinobu, is he really going to rebel, please ask His Highness Yoshinobu to come in person and confront me. ”

"Your Highness Yoshinobu!"

"Your Highness Yoshinobu!"

The Racecourse Shinbo shouted into the house.

Nagasaka Masakoku showed a slightly unnatural look on his face, and his tone was much more polite, and he said: "Lord Baba, there is no need to shout again, His Royal Highness Yoshinobu just heard it, and he will not come to see Your Excellency, so please give up your resistance." ”

"It turns out that the rebellion of the Yixin Hall is true." Hearing this, the Racecourse Xinfang took a step back in shock, and then shouted angrily: "Don't think about it, it's okay to kill my Racecourse Xinfang, but if you capture me alive, it's absolutely impossible." ”

Just as the racecourse letter was talking, a hook silently wrapped around his legs.

Machang Xinfang was stunned for a moment, and was directly put down, and the whole person was dragged over.

Immediately, several samurai pounced like wolves and pressed the horse farm letter room to the ground.

Nagasaka Masakuni saw that the Baba Nobubo was captured alive, and said with a slight sigh of relief: "Lord Baba has been offended, and after this incident, His Highness will personally make amends to you." ”

After speaking, Nagasaka Masakuni said to the person who put the hook and tied him to the Baba letter room: "Lord Kato, thanks to you, otherwise I would not have been able to explain to His Highness if I really killed Lord Baba." ”

The man known as Kato-sama smiled and said, "Baba-sama, the head of the four ministers of the Takeda family, is nothing more than that. ”

Baba Nobubo, who was now served by several samurai and had been subdued, turned his head to the man who had put him down with a hook, and said, "You are Kato Duanzo, if it is true, the rumors of His Royal Highness Yoshinobu colluding with the Uesugi family are true, and the rebellion and collusion with the Uesugi family, Your Highness Yoshinobu is already wrong again and again." ”

Nagasaka Masakuni patiently explained: "Your Highness Baba, don't get me wrong, Uesugi Hall is a righteous person, and there is a reason for him to support His Highness, please don't be biased against His Highness Yoshinobu, I believe that as long as this matter is over, His Highness Yoshinobu will give Lord Baba an explanation." ”

The Baba Nobubo writhed and struggled unwillingly, but was held down by several samurai, and he was unable to use his superb martial arts.

He wanted to scold the people in front of him at the moment, but he also knew that it was useless.

Finally, the horse farm Nobubo lowered his head, sighed, gave up his resistance, and said, "You subdued me just to gain control of the Tsugizaki Pavilion, or so, where is the lord now?" Does His Royal Highness Yixin even want to rebel against his lord, and he doesn't care about the love between father and son? ”

Nagasaka Masakuni hurriedly said: "No, everything is fine with the lord, please rest assured." ”

After saying that, Nagasaka Masakuni was worried that things would change for a long time, so he signaled his subordinates to take down the horse farm letter room and imprison him.

After the hunt, it was almost afternoon.

The retainers of the Takeda family gathered in a mountain temple to rest.

Takeda Katsuyori, Li Xiao, Sanada Yutaka and others gathered in a monk's room.

All three of them were full of worries and were silent.

Li Xiao smiled slightly at this time: "Maybe I'm too worried, His Royal Highness Yixin maybe, it's really just going back, not having other plans." ”

Takeda Katsuyori and Sanada Yutaka both laughed dryly, the ninjas they sent to the Kushizaki Pavilion to monitor Takeda Yoshinobu still had no return at this moment, and although they were all worried at this moment, no one could say anything.

In the anxious waiting, Li Xiao decided to take a break and relax, and invited Sanada Yutaka to talk with him.

Under the oil lamp in the monk's room, the two took out the chessboard, and you and I played word by word, and although Takeda Katsuyori was watching the chess from the sidelines, it was obvious that his mind was not here.

At this moment, a report from outside the door said, "Your Highness, Sone Uchishosuke asked to see him, saying that he was conveying the order of the lord." ”

Li Xiao and Sanada Yutaka were all stunned, and then relieved, Sone Nachi's craftsman helped Masayo, and he was one of the six people who came to participate in the sacrificial ceremony this time, and he was naturally responsible for protecting Takeda Shingen's work.

Takeda Katsuyori said in a deep voice, "Let Sone-sama come in." ”

At that time, after Sone Masayo entered, Takeda Katsuyori looked him up and down, staring at his every move.

At this point, no one should be taken lightly.

After Sone Masayo saluted Takeda Katsuyori, he said, "My lord, I ordered His Highness to go to Hachimangu Shrine to meet him immediately. ”

After speaking, Sone Masayo reached out and touched his arms and took out a letter, on which was engraved Takeda Shingen's seal of the judgment dragon vermilion.

After taking the letter, Takeda Katsuyori read it carefully, confirmed that at the end of the letter, it was Takeda Shingenlong Zhu Yin, and asked: "If my father wants to summon me, all I need is a casual word from Lord Sone, so why do you still use the Dragon Zhu Seal to judge?" ”

Sone Masayo replied without hesitation: "The lord said that there have been bad rumors about Kai recently, saying that His Royal Highness and His Royal Highness Yoshinobu are unhappy with each other, and the lord is very worried when he hears about it. Therefore, I would like to ask His Royal Highness and His Royal Highness Yoshinobu to let the two of you brothers be reconciled in Takeda Hachiman Palace, in the presence of Hachiman Damyojin. As for the seal judgment on the dragon Zhu seal, it is for solemnity. ”

Takeda Katsuyori was relieved when he heard this, and said, "In that case, please wait outside, Lord Sone, and I'll clean up and come." ”

Sone Masashi nodded and said, "In this case, I will wait outside, and I ask Your Highness as soon as possible, don't let the lord wait for a long time." ”

After Sone Masayo walked out, Takeda Katsuyori turned around and asked Li Xiao and Sanada Yutaka, "Is there anything wrong?" ”

Li Xiao and Sanada Yutaka took the letter from Takeda Katsuyori, and after reading it carefully, they both looked at each other.

Sanada Yutaka said: "There is no problem with this letter, there is also the lord's dragon seal judgment on the letter, this is not a forgery, besides, Lord Sone is a close confidant of the lord's hand, and the loyalty should not be questioned, all this seems to be flawless, but this time is not right, and it is really disturbing to choose to summon at this time." ”

Li Xiao nodded and said: "I agree with Lord Sanada's opinion, now in this family, except for the forces on His Highness's side, almost no one believes that His Highness will rebel, and even the lord has absolutely no such expectation, so if His Royal Highness Yixin steals the Dragon Zhu Seal at this time, and uses this seal to falsely pass on the lord's order, it is indeed possible." ”

Takeda Katsuyori's face changed drastically, and he said: "Li Xiao, you said that the dragon seal on this letter was stolen by my brother and found someone to steal the seal?" ”

Li Xiao asked, "Your Highness, which retainer is the Dragon Zhu Seal of this family?" ”

Takeda Katsuyori thought for a while and said, "It is usually Tsuchiya Masatsune, who is the pen of Okujin Xi and one of the people trusted by his father. It is absolutely impossible for him to betray his father, stand on the side of His Royal Highness Yixin, and use the Dragon Zhu Seal privately. ”

Li Xiao remembered the scene in history when Tsuchiya Masatsune was killed in the Battle of Nagashino, and with his loyalty to the Takeda family and Takeda Shingen, it was indeed impossible to betray Takeda Shingen.

Even Sanada Yutaka does not deny this.

"In that case, the Long Zhuyin is indeed his father's seal, there is no doubt about it." Katsuyori Takeda seemed to be reassuring his doubts.

Li Xiao suddenly said: "Your Highness, you just said that the Dragon Zhu Seal is generally kept by Lord Tsuchiya, and you also said that there are exceptions?" ”

Takeda Katsuyori nodded and said, "Yes, Lord Tsuchiya has been reused by the lord recently, so he has been sent out to the outside world to take on important tasks, and occasionally the dragon seal will be handed over to ......."

Speaking of this, Takeda Katsuyori paused slightly.

What's wrong? Li Xiao asked immediately.

Takeda Katsuyori shook his head and said, "This is a bit of a coincidence, if Tsuchiya-sama is not there, the dragon seal is given to Mieda Mamotomo or Sone Masayo-sama for safekeeping." ”

Sanada Yutaka suddenly said: "I suddenly remembered the pen of His Royal Highness Uprising, Sone Shusuke is the eldest son of Sone Masayo, Sone Masayo's wife, and the nurse of His Royal Highness Yoshinobu, he is really suspicious. ”

Li Xiaoyan said: "In this case, call him in and ask." ”

When Masayo Sone entered the door again, his face was very calm, and he just asked, "Your Highness, can you leave?" ”

Li Xiao looked at Sone Masayo's face with an indifferent expression, but he was suspicious in his heart, if Sone Masashi really had a ghost in his heart, then his acting skills could definitely go to the Oscars to win the award.

Sanada Yutaka asked first, asking, "Lord Sone, where is Lord Tsuchiya Shoji?" ”

Sone asked confusedly, "Tsuchiya-sama?" Why did Sanada-sama ask him where he was? ”

Sanada Yutaka sneered slightly, and said, "Lord Sone, I can't help but pretend to be too good at this moment." ”

Sone Masayo didn't seem to know why, and as if he was holding back his anger, he said, "Sanada-sama, where do you start with this?" ”

Sanada Yutaka shook his head and said, "Sone Uchisho, if you don't have any bad intentions, please tell the truth, Tsuchiya-sama, where are you now?" ”

Sone Masayo's face turned red, and he said, "Okay, although I don't understand what Sanada-sama means, I'll tell you bluntly that Tsuchiya-sama was sent to Shinano by the lord." ”

As soon as Sone Masayo's words came out, Takeda Katsuyori, Li Xiao, and Sanada Yutaka were all surprised.

Sanada Yutaka continued to ask, "So is it true that the lord's dragon seal is kept by Your Excellency?" ”

Sone Masashi shook his head and said, "It was kept by Zaixia before, and then the dragon seal was taken away by the lord. ”

"Oh? Did the lord take it himself? ”

Sone Masayo shook his head and said, "That's not the case, I was in Hachiman Palace at the time, and it was Zhou Suke who passed on the order on behalf of the lord and took away the dragon seal. ”

Zhou Zhu is Sone Shukusuke, the son of Sone Masayo.

Sanada Yutaka's body was shocked, grasped the key to it, and asked, "And then your son Shusuke, did he give you this letter?" ”

"Yes, it was he who helped him to send me a letter, saying that the lord had summoned His Highness." Sone Masayo showed a shocked look, obviously grasping the bad part, but he has always been upright, so he still told him bluntly.

Sanada Yutaka took a deep breath and said: "Lord Sone, you are derelict in your duty in such a behavior, the dragon seal is the seal of the family, if it is handed over, it should be handed over to the lord by your Excellency, but now you let your son do it on your behalf, if your son embezzles the name of the lord, forges letters, and then stamps the dragon seal, please go to His Royal Highness and have some bad intentions, then what should I do?" ”

"Impossible, Zhou Zhu, he won't do such a bold thing, he is my son, I have always trusted him." Sone Masayo's face suddenly turned pale.

Takeda Katsuyori said on the side: "Sanada-sama, it's all just our speculation at the moment, Sone-sama, we all know about our father's loyalty. Maybe Zhou Zhu didn't have any bad intentions. ”

Li Xiao said on the side: "Your Highness, now that the matter has come to this, everything should not be taken lightly, it is better to be careful." ”

Sone Masayo took a deep breath and said: "Thank you Your Highness Katsuyori for your trust in our father and son, Sanada-sama, Lord Li Xiao is right, this matter is indeed my duty to lose, now please let me go back to Hachimangu Palace first, and ask the lord if there is a seal to summon His Highness, please wait for me to confirm, and then return to His Highness, if there is any other responsibility, I will take care of it alone." ”

Just when Sone was taking responsibility for himself, suddenly there was a noise outside the door.

Outside the door, he reported to Takeda Katsuyori, "Your Highness, Lord Morikiyo from the Honkei Ideura, has sent a ninja back. ”

"Come in, please."

After the sliding paper door opened, a purple-clad Tohermin ninja entered the house.

However, this person has several obvious wounds on his body, which have been dripping blood, and it is obvious that he is seriously injured.

"What's going on?" Sanada Yutaka asked in surprise.

The ninja replied, "I was in charge of gathering intelligence in the Kushizaki Pavilion, but an hour ago, martial law was suddenly ordered in the city, and no one was allowed to enter or leave. I knew that the situation had changed, so I secretly went out of the city and came back to report the situation, but halfway through, I was discovered and attacked by a large number of Xuanyuan ninjas. Fortunately, I had Lord Deura in the back to block for me, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to come back to report to the lord. ”

"Regulus ninjas? Uesugi Terutora intervened. Takeda Katsuyori was shocked and angry.

The ninja was then taken down to treat his injuries.

Immediately after that, another person hurriedly came back to report and said, "My lord, it's not good, the ninja who is in charge of monitoring Iitomi-sama and Jibu-sama replied that these two people lost their traces half an hour ago. ”

"Half an hour? Bastard, why did you only come back now to report it? Rao is Sanada Yutaka, who has always been old-fashioned, and he is also angry at this moment.

The man bowed his head and said with a guilty expression: "The ninja reported that Lord Iitomi and Lord Tracebe seemed to have used the means of the Shadow Warrior stand-in to send people to confuse their tracks, and by the time our ninjas found out, it was already a step too late." ”

As soon as the words came out, the hearts of the people present were already cold.

Sone Masayo suddenly realized at this time, and said: "Could it be His Royal Highness Yoshinobu who wants to rebel?" And His Royal Highness, you obviously knew about this situation for a long time, why didn't you tell your lord. ”

Takeda Katsuyori smiled bitterly and said, "Lord Sone, I just guess that there is no conclusive evidence, and if you rashly report to the lord, you will be suspected of separating your brother." ”

Li Xiao said to Sone Masashi: "Lord Sone, now that the matter has come to this point, it is useless to go to the family to verify, it is certain that His Royal Highness Yoshinobu is indeed a rebellion." He asked Ling Gongzi, he pretended to pass on the order of the lord, and transferred His Royal Highness to Hachimangu Palace, which was obviously a ploy, and it was certain that on the way, a lot of ambushes must have been arranged, and they would be ambushed when His Highness arrived. ”

"Your Highness will go to Hachimangu Shrine now, it will definitely be a lot of bad luck."

"No," Takeda said flatly, "I'm still going to Hachimangu Shrine." ”

"Your Highness (Lord)."

Everyone in the room exclaimed, and Sone Masayo was the first to say: "Your Highness, Hachimangu has become a dangerous place, and you will definitely be ambushed if you go now." ”

Takeda Katsuyori sighed and said, "How can I not know, it's just that my brother has already made trouble, and he must be holding my father hostage, and even attacking Hachimangu Palace, when the time comes, my father will definitely be in danger, how can I watch this happen?" It is not the work of a son of man to put his father in danger. ”

Sone Masashi said calmly: "Your Highness, the love for the lord and father and son does make Zai Xia deeply admire, but please listen to what His Royal Highness says, don't go to Hachiman Palace, if His Royal Highness Yoshinobu really rebels, with His Royal Highness's current strength, he is just asking for his own death." ”

Sanada Yutaka and Li Xiao also dissuaded.

Takeda Katsuyori said angrily: "Since you don't want me to go to Hachimangu Palace, then what do you want me to do?" ”

Li Xiao thought for a while and said: "Your Highness, Lord Sone, there is a sentence that is right, with His Highness's current strength, there is no way to save the lord. At the moment, the top priority is that His Highness must first protect himself, and then contact other retainers who are loyal to the lord to rescue the lord. Your Highness must leave quickly. ”

Sanada Yutaka nodded, and said: "Lord Li Xiao's opinion, just as I thought, if Iitomi Huchang and Katsuzi left half an hour ago, now there is enough time to contact his own Lang Party and subordinates, if I am His Royal Highness Yoshinobu to make a rebellion, in addition to first controlling the Hachiman Palace where the lord is located, the most important thing is to send someone to kill His Highness Katsuyori." ”

Regarding Sanada Yutaka's opinion, Li Xiao nodded, thinking that this was the traditional three-step process.

Kill the lord first, eradicate competitors, take control of the political center, and then call the shots.

Sanada Yutaka said again: "It can be guessed that His Royal Highness Yoshinobu must be sitting in the Hesaki Pavilion now, controlling all the entry and exit of the city, and holding the family members of the retainers in the family hostage, in order to coerce the retainers of the family to comply. And Hachimangu and Yamaji are the key points that must be mastered, and they must be led by Iitomi Huchang and Nobuaki Shibu respectively, controlling the lord all the way, killing His Highness all the way, and coming separately, so His Highness is by no means a place to stay for a long time, please leave quickly. ”

Takeda Katsuyori listened to Sanada Yutaka's analysis, his face changed drastically for a while, and he immediately said: "Okay, I will leave immediately according to Sanada-sama's opinion." ”

Sanada Yutaka nodded and said, "Now that we are divided into several ways, I am too old to run and fight, so I stay here and try to persuade other retainers of my family for Your Highness." ”

"As for Lord Li Xiao, he will break through with His Highness, I guess that on the way to this halfway, it is very likely to bump into the pursuers, so please be careful."

Li Xiao nodded and said, "I will protect Your Highness, please rest assured that Lord Sanada." ”

Then, Sanada Yutaka followed the previous arrangement and briefly talked about all the countermeasures.

Sanada Yutaka said confidently: "Your Highness, please rest assured, the news of His Highness Yoshinobu's rebellion, I will pass on the news through the ninja, I believe that as long as it drags on for two or three days, things will definitely take a turn for the better, so please Your Highness must be patient, don't rush to Hachimangu to rescue the lord, otherwise it will really be self-defeating, and we will have no chance to turn the tables." ”

Takeda Katsuyori nodded after listening to Sanada Yutaka's words, agreed, and said, "I understand, and please be careful here and take care of yourself." ”

Sanada Yutaka listened to Takeda Katsuyori's words, and also showed a slightly moved look, smiled and said: "Your Highness doesn't have to worry about your subordinates, and Your Highness has gone to chase and kill His Highness's pursuers, and the target is only His Highness, and he will definitely not criticize me in front of other retainers in his family, so I am absolutely safe here." Therefore, please take care of Your Highness, the safety of Your Highness is the safety of your subordinates. ”

Takeda Katsuyori took the spear and said, "Okay. As Sanada-sama said, it is really not easy to kill me Takeda Katsuyori or capture me alive. ”

Sone Masayo also said on the side: "If Your Highness, you will definitely trust Your Highness, and Your Highness will be willing to swear to protect Your Highness's safety." ”

Sanada Yutaka and Li Xiao were about to stop it, but Takeda Katsuyori said first: "Lord Sone, I can trust you, come with me." ”

Sone Masayo bowed down and said loudly, "Yes, Your Highness." ”

Immediately afterwards, Takeda Katsuyori, Li Xiao, and Sone Masayo got on their horses one after another, and with them were Shioka Kazuha, as well as more than 20 Li Xiao and Takeda Katsuyori's flanks.

And Sanada Yutaka and Honda Masanobu are not good at martial arts, so they stay in the mountain temple.

At this moment, it was already twilight, and the nearby mountains and forests were already dark, which was suitable for evacuating under the cover of night.

Takeda Katsuyori glanced in the direction of Takeda Hachiman Shrine and said, "Father, Katsuyori will definitely come back safely and rescue you, please take care." ”

After speaking, Takeda Katsuyori clamped the horse's belly between his legs and whipped away, and Li Xiao, Sone Masayo, Shioka Kazuha and others also followed.

It wasn't long before Takeda Katsura and they walked out of the mountain temple along the mountain road.

At the fork in the hill, I suddenly heard the sound of horses' hooves, which rang out from far and near.

In the dim sky, it can be vaguely seen that this cavalry is wearing red armor, and the flag fingers inserted behind it are the family crest of the rich family.

At this moment, Takeda Shenglai and Li Xiao suddenly changed color.

Unexpectedly, Takeda Yoshinobu actually dispatched the elite of the Takeda family, the Red Reserve Team, led by the first general of the family, Iitomi Huchang, to chase and kill them.

(To be continued)