After returning to Inabayama Castle with Saito Yoshiryu, Toki Yoriji spent another night summarizing Yoshimyu's stay in Echigo for most of the year and discussing his next steps.

Previously, Sasa Naimasa's "Kanto Messy Stew" plan was to assist the Echigo Nagao family to dominate the Kanto region, and then wait for the opportunity to occupy the magpie's nest - anyway, the governor of the Nagao family is a woman. This is also the reason why "my journey is the dragon of Echigo".

Toki Yoriji still confessed to Yoshiryu based on this plan, but there is no doubt that he lied.

Toki Yoriji is not Sasa Narimasa, and even if he adopts the plan of "Kanto Messy Stew", he will never change it.

As for his true thoughts, perhaps no one knows.

At the same time, they also planned Saito Yoshiryu's strategic approach in Mino.

Due to the alliance with the Takeda clan, there is no need to operate on the Nakasendo side, and Yoshiryu will continue to adopt the method of supporting one side and controlling the overall situation in the dispute between the three small daimyo of neighboring Hida.

Saito Yoshitaka had no interest in marching into Hida, where there was nothing but the mountains and the people...... There may be a gold mine, but the production of Hida gold mountain is not high, at least not for now.

Therefore, there are only three directions left for the Saito family's attack:

Asakura family in Echizen Province to the northwest, Asai family in Kita-Omi to the west...... and the Oda family of Owari Province in the south.

The two agreed that it was not necessary to cross the mountains to attack the Asakura family, and it was a thankless task, but over the question of westward or southward expansion, Yoshiryu and Yoriji had a dispute.

Toki Yoriji advocated westward expansion on the grounds that after capturing Kita-Omi, he would be able to wait for an opportunity to go to Luo.

"On the side of the couch, how can you allow others to snore?"

Yoshiryu retorted, advocating a southward invasion of Owari.

The two argued for half the night, but after all, no one could convince anyone, so they went back to rest.

But just as Yoiji was leaving, Yoshiryu didn't notice the evil smile on his brother's lips.

Or can it be called ...... Insidious laugh.

"What a fool, if I point to the east, you will go west, so in order to make you go south, I have to point to the west......"

Raiji's voice was so low that he could barely hear it.

And the prospect of Mino is like this night, with no fingers to be seen, and the stars are dim and dark.

Early the next morning, Toki Yoriji left Inabayama Castle for Toki County.

In the afternoon of the same day, Lai Ci returned to Jade Butterfly City under the welcome of Guidie and his retainers.

"Let's talk about the situation for most of the year first."

Raiji sat gracefully on the high seat of the lobby on the first floor of the castle tower.

"Hah!"

Murai Sadakatsu, the first commissioner in the family, expressed and reported the important things of the past half a year.

The three people who withdrew from Kiso-Fukushima Castle, Mori Koseru, Naomasa Tsukasa, and Murai Nagayori brought with them the gold and silver accumulated in Kiso-Fukushima Castle for more than 100 years, and the financial and political crisis of Jade Butterfly City was alleviated a lot at once.

After returning to the head of the butterfly, he raised the salary of the retainers for the sake of grace.

Under the prying eyes of the Mino wealthy clan, Guidie and his retainers had to cheer up and train the peasants and soldiers of Toki County to the strongest level in Mino with great fanfare.

Last winter, Oda Nobunaga and Oda Nobukiyo finally tore their faces, and the two sides fought a battle under Inuyama Castle.

Nobunaga is Nobunaga after all, and it only took one battle to try out the truth of Oda Nobunaki's reality, and ordered the army to be pressed all up, and Oda Nobunaki's army retreated again and again, and finally retreated to Inuyama Castle.

However, Inuyama Castle and the surrounding branches and groups of fortresses constituted an offensive and defensive combat space, which made Oda Nobunaga touch a nose and go back to Kiyoshu in a gray manner.

After New Year's Day, Okumura Chief Fukushi returned to Owari and found Kinoshita Toyoshiro's half-brother Kotake from a village in Aichi Prefecture.

According to the information left by Sasa Chengmasa before, Gui Die accepted Xiaozhu as a retainer and gave him the name "Kinoshita Hidenaga".

"Xiuchang, look up!"

Yoriji Toki looked around the hall, and his eyes finally fell on a thin figure in the corner.

Although Kinoshita Hidecho was frightened, he had learned a lot of things in just a few months, and etiquette naturally included, since Toki Raiji entered the hall, he had been sitting respectfully, bowing his head and not saying a word, for fear that something would go wrong, and when he heard the lord call him, a layer of fine sweat oozed from his forehead even more nervously.

Raiji didn't have much of an impression of the name "Kinoshita Hidenaga", but through the memories he inherited from Sasa Naimasa, he knew that this thin teenager had great potential because of his modest personality and hard work in learning various things.

"You don't understand anything now, so let's learn from Murai Sadakatsu. If you don't succeed in achieving more than your brother named Fujiyoshiro...... Yes, there will be punishment. ”

Lai Ci wanted to say that "he would be executed", but considering the emotions of Guidie and his retainers, he just understated it and revealed it one sentence.

"Hay!"

Kinoshita Hidecho kowtowed awkwardly, very nervous.

"Little villain!"

Guidie, who was sitting behind Lai Ci, secretly stretched out her hand and twisted it on Lai Ci's waist, she was obviously dissatisfied with Lai Ci's "intimidation" of Kinoshita Hidecho.

"Ahhh......h What is the little princess going to do? ”

Lai Ci grabbed Gui Die's little hand and gently pulled her into his arms.

"Don't ...... Everybody's still ......."

Gui Die muttered in a low voice.

Lai Ci smiled slightly, no longer lightly returned to the butterfly, but helped her up.

If he could still be cautious and trembling for a person, he would only be a butterfly.

Like Sasa Narumasa, he is extremely obsessed with Guidie.

And his infatuation with Guidie was earlier than Sasa Chengzheng......

"In addition to bringing Xiuchang, Changfu also picked up something on the road, you may recognize it."

Gui Die took a round object from the wooden box behind him and handed it to Lai Ci's hand.

A little surprised, but Raitsu quickly remembered what this thing was.

A watch, a watch with a belt that has rotten, but the main body is still intact.

Patek Philippe's mechanical watches, made by Seiko, do not require batteries and can operate without winding and relying only on the conversion of potential energy and kinetic energy when shaking.

- This watch is the stuff of Sasa Narimasa.

It's just that Lai Ci doesn't understand, how can this watch appear?

That hateful guy of Zuo Chengzheng forcibly took his body, that is to say, Zuo Chengzheng himself has no body, since Chengzheng has no body, then what the hell is this watch?

couldn't figure it out, Lai Ci directly handed the watch back to Butterfly's hand and nodded to the retainers opposite.

"Ladies and gentlemen...... In the past six months, I have worked hard for you, and I am very grateful! ”

Everyone looked at each other, because it was rare for a lord to thank his retainers.

"Plus, I'm going to regain my true identity."

Real identity?

The crowd was puzzled.

"I'm actually the sister-in-law of the previous generation Mino who guarded Toki Yoriyi, my name is Toki Yoriji!"

This move caused an uproar among the retainers, and a smile rose into the corners of Toki Yoriji's mouth.

…… It should be his, after all, it is his, after many years, he finally got rid of the hateful Sasa Chengzheng and got back everything of himself again.

But what Lai Ci didn't notice was that Gui Die's face behind him suddenly turned cold, and there was a hesitant light flashing in those beautiful eyes.