It is advisable to chase the poor bravely, and not to sell the name of the overlord. Seeing that the enemy general left the defeated army and "turned in" directly, Nagasaka Nobumasa, who was still bloodied after being ordered by Zhen, led a small group of soldiers who still had spare strength to continue to chase for several miles, and then scattered the Saito clan's main team that could not escape, and only Saito Toshitsuna led him to ride away with him.

The battle seemed fierce, but after all, it was just a village battle of hundreds of people, and after the Kawa Namizu people quickly cleaned up the battlefield, the teams regrouped. According to careful statistics, this battle achieved more than 50 heads of the Saito clan's coalition army, including eight samurai, more than 70 forced landings, and all the things left by the coalition army, while only six or seven unlucky people on the Kawanami side were slightly injured, and one of them even sprained his ankle in the pursuit of too excited, which is enough to be called a hearty victory with less and more breaks.

After winning a complete victory, Jingzhen gave all the clothes and armor obtained to the soldiers, and only collected the heads and relics of the allied warriors for other purposes, and ordered the soldiers to dig a large pit to bury the enemy's corpses in a pile, and finally carried their own dead and wounded back to the cottage to help the wounded and mourn.

After this battle, several leaders and below bowed down to Jingzhen, and no longer only respected him as the spokesperson of Nagai Norihide (Saito Michizo), but also regarded him as Mino's premier general.

It is said that the Saito clan gathered hundreds of soldiers bravely, regardless of the face to embarrass a group of nameless bandits, but was defeated to the ground, and the rumors of losing troops gradually began to spread, with the Saito clan's residence in the city of Geshou City The gate is closed, and the three clans under his command Dai Xiao are the best circumstantial evidence, and the rumors were quickly confirmed. For a time, the rumors of the nearby wealthy clans, the distant forces heard the wind, and the messengers kept going back and forth, and the undercurrents began to surge under the Mino Plain, which had been calm for more than a year, but Nagai Norihide, who was the actual ruler of the Mino Country, never made any public statement.

However, he said that Jing Zhen returned to the cottage with a great victory, and for several days he was only visiting the wounded, comforting the dead, and training the soldiers, but there was no next move. On this day, Wasuka Masaori finally couldn't hold back to see Jingzhen, and after twisting for a long time, he finally asked cautiously:

"Your Highness, now that the Saito clan is defeated, Saito Toshira is so frightened that he is still bedridden, and Geshou City has tried his best to loot more than 100 ashigaru closed doors. What can we do about it? ”

Jingzhen knew that the anxious son of Wasuka Masashi would ask today, so he asked with a smile:

"Do you remember why we fought against the Saito clan?"

"Naturally, it is for His Highness's words, for Lord Nagai Norihide, to eliminate the scourge of Saito Toshira, and to obtain a reward from the adults."

"His Royal Highness Zhengli remembers well, but he missed a key point, since we have fought side by side, we are like our own brothers, and we don't have to hide what we have to say. Who is His Royal Highness Guixiu? A generation of heroes! As big as a country, as small as a person, they can be calculated and traded like the oil in the bottle of the past! ”

"After this battle, Saito Toshira lost his wings and no longer had prestige, but the dry bones and toothless dogs in the mound, taking their heads were like probing for things. However, if the little Kawanami people present the head of Saito Toshira to His Royal Highness, His Royal Highness will surely mourn the death of Saito Toshira, and then eradicate all the Kawanami people as murderers, avenge our guardian Daisu, and then gladly inherit everything from Saito Toshira. ”

Wasuka Masari was suddenly shocked:

"But we are all acting on the orders of Lord Nagai and His Highness, how can my lord be like this!"

Jing Zhen sneered:

"Because the little Kawanami people have no value after killing His Royal Highness Saito Toshira, or it can't compare to the value that can be made for His Highness Saito Toshira's 'justice'. As for acting on orders, why don't you want to think about the 'nickname' of Lord Guixiu? ”

Hearing this, Wasuka Masanori was full of remorse for getting on the wrong thief ship, and his face shrank into a bitter gourd and said:

"I know that we are just thieves who rob the road, but Lord Nagai Norihide and His Royal Highness are thieves who steal the country, and they are completely manipulated between gestures. That's it, since Your Highness is willing to work hard to point out this middle doorway, it means that we may be useless to Lord Nagai Norihide, but at least it is still useful to His Highness, and I ask Your Highness to point out a way of life for us and other cottages. "At this point, I have bowed deeply.

Jingzhen hurriedly picked up Wasuka Masatoshi and said kindly:

"Why should His Highness Zhengli be like this, I mentioned that this matter has its own exculpation, and there is no need to mention the matter of retribution."

"We've stirred up all sides of the U.S. for this victory, but now there's a delicate balance."

"The neighboring Xiaohao clan is afraid of our dozens of defeats and hundreds of records, and they dare not take the lead in moving, for fear that they will become the first birds to continue to establish their authority."

"Several important ministers and big forces in the country will naturally interpret this matter as Lord Nagai Norihide attacking the Saito clan, both with the idea of attacking the Saito clan and asking Lord Nagai to take credit, but also for fear of using too much force and being backstabbed by the rest of the parties who have the same idea, so there will be no obvious action before Lord Nagai Norihide is gone."

As for Lord Nagai Norihide, his idea of replacing Saito Toshira has long been known to everyone in Sima Zhao's heart, so he can't express it directly. Just like the deaths of several adults before him, although Lord Nagai Guixiu can't stop others from talking behind their backs, he will definitely not directly bear the notoriety of killing the master. ”

"With that in mind, it's clear what to do now. Since we can defeat 300 ashigaru with 60 or 70 people, then if we have 3500 people in a gun formation, we can defeat thousands, even a few adults such as Ando, Inaba, Fupo, and the clan (Note 1). If you can be loyal to Lord Nagai and help him balance Ando and other forces, he will no longer be a pawn to sacrifice at will. At that time, I want to indirectly force Saito Toshira to death with a name, and get the acceptance and respect of Lord Nagai Norihide, which is a matter of ripening melons and pushing boats along the river. ”

"But now there are only sixty or seventy young people in the cottage, and a few people were injured this time, where did the three or five hundred troops come from, and where does the military expenditure come from?"

"Haha, don't worry, Your Highness Zhengli, the mountain people have their own clever plans."

Note 1: Respectively refers to Ando Mori, Inaba Ryotsu, clan Naomoto, and Bupo Guangji, all of which are the strongest wealthy forces in Mino, and in the era of Saito Michizo, Saito Yoshiryu, and Saito Ryuko, many important military and political documents and orders in Mino were signed by these four people. Among them, Ando Morisa, Inaba Ryotsu, and the clan Naomoto's sphere of influence is located in Nishimino, also known as the Nishimino trio, so after the Oda family invaded the east, these three families were rebelled one after another, basically announcing the demise of the Saito clan. In addition to the Nishimino trio, there is also a saying that Mamoru Ando, Yoshimichi Inaba, Naomoto and Koji Fupo are collectively called the "Mino Four", and Mamoru Ando, Naomoto of the clan, Hiroshi Hineno, Naomitsu Takegi, Kiyomi Hibino and Iean Nagai are collectively called "Saito Rokujuku".