The Chongwen Grand Lama sat on the throne of the lord, a black and shiny mountain sat behind him, and a national color sat on the east side, which was too contrasting. Although Chongwen did not accept him as a retainer, Huashan still treated Chongwen as the lord, with a sharp blade and a golden mountain, so that he really couldn't think of a reason to resist the pirate general in front of him.

He gave Chongwen the highest attic in the city, and his family lived in the guest room, and all the servants and maids in the court were called by Chongwen, and the eldest daughter also joined the ranks of the chamberlain. The keys to the treasury and arsenal in the city were handed over to Chongwen, and Chongwen threw them to the ground without looking at them, so he couldn't look down on the little rice and a few gold pieces that Huashan had worked so hard to accumulate.

"Then tell me about the Kumano Water Army. Chongwen tried not to look at Nonghime, but the crisp voice beside him was still sultry.

Kayama bowed and replied respectfully: "In the southeast corner of Ise Province, northeast of Kii Province, is the Shima Coast, where there are countless large and small bays and harbors, so there have been many pirates since ancient times, and they are called the Shima Shichishima people. The Northern and Southern Dynasties were in turmoil, and I don't know where a clan moved into Poche Village, Shima County.

This clan is the Nine Ghost Clan, they are savage and warlike, and they are good at boating, and they are constantly fighting with the people of the Seven Islands of Shima for the good port of the bay. In this generation, the head of the Nine Demons Takara finally completely pacified Shima-gun, and then went south to Kumano Nada, becoming a member of the Kii Province, because the Kumano pirates controlled Ise Bay and the Kii Waterway. ”

Chongwen clasped his hands in front of his chest, touched the short mustache of his upper lip with his left hand and pondered for a while, and said, "In this way, this Nine Ghosts seems to have some means and is a smart person. ”

"This man is not only extremely cunning, but also ambitious, and he has always dreamed of dominating the Kii Waterway, which is the main sea route to the Gyeonggi region, so they are constantly waging wars against the Awa naval forces on the island of Shikoku," Shikiyama said. ”

Chongwen smiled: "Although I like ambitious guys... But what kind of ambition is that?"

Kayama Shijiu lowered his head and said: "For the big sea, that sea area is of course nothing, but for the pirates of the Qi Kingdom, it is a huge force. In our country, a land with one or two granges can be called a wealthy family, and with two small ships, it can be called a naval army. ”

Chongwen asked, "So how many ships does the Kumano Navy have?"

Shihisa Kayama said: "They have about 10 ships and dozens of small boats, and they once helped Genji defeat the Taira naval army, and they had a close relationship with the Kamakura shogunate. When it came to the generation of the lord of the Nine Ghosts, he was very ingenious and designed a kind of Kumano ship, with tall well towers on the bow and stern, and the condescending arrows rained down, and the ordinary ships could not resist it at all. It was on this ship that the Nine Ghost Clan was able to dominate the eastern and southern seas of Kii Province. ”

Chongwen smiled and said, "So you don't dare to provoke them... It shows that you are not stupid, but how dare you provoke us?"

Kayama Shijiu said ashamedly: "It's all to blame Kogoro's stupid lard for being blinded and actually hitting the head of His Royal Highness Da Kouhai." ”

Chongwen laughed and said: "Do you know that the Chinese sage has a saying, where blessings and misfortunes lie in wait, and misfortunes and blessings rely on." That is to say, until the final result is out, no one can tell whether it is good or bad. When you meet me, it may be a curse or a blessing, and it is not yet time to close the coffin. ”

Huashan Zi couldn't answer for a long time, so he only knelt down as a courtesy.

Nongji turned her face, looked at Chongwen with a smile and said, "I know this sentence, my Chinese master told me the Tao Te Ching. In our language, it means impermanence of fate. She accentuated her tone and repeated the Japanese pronunciation of the word fate several times: "Phantom... Phantom, do you understand?"

Chongwen repeated: "Phantom, I know, the meaning of fate. ”

Nonghime smiled and said, "What Zijiu said is not entirely right. ”

Chongwen glanced at Shijiu Huashan and sighed softly. Nohime said, "He may not have deliberately deceived you, and it is difficult for the country wild samurai to know the inside story of the shogunate. ”

Chongwen asked, "What's wrong with what he said?"

Nohime said, "Shihisa said that the Kumano Naval Army has been fighting against the Awa Imperial Army for a few years, but now it is impossible. Because now Awa Province has been placed under the control of the Hosokawa clan, a powerful minister of the shogunate, Hosokawa Yoriyuki has become the ruler of Shikoku Island, and the Miyoshi clan, a retainer of the Hosokawa clan, has become the guardian of Awa Province, so the Awa Naval Army is actually the Hosokawa Imperial Army.

The Nine Ghost Clan has a bold son, and they dare not start a war with the Hosokawa clan, because a war with the Hosokawa clan is tantamount to a war with the shogunate, and it is a rebellion, and it will be ruthlessly killed by the shogunate. ”

Chongwen said a little distractedly: "Understood." ”

Nohime continued, "You probably haven't got it all yet. Awaji Island is the largest island in the Seto Inland Sea, and the western gate of Osaka Bay, guarding the richest region in the whole country, so there are many pirates on Awaji Island since ancient times, such as the Numajima pirates, the Kajiwara pirates, and so on.

His Royal Highness Kakune Yoshikan, the second-generation shogun, did not like the war in which the Awaji Naval Army was not played, so he sent the Ataka clan to fight against the Awaji Island Naval Army. The Ataka clan was very capable, and they built eight castles on Awaji Island, successfully exterminated the Awaji pirates, and formed a unified Awaji naval army. ”

Chongwenqi said: "What's so scary about that?"

Nohime said: "The reason is that Awa Province guards Miyoshi Motocho, and he ordered his brother Miyoshi Fusaysu to succeed the Awaji Island Navy General Ataku family as an adopted son, and now Ataka Fusaysu has inherited the position of Ataka family governor. So the Awa Suijun and the Awaji Suijun are already a family, and they are both retainers of the Hosokawa clan. From the east coast of Shikoku to Osaka Bay, it is now all under the Hosokawa clan's domain, so how about going out to sea and thinking that the Hosokawa Navy?"

Chongwen didn't answer, but laughed and said, "Zijiu, if I take you to war with the Hosokawa Naval Army, do you dare?"

Kayama Shihisa's face instantly turned pale, and he said in a trembling voice: "Big out to sea, the Awaji Navy has a kind of house boat, which is as huge as the Great Wall on the water, how dare I fight these small boats." ”

Chongwen no longer bothered with Zijiu, he pondered and asked Nonghime: "In this way, the cargo ship of the Ouchi clan is actually on the mouth of the Hosokawa navy, and once the Hosokawa clan and the Ouchi clan are at odds, the Ouchi clan's maritime trade route will be immediately cut off. ”

Nohime sneered, "The Hosokawa clan won't do that, because whether it's the Muromachi Grand Imperial Palace, or the Emperor's Inner Wrap, or the major temples, the guardian daimyo of the Kinji and Eastern Kingdoms, they are all waiting day and night for the ships of the Ouchi family to bring the Yasushi to Castle. If the Hosokawa clan cut off the Ouchi family's trade routes, it would be tantamount to offending the most powerful group of people in the whole country, and he would not be so stupid. ”

Chongwen shook his head and said, "That's not necessarily, there is a situation where the Hosokawa family is likely to start a war with the Ouchi family." ”

Nonghime's face turned pale for a long time, and then he said in a barely audible voice: "You are right. ”

Chongwen suddenly looked at Kayama Shijiu and said, "Do you believe in fate? Phantom. ”

Shihisa Kayama said, "I believe in the giant Yagoro and bless me with the prosperity of the Kayama clan's martial arts. ”

Chongwen smiled and said slowly, "You have two choices, or follow me to Osaka Bay and defeat those pirates of the Hosokawa clan." You may die in battle, but I promise you that the new route will be opened, and your son with a broken arm will inherit the Kayama family and dominate Osumi Province from now on. Or if you don't agree with me, then you can seppuku here now, your son will still inherit the family governor, but it is impossible for the Birch Mountain family to enjoy the benefits of the new route.

Honestly, I don't know what to do if I don't know what the ghost will do. But men always have to decide, you can give me an answer. ”

Huashan Zijiu glanced at Chongwen, then at Nonghime, who was staring at him with a smile, and finally mustered up the courage to say: "I will go with the Dakang Water Army, and I will die without regrets." ”

Nonghime turned her head to look at Chongwen, smiling as brightly as a spring flower, and she said softly, "I found out that you are especially handsome today. ”

The next day, the Anointing Bird Boat led the Fangjin Naval Army to set off, 2 of the ships were repaired, 2 of them were damaged and addicted by solid iron bullets, and one of them was basically impossible to repair, so now the Fangjin Naval Army still has a total of 11 boats and more than 300 pirates.

Chongwen looked at the ships and understood the reason why these ships were not strong and seaworthy. These boats had no keel and no ribs, and were essentially indistinguishable from rafts.

No matter how big the ship is, it can't be too strong to sail far sea, and it can't withstand the bombardment of 4 catties of iron bullets, and if the key position of such a ship is smashed, it is likely that a single shot will cause the whole ship to disintegrate. He somewhat admired the courage of these pirates, and getting on such a ship was tantamount to boarding a moving coffin.

It took a lot of effort to gather the crazy Dakang sailors, and Liu Guan had to break into one water tea house after another, and even private houses, and kicked out these ignorant guys one by one, making a lot of trouble in the town.

The Fangzu Navy did not change to the Rolling Sea Dragon King Flag, they were still retainers of the Shimazu clan, and they still wore the Maru Cross Flag. However, Chongwen gave Shijiu Huashan a pot lid size of the Dragon King Banner of the Rolling Sea, and all ships holding such flags are friends of Dragon King Island, and violating such a ship is equivalent to violating the Great Sea himself, which will never be forgiven.

Kayama Shihisa happily collected the flag, which meant that no matter what happened to him in the future, he would get the help of that monster, which was equivalent to an extra life, which was really a great thing. Although it is possible that he gave his life for this flag, so what matter, his descendants can still take this flag and ask for help from Dragon King Island.

Despite the desperate rowing of the Fangjin sailors, the ship was still surprisingly slow in the eyes of the Dakang sailors, and the Bloodbird ship had to reduce its speed to adapt to the entire fleet. It is not yet possible to get out of the offshore sea, so it can only sail along the coast, and the ship cannot withstand the wind and waves of the far sea. The advantage is that there is a birch mountain Shijiu to lead the ship on the Anointing Bird, so there is no need to worry about hitting the reef, and the terrain of the continental shelf off the coast of the country is broken, which is still a little dangerous for ships with a draft of more than 3 feet.

The fleet re-rounded Cape Sata and sailed along the east coast of Honshu Island, passing through the Bungo Channel and entering the waters of Shikoku Island. In the open sea on the east side of the country, there are basically no merchant ships, only fishing boats fishing in the coastal waters, if they encounter merchant ships, these fishing boats will instantly become pirates, wantonly plundering.

However, the Dragon King Island fleet is already a large fleet on the east coast of the country, who dares to fight their idea. These small groups of pirates felt strange, the Fangjin Water Army poured out, what is this for, to start a war with the Nine Ghost Family?