As early as on the way to escape, Chongwen learned a truth from Liu Li, a secret is a secret, and it has nothing to do with trust.

Chongwen trusts Ouchi Zhishi, because after the test of life and death, at the moment of life and death, both of them stretched out their hands to each other, but they couldn't tell their friends everything, the biggest secret is that Song Taizu established a rich Great Song, but not a powerful Great Song, and his descendants eventually perished.

Since he has taken a fancy to Ouchi Mochiyo, he wants to implant something in his head and let these things take root. He hoped that these things would become a plague, and that a sick person would spread to all walks of life in the kingdom and penetrate into everyone's heart.

This plague is a thought, a thought: the country of Qi should become a country of wealth for weak soldiers, and only in this way can everyone survive and every family prosper. He wants to make the powerful and powerful people of the country shout and fight, and there is no soil for survival. A country without a strongman is the source of profit for the safety of the East China Sea merchant group, and it will never become a threat to the Chinese people on the other side of the sea.

For this purpose, Chongwen had a sincere conversation with Ouchi under the lamp all night. He succeeded in getting the Ouchi brothers to accept his plague, and since then he has fallen into an incurable mental illness, but this disease has not done any harm to the people of the country.

There is no more suitable pathogen than Ouchi Momoshi.

This powerful man of the country has been in battle for a long time and knows the suffering of the people. Moreover, he has received a good Confucian education, is benevolent and upright, and has a heart that admires heroes and desires great causes.

He was also the son-in-law of the top magnates of the country, and he would inherit the most commercially dynamic regions of the country, the and Izumi provinces, and the Kii province, which was close to the country, which made him qualified to become a shogunate deacon and control the politics of the entire continent of the country. He is also the eldest brother of Nohime, and he has a natural affinity with Ryuo Island. What's even better is that he is also Sun Saburo's own brother, and it is impossible for him to stop Sun Saburo from becoming the general of Pinghai.

In this way, the kingdom will become two entities of power, the kingdom on land and the kingdom on the sea. Only when the land and sea control the goods and the sea control the shipping routes, can the two become a threat to the East China Sea merchants. And these two power entities, in turn, come from the same family, and at least one or two generations will not have the possibility of swallowing each other up and mixing into one.

Now that a big web has been woven, it's time to kick away those stumbling blocks.

Chongwen slept very comfortably, and since he arrived in the country, he had never slept so peacefully. When I woke up, it was already noon, standing in the cloister and looking out, the gardener was tidying up the courtyard, the carpenter was knocking and repairing the house, and the Zhou Visiting Mansion was returning to its original state at an astonishing speed, which had to make people admire the diligence and experience of the servants.

A retainer was yelling at the carpenter: "Change the wooden hammer, wrap it with a thick cloth, don't you know that the distinguished guest is resting!"

Chongwen grinned, what a vibrant world.

The maid who visited the palace waited for Chongwen to take a hot bath, changed into a dry samurai suit, and led him to a clean and comfortable living room for dinner, where Ouchi was waiting for him.

While sitting and eating opposite Ouchi Zhishi, Chongwen told him: "The battle of Kanto is already on the line, and once General Yoshitsu is killed, the great war in is inevitable. Whether it is the Ouchi family and the Hosokawa family because of the battle for the throne, or the Spo family and the Ouchi family because of Izumi Province, or the Akamatsu family and the Sasaki family because of Settsu Province, in short, there will be war.

I hope that no matter what happens, you will all stand still, and the affairs of the Eastern Kingdom will be handed over to my East China Sea Merchant Group to handle, and when the time comes, we will return you to the Taiping Shogunate. ”

Ouchi asked, "I have an army of 20,000 in my hand, which is enough to contribute some strength to the future country, why do you want to hold back?"

Chongwen said: "You are in the western country, far away from, and the sea route is not passable, what is the use of you raising the army? The most important thing is that you must preserve your strength, and do not get involved in the chaotic grievances of the shogunate, and secretly raise hope." Once the kingdom is settled and all the magnates are gone, you can take over as the shogunate deacon. ”

Ouchi said worriedly: "If Zhou's visit to the government has not made an inch of success in the war, how can it be talked about prestige. ”

Chongwen put down the bamboo chopstick, looked at Ouchi and said, "The future war is an unjust war to divide the legacy of the shogunate, and it will inevitably be spurned by the history books. It will not bring you fame, only a stain, and I hope that the future shogunate deacon will be without blemish.

I'll kick out all those nasty stumbling blocks for you, so that you can govern the country without hindrance. But those powerful trees have deep roots and cannot be removed. If those remnant forces want to hate, they should hate our East China Sea merchant group, isn't it better than they hate you? At that time, you came forward to appease you a little, just to clean up people's hearts. ”

Ouchi Zhishi sighed for a moment and said, "I understand, Your Highness is also a painstaking person, but I won't thank you, I know that this has a price." ”

Chongwen laughed and said, "Exactly. But you also think about it, more than 20 Qidong of the East China Sea Business Group and the State Administration of International Trade and Commerce, if they lose this big gamble, won't they all have to go bankrupt. ”

Both of them deliberately did not mention the future trade treaty between the Tokai Merchant Group and the shogunate, because first, the shogunate had not collapsed now, and the ruling world was not in power, so everything was empty talk.

On the other hand, of course, because this issue is too sensitive, there will inevitably be a huge controversy. If we talk about it now, it is likely to break up unhappily and the agreements that have been reached will not be implemented, a situation that both sides are trying to avoid.

Ouchi said with some concern: "What I am most worried about now is the safety of my father, his army is too weak, and he is isolated in the eastern country, which is really dangerous. He slowly raised his head and looked directly into Chongwen's eyes.

Chongwen also looked at Ouchi and said, "Although your father is also a stumbling block to the merchant group, I will not let him finish, and if he is finished, it means that the shogunate has won, which is not good for the East China Sea merchant group." The merchant group will not offend the future ruling family of the country because of personal grudges. ”

In addition to the superficial reasons, Chongwen did not allow Zhou's visit to the government to participate in the War. Once Ouchi Mochiyo led this army to land in Sakai Port, he was likely to lose control of this army, after all, the head of the Ouchi family was Yoshihiro Ouchi, not Mochiyo. In this way, the powerful Yoshihiro Ouchi will become the most annoying of the bureau.

Chongwen doesn't want to see this situation, as for what Ouchi Zhishi thinks, it is not enough to be an outsider. Therefore, Ouchi Zhishi tacitly did not mention this matter, and only asked Chongwen to ensure his father's safety, which should be his bottom line. It is impossible for Chongwen not to agree, it is impossible for him to kill Nohime's father, even if Yoshihiro Ouchi does get in the way of the Tokai Merchant Group.

After the meal, the two conspirators moved to the tearoom and continued their conversation.

Chongwen said: "It is better for the war in Matsuura County to end early, and the shogunate has become like this now, and there is no need to be perfunctory." It won't do you any good to offend Matsuura Nobuwei too much, after all, he is a Qidong of the Bungado, and if he proposes to the Tuanhui for Yamaguchi Castle, the Tuanhui will be embarrassed. ”

Ouchi Mochiyo smiled slightly and said, "He should know very well that without my secret help, his Matsuura clan will not be able to hold the upper and lower Matsuura Clan." But after all, Matsuura Yoshinobu is dead, and the Ouchi family has failed him, so I will give him a gift that he can't refuse, and maybe it can resolve the grievances between the two families. ”

Chongwen asked with interest, "What gift?"

Ouchi said solemnly: "Shibukawa is full of Yori. ”

Chongwen laughed and said, "This gift is good, we also hate that guy in Kyushu Dazaifu." ”

He secretly admired that this great inner holding world also has a well-behaved side. Since the Tokai Merchant Group wants to solve the problem of General Spo Yoshinoshi of the Kanto region and Hosokawa Yoriyuki, the governor of the four countries, of course, the last Kyushu exploration problem cannot be kept. His inner family solved this trouble, and it can't be said that he hasn't made an inch. Among the three leaders of the country, Shibukawa Manyori is the least powerful, but it is also a stumbling block for the merchant group.

He reconciled with the Matsuura Party with this hand, curryed favor with the East China Sea Business Group, and removed a trouble for his own governance.

That night, Zhou's visit to the state was almost completely restored to its original state before the earthquake, and Ouchi ordered a large banquet to entertain Chongwen.

Now that the two sides are allies, it is natural that everything is warm and thoughtful. Of course, such an alliance is secret, and only the five elders of the Ouchi family attended the banquet, singing and dancing, and the guests and hosts enjoyed themselves. At the end of the banquet, the drunken Chongwen enjoyed a luxurious barrel bath, and two stunning concubines went to bed. Chongwen was full of spirits, such as Changshan Zhao Zilong killed seven in and seven out, so unhappy.

Chongwen was a little proud, my father deceived me, so I pulled my son over, and I won in the end!

Only after waking up did he have the courage to face the reality, he was far from winning, but the situation was getting more and more favorable to him, the final decisive battle had not yet come, and the journey was still long.

Even if he wins the kingdom of Qi, will he win Yongji? That is the real giant, his ultimate opponent. Now he is far from being qualified to roar at Nanjing, even if he wins the country, he is still not qualified to stand in front of that monster.

After packing up, Chongwen said goodbye to Ouchi Zhishi.

Neither side wanted the world to know about their alliance, and Ouchi could not see him off with great fanfare, so Ouchi Mochimori accompanied Chongfu to Yamaguchi Port on behalf of his brother.

You can still see the aftermath of the earthquake, the collapsed houses have not been rebuilt, and you can still see broken bridges and overturned trees. However, the streets have been cleared, there are no obstacles, no dead or injured are visible, and passers-by are calm. Some of the people of Yamaguchi have resumed their daily lives, the eastern and western cities have opened, and the samurai are on duty as usual.

The streets were full of people, and farmers in the suburbs, wearing big hats and carrying burdens of vegetables, rushed to the direction of Dongshi. The traveling warriors met and greeted each other, the woman hurried past with the child on her back, the bearded dervishes sat cross-legged under the eaves and turned their knees, and a wandering man waved a banner and a bell. Farther away, a few inhuman tribal beggars sat under a tree tickling.

Chongwen and Ouchi Zhisheng walked side by side, and the Lai Cai Niu followed behind them. The spring is bright, everyone is in a good mood, and there are talks and laughs along the way.

Ouchi Zhisheng said in surprise: "What, do Dakang women have to wrap their feet small, so what does it look like?"

Chongwen smiled obscenely: "It's like a water chestnut, have you ever seen it? ”