As he spoke, Nakatsu opened the small door of the pigeon cage and said, "It's rude." He came out with a strange tea bowl and served it to Chongwen, and there was half a bowl of green tea soup in the tea bowl. Juehai said respectfully: "Please appreciate it from His Highness Dachuhai." ”

Nongji covered her small mouth and exclaimed: "This is the Yaobian Tianmu Bowl, and it is a peerless tea set." ”

Ouchi Yoshihiro smiled and said: "Master Juehai is the top tea master in the whole world, and the tea set collection is even more famous in the world. ”

Chongwen is knowledgeable, and he has never seen any treasures in the palace, but this Yao Chang Tianmu really shocked him. Because this is the supreme existence in the kiln built hundreds of years ago, it can only be obtained by chance, and the craftsmanship of firing in Dakang has long been lost, I didn't expect to see the Chinese treasure in this barbarian land, which is really incredible.

He took the tea bowl in awe and asked in surprise: "Could it be that the master craftsmen of the country can make such a strange treasure?" ”

Juehai smiled and said: "The foolish people of a small country, where is there a national hand of the Heavenly Empire." This is hundreds of years ago from China to the land of the earth, the whole of the only one, is the treasure of the temple of the temple. ”

Chongwen shook his head and sighed: "The treasures of hundreds of years ago have been preserved to the present, and they are just as remarkable. ”

Juehai said: "That's because for hundreds of years, the temple has always followed the Buddha's teachings, and the believers are pious to the law, and no kind of powerful royal family can take away this treasure from the temple." ”

Chongwen thought to himself, this is to show off his strength to me, with such an ally, can the Ouchi clan fight against the shogunate? He took a sip of the green tea soup, held the tea bowl in his hand, and quietly looked at Yoshihiro Ouchi.

Nakatsu served a bowl of tea, retreated to the pigeon's nest and began to prepare the second bowl.

Ouchi Yoshihiro watched the sea retreat Only then did he say slowly: "In the country of Yu, the real power lies not in the position he holds, but in the power he holds.

The shogunate thought that I was alone in the castle, far away from the weekly visit and Yamaguchi Castle. As long as the Hosokawa naval forces blockade Osaka Bay and then buy off the Murakami and Shiokai naval forces in the Seto Inland Sea, my reinforcements will not be able to pass through the Seto Inland Sea, and I will only have 200 horses around me, trapped in the castle like catching turtles in an urn.

However, the Buddha was gracious and sent His Highness the Great Sea and a new route. Once the two of us become allies, my 20,000 visiting samurai will arrive at Castle within 5 days via the new route, and my reinforcements and supplies from the Chinese region will continue to flow, will the shogunate be sure to defeat me?

Therefore, this new route is not just a trade route for Ouchi. With the big sea, my hand can really reach to the city, to Kyoto, and the big sea thinks that this route is good or bad for the Ouchi family?"

Chongwen couldn't help but smile, before he agreed to form an alliance, he came up with his own idea, and his abacus was really fine. He lifted the tea bowl and took another sip, savoring the different tastes between his lips and teeth, and slowly felt a hint of familiarity, and he looked up at Nohime.

Nonghime smiled and said, "Yes, Master Juehai is also my master of Chinese and tea ceremony. Since I was a child, the master taught me that as long as I know and control every seasoning, even the simplest and ordinary things can make the best tea. ”

Chongwen nodded and said, "What Nongji said is reasonable, this is what Sun Tzu said about confidants and confidants, and they will not be defeated in a hundred battles." It seems that there is always a secret agreement in the world. ”

Nohime said with a smile: "His Royal Highness Odekai used two small pirates, Kumano and Fangzu, to clean up the Hosokawa clan fiercely, and my father was full of praise." He said that if he delved into the tea ceremony, he would definitely become a national player. ”

Chongwen looked at Ouchi Yoshihiro and said, "Ouchi-sama, do you think that a national player will watch his life be razed to the ground? I believe that the shogunate will not be able to destroy the Ouchi family, but you will destroy Sakai Castle, which is also something I can't bear, and it is definitely not a reason for Ryunoshima to help you." ”

Yoshihiro Ouchi smiled and said: "I don't know about those famous generals of Dakang, in the country, the decisive victory is never on the battlefield, but outside the territory." Bloodshed and intrigue, loyalty and betrayal, strength and weakness, are always intertwined, murder and destruction, are all equal means.

In the art of war, war does not necessarily mean destruction, and Kyoto is still Kyoto after thousands of years of war. Sakai Castle has been around for hundreds of years, and it has experienced countless wars, but Sakai Castle has not only not been destroyed, but has become more powerful. No, no, Sakai Castle will not be destroyed, it will be the stupid people who think they are in control. ”

Chongwen smiled and asked, "Ouchi-sama seems to be confident that he will win. ”

Ouchi Yoshihiro said: "Except for the Buddha, how can there be a person in the world who will win, it is inevitable that the situation, and the gentleman can only take advantage of the situation." ”

Chongwen asked, "What is the situation now?"

Ouchi Yoshihiro said: "The Ouchi family has worked hard for decades, and finally opened up the sea route, accumulated wealth, made meritorious achievements, and achieved prestige, which made the shogunate and his ministers jealous and dissatisfied, but they couldn't help me, this was the situation half a year ago."

Now the Shogunate has given them a chance to unite and get rid of me, at least to take away my most valuable trading rights, ports, and most valuable fiefdoms, so that they can grow on my corpse. That's how it is today. ”

Chongwen laughed and said, "It seems that the situation of Lord Ouchi is not good. ”

Yoshihiro Ouchi still had a calm smile and said unhurriedly: "But the situation will change." Although they are now united in their desire to deal with me, they themselves are equally conflicted and hate each other. Their union is only temporary, and soon they will be divided, they will fight, and finally they will meet each other.

Then the situation will be in my favor, so what I need most now is time, time will divide them, let the situation work in my favor, who says I am not the final victor?" he turned to the direction of Jekai Nakatsu, sighed and said, "The last bowl of tea may be the best." ”

At this time, Jekai Nakatsu happened to cook a bowl of tea, walked gently in front of the three of them, sat upright, held his hands in front of Ouchi Yoshihiro, and said, "Maybe the best is this bowl." ”

Yoshihiro Ouchi laughed, took the tea bowl and took a sip, shaking his head and praising it: "This is the fifth time I have appreciated the tea ceremony of Master Jehokai, and I have learned a lot every time." ”

Jue Hai smiled slightly and said, "Let the donor smile, the poor monk will take care of the last bowl and see how it goes." "Turn and stand back.

Chongwen said: "Appreciating the tea ceremony of Master Jukai is really a rare event in life, and the winter night is long, so why don't you talk about the past of the shogunate's resentment, thinking that it is a refreshment." ”

Ouchi held the tea bowl in both hands and put it on his lap, and was silent for a long time before he said slowly: "It's all decades old, and most of the parties have passed away, and the only one left is Sasaki Michiyu." His Highness Da Chuhai is willing to listen, so I will tell you about it, maybe you will understand more. If you really want to talk about it, you still have to start with the old poisonous snake. ”

Chongwen shook his head and smiled: "Two generations of grievances, it seems that the grievances are indeed not small, so Lord Ouchi is full of confidence." ”

Yoshihiro Ouchi took a sip of tea and said, "The reason why the Honko clan eliminated the heroes and established the shogunate was because there were some outstanding retainers, and Sasaki Michiyu was one of them. At that time, I was a young samurai in China, and he was not yet a monk, but he was still a judge of Sasaki Sado, a samurai with a good demeanor, unparalleled talent, and deep resourcefulness, and won every battle.

He was friendly with Hosokawa Kiyoshi, Hatakeyama Kikuni, Toki Yoriyasu and others, and often drank and drank tea together, but he did not get along with Spo Takatsu. Because the shogunate was first established, everyone was looking forward to a reward, and Sasaki Michiyu hoped to be the governor of Kanto and become the de facto controller of Kanto. However, at that time, the Zun clan enshrined Si Bo Gaojing as the governor of the Kanto region, so that Daoyu became the deacon of the political affairs office.

Daoyu was not very satisfied, so he often slandered in front of the Zun family, and the Zun Gong did not want the important ministers to disagree, so he ordered Daoyu's daughter to marry the son of the Si Po family, Si Po Shi Lai. In this way, the two families became in-laws, and the relationship gradually improved, but Michiyo had a conflict with his friend Hosokawa Kiyoshi.

At that time, the Hosokawa Kiyoshi clan was in charge of the chamberlain, which was on a par with Michiyo. It happened that Kaga Kuni's guardian died of illness, and Sasaki Michiyu wanted his son-in-law, Spo Takatsune's son, Spo Shirai, to become Kaga Mamoru. However, Hosokawa Kiyoshi disagreed, and the matter had to be stopped, and this time Hosokawa Kiyoshi offended Sasaki and Spo.

Not only that, but the Hosokawa Kiyoshi also wanted to return the position of Settsu guardian that the Sasaki family had snatched to the old guardian Akamatsu family, which completely angered Sasaki Michiyu. So he united with the Sibo family and framed the Hosokawa Qing clan for witchcraft, which made the Zun clan angry. Fearing punishment, Hosokawa Kiyoshi defected to the Southern Dynasty, hating Sasaki and Spokao ever since. ”

Chongwen sighed: "The sage said that the journey of the avenue is also the world's public." It's just that it's so difficult to have a public heart, so the avenue can't work. ”

Ouchi Yoshihiro nodded and said: "What the sage said is good, but my country is headed by some poor samurai in Kanto, and I haven't seen much of the big world, so naturally it is easy to turn against each other for small profits.

After purging the Hosokawa clan, Spo Takatsune became a deacon of the shogunate, assisted the lord of the clan to establish the shogunate, and conquered the four directions and rebelled. He also became the teacher of the prince of the world, a very popular minister, and his power was overwhelming.

At this time, the Hosokawa Kiyoshi clan had already died with hatred, and his son Hosokawa Yoriyuki succeeded him as the governor of the family and led the Hosokawa family back to the Kakune clan. The prince also knew that he had wronged the Qing clan back then, not only did he not blame Hosokawa Yoriyuki, but he also made the Hosokawa family the ruler of Shikoku and took charge of Shikoku Island, and the Hosokawa family was on par with the Spo family and the Sasaki family.

At first, everyone was relatively peaceful, but the Duke of Zun died, and the Duke of Yiquan succeeded to the throne, and Spo Gaojing continued to serve as a deacon. Until Gao Jing became a monk in old age, there was another dispute over who would succeed this deacon.

Michiyu Sasaki wanted his son-in-law Yori Spo to succeed him as deacon of the shogunate, but Spo Takatsune did not like this son and passed the deacon position to his youngest son, Yoshisho Spo. In a fit of rage, the Spoo clan became a monk, which didn't make the daughter of the Sasaki family miserable.

This angered Michiyu Sasaki, who joined forces with Yoriyuki Hosokawa to provoke the monks of Kyoto to get along with the father and son of Spokakatsune. Yoshitsune had no choice but to let General Spo go to his post and succeed him as a shogunate deacon with Hosokawa Yoriyuki. Hosokawa Yoriyuki took advantage of the situation to seize the position of guardian of the Spo family in Hanoi, and Spo Gao died of grief, so that the suspicion of several families deepened. ”

Chongwen pondered silently, seeing that the shogun Kakune Yoshien was seriously ill, and these top elites of the shogunate were actually enemies of two generations, and a fight was almost inevitable. It's just that the exploration trade is not trivial, and the choice of the successor general is more related to the future and fate of the major families, so they are united.

But he really couldn't imagine how Yoshihiro Ouchi could get out of the current situation of extreme isolation. The Hosokawa clan, the Spo clan and the Sasaki clan must have also seen the situation in front of them clearly, and they were ready to unite to eliminate Ouchi Yoshihiro first, and then settle accounts internally, Ouchi Yoshihiro has been forced into a corner, and there is really not much room for manoeuvre.