Suruga Province, Sunfu, conservatory. Pen fun and pavilion www.biquge.info

Imagawa Yoshimoto sat behind the desk, while making tea, he looked at the two secret documents, his expression was solemn, his brows were tightly locked, and his heart was heavy. The two confidential documents on the desk were delivered to him one after the other, and the contents of the letters made him deeply angry.

The mayor of Uden, the lord of the castle of Mikawa Ii-gun, sent a letter to him, and the lord of Narumi Castle, Yamaguchi Kyoji, had a secret meeting with Oda Nobunaga's brother Ikeda Tsuneko. Yamaguchi Kyotsuji was originally Nobuhide's important minister, guarding the border city of Narumi Castle, and during the period of Nobunaga and Nobuyuki's rebellion, he supported Nobuyuki like many others, and after Nobuyuki failed, Yamaguchi Kyotsugu simply threw himself into Imagawa Yoshimoto. It can be said that Yamaguchi Kyotsugu was a wedge between Imagawa Yoshimoto's entry into the Owari Province Oda clan and the local heroes, and was naturally reused by Imagawa Yoshimoto.

If someone else accuses Yamaguchi Kyotsugu, I am afraid that it will be immediately recognized as a false accusation, but Uden Nagateru is the main supporter of Imagawa Yoshimoto's westward expansion policy, and there has always been a struggle between conservatives and radicals within the Imagawa family, and the main difference between conservatives and radicals is to treat the westward expansion policy. During the lifetime of Taiyuan Xuezhai, conservatives played an important role, and after the death of Taiyuan Xuezhai, conservatives quickly turned to radicals. Uden Nagasho is one of the best, and he has been clamoring for the slogan of Kyoto and supporting Imagawa Yoshimoto as the new general of the expedition, and even blatantly pretending to be a banner, and from time to time he comes out to put on a show.

Imagawa Yoshimoto naturally knows that the wisdom of the pelican hall is insufficient, but who makes the pelican hall chief take care of being a person, a beauty covers a hundred ugliness, and he will certainly pay attention to the book from the pelican hall. This Yamaguchi sect can betray his trust today, and it is difficult to guarantee that he will not turn against him tomorrow.

If there is no second letter, Imagawa Yoshimoto will not be suspicious, it turns out that the second secret letter is from the ancient lord of the castle Lin Xiuzhen who has just hinted at taking refuge in Imagawa Yoshimoto, this Lin Xiuzhen hurriedly sent a letter to ask for help, it turned out that Oda Nobunaga intended to let his sister give it to Date Masahiro. Originally, this matter had nothing to do with Lin Xiuzhen, but Oda Nobunaga actually wanted to send Lin Xiuzhen to accompany him as an entourage. After Lin Xiuzhen heard the news, her whole body shuddered. He had just wanted to take refuge in Yoshimoto Imagawa, but now such an incident had come, which made him even more afraid. If his conspiracy with Imagawa Yoshimoto has been revealed, he will only be able to die if he is far away from Nakono Castle.

Lin Xiuzhen's subordinates provided him with two specific cases. The first case was that Lin Xiuzhen's master and servant took about twenty relatives and relatives, divided into several teams, and quietly left Nakono Castle in the dark of night, fled to Mikawa Province, and then fled from there to Suruga, asking for the protection of Imagawa Yoshimoto. The second case was to delay the time and try to ask for the refuge of the generals who were still hostile to Oda Nobunaga. However, Oda Nobunaga's conquest of the north and south had completely suppressed the rebels in Owari.

Lin Xiuzhen understood that once he left Naguye City, he would have no value, and even if he fled to Suruga, he could only send people to survive under the fence, and he could only delay time. While stalling for time, he sent his henchmen to ask for help from Imagawa Yoshimoto.

Lin Xiuzhen knew that only Imagawa Yoshimoto could save his life, he patted his neck and sighed, his white hair trembling between his temples, thinking that to escape the catastrophe in front of him, only Imagawa Yoshimoto attacked Owari Province as soon as possible and replaced him.

The content of Lin Xiuzhen's letter completely disrupted Imagawa Yoshimoto's overall plan, and more seriously, it seriously endangered the safety of Imagawa's family. The melancholy between Imagawa Yoshimoto's eyebrows continued unabated, and he had already opened a gap in the Owari country, and even Oda Nobunaga had to pinch his nose and warmly receive his envoy. Now that the news that Oda Nobunaga is going to send his sister to Date Masahiro as a concubine spreads, people who were originally hesitant will compare the strength between Date Masahiro and Imagawa Yoshimoto, even if they are stupid, they can see that Imagawa Yoshimoto, who is known as the strongest bow in Tokaido, is a joke in front of Date Masahiro in the "three-point hall".

If Oda Nobunaga really got on Date Masahiro's line, even if Date Masahiro would not send reinforcements, as long as Date Masahiro paid a little attention to the situation in Owari Province, Oda Nobunaga would be able to find an excuse to unite most of them, and it would be very difficult to easily capture Owari Province. Once the war in Owari Province is protracted, it will be a very huge blow to the prestige of Imagawa Yoshimoto, and the longer it drags on, the greater the possibility of variables.

The melancholy in Imagawa Yoshimoto's eyes was thick, and Yamaguchi Kyotsugu met with Oda Nobunaga's milk brother Ikeda Hengxing, this matter itself revealed strangeness, you must know that Yamaguchi Kyotsugu's defection to Imagawa Yoshimoto is already a public matter, if it is normal, Ikeda Hengxing has thrown himself into the net, and it is normal for Yamaguchi Kyotsugu to be arrested as soon as possible and then sent to Sunfu. Now that Kyotsugu Yamaguchi has not only met with Ikeda Hengxing in a grand manner, but also sent him out of the country as a gift, and looking at the situation told by Lin Xiuzhen, it is not difficult to understand Yamaguchi's idea of stepping on two boats. Yamaguchi Kyotsugu is not optimistic about Oda Nobunaga, but is afraid of Date Masahiro, who is standing behind Oda Nobunaga, for fear that Date Masahiro will liquidate Yamaguchi Kyotsugu.

Oda Nobunaga and Date Masaki must not be allowed to get on the line, Imagawa Yoshimoto did not know the news of Oda Nobunaga's secret entry into Beijing a year ago, if he knew that Oda Nobunaga had been to Beijing, I am afraid that he would not hastily adopt a radical westward expansion strategy.

Even if Date Masaki didn't mean to intervene in Owari Province, Date Masaki's size was too huge, and whether it was Imagawa Yoshimoto, he had to think carefully about whether it was necessary to completely confront him. Imagawa Yoshimoto naturally knew that one day he would have to confront Date Masahiro, and since he established the Muromachi shogunate again, he decided that it was impossible to get along with Date Masahiro, and even if he wanted to, he didn't want to face it now, and how to deal with Date Masahiro in more than 20 countries just by relying on the power of Suruga, Enoe, and Mikawa.

Imagawa Yoshimoto pondered for a moment, and he wrote two letters, one of which was sent to the new lord of Okazaki Castle, Okabe Motonobu, and the other letter was delivered to Narumi Castle, asking Yamaguchi Kyotsugu and Kyoyoshi father and son to go to Okazaki Castle to discuss the westward expansion strategy.

Yamaguchi Kyotsu received a letter from Imagawa Yoshimoto just after the New Year of the first year of Tensho. The content of the letter said that Imagawa Yoshimoto was going to hold a westward expansion strategy, and ordered him to go to Okazaki Castle with his son Kyoyoshi. After receiving the letter, Yamaguchi Kyotsugu originally thought that he would go to Okazaki Castle after making preparations. However, after hearing Yamaguchi's words, it was like a basin of ice water poured on the head of the unsuspicious Yamaguchi Kyoji, extinguishing the only hope in his heart and completely shattering the unrealistic illusions that he was never willing to give up.

Narumi Castle is located at the junction of Owari Province and Mikawa Province, and is the front line of both sides, whether it is going to Sunfu Castle or Okazaki Castle, there will be one person left to guard Narumi Castle to guard against the sneak attack of Odakata, but now it is fortunate that I did not hear any news, and Imagawa Yoshimoto asked their father and son to go to Okazaki Castle with a letter. This made Yamaguchi Jiyoshi suspicious, and he told his father about the doubts in his heart. Yamaguchi Kyoji can be left and right, and he is not a stupid person, and he broke out in a cold sweat after thinking it through.

But even if he understood that Okazaki's actions were auspicious, Yamaguchi had no way to shirk it. Yamaguchi Kyoyoshi saw his father's hesitation, of course he knew that his father had contradictions and ups and downs in his heart, once he refused to go to Okazaki Castle, he would clearly inform Imagawa Yoshimoto of their movements, and when Imagawa Yoshimoto's army came to the door, they had only one way to die. But if they go to Okazaki City, they will also be more than lucky, which makes their father and son not know what to do? Advance is also death, and retreat is death.

At present, the situation in Owari Province is obvious, Oda Nobunaga wants to use the power of Date Masahiro, the fox and the tiger, to resist Imagawa Yoshimoto's westward strategy, it can be said that it is black and white, and if you want to step on the two boats left and right, you will be hit by both sides.

Yamaguchi Kyoyoshi thought about it and thought about it, and finally came up with a way that was not a way, delaying time, yes, delaying time. Yamaguchi Kyoyoshi sent a messenger to Okazaki Castle to tell Okabe Motonobu that Yamaguchi Kyotsugu was bedridden by a cold. On the one hand, Yamaguchi Kyoyoshi wanted to hide the news that Yamaguchi Kyotsugu was seriously ill, and on the other hand, he had to guard Narumi Castle, for fear that Oda Nobunaga would steal the castle, and he really couldn't leave, and asked Okabe Motonobu to ask Imagawa Yoshimoto for guilt.

The current situation is delicate, Yamaguchi Kyotsugu and Kyoyoshi father and son tried to get through the way of illness, Okabe Motonobu was originally waiting in Okazaki Castle to sharpen his knife, and as soon as the Yamaguchi father and son arrived, they waited for the knife and axe, who would have thought that none of them would come.

Okabe Motonobu was angry, this was a provocation to him, he was appointed by Imagawa Yoshimoto as the new lord of Okazaki Castle, it can be said that he was under great pressure, and there were many retainers under Imagawa Yoshimoto who were more senior than him, and in the end, he let a young retainer who had just turned thirty years old take over Okazaki Castle, which was really beyond everyone's expectations. After Okabe Motonobu became the owner of Okazaki Castle, he thought about making some achievements and repaying the righteousness of Imagawa Councillor, who would have thought that Yamaguchi and his son would not obediently send it to their necks.

Okabe Motonobu calmed down, he was able to stand out from the retainers and become the new lord of Okazaki Castle, naturally he was not an unscrupulous person, he thought about it for a long time, and knew that Imagawa Yoshimoto borrowed his hand to trap Yamaguchi Kyotsugu and Kyoyoshi father and son, but he didn't want to stain his own hands with blood and make those retainers who surrendered sad to death. If Okabe Motoshin can successfully complete the task, everyone will be happy, and now he is recognized by Yamaguchi's father and son, but he can't forcibly attack Narumi Castle, you must know that Narumi Castle has not yet raised the anti-flag.

Even if the excuse of the Yamaguchi father and son is full of loopholes, Okabe Motonobu wants to attack Narumi Castle with this excuse, it is not valid, you must know that Imagawa Yoshimoto originally wanted to trap and kill the Yamaguchi father and son first, and did not want to make it public, Okabe Motonobu planned for a long time, knowing that only by killing people with a knife can he eradicate the Yamaguchi father and son.

Whose sword will you borrow? Okabe Motonobu thought of Oda Nobunaga, is Oda Nobunaga willing to be borrowed? Okabe Motonobu knew that since Oda Nobunaga wanted to send his sister to Beijing, even if this matter was to be completed, it would be impossible to get direct assistance from Date Masaki in a short period of time. So how can we completely deter the strange voices in Owari Country, and at the same time make everyone in Owari think that he has been approved by Date Masaki, and that he is a good fox and a fake tiger?

Thinking like this, Okabe Motonobu wanted to borrow Oda Nobunaga's knife, but how to borrow it in front of Okabe Motonobu, if he went directly to the door and told Oda Nobunaga, then he himself would be suspicious of Imagawa Yoshimoto, and stealing chickens would not be a loss of rice.

When Okabe Motonobu was still in a dilemma, the situation of Narumi City had already fallen into the eyes of Oda Nobunaga, and he was happy in his eyes, only waiting for the day when he would blossom and bear fruit, Okabe Motonobu thought about killing people with a knife, Oda Nobunaga thought the same, but the Yamaguchi stepfather and son were rough and sad and had gray hair.

A year later, a messenger from the Date family came to Kiyosu Castle, and suddenly stabilized Oda Nobunaga's situation, which made Oda Nobunaga make up his mind to send his sister to Kyoto, just one messenger has such a big impact, let alone a pillow person.

The name of the envoy was Matsui Yukan, who was originally born in Matsui Castle on the outskirts of Kyoto, and his grandfather Matsui Munetomi was a shogunate of Ashikaga Yoshimasa, the eighth shogun of the Muromachi shogunate, and his descendants came out of the shogunate. After the death of Ashikaga Yoshiteru, he defected to Date Masaki.

Date Masaki naturally did not know that Matsui Tomokan was a capable official under Oda Nobunaga in history, and he used Matsui Tomokan only because he was the first shogunate of the former Muromachi shogunate to serve the Date clan, and the effect of buying white bones for a thousand gold, first served as Tsuda Soda's deputy to rebuild Sakai Town, and then served as the commissioner of the Diplomatic Secretariat, and was ordered to come to Owari Province.

A Humpty Dumpty man, a Oda retainer named Ikeda Tsuneko, said to Matsui Tomoru with a blank face at this moment: "Tanba Mamoru Lord, do you think it is possible to promote the marriage of the Date and Oda families?" ”

Matsui Tomokan's mission was simple, to appease Oda Nobunaga and make Oda Nobunaga determined to resist Imagawa Yoshimoto's westward expansion strategy, he did not expect to surprise him as soon as he entered Owari Province, Oda Nobunaga actually wanted to give his sister to Date Masahiro. Matsui Yukan really couldn't make the decision about this matter, so he could only reply: "Ikeda-sama, it's hard to say about this matter, the lord has his own decision, and I, as a courtier, can only tell the lord of your kindness." ”

Of course, Ikeda Hengxing knew that Matsui Yuru couldn't be the master, but in fact, when he learned Oda Nobunaga's intentions, he was sad and sad for a long time before he recovered, even if he was Humpty Dumpty, with his relationship with Oda Nobunaga's milk brother, he was also the frontrunner among the young talents who pursued Aichi. Now when he heard Oda Nobunaga's decision, he could only grit his teeth and swallow his stomach and become a lobbyist.

Matsui Tomokan did not continue the topic, he turned to Oda Nobunaga and said, "My lord sent a foreign minister here, and if Owari Mamoru agrees, my lord is willing to make peace and reconcile the relationship between Owari Mino. (To be continued.) )