In December, the driest month of most of the Wa Kingdom, and the weather was dreary, Oda Nobunaga sat heavily armed on a low stool with his eyes closed, as if he had lost his handsome face with a granulated wound on his left cheek.

Oda Nobunaga couldn't help but twitch the wound on his left cheek, the corners of his mouth twitched slightly, and a hideous smile bloomed. The bottom of the eyes is cold and cold, it is a hungry tiger in the night, staring at the prey is a flickering faint cold light.

Although more than half a month has passed, Oda Nobunaga still remembers the moment of life and death when the tip of the knife slashed his cheek, he has never seen death so close, and it is only a short breath of time, if it weren't for Maeda's instantaneous reaction, the tip of the knife may have already slashed through his throat.

At that time, Oda Nobunaga tried his best to avoid it, and in the case of no avoidance, Maeda Yue blocked him with his solid body and avoided the vital point, but he still didn't avoid it much, and the tip of the knife slashed his cheek and pierced Maeda's shoulder.

"Shigeharu Takenaka!" Oda Nobunaga muttered the name, and suddenly felt his scars start to itch. After that battle, he managed to find the name of the attacker, and like the scar on his face that would never fade, the hatred in Oda Nobunaga's heart would never disappear until he cut off Shigeharu Takenaka's head.

Shigeharu Takenaka finally made a name for himself in the Noo-O Plain, which swelled a bitter hatred in Oda Nobunaga's heart, and if he lived long, his son might write him another novel in which he was proud.

Oda Nobunaga opened his eyes and looked at Takigawa Kazuki who was kneeling on one side, after experiencing the test of life and death, Takigawa Kazuki became his confidant from a middle-level samurai, and asked, "How is Keijiro's condition?" He still remembers Maeda's kindness.

Takigawa Kazuyi replied respectfully: "The first on the shoulder, after three or four months of rest, you can fight for the lord." ”

Oda Nobunaga nodded slightly, his voice was very low, and he asked suspiciously, "Has Madame found it?" He didn't ask Kinoshita Toyoshiro, a little attendant, he didn't have the will to ask, he just wanted to know the details of Nohime.

Takigawa Yiyi said: "The minister is incompetent, and he has failed to find the trace of his wife, please forgive the lord." ”

Oda Nobunaga did not punish Takigawa Kazuyi, Nohime's disappearance was only circulated among a few people, and there was no obligation to publicize it, and he did not want to lose this card that won the name of Mino Kuni's righteousness. Takigawa Kazuyi is the person in charge and the person in charge of the search for Nohime, and the advice he gives is to find a replacement. After Oda Nobunaga cleaned up the old maid of Kiyoshu Castle, he found a woman from the countryside who looked like Nohime and sent her into the city, only to make a round appearance during the banquet.

Oda Nobunaga didn't ask about Nohime, this matter was a big blow to him, but all he needed was a name, and it didn't mean much to him whether it was true or false. Thinking about it, Oda Nobunaga stood up and walked out of the tent, and since the main camp was set on the hillside of the commanding height, he could see the surrounding scenery at a glance.

Oda Nobunaga was attacked and fled into Owari, and when he received news of Saito Yoshiryu's invasion of the border, he had to endure the pain and go into battle again, and the two sides quickly reached a stalemate on the border.

In the distance, the banner of the Saito family fluttered, Oda Nobunaga was silent, he knew that Saito Yoshiryu was not dead, his ambition would be unattainable, and now the even larger Date family was staring at them, and the slightest relaxation immediately swallowed the tiger.

Oda Nobunaga twitched the wound on his cheek and sighed in a low voice, "I don't know how to make Saito Yoshiryu unable to use soldiers and horses in the short term?" He felt a strong deterrent from Date Masahiro, and in the long run, Date Masahiro would inevitably swallow Mino and Owari, but in the short term, it was not Date Masahiro who put pressure on Oda Nobunaga, but Saito Yoshiryu, and the first strong bow of Tokaido that was always preparing to expand westward in Suruga, Enoe, and Mikawa.

When the news of Saito Yoshiryu and Oda Nobunaga facing off at the border reached Kyoto, Date Masahiro was having dinner, and he didn't react much when he heard about it, but he soon saw some possibility of restlessness.

Knowing that the dispute between Saito Yoshiryu and Oda Nobunaga was only a follow-up to Oda Nobunaga's attack, he already knew that Oda Nobunaga was not seriously injured, and he had no obligation to inform Oda Nobunaga of the fate of Nohime and Kinoshita Toyoshiro.

The dispute between Oda Nobunaga and Saito Yoshiryu is just a way for the two major forces to expand their territory in the eyes of the political balance. Once, when Saito Michizo was still alive, he saw that he could not take Owari Province by force, so he adopted the method of marriage to promote the unification of Mino and Owari, and then Mino Province developed into Omi Province, and Owari Province developed into Mikawa Province.

Saito Yoshiryu was the successor of Mino Province after killing his father.,After ascending the throne, he went against Saito Michizo's diplomatic strategy.,The fight between Owari Province has never stopped.,The strength of the two sides is half a pound against eight taels.,No one can help anyone between the moves.。 In order to weaken the power of Mino and Owari, the forces adjacent to Mino and Owari, whether it was Rokkaku in Omi or Asai or Takeda in Shinano, or Imagawa in Yoko or Sunenzo, had to maintain the contradictions and conflicts between the two local forces in order to prevent them from reuniting.

Against this backdrop of deep complexity, the dispute between Yoshiryu Saito and Oda Nobunaga is nothing more than a continuation and progress. With the seizure of Omi Province and the expansion of nearly double its territory at once, the priority before him was how to turn the new territory into strength rather than continue to expand it, which was very detrimental to the Date family. Originally, if Imagawa Yoshimoto had not stepped in to re-establish the already declining Muromachi shogunate from the pile of garbage, this method of destroying the unity of the two sides would have continued. However, once Imagawa Yoshimoto captures Mino and Owari, plus the addition of Takeda, Hojo and others, the tripartite power will soon expand into a behemoth.

Zhengheng knocked on the desk, his expression became slightly solemn, and he muttered in a low voice: "Imagawa Yoshimoto injured himself in Mikawa Province, but he can still form an army of thirty or forty thousand people, plus the joining of Takeda and Hojo, plus the barrel Sasama can no longer become a place for raids, if Mino and Owari continue to fight, it will only be cheaper Imagawa Yoshimoto, and it is necessary to strengthen the power of Sawa Yamashiro." "Sawa Mountain Castle is located at the junction of the north and south Omi and Mino countries, and there is even more danger that one man will be the pass, and ten thousand people will not be able to open it.

It's not that Masahiro doesn't want to strengthen the power of Sawa Yamashiro, he glanced at the situation in Omi's country, squinted slightly, and muttered: "It's time for the turmoil in Kita Omi to end, and the chaos between Asai and his son should also end." ”

When Masahiro was outside the fumigue, Imagawa Yoshimoto was happy when he heard the news that Mino and Owari were nervous again, and he immediately recruited the Sekiguchi clan chief, who did not fall out of favor because of the Mikawa incident.

As soon as Sekiguchi saw Imagawa Yoshimoto's face, he knew Imagawa Yoshimoto's thoughts and asked, "Lord, have you really decided?" Although he can't compare to Taiyuan Xuezhai in terms of resourcefulness, he is still not optimistic about Imagawa Yoshimoto's adventure.

Imagawa Yoshimoto naturally knew that there were many people in the Imagawa family who were suspicious, and when Taiyuan Yuisai was alive, he asked him to wait for the opportunity, originally thought that the battle between Ashikaga Yoshiki and Honganji Xianru gave him a great opportunity, and when the two of them were defeated, he would be able to come out and pick up the cheap, but he never thought that there would be someone else who picked up the cheap, and this person's strength was still so strong. He understands that once Date Mashow is allowed to step on many opposition forces, he will lose the opportunity forever, and he can only be a subordinate with peace of mind, and he is not reconciled.

Imagawa Yoshimoto sighed and said, "Yes, the Imagawa family has been preparing for many years. If I don't attack again, I'm afraid I won't have any motivation, but I didn't decide to take Kyoto directly for a short time, I just wanted to capture the Nobi Plain, and as long as I got the Noo Plain, my family's strength would be doubled, and I would have the strength to fight at that time. Imagawa Yoshimoto also did not have the confidence to compete with Date Masahiro, and he supported the Muromachi shogunate only to win over Takeda Harunobu and Hojo Shiyasu, so that they would not stab him in the asshole when he was fighting abroad, so that he could not care about each other.

Sekiguchi Jinyong suddenly asked, "Lord, do you want to give Takechiyo another chance?" ”

Imagawa Yoshimoto glanced at Sekiguchi Qinaga, shook his head, and said: "It's not easy to dispose of a group of diehard loyalists of the Matsudaira family in the name of always being a pinch, and a group of Mikawa people are co-opted, and then let him out, isn't this a banner for those hidden people?" If it weren't for your face, he would have gone to see his father and ancestors. ”

Sekiguchi didn't respond anymore, he knew that if he continued to plead, he would anger Imagawa Yoshimoto, and once Imagawa Yoshimoto suspected that he had other relationships with Matsudaira Motoyasu, his identity and status would be challenged by others, which would outweigh the losses.

Imagawa Yoshimoto thought for a moment and said, "You set off for Owari Province as soon as possible, and go and tell the fool of Owari Province that you must either surrender or die, and if he has any requirements, if it is not very excessive, you can agree to him." ”

Sekiguchi knew that he still angered Imagawa Yoshimoto, otherwise he would not have given him such a task far from the political center, but he had no reason to refuse, and bowed: "Yes, the lord and the minister understand, and they will complete the task." ”

Imagawa Yoshimoto shook his head and walked to the tea party in the castle town, which he had to do before the war, which really smelled of a cultural daimyo.

Surrender is indeed a bright road. Imagawa Yoshimoto, who doesn't want to lose too much, will definitely not dispose of the Oda clan in a short time, he also needs the Oda clan to take charge of Owari Province, and at the same time, he also needs the Oda clan to be the vanguard to attack Mino Province, and even compete with the Date family. Perhaps when Imagawa Yoshimoto took over the world, the Oda clan would still be able to receive preferential treatment because they were the first princes to submit, and perhaps they would be able to greatly expand their territory because they had made a contribution.

Of course, it is possible that the Oda clan will receive preferential treatment instead of Oda Nobunaga, who is afraid that one day he will be stabbed to death on trumped-up charges, whether it is after Imagawa Yoshimoto's victory or defeat, Oda Nobunaga will die.

Sekiguchi Pro-Naga went to surrender but an ultimatum, this matter Imagawa Yoshimoto knew, Sekiguchi Pro-Naga also understood, he went back to his own mansion before leaving the Sunfu, and when Mrs. saw Sekiguchi Pro-Naga with an ugly face come back and come up to ask for warmth.

Sekiguchi Qinyong shouted coldly: "Ah He is here? "Atsuru is his eldest daughter, and with the approval of Imagawa Yoshimoto, she was married to Matsudaira Motoyasu, the young lord of Mikawa Province, who was a hostage in the Imagawa family (that is, Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Edo shogunate. ）

The historical Azuru is often called Sena Ji in modern times, her life is a tragic life, and she may never be happy. She may not be smart and generous enough, gentle and kind enough, but if she was not born in the Imagawa clan, did not marry Ieyasu, did not face Oda, but was an ordinary unruly rich girl, fate would not have taken her so cruelly.

History is history, and under Date Masato's intentional loss, a stone tablet in the narrow room of the barrel appeared in front of Imagawa Yoshimoto, reversing Matsudaira Motoyasu's hostage career and making his hostage career even more miserable.

A large number of exiles of die-hard elements who were originally looking forward to the return of Matsudaira Motoyasu, and those who were killed for no reason were killed, and now a large number of retainers who were not originally Matsudaira genealogy generations have become the backbone of Okazaki Castle, and Matsudaira Motoyasu's life is also sad, and I don't know when he died in the thought of Imagawa Yoshimoto. Matsudaira Motoyasu's original background became his shelter and was able to survive as a guarantee. Matsudaira Motoyasu coaxed Ah Tsuru a little, and Ah Tsuru would stupidly come and cry to his father and mother, begging his father to intercede with Imagawa Yoshimoto.

Sekiguchi Qinyong's tone startled his wife, and her gloomy face made her dare not speak, and he knew that he had guessed it as soon as he saw his wife's face, and he muttered for a moment, and said, "Madam, you are so good to appease Ah He and let her live at home for a few days." ”

Madame was shocked and asked eagerly, "My lord, is the situation really so dangerous?" ”

Sekiguchi Jinyong shook his head and sighed: "What the situation is depends on the intentions of the lord of the country, but Azuru's marriage to the Matsudaira family was handled by the hand of the lord of the country, and we have no objections, and this matter will not implicate us." Madam, you are so good to reassure Ah He and don't let her walk around. ”

Sekiguchi Qinyong's words left his wife speechless, and his wife was not an ordinary person, but the adopted sister of Imagawa Yoshimoto, the daughter of Naohi I, the head of the Ii clan of the Toe wealthy clan. Naohei gave his daughter to Yoshimoto as a concubine, and Yoshimoto married the Ii clan in the name of his adopted sister to the Sena family, a branch of the Imagawa family.

Mrs. Sekiguchi and Imagawa Yoshimoto still have a little dewy feelings, plus Atsuru is her eldest daughter, and Imagawa Yoshimoto has an unclear relationship, as long as she stays away from Matsudaira Motoyasu, there will be no problems in terms of safety. (To be continued.) )