The second year of Eiroku (1559) was a year of change, and August was supposed to be the hottest time in the Wa Kingdom, but the Second Battle of Yamazaki, which Ashikaga Yoshiteru had been looking forward to, did not break out, and the two flags fluttering at the head of Katryuji Castle fluttered for only one year and two months. The Eastern Army formed by Ashikaga Yoshiteru, Wada Yumasa took 10,000 people and abandoned Tamba Province, Akechi Mitsuhide led 25,000 people to transfer to Hanoi Province, and the 30,000 people he personally led were scattered, and in the end only more than 30 people protected him and fled to Sakamotokan, how miserable.

The battle of Shenglong Temple Castle has been over for three days, and today is the afternoon of the 15th. Honda Masanobu still didn't move half a step, on the surface, Honda Masanobu gathered the army here and made a big attack on Kyoto, but in fact, he was just collecting military intelligence from all sides, and he didn't bother to move.

Of course, there were many aspirants among the generals who followed Honda Masanobu, and they felt that now was the time to go to Kyoto to show off their might, and then completely defeat Sakamoto Castle and liquidate the Muromachi shogunate and other old temple forces, which of course would be a great achievement for them.

However, Honda Masanobu laughed it off. He defeated Ashikaga Yoshiteru repeatedly and achieved outstanding feats. The glory of "Kamiraku" should be obtained by Honganji Manifesto, and the liquidation of Ashikaga Yoshiteru should be handed over to Ashikaga Yoshiaki, and he did not mean to completely offend the other old temple forces.

At the moment when he conquered Katryuji Castle and won a decisive victory, Honda Masanobu wrote a long letter and sent his cronies to Ishiyama Honganji Temple to express his merits, and at the same time asked Honganji Shinru to obtain the glory of the Mandate of Heaven as soon as possible.

Honda Masanobu could not trespass as a courtier, so he temporarily stationed himself at Katsuryuji Castle while sending men. Constantly collect battle reports. In particular, he wants to pay attention to the information of Date Masahiro, Akechi Mitsuhide, and Wada Yumasa. In his eyes, the days when Honganji appeared like "Kamiraku" were the time to break with Date Masaki.

In the past three days, in addition to collecting war reports and analyzing intelligence, Honda Masanobu has also been busy visiting the former site of Nagaokakyo, the last palace building of Nagaokakyo has long been burned to the ground in the chaos of previous wars, and now it has become a remote village that no one cares about.

This is a short period of ten years, so short that the entire capital has not yet been completed. Like a wave, it disappeared in the long river of history in an instant, and it seemed so lonely and unheard. Perhaps Nagaokakyo will be rediscovered in a few hundred years and will be lively again.

Honda Masanobu walked in the corridor of Tenmangu Palace, where Sugawara Michizane was unjustly killed by moving to Dazaifu to the left, and seeing Wasuka Masakatsu, who was rushed back by the dust, his brows furrowed slightly, and asked: "Xiaoliu, something happened, making you so urgent?" ”

Wasuka Masakatsu knew what Honda Masanobu was worried about, and he shook his head slightly. With a sad face, he said: "It's Honganji that doesn't want to go to Luolai, and he's afraid to come out of Shishan Honganji." "Honganji Temple is as good as not going to Luo. If they can't succeed, they won't be rewarded for their exploits.

Honda Masanobu was shocked, although it was not the worst thing, but this incident still made him unbelievable, and replied: "Honganji is the Dharma King of the Pure Land Shinshu, and seeing that he has defeated the other sects, he will be able to force the Emperor to decree that the Pure Land Shinshu will become the state religion, and he will be promoted to the position of the Emperor." Could it be that he gave up on such an important matter just because of a little worry, and he listened to someone's slander to give birth to such absurd thoughts? ”

Wasuka Masakatsu interrupted Honda Masanshin by shaking his hand again and again, Honganji Xianru didn't dare to go up to Luolai, and they didn't dare to trespass, what was the point of talking such nonsense? He said with a hesitant expression: "I'm afraid that someone said your slander in front of Honganji Xianru?" Honganji is worried that if you leave Ishiyama Honganji, you will become your puppet, so you don't dare to take a step. ”

Honda Masanobu gritted his teeth and said: "Damn minister, Xiaoliu, you are sitting in the castle of Shenglong Temple, I want to return to Ishiyama Honganji Temple, personally go to persuade Honganji Xianru, and let him open his eyes to take a good look, who is the loyal minister and who is the minister?" ”

Wasuka Masakatsu said in surprise, "What? Yahachiro, if I don't go with you, I can also share one or two. ”

Honda's righteous faith flashed, and he immediately made a decision, at all costs, to make Honganji appear like Kamiraku, as long as Honganji appeared like Kamiraku, and tied the emperor and Honganji together, he had a chance to force Date Masaki to withdraw from Kinai, without further ado. He said: "Little Liu, as long as you sit in Shenglong Temple City and control these 20,000 or 30,000 troops, it will be my greatest guarantee. ”

Masakatsu Wasuka asked, "What are the odds of winning?" ”

Honda Masanobu shook his head and said, "With me as a hostage, Honganji obviously has no reason not to go out of the city, but if you want to force Date Masahiro to withdraw from Kinai and recognize the power of Honganji in the next war, the chance of success is less than 30%, so do your best." ”

Wasuka Masakatsu was still about to ask again, but Honda Masanobu waved his hand vigorously and said bluntly: "This is the final and culminating time of this big game of chess in Kinai, if you can force Date Masaki to retreat, then no matter how Honganji does not wait to see us, he can't do without us, without us, he can't sit in the position of the emperor." If not, then the soldiers and horses in our hands now are the capital for a comeback, and perhaps we also have to learn from Wise Mitsuhide and Wada Weizheng. ”

Wasuka Masakatsu didn't expect Honda Masanobu to say such depressing words, he frowned and pondered, pondered for a moment, rubbed his palms vigorously, and nodded repeatedly. He understood that Honda Masanshin was able to say these heartfelt words, and he truly regarded him as a confidant.

If Honganji hears these words, it will be true and contrary, not only will his own life be difficult to protect, but even his relatives and friends will be affected, and the future can be described as a darkness, and he can tell him such secrets, and the person who is a confidant will die, Wasuka Masakatsu asked: "Yahachiro, please also bring the Kawa Nami, maybe there will be some bandits who do not want you to enter Ishiyama Honganji." ”

After coming to Kinai, he recruited a rebellion, accepted a lot of strong people, and selected a hundred people from them, with excellent armament, full of food, and equipped with an iron cannon.

Honda Masanobu grinned and said, "I originally intended to let Chuan and the people see the blood, Xiaoliu spoke first, so it is better to be respectful." ”

Early the next morning. Honda Masanobu rode a war horse from Katsuryuji Castle. Turn into the nearby Yamazaki at the foot of Mt. Tenno. Wasuka Masakatsu and his party, who had been waiting for a long time, were divided into two groups, and a hundred samurai in red armor followed Honda Masanobu and galloped away.

Wasuka Masakatsu looked at Honda Masanobu who was drifting away, his face gradually became gloomy, his eyes were full of melancholy, and he muttered in a low voice: "Honda Masanobu, you still don't worry about me, hmph, the Kawa Party is not only a hundred." It's three hundred. ”

A gray-clothed monk approached Wasuka Masakatsu and said, "Wasuka Masakatsu, are you sure that you can completely control this legion?" ”

Wasuka Masakatsu glanced at the gray-clothed monk, his eyes were full of contempt, and he said mockingly: "The Dharma King is worried about being a puppet of Honda Masanobu, aren't you afraid that I will have the same thoughts?!" ”

The gray-clothed monk glanced at Wasuga Masakatsu, a smile flashed in his eyes, and said, "The Venerable Master is the eldest son of the Venerable Master, the Venerable Master is the Master who inherited the grandfather, and the Venerable Master is the eighth man of the Master of Wisdom. He was thirty-nine years old when he passed away. It is evident that the Venerable Master was twelve years old when he succeeded to the throne. ”

The gray-clothed monk's series of words made Wasuka Masakatsu frown tightly. He was an outsider who really couldn't figure out the internal struggle of Honganji. In fact, what the gray-clothed monk wanted to tell Wasuka Masakatsu was that Honganji Xianru had always been a puppet in front of him.

Master Hui Deng, that is, the first Shishan Honganji Temple founded by the Venerable Lotus Ru, has made great contributions to the development of the Pure Land True Sect and has played a big role, but in his private life, he is a little more eclectic and unconventional, and a little more ugly is ****.

Lian Rushang is a very attractive monk in personality, whether it is a noble girl or a poor girl, she will not refuse to come, and the consequence of **** is that there are many heirs. Liu Bei is known as the descendant of Liu Sheng, the son of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty, Liu Sheng has more than 120 sons in history, but by the time of Liu Bei, Liu Sheng's descendants have reached tens of thousands of people. Of course, the Venerable Lotus was not as powerful as Liu Bei's ancestors, but he still left more than 20 sons and more than 10 daughters, and these people gradually formed an interest group in Honganji.

At the beginning, it was a normal succession of the Lianru master, and the heir still had some ability, and the interest group was more attached to the side of the suzerain to serve him, but in the Shiru era, because Yuanru, who had been cultivated as an heir, died in a hurry, whether it was inherited by the eldest son or the younger grandson Zhengru, and passed away before it was specified. The elder heirs fought with each other, and in the end, the snipe and the clam fought and the fisherman profited, and the Keishouin Zhen Yongni suddenly came up with the Master's will, and with the support of a group of marginalized elders, he supported the ten-year-old Zhengru to inherit the huge family business.

The son is weak and the mother is strong, coupled with a large group of elders left by the Lian Ru people, Zhengru gradually became a marionette in their hands. When Zhengru grows up, he can no longer be as handy as his ancestors, and can only secretly take back the power that belongs to him step by step.

The moon is cloudy and sunny, and people are blessed with misfortune and fortune, as the Venerable Master died at the age of thirty-nine, and his eldest son, Honganji, was only twelve years old. Honganji Xianru wanted to be pro-government, originally relied on Shimoma Yorilian, and later Shimoma Yoriren was killed, because Shimoma Yoriru and Shimoma Yorilong have been out of the way because of their weak positions. Honganji Xianru knew that the interests of the people in Ishiyama Honganji Temple were closely related to Zheneini and the elder group, and he could only turn to the intervention of outsiders, which was the reason for the strong rise of Honda Masanobu and Wasuka Masakatsu and others.

Honda Masanobu apparently didn't understand the inner workings of Ishiyama Honganji, and he thought that Honganji was once again unsteady, so he wanted to return to Ishiyama Honganji, but for safety, he made Wasuka Masakatsu sit in Katsuryuji Castle.

However, Honda Masanobu trusted Wasuka Masakatsu on the surface, but in his heart he was still worried that Wasuka Masakatsu had taken the opportunity to seize the military power, and originally wanted to ask Wasuka Masakatsu to follow him to Ishiyama Honganji Temple, but he never thought that Wasuka Masakatsu would take the initiative to speak, and Honda Masanobu agreed.

What Honda Masanosin didn't expect was that when Jin Yongni and the elder group saw that Honda Masanshin had made a series of great achievements, they were now going to give the credit of "Shangluo" to Honganji Xianru, and they knew that Honganji Xianru would succeed once "Shangluo" succeeded. The reputation of Honganji Xianru will be comparable to that of the Great Ancestor Lianru in a short period of time, and their interests and power will be completely lost, and they have to admit that Honganji Xianru is the true suzerain of the Pure Land Shinshu Sect, and it can no longer be their marionette.

Honganji Xianru has the power to control the people, and they will definitely liquidate them, and if they lose power, they can only be slaughtered by others. At a time when their authority was about to be lost, they banded together and did everything they could to maintain their interests.

The gray-clothed monk is a member of the elder group, he came to persuade Wasuka Masakatsu, luring him to take advantage, even fathers and sons and brothers will turn against each other, let alone friends,

Wasuka Masakatsu looked at the gray-clothed monk with a worried look in his eyes, and said: "The origin and beliefs of these more than 25,000 people determine their stay and destination, and Yahachiro wants to rely on them to fight against Honganji, which can only be delusional." Some of the more worried is Date Masaki in the western country, once he learns that there is a civil strife at Ishiyama Honganji, I am afraid that it will be the time for him to make a move. ”

The gray-clothed monk waved his hand, glanced left and right, and said in a low voice: "Wasuka Masakatsu, since I am willing to share power with you, it doesn't hurt to say to you, in fact, we don't care that the Pure Land True Sect is above the world and achieves the Buddha Kingdom on earth. ”

Wasuka Masakatsu turned his head to look at the gray-clothed monk.

The gray-clothed monk said: "Wasuka Masakatsu, to be honest, you don't believe that you can defeat Date Masahiro. What we are concerned about now is the safety of Ishiyama Honganji, this family business was left to us by Master Huideng to our children and grandchildren, and it is our safety to keep Ishiyama Honganji. ”

The gray-clothed monk paused and continued: "Wasuka Masakatsu, it is their business for the warriors to compete for the world and become the lord of the earth. But why do we, as monks, fight so hard for the ethereal kingdom of Buddhas on earth? ”

Wasuka Masakatsu couldn't help but sigh, it turned out that most of the monks of Ishiyama Honganji Temple had the idea of being in the stone mountain, he looked at the gray-clothed monk, his eyes showed a hint of murderous intent, and said: "After listening to the master's words, you can make up your mind in the next place." ”

The gray-clothed monk said "um", and was about to speak, but he saw that an entourage not far away raised his head, straightened his back, and the original submissive follower appearance disappeared all of a sudden. "It was Honda Masanobu who was supposed to go to Ishiyama Honganji Temple.

The gray-clothed monk pointed at Wasuka Masakatsu and said in a trembling voice: "You, you, he, he, why did you betray me?" ”

Wasuka Masakatsu kicked over the gray-clothed monk and sneered: "Where did I betray, it's just that you are self-righteous." Don't forget, I am a martial artist, and what a martial artist looks forward to is only supreme glory, and there is nothing more glorious in the world than Shangluo. (To be continued.) )