Ashikaga Yoshiteru's expression froze slightly, as if he did not expect that Akechi Mitsuhide would increase the enemy's momentum and destroy his own prestige, saying that the people who had always come to attack Takatsuki Castle and Akutagawa Mountain Castle were not afraid of their strength, but because they had their plots.

Ashikaga Yoshiteru suddenly asked, "Yi Zhengzhong, what is your opinion on the changes in the situation in Settsu Province?" ”

Although Wada Yumasa is extremely envious and hateful, and secretly continues to slander Ashikaga Yoshiteru, he can be promoted to the core of the shogunate, of course, he is not just a sycophancy who pats Ashikaga Yoshiki's ass.

Historically, Wada Yumasa served as a shogunate of Ashikaga Yoshiteru at the beginning, and later Ashikaga Yoshimasa was assassinated by Matsunaga Hide and others, so he rescued Ashikaga Yoshiaki and Nishiki Yoshimasa, who were under house arrest, from Ichionina Temple, and later obtained Akutagawa Yamajo Castle from Oda Nobunaga, and then was given Takatsuki Castle, Wada Yumasa and Ikeda Katsumasa and Itami Shinko were jointly appointed by Ashikaga Yoshiaki as one of the guardians of Settsu Province, and the three were called "Settsu Three Guardians", which can be said to be Ashikaga Yoshiaki's henchmen. Later, after Oda Nobunaga and Ashikaga Yoshiaki turned against each other, Wada Yumasa was punished by Oda Nobunaga.

Wada Yumasa also saw some secrets hidden behind the crowd, he thought for a moment, hesitated slightly, although he was unwilling to agree with Akechi Mitsuhide, but he still spoke: "Honganji Xianru's plan is really very vicious. ”

Vicious means to be smart, and Wada Yumasa, like Akechi Mitsuhide, felt a trace of doubt about Honganji's actions after the fall of Ibaraki Castle and Miyake Castle, and from this suspicion, he spied on the sinister intentions of Honganji's side to force the shogunate army to stay in Settsu Province.

A meaningful smile appeared on the handsome face of Wise Guangxiu, he is a smart person, and smart people naturally have the clear height of smart people. He didn't want to meet Wada Yumasa. But he also didn't want to hear Hetian Weizheng secretly slander him every day. A slight smile curled up at the corners of Wise Mitsuhide's mouth. looked at Wada Weizheng and said: "Yi Zhengzhong, he has always taken Miyake Castle and Ibaraki Castle with all the people, but he did not move Takatsuki Castle and Akutagawa Mountain Castle, please explain the conspiracy behind it to the general?" ”

If it was Ashikaga Yoshiteru who asked, Wada Yumasa would have said it happily, but Akechi Mitsuhide's question, Wada Yumasa was as disgusting as eating a fly. Turning his head to look at Ashikaga Yoshiteru, Ashikaga Yoshiteru was undecided, this was an intrigue between his two right-hand men.

Seeing Ashikaga Yoshiteru's puzzled gaze, Wada Yumasa replied: "In terms of numbers, after the outbreak of the Ashikaga Temple, the Western Army led by Honganji has always had the upper hand, and now the Miyoshi Remnant Party, Hatakeyama Takamasa and other opposition parties stay in Yamato Province, and at most they will be able to withdraw from Yamato in a month or two. During this period of two months, due to the arrival of Date Dazaiden on the Harima side of Harima Province, the domestic situation in Settsu changed abruptly, and the Eastern Army, led by the Shogunate Army, had a slight advantage in numbers. ”

Hosokawa Fujitaka suddenly interjected: "Yi Zhengzhong." Since Honganji doesn't have a numerical advantage, why don't you kick us out of Settsu Province? Although I don't want to admit it, judging from the attack on Ibaraki Castle and Miyake Castle, they can break through two castles in two days, and they have some strength. ”

Wada Yumasa is not as good as Akechi Mitsuhide and Hosokawa Fujitaka in status, so naturally he doesn't dare to refute Hosokawa Fujitaka directly, but from the bottom of his heart, he despises Hosokawa Fujitaka's lack of resourcefulness. Instead, Akechi Mitsuhide glanced back at Hosokawa Fujitaka, who knew that Hosokawa had talked to him about it in private, but he hadn't dismantled Hosokawa's mask.

However, after Hosokawa Fujitakaichi interrupted, Wada Yumasa no longer felt embarrassed, and Wada Yumasa's face was as usual, and he talked eloquently: "Ibaraki Castle and Miyake Castle are both Heijo Castle, while Takatsuki Castle is Hirayama Castle, and Akutagawa Yamajo is a mountain castle, and it is really difficult to capture the latter in the short term." The field soldiers that Honganji can mobilize are more than 30,000 Honda Masanobu who attacked Ibaraki Castle and Miyake Castle, and the rest of the soldiers and horses are left behind to guard Ishiyama Honganji except for Date Masaki of Harima Province, which means that he can use no more than 30,000 field forces. At present, the shogunate can mobilize more than 20,000 or 30,000 field forces, and if Takatsuki Castle and Akutagawa Yamajo are trapped, once Harima's Date Masaki turns against him, Honganji Temple will have no troops available, and the Honda Masanobu will immediately collapse. ”

Ashikaga Yoshiteru is only twenty-three years old this year, but his years of wandering life have given him a well-dressed body and a healthy body, but those eyes that conceal melancholy reveal his physical and mental exhaustion. Things in the army are complicated, and things on the ground are even more complicated, and he vowed to revive the Muromachi shogunate since he was a child, and now he sees a glimmer of hope for the shogunate, and the ambition hidden deep in his heart is like an unquenchable flame in the wind and rain, burning tenaciously and supporting him to persevere.

Ashikaga Yoshiki listened to Wada Yumasa's explanation, nodded slightly, and looked at Wada Yumasa, but did not hear Wada Yumasa continue, and couldn't help but be a little disappointed, and then slowly turned his eyes to look at the wise Mitsuhide with an upright personality.

Akechi Mitsuhide still hesitated for a moment, and then slowly spoke: "In addition to the reason that Wada Masataka said, there is also the most important point, that is, Date Masahiro's attitude is still not clear, and whoever can win him will be able to win the battle in Kinai." ”

Although he didn't want to admit what Akechi Mitsuhide said, none of the people present were stupid, and of course they understood that the current situation was caused by Date Masaki's arrival. Ashikaga Yoshiki kowtowed slightly, agreeing with what Akechi Mitsuhide said.

Ashikaga Yoshiteru asked, "In your opinion, who will he choose?" ”

Yumasa Wada and Takashi Hosokawa both looked at Akechi Mitsuhide, this question was the key to solving the dilemma in front of them, and the two of them could not guess Date Masahiro's thoughts wishfully, so they could only listen to Akechi Mitsuhide's opinion so that they could make their own judgments.

Akechi Mitsuhide pondered for a moment and said: "From the perspective of interests, Date Masaki should not help each other, so that Kinai will become a pot of porridge, which is why the minister sent troops to fight a battle of Yamazaki after hearing that Date Masaki came to Harima Country. As long as the Shogun places his troops in Settsu, Date Masaki must choose one side instead of being as ambiguous as he is now. Proceeding from the interests of the two is not to help each other. But from a moral point of view. He could only choose the side of the shogunate. ”

Akechi Mitsuhide stopped at this point, and looked at Ashikaga Yoshiteru with blazing eyes. He has already analyzed the relationship between interests clearly, which is also the main content of Wada Yumasa's slander during this period of time, saying that he launched the Battle of Yamazaki without explaining it clearly to Ashikaga Yoshiteru.

Hearing Akechi Mitsuhide's words, Wada Weizheng's breath stagnated for a moment, he never thought that Akechi Mitsuhide would be waiting for him here, but he didn't come forward to beg for mercy, you must know that if something is good at the top, it will be very bad at the bottom. Ashikaga Yoshiteru also did not mean to reproach Wada Yumasa. However, Akechi Mitsuhide's words woke up Ashikaga Yoshiteru.

Ashikaga Yoshiki nodded vigorously and said: "As you said, if there is no strategy for Settsu Province, Date Masaki can dominate Settsu Province even if he is on the side of the Shogunate, and then annex Kawachi, Izumi, and Kii Province, and cooperate with Enryakuji Temple to isolate the Shogunate." Now that we have entered the Settsu country, we can control as many as 20,000 or 30,000 soldiers and horses at once, which can be regarded as a strong force. As long as he chooses to be on the side of the shogunate, he will play into my hands. From now on, they can only obey me. Do you send messengers to urge him to go to the Lord? ”

Akechi Mitsuhide shook his head slightly and said, "No. On the one hand, we can strengthen the defense forces of Takatsuki Castle, Akutagawa Yamajo Castle, and Katryuji Castle and hold the 20,000 or 30,000 forces tightly in our hands, and on the other hand, we can ask religious forces such as Enryakuji Temple to support Yamato Province, and delay the actions of the Miyoshi Remnant Party and Hatakeyama Takamasa, who have always been in the same direction, and nail them to the Yamato country, as long as they cannot highlight Yamato Province, victory will belong to us. ”

Today's Settsu area is full of forces, and it is indeed intricate.

Ashikaga Yoshiki listened to Akechi Mitsuhide's analysis, nodded his head again and again, and couldn't help but praise: "If you don't move, it's just a move, it's amazing, it's really a good plan, I want to see what Date Masaki's face will be like now?" It must be exciting. ”

There was some depression between Akechi Mitsuhide's eyebrows, and after Hosokawa Fujitaka as a friend could see it, he couldn't help but ask in a low voice: "Shibei, you have calculated that Date Masahiro can only follow our steps, why are you still sullen?" ”

Ashikaga Yoshiteru also looked at him, and Akechi Mitsuhide looked up and said: "What the minister is worried about is that Date Masaki will really do things that are quick for relatives and enemies, and he is not really out of options, but if he chooses this way, I am afraid that he will be criticized." ”

As he spoke, Akechi Mitsuhide pointed to the Tanba Province on the map and said, "Once Date Masaki uses the soldiers and horses for the Tamba Province, then he will not be able to intervene in the situation in Kinai for a short time, but then his reputation in Kinai will be ruined." ”

Akechi Mitsuhide took his reputation very seriously and thought that Date Masaki would not do anything to ruin his reputation, but Ashikaga Yoshiteru, Hosokawa Fujitaka, Wada Yumasa and others showed solemn looks on their faces, and they thought that this matter was very likely to become a reality.

After pondering for a long time, Ashikaga Yoshiki suddenly said to Hosokawa Fujitaka: "Daisuke of the military department, please take a trip, if he goes to Luo, then the guardian of Tanba, Settsu, and Kii is his, and at the same time ask him to serve as the deputy general of the shogunate." ”

Adjutant general, and deputy general, this is already the third time. Hosokawa Fujitaka knew the truth that there were no more than three things, and refused again and again, knowing that this was Ashikaga Yoshiteru's last bottom line, and he had already ceded the protection of Tanba, Settsu, and Kii to Date Masaki, and it was already benevolent and righteous. He hurriedly replied, "Yes." ”

Time passed day by day, whether it was Honganji Temple or the shogunate, the large and small forces in Yang or Kinai were all looking forward to Date Masahiro making a judgment and going to Luo, but Date Masahiro was really busy with himself.

While sending various men and horses to clear the opposition forces in Harima, Date Masaki also had to adjust the forces in Tajima and Tango, and install forces directly belonging to the Date family in each place, so that the Date family could completely control the above-mentioned areas.

When the time advanced to July 11, Shimoma Yoriteru finally arrived at Himeji Castle belatedly, and Date Masaki stayed at Miki Castle for three days to deal with the aftermath, and then returned to Himeji Castle after spending a day at Akashi Castle to deal with various matters.

Shimoma Lai Zhao has been depressed since he was tricked by Honda Masanobu, and unlike Honda Masanobu's scenery, he has been unsuccessful recently. Originally, as the spokesperson of the Shimoma clan, he was supposed to be the pillar of Honganji, but now because Shimoma Yoriyo's death is counted on his head, most of the people in the Shimoma clan are not satisfied with him. Honganji Xianru was also speechless in front of him, and although Shimoma Ryūlong was kicked out of Ishiyama Honganji, at least Honganji Xianru still had a trace of guilt in his heart, and he would soon be able to return to Ishiyama Honganji and take up important positions.

Shimoma Yorisho first saluted Date Masahiro, and then was arranged to sit on one side, looking depressed and with dark bags under his eyes, indicating that he hadn't slept well in recent times, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes showed that he was physically and mentally exhausted and tormented.

Date Masahiro attaches great importance to intelligence, and the news is still very fast, he has detailed information about several important people in Ishiyama Honganji, and before the arrival of Shimoma Yorisho, he was looking at the information of Shimoma Yorisho, and knew that Honda Masanobu was stepping on his body one by one and climbing to a high position. Honda Masanobu has as much scenery as there is as much resentment as Shimoma Yorisho, and Date Masahiro thinks that there will definitely be a lot of resentment in Shimoma Yorisho's heart, and this is where he can take advantage of it.

Date Masahiro shook the fan, there are two export specialties of the Japanese country, one is a knife, the second is a fan, now it is July, the temperature is starting to rise, he shook the fan, while saying: "Chikugo Hohashi, first of all, for the tragedy that occurred in Ibaraki Castle and Miyake Castle, nearly four or five thousand innocent lives were killed, our side expresses great indignation, strongly condemns it, and lodges a solemn protest. ”

Shimoma Lai Zhao's face was ugly, and he secretly scolded Date Zhengheng for being shameless in his heart, and pretended to be serious while shaking his fan, who doesn't know that what you do at home is not much better, but he didn't accuse him in person, but he responded twice.

Date Masahiro didn't blush at all, he shook his fan, and continued: "It's inevitable that people die in the war, but it's not right to kill prisoners after the war. (To be continued.) )