Yoshihiro Shiba was in Tamonyama Castle in the Nara Basin and couldn't figure out why the good situation suddenly took a turn for the worse and he received so much bad news in just one day.
In Tango Kingdom, Hosokawa Fujitaka was also in a very bad mood. She felt that she seemed to be being led by Akechi Mitsuhide again and had gone astray.
Southern part of Tango Kingdom, Miyazu Castle.
With an angry look on his face, Isshiki Yoshimichi and his daughter Isshiki Yoshihi were tied under the seat of Hosokawa Fujitaka and were left to be punished.
Unyielding, she looked up at Hosokawa Fujitaka on the throne and cursed.
"Miss Hosokawa, if you don't keep your word, you will be punished sooner or later!
I want to complain to the shogunate! I want to complain to the saint! I want to go to Kyoto to sue you!"
Isshiki Yoshimichi's anger was beyond words. Under the huge pressure from the Shiba family, she had already given in and surrendered, but she did not expect that Hosokawa Fujitaka would break her promise and get fat.
According to the old rules of the shogunate samurai family, Isshiki Yoshimichi asked his daughter Isshiki Yoshisei to come forward to marry the clan son adopted by Hosokawa Fujitaka. The two parties became in-laws and became allies from then on.
It is rare for prominent shogunate families to try to eradicate their problems. The Isshiki family is weak and should have a seat in the Shiba family's new regime.
Akechi Mitsuhide will be the head of the country, and the Isshiki family and the Hosokawa family will divide some territories and serve as county commanders or acting officials to assist in the protection. This is the normal way.
However, Hosokawa Fujitaka, who did not respect martial ethics, actually deceived Isshiki and her daughter into Miyazu Castle and arrested them. This was too unscrupulous and he simply did not take the rules of the shogunate politics seriously.
Hosokawa Fujitaka smiled slightly and said.
"Okay, I'll send you on your way right now. When you get to Kyoto, don't forget to entrust your dream to the saint."
Isshiki Yoshidao's face turned pale.
"You...want to kill people and silence them?"
Hosokawa Fujitaka smiled.
"At this time, the saint should have received my urgent report.
The Isshiki family surrendered and then revolted, which is inconsistent. I immediately returned to the army to put down the rebellion. I will definitely kill Isshiki Yoshitoshi, Isshiki Yoshii and other rebels, and restore peace and order to Tango country."
Isshiki Yoshimichi did not expect that Hosokawa Fujitaka would be so bold and dare to deceive the saint and make Isshiki's family suffer unjust injustice.
she snapped.
"Hosokawa Fujitaka! We are already married, why do you want to harm my Isshiki family like this!"
Hosokawa Fujitaka sighed.
"He's just a member of the clan. It's just a matter of asking him to remarry later. It's not a big deal."
Seeing how determined Hosokawa Fujitaka was, Isshiki Yoshimichi knew that she had murderous intentions and would never let the Isshiki family go. Now that the matter had come to this, he could only curse.
"Thief! You have deceived the Holy Spirit, and you will not die well in the future!"
Hosokawa Fujitaka shook his head and ordered to his cronies.
"Send them on their way, along with more than a hundred bannermen, attendants, followers, and servants who are accompanying them. Kill them all, leaving no one alive."
"Hi!"
Isshiki Yoshitsune and Isshiki Yoshisei were dragged down, and after a moment, their heads were placed on a plate and brought back. Isshiki Yoshitsune's eyes widened, and he refused to look down upon them.
The bloody smell from the head made Hosokawa Fujitaka feel uncomfortable. His stomach was churning and he couldn't help but want to vomit. The attendants around him quickly brought a silver basin.
Hosokawa Fujitaka retched several times, but couldn't vomit anything. He reached for the white towel handed by the attendant, wiped his mouth, and endured the backlash in his esophagus.
She hadn't been able to eat or sleep well these past few days, and her stomach had long been emptied, and there was really nothing to vomit.
Although she was very uncomfortable, her heart was jumping for joy.
Finally..she finally became pregnant with the god.
Hosokawa Fujitaka carefully touched his belly, which was not yet showing pregnancy, and waved to send the heads of Isshiki and his daughter away.
"Take it, pickle it with lime, and send it to Duowen Mountain City to report your victory to the saint.
Just say that our Hosokawa Army rushed on a starry night and caught the Tango rebels by surprise. Isshiki and her daughter rushed to the battle and died in the battle. I will continue to march northward and stabilize the situation in Tango Kingdom as soon as possible."
Seeing someone taking away the plate with the head, Hosokawa Fujitaka fell into deep thought.
Isshiki Yoshitaka did not expect that Hosokawa Fujitaka would break the contract, deceive the saint, and annex Isshiki's family. But Isshiki Yoshitaka did not know that the incident happened suddenly, and in fact this was not Hosokawa Fujitaka's original intention.
The Izumi-Hosokawa family and the Isshiki family are both famous shogunate families. They are all experienced in playing shogunate politics. Even if Hosokawa Fujitaka doesn't like the Isshiki family being in Tango country, they will not break the contract and kill people.
It is extremely taboo to deceive Isshiki and her daughter into Miyazu Castle and murder them and exterminate their clan in the name of discussing a wedding date.
Once word spreads, the reputation of the Izumi-Hosokawa family in the political circles of the shogunate will be completely ruined, and no one will believe what Hosokawa Fujitaka says in the future.
But Hosokawa Fujitaka had to take this risk, because Hosokawa Fujitaka had been kidnapped by Akechi Mitsuhide and had no choice.
Mitsuhide Akechi, this bastard!
Before going to Shikoku Island, she left a letter to Hosokawa Fujitaka, in which she was outspoken about her trip to Shikoku in the West, her conspiracy to unite with Hideyoshi Hashiba, and the frame-up of Katsuhisa Niko.
Akechi Mitsuhide's frankness immediately made Hosokawa Fujitaka numb.
The two girls of Akechi and Hosokawa were tied too tightly. Even the seed that Hosokawa and Fujitaka conceived at this time was the result of Akechi Mitsuhide pushing her buttocks hard.
If something happens to Akechi Mitsuhide, Hosokawa Fujitaka will not be able to live well.
Even though Hosokawa Fujitaka had scolded Akechi Mitsuhide bloody in his heart, he still had to cooperate with Akechi Mitsuhide's conspiracy and messed up Tango so that Nizi Katsuhisa could not retreat from the sea.
The situation in the Western Kingdom has taken a turn for the worse, and Nizi's army is trapped in Izumo Country. There are many doubts about it. Once Nizi Katsuhisa returns alive, he must find out the cause and effect.
If Nizi Katsuhisa really finds out about Akechi Mitsuhide's little tricks, Akechi Mitsuhide will be in bad luck, and Hosokawa Fujitaka will also be involved.
As the saying goes, anger arises from the heart, and evil arises from courage. When things came to a head, Hosokawa Fujitaka could only trick Isshiki and his daughter into coming over, and the whole thing was over.
The Isshiki family was wiped out, Tango Kingdom was in chaos, and the sea passage for Nizi Katsuhisa's retreat was temporarily blocked. Akechi Mitsuhide would definitely let her die in the Western Kingdom and never come back.
Anyway, things had gotten so bad that Hosokawa Fujitaka simply stopped doing nothing and wiped out the Isshiki family.
From now on, the two families of Akechi and Hosokawa will jointly rule Tango Kingdom. There will be no need for multiple nails or pairs of eyes in the country, and there will be no need to worry about the hidden danger of leaking secrets.
Akechi Mitsuhide is protected by Muku Fujibayashi of the Secrecy Team, and the saint may not be able to discover the truth before and after the Isshiki family's rebellion.
Even if he was discovered by the saint afterwards, Hosokawa Fujitaka would not be afraid that the saint would severely punish his own women and flesh and blood for the Isshiki family, relying on the divine descendants in his belly.
As long as the truth about Nizi Katsuhisa's incident is not exposed, and the truth about the annihilation of the Isshiki family is known to the saint, even if it is a small punishment, Hosokawa Fujitaka can still bear it with the help of his child Fukuzawa.
With this intention in mind, Hosokawa Fujitaka decisively killed Isshiki's mother, daughter and their entourage, but she was still uneasy at the moment.
Akechi Mitsuhide, does she know what she is doing?
She insisted on killing Nizi Katsuhisa and did not hesitate to secretly collude with Hideyoshi Hashiba of the Oda family. This was simply audacious.
If this matter is exposed, neither the saint nor Oda Nobunaga will let Akechi Mitsuhide go.
What's even more disgusting is that Hosokawa Fujitaka got into a relationship with Akechi Mitsuhide and became the saint's servant. The two of them broke their bones and connected their tendons. Hosokawa Fujitaka couldn't shake off Akechi Mitsuhide's influence.
One day Akechi Mitsuhide is really exposed, and Hosokawa Fujitaka says he has no knowledge. Will the saint believe it? I'm afraid the saint won't believe a word of it!
You two are so good that you can sleep in the same bed and play with the same man. Now it means that Ake Mitsuhide is walking alone, and Hosokawa Fujitaka is as innocent as a white lotus. He is a liar!
Hosokawa Fujitaka was not willing to be dragged into the trap by Akechi Mitsuhide, but on the other hand he had to follow Akechi Mitsuhide's rhythm.
After killing Isshiki's mother and daughter, Hosokawa Fujitaka actually had no other choice but to help Akechi Mitsuhide cover up the matter.
To help her is to help yourself!
But Hosokawa Fujitaka kept thinking over and over again and couldn't figure it out. Mitsuhide Akechi couldn't live a good life? Why did he kill Nizi Katsuhisa?
Is it for power and gain? Or is it for some more profound purpose?
Hosokawa Fujitaka felt that if he didn't want to understand this matter, he was really afraid that one day he would be confused and be implicated by Akechi Mitsuhide!
Sighing, Hosokawa Fujitaka slowly sat back on the main seat, protecting his stomach.
Don't be impatient and don't affect your children. Children are your foundation and everything.
———
The situation in the Western Kingdom changed drastically in the blink of an eye. In just a few dozen days, Nizi Shengjiu's progress turned from a triumphant victory to a trapped beast's fight.
Shiba Yoshigan was obsessed with saving his cronies. When the military was blocked, he did not hesitate to send people to negotiate with the Maori family, hoping to make political concessions in exchange for Nizi Katsuhisa's safe return.
At the same time, Yoshihiro Shiba also sent a letter to the Kanto side, sending an instruction to Naoyoshi Hanzawa, asking her to abide by her duties and not to reach out randomly.
A courtyard in the castle town of Odawara Castle.
Hanzawa Naoyi was pacing in the small courtyard, circling in circles, thinking about something on his mind.
The sunshine at the end of summer is no longer so harsh, and it shines warmly on people's bodies, but Naoyi Hanzawa's bones are exuding a chill, chilling his heart.
Yuya Kito is dead, that upright and selfless young warrior Hime. She had an accident and fell off her horse and died.
Hanzawa Naoyi's heart was filled with sadness. Although she did not have a close relationship with Kito Yua and only knew each other for a few days, she was still overwhelmed by the idealist's dedication.
Did Yuya Kito really die in an accident?
At first, Hanzawa Naoyi was still dubious, but the subsequent letter convinced Hanzawa Naoyoshi that Kito Yua must have been killed.
Mikami Momo, the chief of the blue-clad people, hurriedly sent a letter of denial after Yua Kito died unexpectedly, denying the letter of authorization that Yua Kito gave to Naoyoshi Hansawa.
As a blue-coated deputy, among the various affairs managed by Yuya Kito, which one is not more important than this power of attorney?
But Mikami Momo didn't pay attention to handing over the affairs. She was immediately concerned about this seemingly ordinary power of attorney. It's hard to say that she didn't have something wrong with her.
As Kito Yua's best friend and boss, she immediately denied Kito Yua's power of attorney for the last time in his life after Kito Yua's death. This was unnatural.
At this point, Hanzawa Naoyoshi has no intention of judging whether Mikami Momo is involved in the corruption of the Wu family Giri Promotion Association.
The most important thing now is how to continue investigating this case.
Hanzawa Naoyoshi was just thinking about something when the door to the yard was suddenly opened a crack, and a figure flashed in.
Sarutobi Sasuke stood in front of Hanzawa Naoyoshi, took out a document from his arms, and shook it.
"Take a look, this is a reply from the Secretariat of Tongxin sent to you through the channel of the confidentiality group."
Hanzawa Naoyoshi took the letter but did not read it, Sarutobi Sasuke asked.
"Don't want to see it?"
Hanze Naoyoshi shook his head and said.
"I know what will be written in it even without reading it. It's probably a warning to me to mind my own business."
Sarutobi Sasuke clapped gently and said.
"You are so smart.
Although I have not read the letter, Kirikage Saizo told me that the saint was very angry at your overstepping of authority and asked the confidentiality team to monitor you to see if you continue to mess around after receiving the letter."
Hanzawa Naoyoshi sighed.
"I had already guessed this outcome before I submitted the letter."
Sarutobi Sasuke shrugged and sighed.
"Knowing that this is the result, you still want to get into trouble, what are you thinking in your mind?
Let me send you one more piece of information.
You are unlucky. The strategy in the Western Kingdom is not going well. When your urgent message arrived, you happened to encounter the sage who was irritable. Even Naomasa Ii was embarrassed and scolded along with you.
Okay, now your biggest supporter can’t hold it anymore, what about it? Do you want to give up?”
Hanzawa Naoyi asked rhetorically.
"Give up? Let Yuya Kito sacrifice his life in vain?
There must be a big problem within the Samurai Giri Promotion Association, so the other party jumped over the wall in a hurry, even at the expense of killing Yuya Kito, and also hindered my investigation.
Yuya, the ghost head, is the second-ranked member of the blue-clad group, and her status is not low.
Even such a powerful person can die in a mysterious way. How big and shocking a hole do you think is hidden under the accounts of the Wu Family Giri Promotion Association?"
Sarutobi Sasuke shook his head.
"It's useless for you to tell me this. I'm just running errands for the confidentiality team. Who am I?
The saint is furious, Tongxin Secretariat does not dare to support you, the road above has been blocked.
Yua Kito is dead, her authorization was denied by Momo Mikami, and she is no longer qualified to investigate from below.
There is no chance for both the upper and lower ends, and you are just trying to trap the beast with your own strength. Even if there is a real problem with the Wu Family Ethics Promotion Association, what can you do?"
Hanzawa Naoyi smiled slightly.
"It's much easier to say yes than no.
If we servants only know how to nod, hey, what's the difference between us and puppets? What's the use of saints raising waste like us?
The only thing to do is to eat the emperor's salary and to be loyal to the emperor. Warrior Ji must have his own martial arts principles, and we should do the right thing.
Yua Kito is dead. I can't let her be such a worthless sacrifice. This is the second point.
The sentence I hate the most is that justice is never absent, it is only late.
Let the wrongdoers get a chance to breathe, let the people pay the price for the wrong things they have done, but can only place their hope on the illusory justice in the future. This is weakness! This is connivance!
Justice will sometimes win! I firmly believe that the victory of justice must be won by oneself, rather than waiting to fall from the sky!
Those who killed Yuya Kito and those who hindered my investigation, I will retaliate in kind and repay you twice as much. This is my principle in dealing with things."
