Hideyoshi Hashiba nodded, convinced, but hesitantly said.
“But what if a saint intervenes?
I heard that the chaos in Sakai Port has improved. Dazang Changan brought Kanto funds to Shiba Tucang, and the bank run has subsided.
Once the Shiba family's economy improves, the saint's attention will inevitably turn to the Oda Civil War.
Even if I can quickly defeat His Highness Shibata Katsuie, it will not be able to equal the orthodox status of His Highness Kikyomaru in the hands of the saint.
If at a critical moment, the saint takes His Highness Kikyomaru to the top and calls for troops to intervene, I am afraid that Niwa Nagahide, Ikeda Tsuneki and other Oda retainers will obediently side with the saint."
Kuroda Takaka smiled coldly.
"Niwa Nagahide-sama and Ikeda Tsuneaki-sama, their hearts are still towards the Oda family.
You can cooperate with them for a while, but after destroying His Highness Shibata Katsuie, their era should be over and they should withdraw."
The corners of Hashiba Hideyoshi's eyes twitched slightly, and he looked at Kuroda Takataka, who had an indifferent expression, and the words "crossing the river and burning the bridge" flashed in his mind.
Kuroda Takataka is a cold-blooded person who knows no kindness and only cares about profit. He will definitely become a disaster in the future.
What's more important is that she knows too many shady secrets about Hideyoshi Hashiba, and Hideyoshi is increasingly wary of her.
But now that it was time to employ people, Hideyoshi Hashiba could only keep these precautions in his heart and would not reveal anything.
Hideyoshi Hashiba said coldly.
"I'm asking the sage, what are you talking about, Niwa Nagahide-sama, Ikeda Tsuneaki-sama?"
Kuroda Takaka glanced at Hideyoshi Hashiba who looked unhappy, his eyes were deep and seemed to see through everything, and he smiled.
"A southern barbarian missionary once told me that strong fortresses always collapse from within.
The saint was wise and mighty, and invincible in the world, but the Si Bo family was not invulnerable.
We can't defeat the Si Bo family, but it's not impossible to make the Si Bo family take care of themselves.
I have the courage to ask my lord to hand over those Jiahe soldiers who have surrendered to my command."
Since the death of Oda Nobunaga and the Hashiba Army taking control of Minamiomia, some people from the Koga clan have come to seek refuge.
These local snakes in Minami-Omi Koga County were once loyal to the Rokkaku family, and after the demise of the Rokkaku family, they were recruited by Oda Nobunaga.
In troubled times, good birds choose trees to roost, and it is understandable to tolerate the crowd.
The Koga clan's pledge of surrender to Oda Nobunaga was to secretly kill Todo Toradaka, pass it on to the non-existent Oda orphan, and help the Oda family to remove the Todo leader that the Shiba family had nailed to the central part of Omi Province.
After the death of Takataka Toudo, the heir Takatora Toudo suddenly left the Shiba family as if he lost his mind and joined the Asai family of Kitaomi, which also became a mystery that the Kinki samurai family cannot solve.
Behind this is the driving force of Jiahe Zhong.
But now, with the death of Oda Nobunaga, some Koga people are trying to join Hideyoshi Hashiba, and they need to do something to prove their worth.
Kuroda Takataka wanted to use these Koga people who were eager to try, and their opponents were the old enemies of the Shiba family, the Iga people.
After the death of Momochi Santao, the old fox, Fujibayashi Mukuro was temporarily unable to control the various factions of the Iga clan in the secrecy group. Kirigage Saizo had not yet returned from Kanto, and the Iga clan's execution ability was at its lowest point.
It is the best opportunity for Kuroda Takataka to use Kogazumi to cause trouble at this time.
Hideyoshi Hashiba frowned.
"What do you want to do? I'm warning you, don't think about assassination and ambush. If you offend the saint, no one can protect you. Even I will follow you to death."
Kuroda Takagao shook his head and said.
"My Lord misunderstood, I don't kill people, I only kill people's hearts.
Spying, rumors, and alienation, these things are sometimes better than hidden arrows and daggers."
Hideyoshi Hashiba looked deeply at Takataka Kuroda and said.
"I know, I will leave those people to you temporarily, don't let me down."
Kuroda Takataka bowed deeply.
"The Lord will not be disappointed."
The Sibo family seems to be prosperous, but as the family expands over the past ten years, various hidden dangers in the family have gradually surfaced.
In the eyes of caring people, the powerful Spo family is not invincible.
The Oda family and the Shiba family, which once made the world's samurai families tremble, have reached a crossroads. The battle of who will ultimately belong to the world may really begin at this moment.
However, the turbulent undercurrents in the upper echelons of the samurai family have no meaning to the lower-level samurai warriors who are struggling to survive in troubled times.
Just trying to survive every day has consumed all their energy.
———
Outside Hino Castle, there is a thatched hut.
The sound of coughing in the room was clearly audible. The two Ji warriors standing outside the door looked at the paper window together, and one of them sighed.
"Qian Yan, if I had known that your husband was so ill, I wouldn't have bothered you at this time. I'm really sorry."
Qian Yan's face showed fatigue, and the deep dark circles under her eyes made her originally pretty appearance look particularly haggard. She bowed and smiled bitterly.
"It's me who should be sorry. I didn't expect that the construction of pre-sale houses in Iga would stop for no reason. I was panicked, accidentally caught the wind and fell ill.
Don't worry, I will definitely make up for the interest on money and food that I owe to my relatives and friends. Please give me a message for everyone.
I, Qianyan, am an upright person and would never refuse to pay back money. However, my wife is seriously ill now, so I spent all the money I had on hand to buy medicine, and it was really hard to make ends meet at the moment.
I sincerely ask everyone to give me a little more time. I will pay it back as soon as I have the money."
The Ji warrior looked at Qian Yan who was bowing deeply and pleading, sighed, and suddenly reached out to take off the knife on Qian Yan's belt.
Qian Yan was shocked, but the knife and sheath were already in the opponent's hands, so he could only blush in embarrassment.
The opponent shook the knife and pulled it out. The blade was not a sharp reflection of steel, but a thin bamboo slice.
"No wonder the knife has become so light. It turns out to be bamboo. Qianyan, did you pawn the knife and sold it?"
Qian Yan looked bitter.
“I had no money anymore, so I borrowed all the money I could and bought a pre-sale house in Iga. The daily interest payments were offset by my wife making paper fans and umbrellas with me.
Now that my wife is sick and urgently needs money to buy medicine, I have no choice but to make this decision."
Warrior Ji breathed a little heavier and asked accusingly.
"Then what will you do with your daily martial arts training? Without the katana, how will you maintain your skills and pass the Shiba selection exam?"
Qian Yan touched his belly and said sadly.
"Just take it one step at a time. I can't just watch my wife die of illness."
Warrior Ji looked at Qianyan's hand subconsciously touching his abdomen and asked seriously.
"Have you...did you have it?"
Qian Yan was stunned, gritted his teeth and nodded.
"Already two months pregnant."
Warrior Ji has a strong physique. Except for the three days before and after giving birth, her daily life will not be affected during her pregnancy. She can even go into battle to kill enemies.
Only the divine seed of a saint can allow the powerful Ji warrior to taste the pain of pregnancy for a woman in a male-dominated world.
Qian Yan's husband is just an ordinary man. She was just two months pregnant and acted as usual. She thought she could hide it from outsiders, but she didn't expect that the other party's sharp eyes could see something strange at a glance.
The man was silent for a long time and sighed.
"Your husband is seriously ill and you are pregnant. Naturally, your relatives and friends in your hometown should help you.
The principal you owe on the loan will definitely have to be repaid in the future, but the interest owed... is up to me and will be waived for you."
Qian Yan was overjoyed and bowed deeply.
“Thank you very much!”
Warrior Naji stood up straight and received Qianyan's salute, and sighed.
"The interest can be waived, but you won't be able to survive for long if you continue like this. Seeing that your family is in ruins, there is nothing left to pawn, right?
Your husband's illness needs treatment, and the child in your belly needs nutrition. There is no way you can continue to suffer like this.
I do have an idea, but I don’t know if it’s good or bad for you.”
Qian Yan's eyes narrowed and he said solemnly.
"As long as I can get money to save my husband, I can do anything!"
Warrior Naji shook his head and said.
"Not doing anything for me.
As you know, Kinki has been in chaos recently. His Highness Oda passed away suddenly, and Minami Omi is now under the control of Lord Hashiba.
There was a war at the beginning of the year, and many ronin came to Hino Castle to seek life, all because of the reputation of the Kamao family, hoping to live a stable life.
But when there are too many people, it becomes worthless. If you sell paper fans and umbrellas yourself, you also know how many people are rushing to do things outside, and the price has dropped sharply.
A few days ago, a ronin finally couldn't stand it any longer and ran to the door of the Hino Castle Kamao Residence Hall, demanding to commit suicide by committing seppuku. Even if he was in poverty, he would die to uphold the dignity of the Hime Samurai.
The elder of the Pu Sheng family was kind-hearted and felt that this man had a sense of justice, so he joined the Pu Sheng family as an official and gave him a way out.
This was so good that the wanderers outside the city saw such a good thing and imitated him one after another. They all ran to the gate of Pu Sheng Residence Hall and demanded hara-kiri.
Why does Pu Sheng's family need so many wanderers? The elder has no choice but to give them some money to appease them and send these wanderers away.
If you are too embarrassed, you can give it a try. You may not be able to survive anymore, but maybe you can get some money to survive this ordeal."
Qian Yan's eyes widened when he heard this, and he murmured.
"Isn't this using the solemn seppuku of the Wu family to defraud money...I..."
Qian Yanben wanted to refuse, but at this moment, a coughing sound that was more intense than before came from the room.
The coughing patient seemed to be afraid that people outside would worry, so he just coughed a few times and suppressed the sound.
Qian Yan looked at the hole in the paper window, and it seemed that he could see his sick husband through the wall, covering his mouth tightly, not wanting to cause any more trouble to himself, and his eyes suddenly turned red.
"Thank you very much for your suggestion, I... I will... try it..."
