As soon as Yu Qiuping's words came out, even the subordinates who were ambushing around him were startled.
"The powerful Sanada family of the Takeda family?" Amano Keitoku frowned, "The eldest and third young masters of Kasudamasa must have inherited Kasudamasa's ingenuity, right?"
"It's just... how did the master judge it?" Amano Keide said to himself with some confusion, but he still held the handle of the knife tightly, ready to draw the knife out of the sheath at any time.
"What are Boss Saburo talking about?" Sanada Nobutsuna waved his hand after a moment of astonishment, "What's so sweet? It's not like ordinary people sell candy."
"Brother." Sanada Masayuki chuckled, "Your excuse is not bad, it is much more humorous than usual."
"Kibei!" Sanada Nobutsuna scolded, "What are you talking about?"
"Didn't we agree to be honest with each other, so what are we hiding?" Sanada Masayuki smiled confidently. At a young age, his magnanimity had already surpassed that of his brother. He turned to look at Yu Qiuping, "You think so?
, Lord Yuqiu Hongye?”
This time, it was Yu Qiupei and his men's turn to be surprised. And with a gentle high-five from Sanada Masayuki, a dozen people from the Takeda family immediately walked out of the alley behind him, watching eagerly.
The Ashigaru on the Imagawa family's side must have been confident with Sanada Masayuki, but Sanada Nobutsuna was surprised. Apparently he didn't know that his brother had mobilized so many people and was kept in the dark.
"I won't hide it from you." Yu Qiuping agreed readily out of respect for the famous Masayuki Sanada of later generations: "I am Yu Qiuping, but I don't know about you." Yu Qiuping took a few steps forward in confusion.
Asked: "How did you know your identity?"
After Yu Qiuping took a few steps forward, he did not notice that he was a little far away from the men who were protecting him behind him. Sanada Nobutsuna quickly recovered from the shock and realized that the two sides were in a hostile situation. Seeing Yu
Qiu Ping stood too far forward and rushed forward with a sword step. He held the scabbard with his left hand and pressed the handle with his right hand. He was about to pull out the scabbard and take Yu Qiuping hostage. However, at the moment he drew the knife,
A small figure flashed suddenly and appeared in front of Yu Qiuping, protecting him behind him. At the same time, a hand pressed on Sanada Nobutsuna's hand that wanted to draw the sword, and pressed it back hard, half of it being unsheathed.
The knife was forcefully pushed back.
Yu Qiuping was startled and hurriedly took a few steps back. Fukushima Yasunari and others beside him also rushed out to protect Yu Qiuping. The Takeda family members also stepped forward quickly, protecting Sanada Masayuki behind them.
Honda Nanosuke and Sanada Nobutsuna were left confronting each other in the middle. Honda Nanosuke firmly pressed the handle of Sanada Nobutsuna's katana with one hand. No matter how hard Sanada Nobutsuna pulled out the sword, he could not lift it.
Pulling it out, Honda Nanosuke was forcibly restrained like this. The two of them held their breath and struggled with each other desperately. Their bodies were shaking slightly due to the tension of the muscles, and sweat started from their foreheads and flowed down their cheeks.
They were crying, their faces were red from suppressing it, and they looked at each other.
"Your Excellency, you are asking, how did I know your identity?" Sanada Masayuki looked at Yu Qiuping.
"That's right." Yu Qiuping nodded and looked back.
"The method is the same as yours." Sanada Masayuki smiled, "Heroes really think alike."
"Age?" Yu Qiuping was surprised and asked in a low voice.
"That's right." Masayuki Sanada explained, "Whether it's war, assassination, diplomacy, investigation, internal affairs, or intelligence, all are top priorities. Before I came, I expected that I might encounter people from the Imagawa and Hojo families.
, in order to clarify the identity, we specially investigated the ages of all the adults."
"Compared to appearance, preferences and identity, age is the easiest data to obtain." Sanada Masayuki's still somewhat immature face revealed an adult-like sophistication, and he raised his eyebrows, "Moreover, most people don't know what to expect when asked by others.
When talking about your age, you won’t lie.”
"Your Excellency said that he is 18 years old." Sanada Masayuki looked at the surprised looks of everyone around him and continued: "Considering the possibility of intelligence errors, I have considered all samurai above the age of Imagawa family servants between the ages of 16 and 20."
"The only ones who meet the conditions, are capable, and are likely to carry out this kind of investigation mission are Lord Amaki Momiji, the second son of the Asahina family, the eldest son of the Sena family, the second son of the Okabe family, and the second son of the Uden family."
"Taking into account your style of dealing with people and the fact that you are just 18 years old," Sanada Masayuki raised his eyebrows, "it must be Amaki Momiji-sama!"
Yu Qiuping sighed and shook his head. If he hadn't guessed their identities by mistake, facing an opponent who attaches great importance to intelligence, he would have been plotted by him at this moment. No wonder Takeda Shingen
He once praised Sanada Masayuki as his eyes. These eyes could penetrate all information. Later, the diplomacy that he played with Uesugi, Hojo, and Tokugawa under applause must have been based on sufficient intelligence.
"In that case, why did you tell the truth when I asked Mr. Sanada his age?" Yu Qiuping asked.
"Haha," Masayuki Sanada smiled sheepishly and looked apologetically at Sanada Nobutsuna, who was still wrestling with Honda Nabenosuke in front of him, "I didn't mention it to my brother when I was collecting information before. I don't know.
In my plan, I was worried that my brother’s behavior and expression would arouse suspicion when I lied about my age. Moreover, I never considered that there were people who judged identity in the same way as me.”
After hearing Sanada Masayuki's words, Sanada Nobutsuna was so angry that he shook violently and was almost pushed to the ground by Honda Nanosuke.
"So, Sanada-sama, do you have the same mission as me? The premise is that the Takeda family is not the instigator behind the scenes." Yu Qiuping said with a chuckle.
"Pretend to be a businessman." Sanada Masayuki said.
"It shows that I won't pay too much attention to this investigation team." Yu Qiuping continued.
"Sell a flaw to lure the masterminds behind the scenes to take action." Sanada Masayuki said with a smile.
"Let's use this to investigate clearly——" After Yu Qiuping pondered for a moment, the two of them said in unison: "This is the missing contact incident."
"Hahaha..." Yu Qiuping and Sanada Masayuki laughed at the same time. Yu Qiuping said while laughing, "We are not heroes. We have the same ideas. The Governing Hall and the Daishan Hall are the ones."
The Ashigaru on both sides were confronting each other. Sanada Nobutsuna and Honda Nabenosuke were still wrestling, but Amakihei and Sanada Masayuki were chatting and laughing. This subtle atmosphere of confrontation left everyone present confused.
At this moment, Imamiya Leding hurried over with dozens of people to separate the two opposing parties inside the west gate.
"Boss Taro, Boss Saburo, what are you..." Imamiya Leding asked at a loss, "What are you doing?"
"Not a boss." Yu Qiuping patted the shoulder of Honda Nanosuke who had withdrawn, and gave him a thumbs up. "In Yu Qiuping, General Imagawa, the servant of the Imagawa family, came to investigate this failure on the orders of the family governor.
Connected incident.”
"Lord Yuqiu, is it Yuqiu Hongye? The Yuqiu Hongye that was given by the family governor personally?" Imamiya Leting asked in surprise.
"Exactly." Yu Qiupei nodded, "These are the retainers of the ally Takeda family, Sanada Nobutsuna and Sanada Masayuki. They are also here to investigate the missing incident."
"Two Sanada-sama!" Imamiya Rakusei was startled again. Today was really exciting for this honest man. "I had a lot of neglect in the past. Don't blame the three adults. However, Imagawa Takeda is an ally.
Why are you two at war with each other?"
"Because my family feels that the Takeda family (Imagawa family) is probably the mastermind behind this." Yu Qiupei and Sanada Masayuki said in unison.
The scene was very tense for a while, and the two sides were at war with each other again.
"You two adults, don't say that!" Imamiya Leding hurriedly tried to smooth things over, "There must be a misunderstanding! It's getting late, so you two should go back to your respective campsites and think about it!"
"That's true, tonight is indeed an emergency." Yu Qiuping smiled, "I thought I could catch you directly and ask you about it directly."
"Don't go too far!" Sanada Nobutsuna scolded, "We samurai of the Sanada family are not vegetarians!"
"Since the plan to catch us is no longer feasible, why not consider cooperation." Sanada Masayuki interjected coldly.
"Cooperation?" People on both sides, except Masayuki Sanada and Yu Qiupei, all shouted in surprise.
"You brat, are you right?" Nakahide Omaezaki said sarcastically, "We were at each other's throats just now, but you actually want to cooperate? Maybe you are the mastermind behind this!"
"You kid, don't talk too much!" Sanada Nobutsuna scolded him back unceremoniously, "That's what we want to say too!"
"That's why we have to cooperate." Sanada Masayuki said with a smile.
"You little brat, what on earth do you know!" Yoshioka Katsumasa also scolded.
"You guys haven't understood the core of this mission," Sanada Masayuki shook his head, "But you adults must understand. I'll take my leave now!" Sanada Masayuki saluted, and took Sanada Nobutsuna and his subordinates with him.
He left, "I'll wait for your reply early tomorrow morning."
The Takeda family members left in a hurry, leaving everyone in the Imagawa family looking at each other.
"Sir." Nakahide Omaezaki looked at Yu Qiuping with a wry smile, "Then I must say that you understand. Do you understand?"
Yu Qiuping shook his head dully, "I have no idea what he is talking about."
Just when more than a dozen people in the Imakawa family couldn't figure out why Sanada Masayuki suddenly proposed cooperation, Imamiya Rakada came over and saluted Yuqiu: "I have offended you so much before, Yuqiu-sama."
"I don't dare to accept it." Yu Qiuping hurriedly returned the gift, "I am on the same level as you, sir, and I cannot afford such a great gift."
"To be honest, I am completely confused about this matter. This matter is also related to the security of my territory." Imamiya Leting smiled bitterly, "Can you please help me clear up my confusion?"
"It may not be very convenient here." Yu Qiuping looked at the many people around him who had already fallen asleep but had gathered around because of the violent fight, "I plan to go back to the camp to rest for a while."
"Okay, my lord, please." Imamiya Leding called a few men to go to the west city to open the city gate, and led Yu Qiuping towards the camp, "I will invite you to the castle tower later for advice."
After Yu Qiuping led a group of people back to the camp in the northwest, he immediately called all fifty or so people together to figure out a solution.
Before Yu Qiuping could speak, Jigang Shengzheng was the first to hold back.
"Sir, what is this? I am so confused!" Yoshioka Katsumasa said in a dumbfounded voice, "My brain is running out! I have no idea what everyone is doing!"
"Yeah." Ogawa Yufuji said drunkenly after having been drinking all night, "I always thought that when encountering such a border conflict, I would just send hundreds of ashigaru and ninjas to investigate and find out the clues.
, we can draw a conclusion after catching the culprit.”
"It's better this time," Yufu Ogawa poured another sip of wine into his mouth and complained with a mouth full of alcohol: "First we pretended to be a caravan and investigated in the name of the Imagawa family. Then we teamed up with the investigation team of the allies.
A conflict arose. What’s even more puzzling is that this ally, who may be the potential culprit, actually offered to cooperate?”
"I feel like I'm having a big headache." Naoe Tadayei shook his head vigorously, "I don't know what to do? Why would Sanada Masayuki make such a ridiculous cooperation proposal? He clearly knows that our two families don't trust each other, and we still doubt them.
He’s the culprit behind the scenes!”
"Kill your enemies and defend your friends. Why are there so many troubles?" Honda Nanosuke snorted.
"But who is the enemy and who is the friend?" Amano Keide said in a deep voice.
"Everyone, please keep your voice down and don't disturb your consideration." Yasunari Fukushima stopped him and pointed at Yu Qiupei, who was bowing his head in thought. The latter was also at a loss to deal with this messy situation, and he didn't know how to reply to Masayuki Sanada.
Proposal for cooperation.
Who is the mastermind behind the scenes? Takeda family, Hojo family, or other families? What is Sanada Masayuki's attitude? What is Imamiya Rakusei's attitude? What is the mysterious mastermind thinking at this moment?
So many conditions are mixed together, making the situation confusing. How should we face Masayuki Sanada’s proposal?
Suddenly, Yu Qiuping's mind echoed the words of the mathematics teacher - Solve multi-variable problems and discuss them by classification!
"Yes!" Yu Qiuping said suddenly.
"Let's classify and discuss!" Yu Qiuping brought the brush and paper, and Chibei immediately found the inkstone and started grinding the ink.
"If the mastermind behind the scenes is not the Takeda family, then if we cooperate with the Takeda family, not only will our safety be better guaranteed, but it will also be conducive to the collection and communication of intelligence. It is really the best choice."
"If the mastermind behind the scenes is the Takeda family," Yu Qiuping paused, "Don't forget that our mission on this trip is to deal with the masterminds behind the scenes and find out enough information. Then cooperating with them means that there will be more
opportunities to obtain information. And they will definitely be able to hide the traces of the group behind the scenes, and we can also take the opportunity to obtain a lot of information."
"But this can also be dangerous." Naoe Tadayei reminded.
"No, the danger is not the fifty or so Takeda family members in the open," Yu Qiuping said. "They are evenly matched with us and cannot kill us. The real danger is the group in the dark. But even if
If we don't cooperate with Masayuki Sanada," Yu Qiuping shrugged, "that gang will still find opportunities to attack us."
"To sum up, we should cooperate with the Takeda family to investigate the mastermind behind the scenes." Yu Qiuping ended the analysis.
After hearing Yu Qiuping's analysis, everyone pondered for a while and nodded in agreement.
"I really admire you, sir," Yoshioka Katsumasa said with a smile. "You can analyze such a dangerous and complicated situation so quickly. Anyway, my brain is definitely not enough. I will kill whoever you ask me to kill."