After drinking and eating, Sakuma Nobumori said he wanted to go for a walk to eat, but Yu Qiuping and Lin Xiuzhen stayed knowingly after looking at each other. Naturally, Yu Qiuping would not leave, and Lin Xiuzhen would not understand Yu either.
Qiupei came to Koyasan specifically to visit him.
"The previous incident in Kyoto was planned by me." Lin Xiuzhen admitted her previous plan very simply before Yu Qiuping could speak, "I wanted to pull out the thorn for my lord, so I wanted to put His Highness Hongye to death, and I hope that His Highness Hongye will die.
Don’t blame me. If His Highness Hongye really can’t bear this breath, I am willing to commit seppuku to apologize to you at any time.”
"My lord has already told me about this matter, but I'm a little confused. Why did His Highness Lin target me?" Yu Qiuping didn't expect Lin Xiuzhen to open this somewhat embarrassing topic so directly. After being stunned for a moment, he simply asked directly.
He said, "I have been loyal to the Oda family and my lord, and have served the Lord faithfully for more than 20 years, but I still don't have the trust of His Highness Lin?"
"I am only responsible for eradicating capable people. As for whether he is loyal or traitorous in his heart, how can I see through it?" Lin Xiuzhen glanced at Yu Qiuping meaningfully, then slowly shook her head, "Even if he is loyal now,
, he may become a traitor in the future. Even if he is loyal, his descendants may also be traitors. Even if they are loyal for generations, if they are coerced by the times and retainers, they will still fight against the master. Only strength is real, if everyone has no
The strength of the rebellion, everyone is loyal. The Yuqiu family was too powerful at that time, so I must take action."
"I heard this when I was expelled from the Imagawa family." After listening to Lin Xiuzhen's explanation, Yu Qiuping's face became a little gloomy, "If you do it without caring about the facts, wouldn't it chill the hearts of my subordinates?"
"As a retainer, you should be aware and not let your strength expand too much. Otherwise, you will be irresponsible to the master, yourself, and the subordinates who follow you." Lin Xiuzhen seemed to be convinced of her own point of view.
Suspicious, he said very decisively, "If Your Highness Hongye wants to come and talk to me about this, then I can only serve tea to see you off."
"Ah, no, it's actually about another thing." Yu Qiuping sighed after hearing this. He didn't want to talk about this topic originally, but Lin Xiuzhen insisted on bringing it up, "I want to ask about some things in the past. I don't know.
Is it convenient for Your Highness to inform you?"
"It depends on what your Highness Hongye wants to ask." Lin Xiuzhen responded without changing her expression. Now he is much more direct and straightforward than the smooth-faced and secretive politician when the Oda family was old. Maybe it is
Because the responsibility has been removed, I feel less scrupulous about what I say, "If it's harmless, I, a deserted minister who has been expelled from the court, don't have any secrets to tell."
"That shouldn't be a big problem. What I want to ask about is what happened 22 years ago." Yu Qiuping squinted his eyes, always focusing on Lin Xiuzhen's face, trying to catch the changes in his expression, but found nothing.
"The Battle of Okehama? Sure enough, you still can't forget the cause of Imagawa Osamu's death..." Lin Xiuzhen seemed to relax after hearing this, and her hands that were originally clasped against her chest slowly lowered their hands.
"The kindness of knowing someone and the love of marriage will never be forgotten." Yu Qiuping admitted without hesitation that he missed Imagawa Yoshimoto, and then added, "But this does not conflict with my loyalty to the Oda family.
I just want to find out the truth about that year, not revenge - I gave up this idea long ago."
"If I tell you these truths, I can completely let go of all your grudges and concentrate on serving the Oda family. I would certainly like it." Lin Xiuzhen glanced at the leftovers on the table outside the house and smiled slightly, "Please enjoy your meal with your majesty Hongye."
For the sake of my kindness, I should tell you."
"What does His Highness Lin really know about that battle?" Yu Qiuping heard the strange voice-over of that battle from Lin Xiuzhen's words, and immediately asked in a low voice.
"Then it depends on what Your Highness Hongye wants to ask." Lin Xiuzhen calmly changed into a comfortable sitting position, picked up the tea cup and took a sip of tea.
"How did the traitor within the Imagawa family provide the Oda family with the whereabouts of the late family governor?" Yu Qiuping asked straight to the point, the eagerness in his words could not be concealed. But in fact, Yu Qiuping had a hidden agenda, and his eagerness was also reflected in his words.
It was performed. If he directly asked a judgment sentence such as "Is there a traitor in Imagawa's family?" Lin Xiuzhen might deceive him into giving a "yes or no" judgment answer that is contrary to the real situation after hesitation. But if he
The question is "The internal affairs of the Imagawa family"
You can avoid being deceived by asking "how does the traitor act" with a question like "how, how is it done?"
A fake traitor action method was used to prevaricate Yu Qiuping, but this exposed the fact that there was a traitor in the Imagawa family. If there was no traitor in the Imagawa family, Lin Xiuzhen would definitely be very surprised as to why Yu Qiuping asked such a question.
In other words, no matter whether Lin Xiuzhen is willing to tell the truth or not, as soon as Yu Qiuping asks this question, he can know "whether there is a traitor in the Imagawa family." Therefore, when Yu Qiuping asked the question, he kept staring intently.
Lin Xiuzhen looked at it, trying to find some clues from his reaction.
"What do you mean by this?" Lin Xiuzhen was stunned for a moment when she heard this. She frowned and lost in thought, "Did the Imagawa family later detect a traitor? The Oda family has never planted a traitor within the Imagawa family."
"You didn't lie to me, did you?" After seeing Lin Xiuzhen's reaction as expected, Yu Qiuping only felt a "thump" in his heart, but he still did not forget to confirm again.
"What's the point of lying to you now about things that happened more than 20 years ago? Besides, there's no need to lie about this kind of thing." Lin Xiuzhen shook her head unabashedly, and added at the same time, "Taking a step back, what do you think?
With the talents of Imagawa Osamu and the intelligence system left by the black-clad Yuksai, will we, the traitor of the Oda family, be able to penetrate to the level where Imagawa Osamu's whereabouts are accessible?"
"Sure enough...it's really...no...it's all that damn map..." After being verified by Lin Xiuzhen, Yu Qiuping finally gradually accepted the fact that Shibata Katsuie told him - there was no traitor in the Imagawa family. Shibata Katsuie
I have never communicated with Lin Xiuzhen before, but on different occasions, this information was mentioned in two conversations that were completely coincidental. It cannot be false.
"Is there anything else you want to ask?" Lin Xiuzhen saw Yu Qiuping lowering his head and talking to himself, so she urged him.
"Ah... It may be inconvenient for His Highness Lin to disclose this. But if possible, I would like to know, without the help of the traitor, how did the Oda family know that the late Governor of the family was actually in Narumi Castle? How did they do it?
Who turned defeat into victory in Tongzhajian's desperate situation?" Yu Qiuping considered his words, and finally asked the question tentatively.
"It's convenient to disclose, it's not an important matter," Lin Xiuzhen waved her hand to indicate that he didn't care, and after swallowing a sip of tea, she said calmly, "Because the Imagawa family told us the whereabouts of Imagawa Osamu."
"Huh?" Yu Qiuping was stunned for a moment before he realized what Lin Xiuzhen was talking about. Then he scratched his head and asked in confusion, "But His Highness Lin just said that there is no traitor in the Imagawa family."
"Yes, I said it." Lin Xiuzhen also looked at Yu Qiuping, "What's wrong?"
"Then why do you need the Imagawa family to tell you the whereabouts of His Highness the Governor?" Yu Qiuping asked in confusion.
"Who knows, I'm afraid only Imagawa Harubu knows." Lin Xiuzhen chuckled twice, then turned her head to look at the clouds outside the window, muttering to herself, "Why on earth..."
"What do you mean? Who is the person who leaked the whereabouts of His Majesty the Family Governor?" Lin Xiuzhen's words were unclear in the fog, but Yu Qiuping was already a little dizzy from the huge amount of information. He slapped his hands on the table and turned his body towards
He leaned forward and asked Lin Xiuzhen.
"Not only were they not the traitors planted by the Oda family in the Imagawa family, they were actually traitors planted by the Imagawa family in the Oda family. We discovered their strange behavior at the beginning of the third year of Eiroku (1560), and we kept a close watch on them until
They didn't relax before the war. On the contrary, for some unknown reason, they took the initiative to leak the whereabouts of Imagawa Osamu to us during the war." Lin Xiuzhen turned back leisurely and calmly looked at Yu Qiuping's expression that was somewhat deformed due to nervousness and surprise.
He smiled bitterly and said, "You know those two people, and you have even investigated them. One is called Mouri Shinsuke, and the other is Hattori Koheita."
"They suddenly surrendered to us during the Battle of Okehazama, informed us of the Imagawa family's Kagemusha plan, and also informed us that the Imagawa family's troops were in Narumi Castle.
We don't know that Imagawa Harubu is actually in Narumi, so as long as we pick out the head of the Kagemusha, we can pretend that Imagawa Harubu has been captured by us in Ozazama, thus successfully defeating the following formations in Narumi Castle.
The morale of the Imagawa army was greatly improved. After that, we broke into Narumi Castle where the gates were closed and set on fire. It was the two of them who found the body of Imagawa Harubu and chopped off the head."
·
The shock made Yu Qiuping unable to calm down for a long time, and it was even difficult to maintain normal thinking, so that he was not sure whether he had missed what Lin Xiuzhen said. He also suddenly recalled that he had just arrived at the Oda family more than 20 years ago.
At that time, he inquired about the information from Takigawa Kazumasu, the leader of the Oda family, on the ship:
·
"So Your Highness," Yu Qiuping, who no longer cared about those things, asked urgently, "Who is the traitor in the Imagawa family? Is it Okabe Motobu?"
Takigawa Yiyi turned his head away from Yu Qiuping's gaze and lost sight of Yu Qiuping. He paused and said casually: "I have no comment on this issue."
"Huh?" Yu Qiuping snorted angrily, then realized that his attitude was wrong. He hurriedly waved his hand to apologize, but still asked: "But I still have no right to ask these questions?"
"I don't know how to tell His Highness." Takigawa Kazumasu shook his head, "I can only say that even if there is really a traitor, the contact with the ninja is not through the mefu group."
Yu Qiuping's eyes widened suddenly, as if something flashed through his mind, but it was difficult to catch it. Did Takigawa Yiyi tell the truth? If he told a lie, what would be his purpose?
What? If it was true...could it be that the traitor, whom he didn't even know about, was in direct contact with Oda Nobunaga?
It seems that if you want to find out the truth of the matter, you need to reach a higher position.
"However, I do know something, so there is no harm in telling His Highness Yu Qiu," Takigawa Kazuki saw Yu Qiuping's urgency and added.
"Your Highness Longchuan, please speak!" Yu Qiuping asked again.
"Whether the Oda family has a traitor in the Imagawa family, I can't say." Takigawa Kazumasu gently tapped the side of the boat twice with his right hand, "but the Imagawa family did have a traitor in the Oda family."
"Nani?" Yu Qiuping exclaimed in surprise, why had he never heard of this!
"Is it the Arao Zenji who came to report the news before the Battle of Okehazama?" Yu Qiuping asked, "He is not our traitor, he defected here on his own."
However, Takigawa Yiyi said nothing more, seeming to indicate to Yu Qiuping not to ask any more questions, as he was not qualified to know what happened next.
·
Could it be that... according to Takigawa Kazumasu, the traitors planted by the Imagawa family in the Oda family were Mouri Shinsuke and Hattori Koheita?
Mori Shinsuke... Hattori Koheita... the samurai of the Oda family who begged Imagawa Yoshimoto in Oehazama in their previous lives. Ame Akihei even sent people to investigate them, but found that they had no trace after the Battle of Oehazama.
Brilliant performance, leaving everyone behind.
Yu Qiuping has always been curious about why in this life, the two of them can also beg Imagawa Yoshimoto. There are obviously so many soldiers like them in the Oda family, how could it be possible that in different time and space and different places, they all have their turn?
Are the two of them seeking Yoshimoto Imagawa? Are fate and history really coming to an end in the dark?
Yu Qiuping was also curious as to why Mouri Shinsuke and Hattori Koheita, who had made great contributions in their previous lives and in this life, were not reused by the Oda family, but remained unknown...
Now everything can be explained. It is not fate, destiny, nor historical closure or accident. This is inevitable, because the two of them are the traitors planted by the Imagawa family in the Oda family. They are the ones who leaked the information of Imagawa Yoshimoto.
Whereabouts. Precisely because they were unreliable double agents who suddenly surrendered for unknown reasons, Oda Nobunaga and Lin Xiuzhen could not trust them. They only gave them some casual jobs without entrusting them with important tasks.
Why did the two traitors planted by the Imagawa family in the Oda family suddenly defect? ​​Why were these two low-level undercover agents able to know the highest-level secrets of Imagawa Yoshimoto's whereabouts? Who told them? And who instructed them to surrender?
?Or did the two of them suddenly surrender themselves?
Yu Qiuping cast doubtful and frightened eyes on Lin Xiuzhen, but the latter just shook his head - he didn't know the whole story.
Chapter completed!