The wind and rain that lasted until dawn finally subsided. After entering the rainy season, it was a long-lost sunny day. The sun rose.On the inner corridor of the city, the light coming in from the iron lattice windows gradually became stronger.Judging from the position of the sun, it may be more than nine o'clock. (It’s been two days since Nobunaga went to Kyoto, so the promised messenger should come in these two days, right?) Once in town this morning, Nobutada Ota (later Ushiichi Ota) was ready and waiting for his secret mission.Although he was quite old, he couldn't control the excitement in his heart.

When he ran back to the house next to Qiqu Road in the city, he was ready to leave.Travel expenses to Beijing, clothes that need to be replaced... Xinding, who makes a living by writing, replaced all the brushes, inkstone boxes, and memo paper with new ones.Moreover, he specially brought three sets of narrow-sleeved casual clothes, waistcoats, and hakamas.The next thing to do is to take the wooden box that was ordered to be kept out of the study and strap it to the horse's back. (Speaking of which, the thing that was ordered to be preserved is really incredible.) Xin Ding thought over and over again.It was the eve of Nobunaga's departure, May 28th.

"I have something to keep for you. Once this matter is decided, we will send a quick notice. You should take that thing to the capital immediately. For the specific situation, you can ask Zhensheng. Don't tell others about everything Say." Lord Nobunaga summoned him alone to a living room in the sixth layer of the castle tower (first floor), and after dismissing all the servants, he issued such an order.Nobunaga's instructions this time were as simple and clear as usual, without any repetition, but his voice was not as high-pitched as usual, it was a rare soft speech.Moreover, he let Xin Ding come closer to him, and told Xin Ding the purpose of going to Beijing this time with his ear.That purpose is truly astonishing.

(It is with such careful consideration that Lord Nobunaga will start to build this Azuchi Castle, right?) Even thinking about it now, Xinding can't help but feel a heat in his chest. At that time, Nobunaga-kun ignored the astonished Nobudaka, pointed to the "that thing" piled up in the corner of the room, and reminded "It's okay", and hurried back to the inner room. There are only five rectangular boxes made of hinoki left in the hall.At first glance, it might be misunderstood as a carpenter's toolbox.Those boxes were firmly sealed with iron nails, and seemed to be very heavy.

Nobunaga did not mention what was inside.Xin Ding was famous all over the world for being good at shooting. Even though he is over fifty years old, he is still quite confident in his wrist strength.Even so, he can only move two boxes at a time.Since Nobunaga said "don't tell others", you can't use the power of others.If you put something on horseback and transport it out of the city, it will inevitably attract the attention of others. After thinking about it, Xinding took those boxes home one by one that night.Each box weighs nearly five guanmu—no, probably six guanmu.It really takes some skill to look as relaxed as if you were holding a bookcase.

Now, in the gaps between the bookshelves in his stone study, those boxes are placed next to the cleaning tools, covered with old cotton jackets.It is only a few days before Nobunaga goes to Beijing.Those boxes are to be kept safe and not transported out of town immediately.Xinding felt that the study at home was quite safe - the servants in his family were absolutely forbidden to enter the study. After Shinsaka returned to the office from the library in the Sanchome (fourth floor) of the castle tower, he put the old borrowed books on the desk. The castle tower of Azuchi Castle has few decorations and is mainly used for living.Since the eldest prince is confident, there is room for everyone from cronies to retainers to live.Xinding's office is on the north side of the third floor where Mr. Nobunaga lives. It is a twelve-fold room.The reason why I chose a room facing north is that I am worried that the sunlight will make the documents and books fade.

Suddenly, Faith began to listen.The movement of horseshoes appeared out of nowhere, and it was getting closer! Xinding was immediately nervous. Although he felt that the envoy from Kyoto should not have arrived so early, it was always right to take a look just to be careful. He came to the top of the stairs and looked down quietly. Sure enough, it was not Nobunaga's messenger.Judging from the flagpole on the horse's back and the pattern on the rider's gown, it is an envoy sent by Guanyinsi City near Antu Castle. The Sasaki family of Guanyin Temple City lost the city's morality show not long ago, and had just finished the funeral.The heads of the family decided to rely on the Oda family to protect the young young master, so they sent envoys to discuss matters from time to time.

Today's envoy seems to be in a hurry for some reason, and there is nothing special about it. Xinding returned to the office.Nobudaka Ota is no longer relying on his status as a samurai.He no longer shows up in public, but engages in practical work, receiving reports on the battle situation of generals from all over the country; at the same time, he responds to various instructions issued by Lord Nobunaga.Therefore, even if Nobunaga left the city, he would not be able to steal a moment of freedom. As the Oda clan fought east, west, and north, the reports of the generals began to mix the various calendars of each region.Not to mention between the order and the report, but also between the various reports, there are a lot of contradictions in dates, and mistakes in place names can be seen everywhere.Lord Nobunaga once issued a strict request that Xinding must confirm the documents before sending them to him for review.

After going to Beijing, the Nobunaga Association went to Hashiba Hideyoshi to inspect the army that attacked the Mori family.There are piles of documents that need to be sorted out, even so—— It's strange that Xin Ding couldn't let go of the envoys sent by Guanyin Temple City just now and the movement in the city since then.He had a sense of foreboding. Tsuda Genjuro, the leader responsible for staying behind, and other important ministers seemed to lead the envoy to the reception room of the Fifth Chongmu (second floor) of the castle tower.They talked in secret for a while, and in less than thirty minutes, they hurriedly called Kamo Hyun-hide, who was in charge of guarding Erwan.It was unexpected.

Normally, Genjuro Tsuda relied on his origin in Owari (northwest of Aichi Prefecture), and would never take the initiative to let Xianxiu, a native of Omi (Shiga County), who newly joined the Oda camp, attend the secret talks on the work of staying behind.Tsuda Genjuro obviously despises Hyun Hide—isn't he just a guard who takes care of Nimaru's woman and children. Something is not right. After another hour or so, the silence was broken.Noisy human voices came from nowhere, like a flash flood erupting suddenly.Soon, strange rumors spread to Xinding's ears like a draft. "Akechi Mitsuhide has rebelled!"

"The Honnoji Temple where Lord Nobunaga stayed is on fire!" Xin must laugh it off, thinking that such a thing is simply impossible. When Nobunaga entered the Kai (Yamanashi Prefecture) area before, Takeda Katsuyori spread rumors that Nobunaga was dead, in order to induce peasants in the Etchu area to riot, thereby weakening the strength of the Oda Army.Katsuie Shibata of the Hokuriku area hurriedly sent an envoy to confirm, but was angrily reprimanded by Nobunaga and withdrew hastily.In this world, gossip is commonplace, and even the top general of the Oda family, "Oni Shibata", will panic because of a false report-that incident later became a common joke at the banquet in Azuchi Castle. Xin decided to concentrate on handling official duties, but the commotion outside became more and more serious. (I can't help it.) Just as he was about to go out to check the situation again, a young waiter showed his head from behind the sliding door.The waiter came here from Hino Castle together with Kamo Kenhide of Nimaru, and his surname is probably "Kuchiki", probably from the Kuchiki Valley area of ​​Omi country.He seems to be from a famous family, with a handsome face, like a girl. When he first arrived here, there were rumors that he was Xianxiu's favored boy. He was about to salute and greet according to the rules, but was stopped by Xinding. "Is it something urgent? Don't be too polite, tell me!" Xinding shouted. The waiter took out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it silently.Xinding opened it and saw that it was—— See you at the temple.Kamo. This is a letter written by Gamo Hyun-hide.Hyun Soo's calligraphy is very good, but this time the handwriting is a bit unusual, like earthworms wriggling, and they are all pseudonyms.Based on this speculation, I am afraid that there is really some abnormality. "Understood." After Xin Ding finished speaking, he hurried out of the city. On the way, he passed by the tea host who was running left and right.The usually well-mannered tea hosts twitched their faces, staring at Xin Ding to see where he was going, and even forgot to bow their heads to salute.Faith, however, doesn't care at all. After leaving the city, he desperately ran down the Baibai Bridge in the west of the city.Xu has benefited from his usual exercise, and he is sure that he is not breathing heavily at this moment. Zongjian Temple is one of the temples founded by Nobunaga. The tallest building in the temple houses a strange statue of the main Buddha-Bonsan.Hyun Soo chose this place where no idlers would come in and out, probably because he didn't want his speech to be overheard. Zongjian Temple is a formal temple with "Seven Halls" - not only the main hall, the abbot's room, but also the mountain gate, three-story pagoda, bell tower hall, etc. Xinding felt that it was difficult to find the place where Gamo was waiting for him all at once, but it was unfounded to worry about.When he ran up the long steps of the mountain gate, a tall man in a white turban without any attendants was looking straight down from above. "It's urgent, I called you out, I'm really sorry." After Xin Ding approached, Hyun Soo took off his turban and gave a slight attention salute.He knew that he shouldn't instruct the retainers directly under Lord Nobunaga, so he spoke very politely and dared not be rude. Gamo Youbing Wei Xianxiu was the same age as Nobunaga, forty-nine years old, seven years younger than Nobunaga.He was originally a subject of the "Guardian of Omi" Sasaki clan (hexagonal clan). When Nobunaga attacked Omi, he immediately decided to join the Oda family, thus saving Omi Gamo County, where his ancestors lived, from war.After taking refuge in the Oda family, he became a subordinate of Katsuie Shibata, who took over Chokoji Castle in Gamo County. In the third year of Tensho, Katsuie Shibata, who was granted the title of Echizen (Ryohoku area of ​​Fukui County), went to the fief to take office, but he did not leave Omi. Formed an independent army as the lord of Hino Castle. Everyone said he was an honest and trustworthy man.Whenever Nobunaga went out, he would always be made a stay-at-home official.However, Tsuda Genjuro and Nobunaga are fellow villagers, and in terms of sequence of origin, Gamo is willing to be at the bottom. At this moment, Gamo Hyun-soo's face was strangely pale. "That rumor won't..." Xin Ding wanted to say "It can't be true", but suddenly felt that his throat was blocked. Hyun Soo took out a roll of paper like a letter from his bosom and handed it to Shin Ding. "Look." The hand that delivered the letter trembled. "Then I will read it." Xinding had a hard time uttering a word. The sender was Horigamori, the head of the neighboring Kannonji Castle, who was a military commander whom Shin must know. The more he looked down, the more color Xin Ding felt on his face.This is not a liar's letter. "What's going on!" The shock was too great.At the moment of shouting, Xinding only felt dizzy for a while. "I'm afraid Mr. Nobunaga is really dead." Xianxiu couldn't help observing Xinding's expression. "The opponent is Mitsuhide Akechi, who is good at fighting, and there are tens of thousands of soldiers besieging him. The possibility of Nobunaga's escape from this catastrophe is probably one in ten thousand..." Shinden wanted to say "no", but there seemed to be a bitter ball in his throat, and he couldn't speak again. "You really think so...I'm afraid that's the truth." Hyun Soo lowered her shoulders, took a few steps back quietly, and turned her back suddenly.Even from behind, you could see his shoulders shaking. Hyun Soo cried.Xin Ding looked at Hyun Soo, and couldn't control himself for a while, and burst into tears. If it's sadness, it's better to say it's unwillingness--the ambition of "the world's military" has been abandoned halfway, why is this?why! He is like a pestering child who keeps asking himself.But... who can answer? Time stood still.The two remained motionless. For a moment—— "Look!" Hyun Soo seemed to have come to his senses, and pointed in the direction of Qiqudao.From the upper part near the main castle down, the houses of the vassals are distributed in sequence.From the upper corner, people and property are coming out like ants. "They are just like the rats that disappeared before the fire. Those so-called important ministers from the same village even left Iga Mamoru's letter to inform them of the important situation and scattered away." Hyun Soo said a sarcasm and sighed unconsciously.The so-called important ministers from the same hometown are all from the Owari area.When the conquered Omi people said this, it was tantamount to saying that the guy from Owari was a wimp.However, looking at the ugly behavior of the group of people in front of him, Xinding really couldn't refute it, and he really didn't have that kind of intention. "They seem to have set fire to it." The burning place seemed to be quite close to his house, but the curved wheel with Erwan was separated, so I couldn't see clearly.Anyhow, there was indeed smoke coming out of there. Xinding was taken aback. He never thought that the house would catch fire. Although the study room where the wooden box is placed is made of stone, Xinding dare not say how long it can withstand the heat. "That's probably Shimomori's house. I'm from Owari, so I can't talk about Owari people. When I had a secret conversation with the envoy of Guanyin Temple just now, Shimomori seemed absent-minded. Is he going to betray the lord? It really embarrasses us Owari people." It's ugly. However, judging from the direction of the wind, the fire will not reach Mr. Ota's house. Don't worry." Yamazaki Shimamori is the lord of Yamazaki Castle in Omi Inukami-gun, the left-behind general second only to Tsuda Genjuro, he was so stupid that he set fire to his own house... In this way, the senior officials above Xianxiu disappeared.At this moment, all the tasks of responding to the emergency fall on the shoulders of Hyun Soo alone. "You called me here this time because you wanted to..." Xin Ding repeated the old words. "The situation is like this..." Hyun Soo unhurriedly stated the measures he took, "I want to send Nimaru's female relatives (Nobunaga's main wife, concubine, daughter, and nurse) to my subordinates first." City. My son Shixiang is staying at Hino Castle, and fifty sedan chairs, one hundred horses with matching saddles for carrying people and two hundred horses for carrying goods have been prepared. Everyone can start tomorrow morning." Hino Castle is located in the southeast of Antu Castle, six miles away.So there might be Akechi Mitsuhide's army there earlier than Azuchi.Of course, they are ready to defend the isolated city and fight to the death. "Akechi Mitsuhide, don't worry about it. Mr. Yamaoka of Seta Castle will break the Seta Bridge (Seta Bridge) soon. If Mitsuhide and his gang build the bridge to cross the river, it will take five days at the fastest. I I think if everyone leaves Azuchi tomorrow morning, there will be time to enter Hino Castle. I won’t talk about this question, I actually want to hear Ota-sama’s opinion—how should Azuchi Castle be?” Hyun Soo asked very sincerely. "Antu City is not suitable for fighting at all." Xin Ding had thought about this issue for a long time, and then blurted out, "There are two reasons. The first is the width of the main road in the city, which is not suitable for defense and defense at all. ; and the internal structure of the four-story castle tower is even less suitable for defense." Xin Ding finished his opinion at once. "I have exactly the same opinion as you. After I was in charge of the left-behind work this time, I realized...especially the castle tower, which is just an amazing building. It is true that even in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, I am afraid that there is no such a magnificent building. , but once the castle needs to be defended, the situation is different. Once the battle starts, the enemy only needs to set fire to the bottom, and the castle tower will instantly become a hellfire tower.” "Exactly." Xinding felt that his judgment was very accurate. "Let's talk about the issue of weapons and ammunition in the city. Although Sanwan has a small gunpowder depot, I am only responsible for staying behind Erwan, and I don't know where the weapons are stored. Going down to look for it." There was a hint of probing in Hyun Soo's eyes. Sanqiro is the third son of Oda Nobutaka.Two days before his father went to Beijing—on May 27, he went to conquer the Shikoku region, passing through Azuchi City.At that time, he was dressed in gorgeous clothes, as if he was going to enjoy flower viewing and noh performances.His subordinates didn't dare to take care of this bastard His Royal Highness, until he set off, he was like a thief in broad daylight, searching for weapons and ammunition in Antu City, but found nothing. Hearing this, Xin Ding said decisively: "The castle tower, the main city...including Nimaru, really don't have any weapons." "Oh? So, you mean that An Tucheng is completely defenseless?" "That's not true." While speaking, Xinding fixed his eyes on Hyunsu. (How much truth to tell?) In case he betrays and joins Mitsuhide Akechi... Shinsou was confused for a moment, but right now it seemed that he could only trust this man. "Master Nobutada's house next to the black gold gate has a lot of weapons and ammunition. There are also a lot of firearms in the underground of Mr. Hashiba's house next to the main road. By the way, there is a compartment behind the wall of Hashiba's stable and the samurai assembly hall. There are firearms of the main force, arranged in the direction of the main road. Right now... it is probably intact." "When you say it, I understand. General Hashiba's mansion is very magnificent, and there are compartments. I thought it was the hobby of General Hashiba who likes to show off, but I didn't expect it to be the master's foresight!" Hyun Soo seems to admire it from the bottom of his heart. "Then what will you do next? If there are a lot of weapons and ammunition there, Mr. Gamo, will you change your mind and fight here?" After finishing speaking, Xinding swallowed a mouthful of saliva and looked at Hyunsu.Hyun Soo shook his head resolutely. "No, no, I don't have such an idea at all. Even if I want to fight-you see, the officers and soldiers disappeared one by one. How can a panicked soldier be reliable. Besides, the castle tower is a magnificent art It is comparable to the Kinkaku-ji Temple and Ginkaku-ji Temple in Kyoto. I don't want to make it a victim of a stupid war, but I want to keep it safe. So, just hand it over. Akechi Mitsuhide has some knowledge after all, You will understand the value of Azuchi Castle. I don't know what gold and silver treasures the lord left behind, but I won't take any of them away, as a reward for Akechi Mitsuhide's preservation of Azuchi Castle. Those treasures are bait—— It seems that I am quite unwilling to admit defeat. But, you just told me the location of the secret weapon ammunition depot, I guarantee that I will not leak a word." "I'm relieved when you say that. Is that what you called me out for?" If the matter is over, Ota wants to go back quickly, pack up the important documents, hide them in a safe place, and burn those documents that he does not want to be seen by Akechi Mitsuhide.Especially the internal documents related to Mikawa-sama (Tokugawa Ieyasu) since April, and the letters between Hashiba Hideyoshi who recently attacked Takamatsu Castle and Nobunaga-these things must not be seen by Mitsuhide Akechi, and must be destroyed. ! "To be honest, there is another matter, of course this is just my personal opinion..." Hyun Soo continued, with a painful expression on her face. Seeing this, Xin Ding said calmly: "At present, the only person I can rely on is Gamo-sama, so you can just say it." "Okay, Ota-sama--after you leave here, can you go to Beizhuang (Fukui City)?" His request was beyond Xinding's expectations. "Then, I hope you beg Mr. Xiuliang (Katsuie Shibata) to retreat from Echchu and turn around to avenge the lord! Under such a situation, I think that among all the retainers who can lead the Oda family, only Xiuliang is the only one. If you go If you lobby, he will definitely take action." Xianxiu spoke solemnly, hoping that Xinding would go to Beizhuang.Shinsaka was a retainer of Shibata's Katsu family when he was young, so a large number of Shibata's subordinates are his friends.Presumably Hyun Soo knew these things. Of course, everyone is deeply indebted to the Oda family, even if their bodies are broken, they will never refuse.However, Hideyoshi, who is most reliable at the moment, is far away in the Takamatsu area of ​​Bichu (southwestern area of ​​Okayama Prefecture); the people in Owari and Mino are all mobs; , and it is very close, but this person has always been mediocre, and he is not Mitsuhide's opponent at all. If he plays in the battle, it will only add new shame to the Oda family. In this way, there is indeed only Shibata Katsuya left to choose from. But if you want to go to Beizhuang, before that—— In addition to sorting out the remaining official affairs in the city, there are two more things that need to be done.These cannot be told to Hyun Soo. Since serving as a courtier in the eleventh year of Yonglu (1568), Xinding has been tirelessly writing "Antu Diary".He wants to keep this diary and the old "Gifu Diary". Faith was born to be a lover of words.After becoming a courtier, he recalled the situation in the city every day when he returned home, and recorded the words and deeds of Lord Nobunaga and the generals in detail, and compiled them into books by category every month.Counting from the day when I became a courtier, it has been more than fourteen years, and the number is quite considerable, there are about a hundred volumes. (These are precious historical materials about Nobunaga...) Be sure of that.Therefore, he did not want these historical materials to share the same fate as Antu City.Be sure to find a safe hiding place. And another thing - Undoubtedly what to do with the five wooden boxes he had been entrusted with keeping.Even if the Lord Nobunaga who gave the order at that time died, the Oda family should not hand it over to others until the new head is decided.However, those wooden boxes are really heavy, and it is quite troublesome to keep them. He estimated that it would take more than two days to finish the documents in the city and his two affairs. "how?" Xianxiu urged, with urgency in his eyes. When defending the city, if there is no hope of reinforcements, the fighting spirit of the subordinates cannot be guaranteed.Xinding understands Hyun-soo very well, but at this moment, he really can't promise at will. "Although I really want to promise right away..." Xinding hesitated for a moment, then said, "I wonder if you can give me a day or two? Don't tell lies in front of the real person—there are a lot of confidential documents related to Lord Nobunaga in the city. It needs time to arrange. Of course, before Mitsuhide comes, I will definitely go out from here and go to Shibata-sama." Believe in half-truths and half-false answers. "That's it. It doesn't matter if it's two or three days late. After all, I'm sticking to a familiar city. Even if the opponent is Akechi Mitsuhide who is good at fighting, I can stick to it for ten or twenty days—no, a month. Well, please go see General Shibata. Farewell, Ota-sama!" Hyun Soo bowed deeply, and hurriedly left Somian Temple.