Chapter 15 Chapter 15 The Army Has No Soul

While Tokugawa Ieyasu was leisurely rushing to Edo, in the west garden of Osaka Castle, Ishida Mitsunari was staring at the map unfolded in front of him, as if he wanted to eat the map in front of him.It was as if a boulder had weighed on his heart. The battle lines are stretched unnecessarily.The west of Sanhe could have been fully controlled, but there are many places left with remnants of enemies.Omi Otsu, which is not far from the capital, and Jing Gaozhi have always refused to give in.Tango Tanabe and Yusai, the father of Hosokawa Tadakashi, also stubbornly defended the castle.Fukushima Masanori, stationed in Owari Kiyosu, seems to have completely fallen for Ieyasu.Maeda Toshinaga, who was supposed to be on the same journey with Sancheng, has already turned his troops and is about to attack the territory of the Otani Criminal Department.

The success is not without, it is to win over Oda Hidenobu from Gifu.If Fukushima is welcoming Jiakang into Qingzhou, and then launching an attack on Xiuxin, it will not be reassuring.Hidenobu is the grandson of Nobunaga, the three mages who were appointed by Hideyoshi to inherit the Oda family business.Sancheng sent his vassal Kawase Zuomasuke to Xiuxin's place, and after exhausting all his words and means, he caught him. "What good will it do for you to support the Neifu? Owari was originally the birthplace of Oda. If you join the Western Army, Ishida-sama promises that Mino and Owari will be returned to you." Sancheng asked Kawase Saoma Help with words.

Xiuxin reluctantly agreed, but most of the veterans objected.When Mu Zuo Zheng, Bai Baigang's family and others saw that this was the case, they immediately voted for Maeda Xuanyi and left.Maeda Gen, who had been entrusted by Nobu's eldest son Nobutada, promised to assist Hidenobu for life.Maeda Gen was certain that he would lose 30% of the time, so he lied about being ill, evacuated Osaka, and lived in seclusion in Kyoto. Seeing the old officials of Oda in Kyoto, Xuan Yi persuaded: "This matter is not good. If it continues like this, the Oda family is in danger. Please, Lord Oda, sever ties with the Western Army and return to the Inner Palace."

Oda Veteran was suddenly at a loss. Before that, San Cheng had specially invited Xiu Xin to Sawayama Castle, presented a large amount of gold and famous knives to win Xiu Xin's favor, and then asked him to write an oath.But how can the allies brought in by such means be reassuring? What made Sancheng even more uneasy was Mori Terumoto, who had been promoted as the coach of the Western Army.Sancheng always felt that only relying on the empty words of Anguosi Huiqiong could not be completely relieved.First of all, it is doubtful that his family, the Yoshikawa Hiro family.The Guang family is known as the reincarnation of Mao Liyuan, and he is also a resourceful and prestigious general in the Mao Li family.Recently, he frequently went to Huiyuan's place, secretly admonishing Huiyuan.

When Ieyasu went to the west, needless to say, Sancheng must meet the enemy on the Noongwei Plain.For this reason, no matter what, he should draw Masanori Fukushima of Kiyosu into his camp, but since the Seven Generals incident, Masanori has rapidly moved away from Sancheng and approached Ieyasu, and has now become a formidable enemy.In this way, while consolidating Gifu, it is necessary to send troops to Ise to cut off the connection between Kiyosu and Ieyasu.Only by successfully cutting off the connection between the two and allowing the main force of the Western Army to enter Gifu City, the multiple harassment of Ieyasu will work.

However, there are many difficulties in the selection of candidates to command operations.Although Ukita Hideka is the elder, he lacks majesty.President Konishi is not a general, and Yoshihiro Shimadzu has made Sancheng even more worried recently.Therefore, I can only invite Terumoto Mori to come out of the mountain.But Huiyuan's performance on this issue is very ambiguous, and the reason is that the important officials of the Maori clan restrained him, and Sancheng was well aware of this. Sancheng wants Huiqiong, Anguoji, who is deeply trusted by Huiyuan, to be a lobbyist, and does everything possible to persuade Huiyuan. If possible, let Huiyuan send other forces of the Maori clan to Ise, and the remaining troops will be divided into two groups. Gifu and Ise headed towards Owari in two directions, confronting Ieyasu in order to find a chance of victory.For Mori's survival, Huiyuan must fight Ieyasu to the death.

At this time, a subordinate came to report: "My lord, Masuda-sama is here to visit." Sancheng breathed a sigh of relief, and looked away from the map: "I've been waiting for him for a long time. Come in quickly." "Yes." As soon as his subordinates retreated, Masuda Changsheng hurried in. "What was the result?" San Cheng asked. Changsheng shook his head, "Some trouble." After discussing with Sancheng, Masuda Nagamori is now sending envoys to Oda Changzhen's place frequently, hoping to win Changzhen over.Oda Changmado is Nobunaga's second son, Nobuo, and is the uncle of Gifu Hidenobu.The reason why Sancheng invited him to join the gang was that besides being the son of Nobunaga, he also had two intentions: one was to use his influence in Gifu, and the other was to use his appeal to the famous names in Ise.Sancheng let the envoy pretend to be Hideyori's order: "Urgently summon the old department to crusade against the inner government. Now I would like to donate a thousand ingots of gold for military expenses. After the war is over, I will give the whole territory of Owari."

There is only one Owari, and Sancheng made an appointment with Xiuxin long ago to give Owari to Xiuxin, and now he has made the same promise to Chang Zhendao, which shows his scheming.In the past, Humanity readily agreed, but now something went wrong?Veins popped up on Thirty percent's forehead: "What's the trouble? Chang Zhenren is honest and honest, hasn't he been overjoyed for a long time?" Under Sancheng's stern questioning, Changsheng quietly wiped his sweat with his hands: "Maybe it's my negligence." "Your omission? What happened?" "My lord asked me to raise a thousand ingots of gold for him. As a result, human nature is like a cat seeing something fishy, ​​and immediately sent people to get the gold, and I first gave them a thousand ingots of silver."

"A thousand ingots of silver?" "Yeah, if you don't open the vault, you won't get the gold..." "Shut up!" Sancheng shouted, filled with remorse.To make the allies unhappy at this juncture will surely cause cracks in the alliance.It is clear that one thousand ingots of gold are agreed, but one thousand ingots of silver are handed over to the other party. Isn't this a trick?How confused! "Everything we do is definitely not for selfishness, it is all for Toyotomi." If it was someone else, 30% would definitely scold him like a dog.But when Changsheng said this, Sancheng could no longer swear, and just murmured: "You gave him... a thousand ingots of silver?"

"Yes. As a result, Humane discussed with Hideo Oda, the lord of Echizen Ono Castle, and replied that we have to add up..." Sancheng interrupted Changsheng with a sigh.The matter has come to this point, no matter how much you scold, it will not help. "However, the silver is not completely useless. Since he has accepted my silver, even if he does not form an alliance with me, at least he will not be an enemy of me. Don't worry about ordinary people and Taoists. But there is one person, we can't do it anyway. Ignore it." "Your Excellency means..." "Terumoto Mori. Whether Mori can take the lead in the battle will be the key to the success or failure of this battle."

"That's true." Changsheng bent down and took a peek at Sancheng, wiping his cold sweat. "Having said that, we can't force him to go to war. You quickly call Huiqiong and let him talk about what he needs. I have to go out in person." Changsheng timidly asked: "Is there any secret plan to teach Hui Qiong?" Recently, Sancheng feels that he is getting more and more timid.Compared with the time when he persuaded the Otani Criminal Ministry Shaosuke, his courage is not as good as before.At that time, he was full of passion, as if possessed by a demon.He always felt that he could divide the world into two and fight against Jiayasu.If things go well, they might be able to defeat Ieyasu.For a while, he even felt that victory was waving to him.Everything went as planned, Mori Terumoto was successfully lured out, and Uesugi's Naoe Yamajo guard also lit the fire.However, the fire did not spread into raging flames as he expected. Mori Terumoto's attitude is ambiguous, and Ukita Hideo's family is not doing anything, which always makes people worry.Moreover, Uesugi didn't seem to want to take further action, and President Konishi was gradually disturbed by the affairs in the territory.Because Kato Kiyomasa and Kuroda Rushui, who are bordering Xiaonishi's territory, are all staring at Xiaonishi's fat in their own territory. Sancheng felt that there was no one else he could trust from the bottom of his heart, except Dagu Xingbu and Anguosi Huiqiong.Maeda Genichi had completely left him.Asano Nagamasa was supposed to have resentment towards Ieyasu, but let his son Yukinaga go with the army on the Eastern Expedition, and he has completely become an enemy.Masuda Changsheng and Changshu Zhengjia in front of us, although they have outstanding literary talents, if they lead troops to fight, they are not as good as ordinary people.And they seemed to be aware of this, and secretly flattered Ieyasu from time to time. When it comes to people who are good at fighting, they should be Shimadzu, Nagasogabe, and Kobayakawa, but which one of them would gamble their fortunes and lives to fight Ieyasu to the death?In fact, it is no wonder that the mastermind this time is Ishida Mitsunari, and the others are nothing more than dolls in his hands.The problem is that although he is the mastermind, Sancheng cannot directly advance the war as the coach.Tokugawa Ieyasu is completely the backbone of the army, the commander, and holds power... Although Sancheng already felt some resentment in Changsheng's words, but now he doesn't even bother to say these - once he offends Changsheng, then it's okay? Sancheng nodded vigorously on purpose and asked Changsheng to invite Huiqiong.Now that things are going on, even if Hui Qiong is forced to gamble Mao Li's wealth and fate, there is no other way. Huiyuan is absolutely not as virtuous as his grandfather Yuanjiu and uncle Kobayakawa Takakage, but there seems to be no one else in the world who can stand shoulder to shoulder with Ieyasu, and the only person who can persuade Huiyuan is Anguoji Huiqiong. After Changsheng invited Huiqiong from Anguo Temple, Sancheng dismissed Changsheng. "Today, Sancheng will have a life-threatening contest with Master." Sancheng said with a smile.Hui Qiong took a look at Sancheng, and said with a smile: "I have guessed the general situation. I have already prepared. If you have something to say, please speak directly." He looked calm. "Since the master knows it well, Sancheng will stop beating around the bush." ​​Sancheng's gaze immediately turned into a sharp blade, and he took a big step towards Huiqiong.Hui Qiong of Anguo Temple was still smiling. Legend has it that a long time ago, Huiqiong of Anguo Temple was a strange monk, and the late Taiko was still punctual in Hashiba Chikuzen. He once boldly predicted that Hideyoshi would be "the noble man in charge of the world".Today, the legend has changed again. It is said that when the late Taiko was Tokichiro, he met Hideyoshi by the Sanjo Bridge and said, "This person has the appearance of seizing the world."That is to say, when Taige was still wandering around in misery and desolation, he had already predicted Taige's future.He was three years younger than the late Taige Shang, and what he said in his early years was purely nonsense.In fact, he is not a Buddhist monk.He was so ambitious that he even made Kuroda Rushui wear vestments. "Nobunaga's era lasts at most three to five years. The power of the world will return to the court next year. After that, the country will be broken up again, and the great cause of reorganizing rivers and mountains must be Fujikichiro..." This is a section of Huiqiong's family letter to Beijing when Nobunaga was exiled Ashikaga Yoshiaki.Since then, Huiqiong has been paying close attention to who will be the leader in the world.Later, Nobunaga was killed in Honnoji Temple, and Huiqiong helped Hideyoshi achieve peace with Maori.While seeking a position within the Mori clan, he flattered Hideyoshi.Today, he already owns Anguo Temple with 60,000 shi in Anyi, and at the same time, he is also the abbot of Tofuku Temple in Kyoto. . Facing Sancheng's aggressive sharpness, An Guosi Hui Qiong said: "I guessed that my lord wants to let lord Mao Li join the battle." He made a preemptive strike and chuckled. Sancheng continued: "Master is the suzerain of the Wutian family in China." "That's right. Although the old monk is a descendant of Takeda, he has already returned to Buddhism. The old man is now the abbot of Anguo Temple and Dongfu Temple." "Haha, 30% of this is known. In March of the tenth year of Tianwen, Master Mitsuhiro was attacked by military generals Tao Qingxian and Mao Liyuan, and died in vain in Jinshan City. Master is the orphan of Mitsuhiro." "Why did Master Jibu mention these worldly things?" "I don't know why, but I thought of this. Nobumitsu Takeda of Kai Genji made military achievements during the Johisa Rebellion, and was appointed as the garrison of Aki. Since he comes from an orthodox family, it's no wonder there are such rumors." "Rumor?" "Anyi was originally the domain of the Takeda Clan. But Hui Yuan's grandfather, Yuan Jiugong, was the master's father-killing enemy..." "Don't mention it, don't mention it." Hui Qiong interrupted Sancheng, "Those are all past events, even the old monk has almost forgotten, why do you still mention these things? No matter how broad-minded a person is, there is still a solution. Unbreakable knot." "Master, do you know the recent rumors?" Sancheng's gaze was like a sword, "Rumors say that Master deliberately pulled Hui Yuan to my side for revenge, in order to let the Maori clan kill themselves." He lowered his voice and observed Huiqiong's reaction. In an instant, Anguo Si's expression became as stiff as lead.What Sancheng said surprised him too much, and doubts hit his chest violently.After a long time, he lowered his voice and asked: "Is this true, Lord Jibu? I really didn't expect it. However, it is indisputable that this old man is the orphan of Duke Mitsuhiro Takeda." "This..." Sancheng lowered his voice and looked around, "Although he knows that this is a slander spread by people with ulterior motives, Sancheng couldn't help being surprised when these rumors spread to his ears." "Where did your lord hear these rumors from?" "Master, you don't need to ask. This must have been fabricated by the Maori people. Huiyuan was hesitant about the expedition, but he couldn't be sure. However, if this is the case, the situation of the master and Sancheng is not good gone." "Is there really such a rumor?" "There must be! Master, you think that it has reached Sancheng's ears, so there must be no doubt." Sancheng kept calm, repeated it again, and leaned forward, "Master must also be very clear about the horror of these rumors. .” "How can I not understand? What a vicious slander!" "Yes. Besides, if Huiyuan continues to hesitate, the situation will definitely become more and more unfavorable to us. In addition, if we lose because of this, there may be even more outrageous rumors: You see, Anguo Temple has long wanted to make peace with us. The Mori family is dead together." Anguosi closed his eyes.He didn't realize that this was Sancheng's "secret plan".Things were so unexpected that he fell into a trap unsuspectingly. Seeing that Anguo Temple has been tricked, Sancheng lowered his voice: "Once this rumor spreads, the world will laugh at the master as a person who took the state affairs to seek personal revenge. These rumors will not only destroy the reputation of the master in his life, but Sancheng will also be involved in it." With huge waves, the world will definitely call San Cheng a shameless villain who fulfills his own ambitions." "Then, what does your lord mean..." "If we want to eliminate these rumors and return the truth to the world, there is only one way, and that is to let Maori go to war and take the opportunity in our hands..." At this moment, Anguo Temple didn't even want to open its eyes.In fact, needless to say, he has already calculated it.However, he never expected that once he was defeated, he would be commented like this. He couldn't help saying angrily: "Someone actually made such slanderous remarks to Zhong Nayan." "Of course, I don't think Huiyuan will believe those things. But once you lose, you can't help but believe it. How about, master, in order to dispel the rumors, is there any way to make Huiyuan make up his mind? As long as Huiyuan leads all the troops to send troops to Gifu , our victory is just around the corner.” Anguosi Huiqiong was still thinking with bated breath. Sancheng is also trying his best to control himself and try not to speak.If she is urged repeatedly, the sensitive Hui Qiong may find out that this was originally a trap.Sancheng put his hands on his knees, pretending to be lost in thought. The silence continued. The voice of Masuda Nagamori angrily reprimanding his subordinates came from the official residence of the governor on the other side of the corridor.Sancheng suddenly wanted to laugh, so he closed his mouth reluctantly, gritting his teeth and pretending to be serious. "Master Jibu seems to be deeply disturbed about the future of this war." Sancheng trembled in fright, could it be that this bald donkey saw through? "My lord, don't worry." Anguosi opened his eyes and smiled, his face still had an unfathomable expression, "I have seen the future." "The world says that this conspiracy was planned by Sancheng, Grandmaster and the Dagu Criminal Department." Anguo Temple said: "My lord once said that if I don't cooperate, I will kill him. That's why I decided to cooperate. Actually, it's more than that. " "I see." "This old monk has been fond of divination since he was young. Therefore, if the future of Maori's family is in danger, this old monk will never join hands with adults." "Oh." "But the divination sign is auspicious. Even if you take the initiative to attack, you will not lose. Since the Mao Li family has a good future, I don't need to ask about the good or bad luck of the old monk. Therefore, the old monk decided to support you." San Cheng kept staring at Hui Qiong and nodded. "Because my lord is always cautious, it also shows that this hexagram is credible. That's why I ask you not to worry. In any case, your lord is the pillar." Hui Qiong resumed her previous preaching, "Please rest assured, my lord. I will leave the Zhongnayan to the old monk. But please, my lord, don’t let others discover your uneasiness.” A strange feeling suddenly surged in Sancheng's heart.He knew that whenever the other party took such an attitude, it meant that he had plans in mind, so he said angrily, "Is Master sure about Hui Yuan's matter?" Hui Qiong patted her chest lightly with the central fan, and said: "The rumors that Master Zhibu just said really surprised me to the extreme. Lao Yan promises that he will be able to refute the rumors immediately and make Mao Li agree to go to the expedition." "Then, Master's method is..." San Cheng asked.Hui Qiong held the Zhongkai fan in her palm, as if asking for divination respectfully.Sancheng immediately understood that the monk wanted to take advantage of Huiyuan's deep belief in numerology, ghosts and gods. But San Cheng still looked worried.Of course, he definitely did not distrust Anguo Temple's skills.He admitted that Hui Qiong was an extraordinary monk with talent and ambition, and he had a kind of martial courage that Fengguang Temple accepted and Master Mushi did not have.Because of this, Sancheng has repeatedly put pressure on him to make him fully aware of his situation of no retreat. "Please don't worry." Hui Qiong said again. Seeing that Sancheng was still staring at him, he looked worried, and said, "The person who lured Mao Li out was the old monk. Now, no matter what the retainers say , as the person who signed the 'incrimination of the internal government', I will not change my original intention." Only then did Sancheng nodded slightly, and replied heavily: "Thank you, Master." "As your lord said, there is no way out for Mao Li. Whether it is your lord, Mao Li, or this old monk, they are all tied to the same rope. Now that your lord has made it so clear, can this old monk fail to realize this truth? I'm really sorry you heard those unfounded rumors..." Anguo Temple laughed loudly, "My lord can trust me, thank you very much, my lord don't need to care too much about these things, you will still have to worry about it in the future. This old man I'll go see Zhong Nayan..." "Thank you very much." Sancheng deliberately sent Anguo Temple to the corridor, then heaved a sigh of relief, returned to the room, and looked at the unfolded map again.The news of the fall of Fushimi must have reached Ieyasu's ears... Thinking of this, the Tokaido drawn on the map seems to be sounded by horseshoes. Sancheng put his fan on Gifu and Kiyosu, and then pointed it at Osaka.The one going to Gifu is Mino General Ukita Hide's house, this is the main force, and Sancheng himself must go with him.There is another branch, and that is General Mori Hidemoto bound for Ise.Xiuyuan is Huiyuan's cousin, the heir whom Huiyuan agreed upon before his parent and son Xiu was born.After being the Mori family, when Xiuyuan attacked North Korea for the second time, although Xiuyuan was young, he had rich experience as a general.In addition to Hidemoto Mori, Hiroe Yoshikawa, Eijun Angukooka, Masakae Nagatsu, Katsunaga Mori, Sadakatsu Yamazaki, Nasumi Nakae, Hisanobu Matsuura and others also went to Ise together.When Ukita's main force entered Gifu Castle, he asked Xiuyuan to attack Owari... The decisive battle is between Meinong and Qingzhou, Sancheng said. The location is still near Mt. Komaki, where Hideyoshi and Ieyasu used to compete for supremacy, but this time it is a decisive battle that will determine the general situation of the world.Thinking of this, Sancheng felt a dull pain in his chest.Terumoto Mori is the head coach of the Western Army in this battle, but I, Mitsunari Ishida, is behind the scenes... Gently stopping the fan again at Qingzhou City, Sancheng closed his eyes and let out a quiet breath.