A samurai who doesn't want to be a daimyo is not a good onmyoji

Chapter 235 The Alliance of Zhengde Temple

"Good tea, the outside world has spread that you, Changzheng, have superb martial arts skills and a deep understanding of yin and yang techniques, but you are very good at culture and literature. But I didn't expect that you not only understand Nanman language, but also have such an excellent tea art."

Oda Nobunaga put down his tea bowl in admiration. Maybe this is the so-called "one skill is the best, and a hundred skills are universal"?
Out of my love for Nanman iron cannons and Nanman objects, I deliberately learned some, but I didn't expect that I couldn't compare with the other party.

Asai Nagamasa couldn't help but smiled slightly: "You have to believe in folk legends, but you can't believe them all. There will always be ignorant and foolish people who will make up their minds."

"Just like Nobunaga's previous nickname, if anyone really believes it, then he is the real fool."

Since he served in the Yuan Dynasty, he has traveled all the way and accumulated a lot of fame. Especially after he succeeded as the governor of the family, he has changed the weakness of the Asai family in the past and only carried out some slight military reforms. It is as easy as chopping melons and vegetables. He defeated the Rokkaku family, the overlord of Kinki, and the Saito family of Mino. He showed talents beyond ordinary people's imagination and was almost a perfect samurai.

In this way, while arousing the vigilance of warriors from other nearby countries, it will inevitably make them jealous.

But because there is no dark history except for the exile of his father Jiuzheng, and the exile of the incompetent Jiuzheng will not make anyone feel dissatisfied at all, but will only make people familiar with the matter applaud, so they can only I made up some shortcomings about him, saying that he was not highly educated and was a pure martial artist.

This kind of rumor spread not only in the north and south of Omi, but also in places such as Mino and Owari. Obviously there is more than one pusher behind it.

But so far, the effect is really not very big. After all, in addition to daimyo and samurai, he also has another identity, that is, an onmyoji inherited by Abe Seimei.

In the minds of the people of Nippon, onmyojis are all educated people. After all, when the imperial court still had onmyojis, it was onmyojis who were in charge of astronomy, geography and even the stars in the sky. How could they do it without any culture?
Therefore Asai Nagamasa was too lazy to send people to investigate. The power of Kato Danzo and other ninjas had more important uses, and it was not worth wasting time and energy on such a trivial matter.

Just like Asai Nagamasa mentioned the other party's title of "Owari Fool", Nobunaga was just teasing him.

Seeing the two men chatting more and more, they even got excited about it and started drinking on the spot. The two serious and serious people met, but instead they drank and drank, and several dancers were sent to cheer them up. Many of the following people came from Weaver. The retainers of the Tian family couldn't help but look at each other in confusion for a moment.

Really, before coming here, they originally thought that today's meeting would be extremely serious. After all, compared to the consecutive victories, the current wealth of the Asai family, which probably exceeds 50 koku, and the main family, which is still oppressed by the Imagawa family, is actually a trend. Downwind.

So not only did they put on their best armor and the most sophisticated weapons, they were even ready to show off their martial arts skills to each other.

But they never expected that this meeting would be unexpectedly harmonious. The two parties were also very familiar with each other's names. They even called each other by their first names cordially. It was like they had known each other for many years. It was really frustrating. They were scratching their heads.

Of course they don't understand that this kind of appreciation comes not only from the opponent's strength, but also from the opponent's wisdom and insight that transcends the times.

Nobunaga is indeed far-sighted, but many of his ideas are too absurd in the eyes of the current Nibon people.

But Asai Nagamasa, who has the memory of later generations, doesn't think so, and he even feels a little emotional in his heart.

Half a step ahead is a genius, one step ahead is a lunatic. When you are too far ahead of others, ordinary people will not be able to understand your state of mind. Therefore, Nobunaga, who is not understood by ordinary people, was called " Owari is a fool."

It wasn't until he neatly repelled the vanguard forces such as the Ii family, and showed extraordinary military strategy in the confrontation with the Saito family and the Imagawa family, that someone finally felt that he was not worthy of this title.

There is no way a fool can display such talent.

But that's all, no one wanted to take the initiative to clean up his grievances, or give him a new nickname.

There are probably only a few people in the entire Nippon who can truly understand and know his strength and talent, but at least the current Asai Nagamasa should be considered one of them.

Because of this, after a not too long exchange, Oda Nobunaga has made no secret of his appreciation and admiration for Asai Nagamasa.

Well, it is not accurate to say that it is appreciation, because it usually means that the superior person is optimistic about the inferior person, but now Asai Nagamasa's status is not lower than Oda Nobunaga at all
While the two were drinking and chatting, many retainers of the Oda family had different thoughts, but Takenaka Hanbei, one of the few retainers led by Asai Nagamasa, had a different expression on his face. Extremely relaxed, he even had a warm smile like the spring breeze on his face.

But in his heart, he actually attached great importance to it, and was even vigilant, because he saw more than one person with a guardian spirit.

Oda Nobunaga himself had a guardian spirit, and he was not surprised. The last time he was in the Saito family camp, he had assisted his father-in-law Ando Mamoru in a confrontation with the opponent. At that time, he knew that the rumors were definitely not true, but he There must be something extraordinary about someone who willingly carries such a humiliating title and is so different from ordinary people.

Now thanks to the power of his teacher Bai Ze, he finally understood a little bit, that is, Nobunaga has two guardian spirits, and his strength is extremely powerful. Even Bai Ze can only feel it, but he can't see it. It is unclear what kind of guardian spirit it is.

The general of the Oda family, Shibata Katsuie, is well-known in Owari and Mino, so it is understandable that he has a guardian spirit.

Nohime, the princess of the Saito family who was born in Mino, is a bit surprised, but considering that her father Dozo, as well as the twins Hidechiyo and Yoshiryu have guardian spirits, Nohime, as the younger sister, has guardian spirits. In fact, It's also reasonable.

But what he couldn't understand the most was that Oda Nobunaga's sister, Princess Aichi, also had a guardian spirit, and like Nobunaga, there were two.

Guardian spirits are the incarnation of emotions and energy. Generally speaking, excluding special cases like the Saito family, only extremely outstanding samurai can match them. But what is there about Princess Aichi that can attract and accommodate guardian spirits?And there are still two guardian spirits.

After thinking silently for a long time, he could only speculate, could it be because of the beauty of the other party?

This is probably the only explanation that makes sense.

Although the other party is young and has not fully grown up in appearance, just by looking at him now, one can roughly predict how powerful he will be in the future.

Although it was a bit rude, from his point of view, in this family, neither Ning Ning nor Suzuki Akane can compare with them. Only the newly arrived daughter of the Ii family and Shuzendai, who has always shown no expression, can temporarily You can also overpower the opponent.

But he also discovered something. Apart from an invisible guardian spirit, the bird guardian spirit on Princess Ashi was very similar in appearance to one of His Highness's guardian spirits.

With one eye and one wing, they can fly when they meet each other. They are exactly the legendary birds that symbolize love.

From this point of view, although the samurai with guardian spirits of the Oda family are somewhat inferior to the main family, it is probably impossible to find a second family in the entire Nippon family.

No wonder His Highness values ​​the alliance with the Oda family so much. His Highness must have already had this in mind when he first traveled, right?

Hanbei's thoughts were racing here, and Nobunaga, who was sitting at the head, could not restrain his emotions.

Originally in Qingzhou City, he just felt that Ni Peng would not be lonely in the future, but he never expected that the other party would make such rapid progress.

Putting aside the vast tracts of land conquered by the Asai family, the other party showed many ideas in his speech that even impressed me so far. Even the other party's own power, I could no longer fathom.

Originally, based on the power of the Sky Eye Peacock, he could see the guardian spirit entrenched in the opponent's body at a glance, but now he can no longer see Huanglong, nor can he see anything else.

Like an abyss, all the power thrown by the Sky Eye Peacock was swallowed up, which inevitably made him feel a lot of vigilance.

Of course, this was not the reason why he chose to form an alliance with the other party. In addition to Aichi's feelings for the other party, it was also due to the movements of the Imagawa family in Tokaido.

Saito Yoshiryu used human beings as materials to create monsters in Mino. Although Imagawa Yoshimoto remained calm, he also used some methods.

He just made a brief introduction to this point, and the other party followed suit. However, within a few words, many of the retainers below may not have noticed this little thing, but both parties knew that the other party had also noticed this. .

Therefore, it is imperative to form an alliance to jointly fight against the Imagawa family. They do not want to see the second person who can command an army of monsters appear.

After a brief breath of silence, Oda Nobunaga suddenly said: "In that case, the Asai family and the Oda family have formed an alliance. Nagamasa, how about you and Aichi's engagement be set in summer?"

Hearing this, all the retainers on both sides below could not help but feel their breaths stagnant. They knew that this might be the most important moment today.

If the two companies form an alliance, not only Mino, Owari, or North and South Omi, but the entire Nippon situation will change quickly!
Asai Nagamasa smiled slightly: "Okay, I have no objection. It's just Nobunaga. I want to explain one thing in advance. Although I also like Aichi's cuteness, I don't want to use marriage as a shackle to restrict her. Even without her, you Our two families can still form an alliance."

After a slight pause, he quickly glanced east, and then continued: "And as a daimyo, there will be more than one woman by my side in the future. This is also for your sister's benefit."

He was not a fool, so how could he not see the thoughts of the little kunoichi and Akane Suzuki?

He has not made any response until now, because he has his own considerations, but it does not mean that he will never respond. Whether it is based on personal emotions or for the future of the Asai family, he needs to make some choices in this regard .

Therefore, it is better to explain some things in advance. This is probably why he is completely different from most men of this era.

The many retainers below couldn't help being even more surprised when they heard the words. In Nibon, no matter if it was a daimyo or a samurai, they would actually marry as many wives as possible and give birth to many offspring.

In times of war, this is one of the best ways to stabilize the family and appease people's hearts, and because the chances of offspring dying young or dying in battle are extremely high, warriors usually try to have as many offspring as possible. Three wives and four concubines are not just is an adjective.

Not to mention, the late old master of Meinong, Dao San, had more than ten biological children, as well as an adopted son.

Their lord Nobunaga also has more than a dozen brothers, and even besides his wife Nohime, he also has several concubines.

Moreover, there are great benefits to having many heirs. When they reach adulthood, the brothers will work together and unite with other sects to make the family's rule more stable.

Of course, it depends on the master's skills. If the brothers are fighting each other, it will be disadvantageous to the family.

But in any case, Asai Nagamasa was able to say such words now, which really surprised them. Should it be said that he is the "Dragon of Omi" that is valued by the lord?

No, maybe this title is no longer suitable. From the current point of view, it is absolutely impossible for Omi or Mino to restrain a real dragon.
Nobunaga was immediately furious when he heard this. The place seemed empty, but with the power of the Sky Eye Peacock, he could still see an extremely lively lark hiding in the darkness.

Especially after hearing Asai Nagamasa's words, it instantly became even more excited, and its owner was obviously also in a very happy mood.

This guardian spirit was no stranger to him. He was the little kunoichi who had stayed in Qingzhou City for more than ten years.

He is just a mere ninja, but he dares to compare with my favorite sister, Oda Nobunaga?
But soon, after turning his head to look at Ah Shi who was blushing and didn't seem to mind it at all, he turned and became much calmer in an instant.In any case, as long as Ashi can be happy, it doesn't matter, with the support of herself and the Oda family, she will not lose to a female ninja.

However, he dared to marry a ninja. Should he be said to be worthy of being the man he likes?Sure enough, he has extraordinary capabilities!

With a slight snort, Oda Nobunaga narrowed his slightly narrow eyes, and his sharp gaze pierced the man opposite him like a sword.

After a few more breaths, when all the retainers below were extremely nervous and some even had sweat on their foreheads, he finally spoke again.

"Nagamasa, you're fine. I'm relieved to leave Ashi to you."

Although I don’t know what he was relieved about, many retainers of the Oda family breathed a sigh of relief. The family was already under great pressure when facing the threat from the Imagawa family. If the Asai family was angered at this time, it would be really difficult. Not a good idea.

Now that we have successfully formed an alliance with the other party, our family has immediately lost a major problem, and can finally deal with the possible invasion of the Imagawa family with all our strength.

Unlike many of the rejoicing Oda family retainers, General Shibata Katsuie was secretly sulking because he once had unrealistic expectations for Princess Aichi, but now it seems that it will always be just a fantasy.

Asai Nagamasa nodded slightly as a courtesy, and at the same time looked at Ashi: "As long as Ashi doesn't let me down, I will definitely live up to Ahshi."

Many samurai below couldn't help but commotion for a while, because this sentence was also unreasonable, but now Oda Nobunaga no longer cares. He dared to throw incense on his father's altar at his father's funeral, otherwise he wouldn't have Known as the "Owari Fool", how polite can he be?

He just looked at his sister again.

Ashi, who was stared at by two people, suddenly became a little overwhelmed. She could only blush and her heart beat. In the end, her sister-in-law Noki, who treated her like a mother, reached out to help her up.

She finally tried to calm down her mood and looked at the man of her dreams seriously: "Your Highness Nagamasa, no matter how many wives you have in the future, as long as you still have a place for Ashi in your heart, Ashi will I am satisfied.”

Noji next to her couldn't help but lament in her heart. As a woman from the Wu family, Ashi shouldn't have been so affectionate, but she was really moved because of an unexpected meeting in Qingzhou City.

You are already like this before you get married. If you really become the wife of the other party, what kind of attitude will you have?
In the eyes of Asai Nagamasa and Oda Nobunaga, they could clearly see that the bird on Aichi had danced extremely happily, even more so than the kind-hearted lark hiding in the dark. She was so happy that even the nine-tailed fox on her body, which was always extremely calm, couldn't help but raise the corners of her mouth.

Obviously, Ah Shi was really happy.

Asai Nagamasa couldn't help laughing immediately: "How dare you live up to the kindness of a beautiful woman?"

"Very good, Nobunaga, since the two families have made an alliance, when Imagawa Yoshimoto attacks, why should I help you?"

"But Meinong, which Master Dao San left behind, needs the strength of your family and mine."

Regardless of whether Michizan gave Nobunaga a state certificate or not, and what was written on it, it actually doesn't matter now. It just gave Nobunaga an excuse and reason to intervene in Mino. How much land can he really seize? , it also depends on his strength.

Of course, Oda Nobunaga didn't understand this truth. He looked at his sister's appearance and laughed immediately: "Very good, Nagamasa. If that's the case, then I won't be polite."

"In return, and Ah Shi's dowry, let me deal with those monks from the Xiang Sect in Changdao City for you, how about that?"

"If that's the case, then I'll be more respectful than obedient."

Having said that, Asai Nagamasa will inevitably think more.

Is it a dowry, or is it blocking the Asai family's path to the west from there?
Compared with the originally almost unified Owari, Mino and Kitanomi, Nagashima Castle is narrow and thin, but its geographical conditions are very critical. In the west, Ise and Yamato provinces and other regions have either constant internal disputes and many forces, or It is a chicken like the Tsutsui family and the Kitahata family, which are very suitable for conquests and expeditions.

Of course, no matter which country Nobunaga chooses to conquer, he will inevitably be bordering or even becoming an enemy of the Miyoshi family, which is in full swing and is almost better than the Imagawa family.

Unfortunately, raising troops into Kyoto, which is extremely attractive to foreign daimyo, has little meaning to me. If I want to, I can eliminate the Rokkaku family at any time, go straight to Kyoto, and meet with the general.

Even just passing Lake Biwa to reach Kyoto is a breeze.

However, it would not be bad to give him this opportunity to conquer the west and let him attract some attention.

After all, my goal has never been to occupy all the land in Nibon, and my real enemies are not these daimyo and samurai.
At the same time, in the Yasaki Pavilion, the residence of Takeda, the daimyo of the Kai Kingdom, there was a mighty general in red armor, with a beard like a bush of steel needles, like a real tiger, entrenched at the top, Looking down at the visitors from a high position.

"So, Mr. Miki Yoshiyori wants to form an alliance with my family to jointly fight against the threat from the Asai family and even the Uesugi family?"

Although Yoritsuna Aenoji is now the nominal leader of Hida Country, everyone knows that he who just served Yuan for a few years is actually just a puppet launched by his father Yoshiyori Miki. The real master is Miki. Good luck.

"Yes, sir, the Governor of the Nagao family is short-sighted and unfaithful. He is far from comparable to a 'Tiger of Kai' like you. Therefore, our family is willing to respect you, Lord Shingen, as our master and conclude an alliance."

"To show your sincerity, the Lord has sent someone to deliver a thousand taels of gold, 2000 taels of silver, and five thousand shi of grain to show your sincerity."

The envoy of the Anekōji family lowered his head very respectfully. After all, he was facing Takeda Shingen, known as the "Tiger of Kai", a powerful daimyo in the entire Kanto region and even the entire Nippon.

The Takeda family has many famous ministers and brave generals. If it were not for the continuous war with the Uesugi family, the land would definitely be much more than it is now. Their sister Xiaoji family would never be able to compete with them, and they would not even be able to resist.

Just like the Uesugi family who faced angry questioning this time, they either chose to give in or seek foreign aid. This may be the helplessness of a small country born in the cracks.

But after listening to the messenger's words, Takeda Shingen just sneered.

Short-sighted?Disloyal?
In the turbulent Warring States Period, this sentence was very suitable for many daimyo and samurai, but it could not be applied to the giri-maniac Uesugi Kagetora.

Even though according to his many years of investigation, she was actually a Ji warrior, her military strategy, martial arts, moral principles, and many other aspects were superior to those of ordinary men.

If it weren't for being too loyal, how could she have fought with him year after year without asking for anything in return just to stand up for those incompetent guys?

Moreover, if she is really such an idiot, isn't he also an incompetent person who has fought against her for several years without a draw?

Although the messenger thought he was smart and said many nice things to himself, he was actually just a fool.

Still, it wouldn't be a bad idea to accept the request for now.

Hida country has many mountains but little land, barren land, poor mountains and rivers, and many unscrupulous people. I didn't look down on the little oil and water before, and there was no need to provoke the hostility of the Saito family and other forces that bordered Hida. It was not worth paying for it. The price was too high, so we deliberately left such a buffer.

But now most of the Mino area has changed its owner. Although the new daimyo of the Asai family is very young, he is very sharp and powerful. He can turn clouds and rain with his hands and defeat the Rokkaku and Saito families successively.

Almost in the blink of an eye, before the outside world could react, he had already seized hundreds of thousands of stones of fertile land in Meinong.

In this case, it would be foolish to remain indifferent.

The Uesugi family in the north is too stubborn, and it will take many years and troops to conquer. To the south is the ally Imagawa family, and to the east is the development direction of the ally Hojo family. The mountains are towering, the land is barren, and there are many large and small forces entangled. Being together is not a suitable match.

After forming the Three Kingdoms Alliance of Shun Koso, the family no longer had any worries, but at the same time, this alliance was also a shackles, forcing the family to fight to the death with the Uesugi family to seize the lands of Echichu and Echigo.

However, now there is an additional choice, and that is to go west.

Use missiles to attack Mino, and then contain the Asai family. After occupying Mino and even the land of north and south Omi, you will naturally have an absolute advantage and can calmly face the enemy Echigo Dragon!
As for the Anekokoji family's so-called introduction of foreign aid to compete with the Uesugi family, it was just wishful thinking on his part.

Although he was full of sarcasm in his heart and looked at the other party as if he were a dead thing, on the surface he did not show it completely, and he quickly agreed to the other party's request. After all, the other party promised some reward, and he had to get it first.

Soon, after a series of discussions, the envoy from the Anokoji family left gratefully, but could not see the sarcasm in Takeda Shingen's eyes behind him at all.

With a cold snort, he was about to order the generals to be summoned to prepare for the war next spring after the busy farming season, but he suddenly received new news from his subordinates, and envoys from other forces came.

Rolling his eyes, Takeda Shingen temporarily suppressed his thoughts. He asked calmly: "Who is this person from? Did he say anything important?"

"It is said that the Nagashima City Enjoji family wants to unite with you, my lord, to attack the unjust Asai family. The Enjoji family is also contacting other forces at the same time and wants to form a siege network against the Asai family!"

Takeda Shingen was stunned at first, and then he couldn't help laughing: "Siege net? It's just a mere Nagashima City, how dare you boast like this?"

Nagashima City is just a small place. I don't know if it can afford one or two thousand ashigaru. Why should he form a siege network against the Asai family?With the military strength currently displayed by the Asai family, even this family dare not say that they can win in battle!

"Lord, the other party claims that they have obtained the secret of immortality. They have discovered a white dragon from Cathay, and its blood can make people immortal, even immortal."

While speaking, the general's expression was also extremely strange. Although demons and ghosts have been appearing in various places in recent days, and he even personally led troops to kill some evil ghosts, when he heard those monks say such words, he My first reaction was still disbelief.

Immortality has been the pursuit of everyone since ancient times, but no one has ever truly achieved it.

But beyond his expectation, Takeda Shingen, who was originally calm, suddenly changed his face at this moment, and even jumped up involuntarily.

He stared at his subordinates viciously, like an angry tiger, and said word by word: "Where is the white dragon they are talking about?"

(End of this chapter)