Time goes back to Daquan Temple on June 15, the 14th year of Tianwen (1546), before the Northern Army falsely retreated.
The four Miyoshi brothers and Matsunaga Hide and five others rode their horses to Daquan Temple. Taiyuan Xuezhai, Imagawa Yoshimoto and others had already been waiting here with a small number of guards. This is a safe junction between the two armies, with open surroundings.
It is very easy to evacuate in the dark, and no one has the chance to ambush the other party.
"Master Xue Zhai, Imagawa Zhibu, what do you mean by this?" Miyoshi Changqing said coldly, obviously not intending to look good on Taiyuan Xue Zhai who has been playing tricks on him during this period. Although he knew Taiyuan Xuezhai well.
There will definitely be a turning point in this trip, but if he shows his goodwill at this time, wouldn't it let Taiyuan Xuezhai know that the Sanhao family is exhausted. Showing weakness can only mean being slaughtered by others.
"Of course I want to renew our relationship with the Mihaoshi family." Taiyuan Xuezhai said with a happy face, "The friendship we had when we fought against Kizawa together and fought side by side must be both of you and I still remember it. This time
When swordsmen and soldiers meet, there is really nothing we can do. Why not turn the conflict into friendship and get back together?"
"Oh? You, the Southern Army, claim to be avenging the Lord, so how can you cooperate with us 'regicide traitors'?" Miyoshi Yixian pursed his lips, stared at Taiyuan Xuezhai and said: "The Imagawa family is collaborating with the enemy.
"Yingying, you are showing off to others, aren't you afraid of being laughed at by everyone in the world?"
"Sir Shixiu actually cares about the opinions of the people in the world?" Taiyuan Xuezhai pretended to be surprised and said sarcastically, and then turned to Sanhao Changqing and said: "However, the so-called 'Sanhao family is a traitor who killed his master', this poor monk
I have other ideas."
"What should I say?" Matsunagahide rubbed his hands with interest, "Master Yuksai also wants to avenge the injustice of the Miyoshi family?"
"Hearing is false, seeing is believing." Taiyuan Xuezhai nodded slightly and said, "The so-called Sanhao family murdered Gongfang Hall, after all, we just heard some rumors, the poor monk still believes what he saw with his own eyes
s things."
"Then what did Master Xue Zhai see?" Mihao Changqing responded without knowing why.
"It's a pity that what the poor monk saw was not the bones in Gongfang Hall, so there is no way to judge." Taiyuan Xuezhai continued in the same nonchalant manner.
"After all, Master Xuezhai was still far away in Suruga at that time. How could he know about the chaos in Kyoto." Miyoshi Nagakei answered matter-of-factly. After he finished speaking, he suddenly realized the subtleties of Taiyuan Xuezhai's expression.
What he said was not "I didn't see the bones of Gongfang Hall", but - "What I saw was not the bones of Gongfang Hall".
Even though it was chaos, Miyoshi Nagakei still controlled his expression skillfully - he did not look back to confirm the expressions of his brothers and Matsunaga Hide, because the action of confirming itself had meaning. But he believed that everyone should know things
Serious - except for the youngest Shihe Yicun. But anyway, they never told Shihe Yicun about their plans. Shihe Yicun was as taciturn as ever, and did not express anything about Taiyuan Xuezhai's speech problem.
Special comments.
But Taiyuan Xuezhai's next words made Miyoshi Changqing instantly realize their stupidity.
"No one asked the poor monk again, 'What are the bones you saw?'"
Taiyuan Xuezhai looked at the performance of the people in front of him with satisfaction and said meaningfully:
"Or are you afraid to bring out the 'bones of Gongfang Hall'?"
Yes, one person may be innocuous, but four people simultaneously expressed indifference to this apparently ambiguous linguistic problem. Doesn’t it itself indicate that there is a problem? Doesn’t it mean that everyone has discussed how to deal with similar situations in advance?
"Then what does Master Xue Zhai mean? Do you want us to commit the greatest injustice in the world and disturb the mausoleum of the late Gongfang Hall, and open the coffin for you to conduct an autopsy? How is that appropriate?" But Sanhao Changqing adjusted it almost instantly.
When he came back, he raised his voice and asked in the most appropriate and calm tone at the moment.
"Of course I don't dare to bother to repair it, Your Highness." Taiyuan Xuezhai waved his hands quickly when he heard this, then touched the beard on his chin, pretending to be puzzled and muttered: "I have already seen it myself, but I always feel that something is not right.
Ah. The unfortunate day of the Gongfang Hall was February 6th, but why was it only March 30th that there were only bones left in the coffin? It’s not a hot summer, so logically it shouldn’t have happened so soon. My lords of the Miyoshi family
What do you think?"
After a moment of silence, the faces of everyone in the Miyoshi family turned gloomy. Miyoshi Yoshixian was already planning to investigate the traitor in the family - but the people who were ordered to carry out this task were all close confidants, so there shouldn't be any problems.
.And Matsunaga's eyes also moved quickly - he was thinking about another question - when did the Imagawa family see the body of Ashikaga Yoshiharu?
"What a coincidence, the adult male's corpse has dot-like black spots on it, which is the poison commonly used by the ninjas of the Hosokawa family." Taiyuan Xuezhai did not give Matsunagahide and the Miyoshi brothers any time to think, and continued in pursuit of victory.
Said: "Presumably, the body buried in the coffin was not the body of the late Kōbōden at all. You found the body of a traitorous ninja or someone who was poisoned by the Hosokawa family ninja, and took advantage of the shogunate's people
I accidentally dug up the grave and exchanged the coffin. As for why..."
"Master Xuezhai, please stop making groundless speculations." Sanhao Changqing raised his hand and interrupted Taiyuan Xuezhai's long speech, "I don't understand what you want to say, and I don't understand what you want to test. But if it's late at night
It’s a little below the standard to go out to meet with enemies privately just for this kind of thing.”
"His Royal Highness Xiu and Tanzheng, did you ever remember that someone invaded Xiangguo Temple on March 30th when the battle began." Taiyuan Xuezhai then smiled and told the full story of his arrangements for the Imagawa Army that day: "It seems to be to transfer the imperial palace.
There are noble troops inside so that the poor monk has a chance to escape. But if we really want to surround Wei and rescue Zhao, why is the target of our attack not Nijo Castle but Xiangguo Temple?"
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! No one from the Miyoshi family answered, but the answer is already on the page - because the tomb of Ashikaga Yoshiharu is in Sokokuji Temple.
"The war situation was urgent that day, and the troops left behind by your army in reserve were also stretched thin. To the uninformed, the tomb of the ancestors was obviously not a battleground for military strategists, and no one would dig it at the risk of the world.
Open the mausoleum of the Gongfang Hall. Therefore, your army's stay here naturally mobilized all the troops in the Xiangguo Temple Cemetery and rushed to support the defenders. The mausoleum is empty, can the people arranged by the poor monk succeed?"
"I have never heard of any report that there are traces of excavation in the tomb." Miyoshi Changqing denied coldly, "No matter how nice the story is, it is still far-fetched."
"Because you have dug it up once. Isn't it normal to have traces of digging? Your Highness thinks that in such a tense moment, would any of your Sanhao family's trusted ninjas want to check whether the tomb has been dug up again?
"Taiyuan Xuezhai asked, Sanhao Changqing waved his hands and said solemnly:
"No, it means no. What's the point of Master Xue Zhai's messing around here?"
"People are doing it, God is watching. Whether the Sanhao family has done it or not, His Highness Xiu naturally knows it, so why does the poor monk need to explain?" Taiyuan Xuezhai didn't care about Sanhao Changqing's assertion, but still smiled calmly: "The poor monk
The monk said the above just to tell you and several other adults that the poor monk is qualified to negotiate. Because what you did was not only seen by God, but also by me."
"That's nonsense." Sanhao Changqing shook his head.
"Then we might as well go straight in." Taiyuan Xuezhai spread his hands and looked directly at Sanhao Changqing: "The Sanhao family obviously made this arrangement for a purpose. The Northern Army is now unsustainable, and I'm afraid it won't be long in the future.
Kyoto is about to be evacuated, and the mausoleum of Kōfōden will also be controlled by the Confederate Army. At that time, if someone asks to open the coffin for an autopsy to find out the cause of Kōfōden’s death, they find that the bones of Kōfōden have Hosokawa family ninjas.
His handiwork. Doesn’t this give the anti-Hosokawa forces within the Southern Army an excuse to turn against each other? It will also make the truly loyal people angry. Once there is internal strife in the Southern Army, won’t the Miyoshi Army have a chance to make a comeback?”
Just when Sanhao Changqing was about to speak, Taiyuan Xuezhai pressed his hand and said: "There is no need to refute, if the Sanhao family does not have such a plan, and it is all just a poor monk talking nonsense, then your highness, Xiu, just listen to a story, why bother?"
?”
"The plan of your army is indeed exquisite, but if our Imagawa family knows about it in advance and can produce evidence to prove the innocence of the Hosokawa family and stand firm in Kyoto, then it will be even harder for the Miyoshi family to come back.
."
The eyes of everyone in the Mihaoshi family trembled uncontrollably—except Shihe Yicun, who had no idea.
"Master Xue Zhai is joking, how can you have any plans? But this story is interesting." Cold sweat broke out on Matsunagahide's back, but he still managed to keep a smile on his face and asked: "But I am not interested in the second half of the story.
Duan became a little interested. In this story, what kind of evidence did the Imagawa family plan to produce? It has been four months now. Even if the body of Gongfangdian was found, it would have been turned into bones long ago. So what?
How do you prove that this is false? I’m afraid it’s just empty talk. Could it be that marks were made on the bones? Or evidence was left beside the tomb?”
"A good story must have suspense. It would be boring if it was told thoroughly." Taiyuan Xuezhai clapped his hands and laughed mysteriously, then clasped his hands together: "But if you want this 'suspense' to never be taken out by the Imagawa family, Miyoshi
Should the family pay something?"
"What do you mean, Master Xue Zhai?" Miyoshi Yixian was still younger after all, and he asked uneasily.
"The Imagawa family is not necessarily the enemy of the Miyoshi family, nor is it necessarily the ally of the Hosokawa family. Which side you stand on depends entirely on who pays more." Taiyuan Xue Zhai showed that classic look of harmlessness between humans and animals,
Looking at Miyoshi Yoshihide: "It's business, don't be afraid. If the Miyoshi family refuses to cooperate, then the Imagawa family will have to help the Hosokawa family expose the Miyoshi family's conspiracy. But if the Miyoshi family is willing to show sincerity, the Imagawa family will even be willing to add fuel to the fire.
Help the Miyoshi family pin the charge of murdering Gongfangdian on Chief Hosokawa."