In the meeting hall of Dahu City, Date Masamune was tremblingly holding ginger soup and sipping it in small sips. Next to him, Yamanaka Yukimori was sitting under the main seat, closing his eyes and concentrating.
When he heard the sound of the sliding door opening behind him, Date Masamune immediately put down his soup bowl, kowtowed to the ground and paid his respects to Shiba Yoshigan, who entered the room, and shouted.
"The sinner, Date Masamune, has met a saint!"
Date Masamune, who bowed his head respectfully, saw Yoshigan's feet stopping in front of him.
"Are you Date Masamune?"
"Hi!"
"Keep your head up."
Date Masamune slowly raised his head and looked at the giant in front of him, feeling shocked in his heart.
It had long been heard that Shiba Yoshigan was tall and tall, far taller than an ordinary man, but kneeling at his feet now made Date Masamune feel extremely small.
Date Masamune is 159 centimeters tall. Among the Hime Samurai, he can only be said to be average and not too short.
But in front of Yiyin's huge height difference of 183 centimeters, she is a dwarf. What's more, the gap between standing and kneeling is even greater.
This is..god..
The huge gap made Date Masamune, who had been kneeling in the snow for a long time, his already weak will become more and more relaxed and frightened.
In her opinion, the giant man in front of her, who looked to be no more than sixteen years old and had a gorgeous appearance, couldn't possibly be a mortal.
How could a man be so tall...and Yiyin is already 23 or 24 this year...
Just as Date Masamune was carefully looking at Yoshigan and thinking wildly, Yoshigan was also observing her.
The girl in front of her has a delicate appearance, with a bit of childishness and tenderness on her face. One eye is covered by a blindfold, which makes her look quite sick, like a weak and sickly beauty.
But Yoshigan did not dare to underestimate this little girl who was less than 20 years old. She was one of the most fierce and ambitious local daimyo in the Ou area.
It is said that Date Masamune suffered from smallpox when he was a child and lost one eye. He was disgusted by his father Yoshitsune. After he succeeded to the throne, he had a fierce conflict with Nihonmatsu, which led to the death of his mother who abdicated the throne.
Her mother was kind-hearted and loved by her children. This incident caused Date Masamune to be criticized by all parties. As a result, his father hated his daughter even more and even returned to his father's house.
Her father, Yoshikun, was the son of the Mogami family. The dispute between Date Masamune and the Mogami family made her father particularly resentful of her. The relationship between father and daughter was extremely bad.
Looking at the sick beauty in front of him, Yoshigan thought carefully and suddenly found that Date Masamune looked like Oda Nobunaga.
He was also ignored by his father, he was not welcomed by his retainers after his mother's death, and he desperately wanted to prove his excellence.
Yiyin couldn't help but let out a breath.
He is most afraid of dealing with these paranoid people. Bribing and compromising are of no use to these people. Their whole life is to burn themselves and prove themselves. Their obsession is too strong and difficult to deal with.
The Ou samurai called Date Masamune one-eyed dragon, and her name was taken from Li Keyong of the later Tang Dynasty. It can be seen that this woman is by no means weak and sick on the surface, but has a strong and brave temperament, and is not easy to get along with.
It is not an easy task to convince this evil dragon. But if you want to eradicate the root at this time, but it is not enough, a wise man will not take it.
Yiyin sat on the main seat, pointed at Jiang Tang and said.
"After drinking it, it will be cold and freezing, but don't let the root cause of the disease fall on you."
Date Masamune thanked the sage, picked up the soup bowl, and swallowed it in one gulp, regardless of the burning heat of the ginger soup, without changing her expression. Then, she knelt respectfully in front of Yoshigan, while the sage waited for his resignation.
Yiyin asked calmly.
"Your Highness Ida came all the way to Dahu City and knelt outside my courtyard. Why?"
Date Masamune fell to the ground and kowtowed again.
"The guilty minister knows that his sin is serious and I beg the saint to punish him."
Yiyin glanced at her solemn white clothes and sneered.
"The Date family is located in Yonezawa, Sendai and other places, and is very popular. I heard that the stone height is over a million stones, and it is a big name.
A lady does not stand under a dangerous wall, Your Highness Ida abandoned a million-stone territory and came south alone to show off to me. Do you really think that I dare not kill you?"
Date Masamune smiled sadly.
"The Date family has a reputation of millions of stones, but it fell into a great chaos many years ago. I am just inheriting the legacy of my ancestors and trying my best to protect the shogunate.
Now that a saint has come to this world, Date Masamune was confused for a moment, disobeyed the will of heaven, and resisted the heavenly soldiers. He was truly an unforgivable sin.
The guilty minister begs the saint to punish him, and whether he is killed or beheaded, there will be no resentment in the Ida family."
Date Masamune fell to the ground and stopped talking. Yoshigan reached out and picked up a knife on the knife holder beside him, and pulled it out with a scraping sound.
This time, Yamanaka Yukimori was so frightened that he raised his head. He really thought that the saint was so excited by Date Masamune that he was going to kill him.
The sound of wind broke through the air, and Date Masamune closed his eyes and listened, but what hit him was not a knife, but a scabbard.
Yiyin hit her shoulder with the sheathed stick and sighed.
"The Date family has obeyed the shogunate for many years and guarded the land of Ou. There is no merit but hard work.
Although Your Highness Date made a mistake, in view of the merits of all the ancestors of the Date family who have devoted their duties to the shogunate, I used a sword instead of a sword, and punished you with a small punishment but with a big warning.
As the old saying goes, there are only three things to do.
I hope you won’t make the same mistake again and again, and there will be no third chance for Yu Zeende, who has let down his ancestors.”
The two times that Yoshigan refers to, one is the time when the Osaki Mogami family asked for help and the Kanto Minister's Office sent troops to mediate, and the other is the time when Date Masamune took advantage of the Shiba-Oda battle to cause another disturbance in Ou.
Date Masamune has repeated twice, playing tricks on the Kanto Palace and causing trouble for the saint.
This time, seeing that she had gone south alone and came to beg for mercy in person, and that her ancestor was a member of the famous Ou clan who was personally consecrated by the shogunate, Yoshigan reluctantly let her go.
If there is a next time, then Yoshigami is extremely benevolent and has enough reasons to attack him and destroy the Date family, and the Oubu family will have nothing to say.
Date Masamune felt relieved and kowtowed heavily.
"The sinner thanks the saint for not killing me! I will definitely tie a grass ring in the future to repay your kindness!"
Yiyin returned the sword to its sheath and threw it aside.
"The Aizu Rebellion started because of you. The Date family must immediately and unconditionally withdraw from the four counties of Aizu. Do you understand?"
"Hey, I will obey the saint's will."
"The Mogami treats me disrespectfully, but this matter has nothing to do with you. I will go to the Mogami to argue with me. You should be honest and don't stir up trouble."
"Hi, I understand."
Yoshigan glanced at Yamanaka Yukimori and said.
"The Kanto Palace is going to crusade against the unjust people in the East, and there should be no chaos in the Ou area.
I will send Yamanaka Yukimori's troops to intimidate the border areas to prevent Xiao Xiao from taking the opportunity to cause chaos. All the Ou warriors have the obligation to cooperate with Yamanaka Yukimori."
Date Masamune bowed to Yamanaka Yukimori.
"The Date family will cooperate wholeheartedly, and I respectfully request the instructions from Lord Yamanaka."
Yiyin shook his head.
"Spring plowing is around the corner, and I think I have a lot of things to do at Ida's house, so I won't keep you much longer. Rest for a night and go back tomorrow."
Date Masamune was stunned for a moment, and then he felt ecstatic in his heart.
Although Yoshigan asked her to withdraw from Aizu and not allow her to conflict with the Mogami family again, he did not mention a word about the Osaki family that had been destroyed.
You must know that after the destruction of the Osaki family, the entire Nansendai fell into the hands of Date Masamune. As long as this piece of fat is not spit out, Date Masamune will not lose money in this military adventure and make a lot of money.
Of course Yoshigan knew this, but even if he really scolded Date Masamune to withdraw from the Osaki family's old territory, this territory would not fall into Yoshigan's hands.
In the northern part of Dewa Province, Yoshigan planted the nail of Tozawa Moriyasu.
The Shonai area at the southern seaport of Dewa Province and the Aizu area at the gateway to Ou are both within the scope of Yamanaka Yukimori's troop dispatch.
But the Minami-Sendai Plain, located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean, is too far away from Yoshibank's sphere of influence, and he can't control it at all.
In the past, Yoshigan also considered supporting the Mogami family and the Osaki family as an extension of its influence to develop further into the Ou region.
But the facts have slapped Yi Yin hard. These two Sibo relatives, who were one family two hundred years ago, are unreliable. They are both white-eyed wolves.
Therefore, the Osaki family is dead. Yoshigan has no intention of standing up for the Osaki family. If Date Masamune can be more honest in the future, Yoshigan will not see the issue of the ownership of the Minami Sendai Plain for the time being.
Giving Date Masamune a little sweetness can also be used as a reason to fall out in the future, it depends on what Date Masamune chooses.
Date Masamune was obviously a smart person. Of course she understood that the reason why the saint was not mentioned today was because of her good attitude.
If she dares to do anything again in the future, then Nansendai's old scores will be revealed and become a bargaining chip against her.
Date Masamune disagreed with this in his heart. At least today, this hurdle has passed. As for the future, it depends on whether the saint Yoshigan can hold the world firmly.
If Shiba's regime is stable and Date Masamune is unable to fulfill her lifelong ambition, she will definitely recognize those who are responsible for the affairs of the times as heroes and become a loyal lackey of the Shiba family in the Ou area.
But if there is trouble in the Shiba family and Kanto falls into disintegration again, then don't blame Date Masamune for his ambition again.
However, at this juncture, Date Masamune is very satisfied with Shiyin's handling.
Although the Date family was asked to assist Yamanaka Yukimori in his expansion into the Ou region, she at least kept the Minami Sendai Plain.
The Date family, which controls the Minami Sendai Plain, Yonezawa Basin, and Fukushima Basin, and has extended its tentacles to Nihonmatsu, can indeed take a break to digest the new territory.
Date Masamune was about to lie down and take a closer look to see whether the Shiba family was a long-term powerful new master of the world or a short-lived overlord of Kanto.
As for Date Masamune's little thoughts, Yoshigan was too lazy to guess and didn't care.
He spared Date Masamune with high regard, but on the one hand, he really did not have the energy to do anything with the Date family's territory, which was not adjacent to it.
On the other hand, he also sold a favor to Yamanaka Yukimori to support Yamanaka's group of people to penetrate and develop into the Ou area.
First, take Aizu out of the hands of Date Masamune, and later pacify the Eastern Army, use Hitachi Province as the base, and then block the entrance to Fukushima in the north.
As long as he resists Aizu and Fukushima, plots Yonezawa, and holds all the Ou portals in his own hands, as for the semi-frozen soil in the northeast, Date Masamune can do as he pleases.
Of course, the premise is that Date Masamune is sufficiently respectful to the Shiba family, otherwise it will be just a matter of chasing rabbits and rejecting the matter together.