Prime Minister Bizen

It was very embarrassing for Guan Bai to stay overnight in the palace, but in the end, he violated the prince's concubine.

In the past, it might have been possible to marry the concubine back to cover up the humiliation of both the imperial family and the Toyotomi family, but now that the concubine was strangled to death by Hideyoshi when she was excited, the matter became a big deal.

Xiuli woke up the next day, and his whole body exploded when he looked at the cold corpse lying next to him.Xiuli escaped from Kyoto in despair, and the matter soon spread from the imperial palace.

The imperial family originally wanted to spread the news that Prince Hidekouchi was ill and dying, but they didn't know how the news spread so quickly. Now it has put both the Toyotomi family and the imperial family on the fire.

When such a big thing happened, the Hide family naturally couldn't stay alone. As the head of the Toyotomi family and the general conquering the barbarians, he needed to be the middleman to mediate between Hidetoshi and the emperor.

But coincidentally, Hideie was not in Fushimi now, but left for the Northeast a few days in advance on the grounds of inspecting the Hokkaido armies.

The three most powerful elders of the Toyotomi family, Hidetoshi has passed away, Hidehisa cannot manage politics, and the Hide family is not in Kinki, Hidetoshi has completely become a crazy child without restraint.

Such a big thing has happened to the royal family. In order to save my own face, I don't care whether you, Xiuli, is the actual ruler of Japan.

Of course, the emperor did not dare to say that he would arrest Hideyoshi directly, for fear that he would be slapped in the face.He just issued an order asking Guan Bai Xiuli to go to Luo to explain.

In fact, apart from the not-so-good external tone, the royal family's attitude is really soft compared to what Xiuli committed.

That means: Come here and admit your mistake, give me a step down, we will punish you on the surface, give an explanation to the outside world, and preserve some royal dignity.

Generally speaking, Osaka feels guilty about the royal family, and the most appropriate way to deal with it is for Hidetoshi to issue an edict similar to a sinner's edict, then live in seclusion and give way to his son, and become a monk and chant sutras for the rest of his life to pray for Princess Hideko's salvation.

Anyway, seclusion is for outsiders to see, and the common people and low-level warriors cannot spy on Onai's situation. Whether you give birth to a child in Onai, or act as a prince to actually control the government behind your back, no one can question you anyway.

But Xiuli is different. He is almost 20 now, and the maids around him have changed and died again and again. As a result, he still has no son.

If he, Xiuli, lives in seclusion, who can this position be given to?

Legally speaking, his elder brother Hideie is the first in line of succession, or he is the blood brother who has been adopted by Hideucha, the Hidehisa who has been incapable of governing for many years due to his stupidity.

But Chacha was killed by Xiujia in front of Xiuli's eyes. His hatred for Xiujia was no longer hidden and he told his attendants. How could he give up this position to Xiujia?
Besides, he has only been in charge for a few years, and he has not lived enough happy days. He has not yet seen the death of the "rebel" Xiujia. He is absolutely unwilling to give up this position just like this.

So Xiuli made an extremely crazy decision - to lead troops to Luo!
But now the soldiers of the Toyotomi family are in the hands of Hideie, who is a general. Without Hideie's order, the samurai would not dare to follow Hidetoshi Toyotomi out.

Hidetoshi saw that he could not command Toyotomi Hatamoto, even after whipping several famous samurai with a riding crop, so he turned his attention to the seven-hand team guarding Honmaru.

The Seven Hands Group is called a group. During the Hideyoshi period, a group had as few as 6/700 people and as many as 1/2000 people, with a total strength of about 6000 people.The members of the hesitation period are mostly composed of the samurai disciples who Hideyoshi hid in the ground. These people are the reserve force of the samurai. They have received samurai combat training all year round and have very strong combat effectiveness.

It can even be said that this 6000-man seven-hand group can defeat most of the world's famous legions at will in a field battle.

But after Hideie took control of Osaka, the Seven Hands Group was disbanded.

And because the only way for the children of the samurai family to obtain samurai status was to go to Ezo to develop, the Seven Hands formed a ceremonial team, called Group 7, which actually only had more than 600 people.

And most of these 600 people, intentionally or unintentionally arranged by the Hide family, are the children of Kato Yoshiaki, Nonomura Masaharu, etc. who were beaten as rebels back then.

Although they were not implicated at the beginning, their lives must have been unsatisfactory for so many years. Many of them even struggled with their father and brother in the bitter cold land of Ezo, and finally found the opportunity to be promoted back to Osaka with Toshimasa Ikoma.

If they want to say who they hate the most in the world, it is probably the Xiu family.

They know that their current lives come from Xiuli, and therefore they have always obeyed Xiuli's orders.Although many times they felt that Xiuli's orders were not what a lord should say from a personal moral point of view, the body carried out the orders honestly.

Now Xiuli asked them to follow him to Luo. Although he didn't say the reason, it was a common thing for Bai Bai to go to Luo. This time, they were summoned by the emperor's order. The biggest difference was that Xiuli's face was full of anger.

Doesn’t Xiuli know that she did something wrong?
No, he knew what it was like for him to kill the prince, but he was still angry that this matter was exposed. He was angry at the royal family's attitude towards him, which made him feel that this matter was deliberately brought out by the royal family to make him look good. Medicinal.

This logic is difficult for normal people to understand.

It's almost the same as the current XXN's thinking. Putting aside the facts, even if the cause of the matter is me, don't you, the royal family, have nothing wrong at all?
Toyotomi Hidetoshi led his troops to Luo, or he could take the north of the Kizugawa River and cross Yamazaki directly into Kyoto. This was also the most common road in the past.Or just go northeast along the south side of the Kizugawa River, and then cross the Kizugawa River on the west side of Fushimi to the north.

But the north road must pass through Shimizu Shinya's Takatsuki Castle. Perhaps out of fear of Hideie, he was somewhat afraid of this middle-aged samurai who was a servant of Hideie.Although the south road would pass through Fushimi West, Hideie was not in Fushimi at the moment, so he naturally became much more courageous.

It was naturally impossible to keep the matter of Toyotomi Hidetoshi heading north with the 600 Seven Hands Group a secret. Not long after, the Toyotomi family's general and one of the elders, Hachisuka Kasei, heard the news and immediately went to the city to report to Ning Ning.

At first, Ning Ning didn't take it seriously and said, "Didn't His Majesty find His Highness? Perhaps His Highness went to Luo to defend himself. It would be nice to have a clear explanation of this matter."

Only Hachisuka Housekeeper responded eagerly: "Madam, you don't know my lord's temper. Moreover, my lord and the 600 people he brought with him left in armor!"

The two words "Armor" rang out in Ning Ning's mind, and the originally rhythmic sound of tapping the wooden fish was also messy.

Thinking back to the ridiculous things Shiuri had done over the years, he hurriedly said to Hachisuka Housekeeper, "Quick! Stop the lord with Hamon and bring him back safely! Then Pegasus went to the northeast to find the general and asked him to come back immediately to mediate. "

Housekeeper Hazusuka took the order and left. He was about to go out to order the general, but was stopped by Shimizu Nobuya: "Where are you going in such a hurry, Lieutenant General? I just happened to find two fine tea sets recently. If you want to show your favor, why don't you come here?" Let me taste it at my house.”

At this moment, Housekeeper Haesuka had no intention of drinking tea with Nobuya Shimizu. He casually said a few polite words and walked away.

But as soon as he walked around the corner, he felt something was wrong. "Wasn't he Shimizu Nobu sent by Hideie to go to the Western Kingdom to preside over the repair of Okayama Castle? Why did he suddenly appear here?"

Thinking of this, Hachisuka Housekeeper suddenly turned around, only to see Nobu Shimizu looking at him with a smile behind him, as if he was sure that he would turn around.

"How come Daisuke Shimizu Shikibu appears here? You are not"

Shimizu Nobu also saw Housekeeper Hazusuka turn around, and stepped forward in three steps and took his arm. "Ah~ Fortunately, I came back in time, otherwise I may not see the Lieutenant General in the future."

Hearing Shimizu Shinya's words, Hachisuka Housekeeper felt strange. He was in good health, how could he not see her again?
"Does Shikibu Daisuke have something to say to me?" Housekeeper Hachisuka asked in confusion.

But Shimizu Shinya's reply was, "It's really nothing. I have indeed collected a good set of tea utensils. I would like to ask the Lieutenant General to taste them together. If the Lieutenant General wants to enjoy the tea today, then come home with me. As for the other matters, I will leave it to you." Just let the people below go."

"But I" Hachisuka Housekeeper was about to tell Hidetoshi about Hidetoshi and Chacha's order, but then he thought and asked tentatively, "Daisuke Shikibu, where is he now?"

Shimizu Shinya looked around mysteriously and said, "His Royal Highness Kōkata should be on his way to Sendai, but His Highness Toyoharu is currently in Gifu!"

"Toyoharu!" Housekeeper Hazusuka said in surprise, "He is not a big boss, a middle-aged man, or a follower. How can he leave the fiefdom easily without permission?"

But as soon as the words came out of his mouth, he felt that what he said was somewhat stupid. His father Xiujia was a general, so he couldn't just do whatever he wanted?

Shimizu Nobu also replied, "Toyoharu Danagon came to Luo Zhong this time to convene ten daimyo to discuss the impeachment of Ikoma Toshimasa. He also came to persuade the Lord to establish a country with justice and establish affairs. It was not because he heard Luo Zhong's speech. Just gossip.”

"So, Fengchun Danayan already knows about what happened in Luozhong before?"

"I didn't know about it before, but now that I know it, the convening of the judging conference is imminent. Attendants Takeda and Sanada went to Luo with him, and I think Senator Uesugi is on the way too."

Hachisuka Housekeeper thought about the information revealed by Shimizu Nobuya, but still didn't understand the cause and effect of him stopping him from taking people to stop Hideyoshi.

If you want to impeach Toshimasa Ikoma, it's okay, and if you want to admonish Hidetoshi, there's no problem.But you have to solve the most difficult problem at the moment first!

Hidetoshi entered Luo wearing a helmet and a soldier. With his temper, if something happens in the imperial palace, what will happen between the Toyotomi family and the Imperial family?

Although Shimizu Nobu has been keeping silent, his strange attitude cannot be faked, "Lieutenant General, please follow me back to the mansion. The affairs of the people below should be left to the people below."

Hachisuka Housekeeper didn't know what was going on with him, but he actually listened to Shinya's words and summoned Mano Ryuubao, asking him to go to Kyoto with 1000 flags to bring Shuri back.

At the same time, the big bosses in Osaka, Toshimasa Ikoma, Terumasa Ikeda, Hidemasa Nakagawa and others also heard the news that Shuri had brought people to Luo.

The mature and prudent Nakagawa Hidemasa and Ikeda Terumasa soon discovered that the problem was unusual, but both of them strangely chose to remain silent.

As for Takatora Toudo, he has long been an invisible person among the five big guys. Although he keeps coming to meetings under his name, he never expresses his opinion. He always says, "Nakagawa Nakaton is right," said General Ikeda. It makes sense."

At today's meeting, he miraculously did not show up.

When the Ashikaga family was dissatisfied with Hidetoshi and returned to their fiefdom early but could not go to Luo, the five big brothers basically made the decision by the three of them.

"Two adults, should we send someone to recover the lord? With his temper, I'm really afraid that he will do something extraordinary." As soon as he sat down, Ikoma Junzheng asked the two veterans for advice. .

Not to mention, Xiuli has done a lot of outrageous things over the years.Take this incident as an example. Before the incident, no matter how outrageous Xiuli was, no one could believe that he would do such a rebellious thing as killing the prince!
But things happened, and they were so big that they had never happened before, so many people didn’t know how to deal with them.

Nakagawa Hidemasa actually had a plan in his heart, but he didn't want to mention it.Ikeda Terumasa also had some ideas, but after taking a look at Sora's position where Toudo Takatora was, he always felt that the situation was a bit strange.

In the past, no matter whether Toudo Takatora expressed his opinions or not, others would always show up. Why are they so mysteriously invisible today?

But Ikoma Junzheng over there was urging her urgently, and Ningning also sent someone over. She was afraid that Hachisuka Housekeeper wouldn't be able to hold Xiuli, so she planned to ask a big boss-level daimyo to bring Xiuli back.

Nakagawa Hidemasa took this opportunity to accept the task of going to the Northeast to find Hideya, and directly threw the hot potato of Kinki to Ikeda Terumasa and Ikoma Toshimasa.

The two had no choice but to get up and head to Kyoto.

But at this time, Xiuri came to Kyoto with more than 600 members of the Seven Hands Group. The soldiers of the Kyoto Administrative Office who were responsible for garrisoning here were unable to stop them and allowed them to rush into the city directly.

The emperor who was in the imperial palace rushed into Kyoto when he heard that Hideyoshi led his soldiers. His daughter had just died and he was feeling aggrieved. The emperor who had already given in had been so angry that he fainted due to Hideyoshi's arrogance and domineering.

Fortunately, Prince Masahito was still in the imperial palace, and he hated the man who violated and killed his sister.He directly ordered people to seal the imperial palace and closed the city gate to prevent Toyotomi Hidetoshi from entering.

Although the emperor has long since ceased to be in power, he does not have a single soldier in his hands. Even the Habayashi family members who were guarding the palace at that time can only do ceremonial work.

However, this has been passed down for thousands of years, and there are always some people who are loyal to the emperor. When they hear the bell ringing at the imperial palace, people from the Habayashi, ministers, Qinghua, and Guanshe families rush to the imperial palace to protect the emperor.

In fact, although the Imperial Palace is a city, its city wall is nothing more than a courtyard, and the city gates are only slightly more impressive, but they cannot function as a fortress defense at all.

Fortunately, Xiuli still had some sense now. He reined up his horse in front of the palace gate and yelled at the minister who appeared on the city wall, "I am Guanbai Xiuli, and I came to see your majesty in court under Feng Zhao. How about you guys?" If you don't open the door and let me in, can you bear the blame if I miss something?"

There was a commotion on the gate tower, and soon there was a response: "Please also ask Guan Bai to withdraw his soldiers, take off his armor and weapons, and come in to see him dressed in fine clothes."

In fact, there are no weapons in the Imperial Palace for a long time. If you insist on weapons, they are just a few axes, halberds and hammers used as ceremonial guards. Whether those thin arms and legs of the Yulin family can wield them is a question.

But Xiuli, who had a guilty conscience, would definitely not dare to take off his armor and weapons and go in alone.

But it is not enough to waste it like this. The samurai next to him, who was also the original leader of the Seven Hands Group, Aoki Ichishige, suggested to him, "It is better for me to go inside and report to His Majesty first and explain the whole story. Your Highness will wait outside." how?"

At this moment, Xiuli's face already had a hint of anger because of the imperial court's attitude towards closing the door on him. He thought this was a show of force given to him by the minister and the emperor.But he still nodded in acquiescence to Aoki Kazushige's proposal.

Aoki Ichishige got off the horse and told Katsunaga Mouri who was standing aside, asking him to watch Xiuri not to do anything too outrageous. Then he took off his clothes, handed over his weapons and walked into the city gate.

I just don't know what happened in the city. Not long after Aoki Ichiju entered, there was a gunshot, and then there was a wailing sound from the city.

The members of the Seven Hands Group who heard the sound of the iron cannon tried desperately to protect Xiuli and leave. However, Xiuli, who was angry, believed that this was the city's revenge on him and that it was a use of force to resist the law.He rightfully felt that his cousin Aoki Ichishige was dead.

He pushed away the samurai guarding him, drew out the samurai sword from his waist and pointed at the imperial palace and said, "Come into the city and capture the traitor!"

His order was issued, but it frightened the members of the Seven Hands Group.You let them bully civilians or other samurai or daimyo, but they still dare to do it after all, they are covered in a layer of tiger skin.

But you asked them to attack the Imperial Palace, but they didn't dare even if you gave them a hundred courages!

Mouri Katsunaga, who had just been warned by Aoki Ichiju, stepped forward to persuade Xiuli, but Xiuli slashed Mouri Katsunaga's neck with a knife.

Mouri Katsunaga's aorta ruptured, and blood spattered on Xiuli's face like an evil ghost. The evil ghost gnashed his teeth and ordered again: "You are my close ministers. Now the glory and wealth are before your eyes. Come with me." I will tell your Majesty the truth in front of you, and I will explain the whole story to you. I am sure that your majesty will understand my pain. But whoever dares to disobey the military order today will be killed no matter who he is!"

The samurai were afraid of Xiuli's power, so they took a few steps back, looked at the imperial palace on the side, and then looked at Xiuli in front of them, who even killed his own commander at his request. They were unable to make a decision for a moment.

At this time, someone had to take the lead. Coincidentally, someone actually found a wooden pillar from the side, and three or five people carried it and rushed to the imperial palace gate.There were also people who ran quickly with spears in hand and used their strength to fly up the wall and climb into the city.

The ministers of the imperial palace were all powerless people, and they could not stop this group of armored warriors. Soon the samurai who entered the city had opened the imperial palace gate, and Xiuli led an influx of people from left to right.

Of course, there were still more than a hundred people who were hesitant and did not dare to lead troops into the imperial palace. Xiuri was too lazy to care about them and went to find the emperor with his own people.

It was a coincidence that not long after Xiuri and others entered the imperial palace, a fire broke out in the Shichen Hall where the emperor was located. The fire started quickly and violently and directly included the entire imperial palace in Kenreimon.

This is the core of the imperial palace. The essence of the royal family is gathered here at this moment, but a fire makes them unable to retreat.

Some people wanted to run to the Oike Garden to take refuge. When they arrived here, they remembered that Osaka had reported repairs to the Oike Garden not long ago, and now all the water in the pond had been drained.

In order to prevent fire, in fact, there are small square ponds next to each building in the Imperial Palace, but with the fire so big now, this little water is completely useless.

Seeing that his family was surrounded by the fire, Emperor Goyosei believed that all this was the work of the arrogant and domineering Hidetoshi. He pointed at the sky and cursed, "The Toyotomi family will perish more than the second generation!"

At the same time, Xiuli was confused outside the fire scene, because the fire had already started before others arrived. The inexperienced man looked at the raging fire dragon in front of him and didn't know what to do.

He had already found Ichiju Aoki, and then he realized that it was all a misunderstanding.Just as he was about to explain it to the emperor in person, he saw the imperial palace on fire.

Fortunately, Aoki had a clear mind. He immediately organized his soldiers to put out the fire, and sent people to find a way to rush into the fire to rescue the emperor and his family.

At this moment, he already felt something was wrong. The fire was too weird, the fire was too fierce, and it was also accompanied by an explosion. It looked like it was deliberately set on fire.

The most important thing is that the sound of the iron cannon that sounded from nowhere did not happen to him at all. Instead, it shocked Xiuli outside the city and made him make an irrational decision.

It all seemed to be planned.