Prime Minister Bizen

A fire in Kyoto is a big deal. In a city with such a high building density, sufficient fire extinguishers are usually deployed.

Huo Xiaozhong is the firefighting team of later generations. Most of them are town soldiers subordinate to the town officials, and there are also town residents who work part-time.After all, in the old society, fire was a major event that concerned everyone, and the townspeople had to do their best to put it out.

But what happened today was very strange. The Imperial Palace in Kyoto caught fire, and the sound of gongs echoed in the sky. However, after a long time, no one came to extinguish the fire. It seemed that everyone was watching the imperial palace being buried in a sea of ​​​​fire.

Seeing that the fire could no longer be controlled, Aoki pulled Toyotomi Hidetoshi, who was still dazed, and said, "It's not suitable to stay here for long. My lord, please return to Osaka as soon as possible."

It was only then that Toyotomi Hidetoshi realized what he was doing and planned to take his men and run to Osaka.

But after exiting the gate of the Imperial Palace, I saw a circle of cheering soldiers outside the city gate, with a Tang Ling pattern on the front.

Aoki Kazushige soon realized that the person blocking him was the Sanjo Minoru family.Take another look at the huge army in helmets and armor surrounding him. How does it look like it was temporarily assembled?
However, he still took two steps forward and said to the young man under the flag: "May I ask if the three great words are in front of you? Now that the imperial palace is on fire and your majesty is in trouble, we still need to escort Guan Bai back to Osaka. Please ask me for help. Take charge of fire control matters and rescue His Majesty."

However, unexpectedly, a middle-aged samurai on horseback walked out of the military formation on the opposite side. This man was Hidetsuna Anekokoji, an old man from the Sanjo family who had moved into the Anekokoji family.

I heard that he had no respect for Hidetoshi and directly stepped forward and yelled, "Osaka Hidetoshi, how dare you rebel?"

This scolding immediately caused the CPU of Ichiju Aoki, who was still conscious, to burn out, and he almost failed to realize the relationship between the Toyotomi family and the Sanjo family.

After finally calming down, CPU yelled at Sister Hidetsuna: "How outrageous! Who of you dares to scold Guan Bai? Do you know that even your lord is Guan Bai's minister?"

But Sister Hidetsuna didn't talk nonsense to him, and directly said to the people around him, "Osaka Hidetoshi besieged the imperial palace and burned His Majesty. Many events have made people and gods angry. All the troops are models of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism. Today, follow me to capture the subordinates and hand them over to the general for questioning!" "

The Sanjo family's army is not large, only about a thousand people, and the combat ability of an individual soldier is definitely not as good as that of the Seven Hands Team.

But at this moment, most of the members of the Seven Hands Group are in confusion. After all, they just killed the Emperor inexplicably, which has a huge impact on their outlook on life. It is impossible for them to fight as usual.

But the Sanjo family won't play this trick with you at all. Regardless of the small number of Sanjo family members in this team, each man has an iron cannon facing the seven-hand team, and he has no intention of engaging in a close combat with you.

Aoki Kazushige looked at so many iron cannons in front of him, and he suddenly figured out where the gunshot that stimulated Xiuri to attack the imperial palace came from.

Seeing the spear and cannon pointed at him, Toyotomi Hidetoshi's blood surged into his heart, and he asked the Sanjo Minoru family in the distance, "Are you, the Toyoharu family, going to rebel?"

Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Sanjo Minoru took a few steps forward, pointed at Toyotomi Hidetoshi, and said, "The person who wants to rebel is you, Osaka Hidetoshi. If you don't put down your weapons at this moment and surrender, I will order someone to fire."

As arrogant as Hidetoshi, even the Emperor didn't pay attention to him. He led the seven-hand group to attack the imperial palace. Naturally, he would not bow to the Sanjo Minoru family easily.

But times have changed a long time ago, adults. There are still samurai who use their bodies to heavy iron cannons.

The current situation is stronger than others, so Xiuli also has some considerations.

But the Sanjo Minoru family on the opposite side didn't give him much chance to think, "Swan Shiro Huri is committing lawlessness, plotting rebellion, attacking the Kyoto Imperial Palace, burning down the Emperor, and you will follow me to capture and kill him today!"

Then, under the orders of his elder sister Hidetsuna Koji, the Sanjo Army opened fire from three directions at the seven-hand group surrounded in the middle.

"Bang bang bang!"

It had been many years since the world had heard the sound of iron cannon fire, let alone such intensive fire coverage.

The warriors of the Seven Hands Group rushed towards Xiuri, using their bodies to protect him in the middle, allowing the iron cannon's projectiles to penetrate their own legs and into their own bodies, and then fell down unwillingly.

The soldier's blood spattered on Xiuli's face. This was the second time that someone close to him died in front of him.Although the person who died this time was not the one closest to him, there were many people who died.

At this moment, Xiuli seemed to see her mother who was hanged in front of her nine years ago.

Manano Ribao, who heard the gunshots in the distance, rushed to the Imperial Palace with Toyotomi Hatamoto, but on the way they met Kagawa Keinori who was blocking the road.

"This is Kyoto. What does it mean that you are bringing troops here?"

Manano Yorihiro was just a nobody and he didn't dare to fight against Kagawa Keinori, who was one of the eight warriors and responsible for the town's warriors, let alone the Shogun Hideie standing behind him.

But now Hachisuka Housekeeper has entrusted himself with the task of bringing back Shuri. As the leader of the Hatamoto clan, he has to pay attention to this task.

Of course, it's impossible for him to say "I'm here to bring Xiuri back", as this would be too damaging to the Toyotomi family's face.

He could only say: "I came to Luo to protect Guan Bai under the orders of Lieutenant General Suga."

However, Kagawa Kei seemed not to have heard Mano Yoribo's words and said, "Now that there is a fire in Rakuchu, there are not enough people to extinguish the fire in Kyoto Town. Fortunately, Mano Bungo Mamoru arrived in time. In this case, leave your soldiers to me to arrange it." Once the fire in the town is extinguished, my lord will bring the bannermen back."

Just when Mano Yorihiro was about to step forward to speak, he saw that Kagawa Keinori had already called his Hatamoto samurai to come forward, and led Mano Yorihiro's soldiers away one by one.Not long after, there were only more than 160 trusted and capable soldiers left under Manano Yoribao.

Manano Yoribao was in trouble, but at this moment he knew the mission he had to shoulder, but everyone was forced to leave by Kagawa Keinori, and the few people left cast a shadow on his subsequent actions.

Kagawa Keinori did not further stop Mano Yoribao, but reminded him very strangely, "Bungo, please be careful. One wrong step will lead to an abyss."

Mano Yori was not sure what he meant. He just nodded slightly to him and then led the people to continue rushing into the city.

Before he had walked a few steps, he heard the sound of iron cannon coming from the direction of the Imperial Palace, which made him even more anxious.But when he led his people north along Karasuma Street, he encountered a group of troops wearing the "One Vine" family crest.The leader was none other than Harima Ichijo clan's old man, Kojizo.

I saw him standing in front of the battle with his sword drawn, holding a spear in his hand, and stopped Mano Yoribo and said, "There is chaos in Luozhong, and there are rebels who are rebelling against your majesty. My lord has been ordered by the emperor to gallop from Harima to rescue him. The situation in Luozhong is unknown now, I'm sorry." I can’t let Bungo defend the past.”

Ichijo Ieki's territory was worth 15 in Harima, and it would take two days at the fastest to get from Harima to Kyoto. Even if the messenger rode a fast horse, it would take at least three days to arrive with the messenger.

Moreover, as one of the daimyo of the Toyotomi family, the Ichijo family leading troops to Luka without informing Osaka is tantamount to a rebellion!

Manano Yoribao, who was already a little angry at Kagawa Keinori, saw Ke'er standing in front of him and said angrily, "Xiu Liang! I was ordered to go to Luo to escort Guan Bai back to Osaka.

What are you going to do by leading troops to Luo without being ordered to do so?Get out of here quickly, and I will pretend that there is no such thing as today.If you don't leave, I will report to the boss and the lord afterwards and I will definitely punish you for treason in the family! "

His original intention was to scare off Ke'er and the Ichijo family's army behind him, but when he saw a man coming out from behind the Ichijo family's army, Manano Yoribao's eyes widened in shock.

He also knew this person, Mano Yoribo, and he was actually Goto Motoji, the elder of the Sanjo family!
"Goto Gakimori?! Your Sanjo family."

Before Manano Yoribo finished speaking, Goto Kiji had already responded: "So Bungo Mamoru knows that we are all official daimyo, not only daimyo under the Toyotomi family, but also his majesty's ministers. Your majesty You Zhao and I led troops to Luo to guard the palace and apprehend the lawbreakers. We were just following orders." "I asked Bungo Shou to know the situation inside. Just now, Guan Bai led the seven-handed team to storm the palace and set fire to His Majesty and the prince. They are surrounded and burning inside the imperial palace. We and other troops stationed outside Luo had no time to stop them. Now we are putting out the fire and rescuing His Majesty, while rounding up the rebellious people.

I would be very grateful if Bungo Mamoru led troops to support us in putting out the fire.But if you can't get in at this moment, if you dare to commit trouble at this moment, the thieves of the Seven Hands Group are your role models. "

As he spoke, he whispered a few words to Ke'er Caizang, who waved his hand and ordered, "Iron Gunner, come forward!"

The iron cannons at the back walked to the front of the military formation, raised their iron cannons, and pointed them at Manano Yoribao and the others.

Mano Yoribao did a little counting, and it was probably more than enough for 160 of them to get two bullets per share.

The situation changed so drastically that Manano Yoribao couldn't help but take a breath of cold air.

However, he also saw that the Ichijo family's army was not large, probably less than 500 people.

No wonder Kagawa Keinori appeared on the road just now, and took most of the people away from him on the pretext that there were not enough people to dissipate the town fire, because he was afraid that too many people under him would really break up the Ichijo family army formation in front of him.

Seeing that Manano Yoribao couldn't get in from the south side, he planned to find an excuse to retreat first, and then find a way in elsewhere.

"Bungo Mamoru!" But as soon as he called his men to turn around, he was stopped by Ke'er Zaizang.

Mano Yoribao turned around in confusion, and asked with a hint of anger in his eyes, "Any advice on repairing it?"

Ke'er was glared at, but Zangano was not angry. Instead, he calmly said to Mano Yoribao, "The situation in Luozhong is strange now, and Bungo has brought so many people here. To protect His Majesty's safety, Bungo should not move lightly." good.

My lord has prepared some tea breaks at the Ichijo family residence for visitors. Since Bungo Mamoru is here, I would like to ask Bungo Mamoru to come and have a cup of tea with my lord. "

Ke'er Caizang's tone of voice was really calm, and he even said the harshest words in a pleading tone.

As his words fell, dozens of samurai from the Ichichi family appeared in the streets around Mano Yorihiro's headquarters, holding spears at them and surrounding the Toyotomi family's flag in the middle.

Manano Yoribo knew that today's matter would definitely not be resolved properly. He looked around at the Ichijo family samurai holding weapons and chose to order his subordinates to put down their weapons.

But when he passed by Ke'ercai and hid beside him, he said to him fiercely, "I'll see what happens to your master about today's matter."

Terumasa Ikeda and Shun Ikoma arrived half a day later. At this time, the fire in the imperial palace was still burning, but it was under control than before.

As soon as they arrived in Kyoto, they were invited by Goto Kiji to the Ichijo family's mansion near the imperial palace. At this moment, the [Ichichiwa Fuji] and [Arabic pattern] formation flags were hung in the Ichijo family's mansion. This was obviously the Ichijo family and the Sanjo family. This formation is located.

The armies of these two families should not have appeared here in the first place, and judging from the uniforms and armor of the armies, they were actually composed of warriors.

Both of them are human beings, so they can naturally tell the good from the bad and the inside story.

Being able to mobilize elite samurai with their skills into Luo in a short period of time, and also being able to hide something from Osaka, if you say that such a large-scale act was an impromptu idea by two noble lords after receiving the emperor's order, they would definitely not believe it.

Looking at the samurai coming and going, all of them had solemn expressions, and the two of them also looked nervous.

As soon as they were brought into the shogunate, they saw Ichijo Ieki and Sanjo Mikae sitting there, both looking at them solemnly.

Before the two of them could say anything to ask why Ichijo Ichiki appeared here, Ichijo Ichiki had already sent them a thunderbolt from the blue, "Boy, the fire in the imperial palace has been brought under control. The fire in Zichen Palace is quite big, and we can't wait for rescue. Now, 11 human remains should be found in the ruins.

The remaining remains were burned beyond recognition and cannot be confirmed to be His Majesty's. However, so far, we still have not found His Majesty or His Royal Highnesses. "

The two people who heard the news swallowed involuntarily. Ikoma Toshimasa held back the words of apology he had prepared and looked at Ikeda Terumasa aside, with a hint of help in his eyes.

Ikeda Terumasa has never encountered such a thing!

At this moment, he only felt that Kyoto was a hot potato. At this moment, he regretted why he agreed to Ning Ning and come here with Ikoma Toshimasa?

There was silence in the shogunate for a long time, and finally Toshimasa Ikoma asked, "Where is His Highness Guanbai now?"

The Sanjo Minoru family replied with a firm expression: "There have been many confirmations and corrections. It was Guan Bai who ordered the burning of the imperial palace. Now Guan Bai has been controlled by us in the back hall of the Ichijo family residence. There is a dedicated person to take care of him. His life is guaranteed to be safe. .”

When they heard that Toyotomi Hidetoshi was still alive, both of them could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.

They don't know why, but they have no doubt at all about Sanjo Minoru's accusation that "the fire in the palace was set by Hidetoshi." They even have a feeling that "he can really do it."

The current situation is indeed a bit difficult, and neither of them knows how to deal with it.Of course, the two felt that Kyoto was not a good place to deal with this matter.

At this moment, Ikoma Toshimasa and Ikeda Terumasa were not in the mood to care about whether the two armies should be dealt with if they went to Luo without notification. At this moment, they just wanted to take Shuri back to Osaka.

However, such a request was clearly rejected by Ichijo Ieki.

He even changed his name for Xiuli. He no longer called him the lord, but directly addressed him as the third person "Guan Bai Xiuli" and said: "Guan Bai Xiuli is rampant and lawless in Luozhong, and His Majesty and the royal family have suffered losses." It was so tragic that more than a dozen families were implicated.

Before the general returns from the northeast, no more mistakes can be made at this time.The perpetrators in the Seven Hands Group have all been punished now, but they are just ministers, receiving orders from Guan Bai Xiuli.As the mastermind, he must not leave Kyoto before the matter is finalized!"

After hearing what the Ichijo family said, Ikoma Toshimasa stepped forward and threatened: "How outrageous! Do you and the Sanjo family still have the Toyotomi family in their hearts? How dare you do such a rebellious thing as detaining the lord! Aren't you afraid of Osaka Castle? The troops will arrive in Kyoto to capture you two and hold you accountable?"

However, the two of them were not threatened by Ikoma Toshimasa at all. Ichijo Ieki stood up and asked Ikoma Toshimasa, "I have long heard the story about His Highness Ikoma controlling the government and confusing Guan Bai. Could it be that what happened today is so complicated?" Are you involved too?"

After saying that, he ordered the samurai in the shogunate to capture Toshimasa Ikoma, "Come on~! Capture this officer for me, right and left!"

Following Ichijo Ieki's order, the samurai guarding the shogunate gathered around with their spears leveled towards the center.

Seeing "enemies" approaching with weapons, the retainers brought in by the two bosses stepped forward to protect their lords behind them, holding swords and confronting the samurai from the Ichijo and Sanjo families.

Toshimasa Ikoma and Terumasa Ikeda came directly from Osaka Onuchi and had no time to change their gear and armor. Even the samurai he brought here were all wearing regular clothes, and the weapons around them were just katana swords on their waists. .

As for Toyotomi Hatamoto who had escorted them, they were left outside and had no time to rush in to save them.