The name of the great swordsman begins in Okehazama.

As Mori Nagayoshi stepped onto the top floor of the castle tower, he heard Nobunaga's shouts and curses.

He didn't think much of it; after all, Nobunaga would curse whether he was happy or angry. As soon as he turned into the inner room, he saw the page tidying up the items scattered on the floor.

Nobunaga, seated at the head of the table, wore an inscrutable expression. Hayashi Hideyoshi looked terrified, her eyes darting like a mouse as she stared at Nagayoshi.

That old man must be talking badly about me!

Changqing pretended not to notice anything and calmly bowed, saying, "My lord summoned me. What are your orders?"

"Chōkei! News has come from Mino. The Saitō family says you broke your samurai vow on the battlefield and killed an enemy general who should have been released. Is this true?"

Changqing looked up. "It's true."

Lin Xiuzhen took a deep breath, clearly not expecting that the eloquent Changqing would actually admit it so honestly.

"Oh?" Nobunaga put down the document, leaning forward slightly. "So you've admitted your mistake?"

"yes!"

"Where did we go wrong!"

"I only regret that my men were poorly trained and too slow in killing, which resulted in them escaping alive!"

Lin Xiuzhen pulled her chin back, her eyes widening as if she thought she was hallucinating.

"You madman! Is this your mistake?" Nobunaga hurled the document in his hand at Nagayoshi, who didn't bother to dodge the harmless projectile.

"Snapped!"

The document struck his thigh, as if flipping a switch that triggered Changqing's defense.

"The promise we made was a ruse after we encountered resistance... If we let Saito's two generals go, it would be like raising a tiger to cause trouble, but if we were to forcibly annihilate them, my men would be exhausted and the outcome would be unpredictable. So I challenged the two to a one-on-one duel, partly to break the morale of the enemy's retainers, and partly to buy some time for my brothers to recover their strength."

He paused, then continued, "This battle was already fought with a significant disparity in strength. Our lord's reinforcements have been delayed, so we had no choice but to do this!"

Lin Xiuzhen seemed to have caught on to something serious and rebuked, "Are you trying to shift the blame onto our lord?"

Nobunaga seemed to be hoping the two would start arguing, and asked Hayashi Hidesada, "The Mori suddenly changed their battle strategy, and now they're blaming me?"

Lin Xiuzhen immediately chimed in, "Yes, if it weren't for the rain, our army would have arrived long ago! Lord Mori is shirking responsibility!"

Nagayoshi couldn't understand what Nobunaga was up to again. Judging from Nobunaga's past actions, he should have understood himself perfectly well.

"Lord Hayashi, what is samurai code? Is it following a rigid set of rules, or making the most advantageous judgment for the benefit of one's lord and territory? On the battlefield, only the victor has the right to talk about code. If our army is defeated, Owari is invaded, and the people are displaced, what meaning will code have then?"

"Sophistry!" Lin Xiuzhen's face flushed red. "A samurai's promise is more important than his life! How is your behavior any different from that of a thief? Now the whole of Mino and even the surrounding noble families are talking about this, and the reputation of the Oda family is damaged."

"Reputation?" Changqing suddenly laughed. "Lord Lin, when Saito Yoshitatsu murdered his father and seized the throne, did he ever consider his reputation? I've heard that the daimyo around here and the court nobles all admire him! If it were truly a matter of morality, shouldn't Yoshitatsu have given Mino to my lord? He was unrighteous, so I should be unrighteous too; that's only human nature."

Nobunaga found this agreeable. He had no intention of punishing Nagayoshi; he simply wanted to find someone to give the stubborn old man, Hayashi Shusei, a warning.

So he waved his hand, interrupting their argument.

"That's enough. You can't follow the rules on the battlefield..."

"My lord!" Lin Xiuzhen nearly stood up, her face filled with disbelief. "You're condoning injustice!"

Nobunaga's face immediately darkened: "I said, this matter need not be discussed further."

"But my lord!" Lin Xiuzhen pressed on desperately, "Do you still remember Lord Zhengxiu? If your teacher, Lord Hirate Zhengxiu, were alive, how would he view this matter?"

Precisely avoiding pitfalls!

The people at Changqing were numb; they could almost hear the sound of the firing pin hitting the detonator.

Hirate Masahide, Oda Nobunaga's mentor and one of his most outspoken retainers, had years earlier, dissatisfied with Nobunaga's erratic behavior, even attempted suicide to remonstrate with his young lord. This incident remained a painful memory for Nobunaga.

Lin Xiuzhen was clearly flustered and even tried to use the deceased to strengthen her persuasiveness: "Lord Zhengxiu often taught that a ruler should establish himself with integrity and win the hearts of the people with virtue. If he knew that our lord is condoning such a treacherous act today, he would be heartbroken! Back then, Lord Zhengxiu risked his life to remonstrate with us, hoping that our lord could become a ruler who can distinguish right from wrong, rather than a warrior who only cares about winning and losing!"

Oda Nobunaga's father was a notorious brute in the early Sengoku period, who loved war and infighting throughout his life.

Lin Hsiu-chen is no longer just stepping on landmines, she's rolling sideways across them.

"Bang!"

Nobunaga slammed his hand on the table and stood up abruptly, scattering the documents on the table all over the floor.

"Hayashi Hideaki!" Nobunaga's voice was low and dangerous. "You...are you teaching me how to be a lord?"

Lin Xiuzhen then realized what she had said, and her face instantly turned pale: "N-no, I wouldn't dare... I just..."

Nobunaga stepped down from the main seat, the sound of his leather boots on the wooden floor particularly jarring in the quiet room.

"My lord, please calm your anger!" Lin Xiuzhen kowtowed on the ground, her body trembling slightly.

Nobunaga stopped in front of Hayashi Hidesada, looking down at his old retainer: "Masahide's death is the greatest sorrow of my life. But do you know why he died? It wasn't because I ignored advice, but because he couldn't understand that this era has changed! Old morals and old rules will only make us prey for others in this dog-eat-dog world!"

He turned around and looked out the window at Kiyosu Castle. "Get out! I don't want to see you today!"

Lin Xiuzhen felt as if she had been granted a pardon and almost staggered out of the room.

"Chōkei," Nobunaga suddenly spoke.

"exist."

"I like what you did. However, this matter still needs to be resolved. Can you suggest a solution?"

"Just ignore it... consider it a rumor spread by the enemy!"

"Then return my two hundred bushels!"

Nagayoshi only knew that Tokugawa Ieyasu was stingy, but he never expected Nobunaga to be just as stingy. Of course, this cannot be blamed on Nobunaga. A large amount of land in Owari had already been granted to others, and the temples controlled a large amount of private property. After a year of governance, Nobunaga could only directly mobilize about four thousand troops.

The threat of withholding wages worked; he immediately gave an answer.

"Please, my lord, praise the bravery of the two veteran generals of the Saito family, and say that they, along with all their retainers, perished in battle; they were true samurai!"

"Hmm?" Nobunaga stroked his beard.

The enemy accuses Oda of being shameless, while Oda accuses the enemy of being brave—this sounds strange at first glance. But upon closer examination, both sides would be more willing to accept Oda's version of events; at the very least, the Saito family wouldn't refute Oda's claims.

If they accept Oda's version of events, the Oda family's reputation will remain intact, but what will become of Saito's few escaped retainers?

Breaking the 6000 mark with only 400 was already embarrassing for Saito, and Saito Tatsuoki might even suspect there was a mole among the employees...

"Okay, we'll do it your way..."

Nobunaga showed no anger, his tone only revealing regret for not having recovered the two hundred koku.