Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 363 Forced to Adapt
Taira no Kiyomori was about to go to bed when someone suddenly came to report that Ono Akihiro wanted to see him.

Taira no Kiyomori knew that he must have important business coming at this time, so he changed his clothes again and returned to the main hall of the bedroom.

Ono Akihabara hurriedly reported the events of the Hakata Rebellion to Taira no Kiyomori.

Taira Kiyomori said calmly: "So, what are you going to do now?"

Ono Mingxi had already thought of a countermeasure before coming here.

He immediately replied: "I can contact the Lord of Jinghai immediately and expose the truth of their crying wolf in advance, and then you can send troops to suppress them."

Taira no Kiyomori frowned and said, "They haven't caused the wrath of heaven and people in Kyoto yet. If we send troops at this time, I'm afraid it will be difficult to achieve the effect of satisfying the will of heaven and the people."

Ono Mingxi said cautiously: "Yes, but this accident puts us in a passive position. We can't miss this opportunity."

Taira Kiyomori pondered for a moment and said, "Go on."

"Yes. In addition, I need you to send another troop. Now it seems that about a thousand soldiers will be enough. Follow me to Bodo to clean up the mess."

Ono Mingxi paused and continued, "The rebellion of the Song merchants did cause us great losses, but it is also very beneficial for us to control Hakatazu.

Besides, those temples, shrines and homes of nobles have already been ransacked by these thugs, so there is no need for us to search them again.

In this way, the original plan can be adjusted. We don’t have to kill them all, but we can find ways to recruit them for our own use. In this way, the resistance we encounter will be much smaller.”

Taira nods slightly. It seems that this is the only way under the current circumstances.

He is not an inflexible person, and this matter cannot be controlled by humans, so there is no need to be angry with Ono Mingxi.

Seeing that Taira no Kiyomori adopted his advice, Ono Akihabara felt relieved.

He then said to Taira no Kiyomori: "In addition, I need to rush to Hakatazu immediately and take over the place completely for you.

The assassin group heading to Song also needs to set off as soon as possible. I need you to prepare a letter of credence as soon as possible."

Taira no Kiyomori said disapprovingly: "That's easy. Are you sure about the personnel to be sent?"

“The key personnel have been identified.”

Ono Mingxi said: "Although it is in the name of an envoy, I intend to appoint the abbot of Dashan Temple, Monk Jinghai, as the principal envoy.

This way, if things change, we can put the blame on the temple and shrine forces.

Temples and shrines are very powerful, and the imperial court has to make some concessions, so it is completely understandable that this delegation is actually led by monks. "

Taira nods with satisfaction. The original plan has changed and he can only seize Hakata by force. While this will bring him huge profits, it will also bring him huge resistance.

At this time, he didn't want to cause any trouble.

The diplomatic mission to the Song Dynasty was represented by a monk. If the mission failed, it would be much easier for him to shirk responsibility.

Seeing that he agreed, Ono Akihisa said, "As for the deputy envoy, it will be Yoshida, the head of the Dazaifu Hakata City Hall.

We appointed him as the deputy envoy in the name of redeeming his crime and making meritorious contributions. If the plan fails, his head will be our explanation to the Song people."

Taira nods slightly with a hint of a smile on his face.

He was quite satisfied with Ono's arrangement.

Ono said: "As for the three sections of attendants, including guards, painters, musicians, and kitchen servants, except for a few people who understand the etiquette of visiting Song Dynasty, they will all be filled by ninjas selected by us."

Taira nods again and says, "Have these people been selected?"

Xiao Ye Mingxi said cautiously: "I have already conducted several rounds of screening. Now I will ask you to confirm the next action plan. I can make the final decision as soon as I return!"

"Okay! Let's do it!" Taira no Kiyomori stood up and said, "Come early tomorrow morning and I will send troops to you!"

Ono Mingxi bowed and retreated, leaving Taira no Kiyomori's manor and hurried back to his residence. At this time, many ninjas had already gathered there.

Ono Mingxi went back to his room first, quickly wrote a letter, stamped it with his seal, and then called two followers to find Monk Jinghai.

The "Aosu" team from Hakata smashed, looted and burned along the way, and moved slowly. They have not yet reached Kyoto, so they could only be intercepted halfway and then met with Monk Jinghai to present a secret letter.

After dealing with all this, Ono Mingxi went to the hall to make the final choice for the ninjas.

Ono Mingxi did not need the ninjas to introduce themselves or show their martial arts. Those who could stand in front of him had all been shortlisted by his confidants such as Kitahara Takao.

He himself does not know martial arts, so these professional matters naturally have to be handed over to his professional confidants.

He just needed these people to stand in front of him so that he could look at their faces and bodies to determine what role this person was suitable for in the mission and then find out what they were best at.

Ninjas are mainly engaged in reconnaissance, sneak attacks, assassinations, etc., and the requirements for weight and body shape are very strict.

Therefore, there were very few tall and fat people standing in front of him, which made Ono Mingxi not very satisfied.

Because the mission needs a chef, a thin and small chef would obviously look a bit different.

After a round of screening, Ono Mingxi could only pick the biggest ones and picked two relatively fat ninjas to serve as chefs for the delegation members.

These two people originally thought that obesity would be their biggest weakness, but they never expected that the reason they were finally selected was just because they were relatively fat.

"Come in, both of you, together."

After Ono Akira had circled and drawn a circle and seen most of the people who had passed the preliminary election, Kitahara Takao greeted a pair of beautiful girls in bright kimonos who were waiting in the yard with a stern face.

Kanon Yazawa and Konami Tsubakiya walked up to him gracefully in their wooden clogs and stopped.

Yazawa Kanon and Tsubakiya Kona bowed to him and said, "Thank you Kitahara-kun for taking care of us."

Kitahara Takao's stiff expression softened a little, he nodded slightly and made way for the door.

When he first saw this pair of sisters who didn't look like ninjas at all, Kitahara Takao didn't recognize them.

Girls really change a lot when they grow up. When they were little, they practiced martial arts in the mountains all day long. They were dark, thin and small. Now they have changed so much.

However, when they introduced themselves and said the names they used in the sect, Momona Muka and Yayoi Mitsuki, Kitahara Takao recalled his two fellow sisters from their vaguely familiar outlines.

So, Kitahara Takao provided them with a little care.

First of all, they had just arrived and had not passed the ninja skill test in the first level, but they were exempt from the test in this level.

Their Nara Asuka faction is the strongest, do they still need to be tested?

Next came Ono Aki's formal interview, and Kitahara Takao deliberately arranged them to sit in the back.

Ono Mingxi needs to interview all ninjas who meet the preliminary selection criteria one by one, and take note of those who are more suitable for his needs, and then select them again.

In this case, the two junior sisters can be placed at the back. As long as Mr. Ono thinks they are suitable, they will most likely be selected directly without going through another round of consideration.

It turned out that his little thought was not in vain.

When Ono Mingxi saw the two bright and beautiful girls who didn't show any murderous aura at all, his eyes lit up.

When he learned that Momona Muka and Yayoi Mitsuki were also good at playing the shakuhachi and conch shells, Ono Akihiro made the final decision:

"Very good, you have been selected. You will join the delegation as musicians!"

(End of this chapter)