The name of the great swordsman begins in Okehazama.

After acquiring the entire Mino region, Nobunaga increased Nagayoshi's fief by 5,000 koku and transferred Kawajiri Hidetaka and Maeda Toshiie to eastern Mino as Nagayoshi's associates.

Kawajiri Hidetaka's mother was the daughter of Oda Nobutoshi. At this time, she was 37 years old and active as Nobunaga's Black Mother Clan member. She was also an old colleague of Mori Nagayoshi and Maeda Toshiie.

Changqing's expeditionary force thus reached 1,500 men.

At this moment, Oda Nobunaga had no intention of "unifying the country by force" at all. Instead, he sent Nagayoshi to Kyoto to request the governorship of Mino from the shogun.

Nagayoshi then realized that the general Ashikaga Yoshiteru was still alive at this time, let alone Nobunaga going to Kyoto under the pretext of escorting Ashikaga Yoshiaki.

After thinking it over, Changqing realized that it was probably because he had been working too hard.

Historically, Nobunaga only captured Inabayama Castle in 1567, and now, in 1564, he hadn't even finished his journey...

At this time, Takeda Shingen's campaign across China was thwarted, and Kozuke Province had not yet been completely conquered. After the fifth "standoff" at Kawanakajima, he suddenly realized that his former ally, the Imagawa clan, was obviously easier to deal with than these tough nuts to crack.

Since Imagawa Yoshimoto's death, Shingen has been taking advantage of the situation both openly and secretly, and now he has no shame and is preparing to rob people outright.

Nobunaga's aunt, Enhime, ultimately could not be saved and was married off to the Takeda clan by Nobunaga, thus forming an alliance between Oda and Takeda.

With Hidama Kunioji already surrendered, Nobunaga quickly turned his gun on the Kobe clan, a powerful family in northern Ise.

The powerful clans of Mino had just settled down and began to focus on restoring production, since the battle of Inabayama Castle had resulted in a poor harvest for them.

In November of the eighth year of Eiroku (1564), Nagayoshi went to the Nijō Palace in Yamashiro Province to pay his respects to Ashikaga Yoshiteru.

In the courtyard of Nijo Castle in Yamashiro Province, Nagayoshi met Hosokawa Fujitaka, a retainer of the shogun.

This man was about thirty years old, with a dignified demeanor. He was a scholar well-versed in waka poetry, and his speech and manners were refined.

Historically, this person was a master of choosing sides.

After Ashikaga Yoshiteru's death, he fled with Ashikaga Yoshiaki and sought refuge with Nobunaga.

After the Honnoji Incident, he broke with his in-law Akechi Mitsuhide and sided with Hashiba Hideyoshi. After Hideyoshi's death, he sided with Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Nagayoshi followed Hosokawa Fujitaka along the winding corridor to the shogun's main hall.

After the two arrived, they waited for a while before Ashikaga Yoshiteru walked in wearing only thin clothes.

This young "sword-wielding general" was a burly man who had been working to contact various daimyo to restore the prestige of the Muromachi Shogunate, which incurred the displeasure of powerful daimyo such as the Miyoshi Triumvirate and Matsunaga Hisahide.

"Oda's retainers, come forward."

Yoshiteru had met Nobunaga before, and the Oda clan had made many offerings to him, so he spoke very politely.

Nagayoshi knelt and bowed in accordance with etiquette, presenting Nobunaga's documents and tribute. Yoshiteru took the documents, glanced at them a few times, and then set them aside.

"I acknowledge Lord Nobunaga's efforts, and please convey my message to him to go to Kyoto as soon as possible."

The implication was that he wanted Nobunaga to help him defeat Miyoshi and Matsunaga.

Changqing was naturally delighted, but suddenly he realized a problem: it seemed that the Yonglu Incident would happen next year.

Historically, this swordsman general was besieged and killed at Nijo Castle, which led to Ashikaga Yoshiaki's exile.

After talking for only a short while, Yi Hui suddenly changed the subject.

"I've heard that you are the founder of the Ashina School. When Master Kamiizumi demonstrated his skills here a month ago, he praised your swordsmanship."

Kamiizumi Nobutsuna arrived in Kyoto at the beginning of the year, took the general in front of him as his apprentice, and was even given the title of "Number One Under Heaven" by him.

"I dare not accept such praise," Changqing replied, bowing his head.

Yoshiteru laughed, “No need to be so modest. Kamiizumi Shimon has extremely high standards; it’s already quite an achievement to receive a word of praise from him. I, the general, have practiced swordsmanship since childhood, under the tutelage of Tsukahara Bokuden.” He stood up, handed the katana in his hand to his attendant, and then took two wooden swords. “Why don’t we have a demonstration, so that I can see what the Ashina School is all about?”

……

The frost in the courtyard had been swept away, revealing a flat patch of sand. Changqing took the wooden sword; it felt no different from a real one.

This is made of high-quality birch wood, and its weight and center of gravity are designed to be close to those of a real knife. It also comes with a scabbard.

A general is a general; even his wooden sword is so particular.

Yi Hui rolled up his sleeves, revealing his strong forearms, and drew the knife.

"There's no need to worry about status." Yoshiteru assumed a mid-level stance. "In the kendo arena, there are only swordsmen."

"yes!"

Changqing took a deep breath, but did not draw his sword.

A hint of doubt flashed in Yi Hui's eyes, then he said with dissatisfaction, "What's wrong? Is the knife not to your liking? Why don't you use the Dragonfly Eight Forms stance?"

"General, this is the Ashina school's iaido technique!"

"Hmm? How come I've never heard Kamiizumi-sensei mention this before?"

"Because we've always practiced with bamboo swords, I've never demonstrated them to Master Kamiizumi..."

"Alright, let's give it a try!"

Changqing took a deep breath and held the unsheathed wooden sword at an angle to his side.

With his left hand gripping the sheath and his right hand lightly pressing the hilt of the sword, his knees slightly bent, he resembled a drawn bow, poised to strike.

Yoshiteru assumed a defensive stance with great interest. Hosokawa Fujitaka knelt on the veranda. Although he was a scholar, he also studied swordsmanship and had been present when Yoshiteru and Nobutsuna sparred in the past.

Changqing could feel that his heartbeat was almost the same as usual.

Having killed countless people, he was no longer nervous when facing equally top-tier swordsmen.

"General, be careful!"

Changqing's right hand moved.

The feet push off the ground, the waist and abdomen twist, the shoulders and elbows push forward, and finally the wrist flicks like the tip of a whip. The scabbard becomes the fulcrum, and the blade accelerates the instant it is drawn, drawing an arc of light from bottom to top.

Combined with the explosive power of [Shrinking the Earth], the horizontal slash of the sword seemed to be stretched out.

Ashikaga Yoshiteru's pupils contracted, and he hastily took half a step back, but the opponent's wooden sword still reached him.

"Clang!"

The loud clang of the two swords clashing made Hosokawa Fujitaka shudder.

Yi Hui felt a violent tremor in his hand, and the wooden knife almost slipped from his grasp.

He used the momentum to step back and switched grips on the knife hilt with both hands.

That was close! If the two had stood closer together from the start, I definitely wouldn't have been able to defend myself.

Ok?

He raised his eyes to look at the swordsman in front of him.

When did this person's sword return to its sheath?

"Right shoulder!" Changqing exclaimed softly.

He stepped closer, and as he drew his sword, he simultaneously lifted the scabbard with his left hand, changing the direction of the strike. The three movements were seamless, forming a downward slashing sword technique.

Ashikaga Yoshiteru was not bothered at all by the fact that the other party looked down on him.

He quickly parried the blow with his sword. Luckily, he was young and strong, and his wooden sword was sturdy; he managed to catch the blow.

"Slash!"

This time, Changqing did not sheathe his sword. The two swords clashed, and the sword bounced slightly. He then raised his sword and slashed again.

"stop!"

Hosokawa Fujitaka was dumbfounded. He hadn't even figured out much of what was going on, so why had the general taken the initiative to stop it?

He could see sweat dripping from Yi Hui's forehead, and Yi Hui reluctantly stuck the wooden sword into the ground.

Changqing sheathed his sword, bowed slightly, and said, "You flatter me."

Yi Hui opened his shirt; he didn't know when he had been sweating so much.

If it weren't for maintaining his composure, he would have wanted to roll down his sleeves and wipe his sweat right now.

Hosokawa Fujitaka was quite perceptive and immediately instructed a maid to bring him a handkerchief and hot tea.

That night, Yi Hui hosted a banquet in his honor.

The banquet was held in the southeast corner of Nijō Palace. It was a small affair, attended only by Yoshiteru, Hosokawa Fujitaka, Nagayoshi, and a few close retainers. Plenty of sake was prepared.

"My lord, there's no need for such formalities," Hosokawa Fujitaka said as he poured sake for Nagayoshi.

Changqing was somewhat baffled. Logically speaking, given Hosokawa Fujitaka's family background and official position, there was no need for him to do this.

"Chōkyō," Yoshiteru's voice pulled him back, "I have already sent a messenger to Kiyosu Castle. Please stay at Nijō Castle for a few days so we can have a proper spar."