I am practicing in the Nianghua Warring States Period

After learning that Hokuto Nobuyoshi agreed to the marriage, Saito Dosan expressed his desire to meet his future son-in-law.

For such a major diplomatic occasion, according to diplomatic customs from the Azuchi-Momoyama period, an intermediary was generally required. Perhaps the Japanese have a certain, innate understanding that it's "awkward" for two parties to collaborate on the same project. This is truly bizarre, like when a Japanese person sends a WeChat message, the recipient has to wait several minutes, even dozens of minutes, before reading or replying. Otherwise, they'd be considered "perverted, waiting for my message."

This habit may be a peculiar trait that has survived from the Middle Ages.

A day later, Hirate Masahide brought a man over. The old man looked to be around 50, thin and energetic, about 1.4 meters tall. He was dressed in priestly attire, which surprised Beidou Xinwei.

"This man's name is Hotta Masashi, and his Buddhist name is Doku." Hirate Masahide pointed at the old man.

"Hotta Michikō, I pay my respects to His Majesty Beidou." The old man in his fifties came up and first did a tiger landing pose, then bowed to Beidou Xinwei!

"Oh, I'm Beidou Xinwei, nice to meet you, Lord Daokong." Beidou Xinwei also returned the greeting - then he looked at Hirate Masahide in confusion, as if to say: Why did you bring such a thing?

"Lord Michikō is on good terms with many families and has a well-known reputation. I know you recently fell out with Atsuta Shrine, but Lord Michikō is different. He is a descendant of the shrine's chief priest." Hirate Masahide shook his head slightly and said with a smile, "He has nothing to do with Atsuta Shrine."

"Oh..." and then?

"Lord Michiku's mother is the eldest daughter of Lord Akechi Mitsugumi. Lord Akechi Mitsugumi's second daughter, Lady Komi, is the mother of Princess Kicho." Hirate Masahide explained, then said with a smile, "So, in fact, you and Lord Michiku are equals."

"...Huh?" Beidou Xinwei was stunned for a moment, it seemed so.

However, Hirate Masahide only talked about the things that Hirate Masahide knew about this era. He thought that the most famous person here was Hotta Michikū, so he pulled him out to act as a middleman.

But it is implied that Mitsuji Akechi is Kicho's maternal grandfather; at the same time, Mitsuji Akechi also has a grandson.

His name was Mitsuhide Akechi.

"I see." Beidou Xinwei looked at Hotta Michiku in front of him. He was over fifty years old and was actually his peer. This world was really amazing.

"You will be my brother-in-law from now on." Hotta Michikō bowed respectfully to Beidou Xinwei again, and said to this "junior" with great respect: "Please give me your guidance in the future."

"Yes." Seeing that the two of them were completely acquainted, Hirate Masahide continued, "Lord Michikō has come from Inabayama Castle. Please let Lord Michikō speak to you personally about the details."

"Yes," said Michikū Horita, an outsider who was related to everyone involved in this marriage. Furthermore, during the Warring States Period in Japan, clergy were generally the best diplomatic buffers—unless the clergy themselves took the field. Michikū Horita said respectfully, "The address we mentioned last time was Shotoku-ji Temple, and Master Michikū will be there in person. Do you agree? Shotoku-ji Temple is north of Owari and south of Mino. But we have to cross several territories, which is..."

"Hmm, hmm... not bad." Beidou Xinwei nodded repeatedly. How many territories do we have to cross? That's great. "I know where Zhengde Temple is. I agree! How many troops would you like to take with you, Master Dao San, to the border?"

Coming to the border was certainly not a safe thing. Beidou Xinwei knew that everyone couldn't come empty-handed; they had to bring their own gear! Otherwise, wouldn't something like Liu Xuande being trapped in Dongwu happen again?

"Raise an army of one thousand."

"Oh, not many - I'm leading 500 soldiers." Beidou Xinwei told the truth.

"Five hundred... isn't that a little too few?" Hotta Michikō was stunned for a moment, then gave an awkward laugh. "Tigers don't hurt people, but people do. Let's not even mention the hostile territories we'll pass through, just talking about the Third Master himself... well, everyone calls him the Mino Viper. If you say you have enough troops, he won't have any ill intentions. The Book of Han says: 'A son of a thousand gold coins does not sit in the hall.' How can you test his will with this weakness?"

The meaning is simple: Don't be reckless! Bring more people with you, so no one dares to attack. That's true safety. You have nuclear weapons, and I have nuclear weapons, so we can all restrain ourselves. Having a sword but not using it and not having a sword at all are two completely different things.

"Hahaha, sir, don't mind." Beidou Xinwei chuckled and waved his hand, saying, "If my father-in-law is willing to play tricks on me, I will only bring 500 soldiers. He can bring more. Maybe he can capture me in one fell swoop and completely eliminate me."

The main reason is that there are not many people on Oda Nobuhime's side. The 500 people I brought there were already the maximum expansion of the army after Oda Nobuhime was defeated last time.

But when this news reached the other side, then... it became a different version of the story.

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"What?" Inabayama Castle's father-in-law was very surprised.

The bride's arrival at Shotoku-ji Temple was, frankly, a show of force from Dosan—if you wanted to send her, you had to send her to the border between the two countries. The border wasn't actually between Mino and Owari, but rather the line of control controlled by Oda Nobuhime, a 20-kilometer radius from Shotoku-ji Temple.

"He's only bringing 500 people?" Saito Dosan was a little worried. Would his daughter be in trouble? "Should we escort her together?"

"His Highness Nobumi said... that's not necessary." Hotta Michikō, who had run over to act as matchmaker, was also embarrassed, feeling that Beidou Nobumi was exaggerating. "His Highness Nobumi also said that if anyone dared to stop us along the way, he would kill them all."

"What a rebellious brat." Saito Dosan sneered disdainfully, "Can he really fight his way all the way here? I thought he was a great general, but now it seems he's just a..."

"My Lord!" Suddenly, a young man hurried over. He knelt on the ground and dared not speak.

"? Tell me, what happened?" Saito Dosan looked at the young man kneeling on the ground. It seemed that it was not some news that needed to be kept secret.

"Yes..." Xiao Xing hesitated. He had just heard his master cursing at the door: "It's a piece of foreign military intelligence. Yesterday, His Highness Beidou Xinwei led 500 soldiers to capture Qingzhou City!"

"...?!"

This brat isn't really going to fight all the way here, is he?

Chapter 80 Three attacks on Qingzhou City... village?

The capture of Qingzhou City was actually... a bit of a special situation. It was just a coincidence that everything was taken away.

As Beidou Xinwei was heading north, he saw a group of people fleeing hurriedly in the woods.

"...What are those guys doing? Having a whore party?" Beidou Xinwei was puzzled when he saw a group of people lying in the forest in front of him, panting and disheveled.

What puzzled him even more was that they were obviously out of breath, but when they saw his group, they all looked like they had taken gunpowder, holding knives and looking like they were ready to die.

"I don't know." Sasa Narimasa, who was following Beidou Xinwei, looked into the distance. Through Beidou Xinwei's translation software, he knew what "淫党" meant.

It's not impossible. Japanese samurai are very good at having fun. It's not impossible for them to have an open-air party.

"Go, surround them." Beidou Xinwei rode on his horse without even a thought of moving: "If one escapes, each of you will receive ten lashes when you return. Go ahead."

"Yes!"

In the woods in the distance, several young people planned to escape, but most of them did not.

About ten minutes later, the leading young man, in tattered clothes, was brought before Beidou Xinwei. Beidou Xinwei said nothing until he suddenly knelt on the ground and cried uncontrollably, "Uncle! Help! Wuuwuwu..."

"..."Beidou Xinwei was completely defeated by the other party.

I traveled through time and space, and my identity was given to me by the system. Could it be that my eldest nephew also traveled through time and space? That's impossible. Is double travel a hazard?

"Come, look up." Beidou Xinwei rode on his horse, his massive form resembling an Astartes, terrifying! In the sunlight, the gleaming golden armor shone with a unique brilliance—the dwarf kneeling on the ground before him looked like a fart spirit.

"Yes, uncle, wuwuwu..."

"Who...are you?" Beidou Xinwei looked at the young man before him without swearing. He was about twenty years old. Considering that he was only fourteen in his physical body, what were you doing in the middle of winter, almost Chinese New Year?

"Uncle, it's me! I'm Sasaki Yoshigane!" The young man knelt on the ground, not daring to get up. His hands weren't tied, but he kept them firmly on the ground, away from his waist and chest, to avoid misunderstanding. He knelt in a strange position. If you looked closely, he was wearing the attire of a nobleman, and his hat was missing. At this moment, he cried, "Don't you recognize me, Your Highness Beidou? I'm Ganlongmaru."

"No...are you and I related?" Beidou Xinwei was stunned for a long time.

"Your Highness wants to marry the daughter of Lord Saito Michiyama, who is the son-in-law of Lord Akechi Mitsuji. My father is the son of Lord Akechi Mitsuji's granddaughter. So, am I not Your Highness's nephew?" A distant relative suddenly came over and shamelessly knelt on the ground begging for mercy.

"...Alright, alright." Beidou Xinwei looked at the man in front of him who was several years older than him and acted like a junior in front of him, and immediately waved his hand: "Master Yiyin..."

"You can just call me Longyanwan, uncle."

"I feel uncomfortable being called that." Beidou Xinwei thought, what kind of rotten fish and shrimp dared to stick to me? He immediately waved his hand in disgust: "Lord Yiyin, why did you come to me when you are not in Qingzhou City to be your guardian son?"

"Uncle, please avenge my father, your brother-in-law." Suddenly crying and wiping tears, Yoshigane Sasaki knelt on the ground and explained the reason in tears.

This was the last time the Sasaki clan, acting as collusion within the castle, had led Oda Nobuhime to retreat unsuccessfully from her attack on Kiyosu Castle. While Oda Nobuhime had returned without success, the fighting within Kiyosu Castle continued unabated. Ultimately, fearing the destruction of Kiyosu Castle would allow Oda Nobuhime to profit, and with no idea whether she had left the castle, the insurgents hastily withdrew their forces, signing a thin oath that looked like toilet paper, to end the civil war within the castle.

Yesterday, Sasaki Yoshigin took his men out of the city to hunt, and for a short while, he managed to escape. Inside the city, Itai Daizen led his troops to surround Sasaki Yoshitsugu, forcing him to set himself on fire and commit suicide. Sasaki Yoshigin went out of the city to hunt, and thus, he managed to escape.

"Oh... I see." Beidou Xinwei was stunned for a moment, then suddenly became excited: "You mean, your house was burned down? You are the only one left?"

"Yes, uncle, please avenge me..." Yoshigane Sasaki began to cry.

"Stop crying!" Beidou Xinwei shouted, and the other person immediately stopped crying. He then asked, "Is there a fire in the city?"

"Yes."

"Has the city wall cracked or collapsed?"

"I think... yes. My family is located in the east of the city, so..."

Japan's "Tenshu" castles are very small. Before the expansion of such a small Kiyosu Castle, it was really visible everywhere. A fire broke out in the east of the castle, and the whole city was filled with fireworks.

"Let's go!" Beidou Xinwei didn't answer, which made people feel refreshed! He immediately waved his hand and said to his men: "Everyone, pay attention, the enemy is in Qingzhou City!"

----------------------

Kiyosu Castle had endured three consecutive battles, leaving it battered from the inside out. Hokuto Nobuyoshi hadn't been willing to burn the castle town below, but Itai Daizen, Oda Nobutomo, and Sasaki Yoshitsugu, all three brothers, stood up and kicked! Now the flames were raging.

By the time Hokuto Nobuyoshi arrived, Oda Nobutomo and Itai Daizen, having already dealt with Sasaki Yoshitsugu, had resumed their battles. The entire Kiyosu Castle erupted in a vibrant, thriving atmosphere—the castle town was ablaze, their own rebels were plundering their own city. The castle town's inhabitants fled in all directions. It was a chaotic scene, even the African warlords would have shaken their heads.

Beidou Xinwei arrived, and of course, he shook his head almost like a rattle. Sure enough, the city wall was burned and collapsed. This was much better than a direct attack. Beidou Xinwei waved his hand, and the regular army was defeated.

As a result, Oda Nobuhime received the news a day later.

Beidou Xinwei brought 500 people to pick up the bride.

There is no difference between 500 people picking up a bride and a 500-person criminal gang.

Halfway through, I slapped my forehead and felt that something was missing today - oh, no one was killed.

The bride-picking party turned their horses around and, incidentally, took Kiyosu Castle. Fifty men were left to guard the castle, while Hokuto Nobuyoshi pursued the defeated soldiers northward. Oda Nobuhime was asked to send her own men to take over the defense of Kiyosu Castle.

After receiving the news, Oda Nobuhime was speechless for a long time. She quickly organized 300 peasant soldiers and rushed to Kiyosu Castle. She was not afraid of someone coming to pick peaches, because the fact that Beidou Nobumi was leading hundreds of people to chase the defeated army near Kiyosu Castle was a sign of the problem.

Although Oda Nobuhime saw all this as very intense.

But in a sense, the intensity is equivalent to the Three Attacks on Zhujiazhuang.

Chapter 81 Kikyo will kill you

Just like Saito Dosan who received the news, he was speechless for a long time.

"...Is the news accurate?" Saito Dosan, who was already leading his troops near Shotoku-ji Temple, did not expect that his new son-in-law had such high combat effectiveness.

He looked at the warrior in front of him who was reporting the news, as if he wanted to hear some false news, just like the stock investors who couldn't believe that the A-share market had risen.

"It is absolutely true. I returned from Kiyosu and saw the Oda Danmasatada family crest flying over Kiyosu Castle," the reporting samurai replied. "I made a special trip to inquire about it, and on my way back, I saw Lord Hokuto Nobuyoshi. He seems to be marching quickly towards this area. At his speed, he should arrive tomorrow."

"? How many days have you been on the road?"

"Two days."

"He can reach Zhengde Temple in three days?"

"Yes."

"...Well, thank you for your hard work." Saito Dosan was silent for a moment, then nodded and waved his hand, saying, "I've prepared some rice balls and water. You can go down and rest."

"Thank you, my lord!" The samurai knelt and left the Buddhist temple. Saito Dosan looked at the two people beside him.

These two men were no strangers either. One was Saito Toshizo, and the other was Akechi Mitsuhide. Akechi Mitsuhide was a traitor, needless to say. He was actually quite sane, a man driven to rebellion. He was Saito Dosan's nephew, and had been promoted at a young age because of his ability.

Saito Toshizo, needless to say, was a member of Saito Dosan's family. Saito Dosan's original surname wasn't Saito, but after usurping it, he gained support from the Saito clan, a reflection of Japan's emphasis on family names. This is somewhat similar to the usurpation relationship between the Wu Zhou dynasty and the Li Tang dynasty, but not entirely so.

"Toshizo, Mitsuhide." Elders were less cautious with their juniors. Saito Dosan, an old man almost 60, said softly, "Look at this Beidou Xinwei. What do you think?"

"If what he did is true," Saito Toshizo looked at his cousin Akechi Mitsuhide, who was still thinking. He then expressed his own thoughts: "Then this man is truly a hero of the time."

"Mitsuhide, what do you think?"

"I... can't see through it." Akechi Mitsuhide's thin face was a little confused. He asked himself in confusion, "If I were this person, with such impressive military achievements and such brave soldiers under my command, while my master's family was weak, with you as my lord as my relative, and the youngest son of the Oda family's retainers as my own. With such status, such talent, and such means - why would I willingly serve as a slave to that foolish woman of the Oda family? Could it be... could it be..."

"Could it be something?" Saito Dosan actually liked the thinking logic of his junior.

"Could this man really be as the rumors say: chivalrous, loyal, and a man of integrity?" Akechi Mitsuhide blinked in disbelief, as if he had seen a prehistoric creature. "My lord, what do you think?"

"As the saying goes, 'One rice breeds a hundred kinds of people. Perhaps that woman Oda Nobuhime has some magical powers.'" Saito Dosan sneered, then said expressionlessly, "Hello, Risan?"

"Yes? My Lord?"

“Mitsuhide?”

"Yes? My Lord?"

The two young men didn't know why their lord suddenly called their names again.

"If I die, you can go and seek refuge with that fellow. At worst, go and seek refuge with Oda Nobuhime." Saito Dosan, worthy of being called a thief, was a master of his craft, and his understanding was clear. He stood up and walked out of the temple. At this moment, the air was filled with sandalwood. "In troubled times, people don't live long. This kind of person will either die quickly or live longer than anyone else."

"My lord, it would be best to live longer than anyone else. But..." Saito Toshizo looked at his cousin Akechi Mitsuhide and hesitated to speak.

"If such a brave general dies faster than anyone else, it will surely be a glorious death!" Akechi Mitsuhide was quite impressed by this: "Either die at his hands, or die beside him. Isn't that the joy of a samurai?"

"...?" Saito Toshizo glanced at his cousin - huh? Are you really this crazy?

“…” Saito Dosan glanced at his nephew and chuckled – indeed, they had the same aura.

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Akechi Mitsuhide was sent to meet Hokuto Nobuyuki and the middleman, Hotta Michikū.

Hotta Michikū himself was also in Hokuto Nobuyoshi's army. He was an envoy, so he wasn't part of the battle formation. He was accompanied by a few retainers of the Hotta family. He had witnessed firsthand the furious fury of Hokuto Nobuyoshi in battle! He truly led the entire army, standing in the front row! He charged at the very front! He braved arrows and swords, taking the lead and slaying the generals and capturing the flags!

His soldiers were also incredibly crazy, especially the ones he led personally! They were all as crazy as a madman. The only thing he didn't understand was why they had to play the pipa before the battle... Hmm, was it some kind of pretense of chuunibyou? But the sound of the pipa filled him with courage!

Small physical strength, small attack, and small defense.

This time, Hotta Michikū has made up his mind.