Chapter 197 1. Taiyuan Zen Master Is Critically Ill

It was already the fifth day after the battle ended when Kobayata heard the exact news of the Battle of Azusaka. The continuous autumn rains had greatly hindered the transmission of news. Even the soldiers of Suruga who were eager to return home could not speed up, let alone the many wounded in the whole team at this moment.

Kobayata naturally did not need to welcome them or make any arrangements. As long as the road to Ejiri was opened so that they could retreat to Suruga Fuchu Castle, it would be fine. However, Kobayata would never give up any opportunity to observe the Suruga people up close. Imagawa Yoshimoto was a talent in the world, and sooner or later he would become an opponent.

So Kobayata quietly hid in a townhouse, watching Taiyuan Xuezhai Zen Master, who could no longer ride a horse and could only ride a sedan chair, pass through Ejiri and return to Suruga.

Hearing the final result of this battle, it was indeed full of uncertainties. Even famous generals of the level of Oda Nobunaga and Taiyuan Xuezhai Zen Master had to retreat with hatred in the end. In the end, the two armies of more than 10,000 people fought for an afternoon, and the result was a draw.

Of course, the aftermath of the battle was not limited to these. First, Nobunaga appointed his brother Oda Nobuhiro as the lord of Anxiang Castle with a deep meaning, and let Mizuno Nobumoto, the lord of Kariya Castle, serve as his deputy general. Try to manage Western Mikawa for the Oda family and win over the Mikawa public servants.

After all, the Mikawa Kira clan, whether it is the main branch or the branch branch, is basically dead after the Battle of Bamenshan. Only Kira Yoshiyasu was taken hostage to Suruga. Although the people of Mikawa have been tried their best to clean up the people, they still seem to be a little shaken.

And it is well known that when the Imagawa clan could not directly intervene in the affairs of Mikawa, they once supported a traitor named Matsudaira Kiyoyasu to stir up trouble in Mikawa. Through the Mamiya clan on the Atsumi Peninsula, the gold and food of the Imagawa family were continuously delivered to Matsudaira Kiyoyasu's pocket.

This person who was willing to be a vicious dog for the Imagawa clan bit the original order of Mikawa country to pieces. Of course, if you want to be a dog, you must be mentally prepared to be a dog. After he was stabbed to death, the Imagawa family immediately threw away the Matsudaira clan like garbage.

However, because of the various small actions of the Imagawa family in Mikawa, the people of Mikawa were in a very contradictory state. Some people attacked the main family Kira clan who had served for 200 years, some people flirted with the Imagawa family, and some people hooked up with the Oda clan in Owari.

In addition, Owari Province once invaded Western Mikawa during the Oda Nobuhide era, and there were still a few supporters who were willing to work hard in this area. Therefore, Oda Nobunaga's intervention in Mikawa was still promising.

In addition, he also took advantage of the sheep. After scraping a large amount of money and food from the official samurai of the Imagawa clan in Western Mikawa, he pulled hundreds of foot soldiers to rely on Oda Nobuhiro. It seems that he will have a long-term tug-of-war with the Imagawa clan in Mikawa, and it is very exciting to see how it will develop in the future. 【Note 1】

But after that, another piece of news came that was even more explosive. It was not known whether it was because of his old age, or because of the hard work, or because of the coldness of the autumn rain on Azuki Sakata, Zen Master Taiyuan Xuezhai actually fell ill.

This time seemed to be different from the last time when he pretended to be sick and refused to see the Yamanouchi family envoy. In Xiao Pingtai's impression, Zen Master Taiyuan Xuezhai was also considered to be a long-lived person, because the image of Zen Master Taiyuan in previous games was always a bald monk. Xiao Pingtai's impression was still quite deep, at least this person lived for more than 60 years.

This age is just a retired old man in modern times, but it was amazing in the Warring States period. Although it was not rare to live for more than 60 years, it was really not easy. Except for a few who were over 90 and could still fight in battle, most samurai were considered to be at a low point at 50, and many people simply could not survive this hurdle.

After thinking for a while, Xiao Pingtai secretly inquired about how old Taiyuan Xuezhai Zen Master was now. Uncle Tsunayoshi, who was a living dictionary, rolled his eyelids and counted on his fingers. Then he said with certainty and uncertainty: "Taiyuan Zen Master should be 61 years old."

"61? Already 61 years old?" Xiao Pingtai's heart skipped a beat when he heard this age. This age coincided with Xiao Pingtai's memory. After 60, who can remember who died in their 60s? Anyway, it's dangerous.

"It should be 61." Uncle Tsunayoshi calculated the previous killing of Anyuan Kinmasa [Note 2] and finally confirmed it.

"I heard that Taiyuan Zen Master is already terminally ill and it seems that medicine can't save him." Xiao Pingtai said casually, ready to listen to Uncle Tsunayoshi's opinion.

"How should I put it? It seems to be good news." Uncle Tsunayoshi's expression was not clear.

After hearing this, Kobayata immediately understood what his uncle Tsunayoshi meant. Master Taihara Xuesai was a top general in domestic and foreign affairs, wisdom and command of troops. Whether he was an ally or an enemy, he was dead to make people feel relieved.

But what Kobayata was worried about was that if Master Taihara died, Imagawa Yoshimoto's growing ambition would lose the biggest adviser. Although Shoukenni was Yoshimoto's biological mother and a very important member of Yoshimoto's power system, it was always inconvenient for a woman to come to the front to guide the movements of the Imagawa family.

In addition to Kobayata's disturbance of history, Imagawa Yoshimoto almost captured Izu, and his retreat was as solid as a mountain. Takeda Harunobu was his elder brother-in-law, and because he was beaten up by Yamanouchi Yoshiharu, he was definitely unable to go south.

Now there are only four people standing in the way of Imagawa Yoshimoto's journey to Kyoto: Yamanouchi Yoshiharu of Ejiri, Oda Nobunaga of Owari, Saito Yoshitatsu of Mino, and Rokkaku Yoshitaka of Omi.

Who will bear the brunt of the attack?

Yamanouchi Yoshiharu and Oda Nobunaga!

Is it safe because Yamanouchi Yoshiharu is a relative? Of course not!

Who can resist the huge temptation of going to Kyoto to serve as the steward and kanrei of the shogunate and rule the world? Moreover, with the thin blood of Kawachi Genji in Imagawa Yoshimoto, which is almost gone, it is unknown whether his own son Imagawa Ujima will sit on the throne of the world.

Xiao Pingtai suddenly prayed in his heart, Taiyuan old monk, please don't die.

[Note 1]: To be honest, Mikawa Province has never been unified since it entered the Warring States Period. Even when Tokugawa Ieyasu came to power later, Mikawa was actually divided into three parts by Oda, Tokugawa, and Takeda. In fact, the local warriors of Mikawa were used to being traitors to you when you came to welcome you, and he came to surrender to him when he came. This is so-called loyalty, just listen to it.

[Note 2]: There was a reason why Taihara Xuesai Zen Master could become the head of the Imagawa clan. In addition to being the teacher of Imagawa Yoshimoto, he was born in the Anhara clan and was originally intended to be the head of the Imagawa clan. Their family has been important retainers of the Imagawa clan for generations, and it has always been like this.