There was a huge fire in the distance, and it was as if you could feel the hot temperature pressing on your skin even from such a distance. Although you can't see how the people in Yoshino Castle are struggling, you can't hear any sound.
But Hosokawa Mokiyuki seemed to hear the sound of burning and exploding wood, as well as the painful wails of countless people.
From the perspective of Hosokawa Noriyuki, Reiko Komatsu occupies the center of the field of view, while other places are filled with blazing flames, just like her decoration.
Komatsu Reiko just stood on a hillside, quietly looking at the fire in front of her. "You want to ask, did I plan this all the time?"
Hosokawa Mokiyuki looked at the Yoshino Castle that was completely burning in front of him with fear in his eyes, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart: It has become like this, why do you still need to ask? Without even thinking, you can guess that this was planned deliberately.
Komatsu Reiko didn't care so much, and still said to himself: "You are right, this is all my plan."
As she spoke, she opened her arms and made a gesture of hugging the entire Yoshino fire. He slowly closed his eyes and said with a satisfied look on his face: "It's worth burying the Ming army at the cost of a Yoshino Castle!"
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"Master, hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses of the Ashikaga clan are also buried together." Hosokawa Mokiyuki couldn't help but remind her.
Komatsu Reiko suddenly opened her eyes, looked back at Hosokawa Mochichi, and said with a smile: "What? Do you think I need to keep Ashikaga Yoshichichi?"
"Master... His subordinates know that Ashikaga Yoshimochi has evil intentions, but the men and horses under his command may not be of the same mind as him. The master has food, and with the master's wisdom, his men and horses will be subdued sooner or later. It was destroyed in vain. .....What a pity." Hosokawa Noriyuki quickly explained.
After hearing this, Komatsu Reiko glanced at Hosokawa Mochichi in surprise. The anger in her heart just now disappeared, and she was interested in explaining to him the reason for doing this.
"You are right. If time permits, of course I can take over Ashikaga Yoshimichi and completely control the Japanese soldiers." After saying that, Komatsu Reiko lowered his head and shook his head, sighing: "It's a pity. If you want to blame them, they have to blame themselves." Unfortunately, what we lack most right now is time!"
"Master, we now have food and weapons, so we shouldn't be short of time, right?" Hosokawa was puzzled.
He tilted his head slightly, gesturing for Hosokawa Noriyuki to follow him.
After Hosokawa Mokiyuki caught up, Komatsu Reiko asked him unexpectedly: "Who do you think is stronger and who is weaker between us and Daming?"
you still need to ask?
Hosokawa Mochiyuki replied without hesitation: "Of course it's Ming Dynasty."
Komatsu Reiko seemed to be satisfied with his answer, nodded with a smile, and then asked: "Then do you think it is possible for us to defeat the Ming Dynasty?"
Hosokawa Mochizuki's eyes became wandering, and he replied hesitantly: "This... this, didn't the master just defeat Ming?"
Komatsu Reiko stood still, looked sideways at Hosokawa Noriyuki, and said with a smile: "Look, even though you say so, you don't think we can defeat Ming in your heart, right?"
"The Ming Dynasty..." Hosokawa Mochi subconsciously looked back to the southwest, which is the direction of the Ming Dynasty capital.
"The Ming Dynasty is too powerful. We will never be its opponent."
Komatsu Reiko nodded and said: "You are right. Although I defeated the Ming army this time, the Ming army's losses were not large. Although it can temporarily block the Ming army's attack, once the Ming army replenishes , I’m afraid they will attack again soon. How can we resist by then? Do we still want to repeat our old tricks? The Ming army who was fooled once will not be able to step into the trap a second time. "
After listening to this, Noriyuki Hosokawa looked downcast. No matter who knew that he would not live long, he would not be in a good mood.
Suddenly, he knelt down towards Komatsu Reiko and said in a deep voice: "I am willing to die for my master. Even if the Ming army wants to harm my master, they must first step over my corpse."
Komatsu Reiko had a smile on her face, without any sadness at all, and stretched out her hand to help Hosokawa Noriyuki up.
"Don't worry, we won't die, we will all live well."
Hosokawa Noriyuki was stunned for a moment after hearing this, not understanding where Komatsu Reiko's words came from. He asked doubtfully: "Does the master have a way to resist the Ming army?"
Amid Hosokawa Mochiyuki's face full of expectations, Komatsu Reiko shook her head firmly: "No."
"Then why did the master say..." Since there is no way to resist the Ming army, then maybe when the Ming army comes back next time, I'm afraid it will be them On the day of death, why is the owner so confident that they will all survive?
Komatsu Reiko explained: "If we stay in the Japanese country, we will definitely die. But this world is not just the Japanese country, there is a vaster land beyond the Japanese country."
"Master, what do you mean, go to sea?" Hosokawa Mochiyuki suddenly had a realization.
Komatsu Reiko nodded affirmatively and said, "Yes, that's why I asked you to build a warship."
After hearing this, Hosokawa Noriyuki was not at all happy, but said with a worried look on his face: "But master, the Ming people have gone to sea a long time ago, and now the sea is covered with Ming ships. And the Ming navy is simply invincible. Even the warships we build are far behind those of the Ming Dynasty. We will not be the opponent of the Ming Dynasty at sea."
Komatsu Reiko smiled slightly, "Who said I was going to fight the Ming Dynasty at sea? I suffered such a heavy blow and needed to recuperate and recover as soon as possible. When I was in the Imperial Capital of the Ming Dynasty, I got a piece of news from some students."
Hosokawa Mochiyuki looked at his master longingly, holding his breath and not daring to make a sound for fear of disturbing his master. He knew that since the master mentioned this news at this moment, it must be life-threatening.
Sure enough, as Komatsu Reiko told him, Hosokawa Noriyuki understood what was going on.
"In the words of the Imperial Academy students, the Ming Dynasty once discovered a huge landmass on the opposite side of the sea, which was larger than the entire Ming Dynasty. However, the Ming Dynasty is now busy developing the South and West Oceans and has no energy to pay attention to this land. If we go there, we will not only be able to avoid the Ming Dynasty's sharp attack, but we can even get land to recuperate."
"Really, does such a land really exist?" Hosokawa Noriyuki's face was filled with surprise and disbelief. He clearly felt that he had reached the end of his rope, but suddenly God allowed him to find a way again. No matter how you looked at it, this feeling was very unreliable.
In fact, Komatsu Reiko didn't know whether what those Imperial College students said was true or false, but seeing as how conclusive they were every time they talked about it, they should be inseparable. He also said that the academy once specially accepted people from across the sea, and even returned there in the past few years, but no one has come back until now.
Komatsu Reiko also wanted to go to the academy to inquire about it, but she couldn't even enter the academy's gate, so she had to give up the idea.
But now Reiko Komatsu is really about to reach the edge of the cliff. If she doesn't go out to sea to find the land on the other side of the sea, then she will only die. If we look for it, there might be a glimmer of hope.
"Of course it's true." Komatsu Reiko showed extremely firmness in front of his subordinates, and added with a smile: "When I was in the Imperial Capital, I specifically asked about it. A few years ago, there were indeed people from across the sea. Ming dynasty."
Only then did Hosokawa Mochiyuki suddenly understand. He finally knew why his master would mercilessly burn Ashikaga Yoshinori and his troops. If we can only defend the Japanese country, Ashikaga Yoshimichi's soldiers and horses will be very important. Unless it is absolutely necessary, we can only adopt the method of dividing and drawing together. But now that the master has decided to immediately invade Japan and completely get rid of the Ming Dynasty's military front, Ashikaga Yoshimochi, who seems to be inseparable from his master, has become an unstable factor. Rather than wait until after going to sea to erupt this hidden danger, it is better to take this opportunity to eliminate it.
But that’s not right!
Hosokawa Mokiyuki suddenly thought that his master had already ordered him to build more ships. This shows that at that time the owner had already made up his mind to go to sea to find land. Since you are not planning to stay, then why do you want to join forces with Ashikaga Yoshinori to resist the Ming Dynasty?
"What are you thinking about?" Komatsu Reiko couldn't help but ask when she saw Hosokawa Mochizuki's expression changing.
Hosokawa Mochiyuki regained consciousness for a moment, and then asked the doubts in his heart, "Master should have been preparing to leave Japan for a long time, right?"
"That's right." Komatsu Reiko nodded, "Actually, after I knew that the Ming Dynasty wanted to destroy us, I knew not to mention the current Japanese country. Even without so many years of war, the Japanese country would not be the opponent of the Ming Dynasty. .Since I am destined to perish, I can only survive by finding another way."
"Then, why did the master want to negotiate with Ashikaga Yoshinori and agree to him bringing troops?" This is what Hosokawa Mochiyuki is very puzzled about. Since they are all ready to leave Japan, what is the point of joining forces with Ashikaga Yoshinori? use? Moreover, Ashikaga Yoshimichi's arrival will inevitably arouse the dissatisfaction of other generals, and a melee may break out if he is not careful. This situation is of no benefit to them at all.
Komatsu Reiko smiled faintly, raised her smooth chin, and gestured towards Yoshino Castle, which was burning in the distance. "If Ashikaga Yoshimochi cannot come, then who will fight the Ming army? And who will lead the Ming army into Yoshino Castle?"
This...it was only then that Hosokawa Mochiyuki realized that the master had no intention of turning hostility into friendship with Ashikaga Yoshimochi. All the peace talks and joint resistance to the Ming Dynasty were just lies to allow Ashikaga Yoshinori to lead the troops to hold back the Ming army.
The host not only received Ashikaga Yoshimachi warmly, but also gave him some food first. Facing the Ming army at this time, Ashikaga Yoshimichi had no reason to refuse, either publicly or privately. But he never would have thought that Yoshino Castle had been ambushed by the master a long time ago. He only waited for an order to set the entire Yoshino Castle on fire and bury Ashikaga Yoshinori and the Ming army together.
After Hosokawa Noriyuki figured it out, he couldn't help but look deeply at the beautiful master standing in front of him, and was extremely impressed by her wisdom!
