A few hours ago, at four quarters on noon on March 30, the 14th year of Astronomy, Imagawa Yoshimoto and Ginkgo were at the tunnel entrance outside the hotel where they stayed when they first came to Kyoto.
"Madam, there has been no news from Mr. Amano and the young master from the court who agreed to help us. They must have encountered some trouble." Mochizuki Takaki, who returned from the investigation, reported back to Ginkgo.
"Then let's follow the plan. We won't wait for them and we'll walk through the tunnel ourselves." Ginkgo waved her little hand, turned around and prepared to walk towards the entrance of the tunnel.
"Madam, do you really know the road?" Kinoshita Tokichiro, who was called by Taiyuan Xuezhai to help in the battle, asked worriedly: "I just went down to take a look. It was very dark inside, and there were twists and turns, and there was no such guide. Young Master, where can we get to Xiangguo Temple and the Imperial Palace?"
"Three years ago, it should have been March 30th." Ginkgo tilted her head and recalled for a moment, as if she was not familiar with the concept of time. "I followed my husband to fight Kizawa Nagamasa in Kyoto. We also have to leave. During the tunnel surprise attack, the young master from the court took us through it once. After that, he asked me to walk through it several times by myself to record the route."
"I heard Master Yuksai say that, but that is the tunnel leading to Awata Shrine, and it is completely in two directions from the tunnel leading to the Imperial Palace and Shoukokuji Temple." Kinoshita Tokichiro looked embarrassed, and he felt more and more that this lady was not big. Reliable.
"It's not that mysterious. Where is the road that is not a road? It seems that the young master in the court deliberately took us in circles in the tunnel to keep it secret, making it appear that the tunnel is very complicated. In fact, it is not that difficult to walk by yourself." Ginkgo He shook his head nonchalantly, "Besides, on the ground, I have walked from here to the Imperial Palace and Xiangguo Temple many times. Do I not know how far it is and what direction it is?"
"Uh..." Kinoshita Tokichiro didn't know how to answer the question for a moment - can the broad avenues and alleys on the ground be the same as the twisted tunnels where you can't even see your fingers?
"Haha, if I remember correctly, you are from Owari. People who live on the Great Plains naturally have no sense of direction, and I can't explain it to you." Ginkgo showed his daily discrimination against urban people, "You Have you seen Jiaxin’s Bai Maoxue?”
"Ma'am, please make it clear." How dare Kinoshita Tokichiro speak back.
"Each piece is as big as a goose feather. When blown by the north wind, it becomes black and white. You can't see anything except the flying snow and your own hands. One foot deep and one foot shallow are covered with snow. You know where the cliff is, where the stream is, everything is white. Not to mention the sun, after a fall, you can’t even tell the difference between the sky and the earth, and you don’t know what the north, south, east, and west are." Ginkgo recalled the past, and there was something on his lips A faint smile emerged:
"In such a heavy snowy day, if you fall into the mountains, you basically have to wait for the snow to melt and collect the body. But I, several times in such a heavy winter, I have driven my family to the mountains to go crazy. My younger brothers and sisters who were playing came back with me. Which way is the road and how many steps have I taken before turning? These things can be remembered in my mind once I walk through them, so why do I need to look at them?"
Only then did Kinoshita Tokichiro realize that Takaki Mochizuki and the other maids and guards who followed Ginkgo from Kai were all confident and had no doubts about Ginkgo's ability to recognize the way.
"Let's go." Ginkgo lifted up the thatch covering the tunnel, "The guides are hired by you city dwellers on the plains. We mountain people never need any guides."
·
After walking in the dark and smelly tunnel for an unknown amount of time with a torch, Ginkgo suddenly pointed to a dead end ahead:
"Xiangguo Temple should be in that direction."
Mochizuki Takaki and others then walked to that place resolutely, looked for the torch for a while, and found the tunnel's exit. Lifting the thatch, there is a faint light visible. Kinoshita Tokichiro climbed out doubtfully, popped his head out of the thatched house where he was hiding, and found that what came into view was the temple wall of Xiangguo Temple.
"Madam, your ability to recognize directions is... amazing. How did you do it? Count the steps?" Kinoshita Tokichiro was so shocked that his jaw almost dropped.
"It depends on feeling." Ginkgo Yun Danfeng nodded lightly, and then looked around: "Why do you feel that there are not many people from the Sanhao family nearby? Logically speaking, shouldn't there be troops stationed nearby?"
"Maybe there are some unexpected changes in the battle situation." Kinoshita Tokichiro replied in a low voice: "The war is dangerous, no one can say for sure."
"You go in first." Ginkgo pointed to a tree outside the temple wall. "Take a look around and confirm the situation inside. If there is no problem, we will take action. Finish the matter here quickly, and cause a big fuss. Please note that you have to take the tunnel to the palace to meet Master Xue Zhai."
·
Meanwhile, on the other side, southwest of Honnoji Temple. The Oda Army quietly slipped through the gap between the Southern Army's defensive lines, bypassed Heitouji Temple, Oizumiji Temple and Zenchoji Temple in the streets, and headed north towards the Imperial Palace.
"Those silly old men are all working hard in the south. Only the Imagawa family wants to pick up peaches and go straight to the north of Kyoto. The so-called 'Imagawa family goes deep behind enemy lines' sounds nice, but they just want to take the credit for conquering the Imperial Palace and Nijo Castle. Really? But the Miyoshi family are definitely not fools, and they must be on guard against the Imagawa family. They are probably confronting each other in the northeast of Kyoto now." Oda Nobunaga buried his head and led the Oda army forward while turning his head to look. He glanced at the trembling horses of the Imagawa family and the Miyoshi family on Otowa Mountain in the northeast: "Now, the core of Kyoto must be empty, and the greatest military exploits must belong to our Oda family!"
"So, young master, you are only focused on rushing from Kamogawa East to Kamogawa West, and then all the way north to break through. Is that for this?" At this moment, Niwa Nagahide was sincerely convinced by his rogue young master.
"Taking down the Imperial Palace and Nijo Castle is a huge achievement!" Ikeda Hengxing rubbed his palms together excitedly, "We are going to leave our name with Young Master Aoshi!"
"Why do you think so much?" Oda Nobunaga laughed when he heard this, "I just rush wherever there are people and excitement. These people are all smart people. How many steps can you count? Can't you count? You know, if you are timid and dare not take action, you can only wait to pick off others' wisdom. Opportunities are prepared for madmen. If you are not crazy, how can you see the opportunity? "
"Young Master, there is an ambush ahead!" The vanguard of the Oda family rode up from the front line. "The Miyoshi Army was discovered near Honnoji Temple. It should be Matsunagahide's army!"
"Then continue to go around and don't confront them head-on!" Oda Nobunaga decisively turned the horse's head and raised his hand to point to the west: "Let's go to Nijo Castle!"
·
On March 30, the 14th year of Tianwen, at five o'clock in the hour, in the palace.
Matsuzuki Nagahide looked at the menacing Ginkgo Division and felt extremely troubled.
The main force of Matsunaga's army that was left behind at the palace had been transferred to guard against the Oda army that had broken out not far to the south.
There are still people making trouble in Xiangguo Temple, and I don’t know if they are the Imagawa family’s subordinates.
At the moment, although the number of ninjas and guards brought by Ginkgo is not large, they are not something he can capture in a hurry. Other ministers in the palace also have domestic servants who are closely related to the Imagawa family. If they really broke out together and launched an uprising, the manpower left in the palace would not be able to suppress it no matter what. And if the fight continues here - who knows how far the situation in Xiangguo Temple will develop.
"Thank you Matsunaga Danmasa for your hospitality. Your tea ceremony is really breathtaking." Taiyuan Xuezhai finished enjoying the tea in the teacup slowly and bowed slightly to Matsunaga Danmasa, "It's not too early now. I won't bother you too much. I'll take my leave first."
"Master Xue Zhai is so elegant. Are you not afraid that I will kill you and keep you here?" Matsunaga asked in a cold voice while holding the handle of the knife tightly.
"Haha, tea lovers need to have the awareness of 'one period, one meeting', so that they can fully develop their lifelong understanding in a short tea ceremony. The tea ceremony is over, why bother to stay? It is fate to meet each other. I don't want to leave the table. , on the contrary, it has become tacky." Taiyuan Xuezhai clapped his hands and laughed, "I guess you can't delay important things for the sake of the tea ceremony, right? Dr. Sanhao Repairman is not a tea-obsessed person like you. Can I understand your intentions?"
Matsuzuki Hide knew that Taiyuan Xuezhai was right, he had no capital to waste here. In any case, after delaying for so long, he at least prevented Taiyuan Xuezhai from meeting the Konoe Ue family, and half of his mission was completed. Therefore, he did not continue, but nodded slightly, indicating that his subordinates did not need to fight to the death.
"The bullets are being transported. The poor monk still knows the way." Upon seeing this, Taiyuan Xuezhai cupped his hands and said goodbye. He leisurely and leisurely exited the store with the men brought by Ginkgo, and then took the path all the way to the palace. Retreat outside.
"Kwon Bingwei is not with you?" When they arrived outside the Kyoto Imperial Garden, Taiyuan Xuezhai looked at the team brought by Ginkgo, and then looked around, "Zijing, Zhenshi, Fifth Young Master, Ujitoshi, they are not here... Good guy, is it true that the Sanhao Family has planned so many of my back-up plans? Are they all blocked? Only Madam and her special forces are left?"
"That's what it looks like." Ginkgo yawned sleepily after getting up early. "I thought I could fish now, so it's time to call it quits and go back to catch up on some sleep."
"Well, let's light the smoke and signal the members of our Imagawa family who have infiltrated to evacuate." Taiyuan Xuezhai ordered the followers around him. Soon after, the smoke rose, and the ninjas and samurai of the Imagawa family began to make plans to retreat. Seeing this, the Miyoshi family had no intention of pursuing them, and they all gathered towards the turbulent Kyoto Imperial Garden and Shoukokuji Temple area.
"We succeeded." On the other side, on Otoyu Mountain, Imagawa Yoshimoto finally waited for the signal from Taiyuan Xuezhai, "It's more than 2 hours slower than expected. What kind of trouble did we encounter?"
"Withdraw troops." Imagawa Yoshimoto ordered Hayasaka Nao, who immediately shook the red bird horse seal and informed Takeda Harunobu. Takeda Harunobu, who was fighting hard, waited for a long time before he noticed the order from Red Bird Horse Seal, and also issued a retreat order to the various Southern Army units in Kyoto. Seeing that it was getting late, it seemed difficult to determine the winner before sunset. Miyoshi Changqing's Ma Yin also issued a retreat order. The northern and southern armies slowly disengaged and left the battlefield, ensuring their own retreat routes and retreating towards the north and south.
