Deadwood Valley.
Located in the western part of Takashima County and surrounded by mountains, it is an extremely easy-to-defend but difficult-to-attack place. Whenever an enemy invades, all the mountain roads leading in and out of the valley need to be sealed, even if tens of thousands of troops come, they can only look back and sigh.
The one who rules the Kuchiki Valley is the Kuchiki family, one of the Seven Heads of Takashima.
Looking at the familiar scenery around him and walking on this mountain path that he had walked countless times, Kuchiki Takazuna felt very complicated.
With Takazuna Kuchiki leading the way, Kyogoku Takamasa and others easily arrived at the mouth of Kuchiki Valley.
"stop!"
"Who are you?"
There is a checkpoint at the mouth of the valley, which is mainly responsible for guarding the valley and collecting tolls from passing tourists.
"Are you blind? How dare you block our way?" Before Kyogoku Takamasa could say anything, Shan Chaoxin, who was following Kyogoku Takamasa, became angry. Madu and the Ashigaru dared to block the road. As a samurai, this is intolerable!
"Where did this shabby warrior come from and dare to act so arrogantly here?"
Who would have expected? Not only were the ashigaru in front of Yamachoshin not intimidated, but they even raised their spears without any fear.
? Shan Chaoxin was so angry that he was trembling, Tai Nima was so arrogant. Just when he was about to draw his sword, Kuchiki Takatsuna who was standing by had quick eyesight and quick hands, and quickly pulled Yamato Nobu over, "Naizou Suke, these are not the ashigaru of the Kuchiki family, they are the Shogun's bodyguards!"
"Um?"
? Shan Chaoxin looked at the ashigaru in front of him suspiciously, and he found something unusual.
First of all, these ashigaru are well-equipped, and they all wear tōmaru and hats. The man dressed as a samurai at the head is even more luxurious than what Kyogoku Takamasa wore during the war.
What's more important is that the family crest on the flag behind Ashigaru is not the Kuchiki clan's Sumitate four-eye knot, but two lines and two lines!
Combined with Kuchiki Takasuna's words, it is not difficult to see that this is indeed the military strength of the Ashikaga family. Nowadays, the fact that General Ashikaga Yoshiharu took refuge (was exiled) in Kuchiki Valley is known to the world.
Even with the strength of the Ashikaga family's military strength, Yamato Nobu also lost his temper.
"My lord, Lieutenant Ninagawa Shin'emon, Ashikaga retainer, who are you?" A samurai came out from behind Ashigaru, came to stand in front of Kyogoku Takamasa and others, and asked loudly.
Looking at the luxurious equipment on the samurai, Kyogoku Takamasa could only sigh inwardly at the luxury, and just as he was about to speak, Ninagawa Shin'emon Gate Captain in front of him waved his hand directly, "Needless to say, you must be like this A samurai from Omi, right?”
"Many of you have come here before, either asking for official positions or asking for favors from the General!"
"Now, here is the price chart. You can make your own choice. Tell me when you have made your choice and I will report it to the Shogun. As for whether the Shogun is willing to see you, I don't know!" Lieutenant Ninagawa Shin'emon dug around. Nostrils said with a look of disdain.
Kyogoku Takamasa was suddenly confused. He took the note handed over by Lieutenant Ninagawa Shin'emon and looked at it. He was instantly dumbfounded.
I saw that the prices of various official positions were clearly marked by the superiors, ranging from five to low-ranking. If you have money, you can sell them. Kyogoku Takamasa took a closer look and found out that if he bought it from Ashikaga Yoshiharu, the sixth-ranked Sakyo Susumu, it would actually cost 500 strings!
Seeing Kyogoku Takamasa holding the note without saying a word, Lieutenant Ninagawa Shin'emon thought Kyogoku Takamasa was too expensive, so he quickly stepped forward and whispered, "This is the market price, it is already very cheap."
"What do you think of Captain Zuohei, who is the seventh rank? The asking price is three hundred guan. If you give me ten guan as a gift, how about I guarantee you 200 guan and you can get what you want?"
Seeing that Kyogoku Takamasa was still indifferent, Lieutenant Ninagawa Shin'emon continued to deceive, "You are lucky today, I am Lieutenant Ninagawa Shin'emon who is on duty. Normally, it's Kira Kami-sensei who is on duty, and that guy is called Kuro." . Not only is the asking price high, but the price on the note is quite a lot!”
"I'm afraid your Excellency has misunderstood. I'm here to see the young assistant of the Kuchiki clan, the head of the Kuchiki Civil Service!" Kyogoku Takamasa looked at Captain Ninagawa Shin'emon with a look that looked like he was mentally retarded, and secretly cursed his evil heart.
Mad, I don’t know how many country bumpkins these people have tricked, do you think I don’t know the experts?
There is someone at my Kyogoku house!
In fact, these retainers of Ashikaga Yoshiharu fled with Ashikaga Yoshiharu and lived a very poor life. The only thing I wanted to do was to trick these country bumpkins from around Omi into buying an official position. Not only did they ask for a low price, but they also received benefits. Anyway, these country bumpkins were stupid and had a lot of money, so they could cheat one after another.
Selling officials is not just the exclusive domain of ministers, sometimes the shogunate will also make a guest appearance. Although the shogunate cannot appoint officials, the general who conquers barbarians can submit petitions on his behalf, and the effect is similar to those of ministers petitioning.
Moreover, Ashikaga Yoshiharu also has a "monopoly product" that even the imperial court and ministers do not have, and that is Ashikaga Yoshiharu's taboo...
"It turns out that I'm here to find the Kuchiki Civil Affairs Bureau. Tell me your names and I can inform you on your behalf!" Seeing that Kyogoku Takamasa was not here to buy an official position, Lieutenant Ninagawa Shin'emon suddenly lost his previous enthusiasm.
"My dear, the son of Omi Kyogoku Clan Kyogoku Musashi Mamoru, Kyogoku Sakyo has entered high government, and I came here to pay a visit to the Kuchiki Minbu Shaofu!"
"Sakyo Jin Kyogoku?"
"Is that...is that Kyogoku Sakyo Susumu, who is also known as Yasha Saburo?" Captain Ninagawa Shin'emon suddenly said in surprise.
Kyogoku Takamasa nodded, "That's right!"
"Oh my, it turns out it's Kyogoku Sakyo entering the palace! I was so rude just now. I, the Ninagawa family's monitor, Shin'emon, have admired Sakyo entering the palace for a long time!"
Ninagawa Chitoshi?
The current head of the Ninagawa family?
Later, the political office of the shogunate during the Ashikaga Yoshiteru period?
Are you actually looking at the gate here?
Kyogoku Takamasa was simply shocked. Although he knew that the shogunate had been miserable in the past two years, he did not expect it to be so miserable.
By the way, Ninagawa Okatoshi's sister is Saito Rizo's mother, and Saito Rizo has a daughter who is the famous Kasuga Bureau.
"It turns out to be Ninagawa-sama. To be honest, apart from visiting the Kuchiki Civil Affairs Bureau, the main purpose is to visit the shogun! I also ask Ninagawa-sama to introduce me on my behalf!"
Ninagawa Okatoshi was not surprised by this. How could the young master of the Kyogoku family deign to come to see a mere Kuchiki? Tsuna must be here for Ashikaga Yoshiharu.
"Sakyo, please come in here, I'll take you there!"
"So much work."
After passing the checkpoint, we followed the winding valley path for an unknown distance into the valley, and finally saw Kuchiki Home Town Kuchiki Castle.
Kuchiki Castle is located at the intersection of the main stream of the Azumi River and the Kitagawa River. It guards the Kuchiki Street between Yamashiro and Omi leading to Wakasa and Echizen. It generates a large amount of revenue every year just from the taxes collected from passing merchants.
I have to say that the Kuchiki family is indeed rich, as can be seen from this Kuchiki Castle alone.
If Kyogoku Takamasa remembers it correctly, historical data records that Kuchiki Castle covers an area of more than 100,000 square meters, and not only the water bank was dug. In addition to the Main Maru, there are Ninomaru and Sannomaru. There are also various facilities such as a horse racing farm and a swordsmanship dojo, which are even more exquisite than Kyogoku's Kamiheiji Castle.
When he learned that the young head of the Kyogoku family, Kyogoku Takamasa, was visiting, Kuchiki Tsuna still showed great enthusiasm and immediately ordered people to prepare a dinner.
"I didn't expect that Sakyou would come to my palace in person. I'm really overjoyed!" Kuchiki Tsuna didn't dare to show off in front of Kyogoku's high government. Although he was the governor of the Kuchiki family, he was still nominally a retainer of Kyogoku. .
"I'm here to bother the Ministry of Civil Affairs for a few days. A mere small profit is disrespectful. I hope the Ministry of Civil Affairs will accept it!" As he said this, Kyougoku Takamasa winked at Kuchiki Takazuna beside him.
The latter quickly understood and, together with Shan Chaoxin, placed the box containing the gift in the center of the hall.
Only then did Kuchiki Tsuna notice the figure of Kuchiki Takatsuna, and his face suddenly became a little ugly, but it was difficult to do it in public.
But I was wondering in my heart, why did Takatsuna Kuchiki get involved with Takamasa Kyogoku?
