Great name!

Chapter 252 Takenaka and Kuroda

Kuroda Kanbei was observing Nobutora, and similarly, Nobutora was also observing this military strategist who was of great help to Hideyoshi.

Kuroda Kanbei was wearing a simple straight robe, but his attire was decent and not disrespectful.

He is not tall, less than 1.6 meters, and is rather thin, with sunken cheeks. However, his eyes are bright and his hair is neatly tied up, showing that he is very serious.

"The Lord of Koji City sent you?"

Nobutora went straight to the point and asked Kuroda Kanbei about his intentions.

He felt that there was no need for him to engage in a witty exchange with Kuroda Kanbei, which would be degrading.

Nobutora's directness put some pressure on Kuroda Kanbei. To put it bluntly, it all depends on how many cards each side has. It is obvious that he has very few cards, and once he has played all his cards, he will be in a passive position.

This is a master, and he must use all his energy and skills to deal with him.

"It is not the master who asked me to come here, but I want to see the situation of the Oda family. Only by seeing it in person can I know whether the Oda family is worthy of the loyalty of the Kodera family."

Kuroda Kanbei threw out the first card.

This means that the Kodera family has not yet made up their mind to follow the Oda family, after all, there is still the option of the Mori family.

Nobutora smiled, not angry, nor did he mention the strengths of the Oda family. He said leisurely: "Mori Motonari is dead, and Mori Terumoto is still young. He relies entirely on his two uncles to support him. The ruler is young and the country is in doubt.

And I also heard that Kobayakawa Takakage and Yoshikawa Motoharu didn't get along, and Mori Terumoto didn't have the ability to suppress his two uncles. It's a big taboo for a family to not work together. "

He looked at Kuroda Kanbei with a smile and pointed out the biggest shortcoming of the Mori family.

Kuroda Kanbei was still quite young, and was unable to hide his emotions. There was a hint of gloom in his eyes and expression, which was seen by Nobutora. He himself also noticed this and thought to himself: I lost.

When masters fight, victory or defeat is decided in a matter of a split second, and the slightest difference can make a world of difference.

Xinhu raised the corner of his mouth slightly, already confident of victory.

Kuroda Kanbei was somewhat helpless. He was already at a disadvantage, and the hint of gloom in his expression just now showed his attitude towards the Mori family.

He, Kanbei, did not have a good impression of the Mori family.

Especially after he witnessed the prosperity of the Oda family with his own eyes, he became more convinced that the world must belong to the Oda family.

Kuroda Kanbei bowed his head and said, "I never thought that Lord Jingzhaoyin had such a deep understanding of the Mori family. I also think so. Moreover, I think that under the guidance of Lord Nobunaga and with the assistance of Lord Jingzhaoyin, the Oda family will definitely be able to seize the world.

When I return, I will definitely convince the master to join the Oda family!"

Nobutora fiddled with his sleeves, rested his right elbow on his thigh, and chuckled, "If the Kodera family wants to retain their territory and family name, they must make some contributions. My Oda family will not accept just any Tom, Dick, or Harry."

Kuroda Kanbei frowned slightly and said, "I wonder what Lord Jingzhao Yin wants to do with the Kodera family?"

Nobutora said with great interest: "The Mori family is also trying to win over the people of Harima, right? I'll give you a test. Go and convince other people of the country to join the Oda family. If you can do it, I will introduce you to the head of the family."

Kuroda Kanbei looked excitedly at Nobutora above him. This was a great opportunity for a leap forward, and he had to seize it!

"Ha, I will definitely work hard!"

Nobutora laughed and then invited Kuroda Kanbei to sit at the table, along with Tsuda Naganobu and others.

Here, Kuroda Kanbei met Takenaka Hanbei.

Takenaka Hanbei has a more elegant temperament, while Kuroda Kanbei is a bit sharp. When Kanbei heard the name of Takenaka Hanbei, he raised his glass to toast him, but there was some tentativeness in his words and his eyes were eager to try.

Takenaka Hanbei could see the talent and courage of Kuroda Kanbei, but his temperament still needed to be tempered.

Soon, the banquet was over and Kuroda Kanbei said goodbye and left. As soon as he walked out of the Tsuda residence, he met Takenaka Hanbei.

The officers and soldiers hurried forward to greet him.

Takenaka Hanbei said softly, "Lord Kuroda, you came to the Oda family because of the master's family's affairs, right? You want to meet Lord Nobunaga through Lord Jingzhaoyin?"

Kuroda Kanbei nodded and said, "Yes, Master Takenaka, what do you have to say?"

Takenaka Hanbei raised his lips slightly and said with a smile: "Did you know that Jingzhao Yin is the commander of the Eastern Army within the Oda family, and his main task is to attack the Kai Takeda family? Jingzhao Yin has no say in the affairs of the Western Kingdom."

Kuroda Kanbei's face changed, and he said unconvincedly: "That's just..."

Halfway through his words, he realized that he had been tricked.

He immediately calmed down, thought quickly, and said: "The Oda family will definitely fight with the Mori family, and Nobunaga will definitely fight for Harima, so that we can spend less money and food without losing soldiers.

Even if Lord Jingzhao Yin hadn't taken action, Lord Nobunaga would have sent someone else to come, and this doesn't conflict with what I'm going to do."

Takenaka Hanbei smiled slightly: "Oh, I see. It seems that you have received a guarantee from Lord Jingzhaoyin to meet Lord Nobunaga."

"so what?"

Kuroda Kanbei snorted. Takenaka Hanbei waved his hand and said, "It's nothing, Lord Kuroda, don't worry about it. Lord Jingzhao Yin has no ill will towards you. On the contrary, he appreciates your talent.

It’s just that you don’t quite understand the Oda family yet. Of course, you will understand it later, Lord Kuroda.”

Takenaka Hanbei smiled meaningfully, turned and left.

These last words and expressions made Kuroda Kanbei a little flustered. Was this a clear reminder to him that the Oda family was unreliable? This shouldn't be the case. How could such a big Oda family be unreliable?

Kuroda Kanbei returned to his inn with full of doubts, and Kuriyama Zensuke and Inoue Nobufusa hurried over to ask about the situation.

Kuroda Kanbei said with some pride: "Everyone, everything went smoothly. I met the Jingzhao Yin Lord, and he even hosted a banquet for me."

As he spoke, he took out a fan with a Maruta papaya pattern and said, "This is a gift from Jingzhao Yin. There is an inscription on it."

He opened the fan and on it was written: To the Lord of Harima and Himeji Castle, Kuroda Kotaka.

It was signed by Tsuda Sakyo Daifu Shintora, and his monogram was also on it.

The date was March 25th, the third year of Tensho.

Kuriyama Zensuke said excitedly: "Congratulations, Master of the Family. With this gift as a testimony, the Lord will definitely listen to the Master's advice."

Kuroda Kanbei also knew the significance of this item, and he immediately said, "Everyone, take some time to rest, we will return to Harima tomorrow!"

……

In the study of the Tsuda family, Tsuda Naganobu, Honda Masanobu, Numata Yukou and Takenaka Hanbei were sitting below.

Tsuda Naganobu looked at Nobutora and asked, "Father, who is that Kuroda Kotaka from Harima that you are asked to meet him in person?"

Nobutora said directly: "This man is a talent and good at strategy. If we can get his help, our Tsuda family will be even more powerful."

Numata Yukou frowned slightly, stroked his beard and said, "It's just that this boy doesn't know how to restrain himself, and is a bit arrogant because of his talent. He needs to be polished."

Takenaka Hanbei smiled and said, "He is a rare genius, so it is normal for him to be a little arrogant. Once he sees the vastness of the world and the cunningness of the human world, he will naturally undergo a transformation."

Nobutora could see that Takenaka Hanbei wanted to teach Kuroda Kanbei, so he said, "Master Takenaka, you can communicate with him more. It would be a pity to let such a good talent die halfway."

Tsuda Naganobu realized that Kuroda Kotaka was an outstanding talent, and his father wanted to accept him, but for some reason, he did not take action.

It would be a shame to miss such an outstanding talent. Maybe he could give it a try.

Nobutora waved his hand and said, "Let's not talk about this anymore. It's not convenient for me to interfere in Harima's affairs. After all, I am the commander of the Eastern Army, and my goal is to take down the Takeda family.

Last year, the Takeda family suffered heavy losses in the sea. Do you think Takeda Katsuyori would dare to fight again?"

Takenaka Hanbei was the first to speak: "This loss has already caused great damage to the Takeda family. The prestige that Takeda Katsuyori accumulated in the battle of Takatenjin Castle has probably been completely lost in this battle.

I thought that even if Takeda Katsuyori wanted to go to war, those old ministers would definitely stop him."

Xin Hu frowned and said, "That's troublesome. The Jiaxin area is full of mountains and hills, and there are many fortresses that are easy to defend but difficult to attack. With the troops I have, attacking Jiaxin will be futile."

Honda Masanobu smiled and said, "It would be best if we could lure them out and fight them."

Tsuda Naganobu's eyes lit up: "How about letting Lord Mikawa attack Takatenjin Castle?"

Xinhu smiled and asked, "What do you mean?"

Tsuda Naganobu puffed out his chest and said, “Just now, Lord Takenaka said that after the battle of Takatenjin Castle, Takeda Katsuyori accumulated a lot of prestige, but if Takatenjin Castle is lost, then Takeda Katsuyori will lose all the face he has left after the Battle of Urumi.

If Takeda Katsuyori had any shame, he would not allow Lord Mikawa-no-Kami to take over Takatenjin Castle."

Numata Yukou nodded and said, "Great, great, young master, this plan is really brilliant."

Xinhu laughed and said, "This plan is indeed good, but it's still a little short of it."

Tsuda Naganobu bowed and said, "Please give me some advice, father."

Nobutora then taught him earnestly: "Mikawa-no-kami is an ally of our Oda clan. Takeda Katsuyori must consider our Oda clan's troops. If the main force of the Oda clan is still there, he will not dare to act rashly."

Tsuda Naganobu suddenly realized and said quickly, "Father, do you mean that Lord Nobunaga should lead the main force to fight in the capital, so that Takeda Katsuyori will send troops to Totomi?"

Nobutora nodded and said, "Without the main force of the Oda family, Takeda Katsuyori dares to fight, but this is not absolute. After all, I still have tens of thousands of troops here, so Takeda Katsuyori has to think about it."

Seeing that Nobutora was confident, Tsuda Naganobu asked curiously, "Father, you are confident. Do you have any good way to make sure that Takeda Katsuyori will fight?"

Nobutora said with a smile: "It's easy to deal with Takeda Katsuyori, but Takeda Katsuyori has a military advisor by his side, and this person is not easy to fool, and the Ninja Group has no news about the military advisor yet.

Only by knowing yourself and the enemy can you win every battle. I am uneasy because I am not sure about the identity of the military advisor. "

(End of this chapter)