"Thousand Rider General?"
Rody might not understand the official posts of the dwarfs but when he heard the name, he could understand that n.o.bunaga was a commander of the cavalry. The dwarfs did not have many horses. They did not raise horses as the region was too small. As a result, most of the army were infantries. Cavalries were extremely precious.
As a person who commanded the rare and precious cavalry, this person must have a high position in the shogunate. Yukinari’s comment of n.o.bunaga being the number one warrior of the Shogun was definitely credible.
Nedis had different thoughts. She felt relieved that she had not mistaken this person as Koichi. If she had recognized the wrong person, Yukinari would become suspicious even if he was a fool. It would be a joke to mistake the wrong guy to be Koichi after claiming to be following Koichi’s instructions.
Besides that, Nedis also had deeper thoughts.
Oda n.o.bunaga was a powerful figure. Nedis had not expected the shogunate to have such people. "Could Koichi be more powerful than n.o.bunaga?"
n.o.bunaga glanced at the others and coldly said, "The Shogun has rung the bell to summon us. I will go on ahead!"
After that, he walked in with large strides without even turning his head around. The others that came with him on horses also followed as they walked in orderly. They had an arrogant demeanor and did not even look at the Shogun’s son.
Yukinari secretly clenched his fist. His eyes revealed a little bit of hatred.
Rody patted his shoulder and said, "This n.o.bunaga is not on good terms with you."
Yukinari nodded as he gritted his teeth, "He is father’s Thousand Rider General. Our Hakone Kingdom’s cavalry is all under his command. He is always haughty. He also flies his own colors in the army and does not listen to anyone except my father. He does not even listen to my brother."
Rody laughed and secretly thought to himself. A commander of the cavalry? Haha…
Rody himself was a commander of a cavalry. His ‘Lightning G.o.d’s Whip’ was the invincible cavalry. Even the Holy Knights were inferior to the Lightning G.o.d’s Whip. Although Oda n.o.bunaga had quite an imposing momentum and his cavalrymen were strong and vigorous, their level was only normal to Rody. He had too many of such people in the Lightning G.o.d’s Whip, so he was not impressed.
Nedis sighed and lightly said, "Young Master Yukinari, since n.o.bunaga and your brother are at odds, you should not be hostile to him! If you want to be successful, you must remember that the enemy of your enemy is your friend! If I were you, I would try and win him over instead of being hostile to him!"
Yukinari showed a surprised expression. He then bowed his head and said, "Yukinari has received your teachings!"
He cheered up and followed everybody into the shogunate.
Rody was interested in the Thousand Rider General and asked a lot of questions along the way. Yukinari was very dependent on the three at that point in time and told them everything.
Originally, there was a geographical problem. The dwarfs were also short and not good at riding horses. As a result, there were not many cavalrymen. In the entire army, there was only a single cavalry group.
There were only ten thousand cavaliers. n.o.bunaga was known as the Thousand Rider General because he commanded a cavalry with ten thousand people. If he was not included, there would be nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine. As it was still in the thousands, he became the Thousand Rider General.
They originally thought that the shogunate meeting would be very strict. Rody and the other two were just Yukinari’s retainers and therefore could not partic.i.p.ate. However, the old Shogun was very fond of his son, so he allowed Rody and the others to enter.
It was a s.p.a.cious room. A dozen people, both old and young, sat on both sides. It was a dwarven custom that there were no chairs in the room. Instead, there was a soft footrest. The dwarfs kneeled and sat on their heels on the footrest. This habit made Rody feel uncomfortable. Fortunately, as there were not enough places, Rody and the other two simply stood behind Yukinari.
There was a platform in the middle. Naturally, it was the Shogun’s seat. The first seat on the left was occupied by a youth that seemed keen-witted and capable. He wore a warrior’s armor and seemed to be in high spirits. He also looked proud. His lips were tightly curled and the lines on his face were clear. He was obviously resolute and steadfast person.
This person was larger than Yukinari and looked somewhat similar. The youth was naturally Yukinari’s older brother, Kikukawa Koichi.
After Koichi was a middle-aged man in a warrior’s clothes. He looked fierce and had a thin scar on his face. His eyes had the ferocity of a beast but looked respectful and deferential when looking at Koichi.
On the other hand, Yukinari seemed to sit far away. It was clear that the Shogun’s youngest son did not have a high position. The people by his side also did not speak with him much and looked isolated.
Everyone had arrived before the Shogun appeared and whispered to each other. Koichi really looked popular. He seemed really intimate with the old officials of the shogunate. Yukinari saw this and his expression became even more unsightly. Nedis stood behind him and whispered, "Don’t talk. Watch and listen more. Speak less!"
Rody looked around and saw that the Thousand Rider General, n.o.bunaga, was not in the room.
A sliding door behind the room was pulled open. A majestic voice coughed lightly, and the room immediately became quiet. Two people then came out from the back.
The first one was an old man with grey hair. He looked similar to Koichi. His eyes were slightly closed but turned sharp when he looked around occasionally. He wore a bright and beautiful robe that was wrapped around his body in a simple manner. This person was the Shogun, the old Kikukawa.
Following this person was the Thousand Rider General, n.o.bunaga. With a respectful expression, he nodded at the crowd. He then walked over and sat on the first seat at the right.
When the Shogun sat down, everybody raised their heads to look at the real ruler of the Hakone Kingdom. Only Rody continued to be interested in the Thousand Rider General. But he then found that n.o.bunaga and Koichi had looked meaningfully at each other. Koichi looked at n.o.bunaga for a while. n.o.bunaga then nodded slightly.
"Are the rumors of them not getting along fake?"
The Shogun gently coughed and said, "Today, I have gathered you here because the frontline is hard pressed! k.u.mu Yu has continuously asked for emergency help! I am afraid that the enemies would reach Home River in less than five days."
Koichi responded quickly. While the others cried out in alarm, he loudly shouted, "Father, please allow me to take the men out to battle! I shall take the Demon Circle with me to drive the Roland people out of our territory!"
He already stood up and held his katana in front of him on the tabletop. He had a resolute expression.
On the other hand, Yukinari had a complicated expression. He seemed to hesitate and lowered his head. Rody sighed. "This Young Master is so weak. Even I would not have chosen him to be the successor."
Sure enough, the moment Koichi had finished speaking, the generals sitting in the lower priority seats at his row gave their support.1
"Hmph!" There was a cold and impa.s.sionate groan that sounded extremely unconventional. n.o.bunaga had groaned. He then stood up and shouted, "Shogun, I think we first need to pursue k.u.mu Yu"s dereliction of duty for being defeated! He had fought headlong with fifty thousand soldiers, yet he lost four military fortresses. It allowed the enemy to go straight in! If he is not punished, the warriors may not be satisfied!"
The Shogun nodded and said, "I have decided to choose someone to bring the Demon Circle and the Thousand Rider to the South as reinforcements. But, I want to hear everyone’s opinion on who to send! I will also not pardon k.u.mu Yu. Once I have sent reinforcements and incorporated them with k.u.mu Yu’s troops, I will have him commit seppuku! Everybody, who is the one going South?"
Koichi responded the fastest. He walked forward in large strides and then threw himself onto the ground. He loudly said, "I am willing to go for Father!"
n.o.bunaga laughed coldly. He then stood up and loudly said, "The older prince is more suitable for the capital’s defense. Leave the South to me!"
Both of them knelt in the middle but fiercely glared at each other. They looked angrily at each other. This made Rody feel suspicious. It was as if these two had an agreement.
The Thousand Rider General also seemed to have popular trust. When he started to compete, Koichi’s supporters immediately became quieter and many of them immediately kept quiet. They carefully observed the direction of the wind.
Nedis who was standing behind Yukinari poked him. She said, "You should say something!"
"Hm?" Yukinari was stunned for a moment. He then whispered back, "Say what?"
"Idiot!" Nedis scolded and gnashed her teeth. "If you want an accomplishment, this is a good opportunity to be in the limelight!"
"But…" Yukinari seemed awkward. Nedis laughed and said, "No need to panic. We will support you at the back. Aren’t you supposed to be skilled at poetry? Just think of this as poetry instead of an official meeting."
"But I…" Yukinari still wanted to say something but Nedis became impatient and forcefully pushed Yukinari out.
While the two in front were arguing, they heard a sharp voice. "Ah!"
Yukinari felt the back of his body ache as he staggered out. He fell down just behind the two in front.
"Hm? Yukinari?" The Shogun saw the person kneeling in front and was pleasantly surprised. He did not expect his favorite youngest son to finally start moving.
He gently coughed and said, "Yukinari, why did you come out? Have you managed the things at Home River properly?"
Sweat flowed out of Yukinari’s forehead as he replied, "Yes, it has been properly handled."
The Shogun suppressed his inner surprise. However, he pretended to lower his face and said, "Since it has been properly handled, why have you not come back and tell me? You have dawdled until now! Don’t you know how urgent this is right now?"
"I…I…" Yukinari became nervous. However, he suddenly remembered Nedis’ words and calmed down.
He slowly raised his head and smiled calmly. His demeanor looked as though he had a plan and was perfectly calm.
"Father…I apologize for being late." Yukinari’s eyes glinted with wisdom. He gently exhaled and said, "That is because, I have lost my way in life."
There was silence.
They had initially thought that the mentally deranged Young Master had finally straightened out. However, he unexpectedly and deliberately said such ‘philosophical’ words in a serious discussion. Everyone looked at each other dumbfounded.
Even Koichi could not help but think to himself. "Has my little brother really gone mad? Although this is good news…"
Yukinari was no longer nervous at all. With amazing eloquence, he calmly said, "Father, I went to Home River and felt surprised about the Hakone Kingdom’s situation. In the face of such situation, I can no longer tolerate my previous conduct!"
The Shogun was silent for a moment and then he nodded and said, "Ah, you have finally straightened out. That is a good thing. However, this is not the time to discuss this. Let me ask you. Do you have any opinion on who to send to the South?"
Yukinari gave a cough and showed an even more respectful expression. He replied, "I have no right to speak about such important military matters…" The moment he said these words, everybody thought that although the Young Master was not much, he still had self-awareness. However, Yukinari’s speech changed as he said, "But I believe that no matter who is in command, we must first fully understand the situation at the South! I have a few questions in my mind. I believe that whoever can answer these questions would seize victory!"
Translator"s Note:
1. The ones sitting nearer the Shogun is higher ranked/ higher priority. In this case, the two people in front were Koichi and n.o.bunaga. They both sat in different rows. The generals in Koichi’s row gave their support.