Ashikaga Nobushige's resolve wavered somewhat.
The country he had painstakingly unified was on the verge of turmoil, and the storm of war was already gathering in the distance.
He now desperately needs more resources to deal with the impending storm.
"How can I trust you?" Ashikaga Nobunari asked.
“Here’s what we’ll do: you name a name, and I’ll bring you his head tomorrow,” Lin Mo said. “Besides him, all his subordinates will go with him.”
Ashikaga Nobunari was astonished upon hearing this, "You...you are one of Lone Wolf's men?"
"Lone Wolves? They're nothing!" Lin Mo said. "I've said my piece. Whether you agree or not is up to you. Remember, I'll only wait one day. If you haven't made up your mind by then, I don't mind going to Tokugawa."
"I trust the Tokugawa Shogun; I'd be happy to take your head!"
"You...you are incredibly rude!"
Ashikaga Nobunari was so angry after hearing the translation that he gritted his teeth and was about to say something to Sun Mian.
But then Xiang Yu gripped the hilt of his sword and stood still.
Upon seeing the imposing Xiang Yu, Ashikaga Nobunari was completely terrified.
Although he had killed countless people throughout his life, he was practically a younger brother in front of Xiang Yu, and his aura was completely suppressed.
Lin Mo sneered, “One day!” he emphasized.
Then Lin Mo waved his hand and led Xiang Yu away without looking back.
After Lin Mo left, only Ashikaga Nobunari and Kuroda Hanbei remained in the hall.
"Your Majesty, what do you intend to do?" Kuroda Hanbei asked.
"What do you mean?" Ashikaga Nobunari asked in return.
Kuroda Hanbei pondered for a moment, "Why don't we trust him this once?" He said, "Anyway, we won't suffer any harm. If he can really get rid of Tokugawa Iemochi for us, it would be a great thing not only for Your Majesty, but also for the entire East Pango!"
"But what if we fail?"
"His failure was Lin Mo's personal action, what does it have to do with Your Majesty the Emperor?" Kuroda Hanbei laughed. "Even if Tokugawa Iemochi wanted to hold him accountable, he would have no reason to do so."
Besides, given the current situation, wouldn't it be exactly what Tokugawa Iemochi wanted if he wanted to rebel?
Yes, if Tokugawa Iemochi rebels, we'll have a perfect excuse to gather all the lords and wipe him out!
Ashikaga Nobunari had wanted to deal with Tokugawa Iemochi for a long time, but the old tortoise was incredibly patient. Nobunari tried all sorts of methods to provoke him, and he just accepted them all.
Including the last time, Tokugawa Iemochi actually killed his own eldest son.
Tokugawa Motonobu was the eldest son of Tokugawa Iemochi, born to his legal wife.
As is well known, the eldest son of the legitimate wife was extremely important in ancient times. He would be the natural first heir, or even the only heir, of kings, nobles, and generals.
The reason for killing him can be traced back to Tokugawa Motonobu's wife.
In order to win over Tokugawa Iemochi, Ashikaga Nobunari married his youngest daughter to Tokugawa Motonobu.
Given Ashikaga Nobunari's current strength, Tokugawa Motonobu is, in a sense, equivalent to a prince consort.
Generally speaking, because princesses are quite assertive, it's not easy for princes to be princes-in-law.
What's worse, Tokugawa Motonobu, for some unknown reason, insisted on taking a concubine.
At the same time, after taking a concubine, Tokugawa Motonobu's relationship with his concubine was much better than his relationship with Ashikaga Nobunari's daughter.
This enraged Ashikaga Nobunaga's daughter, who ran back to her parents' home and cried to her father.
Actually, if Ashikaga Nobunari's daughter had simply complained to him about how badly her husband treated her, he would probably have been angry, but not this angry.
The key figure was Kuroda Hanbei, who believed this was a once-in-a-lifetime plan to eliminate Tokugawa Iemochi.
So he encouraged Ashikaga Nobunaga's daughter to fabricate a story that Tokugawa Motonobu was secretly plotting to pay Lone Wolf to stop the assassination of Ashikaga Nobunaga.
How could Ashikaga Nobunari not be angry that his own son-in-law was willing to pay an assassin to kill him?
Ashikaga Nobuaki then wrote to Tokugawa Iemochi, demanding that he kill his eldest son or else he would send troops to attack.
Upon receiving the letter, Tokugawa Iemochi did not sleep for two days and two nights.
At the time, all his subordinates advised him to just rebel.
But Tokugawa Iemochi made a decision that surprised everyone: he ordered his eldest son, Tokugawa Motonobu, to commit seppuku.
That's right, he killed his own eldest son just to protect the Tokugawa family.
For this reason, Tokugawa Iemochi earned the nickname: Old Turtle!
After much deliberation, Ashikaga Nobunari finally decided to cooperate with Lin Mo.
"Kuroda, prepare the horses immediately, I need to retrieve the nautical charts!" he announced immediately.
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