The name of the great swordsman begins in Okehazama.

On the day Hattori Haruyasu arrived at Moribe Castle, Nagayoshi watched him approach on horseback from the castle wall.

The person is still the same, but the demeanor has changed.

Back in Kiyosu Castle, Hattori Haruyasu was just a clever horseman, but now he wears brand-new kiku, carries an exquisite spear, and the scabbard of the sword at his waist is inlaid with gold thread.

Upon entering the city, Chun'an grinned and knelt on one knee as soon as he saw Changqing.

"Hattori Haruaki, from now on, Lord Mori Nagayoshi is my lord!"

Changqing was taken aback. If he remembered correctly, Chun'an, as a member of the Ma Hui tribe, received an annual salary of fifty strings of cash.

Nobunaga really played his cards right, sending people directly to live off his salary.

"Get up." Changqing helped him up with a wry smile. "Come on, I'll show you our city."

The city is not large; you can see all the places in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

After making his rounds, Chun'an cautiously asked, "How are the soldiers' pay and rations distributed in Moribe Castle?"

He really is a greedy person.

"See that official road to the west?" Changqing patted his shoulder. "That's where our military pay comes from."

The next morning, Changqing summoned everyone to discuss matters.

"Haruaki, from today onwards, you will be in charge of the raids." Nagayoshi spread out a map. "Hideyoshi will be in charge of disposing of the stolen goods and logistics. I will be stationed in the castle. There shall be no more than three raids per month. The targets shall be dispersed, the times shall be staggered, and each raid shall involve a change of attire and name. Today it will be the Moribe clan, tomorrow it may be the Nagaragawa clan, and the day after tomorrow it may be the Hidayama clan."

Hideyoshi laughed and said, "My lord is planning to completely disrupt the Saito family..."

"Exactly." Changqing nodded approvingly. "But everything should be done in moderation. A rabbit doesn't eat the grass near its burrow. In the future, we should keep our distance when we make our moves."

"Understood!"

Chun'an was indeed clever. He chose a dark and rainy night for his first raid, and after succeeding, he deliberately left two worn-out junhaori from the Rokkaku family at the scene.

Hideyoshi was in charge of selling the stolen goods, which was a delicate job. He disguised himself as a traveling merchant and took the goods to Cheongsu Castle in batches to sell.

But if you walk along the roadside often, you're bound to get your shoes wet.

Chun'an recently narrowly escaped an ambush by the Saito family. Fortunately, the enemy cavalry was few in number, and after most of them were shot dead, he dared not pursue them any further.

This forced Nagayoshi to consider forming a cavalry, so he sent Hidenaga to sell the stolen goods in Owari and then to negotiate with the newly surrendered powerful clans in Nishi-Mino to borrow horses.

Lord Takagi Sadahisa of Komano Castle, Lord Ichihashi Nagayasu of Fukuzuka Castle, and Lord Marushige Nagateru of Takumo Castle, out of respect for Nagayoshi's reputation, lent him thirty horses at a low price.

With thirty horses arriving, the robbery's mobility increased significantly.

Having collected enough protection money from the large merchants, they switched to attacking smaller caravans or the Saito family's transport fleets.

Each attack involves one person and two horses. Not only do they capture a lot when they succeed, but they can also escape quickly if things go wrong.

But the problem also followed.

After returning from the seventh raid, a soldier secretly told Xiuchang that he saw Lord Chun'an bury a string of coins outside his house.

Changqing has military law that anyone who embezzles funds will be executed. If Chun'an is not killed, then the troops are no different from real bandits.

Xiuchang reported this matter to Changqing, who hesitated for a moment and only told him to keep it a secret for now.

The next day, Changqing summoned all the soldiers who had recently participated in the operation.

In the courtyard, fifty people stood in neat rows. Chun'an stood at the head of the line, his expression unchanged.

Changqing walked up to the crowd, remained silent for a moment, and then suddenly took out a string of coins from his pocket.

"Gentlemen," he said, holding up the string of coins, "the operation a few days ago was quite successful. According to the rules, 70% of the spoils go to the public, and 30% is for personal rewards..."

When he walked up to Chun'an, their eyes met for a fleeting moment.

Changqing turned his head away and continued, "Over the past few months, everyone has risked their lives and raided several times. I remember all these contributions. But our Senbu city is small and our food and provisions are insufficient. We can only ensure that everyone is fed, and the rewards have indeed been meager."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone. "A few days ago, I gave Chun'an a reward of one string of cash. He thought everyone had contributed and declined, but I insisted on rewarding him. Unexpectedly, he felt embarrassed to receive the reward alone, so he secretly hid the money. I thought about it carefully and realized that it was also the lord's fault to make his retainers feel embarrassed, so I'm distributing the money to everyone today."

A burst of excited panting rose from the ranks. One string of cash was a fortune for ordinary people.

Changqing distributed the money to the soldiers one by one, and when he finally walked back to Chun'an, he patted him on the shoulder.

"Now we don't need to hide it anymore, Spring Festival!"

Chun'an's cheeks were flushed, and he nervously scratched his thigh.

"Yes...my lord...is wise."

"Alright, the reward money is meant to be sent home, so give it to Lord Xiu. He'll take it back to Cheongju for you next time!"

The soldiers immediately cheered, but Chun'an remained silent.

"Your Excellency is wise!"

"Thank you, sir!"

……

After the troops were disbanded, Chun'an did not leave immediately. He waited until everyone had left before walking up to Changqing and kneeling down.

"My lord, I..."

"No need to say more. My actions show that I forgive you. If you have any difficulties at home, just tell me. There's no need for petty theft!"

Chun'an's tears suddenly fell. This clever and cunning young man completely dropped his pretense in front of Changqing for the first time.

"My lord, I... my home is in Owari. My mother is seriously ill, and my younger brother is still young. We used to be horsemen, but now we serve you. In order not to be looked down upon by you, I borrowed money from the weapons merchant on credit... I was confused for a moment..."

"Why didn't you say so sooner?" Changqing sighed.

"I'm afraid you'll think I'm useless, that I can't even support the family."

Changqing patted him on the shoulder, recalling his humble past life, and laughed, "Soon, our lord will be attacking Mino. We can establish a military merit then."

"Yes!" Chun'an kowtowed heavily before leaving.

A genuine correction might only require a single word, while a hypocritical correction can take thousands of words.

……

After this incident, Chun'an was like a different person. He used to be clever but cunning, but now he was clever but reliable. He even followed Xiu Chang to study military strategy and arithmetic, and occasionally consulted Chang Qing on military tactics.

In the spring of the following year, which was the fifth year of Yonglu (1562).

Matsudaira Ieyasu had completely taken control of the western three rivers, the northern three rivers, and half of the eastern three rivers.

Nobunaga was busy reorganizing Owari and couldn't spare the time to invade Mino.

However, at that moment, Mino took the initiative and launched an attack.

It turned out that Ando Mamoru, one of the "Three Men of Mino," had discovered the source of the looting, so he joined forces with Hiroshi Hineno, another of the "Saito Rokushuō," to launch an attack and intend to take Moribe Castle.

At the same time, they also requested their lord, Saito Tatsuoki, to send troops south along the Nagara River to block Nobunaga's reinforcements.

In Inabayama Castle, Saito Tatsuoki was feasting with his confidants.

He was only fifteen years old at the time, and after succeeding as head of the family, he only cared about enjoying himself, entrusting all the political affairs to his confidants. When he heard the request from the two powerful clans, he became furious.

"Four thousand men aren't enough to destroy a small Moribe Castle? Have they been terrified by Mori Nagayoshi?"

"My lord, please calm down. Perhaps it is because Lord Ando is being overly cautious."

"Keep playing the music...keep dancing..." Long Xing put his arm around a woman older than himself and pinched her cheek with his slightly chubby little hand.