different warring states of japan

Chapter 2181 No shortage of excuses for war
The next day, at the main camp of Hosuka.

Hosuka Masakatsu came back from outside the formation with an angry face. After shielding the left and right, he spoke angrily to Inada Uemoto who followed him.

"This is too much! This is too much!

When I was fighting in the battlefield, this little girl wasn't even born yet, how dare she humiliate me like this!"

However, Inada Uemoto was completely unable to empathize with his lord and went straight to praising him.

"His Highness Yuigahama Yoshinao is so young, yet he is able to point out the shortcomings in front of the battlefield. He is so righteous and awe-inspiring. He is worthy of being a descendant of a saint."

Hosuka Masakatsu's eyes turned red, and he looked at his old sister who was singing a different tune, holding back his anger.

"She's not just humiliating me, she's humiliating all of us!"

Inada Uemoto said expressionlessly.

“It is a shame to say that our island nation raised us to adulthood and career, but we were unable to quell the chaos in the world, causing the people of the world to fall into hell.

"Your Highness Yuigahama Yoshinao is right. We have aided the tyrants and committed countless crimes. We should have realized our mistake and turned back."

Even though Hosuka Masakatsu was old and cunning enough, he was so angry that his face turned red and green, and he finally squeezed out a few words from between his teeth.

"How much money did you save in the Shiba Tsuchiya? How much real estate did you buy in Shiba? How much Hokuriku Road stock did you invest in? Why are you speaking up for the Shiba family?
That little brat is deliberately humiliating us. Where is your self-esteem as a female warrior?
Just for a little bit of wealth, have you disregarded the Wu family's basic dignity?

You must know that if the king insults me, the minister will die. Do you still recognize me as the head of the family?"

Inada Uemoto smiled coldly and said to Hosuka Masakatsu while staring at him.

"A little bit of wealth... Do you still remember that we old sisters put most of the little wealth we accumulated over the years in Spo Territory? I thought you had forgotten it long ago!

If the regent is defeated, the saint will at most relocate us to other places.

But if the saint were defeated, the likes of Mori, Otomo, and Shimazu would write off the money they owed to Sasaki Dokura.

Even the Kanpaku herself was in a lot of debt, and she wished that Sasaki Dokura didn't exist and that all the wealth of the Sasaki family would be wiped out.

But what about us! What are we!
We have fought for half our lives, shed blood and tears, and finally saved up a little money. We want to provide for ourselves in our old age and leave something for our family, but why is it so difficult!
If the Kanpaku wins, most of the sisters' wealth will be gone! You know this very well!
I have long advised you to surrender, but you refused to agree. Now the descendants of the gods of the Sōma family are right in front of you, what are you still hesitating about!
If it's too late, it won't be a rebellion, but a forced surrender to survive, and the treatment will be very different."

Hosuka Masakatsu had a stern face.

"So, Maeda Toshiie gave you such a high price that you even forgot about the sisterhood between us."

Inada Uemoto had a sullen look on his face.

"It's not much, just 10,000 shi of grain coupons. As long as the other sisters are willing to fight, they will all be rewarded.

Lord Maeda Toshiie took out a total of one million koku of food coupons and gave them free of charge to the old Owari samurai family who were willing to maintain the peace.

As long as you surrender, everyone will have a share.

I might as well tell you that the saint has already issued an order to Lord Daizo-Changan of Sasaki Dokura, instructing Dokura to forgive the debts of all the surrendered samurai, and the related deficits will be made up from the Sasaki family's finances as appropriate.

Humiliation, haha, I don’t think so, and neither do my sisters. We just think that it was a wake-up call from His Highness Yuigahama Yoshinao, a scolding to wake us up.”

Hosuka Masakatsu's face had become sickly red, as if blood was about to drip out. For a long while, she waved her hands weakly like a deflated ball.

"You go down first. I understand. The negotiation ends here. I won't argue with a kid."

Inada Uemoto bowed slightly and turned away.

Watching Inada Uemoto leave the main camp, Hosuka Masakatsu breathed a sigh of relief and muttered to himself.

"Kanpaku, Kanpaku, I have tried my best. I will delay it for one more day. It will be worthy of our friendship for many years."

Although Hosuka Masakatsu seemed angry, he was actually just using his intense emotions to divert the attention of the ladies under his command and to prevent them from turning the table and exposing themselves.

Behind her anger was an extremely sad clarity and calmness, and she didn't know how long she could fool people by doing this.

That bastard Maeda Toshiie, he thinks he is rich! He just spends money to deceive people and instigate his opponents to rebel. His victory is unfair!

And there are saints... Can surrendering really reduce debts?
Hosuka Masakatsu's eyes became vague.

In order to support the war on the peninsula in recent years, Hosuka Ryo has borrowed a lot of money, and is still overwhelmed by the huge debt.

If it can be exempted.

Hosuka Masakatsu felt that her years of loyalty to Ichijo Hideyoshi was wavering. It was not that she did not want to be a loyal and steadfast subject, but that the Sasaki family had given her too much.

---

Hosuka Masakatsu thought she was enduring humiliation and not letting down her master or her lover, but in the eyes of Uesugi Yoshikage on the other side of the river, her forbearance was simply unreasonable and not at all feminine.

Inside the imperial palace, Yuigahama Yoshinao happily boasted to his two sisters.

"That old idiot keeps repeating the same nonsense, saying that the Kanpaku came to Luoyang to argue with the saint, and asked all the ladies to make way and not cause disputes.

I pointed at her nose and scolded her, but she didn't dare to say a word back. Hahaha, big sister, isn't this what you call being ashamed of yourself and spitting in your own face? "

Uesugi Yoshikage and Takeda Yoshinobu looked at each other in silence, both smiled bitterly and shook their heads.

Neither of them had expected that a veteran and meritorious general like Hosuka Masakatsu would have no temper at all. Even when a kid pointed at his nose and scolded him, he refused to talk back or fight back.

Takeda Yoshinobu sighed. "If you don't know how to use idioms, don't use them randomly. This should be called maturity and prudence. Hosuka Masakatsu is a great man."

Uesugi Yoshikage looked at Yuigahama Yoshinao who had a puzzled look on her face. This sister still hasn't come to her senses. She really thinks she is a messenger of justice, who is in the right and scolds an old woman until she feels ashamed.

Rubbing his temple, Uesugi Yoshikage felt a little angry. The old man Hosuka Masakatsu refused to fall into the trap. What should he do next?
You can't just start a war without any reason and fight just for the sake of fighting. If this gets out, you will be laughed at to death.

Uesugi Kagetora, who was sitting below, saw that Uesugi Yoshikage was distressed and interrupted.

"Hoseokawa Masakatsu is old, she has a reputation but is timid and cowardly. Provoking her won't work, we might as well just take action."

Takeda Yoshinobu shook his head.

“No, we are only reinforcements now. Lord Yoshitsugu Otani stationed in Fushimi Castle is the garrison commander of Kyoto. We have no right to launch an offensive.

It would be fine if you were forced to fight back, but if you took the initiative to attack, it would be difficult to explain afterwards.

After all, it was Hideyoshi who started this war, and she must bear the responsibility for destroying the peace.

It is understandable that an armed army marched to Luoyang and caused friction with other military territories.

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But Kyoto is the best place, and the eyes of the world's military families are on it. We can't take the initiative to start a war without a reasonable excuse, otherwise it will be difficult to explain to Lord Yoshitsugu Otani."

Uesugi Kagetora shook his head. People from Kansai are always slow-witted. If this happened in Kanto, they would usually find excuses to throw mud at the other side after the war and start fighting first.

Seeing that Takeda Yoshinobu was in distress, Kosaka Masanobu, who was sitting below him, smiled and said.

"It's not difficult to start a war, but I don't know if the Second Prince has the confidence to win."

Uesugi Yoshikage looked at the famous general of the Takeda family and bowed slightly.

"Please enlighten me."

Kousaka Masanobu said, pointing to the map hanging next to him.

"After Ichijo Hideyoshi captured Yodo Castle, he was integrating logistical resources to prepare for an attack on the Fushimi Toba defense line and sent out a vanguard to conduct a test.

Hosuka Masakatsu was not the only vanguard sent out. There were also two other vanguard armies of one legion each exploring along the Tominomori Forest and Senryomatsu respectively.

Tominomori's vanguard is a huge threat to us.

Like Hachisuka Masakatsu on the other side of the strait, the vanguard of Tominomori's army was also a direct descendant of Hideyoshi, Fukushima Masanori.

Once Fukushima Masanori successfully passes through the Tominomori Forest and reaches our south, and makes contact with Hosuka Masakatsu on the other side, he will be able to form a pincer attack on the detached palace where we are.

Defense is never passive. In order to prevent the enemy from easily surrounding us and weakening our defense line, we must take action.

Strategic defense does not exclude tactical offense, and I believe that Lord Yoshitsugu Otani will understand our actions."

Takasaka Masanobu's words were well-reasoned and he elevated Uesugi Yoshikage's personal calculations to the level of strategic overall considerations, leaving Uesugi Yoshikage stunned.

It is said that old ginger is wily. Kousaka Masanobu followed Takeda Shingen and conquered all over the world. He has seen countless bad things. Compared with these young people present, she is the one who is full of bad intentions.

In Kousaka Masanobu's opinion, Uesugi Yoshikage's little trick of provoking the enemy was completely unnecessary. There were easy reasons to find one, so he could just fight if he wanted to.

When Hideyoshi Ichijo was preparing to go to Kyoto in Yodo Castle, he must have sent a vanguard to test the strength of the Toba-Fushimi defense line and find a weak point to break through.

Hachisuka Masakatsu took the Toba Kaido Road west of the Kamogawa River and headed north, while the Yokooji-numa to the south was sandwiched between the Kamogawa River and the Ujigawa River.

There are two ways to bypass Yoko-oji Swamp. One is to go to Kamogawa and pass through Tominomori, and the other is to go to Ujigawa and pass through Senryomatsu. Hideyoshi would definitely send people to clear the route.

Passing through Tominomori Forest, Fukushima Masanori is equivalent to taking the route along the east bank of the Kamogawa River. Going northeast, he will inevitably pass through Toba Imperial Villa.

Ichijo Hideyoshi might not let Fukushima Masanori take the initiative to attack, and his troops might just be here to scout the route.

But Yoshikage Uesugi was in Toba Imperial Palace and was being attacked from both sides, so it was not wrong for him to have complicated thoughts.

She can completely maintain defensiveness strategically and take the initiative to attack tactically to fight back the opponent's attempts.

From the perspective of the overall interests of the Toba-Fushimi Defense Line, organizing the enemy to conduct effective reconnaissance is a reasonable military action.

Even if Uesugi Yoshikage was indeed eager to take credit, with this fig leaf, Otani Yoshitsugu could not say anything. He might even have to smile wryly and praise Uesugi Yoshikage for his active defense.

As for the saint, he had a selfish reason to arrange for his daughter to perform meritorious deeds. As long as the reasons were sufficient and outsiders had nothing to say, the saint would only say that his daughter was great and did a very good job.

After hearing what Kousaka Masanobu said, the younger generation nodded continuously.

Uesugi Yoshikage was overjoyed and made the decision without hesitation.

"Send a messenger to report to Lord Yoshitsugu Otani of Fushimi Castle that the Ichijo Corps led by Masakatsu Hosuka has arrived at the west bank of the Kamo River, facing our troops across the water, and is ready to move.

The troops of the Southern Ichirō Corps led by Fukushima Masanori were marching day and night, intending to cross the Tomi no Mori forest and encircle and attack our Toba Imperial Palace.

In order to ensure the safety of Toba Imperial Palace and to ensure that there are no loopholes in the Toba defense line, our army has no choice but to launch an active defense strategy, take the initiative, and strike hard at the invading enemy! "

Yoshikage Uesugi glanced at the women present, and the gloom in his heart disappeared, and he laughed out loud.

"My ladies, please follow me to defeat Hosuga first, then attack Fukushima, and together we will win the first battle and the first victory!"

"Hi!"