Prime Minister Bizen

Chapter 134
While Hideyoshi and Ishida Mitsunari were playing duets, Hideyoshi and Hidecho left Omotomaru together.

The 12-year-old Hideka has reached a height of 1.56 meters, which is about the same as Hidecho. Looking at Hashiba Hidecho next to him, Hideka feels more and more that this person gives people a feeling of spring breeze.

Although Hideyoshi is shrewd, intelligent, ambitious and has a very strong insight into the situation, he is also fussy, greedy and lustful.

Hideyoshi, in the later generations, is even a little blind and arrogant, jealous and jealous. If there is no Hashiba Hidecho to reconcile and straighten out the internal affairs, Hideyoshi will never be able to become a man of the world, so many people think that half of the world of monkeys is fought by Hashiba Hidecho down.

Hashiba Hidecho's prestige in Hashiba's family is undoubtedly very high. If he hadn't died young, Hidecho must be the absolute core of Hashiba's family after Houzi died. The world will also have a smooth transition.

As far as Hideya is concerned, he also likes Hideunaga very much. During the one and a half years when Hashiba's family was hostage, Hideka studied internal affairs with Hidecho and Takenaka Hanbei, so Hidecho can be regarded as half of Hidecho's teacher.

In the many battles that followed, Xiuchang also provided help to Xiujia many times, and acted as the glue between Xiujia and Hideyoshi.

Xiuchang also seemed to feel the gaze around him, smiled back at Xiujiahui, and said kindly to Hachiro, "Is there anything you want to tell me, Hachiro?"

It was only then that the Xiu family remembered how impolite it was to stare at a person all the time, and replied with some embarrassment, "Just now, thank you uncle for calming the situation and speaking well for me. If it wasn't for my uncle, my lord father must have blamed me more."

Xiuchang showed a suddenly realized expression and said, "You said this, my brother and I both know that you are still young. Although you are very talented in military strategy, you still have some shortcomings in dealing with people, and you still need to experience and learn. Yes, so none of us blame you."

"Also, don't look at the stern tone of your brother just now. In fact, you have done a good job in Sanuki. When he heard the news of your victory over Chang Zong and my relatives, he excitedly praised you for your strength."

Hashiba Hidecho's words were beyond Hideya's expectations. He always thought that he had rashly attacked Sanuki, and his act of attacking Sanuki broke Hideyoshi's deployment and finally aroused his displeasure. He couldn't even believe that Hideyoshi was ever happy for his victory .

Seeing Hideo's expression of disbelief, Hideonaga explained from the side, "Have you heard that Tokugawa Ieyasu launched a siege against the family?"

"I have heard a little bit. I heard that His Highness the Tokugawa Senate has recruited Hojo, Owari Oda, Nagamunebu, Satake and other families to launch a siege net against the main family."

Xiujia replied from the side, in fact, Xiujia also knew that Ieyasu Tokugawa sent envoys to Mori, Shimadzu, and Otomo in the West Country, with the purpose of encircling and reducing Hashiba from all directions. Maybe tell Hashiba Hidecho.

"More than that, the New Year's emissary sent by His Highness Kobayakawa told us that His Highness Tokugawa also sent an envoy to the Mori family, so it seems that all the daimyos in Japan have probably received Tokugawa's request for alliance."

"Maori? Are you saying that Mori also participated in the siege network?" Judging from Tsusue Sannojo's information, Mori did not participate in the siege network, but Hideka still pretended to be surprised for the purpose of hiding his strength. .

Seeing Hideka's surprised expression, Hidecho sighed and said, "Because of Nobunaga's strategy of attacking Koga and Iga, many ninjas in the two places were separated. It’s still a head behind the big names in other countries. It seems that your family’s situation is similar.”

Hideya nodded dumbly in agreement and said, "A lot of information about my family comes from the Misaku ninja my father left for me back then. The main targets of the intelligence strategy are Maori and Shikoku. It's worth using now, but I don't know about this information. of."

"Den Kobayakawa said that His Highness Yoshikawa thinks this is a good opportunity. He has the idea of ​​uniting with Tokugawa, but he is temporarily suppressed by him."

"So what about His Royal Highness Maori? At this time, His Royal Highness Maori's decision is crucial."

"Who says it's not? His Highness Kobayakawa said that His Highness Mori has never made a statement. His attitude is unknown. This is why my brother is so cautious. After all, my family may not have the ability to fight on both sides."

"If the Maori army falls to Tokugawa, together with the Nagamune clan of the Shikoku, the main family will face enemies from four sides (Kigen Laizhong), and the Nagamune clan can even threaten directly from the Seto Inland Sea. Osaka and Kyoto are like a fishbone stuck in the confidant of the family."

"Brother wanted to pull out this fishbone a long time ago, but he has been suffering from no way to get out. Once the large army of our family takes action, it will definitely affect the whole body. It is hard to guarantee that the three people in Tungkaido will not make any moves. .”

"But now, Hachiro only took a few days to defeat the family of Chang Zong Gabu, severely damaged the family of Chang Zong Gabu, and occupied Sanuki. It is equivalent to defeating the enemy who threatened the family the most, and near Kinki, A barrier has been erected, do you think brother is very happy?"

"Where did I win? Even the horse seal and the formation flag were taken away. Even my father said that I won first and then lost." Xiujia shook his head helplessly when he heard Xiujia's compliment.

"Hachiro must not underestimate himself. We all know the temper of Chang Zong's relatives. This person is very stubborn. When he faced Nobunaga's 4 army, he could gather 1.3 people to fight against it."

"If you didn't really hurt him, how could he have retreated back to Tosa and didn't make a comeback? Putting up your horse seal to promote your victory is just to comfort yourself and your allies. To be honest, Sanuki In the first battle, how much did you gain?"

"I remember that there were more than 3800 levels of battles, including more than 600 heads of famous warriors, and more than 300 prisoners." Xiujia tried to recall the data and reported it to Xiuchang. "Of course, more than 1200 people were killed and more than 2300 were injured. , I think there are only a lot more wounded in Changzong's family than me."

After listening to Xiujia's data, Xiuchang was stunned, and after a while, he slowly said, "My dear, are you fighting so fiercely? Even the battle of Kawanakajima between Dragon and Tiger was not so tragic. "

Hideaga's surprise is understandable. After all, in today's Japan, although the intensity of the war is increasing, the morale of soldiers still has a critical value, which usually collapses at about 1/10 of the casualties.

However, the battle loss ratio of Yuxi family and Chang Zongga's family both exceeded this ratio and still chose to fight, how could it be so impressive.

"At that time, the main family blocked the retreat of the Changzongabe family. The Changzongabu Yuanqin, led by his uncle, the Changzongabu Mokichi Tosas, launched a decisive charge against the main family. As soon as the two armies fought It fell into a hot war, and at the end of the war, no less than 2500 of the 1500 people who were the pioneers and the Tosas were killed, and the establishment was basically defeated."

"Oh my god, according to this, if the powerful army and the servant army are removed, the battle of Sanuki will almost defeat the elite of Nagamune's family? I said why did Motokin withdraw Tosa, making Awa and Iyo The rule is constantly weakening, so it turned out that you wiped out all his assets in the first battle. You guy, you really have a skill in fighting!" After finishing speaking, he slapped Xiujia hard on the shoulder above.

Hidecho Hashiba heard about the Battle of Sanuki described by Hideo, and he looked even more impressed with Hideo, "In this way, the threat from the Shikoku has been temporarily relieved, and the main family can wholeheartedly launch an offensive against the Tokugawa family. Hachiro, you set Great work! No, I have to hurry up and tell my brother."

The Xiu family had just escaped from Hideyoshi's ghost gate, how could they be willing to go back in a short time, they immediately held Xiu Zhang to prevent him from going back, and hurriedly made excuses and said, "Master Uncle, you see that it is already midday, my son is on his way from Amagasaki When we arrived in Osaka, we didn’t have a mouthful of rice water all morning, so let’s go eat something first and report in the afternoon, okay?”

Elder Xiu is a good man, when he heard that Xiu's family hadn't eaten yet, he immediately dragged Xiu's family to his residence.

Osaka Castle is a city that was built gradually from the Honmaru. At this moment, the daimyo's residence in Erzhimaru has not been built yet, and the daimyos are only building temporary accommodation facilities not far from the section of the Honmaru they are in charge of.

Hidecho, as the No. 1 pro-vassal of the Hashiba family, his future mansion is in the Sakuramon Nei (Gohon Maru) Nishi Maru. However, the land of his mansion has not been renovated at the moment, so it can only be temporarily built outside the Honmaru A yard.

Hashiba Hidecho is really frugal. As a daimyo of 45 koku in Echizen, his lunch is nothing more than a piece of cake (pickled radish), half a dried fish, and a case of miso soup. In order to entertain Hideka, he specially ordered The maid served a whole grilled fish, 3 stacks of side dishes (pickled radish, pickled melon and mustard.)
Seeing such a standard of food, it is no wonder that he saved Hideyoshi two houses full of gold after his death, but for Hideyoshi, what he would rather want is a younger brother who can share the pressure for him, Instead of the cold gold in those two rooms.

Seeing Xiuchang being so frugal and saying that food is not nutritious at all, Xiujia reminded him to eat more fresh fruits, vegetables and fish, and even gave Xiuchang half of the grilled fish he had piled up.

Xiuchang was quite touched by Xiujia's actions, he praised Xiujia as a good boy, and in front of Xiujia, this 40-year-old middle-aged man was able to taste the fish. For Xiuchang, such a fresh Fish is eaten only during festivals.

Xiujia intends to get closer to Xiuchang, so during the meal, he told a few jokes with Xiuchang, and the whole meal was spent happily.

After drinking and eating, Xiuchang actually retreated from the left and right sides, and asked people to strictly guard the yard, walked to Xiu's house to face him, and asked Xiu's family an inexplicable question in a low voice, "Hachiro, have you thought about your future? go?"

How to go?Xiuchang's words are like the leader who talks with you at the end of each year, and the Xiu family who asks you is a little confused.

How else can I go, I am now a member of the ruling class, I have already surpassed 99% of my peers, coupled with my knowledge beyond the times, and I have an excellent overall view on the battlefield, isn't my way not good enough?
Seeing that Xiu's family was a little confused, Xiuchang simply spread out his cards and said, "I was in Osaka just now, and now I am at my house. It is inconvenient for me to talk about some topics there, but I hope to make it clear to you at this moment."

"I've been holding these words in my heart for a long time, and I really can't vomit them. You are a good boy, Balang, and you followed your brother when he was very young. I think you also know something about his personality."

Hashiba Hideonaga's words were a bit serious from the beginning, and directly wiped out the laughter and laughter on the dinner table just now, so that Hideka could only sit on the sidelines and listen to Hidena's warning.

"I absolutely believe in Hachiro's loyalty to the Hashiba family. You have to know that loyalty is not something you show, but something that the superior feels. Do you understand what I mean?"

To be honest, from the first sentence that Xiuchang spoke, the Xiu family had already felt a little bit uneasy, but Xiuchang directly talked about loyalty, which really surprised him, especially the sentence "loyalty is not something you What is shown is what the superior feels."

Could it be that Xiuchang found out that he set up two sets of field accounts and concealed his business income?Is he implying that he is one way on the surface, but another way behind his back?
Hashiba Hideonaga's statement made Xiujia a little scared, cold sweat began to flow from the pores of his body, and the back of his clothes was wet. Seeing Xiujia's embarrassment, Xiuchang nodded, seemed to approve of Xiujia's performance, and continued.

"It's comfortable to talk to smart people. It seems that you have understood what I mean. I know that your whole heart is for the Hashiba family and for your brother, but you should also understand that you are already a 75 person after occupying Sanuki. Shi's big name is now."

"75 shi, this is an existence that I can't even imagine at your age. And you are still young, and there is still a lot of room for growth. It is really hard to imagine what kind of behemoth the final Bizen Hashiba family will be."

"However, Hachiro, I want to pour cold water on you here. No matter how dazzling your future looks, the closer you are to the center of power, the more you will feel the coldness of that person."

"I would like to ask you, Hachiro, at the age of 12, you are already a daimyo of 75 shi, so what kind of strength will you be at the age of 32, and you at the age of 42?"

"Brother established the foundation in Osaka. Harima is the most important front line for defending Osaka. Now you are holding the Harima Yao Pass. From Ako to the bottom is an endless plain. If you give you the knowledge of a million stones, you How would you feel about your brother?"

"Actually, both you and I understand that your purpose of guarding Okayama is to monitor Shikoku and Maori, but this does not mean that Brother will allow the existence of a second Maori family in Xiguo."

"What I said is very profound, and you may not understand it. But I hope you remember that Yuchai's family is full of talented people. It's not like you can't run without you. There's no need to show your edge so clearly, just do your job well. gone."

Xiuchang's words exploded in Xiujia's mind like a thunderbolt. Of course, Xiujia didn't expect Xiuchang's previous words to mean this.

But Xiujia also knows that when Xiuchang said these words to you, it was precisely because he was saving himself, and Xiuchang would not say these things that criticize his brother Hideyoshi aimlessly.

For him to be able to tell you this, it must be that Hideyoshi has discussed his problems with Hidecho and asked him for his opinion.

And Xiuchang clearly supported himself, which is why today, after he knew that Hideyoshi summoned him, Xiuchang used the name of meeting Hideyoshi to ease the atmosphere and pressure for himself.

As far as Xiuchang is concerned, of course he hopes that the big family of Hashiba's family will be harmonious, but with such a brother around, he can only help the Xiu family as much as he can. The most important thing is to look at the attitude of the Xiu family. .

Seeing that Xiujia was still thinking, Xiuchang continued, "I told you on the way back just now that Sanuki performed very well, and my brother praised you for this. This is true."

"But after all, you are the one who kills first and plays later. For elder brother, whether to accept your merits rather than mistakes and reward you; or to ignore your achievements and choose to punish you is completely up to his choice."

"This time my brother chose to acquiesce in your action of occupying Sanuki, but until now, you have not issued Sanuki's Azuchi certificate, which is a warning to you. I hope you can take it as a warning."

"The last sentence is still the same. With your identity and stature, I don't ask you to fight the enemy bravely and offer advice and suggestions. I only hope that you can fulfill your duties and strictly abide by your duties."

Xiuchang also knew what he said, and it might be a bit out of line. After saying this, he got up and wanted to leave, but he still said to Xiujia, "You don't have a mansion in Osaka yet, so stay at my house for now, and meet me tomorrow Brother, report the situation of the Western Kingdom and the Four Kingdoms, and listen to your orders."

After Xiuchang said this, he left first, and the maids who were blocked outside the courtyard came in to clean up the tableware in the house, while Xiujia still sat in his seat and thought about the conversation between Xiuchang and himself.

(End of this chapter)