Prime Minister Bizen

Chapter 232 Who is the most trusted person in the Xiu family (big chapter)

Although the meeting with Takakage Kobayakawa was not very ideal, Hideya still sent him out very politely, and promised again and again that he would make another decision after reporting to Hashiba Hideyoshi.

Everyone is a decent person, and Kobayakawa Takakage is not afraid of Hideo and Hideyoshi running away with free food, so he also agreed that the matter of rewards can be temporarily postponed.

After Takakage Kobayakawa left, Hideo invited Ukita Kane, and planned to explain some things to him before the teacher returned to court.

Ukita Kanya was finally selected by Hideyoshi as the agent of Shikoku before Hideyoshi confirmed the reward.In other words, before Hideyoshi returned to Osaka and before Hideyoshi's final reward was issued, the Ukita Kan family was the largest in the entire Shikoku.

The person Xiujia chose at the beginning was not him, but Hanabang Masayuki.After all, if you want to master so many neighboring countries, you must have certain political skills and experience.

However, Hanafang Masako finally persuaded the Hide family. He believed that the family needs to promote the family elder who is equal to Togawa Hidean to be in charge of internal affairs as soon as possible, and proposed that Ukita's family should be in charge, and he would help supervise and help Ukita's family. Take control of state affairs as soon as possible.

Even though it was already dark, Ukita Kane still came to the house where Hideo lived temporarily after being summoned by Hideo.

"Brother is here, please sit down and drink a cup of hot tea to warm up." After saying that, Xiujia added a cup of hot tea to Ukita Kanjia, who was seated in the team. "It's really cold here."

"Yeah, it's almost unbearable from the cold." Ukita Kanka rubbed his hands beside the fire pit, took the ceramic teacup that Xiu handed over, and quickly took a sip to warm his body.

After drinking a cup of tea, his body also became more active, Ukita Kanjia took the initiative to ask Xiujia, "Your Highness, please tell me if you have anything to do, I just want to go back to my bed as soon as possible in such a cold day. "

Xiujia smiled slightly upon hearing his words.How should I put it, although the tone is still the same tone, but the subject has changed from "Hachiro" to "His Royal Highness" and "Lord", no matter how they sound, they have a little bit of meaning.

"It's just you and me here. We are cousins. You don't need to be born. You can call you Hachiro as before. I'll still call you elder brother, isn't it good?"

Hideka tried to get closer to each other, but Ukita Kanka might have been influenced by his father Tadaka, and nodded in agreement, "Yes, my lord." Then he kept quiet and waited for Hideka to speak.

Xiujia had no choice but to shake his head and let him choose his own address.

"I'm going to let you stay as a temporary supervisor of the three kingdoms of Iyo, Tosa, and Awa." Hideka didn't waste any time, and directly expressed his thoughts. "Ryo Haruka will stay to assist you. During your stay in Shikoku, you should learn as much as possible from Ryo Haruka. After returning to Okayama, I will let you become a member of the family and participate in the discussion of military affairs and internal affairs."

Affected by the Dark Shame game, many people think that Jia Lao is the last level before a samurai can be upgraded to a city lord. In fact, there is a misunderstanding here.

The term "Jialao" is not unique to Japan, it comes from Middle Chinese.He originally referred to the elders of the retainers of the Qing doctor's family in the pre-Qin period, and later also generally referred to the elders of the folk families.

This identity has been carried out in the most primitive way in Japan. Although the identity of the family elder has different names in different families, its function is similar to that of the elder in the emperor's small court. Jobs that provide opinion references.

In old Japan, family elders were the same as official positions, which basically came from the inheritance of the fathers.That is to say, it doesn't matter how old you are now, even if you are a big kid, once your father dies, you will be old in the new family.

However, among the daimyos who have undergone the reform of the division of state law, the family elder is no longer a hereditary status symbol, but a real position to advise the master, as is the case with Yu Xiduo.

In this case, the family elder has become a kind of real power position, which is not often established. The highest rank of retainers is actually the warrior and group leader called "servant general", and there is no limit on the number of them.

"Samurai general" is the general who commands the samurai, and generally exists as a reserve team leader in Japan.This reserve team is organized based on the military service personnel of this person Zhixing, and the number of people is generally not less than 300. In conversion, Zhixing is no less than about 8000 shi.

This division of positions is very rough and not detailed enough, but the Xiu family has been fighting abroad all the year round, so there is no time to reform the internal structure, so they can only repair it on its basis.

Among the big names, the identity of each family is often distinguished by the number of knowledge and practice they have, and the situation of each family is different.

In the Yuxi family, the Xiu family added the title of general to the general for the convenience of distinction, and set up a banner general under the general, which means that they can have warriors who hold the banner.

Anyone who owns more than 3000 shi in the Yuxi family can be called a general. Those with less than 3000 shi and more than 500 shi can be called general servants, those with less than 500 shi and more than [-] shi can be called the banner chiefs, and those with less than [-] shi can be called group leaders.

The rule of the Yuxi family is that elders can only be appointed at the rank of generals. In other words, even if the Xiu family intends to promote the new generation to become generals, the number of knowledge and actions restricts them from becoming the core leadership of the Yuxi family.

At present, there are four members of Yuki's family members, the old flower house of the writer's house Masayuki, the family's Lao Oka Toshikatsu, Togawa Hidean, and Naofune Oka.

Now that Hanabang is forced to retire early, Hidean Togawa is the only family elder who has the qualifications and ability to take over the writing, but because Hideka is worried about him, he plans to add two more people to the family elders, Ukita Kanka and Akashi Jingqin.

After the addition is completed, there will be 5 members of the family elders. For any major family affairs, the Xiu family will ask them to discuss and give suggestions before reporting to themselves, which essentially reduces the pressure on the Xiu family to handle government affairs.

Of course, there are two problems.

Akashi Jingqin put it aside, he has been among the followers for many years, and in recent years, the Xiu family will bring him to many battles. Although military affairs and government affairs cannot be said to be handy, they are relatively familiar.

But Yuxita's family has never lifted the governance of the country in all these years!

The Xiu family was really afraid that this tiger child would be a puppet who only knew how to sign after being among the elders.Fortunately, after Ukita Tadashi's family retired, the Anan family gradually managed Toyama Castle and Kurashiki Castle, and with the help of the elders under his command, the management was considered to be orderly.

But after all, Kurashiki is just a small country town, and its knowledge and practice are only 6 shi. After it becomes the old family, it needs to expand its area by ten times. Yuxi family of Hehao family.

Xiujia had a headache at first, how to let him practice a little bit.Now that I have such an opportunity, I will practice with these three countries. Anyway, most of them are not my leading countries, and I don't feel bad even if I mess it up.

Generally speaking, it will take one month from the time the Xiu family moves to the time Hideyoshi confirms the award. Those daimyos who have been awarded the title will return to their own territories to make a finishing touch, and then set off to the new leader for handover. At the end, it will take one month, if it is slow, it will take 1 months.In other words, Ukita's interpreter has at least two months to give him a lot of energy.

Xiujia believes that during this period of time, Huafang Zhengxing will be on the sidelines to advise and teach him, and at the same time explain to him clearly the inside and outside of Yuxi's family.

Even though the Quan family knew that the Xiu family must have something important to call him late at night, but he never thought that he would entrust this burden to himself.

These are two countries with no less than 70 shi, and I have never been in contact with the governance of such a large territory before.

Yu Xita's family was a little flustered, he subconsciously wanted to refuse, but the second half of Xiu's sentence made him firmer in his confidence.

"The descendants of Yuxi's family are dying. Now that his father has passed away and his uncle has retired, there are only two brothers left under the word Yuxiduo Miao. It is time to help each other and help each other."

"The members of the Yuxi family cannot live without a relative. After all, the Yuxi family is the family property of the Yuxi family, not the family property of the descendants of the descendants. I am really worried that there is no family member who considers the family. Brother Quan You are the person I trust the most, who else can I trust besides you, I think you will help me, right?"

Xiujia's words are so comfortable in Quanjia's ears.That's right, there are only two brothers left in the Yuxi Family, who else can the Xiu Family trust besides themselves?
After thinking for a while, Quan Jia agreed and asked Xiu Jia, "Is there anything I need to pay attention to when I am in the Four Kingdoms?"

"The new leader's assessment is the first in the military service status. Although most of these territories may not be taken by the main family in the end, it is still necessary to take advantage of this time to find out the background of these territories." Xiujia Seeing Yu Xita interpreting the family's response, he was also relieved, and began to explain the Tao step by step.

"Your Kurashiki's left and right sides will work hard. In addition, I will hand over to you the white tiger of Fujido Takatora, the blue dragon of Akikami's family, and the Ka Songbei of Masatoshi Suga. You will arrange to monitor the various noble families in the territory and carry out the land inspection. " After finishing speaking, he raised his head and looked at Ukita Kanjia, who was seated opposite him, and asked with some concern, "You know how to arrange it, right?"

When he heard that the Xiu family had left their two reserve teams to him, he was surprised at first, and then surprised. With these two reserve teams by his side, he could calmly suppress the turbulent forces in his territory.

After a little thought, Ukita's interpreter said, "Send Qinglongbei to Awa, Baihubei and He Songbei to Iyo, and lead Kurashiki's left and right sides to Tosa, and make adjustments in the middle."

The interpreter is very confident in his arrangement, but he saw the Hideka who was sitting opposite shook his head, and corrected his plan and said, "Cangshiki Youbei and He Songbei are respectively stationed in Tangzhucheng and Shengruicheng, Qinglong Bei, Bai Hubei, and Cangshizu Zuobei are stationed in Oka Toyojo Center with you, do you know why?"

The Quan family's marching plan was completely rejected by the Xiu family, and fell into deep thought for a while, and the Xiu family also understood that his cousin still had a lot of room for growth in terms of military strategy.

Xiujia added a cup of tea for the interpreter who was seated opposite, and after thinking about it for an unknown amount of time, Xiujia couldn't help but reminded, "Qinglongbei and Baihubai are off-the-shelf standbys, and He Songbei and Kurashiki Youbei are those who have permanent production in the collar. , The fighting will is firm, and the Kurashiki Zuobei is mostly filled by the proletarians and the people of the country, what can you think of?"

Under Xiujia's reminder, Quanjia asked with some uncertainty, "But because Kurashiki Youbei and He Songbei are not weak, they can control important nodes even in the face of a rebellion from a powerful family in the territory. Qinglongbei and Baihubei sit on the hill Feng, Tosa is not in danger at ordinary times, once there is a disturbance in Awa and Iyo, can the two equipment be used as a mobile force to support and suppress the riot at any time?"

When Xiujia heard this, it seemed that his brother was not stupid, so he immediately affirmed his answer.

At the same time, the Xiu family told him, "I will take all the powerful families above Wanshi in the four countries to Da Nayan in Osaka. There shouldn't be any big conflicts, but there are many small and medium-sized wealthy families below Wanshi. I can't use my power to overwhelm them. These rich families are the most troublesome."

Hideka remembered that in history, Kobayakawa Takakage over-promised the territorial security during the strategy adjustment process, which eventually caused turmoil among Kaneko Yuanzhai and others.In the end, on the basis of Maori's ability to deploy troops, it took 6 months to finally settle down.

As early as when Tangzhu was under the fortress, the Xiu family heard that he persuaded Kono Tongzhi to open the city for internal affairs on the condition that the Kono family's ability was guaranteed. At that time, the Xiu family had no objection to this condition or disapproval.

The root cause was that Xiujia felt that the condition was too high and it was not worth it.

But Hideka is afraid, what if Kobayakawa Takakage writes a bad check for Yiyo's quick surrender?These rich families are not big names like Kobayakawa Takakage, if they don't get the territory promised by the above, I'm afraid they will really make a fuss.

Once Shikoku once again caused turmoil under the Hideya's custody, they would not care about Kobayakawa Takakage's promise.As the general of the Four Kingdoms, the Xiu family lost face. If the bandit army becomes bigger, the Xiu family will have to come to the battle for a second time, which is really troublesome.

Therefore, Xiujia here repeatedly warned Ukita to interpret the family way, "For the rich family of Iyo, as long as anyone comes to you to fulfill your ability, you can delay it as long as you can.

Let’s say it’s the escrow government now, and you don’t have the authority to make arrangements for this matter, but you will definitely report their request to Da Nayan for handling.

Anyway, let Hanfang Masako handle the specifics, he is an old hand in this field, so don't speak up easily, and learn more. "

"In addition to this, there is the matter of Tosa. Although Changzong and my family are gone, there may still be some rebels in Tosa Mountain who are unwilling to surrender. Taking advantage of the days when Qinglongbei and Baihubei are here, you are responsible for paying One or two, I will discuss these matters with the Akikami Hisa family, and Fujido Takatora will explain them."

Yuxi Duoquanjia secretly wrote down Xiujia's instructions, and promised Xiujia that he would complete the task excellently.

For this elder brother, the Xiu family is relatively at ease, he is a down-to-earth person and willing to work, but now he is a little inexperienced, and he is prone to frizz and make mistakes.Now it happens to be riding in the greenhouse and I am fortunate enough to teach him hand in hand, which is considered a rare opportunity.

On the morning of December 12, 17, after staying in Shikoku for 3 months, Ukita's team finally started to act.Except for the few backup teams that were left behind, the other backup teams began to file out from various areas under Gangfeng City in an orderly manner, and began to return along the original route of marching into Tosa.

The Asano Nagamasa Corps and the Miyoshi Hidebo Corps set off first. They are the army composed of daimyo coalition forces. The army is composed of the most conventional Japanese military service members, which makes them not have high patience for ultra-long wars. .

As early as when Gangfeng City fell, there were already discordant voices in the army wanting to go home.Their respective daimyos also knew that their subordinates were homesick, but the ones on their heads belonged to Ukita Hideo's family. Who would dare to go to this bad guy to question his decision, so they knew to temporarily suppress the disharmonious voices.

Xiujia understood their situation, so when they returned, they deliberately let them return to Apo first.

Yes, they didn’t have a way back with Hideo in the end, and most of them were daimyos in Kinai, so it was faster to board a ship from Awa’s Naruto.And Hideka needs to pass through Baidi Castle first, then go to Dongyiyo, and finally enter Sanuki, leaving a big circle.

Taking advantage of this time, the Xiu family specially summoned Akashi Jingqin, explained to him the idea of ​​letting him join the family members, and asked his son Quan Deng to accompany him.

"Sa Moshou has been here for some years." The Xiu family used a branch to tinker with the firewood in the fire pit, chatting casually over and over again.

Although it was not the first time that Akashi Jingqin was interviewed by Xiu's family alone, he still maintained a very serious expression and replied, "Yes, it has been 8 years since the battle of Tianshen Mountain Castle."

Akashi Jingqin is not a minister of the Zhi family's hidden residence. Jingqin was originally a retainer of the Urakami clan. When working with the Nao family, the relationship with the Nao family has always been very good, and he can be regarded as a good friend.

Later, the Zhi family Xia Keshang and Urakami Zongjing opposed each other. Unlike other powerful families who stood in line with each other, Akashi Jingqin was friendly to the Zhi family, but still worked under the command of Urakami Zongjing.

At that time, the capable ministers of the Urakami family were withered, and Akashi Keiqin was able to show up and be reused, but in fact Akashi Keiqin had long been involved with the Ukita Nao family.

In the end, when Ukita’s Nao family attacked Tianshenshan City, they opened the city gate as the general of the garrison, and let Ukita enter the city majesticly. If the family can defeat the Urakami family, the king should take the lead."

Although the words were not elaborated, the meaning was very clear. He was already a member of Ukita Nao's family, but he had been lurking in Urakami's house all the time. He could be called contemporary Yu Zecheng.

Looking at his later resume, after the Ukita family was subordinate to the Oda family and the Nao family died, he made military exploits by participating in the Hashiba Hideyoshisui attack and defense of Takamatsu Castle, and Akashi Kageo served as the assistant of the Hide family. What do you mean?It is to assist the important minister appointed by the Zhi family to manage the Yuxi family, which shows how much the Zhi family values ​​him.

Therefore, Akashi Jingqin cannot be treated according to the conventional generals from other families, even the Xiu family treats him with extra courtesy.

"Not only that, my father always said that Ukita was able to defeat the Urakami family, and Satsuma Shoudang took the lead. Calculated like this, it has been at least ten years."

Hearing the Xiu family's half-joking words, Akashi Jingqin, who was seated opposite him, was very cooperative and said, "It all depends on Xiandian's trust, I just did what I was supposed to do."

The Xiu family stopped teasing him, and went straight to the point, "Satsuma guarded the long-term battle, and also took care of many things in the family, so he knew the family better. Now that the qualifications are up, and the meritorious service is enough, do you want to do it?" Any further ideas?"

"Going further?" Akashi Jingqin asked curiously.

"Yes, Samoshou, you know that Haruka Ryo's grade is not too young. This battle of the Four Kingdoms is his curtain call. After that, he will retire to take care of his life, but the affairs of the collar cannot be left alone. what."

"It's okay for Misaku to let him fight the war, and let him manage internal affairs. I'm afraid he can't even manage his Takata Castle and Katsuyama Castle. Bizhong Mamoru is about to succeed the elder of the writing family, and many things cannot be done in every possible way. The internal affairs of the family are still Someone has to pick it up."

After finishing speaking, Xiujia raised his eyes slightly, and looked at Akashi Jingqin who was sitting opposite him, and saw that he seemed to be still struggling, and was about to take another dose of strong medicine.

"I think you are already far behind. I have reservations about Bei Zhongshou."

"Hey, with all due respect, Chungong Ryo's retirement is the meaning of Da Nayan, and even the appointment of Bei Zhongshou is also the meaning of the above."

The Xiu family's words were like a heavy hammer hitting Akashi Jingqin's mind. He suddenly raised his head and looked at the Xiu family sitting opposite him. Why did the young man in front of him tell himself so grandly that there was a conflict between the lord and his retainers? .

At this moment, Xiujia's acting skills were also top-notch, with tears in the corners of his eyes and said, "There is no way to do this. After all, my grade is still so young. It is already very lucky to be blessed by Bishamon God to let me understand military strategy. As for I really don’t know anything about internal affairs.”

"In the past, when Chun Gongliang was here, he took care of the internal affairs, and you were in charge. Everything went smoothly and smoothly, and he was always thinking of Yukiduo. But you saw this Bei Zhongshou before Okayama, right? The people on Da Nayan's side are more interested."

"During this period of time, I have thought for a long time. After Chun Gongliang retired, who should be entrusted with the state affairs. As a human being, Okami is too impatient, lest the matter is not finished, and the trouble will be known to everyone. I am just afraid that this huge family Karma will be taken advantage of by those who want to.”

Speaking of this, Xiujia wiped the tears from the corner of his mouth, raised his head again to pay attention to the expression on the other side, and found that Akashi Jingqin had been moved, and Akashi Quandeng beside him was even more indignant, Xiujia immediately performed even harder.

"Sabusuke has been under my command for a long time. Now he is the commander of the Firearms Battalion. He made military achievements in the battle of Okatoyo Castle not long ago. I think one day he will become a pillar of Ukita like Satsuma Shou of."

"After thinking about it, only Satsumamori can be relied on. Your Excellency has made great achievements when he was in Urakami's house. I can rest assured that I entrust the internal affairs of the family to you. After all, Satsumamori and Sabusuke are the people I trust the most. It's human!"

Xiujia's performance received good feedback, and Ming Shijing trusted Xiujia's words.Although he was reluctant to interfere with the political ecology of Yuxi's family because of the surrender, but because of the friendship with the Zhi family for many years, Akashi Jingqin still couldn't bear the child to be bullied.

Especially the sentence "Your father and son are the people I trust the most." What was said was so long-term, it directly poked Akashi Jingqin's heart, and even Akashi Jingqin who was not involved in politics was moved.

Without even thinking about it, Akashi Jingqin agreed to the Xiu family's appointment as the elders of the family, and promised the dead Zhi family in front of the Xiu family that he would never see the Yuxi family fall into the hands of others.

After the two left, the Xiu family began to wring their fingers.

Ukita Kane and Akashi Kei have already settled the matter. Oka Togawa and Togawa Hidean are at odds in character, and it is unlikely that they will stand on his side.

As for the last Osafune Tsunao, he is a sensible person. If he is still at the top of Ukido's political circle, he still can't see the way, then it won't be wrong to retire with Togawa Hidean in two years.

(End of this chapter)