Prime Minister Bizen

Chapter 317 The Xiu Family's Conspiracy
A few days before the Xiu family temporarily detained Tokugawa Ieyasu and his party in Shimoaso Castle, they were quite honest. After all, they had been wandering in the mountains for a long time, their bodies were full of wounds, and they ate up all the dry food they carried, and they were so hungry .

Now in the "civilized society", Tokugawa Ieyasu and his retainers can finally relax and enjoy the food in front of them.

But after eating for a few days, they found an abnormality. The Hashiba Hide family didn't seem to care about them at all, they just kept them in this small city, and even restricted their movements, which made them baffled untie.

Finally, one night, Xiujia dragged his tired body back to Xiamashen City. It was unknown how many nights he hadn't cleaned his body, and his body smelled sour.

Hideka casually picked up two mouthfuls of rice with red dates, and flipped through the letters from Osaka and Suruga.

On the Osaka side, Toyotomi Hideyoshi was surprised that Tokugawa Ieyasu returned safely. After all, the other party had broken his promise for a month and a half, and Osaka had already planned to hold a funeral for the Junfu domain.

Now I suddenly received a letter from Hideo saying that Tokugawa Ieyasu was still alive, which made Osaka a little bit at a loss.Hideyoshi even hinted to Hideo in the letter that this matter must be done, and the living will be dead.

Obviously Hideyoshi didn't know the situation of Hideo, Tokugawa Ieyasu's identity was confirmed in front of thousands of people, right in front of Hideo.

If Tokugawa Ieyasu said he would die, Hideka would definitely not be able to escape the responsibility, and it was even very possible that Hideyoshi would take this opportunity to directly weaken the two powerful feudal clans of the East and the West.

Hideyoshi's reaction did not exceed Hideyoshi's expectations. Anyway, it was not Hideyoshi's hands that were dirty, and Hideyoshi's decision was in line with his ideas.

But the letter from Junfu surprised the Hide family. Although it was confirmed from the handwriting that it was written by Ogasawara Hidetada, the brother-in-law of the Hide family revealed his concern for Tokugawa Ieyasu between the lines.

I don't know what the reason is, maybe there is still a sliver of love for his father in human nature, which makes his heart on the verge of hesitation, and even asks the Xiu family how to deal with this matter.

Judging from the letter, Hideyoshi Ogasawara encountered some situations that caused his heart to be disturbed. The most likely thing was that someone in Tokugawa Ieyasu's family talked to him and lied to him saying, "He is Tokugawa Ieyasu's second son. After his son Xinkang dies, he must be the successor." Such words.

After all, Xiuzhen is still young, so she is easily deceived by sweet words, and her heart will be shaken by a little temptation.

Xiujia knew very well that Xiuzhen already had an idea in her heart, and he wanted to give it a go. If Tokugawa Ieyasu was really forced to change his mind, it would be a bloody profit. , then his situation will not be worse than it is now.

For such a person, you must never sing against him. Even if his ideas seem unrealistic to you, you have to follow his words.

He is not writing to you to ask for your opinion, but to get your approval.

If Xiujia says no, it may not necessarily make Xiuzhen change her mind, but it will cause him to have a rebellious mentality. Even if Xiujia is proved to be right in the end, it will also affect the relationship between them.

So after deep thinking and familiarity, Xiujia wrote a reply letter to Xiuzhen, in which she affirmed Xiuzhen's idea of ​​wanting Tokugawa Ieyasu to return.

But he also pointed out that a real samurai would not hand over his future to others, and hoped that he would use the time before the news spread to control the Tokugawa territory as much as possible. The greater the right to speak, the more likely Tokugawa Ieyasu will give him the position.

In the end, Hideka said that he, the older brother, would always be with him. On the premise of ensuring the safety of Tokugawa Ieyasu, he would delay his return as much as possible, and said that he would take Tokugawa Ieyasu to Osaka to meet Hideyoshi first. Delay him for at least a month.

After everything was ready, the Xiu family couldn't help expressing emotion in his heart, Ogasawara Hidetada's pawn was still unreliable at the moment, and he should try to make as many friends as possible to make his fault tolerance rate higher in the future.

As mentioned earlier, Xiujia will never overwhelm others to win or lose. Even if it really needs to rely on the strength of others, Xiujia will choose to diversify its investment instead of focusing on one person.

"Tsutsui, Nakagawa, Ogasawara, Asano" Hideka murmured the names of his own daimyos one by one, "It's not enough, it's not enough, it's not enough to gain the initiative."

Another two days passed, and the Aso Castle finally couldn't suppress the Tokugawa gang anymore, especially Tadakatsu Honda, who had recovered enough to eat and drink, and was stunned to push the Ukita samurai bed who wanted to stop him. go out of town.

After all, they are well-known names, and they are also friendly soldiers. The Xiu family takes special care to guard them well, and they cannot use force against them.

Fortunately, Xiujia returned from Baichuanzhuang in time, blocking Tokugawa Ieyasu and his party in Shimoaso Castle.

In such a situation, regardless of whether the Xiu family was rude or not, one must not lose the moral high ground.

As soon as Xiujia opened his mouth, he asked Tokugawa Ieyasu, "Where is Zhong Nayan going? Are you blaming me for my poor hospitality?"

Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was protected in the crowd, pushed aside the samurai in front of him, stepped forward and said to Xiujia, "the left lieutenant general is joking, these days he has been taken care of by the left lieutenant general, and his body has recovered a little. I just left home It's been a long time, I've been worried about everything at home, and I'm afraid that Sagami Hojo will covet it, so I really can't go back. If it's convenient for Zuo Lieutenant General today, if Zuo Lieutenant General is a guest in Junfu someday, I will sweep the couch to welcome you!"

Xiujia laughed and said to himself, "The old tortoise has no good intentions", but he opened his mouth to explain, "So that's what happened. I just have good news to tell His Highness."

Xiujia gestured to look left and right, and continued to speak: "This is really not a place to talk, what do I want to talk with Zhong Nayan when we return to the city?"

Xiujia stretched out his hand and made a gesture of invitation, but seeing that Tokugawa did not move, Xiujia could only continue to say, "Does His Highness Tokugawa not want to know the situation in the world for more than a month? Don't you give me the face of time?"

While talking, the Xiu family had already approached Tokugawa with their bannermen. The original weapons of the Tokugawa samurai had been confiscated, and now only a few people held the weapons they had taken from the guards, and they were on the side of the Xiu family. confronted.

Maybe it was the Xiu family's face-saving, or maybe Ieyasu saw that the gap between the number of people and the weapons was too big, so he agreed after thinking for a while, then turned around and took his retainers back to the city.

But Ieyasu is also a thief, no matter how much Hideka invites, he just doesn't go back to Honmaru, but chooses to talk to Hideka at the house at the corner of Nijimaru.

The Hide family had no choice but to bring people down from Honmaru, clear the left and right sides, and sit with the Tokugawa family across the small courtyard.

When Hideo sat down, he habitually shook off the dust on his body, and explained to Tokugawa Ieyasu, "The Nakanogen offended you, and you have seen it. Now Mino is in a state of disaster. If the upper reaches of the Hida River If the barrier lake is not dealt with, I am afraid that many people in the downstream will suffer disasters. The manpower is really insufficient, and even I have to go to the ground."

Tokugawa Ieyasu followed Hideka's topic and praised, "Zuozhong really cares about the common people. It is his blessing to have a retainer like you in Guanbai Palace."

"The old tortoise is sowing discord again." Xiujia quickly understood the meaning of Ieyasu's words, and instead of continuing to follow his words, he changed the subject, took the initiative of the speech back into his hands and explained to him, "Zhong Na Yan came from When Shinano came, there were more than a hundred people in the team, but now there are only a few dozens of people? It seems that the old man who used to follow His Highness with crutches and feet has not been seen this time."

What Xiujia was referring to was Masanobu Honda, the think tank next to Ieyasu. Hideka recalled what happened to Tokugawa Ieyasu and his party that day, and it seemed that he did not see the wise general who was later famous in Japan.

At that time, the Xiu family thought they were too sloppy and didn't recognize them for a while. Looking at the group of samurai behind Ieyasu today, they are all young, energetic and strong, and there is no such thing as Honda Zhengxin.

When Xiujia asked about his retainers, Tokugawa Ieyasu showed a rare expression of sadness, and replied, "Sado is old and has no legs. In order not to slow down our speed, he chose to exile himself. Come out of the big mountain of the shackles."

When Xiujia heard the news, let alone how happy she was, but she couldn't show this emotion, Xiujia could only suck her mouth to keep herself from laughing.In the end, he couldn't bear it any longer, so he covered his face with his sleeves and released the laughter into crying.

On Tokugawa's side, although he didn't know why the Hideya was crying because his retainer died, but recalling the bits and pieces of his past, Ieyasu was also deeply influenced by Hideya, and tears flowed from the corners of his eyes.

After a while, after the two parties' emotions eased, Xiujia said to Ieyasu with a slightly sad mood, "God is really jealous of the talent. It turns out that Sado Mamoru is no longer there. No wonder Nagano is so eager to go back to deal with domestic affairs."

Ieyasu listened to Xiu's narration, but no matter how he heard it, he felt that it was wrong, as if he was saying that he was useless and that he could only manage such a huge territory by his retainers.

But who is Ieyasu, nicknamed the old turtle, how could he be stimulated by such a poor aggressive method of the Hideo family? Go, in the days when I'm not around, I really don't know what will happen to those guys. I have the heavy responsibility of monitoring Hojo, and I dare not live up to His Highness Kanbai's expectations."

Seeing Tokugawa Ieyasu's grinning appearance, Hideo felt a chill from the bottom of his heart, and retorted to him, "Ah~ please rest assured, the Tokugawa leader, because His Highness Kanbai has ordered Mikawa Shou went to Suruga to help Zhong Nayan suppress the territory."

Xiujia stated the facts again and again, waiting for Tokugawa Ieyasu with his eyes tightly, wanting to carefully appreciate the old turtle's face-changing technique.

Sure enough, after hearing Hideo's words, the smile on Tokugawa Ieyasu's face gradually disappeared, and after a pause for a few seconds, he put on his professional fake smile and said, "Even so, it's still not good, Yugimaru After all, the child is too young, and the Tokugawa family's little Wanwanshi Zhixing is handed over to him, does he know how to deal with it?"

Speaking of this, Ieyasu paused, looked up at the sky, and said in an emotional tone, "Speaking of which, I have never been able to watch Yu Yimaru grow up, and I feel a little guilty about him. I didn't expect him to be so talented." Responsibility.

If this is the case, I have to go back. I have to teach him how to manage the territory. It can be regarded as making up for the father's love he lost over the years. "

Xiujia listened to the old tortoise speak out of conscience, not to mention how nauseated he was.If he really cared about Xiuzhen's son, he wouldn't have only seen him once since he was born, and after the defeat in the Nobi War, he would have put him as a hostage in the negotiation conditions without thinking.

The Xiu family was a little scared. After all, everyone didn't see Tokugawa Ieyasu's true face clearly. He was afraid that after Ieyasu returned, he would coax Xiuzhen around with a few words. The Xiu family decided to give him something.

Hideka put a smile on his face and said to Tokugawa Ieyasu, "There is no need to worry about Zhong Nayan. His Highness Guan Bai has already selected a teacher for Yu Yisong, but a capable minister even transferred from his subordinates." Many famous generals have been appointed to assist under the command of the Ogasawara Domain, and I think Yu Yisong will be able to thrive under their protection."

Tokugawa Ieyasu wanted to answer, but Hideka said first, "By the way, His Highness Tokugawa really guessed one more thing. During the period when His Highness disappeared, the Hojo family was really ready to move.

Fortunately, with the help of His Highness Kanbai, and with the assistance of Sakai Hamamatsu (Sakai Chuji) and Honda Onisakuzuo (Honta Toji, father of Hideyoshi Honda Senchiyo), the ambition of the Hojo family was finally suppressed. down.Zhong Nayan is also relieved. "

The above news is from a letter from Ogasawara Hidetada. Although the cause and effect are not completely consistent, Sakai Tadaji and Honda have temporarily accepted Ogasawara Hidetada as the acting head of the Tokugawa family in order to ensure the peace of the Tokugawa family's territory. Chuan Jiayasu didn't know it was not.

Sakai Tadaji himself was suspected by Ieyasu because of Matsudaira Nobuyasu. After the new generations such as Sakakibara Yasumasa and Honda Tadakatsu grew up, he was gradually marginalized by Tokugawa Ieyasu.Tokugawa Ieyasu didn't have much trust in Sakai Chuji.

Even so, Tadashi Sakai still held the post of Hamamatsu Castle and the guard of Toe Country, and although Honda Donoji didn't know much about it, he held the post of Suruga Shrine and had a lot of power in Suruga.

Toe and Suruga are both Tokugawa Ieyasu's darlings. After Mikawa was taken back by Hideyoshi, they became the core territory of the Tokugawa family.

It is conceivable how terrified Tokugawa Ieyasu would be if he knew that these two powerful retainers in the country were on the side of Hidetada Ogasawara.

Sure enough, after hearing the news, the smile on the old tortoise's face became stiff, a sternness flashed in his eyes, and the corners of his mouth began to twitch involuntarily.

Looking along his body, Tokugawa Ieyasu's two palms have been tightly clenched into fists, and it can be seen that his heart is extremely angry.

Hideo deliberately made the cause and effect somewhat ambiguous, leaving a large blank space for Tokugawa Ieyasu to imagine.It's best to make him feel that he has been emptied by his son and retainers.

"Since you can't make a decision, let me help you make a decision." Xiujia said to Ogasawara Xiuzhen in her heart.

Although Xiujia and Xiuzhen regard each other as brothers and friends, Xiujia has an extremely ruthless personality and will use any means to achieve his goals. The bottom line in his mind is whether the disadvantages of this matter outweigh the benefits.

As it is now, in order to pull Ogasawara Xiuzhen to his side, the Xiu family did not hesitate to blackmail him, and blackmailed him in front of his "father".

It can be imagined that after Ieyasu returned, his attitude towards Xiuzhen might be more fear and anger than understanding.

When Xiuzhen found that Ieyasu could not respond to her kindness, she had no choice but to return to Hideyoshi, and chose to go on the road of confrontation with Tokugawa Ieyasu.

(End of this chapter)