Prime Minister Bizen

Chapter 343
On December 14, Tensho Year 21, even Kyushu, which is located at the southernmost tip of Japan, was already covered with snow. It was rumored that this year will be another cold winter, and next year will surely be a bumper year.

It was in such an environment that Toyotomi Hidecho finally returned to Funai Castle with the 3 troops from the Fengzen expedition.

It's just that Toyotomi Hidecho, as the commander in chief, didn't go back to the battle with the army, but went directly to Kanzanji Hot Spring in the mountainous area northwest of Beppu City to recuperate, and asked Fukushima Masanori who returned to the mansion to send a message to Hideka, inviting him to go to Kanzanji Temple .

Toyotomi Hidecho's body has been very thin since he was a child. With Hideyoshi's fortune, Hidecho has been overdrawing his life to help him handle government affairs in order to keep up with Hideyoshi's footsteps.

Hideyoshi had a little sense of responsibility in the past. After he became a man of the world, he had completely indulged. He threw all the political affairs to Hideyoshi, and he would only intervene after Hideyoshi finished handling them. This further dragged down Hideyoshi. long body.

In this battle of Kyushu, Hideka, who is most suitable to be the vanguard general, delayed his login to Kyushu until the beginning of October due to various reasons. Hidecho had no choice but to take on multiple positions and go to Kyushu to lead the army to fight in person.

The initial stage went smoothly. Under the support of the Mori family, the Buzen area was quickly brought under control, and the biggest enemy in the area, the Akizuki family, was overthrown and shrank to Chikugo, trembling.

Even though Shimadzu Yoshihisa came to help in person, the limited force seemed to be stretched in the face of the mutual containment of Toyotomi Hidecho and Mori Terumoto. The two sides maintained a delicate balance between Chikuzen and Chikugo.

Originally, Shimadzu Yoshihiro's East Route Army invaded Bungo, and everyone in the Shimadzu family saw the dawn of breaking the situation, but news of Shimadzu Yoshihiro's defeat and retreat soon came from Bungo.

As the temperature gradually cooled down, the main generals of the two sides wanted to stop the war temporarily, but at this moment things changed suddenly.

One is the news from Okura that Motoharu Yoshikawa, a general of the Maori family, suddenly fell ill and died in Okura Castle.

In this matter, Terumoto Mori, general of the Maori Army, was returning to Hiroshima to handle family affairs with peace of mind because Okura Yoshikawa Motoharu was in charge, and there was no leader in Okura Castle.

At the same time, Yoshihiro Shimadzu, who withdrew from the Bungo battlefield, came to Chikugo via Hinata. He originally planned to support his brother Yoshihisa Shimadzu, and wanted to concentrate on expanding the battlefield to the west when the east side was temporarily unable to break through. depth.

Because of the origin of Yoshihiro Shimadzu, the total strength of the Shimadzu side on the Chikuzen and Chikugo battlefields has reached 6, which exceeds the sum of Toyotomi's side in terms of numbers.

So a massive counterattack was launched under the planning of the two Shimadzu brothers.

First, Shimadzu Yoshihisa led the troops to withdraw from the front line of Ogura, and began to counter-encircle Toyotomi Hidenaga's team, which was besieging Akizuki.

Feeling the pressure, Hidecho Toyotomi withdrew the siege from the ancient mountain castle at the suggestion of Takataka Kuroda, and asked for help from the Maori army in Kokura Castle.

The siege of Kokura Castle was over when he received the request for help, and Yoshikawa Motoharu was still well at that time. He sent his younger brother Amano Motomasa to lead 6000 troops to support.

On the third day after Amano Motomasa sent troops, Yoshikawa Motoharu suddenly died of illness in Kokura Castle. Shimadzu Yoshihiro seized the opportunity of the unclear command authority in Kokura Castle and launched an offensive against Kokura Castle. The family drove out of Xiaocang Castle, and the Maori army retreated to guard Moji.

After Kokura Castle was broken, the western gate of Toyotomi opened wide. Shimadzu Yoshihiro left Shimadzu Yoshihisa to garrison, and with more than [-] troops, he wanted to attack Toyotomi Hidecho's rear through Nifeng Road.

Fortunately, Motomasa Amano, who received the news of his brother's death, just returned from Qingqingyue Castle. Hearing the news that Ogura was captured, he stopped marching towards Chikuzen and returned to station at Matsuyama Castle, the west gateway of Fengzen. Send a warning.

Toyotomi Hidecho, who was attacked on both sides, used only nearly 4 troops in his hands. While sending a message for help to the Hide family, he adopted Kuroda Takataka's suggestion: shrink the defensive circle, and use Tagawa County and Kyoto County as the border. The city must be defended to consume the offensive of the Shimadzu family.

No matter how powerful the Shimadzu family is, most of them are still coalition forces composed of powerful clans from the Warring States Period. After spending a lot of money and only regaining the Takatori Mountain Castle and Fudodake Castle of the Akizuki Family, the spirit of the Shimadzu Family was finally exhausted. .

The powerful army that had been mobilized for a long time began to lose its morale. Even Shimadzu Yoshihisa and the Shimadzu Yoshihiro brothers had no choice but to disband the army at the request of the powerful clan below and prepare to fight again next year.

Although the offensive of the Shimadzu family was stopped, Yoshihiro Shimadzu fought a beautiful sports battle in the land of Kyushu, which made Xiujia look at this person with admiration.

However, according to the report from the spies, the tactic of this battle was to adopt the suggestion of Yingwa Jiuhu. This news made the Xiu family covet that man even more.

With the withdrawal of the Shimadzu family, the pressure on Toyotomi Hidecho suddenly eased, causing him to fall ill successfully and was sent to Kanzanji Hot Spring for recuperation.

Under such a premise, Xiu's family came from Funai City to meet with Toyotomi Hidecho.

When Xiujia saw Xiuchang, he even felt unrecognizable. It has only been 4-5 months, and he has become thinner, the muscles on his face have shrunk, and his face is extremely pale. The Xiu family even thought it was an old man who was about to die.

Seeing Xiu's family coming, he said in a pale voice, "Hachiro is here, come down and take a bath, you and my uncle and nephew haven't taken a bath together for some years, right?"

At the invitation of Toyotomi Hideaga, Xiujia took off his clothes under the service of the maids, and was about to go into the water, but was shrunk back by the scalding water.

At this time, the weather outside was already below zero, with snowflakes floating in the sky, Xiujia didn't wear any warm clothes, and the temperature of the puddle was so hot that it was hard to step down.

"Uncle, don't you think the water temperature is a bit high?" Hideyoshi, who was suffering from the cold, complained bitterly.

Toyotomi Hidecho took off the meat towel on top of his head, and responded with a smile, "Is there any? I think the water temperature is just right. Oh, I'm old, and my skin is rough and fleshy. You young people, please accommodate us old people."

Xiujia had no choice but to carefully put his feet into the spring water, and then immerse his body after getting used to it. Not long after entering the hot spring, Xiujiajiu was already sweating all over his body.

The difference from Xiuchang is that the maids handed Xiuchang hot towels to put on his head, which is used to warm his head, while the towels given to Xiujia were ice towels, which were used to wipe Xiujia's sweat.

The uncles and nephews had a bubble for a while, and Xiuchang kept looking at the Xiu family and couldn't help but feel small. Seeing that the Xiu family was shivering, he complained helplessly, "What's wrong with uncle, why do you look at me like this."

Toyotomi Hideaga calmly responded, "Young people are different. They are full of blood, and they are already sweating after soaking for a while, unlike my body that is still chilly after soaking."

Hideka: "..., my uncle is in his prime, and he just needs a little rest to recover his body. This Toyotomi family still needs his uncle's help."

Hearing Xiujia's reply, Xiuchang raised his hand from the water and shook it, and responded in a helpless tone, "My body is the clearest, even if it is normal to die suddenly like Jibu Shaosuke (Yoshikawa Motoharu) tomorrow. .”

"." Hearing Hideonaga talking about life and death, the Xiu family was suddenly at a loss for words, but Hideonaga was very open-minded, and continued to talk and said, "The matter of Jibu Shaosuke reminded me that even a strong man like him said that he would die in a hurry. I'm dying in a hurry, and a weak person like me should take care of his health. After the Kyushu War, I will be like my brother and ask for a leisurely job to recuperate."

Xiujia heard the retreat in Hideyoshi's words. Unlike Hideyoshi, Hideyoshi did not have so many dark sides in politics, so Xiujia didn't need to think about what he said inside and outside the meaning.

Following Xiuchang's words, the Xiu family expressed regret to him, "If this is the case, it is really a pity. Once you step back, it will be like the Toyotomi family has lost a pillar. Who can afford it after you step back?" What about the great politics of the Toyotomi family?"

From the beginning of the conversation, Xiuchang kept smiling towards Xiujia, until he heard this sentence, the smile on his face stagnated for a moment.

But Hideaga soon replied with a smile, "Brother, he came up from the bottom and knew how to deal with government affairs. In addition, Asano Tokushima (Asano Nagamasa), Hachisuka Kiyoshu (Hachisuka Kiyosuke) With the help of Suga Masakatsu) and others, it’s easy to rule the world. But you, have you ever thought about what you plan to do after the world is peaceful?”

In Xiujia's ears, the first half of Xiuchang's words seemed to remind Xiujia that even after he left, Toyotomi's family still had a lot of talents.

After he asked the second half of the sentence, the Xiu family fell silent. They didn't know how to answer for a while, and after thinking for a while, they said, "I don't have a group of retainers like my father, and I don't have a younger brother like my uncle. I need to take care of all the affairs in the collar.

Even if managing the territory exhausted my energy, how could I have the energy to take care of the affairs of Osaka.And I have recently developed a new hobby. Things like governing government affairs can be pushed or pushed. "

Hearing Xiu's answer, Toyotomi Hideaga frowned, and asked with some doubts, "In the past, when you were young, you were not as unmotivated as you are today."

"Uncle also said that at that time I was young and ignorant, and I didn't know the fun in this world. Now that I have grown up, I have explored a new track, and I want to have fun while I am young."

"But you must not forget your responsibility as a pro-vassal daimyo," Hideaga suddenly named the subject and said.

Hearing Xiuchang's name of his responsibility, the Xiu family was at a loss again, and couldn't help cursing secretly: When I was in Osaka City, it was you who made me dormant, and it was you who made me take responsibility when I arrived in Kyushu.

At the beginning, you were afraid that I would stir up conflicts with Hideyoshi, so I took a big step back and chose to accept your suggestion, not to show off like I used to.

Now that you have arrived in Kyushu, why have you changed your mind again? Are you two brothers so difficult to serve?
"What's going on at Usuki? Didn't Shimadzu Yoshihiro attack Bungo in Hinata? How could Michizuku be there?"

After talking for so long, Toyotomi Hidecho finally said the main body of today, and it turned out that he came to Xingshi to question the crime.

Perhaps because they sensed that something was wrong with the atmosphere, all the maids who were serving at the side walked out obediently, leaving only the uncle and nephew to soak in it.

Hideka swallowed, organized his words and replied, "Yoshihiro Shimadzu and his subordinate Osumi-Hyuga Corps are not weak. With the number of them comparable to mine, I have indeed tried my best to repel them. For this reason, the family paid the price of more than 2000 casualties, and the ashes of the war dead were shipped to Okayama.”

"I'm not talking about that. I'm asking why you let him go. I heard you told a story?"

Perhaps because he was not satisfied with Xiujia's answer, Toyotomi Hideaga continued to ask, "Don't think that I deliberately made things difficult for you here because I suffered a disadvantage in Chikugo.

The question I asked you today will be the same when my brother comes. If you can't even convince me, how can you convince your brother? "

After hearing Xiuchang's question, the Xiu family also looked squarely at it, and responded very seriously: "I didn't mean that, Uncle. But my family really didn't have the ability to continue fighting in a short period of time, so we had to choose Compromise with Yoshihiro Shimadzu.

Later, in order to ensure that the Shimadzu family abided by the agreement, I was stationed at Usuki Castle for a month, and I did not return to Funai Castle until I received the news that the Shimadzu army in Saiki Castle had retreated.

As for why the Shimadzu family went from Hinata to Chikugo to participate in the attack on Maori and you on the Western Front, I really don't know.It can only be said that Yoshihiro Shimadzu is an excellent general, and he has his own understanding of the geography and tactics of Kyushu.

From this, it can be seen that the Shimadzu family is not as weak as we thought at the beginning, and it will take a lot of effort to win Shimadzu. This point must be explained clearly to Father. "

"Hey~" Hearing the Hide family's answer, how could Toyotomi Hidecho, who had fought head-on with the Shimadzu family, not understand, he said in a tone of voice

"My brother has high expectations for the Battle of Kyushu. His original idea was to complete the connection with Chikuzen National Hanayama Castle before his arrival. After all, Tachibana Muneshige has been guarding the isolated castle for a year.

But I was defeated in Kyushu after Sun Qi, I am afraid that it will affect the confidence of the wealthy families in Chikuzen and other places who had successfully adjusted their strategies in us.

Moreover, this battle is the crusade against the enemy Shimadzu ordered by the Emperor himself, and it is also the first battle after his brother Guanbai, so there must be no mistakes.I'm only afraid that this small defeat in Fengqian will arouse his anger. "

"Fengqian should be regarded as a small victory. We basically drove the traitor Qiuyue's family out of Fengqian and took control of the former five counties of Xifeng. It's just that we suffered some twists and turns later."

Xiuchang frowned in pain and said, "But this setback was too great, which made the battle situation stagnant. If there were no subsequent setbacks, my brother would not complain even if the battle situation was not ideal, but now he will definitely find someone take responsibility."

The Hide family felt the pressure from Hideonaga, and wanted to comfort him, but he continued to say, "Because of the death of Shaosuke Jibu on Moori's side, I'm afraid my brother shouldn't blame me too much, and I will definitely ask my brother more.

And this time you did have an affair with Shimadzu on the Eastern Front, which caused Shimadzu Yoshihiro to transfer troops to Chikuzen to join the war, this is a problem."

After Xiuchang finished speaking, he looked at Xiu's family, which clearly meant "experience for yourself."

　There will be nothing to do at home tomorrow, but I just want to take a day off, once a month, I hope you understand.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)