Prime Minister Bizen

Chapter 369 Brotherhood

Yoshihiro Shimadzu and Suihisa Shimadzu looked at each other, patted his brother Iahisa on the back, and promised to Yoshihisa, "I will never forget my brother's teachings. Brother takes care of Matashichiro just as he takes care of us."

"Because of the war this year, the people of Satsuma and Osumi have paid a lot, and even delayed the farming season. Seeing that summer is about to begin, you must hurry up and arrange to plant a batch of grain, otherwise the stored grain may not last for the next year. "

Yoshihisa Shimadzu was really worried about his family. Even when the countdown to his life came, he was still telling his brothers.

要知道岛津义久是天文2年（1533年）生人3月4日，今年已经55岁了，四兄弟中最小的家久也出生于天文16年（1547年），今年正好40岁。

At such a grade, any family has long been in charge, even the mainstay, but Shimadzu Yoshihisa is still worried about his brothers like a father.

"About Zhongchen and Zhongchang, since Izumi County and Isa County have been taken away by His Royal Highness Guan Bai, what kind of regulations are there on their side, should they be handed over to our Shimadzu family for management or follow the local family? Did you explain it?"

Izumi Castle led by Tadacho Shimadzu is located in Izumi County, Satsuma Country, and Oguchi Castle led by Tadatoshi Shimadzu is located in Isa County.

According to the agreement signed by Yoshihiro and Yoshihisa, the two counties in the north of Satsuma were taken back by Hideyoshi, and they were given to the three counties in the northwest of Osumi as subsidies.

And the territory where these two people are located belongs to the two counties separated from the Shimadzu family, so where they will go becomes a problem.

Shimadzu Tadacho and Shimadzu Tadatsu's knowledge and practice are not high, both only have the appearance of 1/2 koku. In the past, the Shimadzu family naturally didn't care about it, but as the Shimadzu family was reduced to 28 koku Every time a lord of 1/2 stone is installed, it is equivalent to cutting flesh from the Shimadzu family.

The most intuitive feeling is that the 28 Satohara Castle, which is owned by the Shimadzu family as the fourth brother, was determined by Hideyoshi as an independent daimyo. The comprehensive territory actually reached the standard of 500 shi.

As a younger brother, the Shimadzu family has become independent for a long time. As Tadatsushi Shimadzu, who is relatively distant in blood, if he comes to share his own cake, how disgusting do you think the Shimadzu Brothers will be?
At this time, it involves two rules when Japan transfers feudal titles. One of them is that after the lord is changed and transferred, the retainers stay in place to accept the command of the new lord.

Another is that after the lord is changed or transferred, he takes his retainers to go to the new territory together. If the title is granted, everything is easy to say, and everyone gets the title together. Historically, the Gamo family caused riots due to the uneven distribution of spoils during the sealing.

If the title is reduced, the lord will need to negotiate with the vassals of the subordinates. If the vassals are grateful for the kindness of the lord's family, they will generally give the same reduction to a certain extent to ease the pressure on the lord.

If the retainers disagree with the reduction of titles, the lord will either grit his teeth and admit it, or publicly announce the end of the feudal relationship with the subordinate retainers. This is called "leading the vassal".

The relationship between the Ryuzoji family and the Nabeshima family is quite special, but the problem they face is a different kind of "leading the master".Whether it is Toyotomi or Tokugawa, they only recognize Nabeshima Naoshige as the lord of Hizen Saga, and they do not recognize the Ryuzoji family.

But for his own reputation, Naoshima Naoshige could only set up another team outside the Ryuzoji family. Such an operation made the Nabeshima family bear a heavy burden of "lord" like a retainer from the beginning of its establishment.

Generally speaking, the higher-ups will not directly interfere with the transfer of retainers or not. The transferred/changed masters will communicate with their retainers themselves.

At this time, some people may want to say, "I can keep most of my retainers in the local area, and then I will take a small number of people to Xinling, so that when the new lord comes, I will be emptied of it. Isn't that how the old tortoises in history dealt with it?" Is it the Tokaido countries?"

First of all, this idea is indeed feasible in theory, but it is difficult in practice.

As a transferred daimyo, when he arrives in a new territory, he must rely on his new retainers to assist him. These people are also his important armed forces.

As a new lord, even a behemoth like Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was transferred to the old Kantokujo by Hideyoshi, still needs trustworthy retainers to command.

At the very least, the ratio between the vassals you bring and the local warriors should reach 3:7, otherwise, just like the Byzantine emperor after the 11th century, whether your order can go out of Constantinople is a problem.

Moreover, every daimyo will train the local samurai after he arrives in the new collar. In simple terms, he will kill a batch, beat a batch, and accept a batch.

Every samurai family that is left in the field needs to accept a new destiny. After all, the new lord will bring his own retainer group, and they also need territory for resettlement.

Even if you really make an operation to keep most of the people and want to sway the new lord, the new lord will use his own means to slash the heads of the people you left behind.

Of course, if you don't accept the new lord, you can also raise a banner against Sasasa Naruma's seigneur just like the Higo countryman Ichikui in history.

But what is the end result?

Narumasa Sasa was transferred away, but Hideyoshi arranged for the daimyo of Kyushu to cooperate with Kiyomasa Kato and Governor Konishi to exterminate these wealthy families who caused a turmoil. They were still cut like leeks, and then continued to arrange for new lords to come over.

In history, when Tokugawa Ieyasu was transferred, he took away all the important ministers, most of the middle-level samurai and nearly half of the military servicemen. The number of people and their families relocated alone was as high as 10.

Historically, Tokugawa Ieyasu's people who stayed in Tōkaidō were basically local samurai, and the noble families who had taken root in the local area for several generations.

This is also a routine operation when transferring seals. After all, you can't take all the retainers and warriors away.In addition, these local powerful samurai may have been greeted by Tokugawa Ieyasu, and they were more obedient to the new lord, so they did not attract Hideyoshi's attention.

But with Hideyoshi's death, Tokugawa Ieyasu became the most powerful daimyo in the world, and the Anzi who he stayed in these territories began to become active, and finally stood in the camp of the Eastern Army with his own daimyo.

What?Are you unwilling to follow His Highness Tokugawa?Then why should I work hard for you? Without us working hard, you won’t be able to collect taxes, and you won’t be able to replenish your soldiers. You also have to face attacks from other daimyos who have defected to the Eastern Army. Anyone with a normal mind knows how to choose.

From this point of view, this group of low-level warriors is much more powerful than the latent spies left by the old country 49 years later. Of course, the most important thing is that the power has been inverted, which makes these low-level warriors who have survived deep cultivation and growth. In the end, it came to the point where he used his ministers to threaten the Lord.

Let's go back to the four Shimadzu brothers. The reason Shimadzu Yoshihisa cares about Shimadzu Tadatsu and Shimadzu Tadacho is simple.

Hideyoshi promised them to protect them with their own skills. The two of them combined more than 4 shi, which accounted for 1/7 of the Shimadzu family's security. So can the others arrange it?
It is precisely because of their betrayal that the last fig leaf of the Shimadzu family was lifted, and now they are asked to divide their 28 shi territory, and occupy such a large area, no one is willing.

Now Yoshihisa Shimadzu is going to meet his ancestors soon, and he wants to truthfully tell the people below about the situation of the Shimadzu family, which is why he has such a relationship.

Shimadzu Yoshihiro heard that his brother was concerned about this matter, and also told him what he knew, "His Royal Highness Guan Bai did not tell us how to deal with the two of them, but since he promised their ability to block them, he should put them Stay where you are and hand it over to the new lord for resettlement."

"Izumi County has 2.1 shi, Shimadzu Tadacho has 1.6 shi, Isa County has 3.2 shi, Shimadzu Tadatsu has 2 shi, and if they want to come to Guanbai Palace, they will not arrange a lord on their heads. It should be Let them exist as independent daimyos in this county.

They are lucky, they have suddenly become an existence on an equal footing with the family, will they be called 'adults' in the future? "

The Shimadzu Toshihisa who spoke, although he was originally a peaceful faction, he attached great importance to the harmony of the Shimadzu family. After determining the policy of resistance, he did not take a step back, and he even got injured because of it.

Now that Shimadzu Tadacho and Shimadzu Tadatsu, the two original main fighters, actually surrendered behind the back of the master, and in exchange for a good future, how can he calm down his heart.

It's just that he didn't expect that what he said would insinuate Jiajiu, causing Jiajiu who was squatting aside to change his expression drastically.

"My elder brother cares about me after all." He thought in his heart.

The four brothers were whispering in the center of the shogunate, and the surrounding daimyo gathered in small groups to tell jokes, the content of which was mostly related to the Shimadzu family, and the words were full of mockery of the Shimadzu family's overreach.

Or compare your own Gong Xun with each other, pull out a few cities, and kill how many people to estimate the rewards you will get.

Like the word "Hui", the inner circle is full of sadness, but the outer circle is full of cheerful atmosphere, which makes Xiujia suddenly feel a sense of humor.

"Guan Baidian Arrives"

With the sound of a bright transmission, the shogunate returned to calm in an instant. The samurai looked for their corresponding Maza everywhere like headless chickens, and even made jokes because they were seated in the wrong place.

That scene was like that of Xiujia's previous life, where the students in the class were playing around with each other in the self-study class, and finally someone outside said "the head teacher is here".

Shimadzu Yoshihisa also took advantage of the last moment to explain a few words to his three brothers, and then asked the three brothers to stand in their corresponding positions.

Kanbai Toyotomi Hideyoshi just appraised Kyushu, and it was the time when the spring breeze was on his face. He stepped into the shogunate with a slash, sat in his seat, and all the samurai in the shogunate saluted him.

After everything was ready, Hideyoshi didn't talk nonsense, and said to Shimadzu Yoshihisa, "I used to respect Xiuliang very much, but I didn't expect that fate made us enemies.

It's all because we are our own masters. I was ordered by the emperor to crusade against you and won by chance. I hope you won't hold grudges against me after you go down.

Please rest assured, my lord, the grievances between your family and my family are over. From now on, I will treat the Shimadzu family as if I were a family member.

After you leave, I will make an exception and allow the Shimadzu family to collect your body, bury it in its entirety, erect a tombstone for you, and allow monks to chant scriptures to see you off. Please leave at ease, my lord. "

After all, he was going to send people to die. Hideyoshi may have found out his conscience, or maybe he was afraid of Shimadzu Yoshihisa's ghost taking his life, so before the ceremony started, he talked to him through the air. It's the same as seeing off friends for many years.

After hearing Hideyoshi's words, Shimadzu Yoshihisa bowed slightly to him and replied, "Thank you so much for His Highness Kanbai's care. Please rest assured that this seppuku suicide was entirely out of my original intention and has nothing to do with Kanbakuden."

After receiving Shimadzu Yoshihisa's answer, Hideyoshi nodded in satisfaction, and for the first time allowed the four brothers to say a few words for the last time.

Shimadzu Yoshihisa is like an old woman who is about to go far away, taking care of the three brothers over and over again to take care of each other, and once again telling Yoshihiro and Suijiu not to alienate Jiajiu.

After the final explanation, the three brothers left Yoshihisa again and stood in their respective positions. When Hideyoshi saw that the time was almost up, he said to the family, "Then let's start, Master Noeku."

Although he had made preparations in advance, Shimadzu Iehisa was still struggling when it came time to face his brother's seppuku, especially now that he was the host.

He deliberately slowed down his movements, saluted Sekibaku Hideyoshi slowly, and slowly chanted the crimes that Hideyoshi committed to Shimadzu Yoshihisa, as if this would allow Yoshihisa to live longer.

It's a pity that there is no end to the words on the document. After Shimadzu's family finished reading the date, the corners of his eyes were already wet with tears, and his voice was already choked up. Yoshihiro and Suijiu beside Shimadzu Yoshihisa also looked like this .

Shimadzu Yoshihisa is like a father to the three brothers, especially to Yoshihiro and Iehisa. The two brothers are particularly capable in combat, so their power gradually grew in the later period.

If it wasn't for Hideyoshi's arrival, there might even be a confrontation with Yoshihisa, but Yoshihisa is very tolerant of this. In order to eliminate suspicion, Yoshihiro, who is the head of the family, took the initiative to go to Yoshihiro's side for a meeting, giving Yoshihiro enough face .

However, such an elder brother will be sent away by the three brothers himself.

"Don't cry, you are the sons of Shimadzu. Since ancient times, how many generals have died without knowing where they were buried. It is very lucky to be accompanied by you at the last time of your life." Seeing the three brothers in the Weeping aside, Shimadzu Yoshikura scolded loudly.

Then he opened his skirt and carefully wiped the ribs in his hands. While wiping the ribs in his hands, he said his farewell words: "I will end up in the underworld for the rest of my life. I don't know the yin and cold in it. I don't want to say more. Go to explore the way, life and death shelter the soul of Shimadzu."

(I wrote it myself, it's not very good, please don't mock me.)
As his last syllable fell, he pointed the ribs at his abdomen and slammed it in. Perhaps it was the surge of adrenaline, but his expression did not change at this moment.

Then he held the rib in his hand and slid it to the left fiercely, his originally indifferent face became grim, and beads of sweat began to form deep on the top of his head.

Shimadzu Yoshihisa endured the pain painfully, until the ceremony was completed, he shouted out the suffocated pain "Ah~!", and then lowered his head forward to let Shimadzu Yoshihiro cut off his head.

Shimadzu Yoshihiro had long stood beside him with the sword in his hand, and Shimadzu was kneeling in front of him with a tray in both hands.

Shimadzu Yoshihisa's cry was like a signal, and Shimadzu Yoshihiro cut off Shimadzu Yoshihisa's head cleanly with a knife in his hand.

The head rolled down onto the tray in Suijiu's hand, and Suijiu painstakingly sorted out the remains of his deceased brother, and finally presented the tray with Yoshihisa's head to Hideyoshi for review.

In fact, Hideyoshi watched Shimadzu Yoshihisa's seppuku ceremony throughout. Shimadzu Yoshihisa was indeed dead and could not die anymore, and it was absolutely impossible to resurrect. Now it's just a process.

After the first-level inspection, Hideyoshi waved his arm to make Suijiu retreat and said to the three brothers, "Good luck, bury it and repair it.".

After finishing speaking, he stood up and walked out of the shogunate without looking back.

After Toyotomi Hideyoshi left, the daimyo who watched in the shogunate had no enmity with the Shimadzu family, bowed to Shimadzu Yoshihisa with his palms together and recited the Heart Sutra silently, while Kirietan daimyo bowed the cross on his chest and praised God before leaving.

The several daimyos who had grievances with the Shimadzu family also kept silent, and silently followed the crowd to the outside. After all, they were all dead. Hideyoshi just said that all grievances and grievances were understood. Even if everyone wanted to make trouble I can't.

A moment later, only the four brothers were left in the shogunate, who were crying around the body of their elder brother Yoshihisa, and the Toyotomi Family Banner Samurai who were pulling down the curtain around them.

Yoshihisa Shimadzu, the hero of a generation, has dominated Kyushu for 20 years, and the final ending is so lonely
(End of this chapter)