Prime Minister Bizen

Chapter 758
The New Year of the 4th year of Qingchang has just passed, and the whole Kanto seems to be in agitation. The conscripts and forces lead the congregation, and they go to the countryside under the protection of the police and arresters of the neighboring countries, counties, and castle towns. various villages.

In the feudal era, it was difficult for the ruling class to go to the countryside, and they often needed the local low-level nobles to manage the people.

Fortunately, when the Hideo family was pacifying the Guanzhong, they directly used the power of the great victory to infiltrate the original Jibei samurai, ashigaru and their families into various villages. The original Kanto samurai in these villages were disrupted and divided again. This gave Xiujia the foundation to control the countryside.

In fact, the original request for issuing military service accounts did not require Yu Lihe and Tongxin to come off in person. In the past, each county secretary issued the military service accounts to each village according to the military service accounts of each village. First, each village voluntarily signed up. The three elders and warriors in the village roll their names.

When the Xiu family was still in Jibei, the soldiers basically got a lot of spoils every time they went out to battle, and the winning rate was extremely high and the life-saving rate was very high. In addition, people who signed up for military merit and granting land were naturally flocking to it. .

However, after two mobilizations to go north to Oyu Shiji, most of Fengchun's soldiers took up the task of leading the formation, and there were not many opportunities to earn military merits.

When it came to the Korean War again, because the Xiu family wanted to rule Gangwon and Hamgyong, the soldiers who participated in the war did not get much spoils, so that when the second Korean War was mobilized, there was a need for the first time. The case of roll call.

This time, it was heard that they were going north to crusade against Ezo, and there were even fewer active applicants for that rumored barren land of ice and snow.

So after Tachihara Jiugang reported to Xiu's family and got permission, he ordered Yu Li Tongxin to directly move rice grains and reward money to the countryside to directly recruit soldiers.

Moreover, the rewards given are extremely rich. Every ashigaru who actively signs up can get a mobilization fee of 2 shimi, 5 pennies, and 1 piece of coarse cloth. ,

In the Warring States Period, the food standard for an adult male was about 1.7 shi for a year without participating in the war. The Xiu family directly gave him rice grains that exceeded one year's food.

And 5 pennies can usually buy about 20 shimi a year, which is enough for a regular family of 6 to eat for 4 years!
Even though the price of rice in Kanto has risen somewhat in the past two years due to the Xiu family's deliberate hoarding of grain, they can still buy about 12 shi, which is enough for a family of six to feed for more than two years.

5 kanbu is the annual salary of middle and low-level samurai, and the annual salary of ashigaru is only 3 kanbu. Of course, they can receive support rice for 2 people, and daily board and lodging are also included.

But for the Kanto peasant households in the preparation and garrison establishment and the low-level samurai who did not enter the establishment, being able to lead 5 Guanwen at one time is definitely their most income in recent years.

When this reward was issued, the people from all over the Fengchun Territory went crazy and flocked to their village hometown hoping to get a recommendation from the village elder.Therefore, in order to maintain these rewards, it is natural to go to the countryside with the police and guards with one heart and one mind.

Of course, this money is not easy to get. Yuli, who was sent to the countryside by Xiujia, clearly told the villagers that this is the resettlement fee. After being mobilized, he may wear it in Ezo and cannot go home for 1 to 3 years.

Of course, if they are acceptable, each person can still lead a mobilization fund of 1.2 guanwen per year, and it is guaranteed that after they leave, the village will be mobilized in the same way as the previous military service account mobilization, and the village will give priority to ensuring their land cultivation and harvest.

Xiujia will provide them with equipment and weapons, but soldiers need to prepare their own clothes and shoes to keep out the cold, which is why Xiujia issued them.

Although Hideka had asked Takatora Todo to prepare, it was obvious that it would be impossible to prepare so well in less than a year. Coupled with the needs of the friendly forces, Hideka wanted to mobilize the collar to prepare warm clothes by themselves.

Needing to fight abroad for a long time has indeed dissuaded many people. Coupled with the experience of the previous two Korean campaigns, if the Xiu family did not offer such a generous reward, they might not be able to mobilize enough soldiers.

By around January 1th, the mobilization of the Fengchun family in the Kanto territory had basically ended, and the troops of the nearby Ukita, Yuki, Takeda, and Nakagawa families also gathered in Fengchun City one after another.

By January 1, with the arrival of 16 Tokugawa reinforcements led by Tokugawa Tadamasa under the command of the Tokugawa family, more than 3000 people had gathered in Fengchun Castle, and the second wave of the Northern Expedition had basically gathered.

As early as half a month ago, the Xiu family said that they would hold a yuanfu ceremony for their four sons, and invited all the famous people in Fengchun City to participate.

Among them, Nakagawa Hidemasa will serve as the black hat relative of Hideka Asahichiyo, who is officially named Toyotomi Asahizaburo politician, with the ability to know and do Iyo Tamanoe 5 shi;

Adopted son Taisong (Abatai) Wu Mao is Ukita's interpreter, named Ukita Taro Bingwei Jiatai, and bestowed 5000 shi to Ibaraki Zhixing;
The Hideya himself was responsible for the hat of Yuzi Shenyue Maru, named Ito Sanzaemon Hideken. Since he was the son of Ito Yoshiken, the Hideya did not grant him the place of knowledge.

In addition to the above three sons who were originally scheduled to join the Hide family, the fifth son of the Hide family, Sen Chiyo (mother Itanan), also served together, and his black hat was held by Haruto Yuuki.

Named Toyotomi Sengoro Chaojia, and bestowed 1 shi to Matsuoka, Taga County, Ibaraki, this is also the daimyo retainer in the Kanto region under Hideka's command who is farthest from Toyochun Castle.

From the naming rules above, it can be seen that the Xiu family adopts the method of one word for baby name + sorting when naming their biological sons.Fortunately, the common name is the name of a samurai, and the Sanjo Shi family has no common name as a public servant, otherwise they might be called Ming Shisanlang or Yu Shisanlang.

As an adopted son, Taisong (Abate), the Hide family originally only planned to let him inherit the Miao character of Futian, but since the Ukita interpreters came to preside over the Yuanfu ceremony, the Hide family simply gave him the Miao character of Ukita.

At this point, within the system of the Toyochun clan, it can be regarded as regaining a pro-vassal named Ukita (the Ukita seedling character given to Ukita Zongsheng by the Hideya before is not counted, it is just a name.)
Hidemasa Nakagawa will not participate in the Northern Expedition due to physical reasons. The 2500 soldiers under the Nakagawa family will be presided over by family elders Itami Torashige and Ibaraki Masaoyuki.

The Xiu family intends to allow the Toyotomi politicians to unify the military strength of the Nakagawa family on the basis of commanding the Utsunomiya clan. A total of 4000 troops can be used as a ranger, and the two elders of the Nakagawa family can assist the prime minister and teach Xiuzheng.

This requires the permission of Nakagawa Hidemasa, and has to be related to the Nakagawa family, which is why the Hideka wants him to be the black hat relative of the Toyotomi politician.

As for the arrival of Ukita's family, the Xiu family had negotiated with him before, as a ceremony to rebuild the relationship between the two families.

Of course, the Quan family is also willing to come to Fengchun City. After all, it is the first time for his two sons to play the battle this time. As a father, he still feels a little worried.

After the Yuanfu ceremony was over, the irrelevant people who watched the ceremony were sent away, and the Xiu family immediately started a military discussion with all the big names.

The queue for the march and the battle array for the next two days were quickly determined. Although the Mori and Gifu armies had not yet arrived in Fengchun, the Hide family was unwilling to wait any longer. On the 2th of the first month, they officially set off from Fengchun City.

Since the Xiu family collected the remaining half of the civilian men in the military service accounts of each family to uniformly deploy and transport food and fodder, the entire team can be said to travel relatively lightly.

There are military depots along the way in the territory of Fengchun, which can provide soldiers with rest and food supplements.When you cross Shiraishi Castle, you will officially enter Ou, which is the territory of the Koriyama family.

Its preparatory work may not be enough, but Hideka has notified Todo Takatora several months in advance to contact Ou Daimyo, set up military depots in each family's territory and stockpile food.

During the usual expeditions, military depots would not be set up in various places along the route, but food would be hoarded in the main cities, and then transported from these fixed cities to the front line.

For example, during the Korean War, Ishida Mitsunari only set up military depots in Bizen Okayama and Chikuzen Fukuoka, and transported the country's grain to North Korea after being transferred in these two places.

What the Xiu family has to do now is to set up military depots in all the cities and towns along the way. The large military stations store more food, and the small military stations swallow less food.

Many people couldn't understand the operation of the Xiu family, and some even thought that the Xiu family had too much food and no land, so they set up military depots everywhere.

At first, Nobushige Sanada also had doubts. No matter how intensive the Northern Expedition is for a Ezo, you only need to stockpile food in Date and the southern two. Da Masamune) and Iwate (Nanbu Lizhi) both set up military depots and stored food?
How could they have thought that the reason why Xiujia did this was not at all for the Northern Expedition to Ezo, how could the Northern Expedition need to do such redundant logistical support?
Even if the road is blocked by heavy snow in winter, the food has already been transported to the front-line military depot. Why do the military depots along the way have to hoard so much food?
The purpose of Xiujia's doing this is to quickly respond to the return trip when the center changes, just like Hideyoshi's China Great Return and Jianyue Great Return.

Since I don't know when the time will come, if I want to withdraw troops from Ezo quickly, I must abandon a large amount of luggage and food in Ezo to let the soldiers advance lightly.

But soldiers need to eat, drink, and rest. These military depots can provide these supplies for the soldiers going south, so that they can go to the next military depot and continue to move forward.

Hideka set off from Fengchun City with more than 4 people, passed through Utsunomiya, crossed Shiroishi and entered Ou along the way. From here, the snow began to thicken, basically over the ankles, and the speed of the soldiers slowed down.

When the army arrived at Koriyama Castle on February 2, Hideya ordered the army to rest in Koriyama for 7 days due to the heavy snowfall. The purpose was also to wait for the 2 Satake family members who came out from Aizu.

After Toyotomi Xiuzhen returned to Ou, she issued a mobilization order to the Ou daimyo, but because of the cold winter, the speed of mobilization slowed down.

However, the front line was urgent. For example, the Koriyama family only mobilized 5000 people and then went north. Originally, according to the requirements of the military service account, the Koriyama family needed to mobilize 13600 people, and professional soldiers also needed 6800 under half-soldier and half-work conditions.

A place like Aizu will close the mountain when it snows heavily in winter. Although the news spread, Satake Yoshinobu only had time to send 1200 people from the standing staff first, and the remaining 4200 mobilized soldiers and 5400 civilian husbands could only step on slowly. Assemble out with the snow.

Since the winter here in Ouyu has really had a big impact this year, the Xiu family once again graciously allowed the number of civilians mobilized by the Ouyu squad to be halved again. With the general mobilization force unchanged, the civilians were divided into two groups to mobilize alternately to transport military rations.

Fortunately, due to the cold winter, the fighting on the front line of Ou has been suspended for several months. The more than ten thousand troops that Xiuzhen brought up along the way have blocked the Ezo tribesmen and the rebellious soldiers who took the opportunity to make trouble. The crusade has begun.

When the sky cleared on February 2, Hideka ordered the army to continue on the road. Along the way, they would join forces with Iwaki and Soma. When they arrived in Sendai, the army had nearly 10 people regardless of the civilian husbands.

Now Sendai is still called Aoba Castle, but it’s just a small town. The Date family’s main city is in Lifu City in the northeast.But I have to say that the location of Sendai in later generations is so good that Hideka couldn't help requisitioning the city from Date Masamune, and after it was expanded, it was used to stockpile military rations and use it as a military depot.

As the hero of Ou, Date Masamune lost his former arrogance after being dealt with by Toyotomi Hideyoshi twice in a row.

Although it is said that the first time 70 → 24 is because he deceived himself, in order to show off his force to Hideyoshi, he specially rewarded Mutsu’s Ishiko. .

But when the seal was reduced for the second time, Hideyoshi actually took the 24 stone reduction made by Shigao after the date's house inspection!
Later, relying on holding Hideyoshi's thigh tightly, he was finally able to return to Luqian after Hideyoshi's death, and Zhixing returned to the standard of 21.7 shi, which was still less than when Ou Shi set it up.

Xiujia knows that if you want to completely tame a lion, it is useless to just feed him meat. Only by suppressing him with force can he be frightened.

So before the army arrived at Aoba Castle, Hideka ordered someone to invite Date Masamune, and made changes to the marching northward queue.

Previously responsible for opening the way ahead were the first group of 2300 people led by Teruma Ikeda, 1480 people from the Utsunomiya group led by Toyotomi Hidemasa, and 2500 people from the Nakagawa family.

However, when they stayed overnight in Natori Castle, Hideka ordered that the first group of Banners should open the way early in the morning, followed by the third group that was originally directly under the main formation.

Even before seeing the shadow of Green Leaf City, he ordered the whole army to raise the banners high, marching northward with the sound of rumbling drums as accompaniment.

At the same time, in Aoba Castle, Date Masamune, who had arrived a day earlier, had already washed up and walked around the city habitually, feeling more and more that the location and scale of Aoba Castle were good.

Originally, Aoba Castle was just a small town for retainers, but it has begun to take shape under the auspices of the Toyoharu family and the manpower renovation of the Date family.Looking at Aoba Castle under his feet, Date Masamune suddenly had the idea of ​​moving the base.

But before this idea was materialized in his mind, the sound of rumbling drums sounded in his ears.

Just when he was still wondering, his old Katakura Kojuro came to him and said, "My lord, there is an army coming from the south side. It seems to be the Northern Expedition Corps of His Royal Highness, and the sound of drums is coming from there." here."

As Katakura Kojuro came to the city wall on the south side, there were already many civilian husbands and Date family samurai and ashigaru lying on the top of the city and looking over there, and the breath of fear spread among the crowd.

Date Masamune also stood at the top of the city and looked towards the sound, and saw a black dragon marching towards here in the white snow from the south.The sound of the drum was like the steps of the black dragon, beating on his heart step by step.

(End of this chapter)