Prime Minister Bizen

Chapter 766

In the early morning of August 6, 8th year of Qingchang.

There is a solemn atmosphere in Osaka City, where the sky has just dawned, and Naoe Kentsutsu's image of Naoe has already spread throughout the country in this month.Such a blatant sarcasm accusing Toyotomi's family of His Highness Gifu's behavior naturally aroused Toyotomi Hideji's displeasure.

But what dissatisfied him the most was that Chacha, in the name of Xiuli, vetoed his repeated requests to send troops to Echigo.

In the final analysis, my right to see the country afterward comes from my two wives. Now that Chacha has made it clear that he does not support it, Ningning is also ambiguous about his request, which makes him very dissatisfied.

From his point of view, he is only one step away from taking the final step forward. As long as he wins Uesugi Jingsheng, all the preconditions for his downfall will be fulfilled.

But what should I do if I can't get the legal procedures?
Toyotomi Hideji thought of bypassing this procedure, and directly issued a mobilization order to the world's big names in the name of Toyotomi's hindsight, requiring the big names to mobilize after the autumn harvest, with 250 people per 300 stones in Kyushu, Shikoku, and Kansai, Kinki , Tokaido 3 people per 400 shi, and Hokuriku [-] people per [-] shi as the standard for mobilization.

At this time, his subordinate Maeno Jingding reminded, "The severe cold in the past two years has been worse than before. Invasion, I'm afraid it will be wasted in Yuezhong for no reason."

"Ahahaha~" Hearing that his subordinates expressed doubts about the strategy he had formulated, Toyotomi Hideji generously described his plan, "Isn't it a good thing that the mountains in the Hokuriku region are closed by heavy snow? In this way, I can just eat his Etsuchu directly." !"

If the Xiu family were here, they would definitely not think this was a good strategy.

The relationship between Echigo and Echichu is extremely steep. It is a beach road along the coast, and on the south side of the road is a steep cliff.As long as hundreds of people are stationed here and enough long-range weapons are given, it is enough to block the passage of tens of thousands of troops.

For the Echigo-Uesugi family, it is true that Echichu is the core territory, but just like Shonai, it is a territory that is headed out.

If Uojin Castle can be used to attract the main force of the Uesugi family to Etsuchu, and to encircle the Etsuchu point for reinforcements or defeat the Uesugi army, the difficult road that the family does not know will also become an obstacle for the Uesugi family to retreat.At that time, it is completely possible to chase after the tail to expand the victory.

Toyotomi Hideji only focuses on the small profit in front of him, which shows that his ability is still a little shallow.

But whatever the case, the strategy was decided by him, and he directly issued the action to the big names in the name of Houjian. From a legal point of view, he did have this right in Houjian.

But don't forget that under the Toyotomi family system, the right to govern is only given to the five big bosses. To give you face, you and the Xiu family can participate in voting to become the seven big bosses, but it doesn't say that you are allowed to be arbitrary directly!

Even his allies Terumoto Mori and Nagamasa Asano resisted his violent reaction.Ikeda Huizheng rarely stood on the opposite side of Toyotomi Hideji and expressed his desire to question Hideji.

However, Xiuji said decisively that this matter cannot be discussed.On the fifth day after his order was issued, 5 people from his younger brother Hideho's Tamba congregation had come to Osaka to support him.

On the second day, the Gifu congregation had already assembled, and there was news that the Gifu congregation had crossed Sekigahara and entered Omi, intending to approach Osaka.

Faced with the physical force that Hidetoshi could initiate at any time, Osaka had no time to gather troops, and in the end Asano Nagamasa had to come forward to negotiate with Hideji in secret.

As a result, after Hideji had a secret meeting with Asano Nagamasa that night, his attitude changed 180° in the evaluation the next day. It is said that Hideji promised him the full collection of 54 koku and the ownership of Hida.

It is also said that Hideji promised Asano Nagamasa to get the land of Uesugi Echigo after the war, and the knowledge and practice of this land at this time was about 68 shi.

Regardless of the caliber, it means that Asano Nagamasa has been bribed by Hideji: "There is no way, he gave too much."

Mori Terumoto and Hidetoshi wore a pair of trousers, and he was extremely active even though he was a little ambiguous before. It is very likely that Hideji once again promised to prepare for the collar.

From time to time, Xiuci didn't dare to get involved in Beizhong before because he was afraid that Xiu's reaction would be too violent.

But now in Hideji's view, as long as he wins Uesugi Jingsheng, he can become the governor of the Toyotomi family, and it is his own decision how to deal with the preparations.

As for you, Xiujia?If you disagree, I will take you as the next model and do it together!
Facing the powerful Hideji, even Tokugawa Ieyasu had to avoid his edge and compromise with him. Seeing the situation, Chacha couldn't do anything, except to hold Xiuli and cry in front of Hideyoshi's statue, and there was really nothing he could do.

In this way, Hideji initiated the crusade against Uesugi Kagekatsu, one of the five big men, and Hideji threatened Osaka and lured other big men to get the joint signature of the five big men, and Uesugi was officially included in the Toyotomi family to fight against rebels name.

Before, many daimyos had some reasons for participating in the Uesugi crusade, but now there are four big bosses co-signing the crusade order and spreading it all over the country. After officially designating Uesugi as a rebellious minister, daimyos who were still hesitant expressed that they would participate in it.

But it is not enough to confirm the crusade against Uesugi Jingsheng, it is also necessary to confirm who will be in command and lead the troops in this battle.

There is no doubt that the general is Hideji, he needs to attack the Uesugi's political bargaining chip.However, it is impossible for so many troops to attack Echigo only from Echuchu. As Maeno Kesada said, it is easy to defend and difficult to attack.

In his plan, the troops were divided into three groups to divide the territory of the Uesugi family. The west route was to be in charge of himself, the north route was handed over to Mogami Yoshimitsu, and the south route had to be handed over to a trustworthy daimyo.

In fact, the commander-in-chief of the South Road is not easy to choose. The biggest name in the Tokaido area is Tokugawa Ieyasu. If you want to take the Nakasendo, how can Shinano launch an attack on Echigo without his consent.

Fortunately, Tokugawa Ieyasu's performance this year has been really good, and his requirements for Hideji are relatively kind, which in Hideji's view is the performance of surrendering to himself.

But he was still not at ease with Tokugawa Ieyasu, so he talked to Tokugawa Ieyasu alone before making a decision.

Facing Hideji's initiative to invite, Tokugawa Ieyasu seemed a little apprehensive, and made tea for Hideji himself.This is a very humble act. Generally, the host invites others to taste tea afterwards, or the host asks a tea ceremony master to make tea for others.

Ieyasu Tokugawa definitely did not visit Hideji as the host, but he took the initiative to make tea for Hideji, which is enough to show how low his attitude is.

It's not enough just to have a low profile. If you keep your profile low, if you don't accept Xiuci's gifts and don't get along with him, how can he be at ease with you?
Hideji said that he could give Tokugawa Ieyasu Kita Shinano a seal, and Tokugawa Ieyasu also expressed his acceptance with trepidation.

But when it came time to organize the army, Hideji kept his hand. He said that Hideho would serve as the general of the Southern Route Army, and the army would be deployed in the form of Deputy General Ieyasu Tokugawa.

Faced with such a request, Tokugawa Ieyasu still did not express any objection, and this performance finally made Hideji completely relieved.Finally, the formation of the army was completed in Osaka on September 6, Qingcho 9.

It is worth noting that in the end Kyushu did not have mandatory recruitment. Tokugawa Ieyasu suggested that Hideji should not recruit Kyushu daimyos on the grounds that Kyushu daimyos were exhausted after the Korean War and urgently needed to recuperate. However, he also said that Kyushu daimyos who voluntarily participated could still participate.

In the end, the 12 daimyos headed by Masanori Fukushima with a total force of about 1 people set off from Kyushu to join Hideji, and finally they were incorporated into Hideji's West Route Army.

Hideji originally wanted Toyotomi's family to set up a banner group, but was rejected by Chacha, who only said that he could give support to 2000 members of his Omi group.

Hideji wanted to bring the bannermen to Echigo just to show that I am the orthodox sign of the Toyotomi family, he didn't care how many people actually went, even if the Toyotomi family only sent two bannermen to him. accept.

In order to gain the allegiance of the daimyos who dispatched troops, Hideji asked these daimyos to send their wives and daughters to live in Fushimi in advance.

He originally wanted them to send people to Hachiman Mountain City, but it was a bit blatant to do so.These are all daimyo's wives and heirs. Why do you, who is also a servant of Toyotomi's family, accept these hostages?
Hideji had no choice but to take a step back, and asked them to send him to Fushimi on the grounds that "too many family members were afraid of disturbing the lord".

Fushimi was proposed by Hideyoshi, and Hideyoshi, Hideji, and Osaka paid for the construction of Beizheng's pension city.

After all, Fushimi is still the main city of the Toyotomi family, and it is a relatively neutral proposal to send the hostages to Fushimi.

It's just that the garrison of Fushimi Castle is still not owned by Hideji, and it is still garrisoned by Toyotomi Banner.He had no choice but to let his retainer Dashan Boqishou lead 500 Gifu soldiers into the city on the grounds of guarding the Beizheng Office.

By the time everything was ready and set off from Osaka, the time had come to October.And it was at this time that Xiujia, who was far away in Ezo, received the news.

Winter in Ezo has already entered in October, and the offensive in the third stage is not going well. After all, Kamikawa and Tokachi are the last strongholds of the Ezo people, and a large number of Ezo people who are unwilling to submit to the rule of the Hide family have moved here.

When the Ezo tribe entered, they were the people, and when they left, they were soldiers.Even the tribes that had surrendered to the Xiu family before had many contacts with these tribes that resisted.

Hearing the news that Hideji was going to attack the Uesugi family, the Hide family almost couldn't laugh out loud in Hakodate.The whole plot is carried out according to the deduction with Tokugawa Ieyasu before he left.

Why did Tokugawa Ieyasu say that Hideji would be exempted from military service in Kyushu? Naturally, he had prepared a killer move and put it in Kyushu.

Coupled with the fact that Tokugawa Ieyasu is the commander-in-chief, it is simply a dream to win Echigo in a short time.

The Xiu family is counting the days, it is not realistic to call the big names to withdraw their troops from Ezo right now, it seems that the real withdrawal of troops will have to wait until the spring of next year.Now I can only hope that Xiuci can give some strength and delay for a while.

The biggest task of the Xiu family in Ezo this year is to inspect the entire territory of Ezo, and to obtain the deeds of the land that has been developed and actually mastered over the years, and officially confirm the ownership of these territories.

Among them, the largest piece of land is the Jiushan family's land in Danzhen, Rigao, and Kongliu, with a total of 2.3 shi.

You must know that the original Jiushan family was just a small wealthy family with less than 2000 shi in Bizen. In just a dozen years, knowledge and practice have increased by more than ten times, which is faster than the Hide family's growth rate.

In the end, the Hide family confirmed that all the leaders of the Jiushan family were united in Hidaka, and the Jiushan clan officially changed from a wealthy Bizen family to a wealthy Ezo family.

The other Ezo lands occupied by Kamei Tomoki, Kamifune Tsunao, and Todo Takatora during their tenures were all registered. After the Tianxia appraised, these lands would be counted into his knowledge and actions and sealed.

In order to be able to return quickly later, Hideka called his 14-year-old son Zhengjia, and Hideka directly expressed the hope that he could return to Kanto first, and prepare the return of the army with Fujido Takatora, mainly the preparations for the army rations.

Xiujia had a premonition that there would be a series of wars to be fought next.

Hideji likes politicians very much. He is a qualified daimyo, but his character is indeed flawed. Hideka knew about the massacre of the Qingjin Sannai Maruyama Castle a long time ago, and also received complaints from Maeda Keiji, but for this son Hideka But no more accusations.

Just as the army of Ezo was preparing for the winter, the 8 army led by Toyotomi Hideji on the main island of Japan had blocked the water pavilions surrounded by Uozu City.

He himself was not in Uozu Castle on the front line, but stayed in Takaoka Castle of Asano Nagamasa, reciting poems and composing Fu, accompanied by his favorite concubine Komahime and others.

Xiuci naturally knew that he couldn't understand the battle formation, so he finally adjusted his position and confirmed that he was a leader.

He handed over the front-line command tasks to Asano Nagamasa and Toyotomi Hidekatsu, while he indulged in the rear. This appearance is very similar to Hideyoshi in the Korean War.

The difference is that at that time, Hideyoshi was a real person in the world, but at this moment, Hideyoshi has not even stepped through the door.

As the most isolated castle in the Uesugi family territory, Uozu Castle became the westernmost city of the Uesugi family after Hideyoshi issued the "Decree of Abandoned Castle" and "One Domain, One Country, One City".

Uozu Castle, which is far away from the skills, has been valued by Uesugi Kekatsu. During this time, many additions have been made.

Especially in the past few years, Uozu City has added more arrows and sculls. The city has stockpiled enough grain and rice for 2000 defenders in the city for a year, just to fight a war of attrition with you Toyotomi Hideji.

Asano Nagamasa has some level in battle, but not much, his main ability is still in execution.Facing the well-equipped hedgehog-like Uojin City, he seemed so helpless, after all, his army came from all the big names.

As for Toyotomi Hidekatsu. Hmm~
The two of them are the closest in ability but unwilling to contribute, and he can't command the other daimyos, and Hideji's Gifu Corps is even more afraid to send it up for consumption.

In the end, the good battle of Uozu turned into a sit-down battle and a siege battle, which was not in line with Hideji's original plan to take Uozu in one go while taking advantage of the heavy snow to block the road.

Xiuci was also anxious, this time he was personally in charge, how could he lose face in the first battle.

Hideji, who was in Takaoka, sent two documents to the front line of Uozu Castle a day, asking about Toyotomi Hidekatsu's progress.Toyotomi Hidekatsu had to temporarily organize several offensives in order to deal with Hideji, but they were all repelled by the defenders in the city.

The time gradually dragged on until mid-November. Hideji could no longer bear the slow-paced Asano Nagamasa, and ordered his younger brother Toyotomi Hidekatsu to guard Takaoka. The city is under siege.

(End of this chapter)