Prime Minister Bizen

Chapter 787 East-West War ([-]) The Army Departs to Edo
There is a reason why Tokugawa Ieyasu was in a hurry to go back, because he suddenly received the news that his son Hidetada finally did not hold back and made a mistake in his history.

The specific story begins more than 3 months ago
May of the 8th year of Qingchang was the busiest time of year for spring plowing, but at this moment the entire Kanto land seemed extremely smart, without the laughter, singing, and dancing of spring plowing in previous years, the people in the field were on the bank of the embankment. He hurriedly planted the grain for this year's spring plow under the constant urging of his head.

There must be imperfections in such a hasty planting, but the strong men have no time left to take care of these. The superiors only gave them 5 days to complete the spring plowing, and the rest needs to be taken care of by the elderly, children and women at home. .

In July, with the blowing of the conch in Fengchun City, an array flag with the pattern of gentian and five seven tungsten came out from the gate of Fengchun City, followed by a steady stream of strong soldiers.

When the people in the castle town and the village border heard the conch, they all came out of their houses and knelt down on the side of the road. They didn't know the exact time when their lord would come out, but they kept waiting for this moment, waiting for their father , husband, and son off, and wish them good fortune.

I don't know who was on the side of the road who shouted "His Royal Highness Fengchun Wansheng! Fengchun Legion Wansheng!" It caused the surrounding people to imitate the shouting.

According to the rules, when the army marches out, the people should humbly kneel and bow on both sides of the road, but even if someone stood up at this scene, the Xiu family could only smile back in relief.

This was not organized intentionally by the Xiu family. It was a sincere blessing that the people of Fengchun City discovered after knowing that all the men in the entire Kanto region had been coerced into battle.

In fact, many people know that this battle is related to the fate of the Kanto country. If it fails, I don’t know how many families will wear black and mourning.Only after "Wan Sheng" as the people said, can most of them come back alive.

Today is Xiujia's South Route Army Corps, and the Central Route Army led by his son Huijia has already gone north to surround Minoru City half a month ago, forcing the Sanada family to surrender.

What's interesting is that, even holding the letters written by Sanada Nobushige, Sanada Masayuki, and Sanada Nobukatsu father and son to persuade them to surrender, Hideka also promised to give Sanada Nobuyuki a reward of no less than 10 koku in return. Under the influence of Dao Ji, she still resisted and refused to open the city.

Hideya did not transfer Nobushige Sanada, who was the commander in chief of Ueno, to the Central Route Army for this reason.

The Xiu family was unwilling to let such a good young man fall into the brutal war of fratricide, so he simply transferred him to the team to serve as the head of the banner and the defense of the team.

The total number of Xiujia's army has reached 10, but the number of Xiujia's troops from Fengchun City this time is only more than 6000. This is because most of the army has already moved to Sagami and Musashi in the past two months two countries.

Such a large troop mobilization has lasted for such a long time and it is impossible to hide it from the eyes of the West.The Xiu family didn't intend to cover it up either, this is a country war that is not the way thousands or tens of thousands of people fought in the past, there is no possibility of opportunism, and only the big soldiers can win.

Because the tools they brought this time were elite soldiers from the Xiu family's territory, the Xiu family also intended to bring their son to the battle.

In addition to the third son Toyotomi Zhengjia (mother Itanan, wife Akashi Zento, daughter Song) who served as the deputy general in the Northern Army Corps, Toyotomi Huijia (mother Kikuhime, unmarried) and five sons Feng In addition to Chen Chaojia (mother Itanan, married to Date Masamune's daughter Goro Hachime), six sons Yuki Chaojia (mother Kai Fei Ji, married Princess Yuki family), the Hideka team also brought ten sons So Juro (Mother Kikuhime, unmarried) and eleven son Toyotomi Shigeie (mother Yako Ito, unmarried) went out to see the world together.

Toyotomi Shigeie and Sojuro are only 12 years old now, but they are indeed old enough to take Yuanfu.The black hat relative of Chong's family was Yoshishige Satake who went south in person, and the word Chong in the taboo of his name came from this.

The name Zongjuro sounds like a baby name without a Yuan suit. In fact, he is the only "quasi-samurai" in these teams who does not have a Yuan suit.

Apart from the Hui family, he is the only "di son" of the right age under the Xiu family's knees.Naturally, the first son naturally has its own great uses.

Of course, he was very dissatisfied with the result that his elder brother and younger brother both had Yuanfu, but he had no Yuanfu.

Looking at his younger brother Shigeie who was riding on a tall horse outside and being led forward by a samurai, he could only sit inside the pride with his mouth pouted all day long, being carried forward by four ashigaru, one in front and one behind.

The army set out from Fengchun City, and it was already the season of summer harvest.However, because all the strong men in the fields were recruited, those who worked in the fields were either strong women and children, or old men with gray temples and stooped bodies.

In fact, the Xiu family mobilized no more than 10 soldiers in the previous military service account preparation, and the total number of troops in Shangluo was no more than 8. It stands to reason that it is impossible for the Kanto to be so desolate.

In fact, the real mobilization ratio of the Xiu family in Kanto is much higher than this number. More than 15 males have been recruited, and the recruitment ratio has reached an ultra-high recruitment ratio of 600 per [-] shi.

The reason why there are only half of the troops in Shangluo is that 2 people need to be stationed in order to prevent problems in their hometown, and the second is because the military equipment in the hands of the Xiu family is not enough to equip 15 people. Just rations and armaments.

Although the Hide family has been planning this final battle since the closure of Kanto, the Toyoharu family's armaments have been depleted due to the previous Ouyu Conquest, the Korean War, and the Ezo Conquest.

The Xiu family was unwilling to count those unequipped cannon fodder into their own army, which would seriously affect their judgment on the combat effectiveness of both sides.

This is actually an uncommon practice at the moment. Judging from the current information at hand, the Osaka side, which has united Uesugi, Tokugawa and other daimyos, can mobilize more than 20 troops, but among them, those who are included in the battle order according to the Hideo standard It will not exceed 12.This is mainly due to the different caliber of mobilization.

From Toyochun Castle all the way to the south, when it went straight to Edo Castle in the Musang Kingdom, it would join forces with the Soma family in Iwaki, the Nakagawa clan of Kamsoso, and the Ukita clan of Anfang.

As Hideka's most important port in Kanto, Edo's importance has increased since Hideka's transfer.In this decisive battle between the eastern and western armies, Edo Castle also assumed the important task of transporting materials, armaments, and soldiers from the northeast to the south.

At this moment, the governor of Ezo, Tsunao Osafuna, had already taken part of the reinforcements from Ezo to Edo Castle by boat and got off the ship.

Whether it is for the Jurchens or the Ezo tribesmen, the Pearl City of Ezo is already the most prosperous city in their cognition.

So much so that when I saw the face on the shore and didn't feel the outline of the city when I was on the sea boat, I exclaimed in amazement.Until they actually set foot on this land and walked on the stone embankment, they felt a completely different feeling from Ezo, and they felt that this was like a "heavenly kingdom".

There is a statue of a god hanging around the necks of many Eizu soldiers, which is sculpted in the outline of Xiujia, which is the image of Dongzhao God that Xiujia has donated in Ezo for more than ten years.

In order to welcome the arrival of Hideo, Kamifune Tsunade had been waiting outside Edo Castle with several important Ezo tribe leaders early on.

When these leaders saw the tens of thousands of troops in neat armor and strict military appearance, compared with the chaotic tribesmen in their own tribal camp, they were even more afraid of the Xiu family in their hearts.

When they saw the figure on the horse, their eyes widened immediately. Isn't this the deity of Dongzhao Daming God they worshiped all day in the Ezo temple?
I don't know who took the lead, but he knelt down first, and shouted excitedly: "See you under the crown of God Dongzhao!"

With someone taking the lead, those Ezo tribesmen and Jurchen soldiers knelt aside one after another, and then shouted, "Long live the Great God of Dongzhao."

This is exactly the effect Hideka wanted for the religion he designed in his own image when he was in Bizen!
The former Governor of Ezo, Kamei Tomoki, who had long since returned to his hometown with the Hide family, took the opportunity to introduce, "This is the human incarnation of Tosho Daimyo, whom you worship every day, and is our lord and your lord. You are called by God today to fight for God!"

ZJ belief is the most steadfast ideological will. The arrival of Xiujia brought advanced culture and productivity to the Ezo tribe.

In the past, they could only live by fishing, hunting and gathering fruits. Every winter, the tribes could only conquer each other and plunder the winter items accumulated by other tribes.

With the arrival of Zhida Xiu's family, they exchanged food for relatively useless furs and other soil items in their hands. After the expansion of potatoes, they brought a stable source of food to these tribes.

When the Ezo Governor’s Mansion expanded the planting of potatoes, he kept saying to these Ezo tribes and assimilated aborigines and Jurchens, “This is something bestowed on them by Dongzhao Daming God.”

They solved the problem of food and clothing, no longer had to risk their lives to plunder for food, and had more time to study and develop, so they naturally had incomparable admiration for the Xiu family.

Among the many tribes in Ezo, regardless of the size of the tribe, the shrine of the Tozhao Daming God is always built on a high platform, together with the shrine and the shrine, it is the highest position in the whole tribe, and it will always be the first to receive the sunshine of Dongri where.

Such a design is enough to see how much the Ezo Ainu and Jurchen people respect Hideka.

Now that they have finally seen the incarnation of Dongzhao Damingshen, the natives who have enjoyed the gifts of the Xiu family for many years are naturally willing to fight for their beliefs.

"I am willing to die for the Son of God~"

Since there were tens of thousands of soldiers in this group, the commotion outside Edo City was really a bit loud.It not only attracted the people of the castle town to stop, but also attracted the attention of Nakagawa Hidemasa and Ukita Kanjia who were stationed here waiting for Hideka.

As the cousin of the Xiu family, the Xiu family didn't treat him during the Eizu expedition, but this time it was about the national war, so they still had to treat him to the end.

After the two had a heart-to-heart talk last time, coupled with Xiujia's care for his son, the mutual misunderstanding has long since been resolved, but when Ukita Kanjia saw that Xiujia was called a god by the Eizo people, his heart still couldn't help trembling up.

For this younger brother, Yu Xita's family still knows a little bit about it.He is a gentleman who does not stand behind walls. In this place in Japan, he is the only one who dares to call himself a god if he is not dead.

Back then, he had participated in the process of establishing the gods in Ezo, but after so many years, he had long forgotten about it, and he didn't even think that Xiujia's operation would have any effect.

Until today, when he saw more than ten thousand Ainu people knelt on the ground and shouted "Long live Dongzhao Daimyojin" to Xiujia, he realized that his younger brother had been planning for this moment for almost 20 years!

"That guy." Thinking of this, Ukita Kanka couldn't help but feel chills down his spine.

One must know that 20 years ago, his Xiu family had only just entered Yuanfu not long ago!

He is still the boy who fought behind that Sekibaku Hideyoshi who was still called Chikuzen Mamoru!

He is still the middle daimyo who knows only Bizen, Misaku Ryogoku, and part of Bichu, and the total stone height does not exceed 60 stone!
However, he is already planning for the present. He has used religious beliefs to control a group of ignorant natives early on, developed and armed them, and provided himself with an extra army beyond his own strength!

Ukita Kanka is a rebellious person, which is especially obvious after he became an independent daimyo.Although he was born in the Yuxi family, he became the puppet of the Xiu family and obeyed the deployment of the Xiu family.

Although Sanuki only has Zhixing with 18 stone, in his eyes, he is on the same level as the older daimyo, and they are all Hideyoshi's retainers.

But when he looked at daimyos who were younger than him, he no longer regarded them as being on the same level as himself, and would often look down on others.

Even though he was reduced to 5 koku in Anfang, he has always dealt with the three daimyos beside him, Hideya, Tokugawa, and Nakagawa, in an equal tone, and he doesn't feel that his knowledge of 5 koku needs to be humbled at all. The place.

But at this moment, he suddenly felt how stupid his original decision was, and he no longer had the unruly appearance of the past.

If Xiujia is really the man who has counted for the next 20 years, then his betrayal at the beginning must have made him very dissatisfied
If I had continued to keep pace with the Xiu family back then, I'm afraid I would have become his most trusted daimyo, definitely surpassing the existence of His Highness Koriyama!

Kamifune Tsunao prepared a sumptuous dinner for Xiujia and the sons of Xiujia. Since Edo is close to the sea, sea fish dishes are naturally an indispensable part of the banquet.

But since it was wartime, there was no wine at the banquet, and the daimyos, including the Xiu family, complimented each other with tea instead of wine.

Such a situation is full of curiosity for Sojuro and Toyotomi Shigeie, who went out with the army for the first time.

Since this is the first time for the two of them, Xiujia specially prepared a set of miniature footwear for the two of them just like he did before.In addition, the samurai that the Xiu family temporarily arranged for them stood behind them, not to mention that they really looked like the Xiu family back then.

The difference is that Toyotomi Shige's family has been in Yuanfu, and his hair has been shaved into Tsukidai's head. Although Sojuro is from the same family, he does not have Yuanfu, and the hair on his head is still intact. In Hideya's opinion This looks much more energetic than Chong's family.

After the banquet, Ukita Kanka did not leave. After a day of thinking, he finally mustered up the courage to formally apologize to Xiujia.

Although the previous misunderstanding was resolved, the interpreter's heart was still rebellious, and he didn't take this matter too seriously.It wasn't until today that he saw the Xiu family's plan for nearly 20 years that he felt fear for this middle-aged man who was 9 years younger than himself for the first time.

The Xiu family seemed to have expected his arrival a long time ago, and had brought their two sons and several adopted sons to sit in the hall and waited for his arrival.

As soon as the two met, the rebellious Ukita Kanjia actually softened his knees, knelt down on the tatami with a [plop] sound, and pleaded guilty to Xiujia on the ground.

"The sinner, Qilang Bingwei, has seen His Highness Youfu. I came here today to plead guilty to the Youfu for the tyranny of the past. I also hope that Youfu Nian will forgive us because we are from the same sect."

When he spoke, his voice was a little trembling, and he didn't even dare to call his own name directly, but called himself by [common name].

With his attitude, even his sons Tsugawa Heishiro Katsuie and his sons Ukita and Kuro Shigeyuki were a little surprised by his father's performance today.

(End of this chapter)