The most reckless man in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 291 Despicable Nature

"How to do?"

"Now how to do?"

Muromachi, Kyoto.

The eleventh shogun Ashikaga Yoshizumi roared madly.

This brings us to how Ashikaga Yoshizumi ascended to the position of shogun.

After the Onin War, taking advantage of the decline of the Ashikaga Shogunate, Hosokawa Masatoshi seized the real power of the shogunate in one fell swoop and deposed and enthroned shoguns, becoming a powerful official who manipulated the shogunate.

At the beginning, Ashikaga Yoshitane, Hatakeyama Masanaga and others led their troops to Kawachi to attack their successor Hatakeyama Yoshitoyo. However, the opposition took advantage of Ashikaga Yoshitane's absence to launch a coup. Hosokawa Masamoto, Hino Tomiko, Ise Sadamune and others announced the dethronement of Ashikaga Yoshitane and supported Ashikaga Yoshizumi as the shogun. They then purged Ashikaga Yoshitane's followers in Kyoto, and the shogun was directly abolished, which was known as the "Meio Change."

When Hino Tomiko died, Ashikaga Yoshizumi tried to rule the country himself, and thus came into conflict with the kanrei Hosokawa Masato, who was called "half-shogun" by people at that time. Hosokawa Masato resigned from the post of kanrei and went to Tamba. Ashikaga Yoshizumi personally led his troops to comfort him and besieged Masato at Kinryuji Temple in Iwakura.

In order to take on the position of Kanrei again, Hosokawa Masamoto reached an agreement with Ise Sadamune and sent people to kill Ashikaga Yoshitane's younger brother, Jissoin Ashikaga Yoshitada, who stayed in Kyoto.

Ashikaga Yoshitada was the next generation shogun heir that Hosokawa Masamune had his eyes on. Because Ashikaga Yoshizumi wanted to rule the country himself and was unwilling to be a puppet, Hosokawa Masamune began looking for the next generation shogun early on. However, the murder of Ashikaga Yoshitada made Hosokawa Masamune's plan to depose Ashikaga Yoshizumi come to nothing. Since then, Hosokawa Masamune and Ashikaga Yoshizumi have been trying to maintain their relationship, and the relationship between the two sides has temporarily eased.

Until Hosokawa Masamune was assassinated by a family samurai, the Hosokawa clan (Kyoshio family) was caught up in an internal strife for the position of family head (Eisho Disarray), and Ashikaga Yoshizumi had no time to rejoice. As a result, Ashikaga Yoshitane and Ouchi Yoshioki called on daimyos from all over the country to unite and march on Kyoto.

At this critical juncture, the hidden dangers caused by Hosokawa Masato's previous outrageous operations completely erupted.

Hosokawa Masamoto is a very interesting person. He gave his biological son Hosokawa Sumiyuki to Kujo Masaki as his son, and he adopted two more sons, Hosokawa Sumimoto and Hosokawa Takakuni. As a result, these three sons fought fiercely for the position of family head, but he himself could not control the situation, and was eventually killed by Konishi Motoharu of Hosokawa Sumiyuki's faction.

After Hosokawa Masatoshi was assassinated, Hosokawa Sumiyuki and Hosokawa Sumimoto continued to compete for the position of family heir, and the final winner was Hosokawa Sumimoto. Hosokawa Sumiyuki was forced to commit suicide by Hosokawa Takakuni.

After this series of chaotic events, there were actually only three people who actually held power in the Muromachi shogunate.

Hosokawa Summoto, Hosokawa Takakuni, Ise Sadamune, and a puppet shogun Ashikaga Yoshizumi.

However, whether it was the two overlords of the Hosokawa clan or the Kyoto noble Ise Sadamune, they all looked pale and in a state of panic.

Faced with Ashikaga Yoshisumi's roar, the three didn't know how to respond.

How to answer?

At this moment, outside the city of Kyoto, there were densely packed Ming soldiers standing!
Moreover, the commander of this elite force is none other than Tang Hao, Marquis of Zhongshan of the Ming Dynasty!

Although the ruling power of the Ashikaga shogunate declined after the Onin War, they knew clearly about the massacre on Tsushima Island!

It was this Ming Dynasty Marquis Zhongshan who personally led the troops and massacred the entire Japanese population on Tsushima Island. He also piled up their corpses together to build a Jingguan in order to deter those Japanese people who dared to disguise themselves as pirates and go out to sea to plunder the coast of the Ming Dynasty!

When the shogunate learned about this matter, they were still very scared, fearing that the Ming Dynasty's Zhongshan Marquis would lead his troops to attack the Japanese mainland in anger.

After all, one's own family knows one's own business. Not to mention that the Muromachi shogunate is now just an empty shell, even during the most powerful period of the third shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, he was frightened by the terrifying navy of the Ming Dynasty and immediately surrendered and paid tribute. The two sides are simply not on the same level.

Over the years, the Muromachi shogunate made a lot of money from the Kanko trade with the Ming Dynasty, which was enough to barely maintain the dignity of the shogunate.

However, after the Onin War, local daimyo saw the weakness of the Muromachi shogunate, so they no longer obeyed the shogunate's orders. They could not participate in the Kanko trade with the Ming Dynasty, so they simply transformed themselves into Japanese pirates, formed a fleet, and went to the Ming Dynasty to plunder at will.

The shogunate had no way to deal with this and was powerless to stop it.

Fortunately, the Ming Dynasty, either stupid or crazy, implemented a national policy of maritime ban. They had an invincible navy but did not allow the navy to go out to sea. Therefore, the people in the shogunate were relieved and allowed these local daimyos to plunder the coast of the Ming Dynasty.

However, the Tsushima incident undoubtedly slapped them hard in the face.

The Ming navy cannot go out to sea?
Who massacred the Japanese people on Tsushima Island?
Before the shogunate could respond and restrict those local daimyo from continuing to plunder the Ming Dynasty, a series of events broke out.

First, Hosokawa Masamoto was assassinated by his own son, Hosokawa Sumiyuki, and then his two adopted sons, Hosokawa Sumimoto and Hosokawa Takakuni, joined forces to kill their own son Hosokawa Sumiyuki. Before Ashikaga Yoshizumi could breathe a sigh of relief, Ouchi Yoshioki, in the name of Ashikaga Yoshitane, summoned local daimyo to jointly march into Kyoto.

The armies of Hosokawa Sumimoto and Hosokawa Takakuni were defeated step by step and were no match for Ouchi Yoshioki.

However, before they could despair, something even more desperate happened.

The Ming Dynasty's Zhongshan Marquis personally led a large army to land at Hyogo-zu. After occupying Hyogo-zu, he directly led 8,000 elite soldiers to attack Kyoto. He was unstoppable all the way and had no enemies to match him. In less than ten days, he reached the outskirts of Kyoto!

This sudden change completely stunned Ashikaga Yoshizumi's shogunate.

Not to mention that this Ming Dynasty Zhongshan Marquis also sent troops under the pretext of helping Ashikaga Yoshitane to restore the monarchy and restore order!

The phrase "set things right" is used in a very intriguing way.

Because Ashikaga Yoshitane was the shogun appointed by Emperor Go-Tsuchimikado himself, Hosokawa Masamoto, Hino Tomiko, Ise Sadamune and others launched the rebellion while Ashikaga Yoshitane was away to quell the rebellion, announced the dethronement of Ashikaga Yoshitane, and then supported Ashikaga Yoshizumi as the shogun, without getting the emperor's approval at all!
Although the emperor has always been just a mascot, they have the right to be righteous. Otherwise, why would the shogunate exist? Wouldn't it be better to just overthrow the so-called Japanese royal family and become the emperor themselves?

Without the approval of the Emperor and the court, Ashikaga Yoshizumi was not legitimate, not to mention that he was just a puppet after he came to power. He finally waited until the old witch Hino Tomiko died of illness and wanted to rule the country himself, but found that Hosokawa Masato was a more difficult opponent.

As a result, now, with the death of Hosokawa Masamune, Ashikaga Yoshizumi's shogunate collapsed directly. Not only did it provoke a counterattack from Ashikaga Yoshitane, but it also attracted the heavenly soldiers and generals of the Ming Dynasty. What should they do?

Could it be that Ashikaga Yoshizumi can only be a puppet in this life, and now he can't even be a puppet?
No one answered because they didn't know what to do.

Forget about continuing to fight against the coalition forces of Ouchi Yoshioki and Ashikaga Yoshitane. The 8,000 Ming soldiers commanded by the Ming Zhongshan Marquis outside the city are enough to massacre the entire Kyoto!

Hosokawa Summoto and Ise Sadamune were still discussing, trying to find a glimmer of hope in the desperate situation.

However, Hosokawa Takakuni remained silent, and he already had a vague answer in his heart.

Because his sister married Tanyama Naojun, who supported the former shogun Ashikaga Yoshitane, so relying on this relationship, it is not impossible for Hosokawa Takakuni to... temporarily switch sides!
At such a critical moment, if you make the wrong choice, you will end up in defeat and death.

But if he made the right choice, then he, Hosokawa Takakuni, might be able to unify the entire Hosokawa clan, and then welcome the Ming Dynasty soldiers into Kyoto to restore order!
With such great achievements, when the Ming Dynasty soldiers leave, Ashikaga Yoshitane might give him, Hosokawa Takakuni, a position as the governor of the shogunate, and he would be the next Hosokawa Masato!
When he thought of this, Hosokawa Takakuni's heart suddenly became hot, and even the look in his eyes when he looked at Hosokawa Summoto was filled with murderous intent.

Ashikaga Yoshizumi looked at the three powerful ministers with despair on his face, but it was of no use.

After discussing for a long time, it seemed that they had no choice but to surrender.

After hastily finishing the meeting, Hosokawa Takakuni returned to his home and immediately summoned his trusted forces.

In fact, after Hosokawa Sumimoto and Hosokawa Takakuni joined forces to kill Hosokawa Sumimoto, Hosokawa Sumimoto turned his attention to Hosokawa Takakuni, his nominal brother. After all, he was also a strong contender for the position of head of the Hosokawa family. Although Hosokawa Sumimoto did not take direct action, the overt and covert suppression and weakening still existed. Therefore, at this moment, Hosokawa Takakuni's trusted forces were only two or three hundred people, but this was enough.

Hosokawa Takakuni discussed the battle plan with his confidants, which was nothing more than fighting for the East Gate, using the name of supporting Ashikaga Yoshitane's restoration, and then welcoming the Ming Dynasty soldiers into Kyoto.

As long as the Ming Dynasty soldiers entered Kyoto, with the 5,000 or so troops of Hosokawa Sumimoto, they would not be able to resist these heavenly soldiers and generals. Kyoto would then change hands, and Hosokawa Takakuni would take the opportunity to stand up and call for the surrender of the entire Hosokawa clan.

The plan was perfect, at least that's what Takakuni Hosokawa thought.

So he started quickly and just had to wait until midnight.

At this moment, in the Ming army camp outside Kyoto, all the generals were still discussing matters.

"Although this Kyoto looks like a miniature version of the capital, the city walls are still that high. If we attack directly, the casualties among the soldiers will surely be high..."

"That's right. We don't have any siege equipment with us. We don't recommend a direct attack!"

"Then how can we get in without fighting? Wait for them to surrender?"

"Don't forget that to the west there is the coalition of Ouchi Yoshioki and Ashikaga Yoshitane, and the two thousand soldiers led by Ma Yong and Deng Boyan are also in it!"

"Why not wait for these Japanese to fight each other? Then when Ma Yong, Deng Boyan and the others go in, we can just open the city gate!"

"It's not that easy. Ouchi Yoshioki is not a fool. I'm worried that he will use Ma Yong and Deng Boyan's troops as pawns and force them to attack the city. Even if they succeed, he won't let them enter Kyoto..."

The generals talked about it and even started arguing about it.

They were eager to find a strategy to defeat the enemy because the army could not stay here for long.

One was the problem of food and fresh water. Because of the emergency march, they did not carry much.

The second is that they are fighting in a foreign land, surrounded by wolves, and they are now deep in the heart of Japan. If they do not resolve the battle and attack Kyoto as soon as possible, if these local daimyos of Japan come to Beijing to defend the king, their army will even be in danger of being wiped out!

The last one is purely out of excitement. They will charge into the capital of Ming Dynasty and capture the fake emperor of Japan and the shogun. The core area of ​​Japan will then fall completely into the hands of Ming Dynasty. Then the whole of Japan will open its arms to Ming Dynasty and take whatever it wants!

However, the key point is that if they continue to attack at all costs, too many soldiers will be killed. Even if they take the capital, they may not be able to defend it! Therefore, a group of generals began to argue fiercely, and even had the intention of fighting.

Tang Hao had been sitting in the main seat, watching the scene in front of him with a smile on his face.

These generals will go to various places to guard a place in the future, so each of their thoughts is worth paying attention to, and their personality traits and shortcomings can also be seen from them.

Tang Mu started cursing at the one-eyed Lei Xiong, then he noticed that his master was laughing at him, so he immediately shut up.

Upon seeing this, the other generals also came to their senses and shut their mouths obediently.

"Are you done arguing? Finished scolding? Do you want to fight?" Tang Hao asked with a smile.

All the generals lowered their heads silently, not daring to say a word.

Only Tang Mu was brave enough to ask with a smile: "My Lord, how do we fight next?"

"We can't just wait here forever. We have problems with food, fresh water, and enemy reinforcements... these are all difficult problems!"

Tang Hao stretched lazily, then held his chin and glanced at the generals.

"Wait!"

"Within three days, changes will happen in Kyoto!"

As soon as these words came out, everyone was shocked.

They don't understand where their Lord gets such confidence from!
"What you analyzed earlier all makes sense."

"Based on the considerations of the soldiers, a strong attack is not advisable."

"But considering the situation, our army must attack Kyoto as soon as possible, otherwise there will be a danger of annihilation!"

"But you have forgotten one thing, that is, the Japanese army in Kyoto has fallen into a desperate situation, and these Japanese are despicable by nature. In this life-and-death situation, it is too easy for them to do something like turning against their master and seeking glory!"

"Conquering the heart is the most important thing, conquering the city is the second. You must remember this firmly. Whenever you have the chance, do not let your soldiers suffer unnecessary casualties!"

After hearing this, the generals fell into deep thought.

However, An Guo put forward a different opinion.

"My Lord, we cannot rely on the enemy's character when marching to war. What if these Japanese don't surrender within three days?"

Tang Hao looked at An Guo deeply and smiled with relief.

"Then let's attack with force!"

"Three days is enough time for the soldiers to build some improvised siege equipment. You will be in charge of this."

"The rest of the generals will take turns guarding and harassing the enemy city. You are not allowed to attack without authorization. Anyone who disobeys this order will be executed!"

As soon as the word "behead" was uttered, the generals immediately became solemn.

However, at this moment, a scout hurriedly rode his horse straight to the general's tent, then dismounted and rushed into the tent, knelt down and shouted loudly.

"My Lord, there is a change in the enemy city!"

"At midnight, shouts and screams were heard from inside the city gate, and there was also fire shooting up into the sky. The city gate was wide open, as if something unexpected had happened!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Tang Hao stood up suddenly.

"Lei Xiong Chang Kuohai, lead the Zhan Pei Camp and the Xian Deng Camp to immediately attack and seize the city gate!"

Lei Xiong and Chang Kuohai were overjoyed and left after receiving the order.

An Guo seemed a little worried and couldn't help but remind him: "My Lord, could this be a trap set by the enemy? What if we become trapped in the jar..."

"You are the cuckold!" Tang Hao cursed with a smile, "Whether it is a trap or not, the Japanese army's arrows are just sharper!"

"As long as our army enters the city gate, who can resist us?"

"Go ahead and take over Kyoto. I will be waiting for good news here!"

Because of Tang Hao's change in mentality, he no longer had any interest in Japan, and had no intention of fighting and killing people personally.

The generals didn't waste any time and led their elite troops directly to the east gate of Kyoto.

At this moment, Hosokawa Takakuni was leading his trusted forces to guard the city gate tightly.

"damn it!"

"Why haven't these Ming troops come yet?"

Seeing his elite soldiers falling to the ground one after another, Hosokawa Takakuni couldn't help but ask questions.

Although he failed to establish direct contact with the Ming army, he deliberately set fire to his own mansion before taking action. The flames in the sky and the shouts of killing were enough to prove that something had happened in Kyoto.

As long as the Marquis of Zhongshan in the Ming Dynasty is not a fool, he will definitely seize the opportunity and take the chance to rush into Kyoto!
But after fighting for so long at the city gate, all of his trusted men were about to die, why didn't these damn Ming troops come? !
Just as he was wondering, Hosokawa Sumimoto arrived on horseback, and when he saw the situation he immediately understood what was going on.

"Hosokawa Takakuni, you damned traitor!"

"If you betray the Emperor and the shogunate, you will surely die without a burial place!"

Hosokawa Takakuni said loudly: "The ones who betrayed the Emperor are you traitors!"

"General Yoshitane is the Shogun appointed by the Emperor himself. What's wrong with us supporting General Yoshitane to restore the throne?"

"You, the samurai retainers of the Hosokawa clan and the samurai of the shogunate, can't you see the situation clearly?"

"General Yizhen has been recognized by the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming soldiers are here to help him restore the Ming Dynasty. If you don't wake up, you will die in vain!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the two sides who were fighting stopped tacitly.

After all, they are just family warriors who don’t get much salary on a daily basis. It’s not worth it for them to fight for power and profit with these powerful people!

"kill him!"

Hosokawa Summoto shouted angrily.

However, the next moment, deafening shouts of killing rang out.

One-eyed Lei Xiong rushed into the city gate first, then laughed wildly: "Hahaha..."

"My men, kill them all, leaving no one alive!"

Hosokawa Takakuni was stunned when he heard this, and hurriedly shouted: "Lord Tianjiang, I am Hosokawa Takakuni, and I am the one who supports General Yoshitane's restoration..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lei Xiong chopped with his sword, and the head of the brave man Hosokawa Takakuni flew into the air. Until his death, he could not figure out what went wrong.

His grand ambition is only one step away!
Lei Xiong chopped the fly to death, then joined the battlefield cursing.

"What is Hosokawa Takakuni?"

"What General Yoshitane?"

"I don't know him!"

"Kill, kill, kill!"

"Leave no one behind!"

(End of this chapter)