Pillars of the Wu family

The perfect performances of Ashikaga Fujimasa's friends and many small surnames really bluffed many Kanto samurai, making them mistakenly think that several powerful Kanto masters had secretly reached some kind of ulterior secret agreement, and because of this The ancient Furukawa government was a well-known big idiot, which made the samurai in the Kanto more willing to believe that this strategy must have been written by the Hojo clan.

Many samurai couldn't help marveling at the forbearance of the Hojo family. They were willing to use [-] troops to stage a big show in the country. It was just an act of showing weakness to numb the vigilance of the Kira family. It seems that the new governor of the Hojo family is also a His resourcefulness is superb, and his ability is comparable to that of the hero of Sagami Shiyasu Hojo Ujiyasu.

Nasu Ziyin was also successfully bluffed by him, especially when he heard the emissary's scripted and uninteresting analysis explaining the current plight of the Nasu family to the fullest, it made him feel trembling all over his spine , I just felt a cold air rushing from the tailbone to the back of the head, and my heart was extremely flustered.

Although Envoy Furukawa's level is not high, and he can't even do the most basic forbearance of a diplomat, his memory is still very good. He stuttered and finally said something: "Nasu Temple was in Ogurahara in the early spring of this year. He won a draw, and then won a small victory in the battle of Nango two months later, and Nasuden personally won the enemy who had injured Nasuden. Injured hatred, it can be seen that Nasuden's martial arts and military strategy are very good.

It's just that the arrogance of Oseki Misaku's shouden and Otawara Yamashiro's shouden is a bit out of place, and they even tried to contact Satake Ukyo Daifuden of Hitachi to welcome an adopted heir as the governor. due loyalty.What's more, one of the seven parties of Nasu touched the heroes of the world with his loyalty and bravery.What they did was to desecrate and trample on his father Otahara Bizen Shouziqing's lifelong reputation! "

"That's right!" The old family of the genealogy family Yi Wang Ye Zizong agreed: "Otahara Bizen Shouden is an excellent warrior admired by everyone in the Kanto Samurai family. He has made an indelible contribution to my Nasu family. There is no Bizen Shouden." Without the strong support of the Nasu family, the status of the Nasu family would not be what it is today, those two boys of the Otawara family are too much, and they want to use their kinship status to suppress the family governor and elevate themselves, it is a bit ignorant!"

Nasu Ziyin and all the confidant warriors in the room showed very approving expressions. It is obvious that Otawara Ziqing has a very good reputation in Kanto, especially Shimono Kingdom. The Nasu family's growth from weakness to strength has a direct relationship with him, and the effect is For example, the famous wise general Ogihara Masakatsu who brought prosperity to the Takeda family.He taught and cultivated two generations of excellent family governors, Takeda Shintora and Takeda Shingen, and established a solid foundation for the prosperity of the Takeda family.

The Furukawa envoy began to follow the script again: "The meaning of my Highness Gongfang is very simple. Since Oseki Misaku Shouden and Otawara Yamashiro Shouden have taken the initiative to cooperate with Hitachi Satake Ukyo Daifuden, why can't Nasu Den also cooperate with the Hojo family to make a positive move?" What about the attitude of confrontation? I believe that with the strong support of Hojo Sagami Shouden, it will definitely change the one-sided situation in the family!

In addition, the situation of Nasuden’s enemy, Utsunomiya Shimodono, must be known to everyone. Utsunomiya Shitano Shouden returned to Utsunomiya Castle with the support of many parties. During this period, he married Satake Ukyo Daifuden’s daughter as his wife. Madam, did Utsunomiya Shimono Shouden still stand on the side of the Ashina family and the Shirakawa Yuki family against Nasuden, the Satake family, the Yuki family, and the Koyama family?The so-called kinship and hatred are sometimes just a thin line, as long as it is something that is powerful to oneself, no matter how disgusting it is, I will do it! "

"It's not unreasonable to say that..." Nasu Ziyin said hesitantly: "It's just that Utsunomiya Hirozuna will not agree easily? That alliance is actually a means for him to fight against the family. The Utsunomiya family has always The Satake family did not directly face the attack, and the Satake family just borrowed their own family to deal with the Ashina family and the Shirakawa Yuuki family."

This question made Furukawa Envoy a little stuck.There seems to be no such description in his reciting manuscript, but fortunately Nasu Ziyin didn't intend to get any useful information from his embarrassing expression. His Royal Highness Fang has already contacted the elders of Utsunomiya Shimono Shouden, His Royal Highness Fang He Youbing Guard Gao Ding, and His Royal Highness Minagawa Yamashiro Mori Junzong.

Presumably Nasuden also knows that these two are powerful retainers of the Utsunomiya family, especially Haga Youbing Weiweidian, as the humerus minister of Utsunomiya Shimono, made great contributions to Utsunomiya Shimono's smooth return to Utsunomiya Castle , In addition, he also contacted Oseki Misaku to assassinate Nasuden's concubine brother Nasu Takasuke, and also exerted some influence on Nasuden's ascension to the throne of the family governor. The friendly relationship with the Hojo family has established a stable dominance system for the Utsunomiya family. I believe that Nasu Temple should understand what this means? "

Nasu Ziyin sighed and said: "This is the answer that my family wanted to get just now... Is it really a plan by Hojo Sagami Shouden? The family governor of the Utsunomiya family, Satake, rebelled against Hojo, and the Utsunomiya family's genealogy. Hojo Sosatake...it looks very interesting, if the main family kisses Hojo Sosatake, can the same effect be achieved?"

Yiwang Ye Zizong was mature and prudent. Although he was not good at strategy, he could still see some subtle doubts in this set of analysis, so he said worriedly: "It seems that it will play a similar role? It's just such a hasty anti-President Kira I feel a little uneasy!"

"It turns out that Zi Zongdian thinks so too! My family also feels very uneasy!" Nasu Ziyin tapped the floor lightly, showing a complicated heart that was wandering, hesitating for a long time and still full of worry, and said: "My Nasu family and The town government has no grudges in the past and has no grudges in the present, so it seems that it is not a very appropriate thing to offend me rashly, and I always feel that doing so will have a very negative impact on my family!"

"My Royal Highness hopes that Nasu Hall will make a gesture of joining the Anti-Kira Alliance, and can send a small amount of troops to join the Kanto Allied Forces. The main force will unite with Utsunomiya Shimono Shoudian's army to deal with the anti-Hojo people in Shimono Kingdom! It must be like this The choice will definitely let Nasuden let go of the worries in his heart!"

Envoy Furukawa let out a long breath after chanting this sentence, as if he had recited all the speeches, and Nasu Ziyin fell into deep thought again.So he boldly made a request: "What is Nasuden's thinking? No matter what Nasuden's final decision is. Should he be released first and returned to his life next time?"

"Then ask the angel to go back and report back! Tell His Royal Highness Furukawa..." Nasu Ziyin hesitated for a long time.Finally, he gritted his teeth and said, "My family will definitely go to the Furukawa Imperial Palace to participate in the grand event!"

Midsummer in June has not yet passed, and a storm hit heralds the beginning of the long rainy season. I don’t know if it was specially compensated for the lack of rain last year. This year’s rain is extraordinarily abundant. There was no lack of rain in May, which was supposed to be a slightly dry season, until the typhoon hit in June and continuous torrential rain fell.

However, in bad weather such as rain and snow, it is impossible to fight. Whether it is the Kanto samurai or the people of the Hokuriku country, they can only stay at home and stare at the continuous rain in a daze. Many retainers in Echigo are busy strengthening the river defense. Check the embankment.The embankment is strengthened every year and inspected again and again, but it is still not reassuring. The so-called embankment of a thousand miles is destroyed by ant nests, and no matter how good the embankment is left unattended for three to five years, it will inevitably collapse.

Hosokawa Fujitaka's wife Numata Muskoka is also pregnant with a child, because it is the first time she is pregnant, so Kanding Fengxing is busy serving his wife. The pregnant Numata Muskoka is also very close to her sister Numata Tanxiang, and she has a big belly every now and then. Running to the imperial palace, I happened to be chatting and joking with a group of ladies such as Aju, Princess Aya, and the married Nagao Ao in the imperial palace.

This small imperial palace seems to be the main battlefield of Mrs. Echigo's diplomacy, and the wife of Keishin Nagao who joined in later, the wife of Yukitaka Sanada also became the big sister figure in this small group.In addition, Alang, representing Uesugi Terutoro, also participated in it, and served as the convener of the newly added "Decaday Talk" event.Although Alang and Uesugi Terotora were not able to get together, but there were things that made her live very smoothly.

It is said that this event is to bring together the wives in Chunri Mountain City every ten days to discuss some topics, such as life, clothing, art, research on literature, words and songs, etc., covering all the material aspects of food, clothing, housing and transportation, as well as spiritual and cultural aspects. The platform was established in the name of enhancing understanding, strengthening stable relationships, improving the quality of wives and providing better help for the education of the next generation.

Hu Ji also deliberately built a small courtyard on the south side of the imperial palace, and Hu Ji personally named it Tingyuyuan. The wives have tried their best to strengthen ties, and wives diplomacy has obviously become another layer of relationship network second only to the relationship between the monarch and his ministers.

As the owner of the house, Hu Ji walked around a few times with a big belly, and ordered Naotora, Tan Xiang, and Yoshino to go there at different time slots, and even brought her own daughters and sons to be heard by them. Playing in the rain courtyard, I can hear a burst of cheerful laughter from the Kasuga Imperial Palace every day, so that Kira Yoshishiki’s imperial palace is left alone in the cold. This is probably the trouble of happiness. There are always some small things that make people worry .

Matsui Yukan's wife is also the eldest sister of the Numata Seven Sisters Mingxiang. She gave birth to her son Matsui Shintaro at the beginning of last month. She made an marriage with the Hosokawa Fujitaka family early on, saying that she must marry the eldest daughter of the Hosokawa family. To be the wife of their legitimate son, Hosokawa Fujitaka is also happy to prepare an in-law relationship first, which can be regarded as a strengthening of the relationship between the brothers-in-law.

The so-called Numata Seven Sisters are the seven daughters born to Numata Hikari and his step-wife Shoan-in, who were dubbed the Seven Golden Flowers by Kira Yoshitoki. Yuanxiang is the main room of Sapium Langoka, the third sister Sandalwood is the concubine of Kira Yoshishi, the fourth sister Musk is the main room of Hosokawa Fujitaka, and the fifth sister Guoxiang, the sixth sister Ruxiang, and the seventh sister Hengxiang are in the boudoir. Not yet married.

There are signs that Hikaru Numata intends to marry Kunika to Watanabe Shouzuna. His father Watanabe Takatsuna was promoted to a servant general because of his meritorious service. He is a powerful samurai among the warriors of the Mikawa faction. He became famous very early and was willing to be a Bole. Supporting many Mikawa samurai, although Watanabe Shouzuna is not obvious, but with his father's connections, he can easily inherit huge resources.

In addition, he also planned to marry Rue Xiang to Murakami Guoqing who was in Gang Yuanfu. As the only surviving son of Murakami Yoshiki, Murakami Kuniki was incorporated into the Ma Huizhong directly under the Kamiso Ashikaga family in Yiyuan Fu to receive all-round training. His father, Murakami Yoshikiyo is also a person with a very special status in the Kamiso Ashikaga family system. Although he is not the elder of the Fushiro family, he enjoys the honor of No. 1 under the elder of the Fushiro family, which is higher than another special person, Nagano Yasho.

Numata Hikari's marriage net has been quietly opened.It almost includes many important officials of the Ashikaga family.His behavior was regarded by the Long Tail Clan as an ulterior motive.Such a blatant marriage of the lineage retainers of any famous family is a very dangerous behavior, and it will easily evolve into characters like Date Tetsumune, Nagano Yezheng, and Otawara Ziqing, which will lead to great danger.

Including Nagao Jingxin and Nagao Masaki have mentioned it several times intentionally or unintentionally at the evaluation meeting. Kira Yoshitoki is very aware of the Nagao clan's fear and dissatisfaction with the behavior of the Numata family. The Numata family was a little dissatisfied, especially that Hikari Numata once spread some dangerous words about the issue of concubines in private, which made the Nagao family feel that this person was very restless.

Fortunately, this sign is still hidden in layers of fog, and Numata Hikken has never been reused.The position in the family is even worse than that of the sub-official who is more than enough than the bottom, and he is the last-ranked sub-official with few idle jobs. He does not have the qualifications to participate in the high-level evaluation meeting. He has not yet been recruited into the castle by Kiragishi The treatment of Ge Wence.

Not to mention Uesugi Terutora's status as No. 1 of the family genealogy family, but it is far behind Nagao Keishin, Nagao Masakei, Honjo Shino, and Nakajo Fujisuke. , Saito Chaoxin, Hojo Takahiro, Kurokawa Kiyomi and others can only be compared with young people like Takikawa Tokimashi, Shima Tokatsu, and Honjo Shigecho who are much lower in rank than him.

Numata Hikari has basically not done much since he joined the Kamiso Ashikaga family, or Kira Yoshishi never thought of asking him to do anything, and spent most of his time studying the cultivation of saru music, tea ceremony, and Japanese songs. The adherents basically have no right to speak in the internal meetings.The one with the closest relationship is the Catholic Church of Deda Temple who escaped from the disaster, but the relationship with his sons-in-law is not so close.The most help was that a few people helped Numata Hikari to get Wakasa Echizen to take the second job.

A smart samurai would not ask meaningless questions, so Terutora Uesugi didn’t ask Kira Yoshito why he indulged Hikari Numata and had an unscrupulous marriage, because he knew very well that even if he asked, he would not get the answer he wanted. As long as the Numata family is still a A powerless family of relatives, no matter how big his actions are, it will not affect anyone.

Moreover, Tanka Numata doesn't seem to like Hikaru Numata's nagging, and has become a pair of good sisters with his wife, Tiger Hime, who should be hostile. Since the birth of Sandalwood's son Matsuchiyo, the summoning has been suspended on the grounds of inconvenience. His father, Numata Mitsukane, was regarded by the Nagao family as one of the performances of the Numata family's incompetence.

Standing on the fifth-floor castle tower of Kasugayama Castle and looking out from the railing, under the white rain, the Naoetsu Town under Kasugayama has been lit up. Stumbling and stumbling, it is safer to expose some contradictions in broad daylight than to hide them under the water.

Yu hoped to use Numata Hikari's line to attract more retainers' attention, and to free retainers from the infighting between the old and new genealogy factions, the Echigo faction and the non-Echigo faction. Blood kinship gradually replaces the habit of paying attention to geographical territory. Relatives who can be seen are always easier to guard against than allies who are invisible, and because..."

Where there are people, there will be fights. How to measure the proportion of unity and cooperation and internal competition will never be solved once and for all. The internal fighting of the Kami Ashikaga family has never stopped. Everyone has relatives, friends, old friends, and personal relationships, not to mention the complicated interpersonal relationships in the Warring States Period that no one can get rid of.

A few years ago, Kirayoshi realized that there were natural divisions of power circles among the genealogy and generations, and no other samurai would take the initiative to approach another circle. For example, it was impossible for Shinano samurai to enter the circle of Echigo samurai. Xiang Echigo is divided into two circles, the old pedigree and the new pedigree, and each circle has a lot of complicated relationships and rules that make people scratch their heads.

He felt that the establishment of a solidified circle of influence similar to the hometown association based on geographical factors was very detrimental to the family governor's rule over the family business, so he raised Numata Hikaru and asked him to be a spoiler, relying on the number of Numata family daughters and When clinging to Kirayoshi, the advantage of this son-in-law was to engage in marriage activities, and gradually he really messed up the traditional geopolitical circle of influence.

For example, the family members of the Pu Dynasty had serious opposition and fierce internal strife, which was a disaster for the family governor. The surface harmony of the family members of the Pu Dynasty, like a pool of stagnant water, was actually not necessarily a good thing for the family governor. His hands are gradually proficient, and the method he uses is to use Numata Hikari as a chess piece in his hand, stir up this pool of stagnant water to make it appear more waves, and then wait for the opportunity to move.

The rain outside the window gradually intensified, and the light rain turned into a heavy rain. Kira Yoshitoki shook his neck tiredly and said to himself: "When I was in Kyoto, I didn't feel that the head of the house was so tired. I didn't feel the pressure until I went to Echigo. The number is increasing, and recently they have become more and more lazy and do not like activities. When they are busy, they also hide in the palace to accompany the wife and children. Occasionally, except for eagle hunting, hundreds of people are surrounded by hundreds of people to protect them, and they can never be found. The feeling of freedom in Echigo... this is the fate of the governor!" (To be continued...)