Pillars of the Wu family

"As generals, we can do things cheaply, but we can't easily decide the timing of a big battle. It is better to follow the orders of the general." The mature and prudent Kakizaki Jing family didn't take his proposal seriously. The Hojo army would definitely not be so easy to deal with, let alone No one has any idea of ​​the true status of the Beitiao Army. Wouldn't it be embarrassing to rush forward and be ambushed again?

Saito Chaoxin was so excited that he was willing to give up so easily, but he saw Kakizaki Keijia's resolute attitude and asked: "Are I just waiting for this opportunity to slip away from my fingertips? It’s not that there is no chance of a fight! As long as the main force of the Hojo Army is defeated, the Sagami Kingdom can be taken in one fell swoop!”

The Kakizaki Keizaki family knew that Saito Asanobu wanted to make greater contributions, but he was a little too concerned, and kindly reminded: "No! My Jing family thinks it's better to wait, and Yezhou is too. Generals who are experienced in military affairs should know that the most taboo thing in marching and fighting is to be eager for quick success. The more optimistic the opportunity, the more likely it is a flaw. We have a heavy responsibility and we should never act rashly at this time. You are also making mistakes, and you will be punished by military law if you lose the joint battle, presumably Yezhou understands the majesty of the law!"

These few insignificant words finally woke up Saito Asanobu. Only now did he realize that his proposal was a bit exaggerated. It proves that the Hojo family is a soft persimmon that can be pinched casually, even if the Hojo family is really soft, it is not something the two of them can pinch casually.

Previously, the Hojo clan did not dare to confront Kira's army, mainly because Terutora Uesugi led an army of [-] to invade the Musashi Kingdom, with great prestige and strength, and the momentum to sweep the Kanto.All the belongings of the Beitiao Army were smashed together, and there were only [-] troops.Such a big gap made the Hojo Army desperately fight.

The reason why the Hojo family sent troops at this moment is not too difficult to guess.The situation around Hojo's house is gradually deteriorating. Several busy lines are either routed all the way or caged. The room left for the Hojo Clan to operate is much worse than half a year ago. Under such circumstances, the Hojo Clan is determined to fight. strangeness.

The Hojo clan was very disappointed by the withdrawal of the Kira army without hesitation to Tamawa Castle. He originally had a set of complicated strategies to deal with the two Kira armies. The cunning was far beyond his expectations, and he clearly had absolute advantages in equipment, training, and fighting will.In terms of military strength, no one is afraid of anyone, but even with such an advantage, they dare not attack.

As the days passed, the Kira army on the other side of the river seemed to be determined to use the tactic of besieging three queues and one to kill Hojo Shige in Tamanawa Castle. The group tried to persuade him several times, but it didn't work. Seeing that his morale was declining day by day, if he couldn't take more actions, maybe his main force would collapse first when the autumn harvest came.

The Hojo Clan vented his anger, and then sat down and sighed: "This Kira family is really difficult! They even implemented the policy of separating soldiers from peasants, so that Ashigaru can serve all year round without having to take care of the work in the fields. Not to mention Worrying about the autumn harvest, if my family spends it like this, it will be absolutely useless!

The warriors had to eat, and the peasants had to collect grain.We only need to wait until the busy farming period before the autumn harvest, and all the troops except the main force of our family will be disbanded. At that time, what will our family have to fight against Kira's army?I didn't think the Kira Army was so powerful before, but I didn't know that this family was not easy to manage until I became the governor of the family, and the Kira family was even more difficult to deal with! "

Ogasawara Yasuhiro felt that if he didn't raise any opinions, the governor would become decadent, so he suggested: "My lord, don't worry! Why don't you order Hitaroku Jieden to lead the army to withdraw from Yusheng City?"

"Let Hitachisukeden lead the army to withdraw from Tamawa Castle! Harima Shouden is not joking?" Hojo Ujimasa seemed to have misunderstood, staring at Ogasawara Yasuhiro for fear that his imperial military adviser would really become a psychopath. The Pudai vassals present also showed expressions of disbelief, and some young warriors showed expressions of disdain, as if they thought that the military adviser must have a brain problem.

Ogasawara Yasuhiro ignored the questioning and ridicule of the retainers, bowed respectfully and said: "My lord, you are right! Your subject's suggestion is to ask Hojo Hitachisuke to lead the army to withdraw from Tamanasu Castle. Only this strategy can be achieved. With the goal of breaking the deadlock, the main concern must be that the current deadlock cannot be broken!"

"... Deadlock! It seems to be true!" Hojo Ujimasa raised his eyebrows, carefully considering the delicate situation in front of him, it is really a deadlock. The Kira Army's 4000 troops surrounded the [-]-man guarded Tamanagi Castle, fighting and stopping like It is completely different from Uesugi Terutoro's military habits like playing a house, and it can also be seen that Uesugi Terotora attaches great importance to and fears the Hojo Army.

It has been several years since the Kira Army and the Hojo Army have collided with each other. Since the Battle of Takayama in the past few years, the Hojo Army has used a series of victories to restore morale. If it is said that the Hojo Army is a group of parallel importers with no strength, no one will believe it. At first glance, it seems that the fighting power of the Hojo army is not as good as that of the Takeda army, but the Hojo family has more means and is more difficult to deal with. It is really hard to say who is more powerful than the Takeda army.

In the case of a small difference in strength, there is no certainty of victory before the war has started. Zhuge Liang's tricks can only appear in dramas. In reality, no general dares to make rash military decisions, even if he is known as a big parallel importer. Zhao Kuo, who is a big grass bag, is actually very good at commanding troops, but he met Bai Qi, who can be called the invincible killer.

Terotora Uesugi would not be so arrogant that he could use 3 people to say that he would crush the Hojo Army 100%. If a military adventure achieves a big victory, it may not be so successful if he is asked to come again at a different time and place. It is also very possible that a certain military adventure fails and suffers a big loss.

As the saying goes, if you don’t think about victory, you think about defeat first. It is actually a normal mindset for the Kira army not to dare to attack when they have nothing to do. The concept of war is complicated to say the least. Violent means, since wars are mutually hostile for the benefit of each other, there will always be a situation where the forces are evenly matched or one side is relatively weaker and the other is stronger.

The strong are more inclined to use calm tactics.Straightforward narration is as bland and tasteless as drinking plain water.Although it seems to be a very boring and stupid way.But it is a magic weapon that is regarded as the standard by all ancient and modern times, but the weaker side does not have the capital to use this kind of tactics. He can only find an opportunity to sneak attack or set a trap for the enemy to take advantage of. This is the way to act. The strong use the majestic and righteous way, while the weak use the dangerous and cunning way.

Terutora Uesugi is unwilling to take the risk of trying to win with a small probability. He only needs to drag on and capture Tamanagawa Castle, and he can slowly push the Hojo family into a corner with a step-by-step suppression strategy, and the Hojo clan administration is exactly the opposite of his idea.The choices before the Hojo Clan were very limited, either to fight or be trapped in Odawara Castle and wait for death. There was no third way to choose.

When the Hojo Clan heard that Ogasawara Yasuhiro suggested that he abandon Tamanawa Castle and let Hojo Hitachi Shigeru withdraw with [-] defenders, his first reaction was that the military adviser's head must have been burned, or he would accept Kira He came to speak for the Kira family with bribes from his family, and the next moment he felt that the latter was unlikely, and the former seemed unlikely, and he didn't realize the important meaning hidden in it until he heard the specific explanation.

Yamato Haruto said: "Harima Shouden's suggestion is very good. This stalemate was brought about by the Kira army. The purpose is to further compress and isolate the activity space of my Hojo family. Although the step-by-step expansion tactics are inefficient, they can suppress us for a long time. The morale and vigor of the samurai. It is absolutely impossible for the Kira army to siege the city and attack it. It is absolutely impossible for Tamanagi Castle to last until the end of the autumn harvest. I believe Uesugi Tanseiden should be thinking about stepping up the attack rhythm step by step and slowly consuming Tamanagi Castle over time. will to resist until annexation."

Ise Zhenyun continued: "This kind of tactics is extremely detrimental to my Hojo family. Letting this stalemate continue will only push us into greater failure. Why don't we take this opportunity to let Hojo Hitachi pretend As the hearts of the people in the city fluctuated and the morale was low, he took advantage of the dark night when Kira's army was carrying it and withdrew from Tamanawa Castle overnight. At that time, the impasse will be resolved on its own.”

Hojo Shizheng made a final decision without saying a word: "Then it's decided! Execute as soon as possible!"

……

Just as the battle of Higashi Sagami was in full swing, Yoshiaki Satake summoned important ministers to hold an evaluation meeting in Ota Castle in the Hitachi Kingdom. Yoshiaki Satake's son Jiro Satake attended the meeting as the successor of the governor. It wasn't the first time that Satake Yoshishige attended the evaluation meeting. Although he was under 15 years old, he had already completed his first battle in the Shimogoku attack a few months ago.

Ever since the Kwantung Allied Forces fought badly in Xiaso Country, the Satake family transferred the main force from Xiaso Country back to the country to continue to strengthen the penetration of the central part of Hitachi Kingdom, especially when the Kira Army captured Musashi Kingdom with lightning speed. The Satake family's enthusiasm for marching into the Kanto region poured cold water, and at the suggestion of the governor, they quickly decided to shift their focus to the advancement of Hitachi High School.

Satake Yoshiaki's complexion is not very good. He is naturally weak and suffers from minor illnesses from time to time. If it is not for his good appearance and gorgeous clothes, people will not be mistaken for his identity. With his sallow complexion and thin appearance, he really looks like a malnourished country Farmer, Yoshiaki Satake coughed lightly and said, "Look, gentlemen, this is a letter from His Royal Highness Furukawa to our family, which says that we will invite our family to send troops to the country to resist the brutal and brutal Kira Army. What do you guys think?"

Wada Sobu Assistant Zhao Wei said hurriedly: "My lord, this matter is absolutely wrong! That town man is the invincible Echigo Army God. He has not lost a single defeat in his life since his first battle 12 years ago, and now he is even more so. He personally led 30 strong soldiers into the Kanto region to seize the territory of the Musashi Kingdom in an instant, and immigrated [-] people into the Musashi Kingdom. Such unpredictable methods are definitely not something that my Satake family can resist!"

The generation of family members of the Satake family tree also showed a deeply appreciative expression. The Kira family was able to clean up the Hojo family who had bullied the Kanto people for decades. The strength is definitely not something their Satake family can deal with, and running to fight against the Kira family now is purely desperate.

Mori Akinao of Funao Yamashiro murmured: "What Sabusukeden said is correct, I think it's better not to get involved in the muddy waters between the Kira family and Furukawa, after all, it's also a battle between the Ashikaga Renzhi people, We will not get any benefit from rashly participating in the strife as the subordinate retainers. What's more, there are so many generals in the town government and the momentum is like a rainbow. We really shouldn't rush to hostile!"

This Funao Yamashiro Mamoru Akinao is not the descendant of the Satake family.He was originally a member of the Iwashiro family, a powerful native of Minami Mutsu. He was subordinate to Yoshiaki Satake because of his opposition to the governor of the family more than ten years ago. Since then, he has served as the leader of Mutsu's strategy. His words in Satake's house are not small, and he is also very important as a general who knows the soldiers.

The chief minister, Nemoto Kii Moriyuki, also continued: "Shouden Yamashiro mentioned that the Lord of the Town is powerful and cannot be resisted by us, and the minister should mention that the current Imperial Palace of the Furukawa is not the master of sages! Since the decline of the Furukawa Imperial Palace during the Tianwen period, the Furukawa government has been controlled by the Sagami Hojo clan. It is even less like what a noble His Royal Highness should do. On the contrary, he became more and more close to the Hojo family and was willing to act as a vanguard against Kira for him. This kind of behavior made me and the people of the Kanto country feel really sad!"

The family members of the Pudai family talked about the bad deeds of the Furukawa government, such as the Hojo family who forgot their ancestors and killed their father and brother. Harusuke Kuda, the appointment of the unidentified Matsunaga Toshi and the launch of the anti-Kira alliance, and the hasty end of the anticlimactic end, etc., have brought many negative sensory evaluations to the people of Kanto.

The people of the Guandong Kingdom are notoriously immoral.In other words, except for a few samurai who are comparable to national treasures, all the samurai in the world have no integrity, but they still have very high expectations for the government of the shogunate and the famous family of the shogunate, Furukawa.This kind of expectation is like the mentality of being filthy but expecting someone to come out of the mud.

It is understandable that I have no morals because they are land turtle lords. The Ashikaga family and the Ashikaga Lianzhis of the generals who conquered the barbarians must not be moral, because you are the role models of the samurai family and cannot be less moral than ours. The 200-year rule of the shogunate has made the Ashikaga family The brand is deeply embedded in the hearts of all samurai, even if they don't admit it or realize it, they can't express this mentality.

The same is true of the so-called Shangluo. Shangluo’s hegemony symbolizes the supreme authority of the ruling shogunate. In essence, it is another support and affirmation of the authority of the shogunate. The trickle is enough to fill the gully in the heart of any samurai, at least from the current situation.

Yoshiaki Satake didn't seem to have expected such unanimity in the objections of the family members of the genealogy generation. In the past, there would always be a few retainers or people from the country who would stand up and sing against the unified argument, but this time the invitation from the Furukawa government was surprisingly Unification, which also made him realize that the Kira family seems to be not only powerful in the military, but the means of spreading money and diplomatic propaganda have unknowingly won the hearts of the people.

Frowning and thinking for a while, just as he was about to speak, he saw his eldest son Satake Jiro Yoshitaka say loudly: "No matter how powerful the Kira family is, they are not Kanto warriors, and no matter how poor Furukawa is, they are also the co-lords of my Kanto warriors. I don’t think you can show cowardice just because the Kira family is strong! The Hojo family was also very powerful back then, do you think my Satake family was ever afraid of the Hojo family?”

"It's different..." Wada Akira still wanted to explain, but Ue Tono Hideyoshi who was beside him pulled down his sleeves, only to realize that the protagonist Satake Yoshiaki seemed to appreciate the stupid and bold son-in-law, cursed secretly and lowered his head to pretend Act as if you didn't speak.

Yoshiaki Satake coughed for a while, and said softly: "Everyone knows that the Lord of the Town is an outstanding person in the world, and he also knows that the Lord of the Town has the great ambition to swallow the Kanto. It is indeed difficult to resist with an elite army of tens of thousands, but we Kanto warriors uphold our faith and stand between heaven and earth, how can we be afraid of power and hold back, how can we sit and watch His Royal Highness Furukawa be in danger and refuse to rescue him?"

The members of the Satake family tree were stunned by his lord's righteous speech. They couldn't understand how the ruthless and dark lord turned into a brave and righteous Kanto warrior who would become the "conscience" of a Kanto warrior. The "loyal minister and good general" of Furukawa Imperial Palace.

The retainers on behalf of the spectrum whispered for a long time and still couldn't understand it. Some smart warriors seemed to see some signs of it, and secretly guessed whether there was some reason involved in it, which made Yoshiaki Satake, who has always been resourceful and skilled, make an incredible decision. Of course, more The retainers on behalf of the genealogy are still very dissatisfied with the attitude of the family governor.

In order to receive Asayama Nichijo's diplomatic activities, Wada Akira once received a large gift from the monk who spread wealth and was deceived by the monk's rhetoric. He became the vanguard of the pro-Kira faction at home out of the cannibalistic means to soften his hands. In Satake Most of the samurai in the retainer group had received "gifts" from Asayama Nichijo, and they were somewhat pro-Kira.

When He Tian Zhaowei heard the words of the family governor, he couldn't help cursing secretly: "My lord, did you eat something unclean today, and you are full of nonsense, which is completely different from the behavior of the past... I think Mr. When the Furukawa Imperial Palace was in distress, why didn’t I see that the lord was willing to lend a hand to rescue? There must be something wrong!”

Yoshiaki Satake coughed for a while, and then slowly said: "Actually, what my family wants to say is that Mr. Furukawa intends to welcome his son-in-law as the heir to the family governor of Mr. Furukawa's family. After much consideration, this family thinks that this is a very attractive proposal." Conditions, once my son of the Satake family becomes the governor of the Furukawa family, and will become the Furukawa family in the future, it will be a successful leap for my Satake family, and you will understand the meaning of it!" (To be continued. .)

ps: Thank you book friends Hattori Masashige, Thor Mitsunari, Hejian Shili, and Jane Eyre for their rewards, thank you!