Pillars of the Wu family

Yuki Qingchao shook her head and smiled wryly: "No! If you really do this, you will be ridiculed by the town government! I have been a loyal minister of Furukawa's Fang family for hundreds of years, so if I donate it like this, it will cause great damage to the statement! In the future, it will be difficult to get ahead among the retainers of the Duke of Zhenfu."

He has thought about Xiaoshan Xiugang's proposal many times, but he still dare not do it because of various concerns. If there is a chance for him to join the town government, he will definitely be willing to do so. Now he is worried that he will not be able to hold on This thick thigh will regret for life, but the Wu family always needs to support things like face, dignity and reputation. If they don't have a decent step down, it means that they may not be able to get along in the new system in the future.

It is precisely because of this concern that many samurai of Furukawa's retainer group have been hesitating, including powerful samurai such as Yuki Haruto, Koyama Hidetsuna, Utsunomiya Hirozuna, and Nasu Ziyin. The Battle of Kawai made all the samurai in the Kanto see clearly the truth that the Kira family really shouldn’t be messed with. Even Satake Yoshiaki and Date Terumune dare not raise the issue of the anti-Kira alliance. Countless Kanto samurai used their lives to understand a truth, that is this Home is many times scarier than Hojo's home.

He dare not provoke him and is willing to hug his thigh, but hugging his thigh and hypocritically wants to put on airs, and wants the Kira family to take the initiative to give him a decent step down. For example, some of the top priorities of the people in the Kanto Kingdom are mostly: "That's it. Will simply surrendering be underestimated by the new owner? Should I be more upright, righteous and awe-inspiring? My family has been guarding and surrendering for the Furukawa government for generations. You really shouldn't be as good as you Pass me a ladder so that I can come down first and take refuge in you?"

The idea seems okay.But they never considered whether the Kira family would cooperate with their actions.Yucheng Hezhan told all the Kanto warriors a truth with cruel facts.The so-called "summation" under the steps of decency is simply impossible. Yoshihiro Kira would not be considerate enough to hand them a ladder. The Yuki family who failed to seek peace lost the entire territory of Xiasuo Kingdom and Hitachi Kingdom.

The Yuki family also fell from a powerful daimyo in Kanto to the abyss, and became a second-rate Chinese lord at the end of a small and medium-sized country, probably worse than Masaozuna Sano. The blood lesson taught the Kanto samurai a cruel truth, which is The law of the jungle is the law of the jungle, if you want to seek refuge, you must act as soon as possible.Waiting for the steps to come down probably won't wait until the day of old age and death.

Sure enough, within a few days, the [-]-strong army of the Kira Legion joined forces at the foot of Oyama Castle again. Oyama Hidezuna hastily summoned military servicemen and made a gesture of guarding the castle. In September, the Kanto land turned into a golden and festive color. As the people are busy preparing for the autumn harvest, Hidezuna Koyama's request for additional military service is pushed back and forth, not to mention how dangerous it is to defend an isolated city against the pressure of the Kira Legion.

Hidezuna Koyama found out that after waiting for a few days, he could not wait for the reinforcements from the nationals and warriors from all over the world. Only then did he realize that the situation he encountered had become so bad that his retainers and warriors all wanted to abandon Koyama. , Xiaoshan Gaochao finally couldn't bear to speak.

"Qilang! Send His Highness Gongfang out immediately. My small mountain city can't afford this His Royal Highness!"

"But father..." Yuki Haruto said awkwardly, "That's His Royal Highness Furukawa!"

"Li Ling Zhi faint!" Seeing that his son was still stubborn, Xiaoshan Gaochao yelled angrily, beating his chest and stamping his feet: "You are even more stupid than an old man like me! Given the turbulent and corrupt war situation in Kanto today, which warrior can survive? Your Majesty Furukawa! You protected the Yuki family once and the family property declined, and now you want my Xiaoshan family to be protected as a bereaved dog?"

"Father calm down." Hidezuna Koyama pulled Yuuki Haruto, who was still about to argue, and said with a smile: "Father is right, the power of the town's government is now in full swing, within half a year. Snatching Xiasuo country's access to Hitachi and Shimono two countries, swaying horizontally and horizontally as if entering no one's land, so that we Kanto warriors dare not take advantage of him, but he is not a Kanto warrior after all! His Highness Furukawa is the co-lord of our Kanto warriors after all. ah!"

"Xiao Shiro...you actually listened to Qiro's words! Are you going to piss me off! You bastard!" Xiao Shan Gao trembled angrily, pointed at his son and cursed: "You bastard, you haven't become a member of the Xiao Shan family yet! The family governor is so rebellious! Are you trying to ruin my Xiaoshan family's family business!"

"My lord, please calm down. What the Shaodian said is also very reasonable, but he didn't take into account the real difficulties of my Xiaoshan family!" Lao Yan Shangchaojian, the family of Pu Dai, turned to persuade Xiaoshan Xiugang: "The Shaodian's ideas are remarkable. point, but the actual difficulties of my Xiaoshan family should also be thought about more. The Yucheng family’s family is much stronger than my Xiaoshan family’s. If a forceful confrontation results in the defeat of the army and the death of the family, can the Shaodian be worthy of the ancestors of the Xiaoshan family?"

Hidezuna Koyama was speechless when he was questioned. After all, his political experience is not as good as that of his younger brother Haruka Yuki. He has been watched by his father all these years as honestly like a quail. He never thought that the pressure on the Koyama family would be so great. Multiple, the Utsunomiya family's subordinate Minagawa Toshimune, and Utsunomiya Hirotsuna himself strongly advocated the territorial invasion of the Koyama family. In just a few years, the Koyama family lost a large piece of territory.

As a result, the imposing Koyama family in Kanto Hachiyagata, the actual territory is not as powerful as Sano Masatsuna of Karasawa Yamashiro, and the territory range in Shimono Kingdom can only be ranked No.5. If it is not for the relatives of the Yuki family of Shimoso Kingdom and the far away The Yuki family of Shirakawa in Minamimutsu can be cited as an Olympic aid, but the small body of the Koyama family was annexed after a few bites. It is precisely because of this that Koyama Gaochao, the governor of the family, is walking on thin ice and trembling.

Xiaoshan Xiugang didn't understand the root of this, but it didn't mean that the family members of the Pudai family didn't understand this truth. Immediately after Yanshang Chaojian's words fell, the Pudai retainers also stood up to support the decision of the family governor Xiaoshan Gaochao. The genealogists used their own actions to tell Koyama Hidezuna and Yuuki Qingchao that we agree with the way of loyalty and loyalty played by your brothers, but we want to live well and inherit the foundation, and we are not willing to give up this name. Put your own life and family business together.

It is commendable to die for the loyalty of the monarch, but not every monarch deserves the death of his retainers.Mencius once said, "A ruler treats his ministers like brothers and feet, and his ministers regard him as his heart. If a ruler treats his ministers like dogs and horses, his ministers treat him like a countryman. If he treats his ministers like dirt, he treats him like a bandit." "

This is the principle of honoring the public with kindness. Only with kindness can one be loyal and brave, and only with kindness can one be loyal. Loyalty and bravery do not come for no reason. Not many people are willing to be loyal to a stupid king who treats himself like a dog and a dog.To sacrifice one's own family property to keep a foolish emperor is simply stupid and hopeless. Xiaoshan Gaochao is not that stupid, and the Pudai retainer group is not that stupid. In their view, it is these two brothers who are stupid.

Yuuki Qingchao has been aware of this critical situation for a long time, but he always has some lucky thoughts in his heart, thinking that maybe his father will support him and encourage him at the critical moment, maybe Utsunomiya Hirozuna will send love reinforcements to rescue them at the critical moment, perhaps ... As soon as a lucky thought popped up, chaotic thoughts flew out like an addiction.

Fantasy is always hype like wonderful honey that makes people intoxicated, but reality is like a peak above ten thousand feet and a cold mountain wind that makes people shiver.Warriors are an extremely realistic group. They can oppose the invasion of a powerful force for their own interests and conditions permitting.But when they realize that they can't handle this powerful force, they will give up resistance and obediently surrender and become a member of it.

There is an English proverb to the effect that "if you can't beat it, then join it". Under the feudal society, people don't think it is a shameful act to worship the strong. The law of the jungle has long been embedded in human genes. It is the law of nature for the weak to be respected and the weak to maintain their subordination. Forcibly using etiquette to be comfortable is contrary to the competitive instinct of human beings and the law of natural evolution.

The genealogists of the Koyama family look at the mighty Kira family with realistic eyes. They don’t think there is anything wrong with what Kira Yoshitoshi did. It is also the family affairs of the shogunate if the Kamiso Ashikaga family is to become the Kanto Ashikaga family. Your Majesty the Shogun When they didn't say anything to reprimand Kirayoshi, it meant that the shogunate acquiesced in this action. What's the point of these Kanto warriors trying their best?The first one fought hard but failed, and the second Mr. Furukawa is not a lord worth fighting for.

Under the joint pressure of the family governor and the genealogists, Koyama Hidetsuna and Yuuki Haruto could only make the choice to submit. If they did not submit, they would be very likely to be confined by the family governor or even kicked out of Xiaoshan City. At that time, let alone being unable to keep Ashikaga Zheng's life is in danger, that is, their own future existence will become a question mark.

In the middle of the night that night, the Xiaoshan family dispatched a team of horse-riding warriors to escort a carriage and left Xiaoshan City in a hurry. The person in the carriage was of course the idiot Mr. Ashikaga Fujimasa. Hirotsuna's personal letter, the letter sincerely expresses sympathy for Furukawa's misfortune, but he is unable to protect Furukawa, so he specially asks Utsunomiya Hirotsuna to protect him.

After confirming that this team of guards had left Oyama collar safely, Koyama Takatomo took Koyama Hidezuna and Yuuki Haruma Kaiseki to surrender that morning, and the four gates were wide open to welcome the army led by Kira Yoshishi when they entered. Xiaoshan, with an old face in Pentecost, straightened his waist and stood upright to welcome Kira's army into the city. His two sons lowered their heads and did not dare to look up and sweep randomly, for fear that their father would stare at them and scold them again if they were not careful.

After a while, I saw thousands of proud Chibei warriors galloping forward with whips. The leading Chibei generals shouted orders to slow down, and walked slowly to the gate of Otune, leaning over and staring at Xiaoshan Gaochao for a while. Yes, said: "This is Xiaoshan Shimono Shoudian! My Royal Highness values ​​you very much! I hope Shimono Shoudian can seize the opportunity to be effective!"

"Yes, yes!" Xiaoshan Gaochao's excited face blossomed into a flower, not to mention how funny the folds are squeezed together, and asked quickly: "Dare to ask this is the name of His Highness, I dare not forget your point ah!"

"My name is Zuo Konjima, and I will serve as a minister with Shimono Shouden in the future." After finishing speaking, the cavalry rode his horse into the city first. It is the practice on the battlefield to ensure the internal and external safety of entering the city, not to mention Kira Yoshi With such a noble status at that time, it would not be surprising to add a few more layers of defense measures.

After a while, teams of mounted warriors appeared near the small mountain city. It was strange that they did not enter the city, but spread out and wandered around as if they had nothing to do. The inside was shrouded, and after a while, the masked warrior in black without armor rode his horse into the small mountain city without saying a word.

At the end of Koyama Takatomo's queue, a group of young Koyama family warriors gathered together to observe the actions of Kira's army. One of the warriors whispered, "Hey. That seems to be the ninjas of the Kira family. I heard that these people have The magical ability can detect all conspiracies and tricks!"

Another young samurai curled his lips and said, "Cut! Isn't it just a common chaos in the Chinese people! And change the name to make people wonder... Ninja. What kind of Ninja?"

The samurai who spoke in front shook his head and said: "Our Shimono country is incomparable to others. It is said that there are thousands of samurai in this Kira ninja! One thousand samurai! It is an astonishing number in my Shimono country." !"

The samurai who curled his lips opened his mouth and thought for a long time that it made sense, so he stopped entangled. There was no standard name for ninja in the Warring States Period. Most samurai still called them Luanba or Luanpo. Low slaves, these ninjas are authentic warriors from the country.

It is just a special type of arms evolved from the samurai class, and it does not affect their own identity and status as a samurai. For example, Mochizuki Izumo Mori Yoshito is a powerful member of the Mochizuki clan of the Shino clan.There are branches and territories that have developed on the ground for hundreds of years. They can dance with swords and mount war horses, and their bow and horse skills may be better than many warriors.

The ninjas of the Kira Army, who follow the army, are responsible for intelligence and investigation during wartime, intercepting and killing enemy envoys, sneaking into enemy cities to carry out sabotage, instigation and assassination, and other special tasks. Not long after entering the special number of the army, Yoshicho Mochizuki and Masaaki Hattori jointly designed a new ninja training method, which greatly accelerated the training efficiency of Kira ninja.

Kira ninjas, as a special unit in the legion, no longer need to sneak around like thieves in dark corners, they can follow the cavalry of the Kira army in a fair manner.As a scout, he has completed small-scale intelligence collection and analysis, and has been completely embedded in the main force of the Kira Army.Complete the transformation from a despicable villain hiding in a corner to fighting aboveboard.

The young warriors of the Xiaoshan family noticed the ninjas in Kira's army, but Yuuki Qingchao observed another important discovery, and wondered: "At least four thousand cavalry teams can be seen in this short period of time. How can there be so many horses?" War horses... what about four thousand warriors?"

"Isn't the Kira Legion known as the Master of Ten Thousand Riders? Could it be that they really have ten thousand warriors?" Koyama Hidetsuna opened his mouth wide in surprise, shook his head and smiled wryly, "I really can't imagine what it would be like to have ten thousand warriors. concept."

Koyama Takatomo suddenly turned his head and said: "Not all of them are samurai. The military service method of the Kira Army is completely different from that of our Kanto samurai. It is said that the military service of the Kira Army is a method called the separation of soldiers and farmers. The sons of a good family who are good at fighting can be trained and taught to ride and spear, and then compiled into a reserve team that has been baptized and polished in battle, and then it can become a brave cavalry reserve team, probably only half of which are warriors!"

"Half is an astonishing number! The Lord of the Town is really powerful... Five thousand warriors are almost equal to the sons and daughters of all the samurai families in my Xiaye Kingdom? Perhaps it is not enough... Xiasuo Kingdom should be added." Xiaoshan Hidetsuna said to Kira Jun's attitude changed from being indifferent and contemptuous to admiring, and the family members of Pu Dai also showed similar expressions of admiration. They didn't think it was a shame to worship the strong, just like Xiaoshan Gaochao didn't think there was anything wrong with hugging thighs, but he wanted to thank Shima Tokatsu reminded him to hold his thigh tightly.

After another half an hour, it was not until the sun was rising that Lao Gao saw the main banner of the Kira Army slowly approaching. Yoshitoki Kira rode a Trequena war horse brought from Echigo, wearing a suit completely in accordance with the "thin gold armor" The gold-encrusted large armor made by traditional crafts is shining like a large golden man under the sunlight, almost blinding the eyes of the three father and son of the Xiaoshan family.

"Did I turn into Jin Shining at this moment?" Ji Liangyishi helplessly waved his horsewhip and rode his horse forward listlessly. It was the bad idea of ​​the group of genealogy retainers yesterday who tricked him into showing off at the opportunity of this entering the city ceremony. With the financial resources of the Ashikaga family, he took out a high-quality imitation of the thin gold armor, one of Genji's eight chieftains, to scare people.

The large armor inlaid with gold and silver is not too heavy to wear on the body, but this glittering shape made a few money-grubbing bastards come out on the spot. Kira Yoshishi was too tall so that this imitation had to be several times larger Size, when he first made it, he felt that the traditional shape was not very handsome, and he proposed some suggestions for modification to increase the material used on the armor by a large amount.

The last inlaid "hanging ornaments" made cost seven or eight catties of gold and four or five catties of silver.An arrow falling on the body might wipe away half a tael of gold.This cheating armor is definitely not for protection.It's purely used to show off how good your family can get a golden holy cloth to scare you bunch of soil turtles.

Yoshitoki Kira rode his horse all the way to attract the attention of countless people. Even if he was surrounded by three floors inside and three floors outside, his appearance was very blinking. When he entered the castle town of the small mountain city, he still attracted a burst of exclamation. He felt even more uncomfortable, as if being treated like a monkey, and secretly said: "The aesthetics of the Genpei era really cannot be agreed with!"

After walking for a while, I realized that this was not the case. The eyes of these townspeople changed when they looked at Kirayoshi. They were surprised, envious, fearful, and worshiped beyond his comprehension. peacock.I can't wait to raise my chin higher than my head.

Kira Yoshitoki wondered, "What's the situation? Could it be that these warriors and townspeople think I'm more powerful because I'm wearing a golden holy garment?"

With this question in mind, he came outside Xiaoshan City, and once again succeeded in shocking the three fathers and sons of Xiaoshan Gaochao. Pay homage to His Highness Gongfang! I wish His Highness Gongfang good health and long luck!"

"Please stand up without courtesy!" Yoshishi Kira raised his mouth slightly, and said secretly: "This armor looks good!"

Kira Yoshitoki didn't mean to blame the Koyama family, even Yuki Haruto, who violated his taboo, was treated with courtesy, in fact, he knew very well in his heart that Yuki Haruto would not pose a threat to him, and he could lose his family for this stupid Furukawa More than half of the territory.It is enough to show that this young samurai who is only 28 years old has not yet grown to the level of a fox.

What's more, he has already completely lost his territory, and may not be accused and ridiculed by the family members of the Pu Dynasty and the people of the Kanto Kingdom in terms of reputation.It's just that the sharp decline in strength has reduced the Yuki family from the level of a powerful Chinese in Kanto to the level of a dispensable soy sauce Chinese in Kanto in the blink of an eye. No threat to the Kira family.

When entering Kira Yoshishi, the territory in his pocket will never be spit out, so Yuuki Haruto has only one way to recover, tightly hugging Kira Yoshishi's thigh to be a loyal minister, and relying on the accumulation of merits to become famous again This is Hong Guoguo's reality. If he doesn't grasp this reality, his life will really be finished.

The three fathers and sons of the Koyama family rarely maintain the same obedient posture, which is actually enough to represent the mentality of most samurai in the Kanto. That's the master's business, and the retainers care too much about their own longevity.

In the eyes of many people in Kanto, isn’t this the reason why the Eighth Generation Gongfang Jishoin Temple (Ashikaga Yoshimasa) ordered his half-brother Ashikaga Masachi to return to vulgarity more than 100 years ago, and went to Horikoshi, Izu Country, to establish the Horikoshi Imperial Palace? More than 30 years later In the story, Horikoshi Gongfang Ashikaga Masachi has been trying to kill Ashikaga Naruji so that he can replace him as Kanto Gongfang.

Back then, there were still many Kanto samurai standing in Horikoshi’s camp to deal with Furukawa, so there was such a lesson from the past that the Kanto samurai were not so repulsive to Kirayoshi, even if they were not half a step away from the Miao Ashikaga Lianzhizhong, That can no longer be counted as leading the "retainer" class, but is equivalent to the "king" of the imperial palace. As long as they have fought for Ashikaga Fujimasa, it is not a shame to seek refuge with Kira Yoshi, after all, what they should do It's all been done.

The news that Kira's army entered the small mountain castle flew all over Kanto as if it had grown wings. It took only a few days for the news that Kira Yoshitoshi appeared in the small mountain castle wearing a golden armor. The Trequena warhorse, whose horse was close to one head, looked extraordinarily majestic, wearing the "Golden Saint Cloth" which was a few sizes too big, majestic like a god descending from the earth, it was blinding.

It's nothing more than Xiaoshan Gaochao, a well-tested old warrior, who was also frightened and panicked. There are many native Kanto warriors who have never left their own territories in their lives. Where have you seen such unconventional cards? The way, but there is another saying for this shape in Kirayoshi's time.

It’s no secret that the Kamisuo Ashikaga family enshrined thin gold armor. He got an imitation to wear on his body. It’s really impossible to say that he is a burnt bag or a local turtle upstart. It reminds me of wearing this suit of armor to guard the gate for the Emperor in Kyoto.

People in the Kanto Kingdom don't care how cool that golden glitter is. They are worried about which direction Kira Yoshishi's next marching plan will be aimed at. Because Ashikaga Fujimasa has already collapsed the Yuki family and surrendered the Koyama family, Kanto Hachiya Kata It's gone to the second, and the remaining six families are so frightened that they can't even sleep well.

But at this time, Utsunomiya Hirotsuna received the "gift" sent by Yuki Haruto, when he took the letter written by Yuki Haruto, his face was as black as the bottom of a pot staring at the statue of Ashikaga Fuji as if he saw a ghost , Cursing inwardly: "This bastard Yuki Haruto is going to kill my family! My Utsunomiya family has no grudges with you in the past, and you have no grudges in the present, why did you send this scourge to me... If you insist on saying that there is hatred , Occupying the Xiaoshan family’s territory counts? Even so, you can’t send this idiot here!”

Utsunomiya Hirotsuna was so embarrassed that he couldn't get angry in front of Ashikaga Fujimasa, so he could only hold the letter and pretend to read it hard, but in fact he kept gesturing for the family members to speak with his eyes. He stood up and said: "His Royal Highness Pommel Horse Lawton, I should have stayed with His Royal Highness for a few days to recuperate before leaving, but my Utsunomiya family's home is also in chaos. You can set off and rush to Nasu's house!"

In Fang He Gaoding's mouth, this hot potato turned into a "Northern Hunting", as if Ashikaga Fujimasa just went out for a hunting trip. Such things are completely filtered out. Of course, His Royal Highness Gongfang focuses on the major event of "Beishu", and other side details are automatically filtered out.

As soon as the voice fell, without waiting for Ashikaga Fujimasa's reaction, Fanga Gaoding recruited several samurai to "please" Ashikaga Fujimasa into the carriage and continue to flee north. In Nasu Ziyin's territory, and at this time Nasu Ziyin was busy fighting with his uncles Ozeki Takasuke, Otawara Tsunakiyoshi, Fukuhara Takashi, how could he have the time to serve this "Northern hunting" Ashikaga Fujimasa.

Holding Utsunomiya Hirotsuna and copying the letter of Yuki Qingchao for a long time, Nasu Ziyin sneered and said: "The idiots of the Utsunomiya family are talking nonsense. I, Ziyin, have already transferred to the samurai family under the government of the town. Take this The idiot sent him here and expects me, Ziyin, to send him to the Lutsu Kingdom? This is to treat me as a fool! Rather than sending him to the Lutsu Kingdom, it is more appropriate to send him to the town government camp!" (To be continued..)

ps: Thank you Hattori Masashige for your reward, especially for your book friend Xiao Zimu’s reward, and adding another rudder. Next month, Wumei will consider adding as many codes as possible at a certain point in time as a thank you!