Pillars of the Wu family

The weather in early summer and May is extremely hot. The blazing sun burns the earth with endless heat. The golden sun will fall and cover the blue grass with a thick layer of white halo. At present, the suffocating weather seems to have a storm coming.

If someone stands on Mount Atago and looks to the south at this moment, he will be able to see a large group of dark clouds gradually drifting over the sea southwest of Settsu. Usually no one wants to go out for a walk in this sultry afternoon. After basking in the sun for a while, I feel uncomfortable all over my body, and after a while, I feel as if I was salvaged from the water, and my whole body is soaked in sweat.

In a secluded corner of the Nijo Imperial Palace, Xia Chan was still playing tirelessly, as if playing a lullaby with a monotonous melody, but it was a pity that in this critical moment, the women in the courtyard did not dare to have the slightest sleepiness, Konoe Hyunko was like a frightened female beast, holding her three daughters in her arms and staring nervously at the movement outside the yard, as if waiting for the slightest sign of trouble to lead them into a certain room.

"Boom...boom..."

A series of dull voices sounded like rolling thunder, tearing through the nearly frozen air in the afternoon, shaking the two children in Konoe Kenko's arms trembling, the older Ashikaga Teruko hugged her younger sister Ashikaga Junko, and said in fear: "Mother My lord, the bad guys are about to attack, Huizi is really scared, will Huizi and Junzi die!"

Jinwei Xianzi forced a smile and comforted: "No! I believe that mother will not let you be in danger."

Ashikaga Yoshiki and her have two daughters together. The eldest daughter Teriko is 13 years old this year, and the second daughter Junko is nine years old this year.The sisters inherited their father's bravery and their mother's kindness.From a young age, I knew that life in the shogunate was difficult.Take the initiative to follow the female officer to learn how to make beautiful clothes from female celebrities to reduce expenses. Even Huizi's own wedding dress is sewn by herself.

The two daughters were sensible and worry-free since they were young, and they added some bright colors to the bleak life of Konoe Kenko these years. Since the eldest son Teru Wakamaru died of a strange illness, Konoe Kenko was completely thrown into the cold palace by Ashikaga Yoshiki. She didn't even have the chance to go to the room to sleep even once, and she would never stay with her for more than half an hour when she occasionally came to see her daughter.

Since a few years ago, Ashikaga Yoshiki blocked Ashikaga Yoshitoki from being promoted to the second place.Since the close relationship between the two families was ruined, the Kwantung Shogunate’s support to the shogunate has been reduced year by year, and the riots in Kyoto did not even send a single soldier, so that Ashikaga Yoshiki could only watch Miyoshi Changqing helplessly. Expelling Fengxing and occupying Kyoto dealt a severe blow to the weak authority of the shogunate.

The loss of face is second to none. The biggest problem is that the daimyo who donated money are gradually disappearing. In the past years, there have been fewer and fewer big donors enshrined in Kyoto. The independence at the time further led to Ashikaga Yoshiki's reckless turnaround and a large reduction in donations.

初时足利义辉还不觉得怎样。到永禄八年（1565年）以后各地大名来到京都进献金银的使者越来越少，到永禄十年（1567年）幕府的献金收入跌落到天文20年（1551）的水平。这落差高打永禄三年（1560年）顶峰时期的二十倍。

The estrangement between the shogunate and its biggest benefactors and supporters directly led to the decline of the shogunate’s authority and financial difficulties. However, Ashikaga Yoshiki is a hard-headed person who never turns his back on a good horse. Letting the motion to be promoted to the second place be written, the result is that the relationship is getting worse and worse. The donation received by the shogunate has dropped to only three thousand guanwen of Yongle money this year. This one thousand guanwen is still given to Hu Ji by name. Cosmetics of Hyunko Konoe's sister-in-law.

He suffered a big loss at his foster brother Ashikaga Yoshitoki, not only lost his face but also lost an important source of finances, he hated the house and even brought it to the innocent Kenko Konoe, and a thousand kanwen cosmetics were taken by Ashikaga Yoshiki Send someone to pay for Hyunja Konoe, and he himself saves the need to come over and say a few words on the scene.

Last year, Ashikaga Yoshiki took Jinshi Seisho's daughter's little attendant as a concubine, and he became even more indifferent to Konoe Kenko and the two daughters. If he wanted to see the children, he sent someone to take the two daughters to the imperial palace over there to play for a few days before sending them back. Before and after the Yiqianguanwen cosmetics incident at the beginning of this year, the new lady servant who lived in the other side of the palace was pregnant, and many ministers went there to celebrate and give gifts, looking forward to the birth of the eldest son of His Highness Gongfang. No one would think of taking care of Xianzi Konoe's cold stove.

It’s not that Ashikaga Yoshiki didn’t think of a way to deal with it. He also imitated the imperial court’s use of Yamashina to earn extra money, and sent Odate Hikari to go around for alms to make some money. Financial constraints forced Ashikaga Yoshiki to frequently send envoys to and from various places. Deeply intervene in the mediation of territorial competition among various countries, and earn some extra money from it to support the finances of the bankrupt shogunate.

But the money came too slowly, and it couldn’t meet the needs of Ashikaga Yoshiki and the public. In desperation, the annual salary that the shogunate needed to pay to the shogunate officials was reduced from the original Yongle money to hundreds of guanwen. Within 85 kanwen, the highest settsu Harumon is [-] kanwen. This amount of money is a problem to support a family in Kyoto for daily expenses, let alone go to the tavern to drink a little wine for entertainment.

The annual salary of Mibuchi Fujihide, Niki Yoshimasa and other important ministers has also been reduced to [-] kanbu, and young members of the public can only receive a symbolic annual salary of a few kan and support rice for three people. This treatment is the same as every few years ago A public samurai has dozens of years of annual salary, which is simply incomparable. For example, Odate Qingguang, who has retired to Otsu City and has his own source of income, simply does not give annual salary.

The hard-pressed life brought a lot of problems to the Nijo Imperial Palace. Ashikaga Yoshiki quickly ordered the abolition of many surnames and maids. The imperial palace where Kenko Konoe worked was removed from the original more than [-] people and only eight people remained. The female officers of the two daughters were all dismissed. Insufficient manpower caused several gardens in the imperial palace to be abandoned.

The sharp decline in the quality of life did not disappoint Hyunko Konoe, nor did she complain about her husband's fickleness and ungratefulness, she still took care of the family without complaint or regret.She knew that her husband was used to spending money lavishly over the years.Suddenly it has declined to the point where you have to think twice about buying a few decent clothes.She quietly entrusted Settsu Harumon with one thousand kanbum Yongle money, while she raised her two daughters with only ten kanbu per month cosmetics given by the shogunate.

Before marrying Ashikaga Yoshiki, Konoe Kenko was also a well-known talented woman in the circle of officials in Kyoto. She took on the education of her children when the female officer was dismissed. Shoulder to do some things within one's ability to share the worries and problems of the hard-working mother.

At this time, she was not yet 30 years old, and she had been pampered and pampered for nearly [-] years, creating the demure and elegant temperament of a noble lady.It retains the delicate and beautiful dimples that the girls were proud of, and also has the unique charm of young women. It is like a mountain snow lotus that is reserved and noble, and like a pool of autumn water that is pure and clear.

This moment is the most splendid time in a woman's life, but because of the hardship of life, she has no money to put on makeup and rouge. She sells all the gorgeous gowns for money, and she wears simple home clothes like an ordinary woman. The man hugged the child and said softly: "Don't be afraid, they won't hurt us! I believe your father will beat the enemy back."

"Boom... on board!"

There was noise and cheers from the direction not far from the Imperial Palace, and the two children were so frightened that they huddled in their mother's arms and dared not move.Several little maids shivered and hid under the corridor, hugging each other and crying in the corner of the room, Konoe Xianzi glanced worriedly at the closed courtyard door in the corner.Thinking about how to escape.

Jinwei Xianzi frowned slightly, and thought to himself: "If you can escape from the imperial palace, it would be great to take refuge with your elder brother."

Suddenly there was a scream, which disturbed her thoughts and scared the two daughters into her arms. Xianzi Konoe tried his best to calm down and looked out, only to see the little girl Dozens of black-clothed and masked warriors stood in the courtyard. They half-kneeled in the courtyard like a row of stone statues, and there was only one black-clothed warrior standing in the middle of the courtyard.

The black-clothed warrior said in a low voice: "The Palace of the Imperial Palace can be in the room, I respectfully invite the Palace of the Imperial Palace to talk, I have important matters to discuss."

Seeing that they didn't look like bad guys, Jinwei Xianzi leaned out half of his body, and asked cautiously: "Who are you?"

The black-clothed samurai borrowed the mask, showed his old face and said respectfully: "Ishimi Shoubo, the servant of the Ministry of Hattori, served briefly in the shogunate 40 years ago. I was ordered by my lord to escort the Imperial Palace to leave the capital for refuge. Dian packed up his bags and set off quickly, there is another army in the capital to support him."

"Who is your master?"

"It is the Kanto Lord Fangzu Liya Prime Minister's Palace, and I am under the command of the Lord to protect the safety of the Imperial Palace..." Hattori Baochang hadn't finished speaking when he heard a fierce iron noise from less than 50 meters away. The sound of gunfire, and immediately his expression changed, he bowed and said: "The Miyoshi Army has entered the Imperial Palace, and the secret sentry lying in ambush outside the Imperial Palace has a handover of troops nearby, which means that the Imperial Palace is no longer safe. It is not too late. Please also invite the Palace of the Imperial Palace." Set off quickly, and change will happen if you are late!"

"If the vassal of Yishi said, I can rest assured that I don't have anything to take, and I can leave with a little preparation..." Xianzi Konoe heaved a sigh of relief and just turned to comfort his daughter, then turned around and asked in a daze Said: "His Highness Gongfang also sees Shi Jian guarding the palace, has he been rescued?"

Hattori Baozhang's face darkened, he was afraid of something, and bowed his head on the ground and said: "...Sorry! His Royal Highness is fighting fiercely with the Miyoshi Army at the front line. I'm sorry that my soldiers are powerless. Please act quickly! "

"If your Highness doesn't leave, neither can I, and besides, the Qingshouyuan is still there, so I can't just leave like this." Jinwei Xianzi's expression darkened, he slowed down and sat down again, and said, "There is also Your Highness Gongfang. The other lady, the little attendant is still pregnant with the flesh and blood of His Royal Highness, it is likely to be a healthy little Highness, and the concubine cannot just stand by and watch His Highness's heirs get hurt."

Hattori Baochang got angry in a hurry, and with a wave of his hand, dozens of ninjas rushed out of the quiet courtyard like arrows from the string, while he knelt in the courtyard and said solemnly: "Do you know how dangerous these two palaces are now? , Kyoto is so dangerous, the younger brother of His Royal Highness Ashikaga Yoshiaki announced at Toji Temple that he will go to Ouchi Sato to have an audience with the Emperor this evening, and he will be formally appointed as the Great General Who Conquered Yi, does the Imperial Palace know what this means?"

Ashikaga Teruko and Ashikaga Junko quietly walked out of the room, knelt on both sides of their mother, and looked curiously at the old-faced black-clothed samurai. This was the first time in their lives that they saw a man outside the Nijo Gosho.Ashikaga Junko is too young to understand how dangerous Nijo Gou is.I just simply thought that if my mother was not afraid, it would be fine.

The little girl boldly looked around at Hattori Yasunaga who was kneeling in the courtyard.Curious about the old samurai's accent, he said to Ashikaga Teruko with a smile: "The samurai outside are so strange, and the clothes are also strange like I have never seen before."

Konoe Xianko softly warned the daughters to respect the guests, and then said calmly, "Ishimi, please keep your word."

Hattori Baochang said solemnly: "Please understand that the Imperial Palace must understand that His Royal Highness is very dangerous, and very dangerous..."

……

At the end of the day, Miyoshi Masayasu personally led [-] troops to attack the west gate, and fought fiercely with more than [-] warriors within an inch of the gate's tiger's mouth.Okuyama Xiugazhai held two Taisao and opened his bow left and right, and single-handedly defeated several Miyoshi Army raids. Relying on his inexperienced second sword skills, he was able to resist the encirclement and killing of four Miyoshi Army generals.

Since ancient times, there have been warriors fighting one against ten, but it is rare to hear of a general fighting against one hundred. Even Leonidas at the Battle of Thermopylae was only facing an enemy ten times his own. Xiang Yu, the overlord of Chu, was at the end of his life when he slayed himself in Wujiang, but at this time Yoshiki Ashikaga was at the end of his life.

Every samurai defending the city has to face an enemy dozens of times larger than his own. Although he will not be stabbed by dozens of three guns at the same time, he will see the endless enemy rushing towards him without any backup.The pressure brought about by this hopeless mood is very great, and the physical exertion will also increase exponentially when the spirit is tense.High-intensity battles are all supported by morale, so a strong fighting spirit needs to be inspired by a swordsman like Okuyama Yukasai.

The stalemate lasted for a quarter of an hour, and the Miyoshi Army repeatedly organized the Ashgaru team's assaults, but they were killed and retreated. When they replaced the iron artillery team's concentrated fire tactics, they were broken by the assault of more than a dozen horse-riding warriors on the other side. It takes 1 minute for a set of shooting movements, and with this time, the head can already move several times.

Until the beginning of the Shen Dynasty, Ueno Iga, the outnumbered Fenggong general, died in battle. It was the treacherous Miyoshi Masayasu who asked for him. Iga Shou, the morale of the Feng people without a leader collapsed and retreated steadily.

More than forty people were begging for death in the blink of an eye, and more than half of Okuyama Xiu Hezhai's dozen or so juniors also died. Only he was still vigorous and invincible, fighting fiercely with his own strength, helplessly outnumbered, dodging from left to right, gradually feeling powerless, In the end, he led more than ten remnants to resist steadily and still couldn't escape the sword without eyes. A long and narrow cut was made on the left cheek, and he fled into Sannomaru in embarrassment after suffering multiple heavy injuries.

At the same time, Shioka Kazuha’s experience was similar to his. Less than forty defenders persisted and died in the battle. For emergency bandage treatment in the Imperial Palace, Yagyu Zongyan insisted on it for a little longer, until there were only seven people left before retreating into the north gate. Hikada Kegeng was more aggressive, and led three people to retreat from the east gate to Sannomaru's In the gate, none of the three people is Feng Gong.

All the surviving warriors were wounded, and the lightest one was shot in the arm by a flow arrow. If the bamboo bow of the Miyoshi Army was not so powerful, even the long sleeves of his long robe would have been shot through his arm. Fortunately, He fled back with only a little skin trauma, and less than 100 of the more than 30 Fenggong people survived, and sixteen of the swordsmen died. This is the armed force of the entire Nijo Imperial Palace.

Ashikaga Yoshiki ordered everyone to retreat to the front of the Imperial Palace to defend, while he himself put on his clothes and stood in front of the Changyu Imperial Palace in gorgeous big letters, holding a tatami. There were dozens of tatami sticks on the tatami behind him. Ashikaga Yoshiki would rather let them all be lost here than to sell to dirty businessmen or fall into the dirtier hands of Ashikaga Yoshiaki.

Seeing the wretched appearance of all the samurai wounded and covered in blood, Ashikaga Yoshiki sighed softly: "Ise Shouden has worked so hard for Yu to the last moment. On behalf of the shogunate, I thank you for your loyalty and bravery. Ise Shouden has been finished." Everything that a military guide can do, so please leave immediately before the Miyoshi Army comes to kill you!"

"Your Highness, General, please follow me and rush out of the imperial palace!" Umizumi Hidetsuna suddenly bowed his head and said, "I was actually ordered to come to protect His Highness General..."

Ashikaga Yoshiki suddenly smiled and waved his hands: "Don't go on...everyone who should know knows, thank Isemori for his dedication to the shogunate, give up the glory and wealth of Kanto, and stick to it in the small world of the Erjo Imperial Palace." Years, it must be very hard! Everything will be over by today, and it is meaningless to continue fighting until here, so go back to Kanto as soon as possible! Tell Yishi, and Yu has taken this love."

"His Royal Highness!" Hidezuna Kamiizumi was stunned. Hayashizaki Jinsuke and Komagawa Kuniyoshi, who were not in the battle, helped the seriously injured Okuyama Yugazai and Shioka Kazuha to kneel down.

At this time, an old woman in a monk's robe came slowly. She was the mother of Ashikaga Yoshiki and Ashikaga Yoshiaki, Kei Odai who had taken care of Ashikaga Yoshitoki, and also the relative of Konoe Kenko. Aunt, who lived in Qingshouyuan for many years as a nun with shaved hair, said: "Ise Shou is a good minister of the shogunate who has devoted himself to serving the public. The poor nun thinks that His Royal Highness should give a reward as a reward."

"Follow my mother's will!" Ashikaga Yoshiki bowed respectfully, stood up again and said, "I have nothing to give now, and all I can give you is the sword and poor reputation of this place. I hope Ise Mamoru doesn't mind. The parting miserliness of a dying man."

"His Royal Highness! You are..." This time, not only Kamizumi Hidetsuna knelt down in surprise, but even the shogunate retainers behind him also knelt down on the ground, begging with a desolate expression: "You mustn't!" ! His Highness Gongfang is a rich man, the dignified general of Hanoi Minamoto who conquered Yi, he must not die here!" (To be continued..)