Pillars of the Wu family

The turmoil in Kyoto in the tenth year of Yonglu quietly spread throughout the summer. In this disaster called the Great Rebellion of Yonglu, the No. 13 general of the Muromachi shogunate, Ashikaga Yoshiki, died in battle, and the [-]th general of the shogun Yutai celebrated. Juin killed himself, and hundreds of important officials of the shogunate, including the deacons of the Muromachi shogunate, killed themselves collectively.

The most annoyed daimyos in Kinai, such as Hatakeyama Takamasa who lives in Kii, Takeda Yoshitomo from Wakasa, Asakura Yoshikage from Echizen and other samurai families who are close to the shogunate have expressed their fierce attitudes. Among them, the self-proclaimed protector of the shogun Liujiao Chengzhen is very dissatisfied, but it is a pity that this gentleman experienced the turmoil in Guanyin Temple and was forced to sign the "Liujiao Shimu" by Pu Dai's retainers. Raised troops to capture Kyoto.

Samurai daimyos from all over the world have expressed their dissatisfaction and concern over the sudden collapse of the shogunate. Among them, the attitudes of Nishikuni Mori Motojo, Kyushu Otomo Yoshizhen, and Shimadzu Yoshihisa are particularly clear. These three are all self-proclaimed loyal ministers and generals of the shogunate. The Otomo family in Kyushu once offered gunpowder and gunpowder formula, and the Shimadzu family presented some iron cannons in the Tianwen year earlier.

However, at most these foreign daimyos stood on the castle tower, yelling at the direction of the capital for the injustice of the world and the people's hearts. What I care about is what the shogunate should do next. If you can't kill a general, you will be silent, and you have to give a corresponding explanation.

With the death of Ashikaga Yoshiki, various versions of rumors spread to the world, how Ashikaga Yoshiki died.There are different opinions on what happened to the tragedy in the Nijo Imperial Palace.In general, several schools of thought revolve around the second general Ashikaga Yoshiaki.Nine out of ten versions said that Ashikaga Yoshiki was killed because of his appearance.

The most direct conspiracy theory is that Ashikaga Yoshiaki trapped Ashikaga Yoshiaki at all costs to kill his brother and mother for the sake of the position of general. There are quite a few people who hold this kind of argument spreading rumors in the folk, but overall There are very few samurai and cultural people who believe this statement. They think that Ashikaga Yoshiaki lacks the motivation to kill brothers and mothers. At least he can follow the method of exiling generals in the Ming Yu coup. Brother is many times better.

Another theory is that Ashikaga Yoshiaki is a puppet.The Miyoshi family held them like marionettes in their hands. It was the Miyoshi family who supported Yoshiaki Ashikaga and besieged the Nijo Imperial Palace to kill Yoshiki Ashikaga and Manmon Shogunate. This statement was supported by quite a few samurai, and lasted throughout the summer of the Kyoto turmoil. Miyoshi's bad behavior of running rampant in Kyoto was published by the world's samurai family, which further proves the reliability of this statement.

There are many branches derived from these two mainstream theories, such as whether Ashikaga Yoshiaki is forced or actively cooperates, whether the Miyoshi family wants to kill the general or just wants to exile the general but self-defeating and so on. The samurai are skeptical and wait-and-see attitude towards various statements from Kyoto.

Their hesitation did not last long.In the last few days of late summer, Ashikaga Yoshiaki went to Shokoji Temple to offer incense and never returned.The guards of Miyoshi's house who accompanied him also disappeared collectively, which once again shocked the ruling and opposition parties in Kyoto. The three of Miyoshi hurried back to Kyoto City from the front line. They searched the entire Kyoto but could not find Ashikaga Yoshiaki.

A few days later, Ashikaga Yoshiaki appeared in Omi Yajima, where he announced that the Miyoshi family planned to kill Lu Yuanyuan Zhou Hao, hold him as a puppet, and besiege the Nijo Imperial Palace in the name of litigation to wait for an opportunity to attack and murder General Ashikaga Yoshiki and the Imperial Palace A family, and attempted to rely on the puppet's own opportunity to become the leader of the conspiracy.

The big hat fell out and threw his own scapegoat to Miyoshi's family. Miyoshi Yoshitsugu jumped out and said that he was innocent at the first time. Miyoshi Yasunaga then said that the governor of the family was indeed innocent. The public and Matsunaga Hideo are in control, the recent chaos in Kyoto and the war in Yamato are all tricks played by these two to fight for power.

So this scapegoat was transferred from the Miyoshi family to the more specific Miyoshi trio, combined with the fact that the imperial court once issued an order to Matsunaga Hideo to rule the enemy against the enemy in the past few months, and then was forcibly taken back by Kanbai Nijo Haruyo , the people of the country further believed that the Miyoshi family was the culprit who killed the general.

Ashikaga Yoshiaki lingered in the Yajima Imperial Palace for a few days, refused Rokkaku Chengzhen's invitation and continued northward to Otani Castle, where he met Asai Nagamasa, and Asakura Yoshikage and Takeda Yoshitomo who sneaked into Asai County with makeup. Huge dangers came to Asai County, and the mission they shouldered was obviously not as simple as simply waving the flag and shouting.

"Your Majesty Gongfang clearly learned that we, the samurai in Kinai, are loyal and have served as the shogun's royal servants from generation to generation, but we don't want to be repeatedly bullied by Sakamoto's villains, and invade the land occupied by the family order to burn the gate for no reason. It's really abominable!" Cang Yijing took a breath and said, "His Royal Highness, please allow us to take revenge on this villain from Sakamoto."

Yoshikage Asakura has had a rough time these years. The death of his beloved concubine is one thing. In recent years, the shock of two young sons dying one after another is another. Years ago, he was more than ten years old, his speech was short of breath and his eyes wandered, and he was no longer the confident "name master" he used to be.

Asai Nagamasa was very sympathetic to his experience, and agreed: "Sakamoto has been domineering in Omi for 20 years, and I can't hold up my head when he bullies me. How indulgent the behavior is, I am no match for fighting alone, and the alliance is broken, and I have no choice but to join forces with the three good families, it is really helpless!"

Ashikaga Yoshiaki said viciously: "It's Ashikaga Yoshitoki again! It's really like a shadow hanging over Yu's head, this person can't get rid of Yu's heart!"

The three of them were immediately overjoyed when they heard the words. The general and their steps are in line, which means that there is a lot to be done in the general's arms. Also divorce Sanhao Changqing's daughter, and the two boys born to Mrs. Sanhao will be abolished, please His Royal Highness be the master to make a marriage for the minister to show the loyalty of the minister."

Asakura Yoshikage clenched his fists and said firmly: "The marriage between the subject and Miyoshi's family has been broken. There is nothing to be afraid of breaking the alliance!"

Takeda Yoshitomo rejoiced and said: "My minister firmly supports His Royal Highness's ascension to the throne to expel Miyoshi's family. By the way, Isshiki Yoshimichi of the vacillating Tango Isshishi family will be cleaned up. This person did not hesitate to give up Wuhe Port in order to curry favor with the Kanto government. This person is not enough to deter people who swing left and right!"

"Isshiki Shikibu Daisuke?" Ashikaga Yoshiaki said hesitantly: "Isshiki, one of the four positions, is also a member of the rest, it seems..."

"His Royal Highness! If you want to do great things, don't be merciful! If you follow this principle, then Guandong Gongfang is His Royal Highness's Lianzhi, shouldn't he be allowed to run rampant in Kinai?" Asakura Yoshikage's hatred for Ashikaga Yoshitoki The meaning is obvious. Over the years, many stories that have been hidden behind the scenes have gradually been revealed. After looking back, I realize that I have been put together.When he mentioned Ashikaga Yoshiro, he hated him more and more, but it was a pity that he was unable to resist because of his lack of strength, so he swallowed his anger.

The ulterior motives of the three Kinki daimyos brought the topic to the topic of dealing with Ashikaga Yoshitoki with a few words. No promises, if there are cronies around him, he will definitely take the opportunity to interfere, but it is a pity that there is no such person around him.

There were a few remnants of the shogunate serving the public, and they all looked forward to Akechi Mitsuhide. At this time, Akechi Mitsuhide was sitting on the left hand side of Ashikaga Yoshiaki. In the past, Akechi Mitsuhide sat in an important position that only the leader could take.He was not delighted by Ashikaga Yoshiaki's trust, but was very dissatisfied with the three ulterior motives.

Akechi Mitsuhide reminded: "The three Highnesses are reasonable. But whether the motion to deal with the Guandong Gongfang can be postponed for the time being, the most urgent thing His Highness needs to do now is to go back to Luo, truly regain the lost power of Kyoto, and re-establish the second article. The imperial palace and the revival of the shogunate, this is the main theme, other than that is not important."

The three daimyos looked at each other, and they all saw the fading enthusiasm in each other's eyes. When it came to sharing the spoils after the war, they were all very positive. It's not that he's a coward without balls, but the Miyoshi family is such an easy character to deal with.

With the small bodies of these three families with thin arms and thin legs, to resist the pressure of the Miyoshi family, the Asakura family has a full 5000 troops, and the top day has 8000 people in battle. It is a problem to be conservative with [-] people. The Asai family There are only [-] to [-] people who can take action, and the Wakasa Takeda family is even more useless. The top [-] soldiers still depend on the relationship between the general's family and relatives.

But what size is Miyoshi's family? When Koxingji joined forces with a [-]-strong army, it almost scared Takeda Yoshitomo, who was watching the excitement, to pee. Half of his cheeks had to be shattered. At that time, he still lamented that Hatakeyama Takamasa was a generation of strange people. As the root cause of the civil strife in Hanoi, he still pulled up [-] troops to fight against the three good troops. If it wasn’t cloudy and rainy Let the iron cannons be useless, and maybe who will win in the end.

Takeda Yoshitaka believes that the only one who can hold Miyoshi's family in Kinai and beat him up is probably only Kanto Gongfang Ashikaga Yoshitoshi, and Nakajo Tohide's all the way division still fought the classic battle of the Luozhong War, and replaced it with the daimyos from all walks of life in Kinai Thinking about it, it is probably difficult to achieve a draw with less play and more play.

The second is Takamasa Hatakeyama, who lives in Kii. This gentleman has strong combat power and a good command. He has fought fiercely for more than ten years. Miyoshi Changqing is definitely the spiritual idol of Kinai samurai. Others such as Hatano Hideharu are still a little tender However, when encountering Sokatsu Naito, Naomasa Akai needs assistance from the side to gain a firm foothold.

None of the three were willing to take the lead, but someone had to take up the conversation, otherwise it would be a trivial matter to turn Mitsuhide Akechi's face on. Cang Yijing put on a look like I miss my wife Do Not Disturb.

Asai Nagamasa bowed his head in deep thought, as if he was thinking about where his future wife and children were. Originally, Takeda Yoshitomo was also thinking about whether to eat pickled radishes tonight, or to taste the extravagance brought by Nanban missionaries. It's a pity that Ashikaga Yoshiaki chose his name without saving face. As a righteous brother, he had to accept the move.

Takeda Yoshitomo reluctantly said: "Yes! You have to return to Kyoto and rebuild the shogunate! This is the most important thing at the moment. Only when His Royal Highness is enthroned can you justifiably crusade against him, so you should find a way as soon as possible. ! Tango Isshiki is too arrogant, it is impossible not to sanction..."

Ashikaga Yoshiaki shook his head in disappointment, and he also saw that these three were not very reliable.At least it doesn't look like he is sincerely serving the shogunate and loyal to his general.Before the matter is discussed, a lot of demands are made, hoping to be satisfied.Once the serious topic of Shangluo was involved, he began to push back and look around to talk about other things, either pretending to be stupid or perfunctory, and his attitude made him feel annoyed and angry.

At this moment, if he hadn't still had Akechi Mitsuhide's [-] elites, and what Akechi Mitsuhide called "the Treasure of Cizhao Temple" as a backing, I'm afraid he wouldn't have much confidence to be indifferent to these three families, but it's different at this time. Relying on a way out, if these three companies are unreliable, they can go to Hatakeyama Takamasa.No matter how bad it is, there is Liujiao Yixian as a spare tire, so there is no need to look at the faces of these three families.

Just when Ashikaga Yoshiaki was about to get angry and shake his face, Akechi Mitsuhide suddenly coughed and said first: "His Royal Highness has come from a long way, and he is exhausted physically and mentally, so I will come here first today, and I will discuss the matter of Shangluo in another day." ?”

The three looked at each other and got up to leave. Akechi Mitsuhide got up and sent the three away. When he turned around, Ashikaga Yoshiaki was still sullen and sullen. You must have seen the cunning of the Kinai daimyos! Back then, Guangyuanyuandian also encountered a similar process, calling on the world to crusade against Sanzhu, but there was little response. Only a few daimyos came to donate money at the annual court meeting. If His Royal Highness can’t find it as soon as possible To the supporters. The coming year's first lunar court meeting will probably be very bleak!"

Ashikaga Yoshiaki looked at Akechi Mitsuhide, and said suspiciously: "How did Hinata Mamoru know about the old things from 20 years ago?"

"So careful?" Akechi Mitsuhide remained motionless on the surface, and not only replied in a leisurely manner: "Although this subject has not been attached to the shogunate for a short time, he once served as a member of the Shinji Congregation at the side of the Guangyuan Temple. Something old."

Ashikaga Yoshiaki suddenly realized, smiled embarrassedly, and said: "It turns out that my brother also encountered similar things. It seems that Yu blamed my brother at the beginning. The day when my father passed away must have been very sad. There were indeed two things in Ashikaga Yoshiaki. Get the brush!"

"His Royal Highness Guandong Gongfang is a hero in the world, and he also strongly supported the shogunate. It was not until conflicts broke out in the past few years that he gradually reduced his contacts."

Ashikaga Yoshiaki snorted softly: "Is it because my elder brother didn't give him the second place? What does a Guandong government want to do with such a high position? If he didn't have ghosts in his heart, why would he care about this step difference? In the final analysis, Ashikaga Yoshiaki was too early. There is something against it."

After chatting for a while, Ashikaga Yoshiaki suddenly asked him about his mission to Edo. Akechi Mitsuhide smiled and answered freely, and said frankly: "At the beginning, His Royal Highness rewarded his ministers with swords and armored horses, and said that there were few samurai in Kinai. There is a great talent like this minister who tried his best to invite him to serve in Edo, but in the end he refused because he had already fulfilled his long-cherished wish to serve His Majesty the Shogun."

Ashikaga Yoshiaki said quite understandingly: "Ashikaga Yoshitoki has a good vision. An elegant person like Hinata Mamoru who is proficient in waka and tea ceremony, any samurai will treat him wholeheartedly when he sees him!"

Contempt flashed in Mingzhi Guangxiu's eyes, and he said in his heart: "At the beginning, what His Royal Highness valued me was not Waka Tea Ceremony and other frivolous details, but I, Guangxiu, who is all-rounder in civil and military affairs, has the true ability of military and political strategy, no matter how good my moral cultivation is. What can it do, after all, Ashikaga Yoshiaki can't even see that he can't rule the army and calm the people immediately, it's really disappointing."

Ashikaga Yoshiaki didn't notice this, and still thought that Akechi Mitsuhide was a rare loyal minister and good general. What's more, he was a very elegant and virtuous man who could lead troops to fight, drink tea and talk with him, and discuss romance with him. He was relieved to do things properly and meticulously. He felt that it was wonderful to have such an important minister by his side and not have to worry about anything.

Akechi Mitsuhide bowed and said: "Your Majesty Gong Fang clearly learned that this subject thinks that such a waste of time is not a solution after all. We must find a loyal and excellent samurai support as soon as possible, and open up a passage for His Royal Highness to Jinei as soon as possible. If it takes a long time, It will be quite unfavorable to His Royal Highness Gongfang if it is forgotten by the people of the Li people."

"You're right! You're right! You can't go on like this. Asakura, Asai, and my brother-in-law are all cunning, greedy and lacking in responsibility. They are not loyal and brave generals." Ashikaga Yoshiaki saw through this. The dispositions of the three, if he had read "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" written in the early Ming Dynasty, he might be able to understand the meaning of "doing great things but cherishing oneself, seeing small profits and dying righteousness".

Akechi Mitsuhide has never read Ming Dynasty novels, but it does not prevent him from understanding this truth, and said quite understandingly: "These three His Highnesses have their own concerns. There is nothing wrong with it. The only fault is that they are short-sighted and the situation is too low. In the end, they will not be able to become Yoshikawa Yoshikawa." In other words, Imakawa Liaojun is such a famous minister and good general, I think His Royal Highness Gongfang might as well look far away, there are better choices outside of Jinei."

"Choice? What else is there to choose?" Ashikaga Yoshiaki thought carefully for a while and said, "How about Harima Akamatsu?"

Akechi Mitsuhide shook his head and said: "Since the collapse of the Cargill Rebellion, the Akamatsu family has been lucky enough to re-establish the family, but it cannot prevent the decline of reputation. In recent years, driven by the Bizen Urakami family, the lords of the people from all over the country have established their own families. This is Harima Junior High School He is also controlled by the two members of the Chisong Clan, so if he cannot protect himself, what is the use to protect His Royal Highness Gongfang in the battle of Shangluo?"

"How about Hanoi High House Palace?"

Akechi Mitsuhide frowned, and said lightly: "Takaya is a hero in Kiuchi, but he has fought against the Miyoshi family for many years with his own strength, and his ambitions have been suppressed by the Miyoshi family, so it is difficult to do more. If His Royal Highness is willing to settle down in a corner of Kishu It’s a place where you might as well give it a try.”

"How about the Maori Dian Stable Hall in the Western Kingdom, or the Kyushu Otomo Jinwu Hall?"

"It's too far away, and I'm afraid it will be difficult to enter the capital for a while. If His Royal Highness is patient enough, you might as well give it a try."

Now Ashikaga Yoshiaki is not happy again, this will not work, that will not work, could it be that he will be nested in Kotani City for the rest of his life, Akechi Mitsuhide said with a smile: "His Royal Highness, don't worry! In fact, it is not far from Kinai Another heroic man with extraordinary vigor and great ambitions can inspire His Royal Highness, with such a monarch, it is not difficult to go to Luo, and it is not difficult to stabilize the capital, and he can easily restrain the three His Royal Highnesses in Xiaogu City."

Ashikaga Yoshiaki hesitated, "Could it be... Takeda Daizen doctor Shingen?"

"No, the person I'm talking about is the daimyo who owns the land of three states, Oda Kami Sosuke Nobunaga." Akechi Mitsuhide didn't know, at this time his eyes were like a hungry wolf staring at its prey, There was a bit of treachery and cunning in the smile.

……

This is the sixth year since the unification of the Kanto region. There were only two years of heavy rain in the six years. This year is the second storm in these six years. The storm that ravaged most of Japan finally stopped its raging at the end of summer. The powerful storm lost its violent power and turned into gentle autumn rain, gradually dissipating in the distance.

The judges of Yulian personally went to various countries to conduct on-the-spot surveys of the losses. It was not until the end of September that a gratifying figure was initially calculated. The losses were far smaller than expected. This was due to the continuous construction in recent years Strengthened dikes, developed Shinhori River tributaries and perfect dike protection mechanism.

The Edo River is the Tone River and the mainstream downstream, and the river is just not far from Edo Castle. In order to ensure the smooth drainage of the Edo River and not affect the direct safety of Edo Castle when the river floods, the Kanto General’s Mansion was established. He ordered the excavation of several Shinhori Rivers, covering almost all the water systems in the lower reaches of the Tone River, with a total length of tens of kilometers.

The first phase, including the diversion of the Edogawa River, was officially put into use last autumn. As for the treatment of the entire Tone River, Arakawa, Tama River and other water systems, it is not a huge project that can be completed in ten or eight years. It takes generations and a century of hard work to gradually perfect it.

It has been half a month since I came back from Tsuruoka Hachiman Shrine. During this time, Ashikaga Yoshitoki hardly ever left home. Apart from dealing with government affairs, he was busy writing his memoirs. He wrote a short memoir about his experiences in the shogunate in Kyoto for several years. , In order to commemorate the last glory of the Muromachi Shogunate and also to remember the past, by the way, I sort out the short history of working with the two generations of generals Ashikaga Yoshiharu and Ashikaga Yoshiki.

Ashikaga Yoshitoki hangs his wrist on the desk and writes hundreds of words in just a short moment. A thick stack of paper lies peacefully in the corner of the desk. It seems that he has written a lot of manuscripts these days. The process of writing memoirs is also a summary of life. Looking back at the past, some are thought-provoking and some are smiling. It seems that he enjoys the process of reminiscing.

"Father, can the child come in?"

Ashikaga Yoshitoki kept writing, writing more than a hundred characters in one breath before putting down the brush, and said softly: "Come in Jinwangmaru!" (to be continued...)