Ming Dynasty: My Father Zhang Juzheng

Matsuyama Castle.

Thick smoke billowed over the city, corpses were piled high, and sticky blood was crackling as it was burned by the raging fire, emitting a fishy smell of human blood.

The bricks of the city wall were a mixture of black and green, like a black beast with green bruises left on it from being whipped.

On both sides of the road outside the city, the soldiers of the Otomo clan, unable to resist, prostrated themselves on the ground.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi was very proud and walked forward with his hands behind his back, under the protection of everyone.

Looking at the captured city and the enemy soldiers kneeling on the ground, Toyotomi Hideyoshi was delighted and said, "Stand up, everyone. Since you have surrendered to me, you will be my subordinates in the future."

"Thank you, Kanpaku, for not killing us." The surrendered soldiers on the ground shouted in unison.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi laughed loudly, and walked straight into Matsuyama Castle under everyone's gaze. Passing through the wide streets, Toyotomi Hideyoshi came to the castle lord's mansion, and once inside, everyone sat down in order.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi was seen sitting in the main seat.

On the remaining two sides, Kuroda Kotaka, Mori Terumoto and others sat down in turn.

The maids came in, put down the cakes and tea, and then hurried out.

"Kuroda-kun, the Otomo family is more fragile than I thought. The old man Otomo Sorin was once a great leader of Kyushu Island, but I didn't expect that he would be reduced to such a state now." Taking a sip of tea, Toyotomi Hideyoshi looked at the black-robed Kuroda Kotaka and said, "When I was still a small soldier under Lord Oda, this man was already famous. Today, when we meet again with swords, it turns out to be like this."

Kuroda Xiaogao smiled slightly and replied, "Otomo Sorin is good at maintaining the status quo but not at making progress. Now that he is old, he has been drained of his body by women and no longer has the ambition to make progress."

"Hahaha" Toyotomi Hideyoshi laughed continuously, and his behavior and expression were full of disdain for the Otomo family.

If it weren't for the help of the Ming army, the Otomo family's territory would have long been under his command.

Even if he did not take action, the Otomo family would sooner or later be swallowed up by the Shimazu family. That evil wolf would not let go of the aging tiger.

"Kanpaku, now that we have captured Matsuyama Castle, shouldn't we march into Funai Castle as soon as possible so that we can quickly meet up with Konishi-kun?" Seeing everyone boasting about their battle achievements, Mori Terumoto became anxious and could not help but remind them.

"Yes, what Mr. Mori said makes sense." Toyotomi Hideyoshi nodded.

Then, the army began to hold a military meeting.

First of all, Matsuyama Castle is located northwest of the main castle of the Otomo family. Go there, cross Kotake Castle, and cross a river.

The main castle of the Otomo family, Funaichi, was completely exposed to the attack of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's troops.

After these several attempts, Toyotomi Hideyoshi had already seen through the Otomo family's true colors.

Their warriors were poorly equipped and had low combat effectiveness, and were no match for his army. All along the way, he encountered very weak resistance, even in the most tragic Matsuyama Castle.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi's army only launched a fierce attack for less than a day.

Comparing the enemy's and our own situation, Toyotomi Hideyoshi looked at the third burly general on the left and said sternly, "Todo-kun, this time you will be the vanguard and lead the surrendered Otomo samurai to Kotake Castle to recruit the Otomo soldiers."

"Hi!" The general stood up and bowed deeply to Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

The leader was called Fujido Takatora, and was famous in the Toyotomi army for his bad temper, tall and strong stature, and bravery in combat.

Compared to the average Japanese who are short, Fujido Takatora is nearly 1.9 meters tall.

When he stood up, all the people sitting there turned into dwarfs.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi looked at Fujido Takatora, and a trace of envy flashed across his eyes, but it was fleeting. He restrained his expression and waved his hand, saying: "Go, Fujido-kun, use the big sword in your hand to show this old lion who is the real hero."

"Hey!" Fujido Takatora nodded heavily, facing everyone's gazes, and strode out of the small hall.

As soon as he left, the whole room became much brighter, and everyone's tense posture relaxed a lot.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi took over the previous conversation and continued: "There is an old Chinese saying that the best strategy is to defeat the enemy without fighting. Fujido-kun wants to attack Kotake Castle, and at the same time we have to put pressure on the Otomo family."

"If he is willing to surrender, it would be the best thing."

Kuroda Kotaka and others nodded in agreement.

The trapped beast still fought, and they had to be a little cautious about the fatal blow delivered by the old lion.

Naturally, everyone present was happy to see that they were able to defeat the enemy without fighting and capture the Otomo family without bloodshed.

After the agreement was reached, Toyotomi Hideyoshi personally wrote a letter, handed it to the messenger, and went straight to the Funai Castle of the Otomo family. Toyotomi Hideyoshi was quite pleased with his arrangement.

It is expected that the Otomo family will find it difficult to cope with this two-pronged approach.

As his mood improved, an evil thought quickly emerged from his heart, making him blush. The slaves just now appeared in his mind, and his throat suddenly felt dry, and he couldn't help swallowing his saliva.

Everyone understood, smiled the way all men understand, and found an excuse to leave the hall.

Inner city.

Meeting hall.

In the hall, Otomo Sorin, with his white hair and beard and face full of age spots, sat in the main seat. The other two sides, three layers inside and three layers outside, were surrounded by Otomo family members and retainers.

A tense and depressing atmosphere spread in the hall.

At this moment, everyone looked at the elderly master.

"Ahem." After two violent coughs, Otomo Sorin raised his gloomy face and said weakly, "Toyotomi Hideyoshi's army has captured Matsuyama Castle and is now heading towards Kotake Castle. Tell us what you have planned."

After saying this, Otomo Sorin suddenly looked ten years older, and the last bit of his strength was drained away.

Songshan City was lost. Although Xiaozhu City was also guarded by members of the same family, the place was easy to attack but difficult to defend, and I'm afraid it wouldn't hold out for long.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi was as powerful as a tiger, and the Otomo family might not be able to survive this.

"Father! In my opinion, we should withdraw our troops and fight Toyotomi Hideyoshi in Funai Castle." An angry Otomo Yoshitsugu said with gritted teeth, "As long as we can hold on for half a year, the reinforcements of the Ming army will arrive. Toyotomi Hideyoshi wants to swallow up my Otomo family, but he must see if he has the teeth to do it first!"

As soon as he said this, he immediately received cheers from the pro-war faction of the Otomo family.

"Yes, Master Yitong is right. The city has stored food for more than a year. The city walls are high and the moats are deep. It will never be breached so easily!"

"Fight Toyotomi Hideyoshi!"

"In my Otomo family, there are only samurai who died in battle, not samurai who surrendered."

"."

There was a lot of noise and excitement in the hall. An elder of the peace faction said with a bitter face: "You young people only know how to act on impulse. Do you know how many troops Toyotomi Hideyoshi has?"

"There are nearly 200,000 of them. How can we fight them?"

"The elder is right. We must not fight head-on!" A retainer general echoed.

"You are acting on impulse and only care about your passion. Have you ever considered the feelings of the people in the city?" An old man argued with red cheeks, filled with righteous indignation, "Once the resistance is defeated and these beasts enter Funai City, will our people still have a chance to survive?" "Then if we let them in, our people will have a chance to survive?" Otomo Yoshitsugu shouted angrily.

"When the Ming army attacked, we sent gifts, which led to our peace today. If we send gifts again today, wouldn't it be a good thing?" The old man said shamelessly, "I heard that Toyotomi Hideyoshi likes beautiful women. The head of the family's daughter, Miss Chiyoko, is sixteen years old this year and is very beautiful. As long as the head of the family is willing to offer her, Toyotomi Hideyoshi will definitely accept our surrender."

The Chiyo he was referring to was none other than Otomo Yoshitsugu's daughter, Otomo Chiyoko.

She was born when Otomo Sorin was old. Because she was a girl and was very cute, everyone in the Otomo family liked her.

When Otomo Yoshitsugu heard that he was going to use his sister to keep alive, he immediately became furious. He stepped forward, grabbed the old man and said with wide eyes, "You old thing, how dare you use Chiyoko to exchange for your wealth? I'll beat you to death!"

As he spoke, Otomo Yoshitsugu swung his fist and hit the elder in the eye.

The family elder felt a black screen before his eyes and fell backwards, but was quickly pulled back by Otomo Yoshitsugu.

The piercing pain mixed with humiliation rolled in his heart. The family elder roared with a red face: "Rebellion, rebellion, I am your uncle, how dare you hit me like this."

'Rebellion. Rebellion!'

"I'm hitting you, an old man who doesn't respect his elders."

Otomo Yoshitsugu swung his fist and punched the patriarch hard in the right eye.

A heart-wrenching scream rang out again.

The scene was in chaos. They had not expected that Otomo Yoshitsugu would be so violent and violent. Some people tried to hold Otomo Yoshitsugu's arms, while others tried to pull the family elder. The living room was filled with noise.

On the main seat, Otomo Sorin was so angry when he saw this that he grabbed the cane beside him and slammed it on the ground, cursing, "That's enough! I'm not dead yet, it's your turn to be the master of this family, Otomo Yoshitsugu!"

"Father!" Otomo Yoshitsugu was anxious.

"Shut up, let go of the elder and get out of here!"

"Humph."

Otomo Yoshimichi retaliated by pushing forward, causing the family elder to stumble and fall to the ground.

He simply grabbed his beard, kicked his hands and feet wildly and said angrily: "Rebellion. Rebellion, it's unjust, the nephew dared to hit his uncle, I might as well die, wuwuwu., head of the family, this is the good son you taught."

"How dare you!" Otomo Yoshimichi gasped, raising his fist as big as a vinegar jar, murderous intent flashing in his blood-red pupils.

The old man was frightened by this and stopped crying immediately, turning away with a red face.

At this time, Otomo Sorin, who was sitting in the main seat, waved his hand and signaled his son to go down. Otomo Yoshitsugu was full of indignation. He glared at the elder of the family and left in anger.

As he walked out of the hall, Otomo Yoshitsugu was still upset. The two countries were at war, and the territory that the men could not defend had to be borne by a sixteen-year-old girl.

He felt ashamed and humiliated!

Otomo Yoshitsugu would rather die on the battlefield than live in such humiliation. Although the Otomo family had previously surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty came from afar and it was impossible for them to occupy the entire island of Japan.

Moreover, the relationship between the three companies is more of a cooperative one.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi's army was on the march, and he was determined to annex the Otomo family, even if they had to bow down and offer their women, and live in humiliation like a dog.

"No, I will never live like a dog!" Otomo Yoshitsugu roared heartbreakingly.

"Brother, what's wrong with you?"

A sweet voice like that of an oriole was heard, and Otomo Yoshitsugu turned around and saw a worried young girl appear before him.

The girl was about fifteen or sixteen years old, about five feet tall, with skin as white as snow, beautiful eyebrows and a pair of big watery eyes under a pair of delicate eyebrows.

Just like a pool of clear spring water, just one glance made Otomo Yoshitsugu's irritability disappear.

The girl was none other than his younger sister, Chiyoko Otomo.

"Nothing." Otomo Yoshitsugu waved his hand, walked forward with a smile, and gently rubbed his sister's head. "Why are you here instead of watching the cherry blossoms with your mother in the backyard?"

Otomo Chiyoko smiled lightly, revealing two beautiful dimples on her fair cheeks: "I heard that you had a fight with the family elder, so I ran over to check. Brother, are you okay?"

Otomo Yoshitsugu was deeply moved. He smiled and shook his head, saying nonchalantly, "What can happen to my brother? Even if I let that old guy give me a hand, he can't hurt me at all."

"Come on, I'll take you to eat something delicious."

"Okay!" Chiyo Otomo immediately agreed with a smile.

The brother and sister came to the shade of a tree in the backyard.

There was a small rug on the ground, which was filled with fine wine and pastries. Otomo Yoshitsugu sat against a tree, and his sister sat opposite him.

As soon as they sat down, Chiyoko Otomo smiled sweetly and reached out to pour a glass of sake for herself and her brother.

"Brother, this glass of wine is for you." Chiyoko Otomo raised her glass and chuckled.

"Well, Chiyoko has grown up too." Otomo Yoshimichi picked up the wine glass in front of him, clinked it with his sister, tilted his head back and drank it, and said with emotion, "When I first saw you, you were still curled up in your swaddling clothes, a little one who could only babble."

"Now, you have become a beautiful young lady."

Otomo Chiyoko nodded.

Time passed so quickly that she felt that her father and brother had aged a lot in a daze.

Especially my elder brother, who is only 35 years old but already has white hair on his temples.

Upon seeing this, Chiyo Otomo felt a pang of pain in her heart.

I have been able to live a carefree life, with fine clothes and delicious food, all thanks to the protection of my father and brother.

Now that the family needs her to make sacrifices, how can she back down?
"Brother, I am willing to marry Toyotomi Hideyoshi." Taking a deep breath, Otomo Chiyoko looked at her brother and said seriously.

"What did you say?!" Otomo Yoshitsugu thought he had misheard, his eyes widened, and he asked again to confirm, "You mean, you're going to marry that old man Toyotomi Hideyoshi?"

"Yes, I heard everything." Chiyoko Otomo bit her lip and answered softly.

"No, I don't agree!"

"why?"

"Even if I, Otomo Yoshitsugu, die in battle, I will never use my sister as a bargaining chip!"

"But...but, I am the daughter of the Otomo family." Chiyoko Otomo mustered up her courage and said.

"If it really comes to that, I will kill you first and then kill myself." (End of this chapter)