Daming Yuanfu

Chapter 2307 Fengshan (IV) Straightforward Statement of Pros and Cons

Gao Youshi asked Shimazu Tadatsune to speak, which was completely beyond Shimazu Tadatsune's expectation. However, Shimazu Tadatsune did not panic, but quickly calmed down, combined with the instructions given to him by the two halls before his departure and his recent thoughts, and then took a deep breath and prepared to speak.

Shimazu Tadatsune's eyes were determined. He knew that now was the time to reveal to Gao Yousi the voices of dissatisfaction hidden in the dark.

"Gokoku, since your order arrived in Osaka, the Toyotomi clan has been completely renovated, and the Edo Shogunate has been successfully built. All of this must be within your expectations. However, although Japan seems calm on the surface, I feel deeply that the undercurrent is turbulent. The dissatisfaction of some daimyo is like the flames under Mount Fuji, and they will erupt when the time is right." Shimazu Tadatsune's voice is low and filled with some worry.

"Oh?" Gao Youshi raised his eyebrows slightly and looked at Shimazu Tadatsune with a sharp gaze: "Tadatsune, can you describe the person you are dissatisfied with in detail?"

Shimazu Tadatsune pondered for a moment and spoke slowly: "First, the daimyo whose interests were damaged after the war, such as Mori Terumoto and Uesugi Kagekatsu. These people lost a large area of ​​territory after the war. Although they accepted the reality on the surface, they were forced to submit only because of their lack of strength. The resentment and anger in their hearts are like poison invading their internal organs, corroding their sanity day by day."

Gao Youshi nodded slightly, signaling Shimazu Tadatsune to continue.

Shimazu Tadatsune went on to say: "The second is those daimyo who cling to their native ideas. I once had a conversation with Tokugawa Hidetada on my way to the court. His words revealed his concerns about the Ming Dynasty completely annexing Japan. He was even wary of, and even disgusted with, Japan abandoning its own culture and learning from the Ming Dynasty.

I suspect that this sentiment also existed in his father, Tokugawa Ieyasu. They feared that the influence of Beijing would erode Japan's traditions and culture. This fear was like the cold wind in winter, biting and difficult to dispel. "

Gao Fusi frowned slightly. He knew that what Shimazu Tadatsune said was true, because it was almost human nature. The conservative forces in Japan have always been very strong, especially the old turtle Tokugawa Ieyasu. He was a typical conservative in the original history, and the reason why the Edo Shogunate closed the country to the outside world was also closely related to his conservative mentality.

It was normal for such a person to worry that the Ming culture would completely cover up Japan's traditions, and it was even natural for him to influence Tokugawa Hidetada.

Perhaps because Gao Youshi was silent, Shimazu Tadatsune thought he wanted him to continue, so he did not stop and analyzed, "There is another type of daimyo who thinks he has made great contributions after the war and still feels that the rewards he received are not enough, such as Date Masamune and Fukushima Masanori.

They made great contributions in the war and paid a great price, but the rewards they received in the end were far below their expectations. The resentment and unwillingness in their hearts are like a volcano that may erupt at any time.

Gao Youshi could only agree with this statement.

Why did both of them feel that their contributions far outweighed the benefits they ultimately received? This requires some stories behind the Battle of Azuchi.

Let's talk about Fukushima Masanori first. During his lifetime, Toyotomi Hideyoshi established a system of senior ministers' consultation based on the "Five Elders and Five Magistrates". On the one hand, he entrusted his young son Toyotomi Hideyori to Tokugawa Ieyasu, and on the other hand, he used this to limit Tokugawa Ieyasu's power.

However, as soon as Toyotomi Hideyoshi died, Tokugawa Ieyasu began to undermine the "Five Great Elders and Five Magistrates". After Maeda Toshiie died, Tokugawa Ieyasu unscrupulously undermined the foundation of the "Five Great Elders and Five Magistrates" system.

After some manipulation, the Maeda family, one of the five elders, became a vassal of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the Ukita family was greatly weakened by internal strife, and the Mori family was silent; Asano Nagamasa, the most senior of the "Five Bugyo", was subdued by Tokugawa Ieyasu, and Ishida Mitsunari, the most influential, was forced to live in seclusion, and the remaining three Bugyo were unable to fight. At this time, only Uesugi Kenshin's adopted son Uesugi Kagekatsu did not succumb to Tokugawa Ieyasu.

In May of the fifth year of Keicho, Tokugawa Ieyasu called on all the daimyo in Japan to attack Uesugi Kagekatsu on the pretext that Uesugi Kagekatsu had violated the "General Peace Order" issued by Hideyoshi during his lifetime. Because Uesugi Kagekatsu's territory was located in Mutsu-Kunizu in northeastern Japan, Tokugawa Ieyasu ordered the daimyo to gather in his territory, Kanto. He also led most of his retainers and troops to leave the Toyotomi family's main city, Fushimi, and headed for Edo Castle.

After Tokugawa Ieyasu arrived in Kanto, Ishida Mitsunari, Otani Yoshitsugu, Mori Terumoto, and Ukita Hideie formed the Western Army to attack Tokugawa Ieyasu and controlled Kinki. Because of the strength of Mori Terumoto and Ukita Hideie, they controlled Toyotomi Hideyori's home city of Osaka, so the three elders and the four magistrates began to unite, and their momentum was unmatched. Under such circumstances, most of the daimyos in western Japan joined the Western Army, and even Kato Kiyomasa once expressed his intention to join the Western Army.

Although Tokugawa Ieyasu was the most powerful daimyo under the Toyotomi regime at that time, he was not strong enough to fight against the entire Western Army alone. Tokugawa Ieyasu had to win the support of other daimyo of the Toyotomi regime, the more the better. And what Tokugawa Ieyasu needed most at this time was the daimyo who had led their troops to Kanto. Only by winning their support, Tokugawa Ieyasu would have enough troops to fight against the Western Army.

In July, Tokugawa Ieyasu convened a meeting of all the daimyo who arrived in Kanto, which was called "Oyama Evaluation". The daimyo who participated in the "Oyama Evaluation" were either the trusted relatives of Toyotomi Hideyoshi or those who were opportunistic. Unfortunately, Tokugawa Ieyasu could not offer real benefits to win them over. It was actually quite difficult to win them over, and the failure to win them over meant the failure of the formation of the Eastern Army.

At the critical moment, Fukushima Masanori took the initiative to jump out to support Tokugawa Ieyasu. Fukushima Masanori was a direct descendant of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's direct descendants. His statement made most of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's direct descendants choose to support Tokugawa Ieyasu, and the daimyo who changed their minds also turned to Tokugawa Ieyasu. Therefore, under Fukushima Masanori's positive statement, the formation of the Eastern Army, which was originally not easy, was successfully completed.

So the question is, why did Fukushima Masanori come out to support Ieyasu at this time? Because Princess Kai sent someone to hint to him before he arrived in Kanto, making him mistakenly believe that Ieyasu had received full support from Jinghua. After arriving in Kanto, Fukushima Masanori found a lot of Ming army artillery in Ieyasu's army, and immediately determined that Princess Kai was right, and Jinghua had indeed made a big bet on Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Fukushima Masanori was the commander of the Fifth Army of the Nine Japanese Armies during the invasion of Korea. His army numbered 25,000, second only to the 30,000 men of the Seventh Army of Mori Terumoto. Moreover, his Fifth Army was Hideyoshi's direct line, which showed his status.

During the Korean War, Fukushima Masanori summarized the Ming army's greatest advantages into two points: extremely strong cavalry and extremely strong artillery.

Fukushima Masanori believed that the strength of the Ming cavalry was reflected in charging and chasing. The Japanese ponies were not fit to fight the Ming army head-on, especially since the Ming cavalry was armored (or semi-armored) cavalry, and their impact was ridiculously large. Not to mention chasing, the Japanese ponies could not outrun the new breed of war horses bred by the Ming army based on Mongolian horses. If they were defeated in a head-on battle, they would only suffer a great defeat.

As for artillery, this further reflects the huge gap between Japan and the Ming Dynasty in terms of technology and economic strength. The Ming army almost always used artillery bombardment as a "starting move" in attacking. Without first bombing the Japanese city and fortress to pieces, the Ming army would hardly launch a formal attack.

The problem is that the Japanese army knew that the Ming army always used this trick, but they just couldn't crack it. This is exactly what Gao Youshi, the commander of the Ming army at that time, said: in the face of absolute strength, all conspiracies and tricks are futile.

After the Korean War, Fukushima Masanori may have developed some kind of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) towards the Ming cavalry and artillery, and felt that there was no chance of victory as long as he faced the Ming cavalry and cannons. This emotion also had an effect in reverse, that is, when he found the Ming army's standard artillery in Ieyasu's army, he determined that the Western Army would be defeated.

This emotion even made him invest more forces in subsequent battles than he did in the Battle of Sekigahara in the original history. In the Battle of Sekigahara in the original history, Fukushima Masanori sent out 6,000 troops, second only to Tokugawa Ieyasu's headquarters of 30,000 troops and Asano Yukinaga's 6,500 troops.

In this Azuchi battle, Fukushima Masanori sent out 8,000 troops, which undoubtedly surpassed Asano Yukinaga and was the one who sent out the most troops in the Eastern Army besides Ieyasu's headquarters. Not only that, Fukushima Masanori was also the vanguard of the Eastern Army's main force when it marched westward, and he took the initiative to do so.

In this way, he thought that his military achievements were the best among the Eastern Army (Ieyasu himself certainly didn't count), which seemed to be no problem. However, what about his gains? Well, it can only be said to be average.

He originally owned 240,000 koku of territory in Owari Kiyosu Castle, but after the war, it was transferred to Takayoshi Yoshitsu. The new territory was allocated from the reduced territory of the Uesugi family. Although the location changed, the size of the territory did not decrease, and even increased slightly, and he obtained 320,000 koku of territory in Mutsu.

The increase from 240,000 shi to 320,000 shi seems good, so why is he not satisfied? Because people will die if they are compared with others, and goods will be thrown away if they are compared with others.

For example, the Shimazu family increased from 58 koku to 133 koku. Did the Shimazu family have greater military achievements than Fukushima Masanori? No, it was because the Shimazu family was the first to join Gao Youzhi; the Kuroda family increased from 14 koku to 52 koku. Did it mean that they had greater military achievements than Fukushima Masanori? No, it was because the Kuroda family secretly joined Gao Youzhi in the late period of the Korean War, and during the East-West War, they helped Gao Youzhi make contacts everywhere and promoted interest-bearing loans from Jinghua as "aid" to the daimyo who participated in the war.

As for the Narita family, it was even more incomparable. As the family of Princess Kai, the Narita family went from being the lord of the Tamanawa Castle to directly obtaining the entire Owari 600,000 koku, which was simply a step to heaven.

All of the above daimyo were related to Gao Youshi, so Fukushima Masanori accepted it with a pinched nose. What he really couldn't convince himself of was Kato Kiyomasa's reward. Kato Kiyomasa, the former lord of Higo Kumamoto, lost his original territory after the war because of Gao Youshi's reward to the Shimazu family. However, Gao Youshi did not abandon this important member of the Eastern Army, and divided a part of the territory reduced by Mori Terumoto as Kato Kiyomasa's new territory.

Bingo, Bichu, and Mimasaku, these three connected lands are different from Higo, but they are equally rich. The total stone height is about 550,000 koku, which is an increase of 20% from Higo's 340,000 koku. As much as 110,000 stones.

Why? Fukushima Masanori was very dissatisfied. He and Kato Kiyomasa were both generals of the Eastern Army, but Kato Kiyomasa did not even fight in the Battle of Azuchi. Instead, he was sent to attack Shikoku Island and then landed in Bitchu to threaten the Mori and Ukita families. Speaking of which, the battles faced by Kato Kiyomasa were less difficult than his own, so why did he gain more than himself?

Fukushima Masanori couldn't understand this reason, because he was not Gao Youshi. In the eyes of Gao Youshi, a time traveler, Kato Kiyomasa was not only much more mature than Fukushima Masanori in politics, but also a master in domestic affairs. He could effectively curb the Mori family by enfeoffing him in Bingo, Bitchu, and Mimasaka, and there was no need to worry about him making dementia-like moves.

What about Fukushima Masanori? Although he is brave and good at fighting, he has almost no political acumen and is the kind of person who can be easily fooled by Ieyasu. This kind of person is good when he can be used as a sword, but he should not be used too much in peacetime.

Fukushima Masanori didn't know this, so he naturally felt that Gao Youshi's reward was unfair. He didn't reflect on himself and naturally felt resentful.

Then let's talk about why Date Masamune was also dissatisfied. Date Masamune also obtained some new territories in the reward order issued by Gao Youshi, but not much, basically the part he had seized in the war with Uesugi Kagekatsu. In other words, Gao Youshi almost didn't give him anything "for free".

This is to talk about Date Masamune's performance in the battle between the East and West armies. First of all, it should be pointed out that Date Masamune did not participate in the Battle of Azuchi. His battlefield was in the northeast, and his war target was only one: Uesugi Kagekatsu.

Here's what happened: Before the East-West War, the issue of Satake Yoshinobu joining the Western Army remained unresolved, but the battle between Uesugi Kagekatsu and Date Masamune had already begun in mid-July.

Uesugi Kagekatsu and Naoe Kanetsugu were well aware of Date Masamune's obsession to retake his homeland, so while preparing for Tokugawa Ieyasu's northern expedition, Naoe Kanetsugu ordered the garrison commander of Shiraishi Castle, which was only a stone's throw away from Date's territory, to strengthen defense on July 14, and quickly sent more troops to assist in defense. If they found that Date Masamune was invading from the south, they must report it as soon as possible. If necessary, Naoe Kanetsugu would personally lead his troops to support and fight a decisive battle with the Date army.

As expected by Kanetsugu Naoe, Date Masamune sent his trusted confidant Katakura Kagetsuna to lead troops to besiege Shiraishi Castle in late July. On July 25, Shiraishi Castle, which was the focus of Naoe Kanetsugu's defense, was captured by Katakura Kagetsuna's Date army, and more than half of the soldiers in Shiraishi Castle were killed or wounded.

After receiving the news of the capture of Shiraishi Castle, Date Masamune immediately informed Tokugawa Hidetada who stayed in Utsunomiya and Tokugawa Ieyasu who was in Edo. Date Masamune also informed the two that the Date army would continue to advance inland towards Kuwaze County, and the next target would be Fukushima Castle in the central region.

However, it turned out that Date Masamune's capture of Shiraishi Castle was only a small loss for Uesugi Kagekatsu. Facing the Uesugi family's strategy of layered defense, the further inland the army of Date Masamune invaded, the greater the resistance it encountered.

On the day after the Battle of Shiroishi Castle, the Date army wanted to pursue the victory and contact the local small lords who had belonged to the Date family in the past to launch an armed uprising and cooperate with the Date army to attack Kawamata Castle and Odate in the southwest. However, they were immediately defeated by the Uesugi reinforcements from Fukushima Castle, and the plan to quickly attack Fukushima Castle was hindered.

Securing Kawamita Castle and Odate and successfully preventing the Date family from advancing at full speed was a key turning point for Uesugi Kagekatsu and Naoe Kanetsugu. By the end of July, the good news came that Tokugawa Ieyasu turned west to fight a decisive battle with Ishida Mitsunari, which meant that the pressure on the Uesugi family's southern front was greatly reduced. For Date Masamune and Mogami Yoshimitsu, this meant that they would have to withstand the Uesugi family's counterattack alone.

On July 27, seeing that the situation was improving, Naoe Kanetsugu immediately organized a counterattack and ordered the defenders of Date County to do their best to delay the Date army until the main force of Date Masamune arrived, and then launch a full-scale attack.

On the other side, Date Masamune learned that Tokugawa Ieyasu had left, so in order to avoid losing his advantage, he immediately wrote a letter asking Tokugawa Ieyasu to order Tokugawa Hidetada and others who stayed behind in the government to march north at full speed to break through Shirakawa Pass, in order to divert the attention of the Uesugi army in the south.

In addition, Date Masamune also asked Tokugawa Ieyasu to order Mogami Yoshimitsu in Yamagata Castle, requiring the Mogami army to invade Nagai County in the north-central part of the Uesugi territory, forcing the Uesugi family to face the dilemma of multi-line defense, thereby weakening the defense of the Date family.

To emphasize the seriousness of the situation, Date Masamune warned Tokugawa Ieyasu: "If your actions are delayed, the daimyo who are besieging Uesugi will be misled, and then something unfavorable to us will happen."

Of course, Date Masamune's warning was not an exaggeration. The combined military strength of the Ou daimyo was only about the same as that of the Uesugi family. Without external support, the weak Ou daimyo would not be able to fight the Uesugi family. The more likely outcome would be that the Ou daimyo would secretly communicate with the Uesugi family in order to protect themselves, and the Ou region would become another stronghold of the Western Army.

However, Date Masamune's concerns were not fully accepted by Tokugawa Ieyasu, who still decided to return to Edo in early August. At the same time, he also instructed Tokugawa Hidetada, Yuki Hideyasu and other garrison troops to only guard and not take the initiative to attack. Mogami Yoshimitsu had fewer troops than Date Masamune, and his territory bordered the Uesugi territory on the northwest and south. Even if Tokugawa Ieyasu issued instructions, he could not pose a major threat to Uesugi Kagekatsu alone.

In the face of the war, the Date army gradually fell into an isolated situation. In mid-August, Date Masamune decided to revise his strategy. On the one hand, he ordered Katakura Kagetsuna to speed up the repair of the newly captured Shiraishi Castle, and on the other hand, he stopped launching a strong attack on the Uesugi army and instead sent a small force to cause chaos in the area where the two armies met, and then sent troops south to attack Ryokawa Castle.

After the news that the Western Army occupying Kinki decided to launch an attack on Tokugawa Ieyasu reached Oshu, the weak daimyo were even more unwilling to fight. Even the Nanbu family, which was connected to the northern part of the Date domain, was suspected of secretly communicating with the Uesugi family. These unfavorable factors forced Date Masamune to further change his strategy to deal with possible adverse events.

The strategy of the Uesugi family at that time was very simple and clear. It was to take advantage of the fact that the Date family was the only one that stood out, and to concentrate its forces and force the Date family to surrender or defect to the Western Army. As long as the most powerful Date family changed their position, the other Oshu daimyo would inevitably turn to the Uesugi family.

When the Uesugi clan, led by Naoe Kanetsugu, was planning to intensify their counterattack against Date Masamune, they were invited to cease fire by Date Masamune. On August 7, after learning about the sudden change in the situation in Kyosho and the real reason why Tokugawa Ieyasu was heading west, Date Masamune secretly asked Uesugi Kagekatsu and Naoe Kanetsugu to cease fire in order to avoid being attacked fiercely by the Uesugi clan and to preserve his own strength.

However, Kanetsugu Naoes did not believe that Date Masamune was sincere in seeking peace, so while negotiating with Date Masamune, he continued to instruct his subordinates to strengthen the defensive fortifications in Fukushima and Ryokawa.

On the other hand, Date Masamune's request for a truce was indeed just a delaying tactic to disrupt the deployment of the Uesugi army. Although both sides were playing tricks and engaging in intrigue, the Uesugi and Date sides almost stopped large-scale conflicts after mid-August, and the war situation fell into a stalemate.

For both Uesugi and Date, it was obviously not a wise move to waste troops on the most powerful opponent in a fierce battle when the situation in Keihan was unclear. Therefore, Date Masamune changed from attacking to watching, which also allowed the Uesugi family to adjust their deployment and respond according to the situation.

Judging from the results, Date Masamune's decision was not wise. Of course, if we only look at the situation at the time, there is nothing wrong with Date Masamune's choice. After all, facing the powerful Uesugi family, it can prevent them from attacking Kanto as expected by the Western Army, and they can only focus on dealing with the Date and Mogami families. In this respect, Date Masamune actually did it.

However, the problem was that the Eastern Army won the Battle of Azuchi in the end, and Tokugawa Ieyasu believed that Date Masamune's approach of preserving strength in his later years was too selfish, so he was unwilling to give him too many rewards.

  Gao Fusi knew that Tokugawa Ieyasu did not mean this, but thought that Date Masamune was already strong, and if he continued to strengthen, it might be a hidden danger to the Tokugawa family in the future. But so what, Ieyasu's concerns were reasonable! Wouldn't Gao Yan have to face this situation after he inherited the shogunate in the future?

Therefore, Gao Youshi affirmed Ieyasu's suggestion. Date Masamune had almost no additional gains except for the small amount of territory he had taken in the early days, and thus became dissatisfied with Gao Youshi.

Gao Youshi pondered for a moment, nodded slightly to show his affirmation of Shimazu Tadatsune, and then said: "So, at present, there are at least some powerful daimyo in Japan such as Mori Terumoto, Uesugi Kagekatsu, Fukushima Masanori, and Date Masamune who are resentful.

Although the Tokugawa family is my ally, they are also concerned about whether Japan can still survive, so there is a hidden danger that they are unwilling to cooperate on some matters? "

Shimazu Tadatsune bowed deeply and replied, "No one is wiser than the Imperial Court."

  Gao Youshi smiled and asked, "Since you have stated the pros and cons directly, I believe you have a plan to deal with it. Please tell me."
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