Pillars of the Wu family

The Takeda family is having a headache for the difficult Kira Legion, and the life of the Kira family on the other side is not very easy. This time, the main force of the headquarters in Kira Yoshishi was only 8000 people, of which 4000 were from the Echi reserve team, [-] from the Shinano reserve team, plus The main force is [-] people, and the only expansion in the past few years is the training of [-] new troops. It can be said that the speed of this military training is still too slow.

Kira Yoshitoshi also realized that he misjudged the situation. He always thought that he would fight Kawanakajima five times as in history. He would have time to slowly train his main force, but he never thought about the rapid development of Echigo in the past few years. One year is a ladder. The national power grows and the people become rich and strong. It has almost become the center of attention of the entire Kanto, Yu'ao, and Hokuriku. The number of merchants and tourists from all over the world has doubled. pull away.

In order to reassure Nagao Keigoro, Yoshitoki Kira took the initiative to bear the pressure from the direction of Shinano, 1000 main troops, and more than 8000 Echigo National Army such as Kakizaki Keie, Usami Sadami, and about 7000 Shinano National Army , a total of more than [-] people.

In addition to the fact that the Kira Legion is too powerful to be ignored, the Echigo National Army is also very strong. The Kakizaki Keke family and other Echigo people each have a hundred or ten cavalry warriors. For example, the Kakizaki Keke family has more than 300 well-equipped horsemen. The cavalry has received guidance and training from the Shinano Reserve Team in recent years, and it took a lot of effort to get rid of the title of "mountain infantry" and become a cavalry with a good level. This war can be fought.

A few ashigaru generals glanced at the numerous warriors in the hall in wonder, and asked, "How should this war be fought? Do we still have to use the method of three years ago? But will the Takeda family still be fooled?"

"Impossible! We won't be able to fight a joint battle in a short time, so let's rest first!" Benta shook his head for a while, then turned to face Yoshiki Kira and said respectfully: "Before the military meeting was held, I asked Murakami Habayashi , Kakizaki and Izumiden, the morale of the samurai below is very low, and they have not yet come out of the depression of losing their homeland. If the morale cannot be boosted in a short time, it will be difficult to determine the outcome of this battle as soon as possible."

"Yes! I have observed that the Takeda army camp on Chausu Mountain is very heavily guarded. If the Takeda army decides to drag it down, it will be troublesome."

"Also Hachimanhara is under the control of the Takeda army. It's really not easy!" Ben Duo was startled in his heart, and hurriedly said, "The Takeda family won't really plan on this, right?"

"Let's not talk about this first." Ji Liangyi shook his head and said: "How do you fight if you don't have the morale of the army? You should also focus on stabilizing the morale of the army! As for the military adjustment, it will be announced later." [

The whole process of the Takeda family setting up camp was highly monitored by Kira Ninja. Kira Yoshishi had first-hand information about the Takeda family in his hand, and he also knew that the Takeda army stationed on Chausu Mountain was very tightly defended. The appearance of winning, if you really want to use delaying tactics, Kira's army really can't afford to delay.

So Kira Yoshitoshi quickly made adjustments.The defender of Haijin City is still Murakami Yoshikiyo, and he will lead the Murakami Army, Takanashi Army, Inoue Army, Yadai Army and other Northern Shinano Army's [-] troops as bait, and the remaining [-] troops will gather in Asahiyama Castle to reorganize Practice, and strive to improve the tacit understanding of cooperation in a short period of time.

The Takeda family on Chajiu Mountain was also not idle. When the Takeda family became more and more convinced that the Kira Army was difficult to deal with, Takeda Harunobu changed his strategy in time.First of all, I love you to gather the submissive Chinese in Shinano with the momentum of a great victory, and occupy the Obori Pavilion, Hirota Village, and Yokota Castle on Hachimangahara.

These three fortresses happened to include Hachimangahara as a whole within the monitoring range, and any army attempting to land in Hachimangahara would be discovered immediately. In order to improve the defense against invasion, the gold diggers of the Takeda family began to repair and expand Three fortified cities, and eight thousand troops were sent to garrison the three cities.

These three strongholds can not only ensure the unabated defense, but also play a very strong offensive.Takeda Harunobu intends to take advantage of the opportunity of these three fortresses to strengthen his exploits and penetration of Kaizu Castle, which hangs on the south bank of the Chikuma River. It is going to decline extremely quickly, but this strong city with three thousand defenders is not as easy to pull down as imagined.

Haijin City is located in the valley of Xiangshan Mountain. On the west side is the famous Zhanu Mountain. Among the peaks stretching westward from Xiangshan Mountain to Zumvshan Mountain are Zhushan Castle, Tiancheng Castle, Angu Castle, and Tangqi Castle. Niyi City on Niyi Mountain was also in the hands of Kira's army.The entire south bank of the Chikuma River is controlled by the Kira family.

Kaizu Castle, facing the Chikumagawa River, has a strong enough supporting force and strategic depth. Once the Takeda family makes an attack on Kaizu Castle, the Kira Navy deployed in the Chikumagawa River Basin can easily cut off the passage of the Takeda army back to Hachimanhara. Several tentative attacks were easily resisted by Yoshiki Murakami, and the stalemate was not resolved.

In Aizu County in the remote Iwashiro region of the Mutsu country, a black army appeared outside Kurokawa City.The Ashina family warriors greeted by several leading generals flaunting their might could not lift their heads, and several other warriors hid in the team and looked left and right at the Kurokawa Castle next to Inawashiro Lake in the hinterland of Aizu.

"This is Kurokawa Castle! It looks good! It looks more developed than Yonezawa Castle." Date Terumune clasped the rein with both hands and looked around, as the successor of the House Governor of the Date family.He was carefully trained by his father and family members on behalf of the genealogy since he was a child to become an outstanding samurai. At the age of only 14, he has personally participated in several joint battles. This is the first time he has participated in the Echigo War.

Date Huizong is a proud young man. He was raised as the heir of the family governor since he was born. It can be said that he was a noble son who grew up with a golden spoon. Years of pampering and pampering made him develop a proud and arrogant temperament. He never thought he was a dude. Going to the battlefield and killing the enemy can't be associated with a dude.

He has set a lofty ambition since he was a child, determined to surpass his grandfather. He wants to fulfill the dream his father did not pretend to be, the dream of unifying Mutsu. His father Date Harumune has clearly told him that after the end of the war Giving him the successor of the family governor, he still remembers the encouragement given to him by Date Qingzong before leaving: "If the eagle wants to soar in the sky, it must fly and fight against the wind and clouds. The future of the Date family belongs to you. Work hard!" Seize the opportunity in front of you and build your own prestige."

Shusuke Matsumoto, as the envoy of the Ashina clan, greeted the Date family’s army in person. As the family governor of the Matsumoto clan, one of the Four Heavens of Ashina, the Lord of Funaoka of Onuma County participated in the great affairs as the elder of the Ashina family for generations, so he naturally knew the fate of his master. In the case of Qi, the astronomical chaos that caused so many disturbances in the past few years was caused by this family.He didn't dare to neglect the guest army of Date's family without the help of the master.

"It's our honor to be praised by the Date Palace for the remote place! You must be tired from the long journey! Please go this way, we'll be there soon!" Matsumoto Miyako smiled and led the warriors of the Date family into the city.

Entering Kurokawa City, Date Teruzong enjoyed the highest courtesy. Ashina Mori hosted a banquet in honor of the future governor of the Date family. As an ally and relative of the Date family, Ashina Mori was also a powerful member of the Date family.Ashina Mori's aunt is Date Tetsumune's main wife, that is to say Date Ashina Mori's uncle.

Ashina Shengshi himself, not long after inheriting the position of family governor, married Date Tsuekomune's daughter, that is, his cousin born to his aunt, as the main wife. In this way, Ashina Shengshi himself became Date Harumune's cousin and Brother-in-law, but also Date Terumune's cousin and uncle.The existence of this level of kinship makes the covenant and kinship between the two parties much more stable than the so-called covenant between Ashina and Dewa Mogami and Kai Takeda. [

A feast was held in Kurokawa Castle, and when the wine was half drunk, Date Huizong suddenly stood up and said proudly: "Repair the hall! There must be no problem with the operation to carve up Echigo this time? My father is looking forward to the results of this operation. I specially sent [-] elites from the Date family to help out, and take down the entire Xiayue in accordance with the preliminary goal set, if it goes well, it would be great to take down Zhongyue together! I don’t know what Xiudian thinks?"

"Big words!" Yamauchi Ujikatsu muttered in a low voice, but Shimizu Tomita stared at him and closed his mouth.

Ashina's retainers seemed to be fully aware of Date Terumune's provocative actions.They just paused for a while and then ate and drank as if nothing had happened. How could their subordinates interfere with this kind of housework, even if they were dissatisfied, they would not dare to speak out.

Ashina Shengshi just twitched his eyelids and there was no other reaction. His son-in-law Ashina Shengxing had just entered Yuanfu and was younger than Date Huizong. What the brother-in-law was saying, he clapped and applauded.

As early as five years ago, Ashina Shengshi made an agreement with Date Harumune.Let me tell you about a daughter-in-law for the son-in-law Ashina Shengxing. This main wife is Date Harumune's fourth daughter and also Date Huizong's younger sister. The relationship between the two families is complicated and unimaginable. From the side, it reflects why Ashina's retainers The reason for the unresponsiveness.

"Hehe... Date Hall has lofty aspirations, I'm so impressed!" Mrs. Matsumoto held up the wine cup and said with a smile: "During the banquet, let's talk about some pleasant things. I'm not busy beforehand. Let's not be busy! "

It's nothing wrong with Date Huizong's words to Ashina Mori. It's normal for young people to speak aggressively, but the Date family can't say nothing. Date Mimoto has a terrible headache. Wipe this kid's ass.He tried his best to ease the tense atmosphere.

The cunning Ashina Shengshi still noticed the flaws in this little nephew's character, and in a few words, he went around posting the notices for the entire Kanto. In his words, he was quite in awe of Kirayoshi, which quickly aroused Date Huizong's anger .

"The repair of the palace is right! In my opinion, the general of the tutelary palace is not worthy of the name. A samurai from Kyoto wants to interfere in our Mutsu's affairs. It's fantastic! Oshu has its own samurai to lead that, and there are Mutsu guards from the court, The shogunate's Oshu research, a tutelary shogun who has been abandoned for 200 years wants to be the master of Mutsu, it is a dream." Date Terumune's face showed disapproval.

"Hehe! You can't say that." Ashina Sheng said pointedly: "That is the family governor of the Kamiso Ashikaga family, and the general's new imperial family. We should be more respectful as foreign ministers."

Date Huizong really fell for it, and said indignantly: "Even if it is a famous family, Dongguo has always been the business of the Dongguo samurai, and it is the same with Mutsu. It would be a big mistake to use the general of the town guard to suppress us. gone."

The pride of Date Teruzong comes from the Date family. Since his grandfather Date Tsukune, he has successively won the honor of Sakyo-doctor and Oshu Tanti, and successfully sent his adopted son to the former Oshu-Tenchi, Sakyo-doctor Osaki. In his eyes The entire Mutsu belongs to his family. What is a tutelary general? Why should he dictate to Oshu, and why should he call on them to take up arms against the alliance? This is simply a joke.

"Dateden is young and promising, and his ambition is amazing! My Sheng family agrees with this point of view. Only the Mutsu family has a say in Mutsu's affairs." Ashina Shengshi talked with the young man for a while, and gradually turned the topic to dispatching troops. However, Date Huizong was still vigilant and kept silent about the details, Date Mimoto followed suit.As for the powerful retainers of the Date family, they either bowed their heads to drink and eat food, or they talked quietly to themselves.

"It seems that Date Kyozhao has predicted something!" Ashina Shengshi immediately guessed the cunning Date Harumune, who showed his skills in the Tianwen Rebellion, and he forced a generation of English lord Date Tsukune to live in seclusion. Although the Date family's vitality has been greatly injured by this, and its power has been weakened by nearly half compared with his father Date Tetsumune's reign, but if we look at it from the perspective of family business revitalization.His approach is more than correct.

The Date family has established a huge kinship network by virtue of years of marriage. Compared with the twelve sons-in-law of Nagano Yasho, it is only stronger than weaker. A big net will cover half of Mutsu, Deba, Shimono and even Echigo. They are all relatives of the Date family. Neighbors will bring the lawsuit to the Date family when they fight for more territories. Who will tell their relatives to be more face-saving?

His father, Date Tsukune, was indeed a remarkable figure.Yu Ao Tianzi No. 1535 cultural person, wrote "Dongyao Diary" in the fourth year of Tianwen (1536), "Kuragata Naiji" and "Chen Mustard Collection" in the fifth year of Tianwen (1538), ) wrote "Duan Ji Ancient Account", which further strengthened the system related to the division of national laws, fiscal and taxation accounts, taxation, and military service, and the daimyo's power was single-handedly centralized.

Where there are advantages, there are disadvantages, and if there is face, there is no face. When such a thing as the leader occupies the moral high ground, he has to work hard to maintain this network of relationships.It’s okay to help your relatives to fight, mediating disputes will inevitably offend others, arbitrating the land dispute between the two parties will either offend you or offend him, and if the two sides do not offend, it will damage the prestige of the leader. In the eyes of Date Qingzong, this is not thankful the behavior of.

Date Qingzong believes that today is different from the past. Back then, the Date family was weak and weak, and could not survive without marrying off their daughters, but the situation is different now.Surrounded by relatives, the Date family is still expanding. It is wrong to be complacent about the nominal ruler of Mutsu, who is the lord of the alliance.

It can be said that Date Harumune had long since hatched an attempt to tear this net, and since he became the governor of the family, he has been holding back until his father proposed to send Tokimunemaru (now Date Mimoto) to Echigo as Uesugi Ding Yi's adopted son.One hundred powerful retainers of the Date family will also be sent as assistants, and hundreds of horse-riding warriors will be sent as direct backup.

Date Tsutsumune's starting point was good. He used a powerful family to succeed Echigo as the lord, and dispatched powerful retainers and horse-riding warriors as military deterrents.At least it won't be treated as a soft persimmon and just find a fault to abolish it. This proposal was strongly supported by Nakajo Fujitsu, the leader of the Yangbei group, because his younger sister is Date Tokimunemaru's biological mother.

But most of Echigo was not happy about an outsider meddling in Echigo's affairs, so when Date Tsukune proposed this intention, he was immediately opposed by Haruki Nagao and another head of the Yangbei group, the head of the village. Nagao Qing Jing also wants to be the adopted son of Uesugi Sadami, how can he tolerate the country's lord slipping into the hands of outsiders, the head of the village is the father of Honjo Shigecho, as another giant of Yangbeizhong, of course he cannot allow Nakajo Tengzi to gain power , maybe let the Zhongtiao family annex the entire Yangbei people in one fell swoop.

While Echigo raised fierce objections, Date Harumune also made fierce objections. He could not allow his father to do such a stupid behavior. The territory of the Uesugi family and the Echigo Uesugi faction even exceeds the entire territory of the Date family. If Date Tokimunemaru is allowed to digest this territory, and then intervene in the affairs of the Date family, wouldn’t his family do it for others? wedding clothes.

Date Qingzong unilaterally objected to it, but the problem was that the Yimen, Genealogians and even the outsiders generally opposed the decision of the family governor. Taking away a hundred powerful warriors, plus hundreds of elite knights on horseback, was equivalent to a one-off attack. Sex takes out one-third of the blood in a human body, and a little carelessness will result in the destruction of the whole family.

The opinion put forward by the relatively moderate genealogists is to reduce the share by half, at least not to cause the Date family to lose too much blood to death. No vassals will be sent, and if it is more radical, it is proposed to send only [-] to [-] vassals and [-] to [-] horse-riding warriors.

Date Tsukimune has also served as the family governor for 30 years. The smooth situation for many years has allowed him to develop a temperament of saying nothing. The moderate faction was also forced to go to Liangshan, so there was a reason for the Tianwen Rebellion.

A force that supported Tsutsumune Date during the Astronomical Rebellion.Whether it is the confidant of Date Tsukimune who has been cultivated for many years, the retainers who have given favor, or the son-in-law and Zhunyi who are close to each other, the people gathered at the Date Qingzong are all the powerful members of the Date family, genealogy, and those who refuse to obey Yi. Da Zhizong's brother, who was stuffed with the name of his adopted heir, etc., in the end the Tianwen Rebellion was won by Date Qingzong.Date Tetsumune abdicated to end.

After six years of large-scale political changes affecting the entire Lutsu, Dewa, Echigo and other large areas since his succession, Date Harumune has gradually grown from a young and energetic stupefied man to a scheming tycoon. Convincing the former competitor Date Mimoto can see that his scheming is as unfathomable as Lake Inawashiro.

After some confrontation, Sheng Shi felt that the banquet had become boring, so he said a few words in a hurry.Just end the dinner party on the grounds of being tired.

Soon after arranging the accommodation, he hid and agreed on the idea of ​​this battle. After some discussions with the family members of the family, Ashina Mori made the final decision and put forward the strategic idea of ​​this battle. Don't be in a hurry, slow down when encountering a strong enemy, and guard the camp carefully when the enemy's weak attack is weak.The strategy of taking advantage of the victory and pursuing the enemy's situation.

Ashina Mori's idea is more realistic. The road leading to Echigo is not very common. You have to cross the mountains and overcome many obstacles. It is not easy for other daimyos to conquer half of Echigo in one fell swoop. Without the help of the traitor leading the way * is going to be defeated.

"At a young age, I wanted to swallow Echigo in one bite. This ambition is commendable but unrealistic! If everything in the world is so simple, why should I wait for the samurai to work hard for hundreds of years? He's still young. He's a few chips behind his father!" Mrs. Ashina held two walnuts and twirled them in her hands, thinking about how to gain benefits from this war.

At the same time, in a quiet room in the Kurokawa Castle Annex, the Date family’s samurai sat cross-legged to discuss countermeasures. The Date family’s reaction was basically the opposite of Date Teruzong’s will, or in other words, Ashina Sheng’s thoughts. The same goal by different routes, Date Miyuan and several retainers looked at each other, and then said: "The young hall is still too reckless. The repair hall has been married to my Date family for several generations, and is also the master's sister-in-law. The young hall should respect repair more. temple."

"Understood! I will pay attention to it in the future." Date Huizong frowned for a moment, but still accepted Date Mimoto's advice.

"My lord's arrangement is very clear. I don't seek meritorious service in this battle, but I seek success. Although it is always a bit of a loss of face, but this is the situation I am waiting for! The main purpose is to beat the autumn wind to pick up cheap ones. You must know that Echigo is bigger than It was many times larger than five years ago, and with their [-]-strong army of the Date family, they can at most take a bite when they see the opportunity, and they must not be impulsive and act like heroes!"

"Yeah! My family knows." Date Huizong was unhappy but he still endured it. The first reason was because this battle was the first cross-border war he had experienced since the Yuan server, and the first important battle. It is not an auspicious thing to have a disagreement between the chief general and the lieutenant general. If there is any trouble, even if the victory is fruitful and he returns home, there may be some rumors from these family members that disgust him.

On the other hand, I can't contradict my uncle Date Mimoto, because Date Qingzong personally appointed the general in charge this time. As a deputy general, he must obey the command of the general. Date Huizong is also unavoidable, which is not a pleasant thing.

In addition, several elders of the Date family were sent to accompany and supervise, which can be said to be a major assessment to examine the level of the successor of the family governor. This is his father's last test for Date Teruzong. The performance of the house governor is another matter, such a test made him have to cheer up and treat it cautiously.

Date Mimoto and several family elders are the eyes and ears of Date Qingzong. Perhaps there are more people watching his every move secretly. Being the governor of the family has a very negative impact. If the performance is worse, it will even shake his status as the heir to the governor of the family. He will never allow this time to mess up.

Seeing that Shaodian finally calmed down, Date Mimoto was very relieved, and told him that the result of this battle was in the second place, because Date, Ashina, Mogami and others from the country acted as partial teachers to make some money. Kai and Sagami meant to give The sweetness of their three melons and two dates will share some offensive pressure for them, so there are not many pure benefits after defeating.

Another point is that the Date family is not as good as the Mogami and Ashina families bordering Echigo. The relationship between the Date family and the other two is quite subtle. The competitive relationship in the same area cannot be explained by words such as good relations between relatives, even if It really doesn't make much sense for these companies to win an enclave in Echigo.

Their main purpose is to plunder the population, food, and important talents that are lacking. Now the whole world knows that Echigo has developed agriculture and rich products. It has grown from a poor country to the most prosperous place in the world in a few years. If we say No one believes that this is not because of the rule of man, so this anti-Echigo alliance can be successfully facilitated. The division of Echigo's land and wealth is one aspect, and the abduction of a large number of talents in government orders is also an important reason.

As long as the Date family can acquire some talents, not to mention becoming another trumpet Echigo in three to five years, even quadrupling the total economic output will be a major event. It will not take ten years for the Date family to develop at a high speed. On the fast track of development, I was worried that it would be bad for the future governor to have a pimple in his heart if he had a prejudice against them.

Seeing that Date Teruzong's mood was not too high, Date Mimoto suddenly smiled and said: "After this battle is over, we are going to visit Yamagata Castle, where Dewa Mogami lives, and visit his fiancée Mogami Yoshihime by the way. Didn't the temple have fallen in love with the number one beauty of Deyu for a long time? I don't know what the young temple thinks that the marriage contract has been concluded in the past this time?"

"Ah! That's great, I've wanted to see her for a long time... Cough! Actually, what I mean is very good! I agree very much! I agree!" Date Huizong's whole mood turned from anger to joy like a roller coaster , I can't wait to grow a pair of wings and fly to Yamagata Castle to visit my fiancée.

It is said that Mogami Yoshihime is the number one beauty in Dewa, and even the number one beauty in the Northeast. Date Terumune is also a person who loves beauty, and he is also very satisfied with Mogami Yoshihime as the main room candidate, although I can appreciate this beauty from the picture scroll She has just begun to look like a country, but seeing a painting is nothing compared to seeing a real person, even if it is only for a while, she is willing to look at it from a distance.