Pillars of the Wu family

In the blink of an eye, summer is coming to an end, autumn is getting stronger, and the branches and leaves of Shutop Mountain are gradually turning yellow. Seeing that the flood season is approaching and autumn harvest is approaching, the deadlock in Chunri Mountain City is still not resolved, and the life of Hu Ji is also very difficult. Wei Jingxin is a one-sided character, if you don't let her go, don't even think about taking a step.

Youemon of Nagao City is the leader of the inner city police in Kasugayama Castle. Every day, he only needs to be handed over on time, and he patrols the city a few times. Xiaoqu walked up the mountain road, and at the beginning, he saw two warriors guarding the gate standing outside the gate, poking their heads out. Seeing that the two men were out of their minds, he became very angry.

He knew these two guards, they were the two youngest sons of his cousin Changwei Zhushan's family who had played with him since he was a child. As soon as the illness came to winter, there was no place to feel comfortable all over the body. It was hard to survive until the three sons had grown up and had to worry about the two youngest sons.

The eldest son Nagao Sun Taro inherited the family's little foundation, and he couldn't let his two boys eat bran swallowed vegetables. Nagao's main meal was to stuff his two sons Sun Jiro and Sun Sanlang into the inner city to live a good life. For several years, he had entrusted him to the relationship with his cousin, and spent a lot of money to dredge up the relationship.

The police in this small inner city are not conspicuous. In the past few years, there were only more than 300 people. It was the rule set by Nagao Shigekage when he was alive. They are the only ones who follow the Nagao family in the mansion Only the generation of family genealogy is eligible to be included in the inner city police and solidarity, in order to praise the achievements of these retainers who went through life and death for the Nagao family, which is probably similar to the shady official system of the Ming Empire.

In previous years, the status of Chunri Mountain City was not prominent.The Chinese lords in Echigo did not care much about the police in the small inner city.But today is different.The Nagao family recruited a noble man to be their son-in-law, and they became like a carp leaping over the dragon's gate. Once the dragon ascended to heaven, Huang Tengda became a powerful daimyo of more than a dozen prefectures, and the policemen in this small inner city gradually entered. in people's view.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, whether it is the two elders in the city, or the elders of the auxiliary political family in the city, they have to deal with this garrison carefully. The expansion of the matter, this expansion from 500 to [-] people is effortless.

The expansion to 800 people was announced earlier this year.Those wealthy families and local servants came from all directions like sharks smelling fishy, ​​and all 800 places were booked on the day the decree was announced, but people are always insufficient, and [-] people are far from satisfying people's appetite It is said that these servants of the wealthy family are thinking about it, even the elders of the Pudai family are also thinking about sending their second and third sons to study for a few years, which is also considered gold-plated.

Nagao Ichiemon felt that he was also number one in size, even the family member of Tomodai who often went in and out of the top of the mountain would smile and nod when he saw him as the head guard.The Chinese and wealthy people with lower status had to stop and talk to him. When they were complacent, they suddenly saw these two guys looking around at the movement in the inner city.The flames in Nagao Ichiemon's heart suddenly flared up.

He quietly went around, pulled up the scabbard and knocked on the head. The two people who knocked ran back screaming "Aww", he was not willing to let the two guys escape, and chased and cursed: "Two little bastards! Stop! If you run again, be careful and I will have you both captured!"

When the two brothers heard his threat, they immediately stopped running, knelt down with a thud, and said with a distressed expression: "Ichiemon Temple, please don't shout! I was wrong! Please look at it for my father's sake." , Forgive us two brothers this time! I will definitely not make mistakes again!"

"It's easy for me to forgive you, but who will forgive me if something goes wrong?" Nagao Ichiemon was furious, thinking that you two brothers are not satisfied with such a fat job, if it is not for the sake of the brothers' father , I kicked you two out of Chunri Mountain City a long time ago.

Nagao City Youemon reprimanded viciously: "I have told you to take care of the nobles on the top of the mountain, even in the middle of the night, you will have to stare your eyes wide, if you let the most important nobles on the top of the mountain do something wrong Wrong, everyone’s heads have to be moved! Look at you guarding the gate like this? Are you looking for death by sneaking around and listening?”

The two brothers were frightened and panicked, and said anxiously: "We are just a little curious to hear the shouts from above, and we can't see anything here..."

Nagao City Youemon scolded angrily: "You can't see and you can't see! You shouldn't look inside at all. Is that what you can look at? Do you know the guard warriors executed a few years ago? It's like You also had a crooked mind, and your head was hanged outside the city for three years for Fandian! You want to end up with those people!"

The two brothers realized that the uncle did not ask someone to arrest the two brothers, so they immediately calmed down and put on a sad face. The elder brother of the two brothers hurriedly leaned over and said, "I know I was wrong. I beg uncle to give me a way out. My brother and I must repay your kindness! You see, our brother is also a warrior promoted by you. If the two of us make a big mistake, uncle, you will definitely not escape the guilt !"

"Yoha! What a cunning boy! Do you want to talk to me?" Nagao Ichiemon's eyelids flicked and he knew what the two boys were thinking. He didn't learn much about Junlue, he was so glib and glib that he learned a lot, and his father and brother were honest and honest, they were just a bunch of cunning ghosts.

"Get up! This time, I think you brothers will forgive me for the first time... But!" Nagao Ichiemon coughed deliberately, which made the brother angry, and then proudly said: "The big mistake you two committed You have to be punished. The responsibility of guarding the gate on the top of the mountain should be replaced by other people. You brothers will go to the mountainside to guard the three tiger's mouths. You have nothing to do today. Go back and rest and prepare to take over tomorrow!"

The two brothers watched Nagao Ichiemon walk away with three steps and three steps, and then cursed: "Bah! This old bastard is wandering around the door if he has nothing to do, thinking that I don't know, why not let others do what he can do!"

"The old man will be unlucky sooner or later, let's ignore him. Go drink!" The two brothers walked away angrily.

The brothers were not lying.Standing at the first gate leading to the top of the mountain, you can't see any movement inside.Above it is an inner gate guarded by Xiaoxing, Side Jinzhong, and Okujin Servants. Above that is the Honmaru of Kasuga Mountain Castle, and Ji Qulun and Kasuga Imperial Palace are even further behind.

In the back mountain teaching ground of the Kasuga Imperial Palace, Naotora Ii's dancing spear is like a dexterous butterfly jumping with strange footwork. Every stab has a different style. The skills passed down from the ancestors are said to have originated from the skills handed down by the hermits who fled from the Central Plains during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. A set of marksmanship can be performed by three or five well-trained warriors.Even the fierce generals waiting for leisure must deal with it carefully.

"My younger sister is really good at marksmanship. She dances beautifully and powerfully. If I take a closer look, I am afraid that I am not sure that I can beat my sister!" Hu Ji applauded and said, "Compared to my sister's spear skills, my sister's skill in the countryside It’s a long way off.”

Zhihu's little face was blushing, and he replied a little shyly: "...If my sister wants to learn, my sister can teach you."

"Really?" A hint of surprise flashed in Hu Ji's eyes, and then she remembered her family's spear skills, and she couldn't help but said, "That's my sister's family gun skills, so it shouldn't be passed on at will!"

The teaching of martial arts in Japan was inherited from the Central Plains Dynasty.On the basis of passing on from master to apprentice, the basic features of feudalism were added, and a new system was evolved that exempted everyone from passing on.The so-called dispensation and universal transmission are two levels of recognition. Exemption is the recognition of the apprentice's academic level and recognition that he is a disciple of his own sect. The general rumor is that the apprentice's superb academic skills allow him to establish a sect and establish a sect as a disciple of the sect. The branch propagates down.

The system is completely different, and two completely different apprenticeship systems have been formed. The teacher's teaching skills to apprentices is not based on "retaining one hand" or "teaching apprentices to starve to death master". Loud, such as the Kashima sword sage Tsukahara Buden, who learned from Tianzheng and took the essence of the two schools of Shinto and Kashima Shinto. Bring many students financial resources.

However, all of this needs to be established on a strict master-student inheritance system. The close relationship between the sect and the sect is similar to the close relationship between the guardian daimyo and the local people. The two sides can not only influence and restrict each other, but also maintain relative freedom and independence. It is very difficult to learn the Jingyi family's spear skills without joining the Jingyi family's sect.

"No need! My sister and I are both His Highness's women, there is nothing we can't share between you and me, Zhihu is worried that my sister will not look down on my spear skills!" Jing Yi Zhihu murmured for a long time before finishing the sentence. The little girl is really a bit introverted, if she hadn't been trained by the Imagawa family for several years, she might be even more introverted.

Hu Ji smiled heartily: "I, Hu Ji, don't want to do things just to take advantage of it! So we exchange marksmanship with each other! As long as my sister doesn't dislike my Nagao family's marksmanship, it's not so good-looking!"

"How could it be! This is what Zhihu wished for! Sister, look carefully, Zhihu is about to demonstrate spear skills!" Zhihu calmly and gradually lost himself in a state of ecstasy, and the wonderful spear skills emerged again come out.

Standing in the corner of the teaching field, Sandalwood is humming and holding an exquisite bamboo bow to practice archery. The target only 18 meters away is the most basic archery target, especially for beginners who don’t know martial arts. Said it was perfect, the girl puffed up her cheeks and muttered something while shooting arrows.

"Sister Naotora is amazing! Sister Toraki is amazing too! Everyone is amazing!" Mochizuki Chiyo cheered for the two sisters with her little face in her hands. She had long forgotten about her dissatisfaction with Kirayoshi. Erjing, a childish little face has begun to look like a beauty. Compared with the gorgeous sandalwood, the graceful and heroic tiger concubine, and the quiet orchid-like straight tiger, she is more like the pointed little lotus in the pond. , The youth is still hidden at a glance.

The army of the Hojo family is still here. This time, the menacing army of the Hojo family shattered the fragile illusions of the Ueno people. Initiated, some Ueno people, including Naboshi, raised the flag of rebellion.

Nagano Yezha and the Nishi Ueno people paid the price for their lack of awareness. The [-] minin troops gathered hastily pressed into Nishi Ueno to besiege Naba Zongyuan, who took the lead in raising the rebel flag, in an attempt to take advantage of the ten-fold difference in strength. Capture this fortress before the Hojo family invades Ueno.

The army led by Ujiyasu Hojo snowballed to more than [-] people, and so many troops surrounded Mitake City without any gaps.Fortunately, Kentada Nagano evacuated the residents of the castle town into the city earlier.With the full preparations for the past year, there is no shortage of food and water.The high walls and deep fortifications are enough to protect thousands of soldiers and civilians in the city.

He was still wrong about one thing. The Hojo family was focused on capturing the fortress. After repeated attempts to persuade them to surrender and failed, they simply surrounded them and did not let go. The endless siege battles that followed put great pressure on the defenders of Mitake City. The days of being shocked every day were really difficult, and Nagano Kentada's hair turned white during the few days of worry.

The messengers for help were sent out one after another, and the Hojo family did not obstruct Yuyuecheng's request for help, but they did not allow them to easily break through.The 1000 townspeople living in the castle and more than [-] defenders stood there staring at the huge pressure. Kentada Nagano was determined to stick to it until the last moment. On the other hand, Nagano Karmasa was also leading an army to storm the Isesaki Castle of Naboshi.

In the case of the lack of siege technology in medieval Japan, it was very painful to attack every fortress. In addition, the [-] troops of East Ueno fighting soy sauce, as well as the army of Nagao Gonshiro Jingqiu and Nagao Kanshiro Jingqin It is very difficult to break through a relatively strong and well-prepared castle quickly if they can barely make up [-] troops together.

What's worse is that after a winter of peace, the Ueno people thought that war would not break out in the short term.At least one or two more years of delay before going to war. The relaxation of armaments has caused the combat power level of this Chinese army to drop by more than [-]%.The hidden worries hidden in the military force kept Nagano Yezheng awake at night.

It coincided with the news that 10,000+ troops were besieging Echigo, and there were all kinds of weird rumors in the army. The Kira family was about to end, and the Nagao family could not withstand the Hojo family's army, and they always wanted to fight in Kanto, etc. Absurd There are many bizarre rumors. The samurai know a little bit about the inside story and can temporarily suppress their impatience. I can only watch helplessly as people's hearts fluctuate and morale drops all the way.

The attack on Isesaki Castle became weaker and weaker. The Nabo family in the cage city inside the city thought that the news of the victory of the Hojo family came from outside. The Ueno coalition forces were beaten back before they knew what happened in the city.

The Nabo army in the city seems to have been stimulant, making the Ueno coalition army mistakenly think that the Nawa family has some countermeasures to deal with them, or that some changes in the Hojo family are about to strike, and they are even more reluctant to attack desperately under suspicion. Nagano When Yezheng realized something was wrong, it would be extremely difficult to suppress the momentum of the rebels in the city.

The siege battles of Mitake Castle and Isesaki Castle started almost at the same time. The intense heat since midsummer subsided a lot with the arrival of the last wave of violence, and another violent storm swept across the entire Kanto region. The black clouds seemed to be a boundless piece. The boulder was pressed against the sky, and the dense rainwater poured down from the sky, like a rain column from the sky.

The bad weather reduced the visibility to the minimum, and the rising water mist made the whole world foggy and unclear. After half a month, the Tone River that feeds the plains of Kanto ushered in the surge of the river again, and the rushing river Like a violent dragon, washing the embankment and shivering in the violent wind and rain.

The typhoon in summer swept through with heavy rain. The continuous days of heavy rain and surging floods delayed the progress of the Nagao family. It still took a month to arrive in Ueno, but fortunately, it was not too late. Nagao Jinghu's [-] troops were trapped in Numata City and couldn't move an inch. They tried their best to reach the Ueno boundary, but they couldn't do anything in this terrible weather. They could only brave the wind and rain to urgently set up tents in the city. In the past, many people fell ill.

Qu Naose Mamoru is very busy. He was sent to serve as the military medical officer of the Nagao Corps. The endless bad weather in the past few months has added many sick people to the army. In the past few days, camping in the rain has become very sick. With a large number of people, he and the dozens of medical workers under him must be too busy, so they can only find Nagao Jinghu and ask for an emergency dispatch of doctors from Ueno to assist the army.

Most of the small Duohe team is still sheltering from the rain near Sanguo Pass. Even cattle and horses cannot march in heavy rain. The terrain of the pass is relatively dangerous. There will be some small changes in the mountain road for three years. Only the business travelers and local people who travel all year round can grasp these news in time.

The situation of the Hojo family was even worse. The 4 troops had nowhere to run, so they could only camp around the gates of Mitake City. This has not included the soldiers, if it is a serious calculation, it would be [-] troops, [-] soldiers, cattle and horses and other livestock, and tens of thousands of mouths are a lot of money every day. , the longer the war drags on, the greater the impact on the Hojo family.

The sultry and humid weather is easy to breed diseases. The Nagao Legion far away in Numata City in Ueno is unavoidable. The Hojo Legion stationed in the wilderness and too late to enter the city is more serious than them. The National Legion from different states has different affiliations, and it is difficult to allocate supplies. Not to mention the sudden increase, infectious diseases are also inconvenient to treat. In half a month, nearly 3000 people died of illness due to lack of medical treatment, and nearly [-] people were sick and unable to fight, casting a shadow over the war. (to be continued..)