A tour of Japan's Warring States Period

"Come here! Why is Lone so noisy?" Ashikaga Yoshiki, who just lay down, also heard the chaotic noise in the capital.

The attendant outside the door gently opened the barrier door and walked into the house on his knees.

"Your Highness, there seems to be a fire somewhere in the capital. The fire alarm has been sounded in the town. It seems that the situation is critical." The attendant replied respectfully. Anyway, if there is a fire, it will not be a big problem. The fire alarm has been running very well this year. And if there is no fire nearby, it has nothing to do with the safety of the imperial palace.

Ashikaga Yoshiki frowned, stood up, put on his clothes, and walked to the corridor. Sure enough, the sound of clappers ordering the towns in Luojing to extinguish the fires kept coming, and the sound of people's voices made the capital agitated.

Such a big fire may have burned half of the street, or it may have burned the residence of some high official.

Could it be the imperial residence?

"Quickly send someone to the Hosokawa War Department to find out where the fire broke out, how bad the fire was, and whether the public needs to be mobilized to fight the fire." Although Ashikaga Yoshiteru's relationship with the imperial court is not bad, it would be a big deal if the Imperial Palace caught fire. .

"Your Highness, Lord Hosokawa's message has arrived." Just as he was about to find someone, Hosokawa Fujitaka's people arrived.

"Call him quickly and I will ask him face to face." The attendants hurriedly helped Ashikaga Yoshiki get dressed without any instructions. Yamauchi Yoshikatsu, who was awakened, also rushed over.

"Your Highness, why is there so much noise in the capital?" "We still don't know, but the Ministry of War has sent someone to report it. Let's go together."

…

"Your Highness, there is an unknown military force coming from outside the capital. Judging from the torches, the number is no less than 3,000!" Chuanzhuo spoke urgently and quickly. He was sweating profusely and panting heavily as he ran in the not-so-hot night.

"Three thousand? Someone actually attacked Luo Jing at night!" Yamauchi Yoshikatsu exclaimed. Anyway, there were no ministers in the Imperial Palace, just their two cousins, so it was not too taboo.

"Your Highness, please ring the bronze bell of Kokubunji Temple immediately and order the public in the capital to come to the Imperial Palace to aid. After the fire is extinguished, the Ministry of War will immediately come to the Imperial Palace to help." The official said the original words of Hosokawa Fujitaka. The situation was very urgent.

"I know, go tell the Ministry of War and ask him to come to the imperial palace as soon as possible." Ashikaga Yoshiki showed an anxious look on his face.

Then the five-thousand-jin Kokubunji bronze bell rang suddenly throughout Kyoto, and hundreds of thousands of townsfolk and officials in Kyoto could all hear it clearly.

The shogunate is asking for help!

The armor weapons stored in the imperial palace were taken out by the attendants. Yamauchi Yoshikatsu and Ashikaga Yoshiteru were about the same size, and they immediately put on Yoshiteru's large armor. Although it is a bit heavy, its protective power is very good. It is not a big problem for Yamauchi Yoshikatsu, who has been practicing martial arts for many years, and it does not affect his combat performance.

The roar was still heard, and the shogunate's ministers who were staying in the capital came to the imperial palace in twos and threes. There were thirty people from Ashikaga Yoshiki, twenty from Yamauchi Yoshikatsu, and dozens of people who came here scatteredly, all of whom were armed.

Thanks to Ashikaga Yoshiteru's good face, as long as it was related to his position as the Muromachi Shogunate, he would work hard to improve it and never cut corners.

The outer wall of the Imperial Palace is entirely made of stone, then painted with red mud, and then white ash. It is not only beautiful and elegant, but also has excellent fire resistance, it is also solid and has extremely high defense!

The double-eaves gate has a latch thicker than a woman's waist. Each of the two gates weighs a hundred pounds. No battering ram can be used to break it open.

In a sense, Ashikaga Yoshiteru not only gained face, but his defense was also very stable. Now that there are hundreds of people inside, we feel more confident and have begun to sit firmly in the center of the army.

In addition, the eldest brother Yamauchi Yoshikatsu happened to be here and his status was noble. It was not the same as the shogunate dismounting and commanding a hundred people. They assigned instructions and asked people who could use bows and arrows to gather together to guard the gate. At the same time, people who are not night-blind are sent out into the streets and onto rooftops to observe the enemy's situation.

The public continued to enter the imperial palace, and in just half an hour there were already more than 200 people in the imperial palace. Ashikaga Yoshiki climbed onto the roof of the central hall himself regardless of his decency. The fire dragon outside Kyoto had already entered Kyoto. Now the number of people can be distinguished clearly, I am afraid it is no less than five thousand!

"It looks like the military strength of three good and three people!" Yamauchi Yoshikatsu, who was also observing the enemy's situation, could see clearly.

"Third-order rhombus nails are drawn out. Miyoshi and three others are so arrogant that they dare to attack Luo Jing at night!" Ashikaga Yoshiteru was furious.

"No, there's Maruno Tsuta, and Kingo Matsunaga has also joined forces with the rebels!" Another voice exclaimed. 【Note 1】

"Okay! Okay! Okay!" Ashikaga Yoshiki said three times in a row.

Miyoshi, three men, and Matsunaga, together with five thousand troops, surrounded the imperial palace. However, they did not attack the imperial palace immediately. Instead, they sent an envoy to enter the imperial palace.

"Your Majesty, please leave your post and visit Jiangzhou. My lord is willing to offer Cheng Yi two thousand guans to help your Majesty with the cost of riding horses." The person who came to envoy was Wakadou Matsu Nagasaburo from Matsushita Nagasaki, who had also seen some people in the market. Characters, at least they are mentioned in "Duo Wen Yuan Ji".

"No need to worry, Your Majesty. As a general, you should be in charge of Luo Jing!"

"You, the treasonous people, can point your fingers at the affairs of the shogunate! Go back and tell Matsunaga Kingo, it's impossible!" Yamauchi Yoshikatsu sternly scolded Matsunaga Saburo and told him to get out.

Seeing that there were only 200 people in the imperial palace, Matsuzuki Saburo smiled scornfully and did not answer. He bowed his head slightly and saluted before waving his sleeves and exiting the hall.

"Why haven't the Ministry of War come yet?" Ashikaga Yoshiteru looked very calm when he was repelling Matsu Nagasaburo, but after seeing the five thousand traitors, he still felt unsure.

But he wasn't too scared. He had already understood the words spoken by Miyoshi, the trio, and Matsunaga. It's just that he is an eyesore as a general, which is detrimental to the power and wealth of the Miyoshi trio and Matsuzuki Nagatsuchi in Kyoto.

They probably wanted to learn from their predecessors and exile Ashikaga Yoshiteru so that he could find a daimyo to make a living. They support another puppet, reverse black and white, and they become loyal ministers of the shogunate, with power and wealth at their fingertips.

Ashikaga Yoshiki was not scared, his father was beaten away, and he was also beaten away by Miyoshi Nagakei. What's more, the general's family is famous for being long-distance running champions. They have run almost all over Japan and are very skilled in running.

In order to comfort him, another fire dragon swarmed outside the palace. The Luoyang Town fire fighters and some members of the public, who were temporarily armed by Hosokawa Fujitaka, also rushed to the imperial palace and confronted the Miyoshi and Matsunaga coalition forces.

"Didn't you say that the Imperial Guard has thirty men? There are five hundred cavalry in the capital!"

"Where did the Hosokawa Military Department opposite come from with more than a thousand people!"

…

There was a dispute between the Miyoshi trio who had set up their own camp at Zixiaoji (really just a place name) and Matsunagadichi.

"The Hosokawa Army cannot be allowed to enter the imperial palace. Chief Tax Officer (Iwanari Tomomichi), you lead people to stop them." The sinister look on Matsunaga's face was a bit scary under the light of the torch.

"Send a letter to the Imperial Palace. If you don't leave now, we won't let them leave!"

The pine branch torch burst into flames with a "pop" sound!

[Note 1]: The governor of the Matsunaga family at this time was not Matsunagahide, but his son Matsunagamichi. Matsunaga has already appointed five Youwei Monzos before, so he is called Matsunaga Kingo to distinguish him from his father, Matsunaga Tansho.