A tour of Japan's Warring States Period

"Who is the mourner?"

Takeda Harunobu was riding on a horse, talking to his younger brother Takeda Nobulen. Although his tone was very calm, he actually came to Suwa in person to wait for the condolences to return. You don't have to guess what kind of state he was in.

Yamauchi Yoshiharu suddenly lost his life without any warning, and he and Takeda Harunobu had a confrontation at Sukinotake Pass a few years ago. At that time, Takeda Harunobu saw clearly that Yamauchi Yoshiharu did not look like he was dying at all, except that his face was stiff.

He can even ride on a horse and show off his muscles with Takeda Harunobu. This kind of person will die if Takeda Harunobu doesn't believe him.

"The master of the funeral is naturally Taro Yamauchi, and the assistants are Izumo Yamauchi and Harumiya Hosokawa."

Takeda Noburen's words were not unexpected, but he was very contemptuous when he spoke of Taro Yamauchi. A 4-year-old child has completely lost the care of his father and grandfather, and his life will not be smooth.

"Yamauchi Izumo and Hosokawa Erungu?" Takeda Harunobu pondered for a moment, feeling a little wary of these two people.

Yamauchi Izumo Shou Daimyo Yamauchi Mochimochi. As soon as you hear the word Mochi, you will know that it is not simple. Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimochi's Mochi. He is probably the only remaining samurai of the Jiji generation. After all the ups and downs, you can live to be over sixty, even if you are not a human being, you would not believe it.

Not to mention Hosokawa Harugu, who served three generations of Yamauchi daimyo, was a wise, prudent and mature general, and was a well-known general. Any famous person will give a thumbs up after hearing this name. Generals who crawl out from the dead should not be underestimated.

"So, Prime Minister Yamauchi has left the housekeeping to these two veterans? That needs to be handled carefully."

Takeda Harunobu knew that the only thing that made him better than these two was his age advantage and his reputation as a daimyo.

"No, my brother heard that before the prime minister's death, he ordered nine important ministers to convene a verdict."

"A meeting of important ministers? Prime Minister Yamauchi is so courageous!"

To be honest, Takeda Harunobu hated the collegial system of ministers. It was disgusting that powerful retainers, powerful people, and powerful families would do things to protect their own selfish interests in the name of the family.

Due to the decentralization of power, it is quite resistant to external expansion of territory unless the benefits can be shared equally. And once everyone gets it once, they must get it equally in the future, otherwise they may become dissatisfied at any time and even rebel.

But there is one advantage of this system. It is certain that it will not be effective in foreign wars, but when someone knocks on the door, it will resist extremely tenaciously.

We finally got on stage and became the masters. This territory only belongs to us. Who dares to rob others? At worst, both sides will suffer, and you will live and die. It won’t be good anyway!

Although Yamauchi Yoshiharu has destroyed the centralization of daimyo power that the six generations of the Yamauchi family had finally accomplished with great difficulty, he also made the original ministers become half-masters one after another.

They may not be dedicated to serving a 4-year-old daimyo, but they will definitely do their best to make decisions when they are in charge.

Even if there are disputes and conflicts, it is not a bad thing for the nine people to have internal struggles. At that time, Yamauchi Taro was also old, and he had a lot to do, whether he was mediating or taking the opportunity to seize power.

Of course, all this is based on the premise that Yamauchi Taro is a capable person. If Yamauchi Taro cannot be used as an adult, the important ministers will be happy to have a puppet who is easy to fool.

Even if power is dispersed among nine people, there will not be the kind of powerful officials who hold the power alone. Even if it occurs, it will definitely take a long time to operate. How many years did Sima Yi use? How many years did Wang Mang use it? Yamauchi Yoshiharu has read history books and knows it very well.

"Once Prime Minister Yamauchi dies, the Yamauchi family's territory of more than 130,000 guanwen will be opened up just like the big brother."

Although Takeda Harunobu also thinks so in his heart, there is a lot of potential in the vast world, and he may not be able to kill a hero like Yamauchi Yoshiharu, but he can't easily capture a kid like Yamauchi Taro.

"Your Highness, there is one more thing..."

Yamamoto Kansuke, who was riding behind, suddenly opened his mouth and hesitated to speak. He rarely spoke so unhappy.

"Kansuke, what's wrong?"

"I have not seen the remains of His Highness the Prime Minister." [Note 1]

"No? Haven't you seen it?"

Takeda Harunobu was a little surprised. Yamauchi Yoshiharu died of natural causes and his body was very well preserved. There was no possibility of any damage. It is impossible to have only one head and then carve a body out of wood.

"It's not convenient for me to ask for a check. When I went there, the coffin had been closed and no one was allowed to come near it."

Kansuke Yamamoto expressed his doubts. Why not let people who died normally be seen?

Or as we often say, clever people are misled by cleverness. People who are resourceful think too much. The more they think, the easier it is to get themselves involved and eventually fall into a dead end.

"Did the Prime Minister fake his death?"

Once this idea popped into Takeda Harunobu's mind, he could never put it out. It was because there were too many evil people in Yamauchi Yoshiharu's past forty-eight years. Takeda Harunobu has suffered his losses and does not dare to underestimate the enemy at all.

"I also have doubts, and when I worship, I always feel like someone is watching from the dark."

When Yamamoto Kansuke was trapped in Nirasaki Castle, he almost drank Yamauchi Yoshiharu's foot-washing water. I have always been extremely wary of Yamauchi Yoshiharu.

The three of them immediately stopped and asked the accompanying samurai Ashigaru to explain. The three of them saw that there was no one else around forty or fifty meters before continuing.

"How do the Luanbo people in Fuzhong City repay?"

"The night before, the important minister Yin Ye from the mountain rushed to the horse field. Before dawn the next day, he rushed back to the mansion with a group of horses. After dawn, an ox cart came back from the horse field and reported that the prime minister had passed away."

"The important officials in the mountain are returning to the city alone? Can you see clearly?"

"I haven't dared to get close, but judging from his body shape, he looks like a prime minister."

"No, we must let the Luanbo people inquire carefully and detect the whereabouts of Prime Minister Yamauchi!"

Takeda Harunobu frowned and had finally managed to survive Yamauchi Yoshiharu, but now various signs showed that the Yamauchi family was hiding something.

"Nowadays, the city of Fuzhong is extremely tightly guarded. Even if the flag book of Pu Dai is allowed to enter the city on a daily basis, it may be difficult."

"Then we have to figure it out! No matter what we do!"

The same conversation was not only happening here at Takeda Harunobu, but also among the nearby daimyo people.

There will also be many wandering monks, nomads, and businessmen speaking dialects from various countries outside the palace, trying their best to get close to the important officials of the Yamauchi family.

Some people can make their enemies live in peace even after they die, and even feel anxious. This is probably the most realistic "dead Zhuge scares away the living Zhongda".

[Note 1]: I know it is definitely not called a corpse, because of this Japanese custom, when these three or more important people die, they are equivalent to becoming Buddhas and immortals. At the moment of death, one enters the ranks of the gods and Buddhas in the sky and is no longer counted as a human being.

Yesterday I wrote something wrong. Imagawa Suruga Morie should be changed to Imagawa Toe Morie.