A tour of Japan's Warring States Period

Uesugi Shihken was the son of Uesugi Kenkatsu, so after Uesugi Tosada of the Fukaya Uesugi clan was killed in the battle of Kawagoe, Uesugi Kensho, who was the Fukaya Uesugi clan, legally occupied the priority right of inheritance.

But in the current situation, it is not in the interest of the Yamauchi family to have a "pro-Hojo" head of the Ogitani Uesugi family who is married to a daughter of the Hojo family. So the best way is to find someone else to do this, the head of the Uesugi family in Ogidani.

It would be difficult to gain support in Musashi by forcefully bringing in a person with no blood ties. It is better to have someone with Uesugi's blood flowing in his body, or someone who is related to him.

If Uesugi Kenshin had a biological extra son and sent one over to inherit the Ogidani Uesugi clan, no one would be dissatisfied. But it's a pity that Uesugi Kenshin really didn't lay a single egg, and there was still a dispute over the heir in his own family.

The next best thing is to see if any of Uesugi Kensheng's three sons are reliable.

"The eldest grandson, Naomatsumaru, is fourteen this year. He is the son of Yu Wan Zhifang, the side chamberlain." The old man began to raise his fingers.

"What is the origin of this Yu Wan Zhifang?"

Everyone understands what Xiaopingta means, which is to see which of the three grandsons is the most suitable to support, win over the Yamauchi family, and get close to the Yamauchi family. So there was no need for Koheita to ask about this. Konishiharazaemon, who was sitting next to him, took the initiative to speak.

"She is the daughter of the retainer Yu Tian. Her father died in the war sixteen years ago."

This is good, all the retainers of the Yamauchi clan nodded. As long as the daughter of a retainer of the Yamauchi clan can be given as a wife, Uesugi Naomatsumaru can only rely on the power of the Yamauchi clan.

"Where is the second grandson?"

"Kunimatsumaru, born of the Hojo clan, is seven years old this year."

No one answered. Mr. Uesugi Shihken himself knew that it would be the best outcome for this child from the Hojo clan to become a monk under the current situation. Even if you encounter a cruel person, it is not impossible to give him a violent death.

"The last grandson is still young. He is three years old this year. He is born in the side room, Haruhi Nokata. He is called Chosomsumaru."

"There's a big difference in age..." As soon as Koheita said these words, Nagasatsumaru was eliminated directly.

"It is said that Musashi has been weak recently and is unable to perform his duties. He cannot continue to hold the position of guardian of Musashi. In my opinion, if not, Naomatsu Marumotofu will succeed the Uesugi family of Ogigaya Uesugi." Although the reasons are all made up, Xiaoping Tai said the right words.

"It should be so!" Mr. Uesugi Shihken had no objection at all.

"Without further delay, His Highness Shimashima will cut his hair, and His Highness Koga Furukawa will crown him and succeed him as the family governor." Yamauchi Taro himself has not yet had a Yuanfu, so naturally it is impossible for him to actually shave Naomatsumaru's head, and it is not a retainer who can do it for him. , just occupying a righteous position.

"The meaning of the words above the Xian Yulin Palace can be bestowed upon me. How about signing the title?" Xiaoheita can still do this for Yamauchi Taro.

"I'll leave everything to your Majesty!" The old man left Mazar and knelt down to salute.

Uesugi Kenkatsu directly lived in seclusion, and it was said that he was located in Uesugi Yoshinori. Taro Yamauchi and Norisumi Omiri jointly announced as the new guardians of Musashi. Uesugi Kenkatsu himself and the remaining two sons all went to Fuchu Castle to "serve the throne." Mr. Uesugi Shihken served as Uesugi Yoshinori's successor and was actually in charge of the family business.

As for the wife, everyone glanced around the tent and saw that Konishiharazaemon's family had an eleven-year-old daughter. She was adopted directly and became the adopted daughter of Yamauchi Yoshikatsu. If Yamauchi Taro hadn't been too young, Uesugi Yoshiken would not be his brother, but his son-in-law.

After finalizing this matter, the coalition forces regrouped in Ninja City. The Yamauchi Army gradually took in the 6,000 to 7,000 people who had fallen behind. The other teams fought for a whole day and were half exhausted, and they had to rest for a day or two before they could move.

It was just a matter of time to wait for news about Ueno and the news about using Tu Shi Yao to persuade him to surrender.

As the direct uncle of the Hojo clan, Yao of the Toshi clan quickly persuaded the four thousand people at the foot of Hirai Castle and Hagata Castle to surrender, but something unexpected happened when he was being led to Matsuyama Castle.

Yamakaku Shirozaemon said that although Yao was appointed with good intentions, he shouldered the heavy responsibility of guarding the Hojo clan's grain platform. The Yamakaku clan had been favored by the Hojo clan for three generations and could not abandon Matsuyama to the enemy lightly.

Immediately, Yamakaku Shirozaemon opened the city gate and let the soldiers who wanted to escape and surrender out of the city. In the end, only seventy or eighty people were left who were willing to defend Matsuyama Castle with him.

Naturally, this small number of people was of no use. Kanai Meigoro's three drums and hundreds of people rushed forward, and the city collapsed.

Yamakaku Shirozaemon shouted loudly on the roof of the Matsuyama Castle Palace, "A warrior goes to hell with dignity, and his bravery will remain on the moss of Matsuyama." After that, he jumped off a cliff of several hundred meters and died generously.

The Hojo family has been running the business for five generations, and there are loyal people in the end.

"A warrior goes to hell with dignity, and his reputation for bravery remains on the moss of the pines and mountains."

Koheita recited such a simple death poem, and ordered the body of Yamakaku Shirozaemon to be searched at the foot of the mountain, sorted, and sent to Odawara for burial by his family.

With the surrender and fall of the North Musashi branch cities, more news about the Hojo clan came back.

The Fujita clan, which went to Shimoso to rescue Furukawa, heard the news of the defeat of Ninja Castle before even arriving at Furukawa Castle, and immediately restrained the army to retreat to Minami Musashi and Sagami. Along the way, they were attacked by the general public who heard the news. In the end, they lost hundreds of people and evacuated in a panic.

Oishi Teru and Hojo Uji Nao did not run away together. Where Hojo Nao went is currently unknown, but Oishi Terunori had fled all the way to Iwasuke Castle. Ota Ufusa is the younger brother of Hojo Uzunao. He is still a half-grown child and cannot effectively resist and rule at all.

The reason why Iwafu Castle was able to secure the city was because of the support of the Hojo clan and the vigorous purge of the original Iwafu Ota clan's retainers to enrich the Hojo clan's retainers.

Nowadays, the people in Iwatsuke Castle are in panic. Seeing that three to four thousand defeated soldiers have been gathered, Oishi Teru without saying a word ran towards Edo Castle with the Ota clan in his arms. No matter how bad it was, Ota Ujifusa was the biological son of Hojo Umasa, which was also a safety net. Iwatsuke Castle, one of the three most important branch cities of Minamimusashi, was just discarded.

It's a pity that Ota Shisei is not here. If he were here, he could take control of Iwasuke Castle immediately. Moreover, the coalition forces were still beyond their reach. Only then did they reach Matsuyama, which was still far away from Iwasuke.

At this time, Nagano Yamori finally arrived belatedly with more than 4,000 people. When he met Taro Yamauchi and Hosokawa Saime and Koheita, who had come to save their Nagano clan many times, his face turned red and he was very embarrassed.

Xiaoping comforted him a few words, saying that victory or defeat is a common thing for military officers, as long as he tried his best, no one would blame him or anything.

The army of 45,000 finally came to Kawagoe Castle again, threatening Edo Castle and looking at Sagami Country in the distance.