After careful discussion and research with the locals, Hirate discovered a possible hidden problem within the Shimazu family.

There is nothing special about it, it is the most common and easy to think of - there is an injustice in rewards and punishments.

Among the well-known "Four Shimazu Brothers", the eldest Yoshihisa is not mentioned as the governor of the family, and the second Yoshihiro was appointed as the lord of Iino Castle in Hyuga Province many years ago because of his outstanding military exploits, and obtained a large amount of land, estimated to be as much as 30,000 to 50,000 koku; The third year old is more active in logistics and internal mediation, and his reputation is smaller, but last year he was also rewarded by Osumi Tiger Castle, close to 20,000 stones; Only the four old families have been living for a long time, and they are still living in the yashiki of Satsuma Inner City before the lockdown, and the level of Zhixing is only one or two thousand stones, which is far from the previous three.

Obviously, as the younger brother of the sovereign, he also undertakes important command tasks, but there is such a huge difference in status and treatment, even after Shimazu Yoshitora and Shimazu Tadacho.

In terms of merit and talent, in the eyes of outsiders, Iyahisa is at least in the top three, and he can even compete with Yoshihiro for the first place.

Why is it so badly treated? Could it be that Shimazu Yoshihisa is eccentric and stingy?

Apparently not.

How could an eccentric and stingy person establish the merit of unifying southern Kyushu.

The explanation made by Kai Zongyun, who has a deep understanding of the inside story, is: There are many branches of the Shimazu family, and almost all the retainers are relatives and families, so why should some of the ancestors be high and some low? It is only by paying very strict attention to the order of respect and inferiority that the people below can be convinced.

The four brothers who are now in power are all the sons of the previous governor Shimazu Takahisa, but Yoshihisa, Yoshihiro, and Suijiu are all born by the eldest lady of the main palace, and they are righteous sons-in-law. Jiajiu's mother is just a lowly concubine, not even a famous side room.

From the point of view of dividing the line of respect and inferiority, it is naturally despised internally.

If too many rewards are given rashly, it may cause dissatisfaction among other Shu clans.

This is the Satsuma Shimazu family's "own national conditions here".

As a traverser, a modern person, you will feel that "meritocracy is the only way to act, and meritorious deeds are rewarded" is a natural rule. Even if it can't be fully implemented, at least on the surface, it should be made.

But in the 16th century, Fuso, especially on the island of Kyushu, where the culture was most traditional, had a very different social outlook.

Tie Fan Xiu even heard an anecdote:

It is said that when dozens of high-ranking personnel of the Shimazu family went to the horse farm to choose mounts together, the old three years old did not know which tendon was wrong, and suddenly said: "Both parents must be of good blood, and the cubs born can inherit the good bloodline, if the stallion is strong but the mare is weak, it will not work at all." Then the elder Yoshihisa immediately said, "This is true of the words of the horse, for its talents are limited to the physical body, and they are naturally predestined. But the difference is that human talent is more intellectual than brute force, and no matter what kind of background can be made strong through diligent study. ”

Let's assume that this story is not fiction.

Then it's worth pondering...... Everyone says that Shimazu is delicate and sensitive, so why would he deliberately say such things that would obviously affect unity?

can only be thought of as singing a double reed, he openly said the dark thoughts that some other people present were thinking about but did not declare, so that Shimazu Yoshihisa could refute them, one with a red face and one with a white face, supporting Iehisa in disguise.

This in turn shows how contemptuous they are for the children born to their concubines!

It just so happens that Shimazu Iehisa still has a layer of surprising interpersonal relationships......

The tie saw this as a rare opportunity, and also put on a good show that might be considered "an easy story" in the future.

It was a small talk after dinner, when a few close ministers, outsiders, and guests sat by the fire and chatted.

Talking about the current war, Kinoshita Hidenaga, who has always been calm and steady, suddenly looked ashamed, and sighed: "Thanks to the grace of the lord, I am a light son, and now I have Wanshi Zhixing, Juyi gives the acting official position of the eight northern counties, but he has been defeated repeatedly in Hinata, what a disappointment!" ”

Arakimurashige comforted him and said: "The enemy is too strong, it has been crisscrossing Kyushu for many years, and neither Ito, Hefu, Otomo, nor Chomune can be defeated, and only the Lord of the Uchifu can deal with it in person, so we don't have to be ashamed of it." ”

Kato Kotai nodded and said: "Contemptible people have always thought that the so-called Yum famous generals are all boasted, and I didn't think it was too difficult to deal with the people of Kai Echigo, and when I came here, I saw the deeds of Shimazu Chuwu (Iehisa), and I knew that there were indeed people outside the world." ”

The great singer Satomura Shaoba, who was pulled by Fan Xiuqiang, happened to be on the side, and said with a smile: "In fact, ten years ago, when he was not famous, he went to Kyoto to study literature and art, and he had a bit of a master-apprentice fate with the old man. ”

Everyone was shocked when they heard this, and they all expressed their respect. Nanjo Mototo continued to compliment: "I don't want Your Excellency to have such a high-ranking disciple!" Maybe he took inspiration from your poetry. ”

"Don't dare to be, don't dare to be." Samura Shaoba said modestly, and said: "Actually, Shimazu Chuwu (Iehisa) has not yet been sealed as the lord of the city, and the number of knowledge and deeds is limited to 2,000 stones, in this regard, aren't you all far surpassed!" ”

"What?" Kato Mitsutai was shocked: "My Yulu is actually three or four times as much as his?" It's incredible! If such a strong general is only 2,000 stones, I'm afraid I will only have 500 stones for my face at most......"

At this time, the flat hand showed approach, heard the words of the retainer, laughed and said, "Don't be humble! Give you 7,500 stones, all of them are due honors. It's the Shimazu family, I've always heard that they have clear rewards and punishments, and everyone is united, but now it doesn't seem to be very good? If it is convenient for Mr. Satomura Shoba, please tell me that you, a high-ranking disciple, are at least thirty times more worthy of knowledge! ”

Hearing this, the retainers had different expressions, and there was no lack of envy and jealousy, but no one felt that it was wrong.

This matter did not need to be specially ordered, and it was spread by people who did good deeds.

As for whether they can go to the camp of the other side, it is difficult to say.

……

"The Shimazu army has all retreated? How can it be! Are you sure you read that right? ”

Only a few days later, Hirate Honxiu, who was having breakfast, didn't expect the "surprise" to come so quickly, and even doubted his ears a little.

"To be exact, except for some guards left in Renji City, the others are gone." Mitsuhiko Dorao's expression was very calm, and he maintained a strict wording: "Because the river is too fast, it is difficult to swim across, and it is impossible to find out how many people have walked on the other side and how many people are left for a while, but the traces of a large number of soldiers leaving are too obvious to be mistaken. ”

"Is that so......"

Tie Tsuki brushed his beard and fell into deep thought.

Not long after, Ikutsu Sadatsune, who was in charge of directing the artillery fire, also came to report that the other side's reaction was not normal, and there was no counterattack at all, and it seemed that it had become an empty battalion.

At about the first moment, a tentative detachment built a bamboo raft pontoon bridge along the ferry, and successfully crossed the river without any hindrance, and not a single enemy soldier was seen.

Then there were more than 3,000 follow-up people, to the opposite bank to spread scouts, attack from all sides, and then came back at noon to conclude that there was indeed no one within a radius of a few kilometers, only Renji City was obviously still garrisoned, close to it will be fired by iron cannons, but as long as you stay away immediately, you will not be pursued.

Seeing this, he was still a little worried, and he didn't know if it was the usual trick of the Shimazu army to lure the enemy, and he was afraid that he would be attacked by Bandu, so he still ordered to be cautious and cautious, and slowly advance.

So it took a day of hard work to build seven pontoon bridges, more than 20,000 people crossed the river, and the scout reconnaissance area was expanded to several times, and finally confirmed that the main force of the other side had indeed withdrawn, and only the troops who held Renji City remained.

Judging from the clues left behind, it should have been the afternoon of the previous day that they had started to set off one after another, and most of them had left before sunset. A few who stay to cope may have left overnight.

Due to the lack of investigation across the river, it was not discovered until the next morning. The guards on duty at night were only on guard against the opponent's surprise attack, so they had no spare energy to observe the movements.

It's puzzling.

Could it be that the rear was disturbed by the Einsatzgruppen and went back to the rescue?

Then only some people should be separated, how can the main force be directly transferred? Wouldn't it be tantamount to abandoning the most important frontal battlefield to fill the secondary one?

I don't know what the intention is.

There are still some guards in the city of Renji on the south bank of the Kuma River, but just looking at the size of the city, we know that the number of troops cannot exceed 3,000. At most, it is the effect of harassing supplies, and it is impossible to contain the 60,000 army.

Could it be that he could not withstand the shelling for many days and was forced to retreat?

It's even more impossible.

Don't look at a river is not very wide, the terrain on both sides is still relatively complicated, the height is uneven, the cannon cannot be pushed to the shore, the air is completely impossible to aim, just look at the direction of the flag, close your eyes and shoot with faith, hundreds of rounds every day, it is remarkable to kill dozens of people, mainly to listen to a sound, showing majesty.

It is possible that the rabble, whose morale is particularly low, will be frightened away in this way, but isn't the Shimazu army an iron-blooded strong army?

It's more like the usual "fishing and wild ambush" strategy.

It's just that in order for the strategy to succeed, the most important thing is that the link of "fraud and defeat" must be very confusing, and pretend to be a real failure in order to deceive people.

Before you officially started fighting, suddenly the whole army turned around and ran back, and any general who saw it would only feel abnormal and raise his vigilance, how could he be fooled.

Wait, is it just to take advantage of this psychology to set up a suspicious formation and buy time to solve the secondary front?

Subtle......

In short, this retreat is confusing and unpredictable.

Then I just don't think about it.

Heide Tsunohide recognized that it was the safest principle to plan for the battalion step by step, and did not think about the pursuit, but only sent people to inform the special forces in Satsuma, Osumi, and Hinata, telling them that the main force of Shimazu was nowhere to be found, and they should be careful and vigilant.

Of the 60,000 people around him, 40,000 were sent to besiege Renji City. Another 20,000 were stationed on the south bank of the river to guard against the enemy who might go and return.

I don't know the means of differentiation and adjustment, but it didn't work.