Naoji Ando, Miura Weichun, and Mizuno Shigenaka are not only Lai Xuan's genealogical retainers, but also close ministers who raised him since childhood. After Lai Xuan was born, Tokugawa Ieyasu was already sixty years old, and he wanted to seek the world of the Toyotomi family, so he naturally had no intention of raising this son, so he handed him over to Ando Naoji, Miura Weiharu, and Mizuno Shigenaka to raise.

Among these three, Miura Weichun is Lai Xuan's uncle, so for Lai Xuan, the three are not only the status of retainers, but also like a father and a master. When Lai Xuan was dissatisfied with being relocated to the remote Kishu Peninsula and often beat unpleasant retainers with a scabbard, only Naoji Ando could stop and admonish him.

After 12 years in Kizhou, Lai Xuan, who is only 30 years old, has almost worn out the irritable temper of his youth, but he still trusts these three close ministers who grew up together.

Whenever there was a major issue that would determine the future of the domain, it was Lai Xuan who finally made the final decision together with these three important ministers.

Naoji Ando was not only Yorinobu's chief minister, but also an important figure in the shogunate's use to oversee the Kishu domain. However, between Lai Xuan, who was raised single-handedly, and the shogunate, he was always inclined to Lai Xuan, and it was under his strong mediation that the second generation of generals gradually released their suspicions about Lai Xuan.

When only the four of them faced each other in the Nakaku Palace, Naoji Ando bluntly said to his lord: "From the moment Osaka Castle set foot on the territory of Kishu, whether it was sent or not, the main domain was in great trouble. ”

The other three all looked at him in surprise, and Lai Xuan was even more surprised and said: "If you don't send troops, you will provoke the anger of the shogunate, which I can understand, but why does this clan agree to send troops, it will also become a trouble?" ”

Naoji Ando looked into Lai Xuan's eyes and said, "The core of this issue is not whether the domain will send troops or not, but how Edo will view the actions of the domain.

Since the succession of three generations of generals to the throne, there has been a considerable estrangement between His Royal Highness and the three generations of generals. In the eyes of a general who is disgruntled with His Highness, whatever His Highness does is wrong.

Not to mention that there are a group of villains such as Shigesumi Sakai in Edo, who are bent on welcoming the general as their top priority, and as long as the general shows his dissatisfaction with His Highness, I am afraid that rumors of ruining His Highness's reputation in Edo will be rampant.

What's more, now that His Royal Highness Zhongchang is involved in this matter, we need to be even more cautious. The disagreement between His Royal Highness and the General is well known to everyone in the world. But whether His Highness Tadacho has the strength to capture Osaka Castle is unlikely to be.

However, according to the information I received from Edo, the lord of the Great Imperial Palace has been in poor health recently, and the shogunate has basically been in charge of the shogun. ”

Miura Weichun suddenly had a little thought, and he couldn't help but say in a lost voice: "What does Ando-sama mean, this may be a trap?" The general instructed Sakai Shigesumi to set up a bureau to first frame His Highness Tadacho, and then come to test our Highness? ”

The other three people in the hall were silent, and Miura Weiharu's idea was not wrong, and it could even be said to be more reliable than the statement that His Royal Highness Tadashi sent people to capture Osaka Castle. Could the Tokugawa family's Osaka Castle, which was more majestic than the Toyotomi family's Osaka Castle, be captured by a few thousand soldiers and a group of rebels? The four people who have experienced the Osaka Summer Battle are unbelievable.

After being silent for a long time, Mizuno Shigenaka finally couldn't help but say, "If this is a general's game, why would he do it?" Or when the Choshu and Satsuma feudal domains did not obey the orders of the shogunate, wasn't this a self-rebellion? ”

Lai Xuan held the folding fan tightly in his hand, and couldn't help sneering and said: "Do you still need to guess, if it is really the bureau of Jiaguang cloth, I just want to take advantage of the return of the Great Imperial Palace, and dispose of Zhongchang and me together, so as not to ruin his reputation." This nephew of mine has the same personality as his father, always calculating people behind his back..."

Naoji Ando coughed violently and interrupted Lai Xuan's angry words, and then said in a low voice: "Please be cautious, Your Highness, this is just Miura-sama's speculation, not a confirmed fact." The minister thought that it would be too late to wait for the spies to pass on the intelligence collection in Osaka before making conclusions. Let's take Sakai's statement as the starting point today, and discuss how to respond to his request for troops. ”

Miura said a little deflated: "Since it is necessary to be suspicious of Edo if you don't send troops, then it's better not to send troops." Let's find a boat to send Sakai to Edo, and then we'll be at peace with the rebels in Osaka. ”

Naoji Ando immediately glared at Miura and scolded: "If we don't see His Highness before, we will kidnap him to Edo, and the shogunate will not be able to blame the main domain."

But now that he has met His Highness and sent him to Edo, God knows how he will frame His Highness in front of the general, isn't this a rush to send a handle to Edo?

Besides, peace and tranquility can't be wishful thinking. If Osaka was really captured by His Royal Highness Tadacho, then sooner or later he would have to take control of the government and then call on the princes of the world to make enemies of Edo. Otherwise, what would he do to fight with the general's direct banner?

Before His Royal Highness Tadashi went to Luo, would he ignore the main domain that threatened his back path? What should we do if he decides to settle the Honto domain before going to Lo?

Most of the domain's territory was mountainous, making it extremely difficult to get around. Although the sea surrounds the Kishu Peninsula, the coastal cliffs are towering and continuous, and there is no outstanding large port except for large and small bays that can be used as fishing ports.

If Osaka's rebels led an army to attack, how would the domain gather troops from all over the country to resist? Is it so hard to cower in Wakayama Castle and watch rebellion wreak havoc on the domain of the domain? In this case, how will the people perceive His Highness after the war? Since we entered the domain, more than ten years of hard work have gathered people's hearts, will we be lost in one day? ”

Lai Xuan also nodded and said: "Yes, whether you send troops or not, you still have to do this matter of gathering people." Now that the autumn harvest is almost over, it is not a big problem to recruit some peasant soldiers. However, without an order from the shogunate, it was also a crime to recruit peasant soldiers without permission. If you don't attack Osaka after requisitioning the peasants, I'm afraid you'll be held accountable afterwards. ”

Mizuno Shigenaka thought for a long time, and couldn't help but say, "Your Highness is right, we should still agree to Sakai's request so that we can recruit soldiers in the name of this."

However, it was not necessary to attack Osaka Castle if the soldiers were recruited, and the full mobilization of the main domain could only form an army of 12,000 or 3,000 men. However, such mobilization can only be used for local defense, and cannot take them out of the domain to attack.

Therefore, if we want to recruit an army to recover Osaka Castle, we should not recruit more than 3,000 soldiers, and it will be difficult for us to ensure the consumption of materials for the army outside.

It may not be enough to attack Osaka Castle with 3,000 men. However, we are not the only feudal kingdom near Osaka Prefecture. In the Tokushima Domain, opposite us, the Awasuka clan has two countries, Awa and Awaji, and even has a Awaji Island naval army, which can block Osaka's external sea routes.

Nara, east of Osaka, was also a direct domain of the shogunate, so it was only natural that they should also serve in counterinsurgency. As for the Harima and Settsu domains west of Osaka, the Himeji domain was relatively strong, and the Choshu Raider Army was nearby. We should let Sakai continue to lobby the above feudal domains to send troops, so that if Edo wants to embarrass our feudal domain in the future, he will also have to consider the anger of the people.

In addition, although we cannot attack Osaka after our troops are assembled, we can take Sakai City first. Sakai City was destroyed by the Osaka Summer Battle, but most of the merchants in Sakai City moved to Osaka, and the momentum after the restoration was much worse. However, it still has an excellent harbor and is located at the southern end of the Osaka Plain.

Having mastered this place was equivalent to controlling the southernmost plain area of Osaka Prefecture, and there was a good port that could be used as a base for Edo to send troops to quell the rebellion in the future. In this way, we will be able to give an account to Edo without having to storm Osaka Castle.

If the rebel leaves Osaka Castle to attack the main domain, there will also be a buffer zone so that the main domain will have time to respond..."

Miura Weichun couldn't help but say with some suspicion: "Awa's bee Suka housekeeper is a well-known old fox, will he be moved by Sakai's words?" If the Tokushima clan does not stand with us, the shogunate will have even more reason to target the clan in the future. ”

Naoji Ando said: "It's better to let the minister accompany Sakai to the Tokushima Domain, and always let the Wasuka housekeeper make a guarantee, so that we will not suffer from the enemy." ”

Naoji Ando's proposal was agreed by Lai Xuan and the other two retainers, and when the meeting ended, Naoji Ando, who was at the end, still told Lai Xuan with some unease: "In order to defend the domain and maintain the shogunate, prepare the army, and send troops to Sakai City, all these things can be done."

But His Royal Highness must not hand over the army to Usami Dingyu and others, these military scholars from Edo can only brag and can't do anything practical. It's just a waste of rice and grain on weekdays, and if they really let them lead troops to the battlefield, they are plotting to kill His Highness..."

In other matters, Lai Xuan has always respected Naoji Ando, but when it comes to military affairs, he is a little dismissive of the veterans who follow the old ways. However, in the current situation, he still agreed in a loud voice: "What the boss said is that I will remember the teachings of the boss..."

As soon as Naoji Ando and the others were sent away, a small surname came forward to report, saying that it was Usami Dingyu, Hatakeyama Yoshiso, and Natsume Junyachi who asked to see him. Lai Xuan held a folding fan in his right hand and lightly tapped the palm of his left hand a few times before deciding: "Bring them to the Red Leaf Creek Garden in Nishinomaru, where I will meet them." ”

After hearing Lai Xuan's decision to be willing to meet them, Usami Dingyu and the other three were overjoyed and hurriedly followed behind the little surname.

Usami Dingyu's real name is Oseki Sasuke, and he and his father Oseki Katsuko were originally booksellers in Edo. Because it was difficult to arouse the interest of the samurai in the overwhelming number of Koshu military books on the market, the father and son had an idea and pushed out the Kami Kenshin, who was hostile to Takeda Shingen, and forged the Echigo-military school books in order to forcibly occupy the market.

After Tokugawa Ieyasu was defeated at Mikatahara in the third year of Motokame, he began to study the military art of the Takeda family. As Tokugawa Ieyasu became a man of the world, the Takeda family's art of war became increasingly known. When the book Koyo Gunkan was published, the Koshu-ryu military law flourished and became a set of military laws officially followed by the shogunate in the Edo period.

However, the Koshu-ryu military law itself is not an excellent military law, and in the Battle of Changhua, Takeda Katsuyori forcibly cut off the elite division of the Takeda family because of his unreliable command, which led to the defeat of the Takeda family. Therefore, after the large-scale and long-term popularity of Koshu Liujunxue, it naturally caused aesthetic fatigue.

When Usami Dingyu, who claimed to be after Usami Dingxing, compiled Usami Shenliu Military Science and competed with Koshu Ryū Military Academy, it immediately attracted the attention of the military science market, and Echigo-Ryukyu Military Science began to slowly emerge.

Although at the beginning, Echigo-ryu military science only won the attention of samurai who liked novelty, and it was not really a military science. But when Lai Xuan personally came forward to tout Echigo-ryu military science and hired Usami Dingyu, Echigo-ryu became more and more like a real military science.

Being able to rely on the Echigo Ryu Military Science created by himself, Usami Dingyu and others are naturally the most disgusted by the world's doubts about Echigo's Ryu Military Studies. However, Koshu Ryu Military Studies is represented by at least Takeda Shingen and Tokugawa Ieyasu, and it is officially affirmed by the shogunate.

However, the Echigo-ryu military science fabricated by Usami Dingyu and others is represented by only the little-known Uesugi Kenshin, and it did not show any important role in the two wars for the people of the world, so the Echigo-ryu military science was in the vortex of being questioned by other military scholars from the beginning.

The battle of Osaka Castle, which made Lai Xuan and others worried, was in the eyes of Usami Dingyu and others, but it was the best opportunity to prove that Echigo-ryu military science tested itself in actual combat. Therefore, they couldn't wait, wanted to meet Lai Xuan, and wanted to persuade Lai Xuan to agree to let them lead the army.