409

Naoe continued, the [first courtier in the world] in the Warring States Period.

Although the name is brilliant and the talent is outstanding, before the Battle of Sekigahara, the confrontation between All Uesugi Keikatsu and Ieyasu was the biggest mistake of Naoe Kane's life.

In fact, at that time, the strength of the two sides was already obvious, because of the Korean War, the national strength of the Kwantong princes was generally weakened, and the Eastern Army composed of the Eastern princes was stronger than the Western Army in terms of military strength and general ability.

More importantly, the commanders of the Western Army, Ishida Mitsunari and Mori Terumoto, were very inferior in military affairs, while Tokugawa Ieyasu had been fighting in the north and south since he was a child, and he had rich military experience.

Except for one Shimazu Yoshihiro and Sanada Masayuki, the Western Army could hardly find a few first-class generals, while the Eastern Army was full of talents.

It stands to reason that with Naoe's talent, I shouldn't fail to see this, and the question I haven't understood is why Naoe is on the side of Sansei.

After the death of Kobayakawa Keitaka, Uesugi Keikatsu was made up as one of the five elders, and his status was already very high, but due to Ieyasu's strength, after Hideyoshi's death, the five old systems became the most favorable system for Ieyasu to control the government, which was the main reason why Mori, Kobayakawa, and Ukita stood on the side of Ishida Mitsunari among the five elders, but the reason was also because the territories of Mori, Kobayakawa, and Ukita were all in the west.

In addition, the [otaku] Mori Terumoto and Ukita Hideya are both famous second ancestors, and their ancestors are famous, but they have done nothing themselves. And [God of War] Kobayakawa Hideaki, as early as the Korean War, formed a bond with Ishida Mitsunari.

But Uesugi is different, Uesugi's territory is in the east, and at this time Tokugawa Ieyasu also needs the support of an elder-level daimyo, if Uesugi Keikatsu can resolutely stand on the side of Tokugawa Ieyasu in the Battle of Sekigahara, it is entirely possible that after the victory of Tokugawa Ieyasu, he will be treated more than 10,000 people under one person, after all, he himself has a territory of 1.3 million stone (the actual income is only 700,000 stone, but it is still considerable), and there is a huge retainer group of 3,000 people and the strongest soldier in the world left by Uesugi Kenshin, if the team succeeds, I'm afraid Tokugawa Ieyasu will also be moved to the ground.

Therefore, the author personally believes that this mistake of Naoe Kanesugu became a failure that affected the Uesugi family and even affected the whole of Japan in the future.

Naoe Kanesuke was still a very charismatic person in that era, whether it was a monkey, a turtle, or his lord Uesugi gave him a high evaluation, and the title of "the world's first courtier" was not for nothing.

However, there are also rumors that Naoe and Uesugi Keikatsu have a tendency to break their sleeves, and the truth of such rumors is unverifiable. Among the talents of that era, Naoe Kaneji was very good at his time, but compared to the famous figures of the earlier era, such as Takenaka Hanbei, Kuroda Kanwei, Sanada, Kobayakawa Keitaka, etc., in terms of talent and evaluation of later generations, it is still inferior.

The author does not have a deep study of Mr. Naoe, at most he has read the novel "Uesugi Keikatsu" and the Taiga drama "Heaven and Earth People", but from the information that can be seen on the Internet now, the author feels that his fault is:

Before the battle of Sekigahara, he advocated Uesugi Keikatsu to make military preparations, although it was understandable to see the crisis of the Uki family and the Maeda family and make a self-protection strategy in advance, but it was really undesirable to deliberately provoke Tokugawa Ieyasu.

This is also one of the main reasons why Tokugawa Ieyasu later cut off most of Uesugi's territory.

As for his charm, one should lie in his ability. Toyotomi Hideyoshi did not hesitate to use 300,000 stone to identify his talent, and his later Naoe form is also too classic, after all, in addition to the demon king and the monkey, only the handsome guy Naoe has dared to provoke Tokugawa Ieyasu like this for many years!

And he and Katakura Jinggang are called "the two great courtiers in the world", but I think he is more inclined to domestic affairs, and lacks Katakura Jingzuna's ability on the battlefield.

Finally, before the reformer Uesugi Takama, Naoe Kanesuke's reputation in the Uesugi family was not good, and the successive governors after Uesugi Keikatsu regarded Naoe Kanesugu as a traitor...... But it doesn't matter, through the [Ako Ronin Incident], we can already know what kind of virtue the Uesugi family was in the Edo period! ……

[That's a very good idea, the Ashina family has just perished, and there are still many people who are loyal to it, and the Aizu and Yonezawa people have a feud, so it is easy to stir up their dissatisfaction with the Date family. 】

[Well, I will go to report to the lord tomorrow and send someone to Aizu.] 】

[If there is chaos in Aizu, then Date Masamune may not be so leisurely and leisurely with us in Echigo...... Just like the three strategies [upper, middle, and lower] that I mentioned before in Echigo Morime, there are still three paths in front of Date Masamune. 】

[I really admire you, no matter what happens, you can think so much, it's really worthy of the surname of [wise], tell me quickly, which are the three roads. 】

[My surname has nothing to do with Ming Zhizhi, it's just that as a military advisor, I must consider things on the battlefield in many aspects...... Okay, let's get down to business. 】

(In Japanese, the pronunciation and writing of "wise" as a surname and noun as an adjective are not the same, and they have little to do with each other.)

[Previously, I analyzed the three routes of Date Masamune's march based on the movements of Date Masamune, and then we met Date Masamune unexpectedly in Tsuenkawa, and although we were defeated, it also confirmed my inference. 】

Wise Kogoro stared at Naoe Kanesuo with blazing eyes.

[Now, I have planned three more paths for Date Masamune...... The first is a strategy, Date Masamune will take advantage of the victory to invade Kasuga Mountain Castle in a big way, and he will come soon. 】

[Soon?] 】

[Yes.] His supply was a big problem, Echigo was not a rich place, except for Kasugayama Castle and Shinbata Castle, the rest of the place was poor, so every time Date Masamune captured a castle, it was equivalent to adding a burden to himself. Therefore, when dealing with Kasuga Mountain City, he must fight quickly. 】

[Hmph, Kasuga Mountain Castle is not an easy city to attack, he wants to fight quickly? Go for his big spring and autumn dreams! 】

[I'm afraid Date Masamune himself knows how difficult it is to do this, Kasuga Yamajo is the symbol of the Uesugi family, no matter what, Echigo Mamoru will fight to the death, even if he attacks with all his strength, it is impossible to win in a short time, so ...... If I were Date Masamune, I would have given up attacking Kasugayama Castle after weighing the pros and cons. 】

[Give up? Isn't that tantamount to giving up all the gains that are missing? 】

[No, no, no, I can't say that, I don't think even Date Masamune himself would have thought that his war in Echigo would be so brilliant and smooth, and the other party was the Uesugi family, who had [the world's first soldier]...... Lord Kanesu, it's not that I belittle you, the Uesugi family's performance in this war is really bad, and if Kenshin knew about it, I'm afraid he would be sad and cry. 】

Wise Kogoro said this, Naoe Kanesui lowered his head and said in a depressed tone:

[What you said is that since the death of Kenshin Gong, the family has been like being drained of the soul of a samurai, and every day is getting worse than the day, and the lord and I will feel heartbroken when we think of this. 】

[Okay, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said this...... Let's go on, through this war, Date Masamune has actually become famous all over the world, and from then on, he will establish a very high prestige in the Kanto and Tohoku regions, which is the greatest result he has obtained...... In addition, I'm afraid he also knows that if he tries his best to storm Kasugayama Castle, it is not impossible to capture it, but that will inevitably pay a high price, and even if Kasuga Yama Castle is defeated, will the Uesugi family perish? Not necessarily. 】

[Well, the lord has already decided, if the Kasuga Mountain Castle can't be defended, he will go to Echichu to fight the enemy. 】

【……】

For Uesugi Keiho's idea, Akechi Kogoro doesn't agree very much, Echichu and Echigo are different, and it may be more difficult to fight there.

[Well, this is the last thing Date Masamune wants to see, so for him, attacking Kasuga Mountain Castle is such a high-risk and low-reward thing, and he has to think carefully about whether the gains outweigh the losses. 】

[It makes sense, if offense is the next policy, then according to what you mean, defense is the best policy? 】

[That's pretty much it, the middle strategy is that Date Masamune temporarily postponed the plan to advance, because of the problem of logistics and supplies, he needs to stop and recuperate the army, occupy Tochio Castle and have a long-term confrontation with us, and after a while the logistics problem is solved, a new offensive will be launched, and at that time I'm afraid all of us will ......]

Hearing Akechi Kogoro say this, Naoe Kanesu's face suddenly turned whiter than white flour, but he quickly forced himself to calm down.

[We won't be so stupid, wait for him to solve everything in vain, and then come to beat us.] 】

[Well, the middle strategy is much more realistic than the next strategy, although the good time is longer, but the effect it can bring is very significant, I also have an excellent strategy, that is, to withdraw troops. 】

[Withdrawing troops? Is it also because of logistical supply problems? I don't think Date Masamune will be able to conquer the territory so easily, and it is more likely that he will give up the territory in vain. 】

[That's not necessarily, compared to the defense of the city, maybe the benefits of retreating will be greater......]

Wise Kogoro stood up and looked at the pool in the courtyard outside the house, and said.

[Because at this time, it is suitable to play some small tricks. 】