Chapter 45: The Ones Close
The surrender of the Nine Ghost Family was an unexpected gain from coming to Cheongju this time. But they both know that this is nothing more than a relationship of mutual exploitation. The Nine Demons Yoshitaka used my military strength to recapture the Shima territory, and I used the Nine Demons as a pawn to contain the Kitabatake family from behind. It's just that when this chess piece will be cast still needs to be carefully considered. If it's too early, I'll inevitably be besieged by the Kitabatake family, and I'll have to provide some assistance in order to keep this chess piece, which will involve a lot of energy and affect the Kita-Ise strategy.
Originally, I didn't plan to arrange the Nine Demons to join the Navy, and the Nine Demons Yoshitaka also preferred to return to Minami Ise as soon as possible. I immediately repaired a letter and asked the Nine Ghosts Jialong to bring it back to Xiejiang City. In the letter, I asked Xiujing to settle down the Nine Ghosts Chenglong, and then gave the Nine Ghosts Jialong 500 yuan of funds, and asked him to go back to Chaoxiong Mountain to contact the old department first.
While it was still early, I visited Ikeda Tsuneko, who lives next door, and Niwa Nagahide, who lives not far away. Towards evening, I went to the house of Toshiya Maeda with a congratulatory gift.
Since I took over the Northern Ise Raiders, I have rarely returned to Cheongju, and I haven't seen these former friends a few times a year. On the twelfth day of the first month of last year, the day after Matsudaira Motoyasu's visit, it was the birth of Chiyo, the eldest son of the Lee family. It's a pity that I returned to the territory in the first place, and although I sent someone to make up for the gift afterwards, I haven't seen the child yet.
This time, I was able to meet and send a birthday gift in advance, because I still can't stay until the twelfth day this year.
"Oh, it's His Highness Xuanjing! It's a rare visit! Seeing me enter the door, Ah Song hurriedly put down the child in his arms and was very respectful.
"Mrs. Asong, I'm not an outsider, I came to the door as a friend, not a colleague, don't make a fuss." I smiled and looked around the room, "Isn't Zuo there again?" And what about Ayuki? ”
"The Ri family went to His Royal Highness Shibata's house; Lady Sawaki is very fond of Akiki...... "Amatsu brought sake and a sake bowl," said Atsu, who didn't visit you first, but let you come first, which was rude! ”
"I just came to Cheongju today, and I came to see your dog Chiyo," I handed over the gift and picked up the child, "Speaking of which, I haven't seen this little guy yet!" ”
"It's rare that you have a heart." Ah Song took the gift and replied with a smile, "Is Shangchuan Hall okay?" I heard that you also have an eldest son in your family? And Mrs. Yuga...... The Li family was not there, thanks to Mrs. for taking care of him. ”
"Caicai is fine, but now that I have moved to Xiejiang City, I still often go around the territory, or go to Changdao to worship the Buddha......" Speaking of Caicai's behavior of worshipping the Buddha, I am a little worried. Although I let her get close to Yizong at the beginning, he is really diligent now. Every time I go to battle, she will go to Hosenji Temple to make a wish, and when I come back, she will go to make a vow again. With my victories in several battles, she seems to think that there are really gods and Buddhas in her hands. That's not a good trend!
However, her close relationship with the Sect did help me a lot. attacked Hattori Tomosada and got their tacit approval; Some of the people who have always believed in the sect have always had a good impression of my Kira family; Sometimes, you can also get some information about the surrounding forces from the Ichikozong. Let's just talk about the battle of Futamiura, if it weren't for the two pieces of information from Kongxuan, it would be difficult for me to make such a decision, although the information was inadvertently revealed by Kongxuan.
I believe that if I get closer to the Ichijo sect, I will definitely be able to get more cooperation from them in terms of intelligence, and I will be more sure of attacking Kitaise. As far as I know, there are a large number of followers in the Ichizong clan in Kita-Ise, and among them are the heads of more than a dozen wealthy families. These people are the main force that has always been in Changdao after that. But, out of foresight, I never took this step. For me, I've always been like a drug, it may be a pleasure at first, but once you get closer, it's hard to get rid of the effects...... Then just wait for the incident on Long Island, and your own territory will be in shambles! If my position is a little unstable, Nobunaga's pressure and reprimands will come to me......
"His Highness Xuanjing?" Ah Song's concerned inquiry was pulled back from his thoughts.
"Ah, sorry, I was distracted!" I quickly apologized, picked up the sake she had poured and drank it down.
"It's no wonder that His Royal Highness Xuanjing is now an important minister of the family! There must be a lot to think about! Ah Song said thoughtfully, knelt beside me again, and helped me fill the wine bowl.
At this moment, Maeda Toshiya walked in.
"Your Highness Xuanjing, you are really here!" He said loudly.
"What Your Highness, believe it or not, I'll pour wine on you!" I feigned anger and picked up the bowl.
"That's also the courtesy that should be done to the important ministers of the family...... Don't, I was wrong! The Li family hurriedly admitted defeat.
"We're friends, so we don't need so much politeness." I smiled and beckoned him to sit down, "Listening to your tone, you seem to know I'm here?" ”
"I visited His Royal Highness Shibata, and then went to Hengxing's house, and I heard that you came to Cheongju. When I went to your house, Tokujiro said that you came to me, so I hurried back. The Li family sat down opposite me and said with emotion, "Speaking of which, only Xuanjing is so approachable." Let's just say that His Royal Highness Hideyoshi, since he became the Sumamata Castle Dai, now he has a lot of life with my family. Call him 'monkey' again, I'm afraid I'm going to be unhappy! ”
"Hideyoshi? Kinoshita Toyoshiro? Sumamata Castle Generation? I asked.
"Yes, His Royal Highness Takigawa has moved to Shinjo," Toshiya nodded, "Hideyoshi is the proper name he took after becoming the Lordship of Minamata Castle." ”
Sure enough, there is the style of this guy, and when he is a broken city, he will immediately change his name; If you become the lord of the city, you can't change all the Miao characters!
Hey, by the way, after he became the lord of today's Bincheng City in history, he really changed the Miao character. In order to support Nobunaga's heels, he changed the name of the castle to Nagahama......
"Don't worry, the next time I see him, I will definitely shout a few more monkeys, and make up all the parts that don't let you shout!" I joked and raised the wine bowl to the Li family.
"You call him, and he naturally has no opinion. For your Royal Highness Xuanjing, he admires him very much! The Rika smiled and drank it all, "Is Fujipachi okay?" ”
"Very good, the day before yesterday to attack the Kitabatake's naval army, he was the first to fight, and his achievements were not small."
"You're going to attack the Kitabatake's navy? How's the battle going? The Li family asked with concern.
"More than 2,000 people from the Kitabatake family were wiped out, and our side suffered less than 100 casualties, and then by the way, I went to Uji Yamada Town to extort 5,000 kan bounty." I replied.
“…… Your record...... It's getting more and more amazing! The Li family was silent for a moment, "On our side, we can't even take a small mountain pass castle." ”
"War is not only about strength, but also about time, place, people, as well as the military spirit and combat readiness of both sides, and intelligence is also very important...... Let's just talk about Xiaokou City, the reason why I can't attack it is because I went all the way to Qingzhou, and every time I let the other party prepare to defend the city in advance; And our side not only has to face the geographical advantage of Xiaokou Castle, but also fights sharp soldiers with tired troops, how can it be easily captured? After two or three defeats, the morale of the army will be even more unbearable. I took a sip of wine, "That's why the lord wants to mobilize the people and move the city to Komaki Mountain City." In this way, Oguchi Castle has lost almost all of its advantages, and it may be possible to win it by adjusting it alone. ”
"My family has been taught!" Toshiya Maeda raised a bowl in respect.
"It's just that in this way, the revenge of the re-divorce cannot be avenged." I sighed.
"Dying in battle is exactly the duty of a samurai." The Li family is very open-minded.
"Then you can't just sacrifice it...... In this regard, I am a big admirer of Kai's Takeda Daizen. I said.
"Takeda Daizen...... Can you ask His Royal Highness Xuanjing for advice? The Li family asked solemnly.
"Kai Province is sparsely populated, and at the beginning, the Takeda family's previous governors were reluctant to use military force and did not care about the people's strength, and were exiled to Suruga by their retainers. Therefore, Takeda Daizen learned his lesson, and the first thing he did after inheriting the family governor was to personally lead people to build water conservancy...... In the later wars, Takeda Daizen also always paid attention to maintaining military strength and adhered to the principle of "five points of victory". In every big battle, I always hold the position tightly first, stand in an invincible position, and then find the right time to inflict heavy damage on the enemy at the smallest possible cost, and then quickly retreat after a blow......"
As I spoke, I remembered the famous "Siru" military flag and the Battle of Sanfangyuan. If history doesn't deviate too much, maybe I'll still have a chance to fight him at that point.
"Swift as the wind, Xu as a forest, aggression as fire, immobile as a mountain...... That's true! The Li family chewed.
"Does Zuo also know Sun Tzu's Art of War?" I asked.
"When I used to live at Atsuta Shrine, I read some books and had some experience...... The Takeda family's Siru Art of War has also heard a little, but it is not as clear as you say," he nodded and sighed, "I really hope to be taught more!" It's a pity that I will soon have to move to Komaki Mountain Castle, and the distance is even farther away. ”
"I want you to do it. It's a pity that you have a heavy responsibility, and the lord will not let it go! I laughed.
That night, the two of us talked for a long time and drank four bottles of sake.
……,……
Because of the sudden concern that came to my mind and was too close to Nana and Ichimune, I did not stay in Cheongju for long. When I returned to the territory, I heard that Nana had gone to Long Island again, and I was even more depressed.
That night, I stayed in her room and bullied her severely.
"Your Highness is a little different today...... "She was languid and weak, curled up in my arms like a cat, whispering softly, and her face pressed against my chest was hot.
"It was a bit too much...... You okay? I sighed and stroked Nana's smooth back as if to soothe a real cat. After venting, the depression in my heart has eased a lot. Then it occurred to me that she was not yet eighteen years old this year, and for her, was today's expedition a bit excessive? Compared with Xiao Xia, Nana's age is relatively young, and her body hasn't even fully grown. And Xiao Xia has been running around in the mountains since he was a child, and his whole body is flexible and strong, and he can withstand the toss very well.
"Occasionally...... It's okay! Nana's face became even hotter.
"What did you go to Long Island again today?" I asked.
"Because Your Highness has won, and you have come back safely...... The concubine had made a wish to the gods and Buddhas before, so it was better to go and repay the wish, otherwise it would be difficult to make a wish again. Nana said, in a very brisk tone, and with a hint of piety.
"Do you really think that when I won, it was because of the blessing of the gods and Buddhas?" I sighed again.
"But the concubine can't go into battle, so she can only help His Highness like this." Nana groped with her little hand and covered my lips, "Also, Your Highness can't sigh often." I heard everyone say that this will take away the luck. ”
The so-called everyone is probably the group of people who have always been close to her. I couldn't help but sigh again. However, as soon as I opened my mouth, Nana was sensitively aware of it, and she naughtily covered my mouth with her hand.
I had no choice but to pull her hand away and promise in a loud voice: "Okay, okay, just don't sigh...... It's not too early, so let's take a break! ”
"Yes!" Nana nodded obediently. After a while, she let out a soft snort.
But I couldn't sleep for a while. How can you persuade her? It's okay to forcibly ban it, and Nana will definitely be obedient. However, in that case, he will inevitably be estranged from Yixiangzong, and Nana will definitely not feel happy. In her opinion, making a wish and praying for me to worship the gods and Buddhas of the Ichisho sect and winning over the people, especially the people who are also followers of the Ichijo sect, are two very important things, and they are also the few things that can help me.
According to my memory, in 1563, the biggest thing for the Oda family was to move to Komakiyama, and the biggest thing for the Matsudaira family was that Mikawa had always been the same.
After forming an alliance with the Oda family at the beginning of last year, the Matsudaira family immediately sent troops to attack Kamigo Castle, which was the hub of the western and eastern rivers, in early February, and asked for the castle lord Hatden Nagato, and then exchanged the head of the Hataden clan and the second brother of the Hatada clan for their wives and children from Imagawa. With this victory, Motoyasu pacified the entire Higashimikawa in one go, and then abandoned the word "Yuan" given by Yoshimoto, changed his name to Ieyasu, and completely broke with the Imagawa family. However, just when he was full of ambition, he broke out that Mikawa had always been in a state of collapse and was almost in a state of destruction. This incident has been called one of the three major crises in Ieyasu's life.
In fact, the cause of the incident was very small, that is, when the Matsudaira retainer Suganuma was building the castle, he was short of military rations, and then he "borrowed" a little from the nearby Shanguji Temple. After the incident, Ieyasu hurriedly returned the military rations extorted by his subordinates. But the temple did not give up, Ieyasu's father was weak at the beginning, in order to obtain the support of the Mikawa Religious Order, but they were given the privilege of "guarding the inaccessible"! They believed that Ieyasu's move might be a temptation to confiscate the Ichi-sujong temple to expand his strength after the unification of Higashi-Mikawa...... As a result, Ieyasu was tragic, and nearly half of the Mikawa retainers immediately defected, including the Okusa Matsudaira family of his own grandmother, the Kagakugain family, the Sakurai Matsudaira family, who married his half-sister Tajihime, and the former Higashi Mikawa guardian Kira family...... The military advisors he later relied on, Honda Masanobu and Masashige, rebelled; Later, the righteous brother of Ishikawa Shumasa, the head of the Nishimikawa banner, Naito Kiyonaga, and his family rebelled; Sakai Tadashi's uncle, the new head of the Higashi-Mikawa bannerman, Sakai Tadashi, rebelled; Among the sixteen Tokugawa generals and the few people who can go into battle at present, there are two people who rebelled, Watanabe Moritsu and Bee House; There is also Natsume Yoshinobu, who was a close minister who wore Ieyasu's helmet and rode Ieyasu's war horse to drag the Takeda family during the later Battle of Mikahara.
I only hope now that after seeing the tragic situation of the Mikawa family, Nana can consciously be wary of the Yizong sect, and then maintain a somewhat detached attitude. Even my persuasion is of little use in this matter.
Women sometimes admit death like this, whether they like someone or something else......
After thinking about it for a while, I slowly fell asleep.
The next day, I woke up a little late, and Nana had already gotten up first. I put on my coat and went to the school field for an early exercise, but I rarely found that Xiao Xia was actually there. She was dressed in a samurai training robe and carrying a quiver, and she was aiming intently. There were already three feathered arrows stuck in the arrow target hanging in front of them, and they had obviously been practicing for a while. The two maids stood on the sidelines, and when they saw me coming, they quickly knelt to the side, but they didn't dare to say hello. Keitaro was held by one of them, but it was very quiet, and the two dark eyes stared at me for a while, and finally recognized who it was, and then reached out and scratched it.
I took Keitaro and held it in my arms. Keitaro giggled, and finally startled Natsu to turn around.
"Why are you in the mood to practice bows and arrows?" I say.
"Your Highness, when you go out on the expedition in the future, please bring your concubine!" Xiao Xia looked at me seriously.
"Nonsense! You're all mothers, why are you still so unstable? I reprimanded, handing the child to her, "And then! ”
"Your Highness, the concubine is not messing around," Xiao Xia did not pick up the child, "Caicai can make a wish and pray for His Highness and win over the people; Yu Jia can help His Highness with household chores and inspect the house; Those concubines can't do it, so they can only help in the battle array...... Moreover, the concubine body is more reassuring in that way. ”
"I'm pretty good now, and I have a lot of people around me, so you don't have to worry about anything." I say. I'm still very touched by her concerns.
"But the bow skills of the concubine body must be above His Highness," Xiao Xia was indomitable, "Moreover, the concubine body has won the first general of the Imagawa Yoshimoto Honjin!" ”
"You say Sena-shi-jun? Well, what did you get? I looked at her with a smile, "Claiming credit is an act of dishonor that dishonors the samurai!" ”
At the beginning, Sena Toshishi obviously died at my hands, just to get Nobunaga to forgive Natsu, so I just gave her the credit. She really thinks that the credit for the three heads is her?
"The hall has admitted it! The royal highnesses of the family also think so......" Under my gaze, Xiao Xia's voice became smaller and smaller, but then he made trouble unreasonably, "Anyway, the concubine must follow!" If you can't follow as a personal guard, it's better to be a shigaru yourself! ”
"Alright, I'll let you follow!" I had to throw in the towel. Since she said it, she will definitely do it.
For her, being a foot light is nothing, even wiping her neck and sending her to death!
(PS: Filled.) Thank you again for laughing heroes, hot readers, etc., and at the same time, I would like to express my admiration and admiration for legend-nov, who indiscriminately voted 3 0-star evaluation votes without even reading a book. )
;