Chapter 149: When the Wind Rises Again (Part II)

For the Kobayakawa family, I can say that I am particularly favored, whether it is this appointment of the official name, or the previous appointment to marry the Otomo family, it is a great kindness, but it has nothing to say to the Maori family. This book is from--\g In the eyes of many retainers of the Mori family, this is the reward of Kobayakawa Takakei for his dedication to the Kira family, but in fact, Kobayakawa Takakei doesn't care about this, he just sees the situation clearly and wants to guide the Mori family to the side of the winner. If it weren't for the fact that my reward itself was a test, he would certainly not have accepted it lightly; However, once he was subordinate to me, even though it was for the benefit of the Maori family, most of the family could not understand his painstaking efforts, and only alienated him even more, and his persuasive power and voice in the family were further reduced.

This is probably the case with disputes within the samurai family (a custom that continued into World War II). Even if the goals of several parties are completely identical, because of the differences in specific ideas and practices, they cannot fully convince each other, or they do not have the opportunity to communicate with each other at all, the result is that each side insists on its own words, or even fights with each other, and then either the east wind overpowers the west wind, or it goes completely divided. In a family with a weak clan like the Maori family, because the branch is too strong and the subordinates are too **, this kind of thing is especially prone to happen (this was the case with the Battle of Sekigahara).

In the current Maori and Liangchuan system, Yoshikawa Motoharu controls Iwami, Izumo, Hakuki, Inaba Shikoku and most of Misaku, with a territory of up to 600,000 koku, which is undoubtedly the strongest part; Kobayakawa Takakei once controlled Kii and the Seto Inland Sea, and was responsible for dominating the Uki family, but now these have been lost, leaving only the direct leader of the country and the country, and the stone height is about 360,000 stone (Hoida Motokiyoshi married the daughter of Kiirajima Toyasu, and the eldest son succeeded the Kobayakawa family, so he naturally belonged to the Kobayakawa lineage); After the Maori clan lost the Nagato Kingdom, only An Yun and Zhou Fang remained, and the Ishitaka controlled by the Kobayakawa clan was basically the same. Even so, once a confrontation occurs, with Kobayakawa Takakei's ability, he can still contain Yoshikawa Motoharu very well. And he must have made such a choice, otherwise the huge military strength of Kyushu and Shikoku will be pressed over at the same time, and no one will be able to save the Mori family, and even if Hideyoshi has the heart, he will not be able to go on an expedition to rescue him when the territory is undecided and the road is uneasy.

In addition to this, there is also the Uki family in front of me that can be used by me. With their help, combined with our powerful navy, the threat of the Maori family is almost completely eliminated.

The next arrangement is the Tokugawa family in Tokaido...... After a moment's thought, I quickly wrote two letters and handed them to Toshinaga Maeda and Masasumi Honda.

"Inuchiyo went to the Suruga and Kai fronts, conveyed the Suruga Keeper to Xuanzhi, and then asked him to break away from Takeda to conquer the coalition army, and led his troops back to South Kawachi to receive and settle the territory; Masasumi went to Ueno Castle and asked Isemoru (Keimasa) to immediately assemble Ueno Bei, and join Anonbei of His Highness Nagano, the Shima Navy of the Kuki Family, and the Ise Bay Sea Aid Team of Maeno Lord, and go to Hamamatsu Port to meet Seunao. I commanded the two of them.

Tian Lichang immediately received the order.

Honda Masamune also took the order, but he keenly discovered some tricks. He asked me thoughtfully, "Does the lord have any other intentions in sending so many troops to respond?" ”

"Yes," I nodded approvingly, "with this order conveyed, you will stay with Isemoru and go with him to Hamamatsu Port, and then go into the castle to see the Ishikawa Shumasa-sama who stayed behind, and say that Tokugozen (Tokuhime) is a woman, and I personally hope that Kumahime can return to Tosa to stay for a while...... Lord Shumasa is very talkative, and since there are many troops outside, and the main forces of the Tokugawa family are all staying on the front line, he will definitely not refuse our request. ”

Tamasa Jun bowed his head in agreement, and Maeda Toshinaga exited the room.

As soon as they left, only Xiujing and I were the only ones left in the room. Xiujing considered my order, and his brows gradually furrowed: "Brother is obviously provoking the Tokugawa family by doing this...... Could it be that the elder brother wants to push the Tokugawa family to Chikuzen Mamoru side? ”

"That's not it, it depends on how the Tokugawa family chooses," I said my considerations very frankly, "Ieyasu is a smart person, seeing that I took Kumahime back and contacted the Suruga Shouguan who had previously served Xuanzhi, he will definitely understand my bottom line, which is to keep his Mikawa and Enoe countries." If he can accept it with peace of mind, it is immediately possible to maintain neutrality between the two parties; If he is unwilling, he can join the camp of his cheap brother, and meet his own family on the battlefield, and afterwards either the chicken and dog ascend to heaven, or the catastrophe will not be recovered, which is also a choice to show off his ambition...... In short, no matter what, I can't accept the Tokugawa family right now, otherwise I'll have to ensure that Ieyasu's Mikawa, Enoe, and Suruga are safe, and more rewards will be given after the decisive battle. This is bound to pose a big challenge for the family. ”

"Is that a bit risky?" Xiujing was a little worried, "The strength of the Tokugawa family is really not weak!" Moreover, they are in-laws with the Hojo family, and they may be drawn in by the Hojo family. ”

"In general, this is a real problem. But at present, Hideyoshi's territory is undecided, and new power is not born, even if the Tokugawa family joins, Hideyoshi is not an opponent of the family," I smiled slightly, "I think, with Ieyasu's shrewdness, he must be able to understand this, and his most likely course of action is to stay on the sidelines, as I hoped, let Hideyoshi fall, and then take advantage of the fire to rob and capture Kai and Shinano, and use this as capital to unite the Hojo family and negotiate with me in order to fight for more territory...... As for the Hojo family, their center of gravity is Kanto, and the current Ueno Ichikuni has already arrived, so it is unlikely that they will participate in the civil war, and the union of Hitachi Satake Yoshishige and Yuki and Utsunomiya (the axis is Yuuki Asakatsu, the adopted heir of the Yuki family, Kunisuna, the head of the Utsunomiya family, is his own brother, and Satake Yoshishige is his maternal uncle), which is enough for them to have a headache. ”

"It turns out that my brother has already made a plan, and he knows the situation in Kanto, so there is nothing to worry about!" Xiujing nodded with satisfaction, "It seems that your subordinates are too worried." ”

Seeing his appearance, I couldn't help laughing: "Didn't you also believe the rumors, thinking that I followed in the footsteps of Yoshitaka Ouchi, Otomo Sorin and others, and began to be arrogant and mediocre, right?" ”

"Naturally, this will not be," Xiujing also smiled, "It's just that for the Tokugawa family, my brother has taken care of them in every way before, not only supporting them many times, but also asking for the death of the Taisei Gong Yan for Nobuyasu...... But now it's so harsh, it's really impossible for the minister to adapt to it for a while. ”

"Before, he was our eastern barrier, so naturally he had to take care of it more," I explained to Xiujing. I also feel a little embarrassed when I was rushing to the aid of Higashimikawa and when I fought side by side with Tokugawa Nobuyasu to defeat Yamayama Shokei: "However, now that the Takeda family is about to be destroyed and the Tokugawa family has formed an alliance with the Hojo family, they have lost all restraints, and they are still accumulating a lot of strength and trying to expand to the surrounding areas...... In this case, the family had no choice but to change its approach and suppress them. ”

"That's right," Xiujing nodded approvingly, "Brother's strategy is indeed very appropriate. ”

"We must not take the Tokugawa family lightly," I sighed with deep emotion when I thought of Tokugawa Ieyasu's performance in history, "Especially Tokugawa Ieyasu, who is too thoughtful." When at a disadvantage, he will behave very deferentially and faithfully; But once he is given the opportunity to grow stronger, it will be a very terrible enemy...... At that point, I don't think Xinjing will be able to suppress him. ”

"Since my brother is so wary of him, and he has such an arrangement, then the Tokugawa family will definitely not get any chance." Xiujing said casually with relief.

"Yes," I nodded, "and when the Tokugawa family is arranged, I should really retire!" ”

"This ...... Isn't it too early? Xiujing looked at me in surprise and said.

"It's okay. His Excellency Hino promised me that when the family entered Kyoto, he would contact Sekihaku Ichijo Neiki and other powerful ministers and recommend me to the imperial court for the post of shogun. With their support, the opening was a natural one. At that time, the family will have the strength and prestige to rule the world, and when the situation in Kinai stabilizes, I will soon resign from the post of Shogun and be succeeded by Nobuyei, who will preside over the pacification of Hokuriku, Kanto, and Tohoku regions, and then establish the shogunate in Kanto. ”

"Establish a shogunate in the Kanto region?" Xiujing was even more surprised, "However, the foundation of this family is in the western country!" ”

"That's why the shogunate was established in Kanto! Otherwise, like the Ashikaga family, it will be a peaceful situation at most," I said with the idea that I had already considered, "I am going to divide the ruling center of my family into two parts, one is in the Kinai, and I will control the imperial court, preside over the state affairs and the exploration and trade—of course, I am only prepared to take on one name, and you will be responsible for the specific matters; The other is in the Kanto region, where Shinkei is in charge of the shogunate and commands the samurai of the world...... When he was old, he gave up his position to his heir, and then moved to Kinai, where he succeeded me in the administration of the country as the Great Imperial Palace and the Minister of Imperial Affairs, and from then on he was forever customized. If there is a problem on either side, the other side will gather strength to help, which will maintain the long-term stability of the world. ”

"I see!" Xiujing nodded repeatedly. Thinking of such a grand occasion in his family, he couldn't help but show an extremely excited look on his face.

However, he did not lose his composure, and after thinking for a moment, he asked with some hesitation, "It's just that there is anything wrong with controlling the government and the shogunate separately in this way...... If there is a contradiction between the two parties, will it not be a divisive situation? At that time, there was often confrontation between the Ashikaga shogunate and the Kanto government! ”

"That's a question that only you can ask," I said, smiling slightly, "but don't worry. The retired shogun and the current shogun are one and the same, and naturally the relationship between the Ashikaga shogun and the Kanto Kokata family is much closer, and it is unlikely that such a thing will happen; Moreover, in the event of a real conflict between the two parties, the current general only needs to give up his position to the heir and then enter Beijing to serve as the minister of the imperial government, so that he can replace the other party and take over the control of the imperial court...... I think that with the precedent of me and Shinjing retiring, it is impossible for future generations to ignore this title and regulation, let alone bypass or overthrow it. ”

"But what if the Kinai side wants to intervene in the Kanto region?" Xiujing continued to ask, "If the retiring general finds out that something is wrong with Kanto, how should he control it?" ”

"There is no way to control it, and there is no need to control it," I shook my head, "Kanto, as the leader of the samurai family, has a large number of pedigree assistants, and it is unlikely that anything will go wrong in itself; As a retired former general, he is already old, and it is difficult to say whether there will be signs of mediocrity, so he only needs to unite with the Imperial Gate family in the West Country and roughly control the imperial court...... At least, I don't want to interfere with Xinjing anymore, and with his character, combined with Jing Zheng and the rest of the genealogy family, it is more than enough to keep it. ”

"Brother is right," Xiujing was relieved, but there was a slight emotion on his face, and he said to me with a sigh, "It's just that with my brother's age, it's really embarrassing to say that he wants to retire now!" ”

"Being at the top means being responsible to all your family, retainers and subjects, which is not an easy task. Sometimes, you have to ignore a lot of precious things, and even lose them helplessly, which is even heavier," I smiled wryly, "Do you think I like these?" It's just that there's no choice. Since I came into this world, I have had to take responsibility for my life; When I left Tosa Province with you and Konatsu, I was burdened with the expectations of both of you; And now, it is a large number of retainers and samurai from these more than 20 countries, as well as millions of people from various countries...... It would be a great blessing for me to be able to let go of these responsibilities and finish the last section with Xiao Xia at the end of the Kira Castle Pavilion! ”

"My brother's idea is very distinctive...... It can only be said that my brother grew up in a Buddhist temple since he was a child," Xiujing shook his head slightly, "No wonder Master Tianhai said that my brother has a born Buddha heart!" ”

"Perhaps!" I replied casually, shaking my head imperceptibly.

Naturally, he didn't understand what kind of environment I was in to spend my teenage years. Although it has been a long time, it seems like an event from a previous life, but when I dream back in the middle of the night, I can still recall those moments clearly, and I have been recalling more and more moments recently.

Perhaps, from an ordinary student to a person in the world, I have experienced so many things and inner tests, I am really old! And those recent memories, I don't know if they were too memorable before, or because they lost something most precious, and now they are beginning to feel regretful and lonely?

I sighed and said with great regret, "It would be nice if Nana was still alive." ”

"yes!" Xiujing nodded, "It's really a pity to forget about the affairs of the Courtyard Palace." ”

Then, two high-ranking people who arranged the situation in the world! ~！