In the early summer of May, the weather was unusually hot and humid, the blazing sun carried endless heat to scorch the earth, the golden sun fell and covered the green grass with a thick white halo, white like a sharp sword made people dazzle, the suffocating weather seemed to be about to have a storm.

If one were standing on Mt. Atago and looking south, one would see a large black cloud drifting over the sea southwest of Settsu.

In a secluded corner of the Nijo Imperial Palace, Xia Cicada is still playing tirelessly, as if playing a lullaby with a monotonous melody, but unfortunately at this moment of crisis, the women in the courtyard dare not have the slightest sleep, Konoe Kenko is like a frightened female beast, holding her three daughters and staring nervously at the movement outside the courtyard, as if waiting for a hint of wind and grass to take them to hide in a certain room.

"Knock...... Knock ......"

Bursts of dull sounds like muffled thunder rolling, tearing open the almost frozen air in the afternoon, the two children in Konoe Kenko's arms trembled, and the older Ashikaga Teruko hugged her sister Ashikaga Junko, and said fearfully: "Mother, the bad guys are about to come in, Teruko is really scared, will Teruko and Junko die!" ”

Kenko Konoe reluctantly smiled and comforted, "No! I believe that Mother will not put you in danger. ”

Ashikaga Yoshiteru had two daughters with her, the eldest daughter Teruko is thirteen years old this year, and the second daughter Junko is nine years old this year. The sisters inherited their father's bravery and their mother's kindness. At a young age, I knew that the shogunate was having a difficult time. took the initiative to follow the female officer to learn from the female red to make beautiful clothes to reduce expenses, and even Keiko's own wedding dress was sewn by herself.

The two daughters have been sensible and worry-free since childhood, adding a few touches to the bleak life of Kenko Konoe over the years, since the eldest son Terukamaru died of a strange illness, Kenko Konoe was completely thrown into the cold palace by Ashikaga Yoshiteru, and in a few years, he didn't even have the opportunity to go to bed in the room once, and occasionally came to see his daughter and never stayed with her for more than half an hour.

Since a few years ago, Ashikaga Yoshiki blocked Ashikaga Yoshitoki's promotion to the second position. Since the close relationship between the two families was ruined, the support of the Kanto Shogunate to the shogunate has been reduced year by year, and not even a single soldier has been sent over in the Kyoto commotion, so that Ashikaga Yoshiteru can only watch Miyoshi Nagakei expel and occupy Kyoto, giving the shogunate's already weak authority a hard blow.

The biggest problem is that the daimyo who donated money gradually disappeared, and there were fewer and fewer daimyo lords enshrined in Kyoto in previous years, and all the Kanto and Ha Oku daimyo were pocketed by the Kanto Shogunate, which not only increased the independence of Ashikaga Yoshitoki, but also further led to Ashikaga Yoshiteru's reckless turn of face and brought about a large reduction in donations.

At first, Ashikaga Yoshiteru didn't think much of it. After the 8th year of Eiroku (1565), fewer and fewer daimyo envoys came to Kyoto to offer gold and silver, and by the 10th year of Eiroku (1567), the shogunate's donation income fell to the level of the 20th year of Tenroku (1551). This difference is 20 times higher than that of the peak of the third year of Yonglu (1560).

The estranged relationship between the shogunate and the biggest financiers and supporters directly led to the decline of the shogunate's authority and financial difficulties, but Ashikaga Yoshiteru was a hard bone, a good horse did not eat back grass, and resolutely refused to admit defeat for the dignity of the general, so he resisted the imperial court and did not let the motion for the promotion of the two people be written, and the result was naturally that the relationship was getting worse and worse, and the donations received by the shogunate were reduced to only 3,000 Kanbun of Yongle money this year, and this kind of 1,000 kanwen was still the makeup for Kenko Konoe, the righteous sister of Tora Hime.

In the righteous brother Ashikaga Yoshitoki, he suffered a big loss, not only lost face but also lost an important source of finance, hated the house and the black even brought to the innocent Konoe Kenko, a thousand cultural makeup was sent by Ashikaga Yoshiki to pay for Konoe Kenko, and he himself even saved the need to come over and say a few words.

Last year, Ashikaga Yoshiki accepted the daughter of Jinshi Haruha as a side room, and he was even more cold and alienated to Konoe Kenko and his two daughters, and if he wanted to see the child, he sent someone to take the two daughters to the palace over there to play for a few days and then send them back, before and after the Thousand Kan Cultural Makeup Incident at the beginning of this year, the new lady who lived in the other side of the palace was pregnant, and there were many shoguns who went there to celebrate and give gifts, looking forward to the little attendant giving birth to the eldest son of His Royal Highness Gongfang, as for the cold stove of Konoe Kenko, no one will probably think of taking care of it.

Ashikaga Yoshiteru did not think of a way to deal with the strategy, he also followed the example of the imperial court to use Yamashina to continue to make extra money, sending Odate Glow to go around to make some money, financial constraints forced Ashikaga Yoshiki to send envoys frequently, back and forth to deeply intervene in the territorial disputes of various countries, and make some extra money to support the shogunate's finances that were about to go bankrupt.

But that money came too slowly, and it couldn't meet the needs of Ashikaga Yoshiteru and the public, so he had no choice but to cure the annual salary that the shogunate needed to pay to the shogunates every year, from the original Yongle money hundreds of kanbun to less than 100 kanbun, and the highest Settsu Harumon 85 kanbun, this money to support the family's daily expenses in Kyoto is a problem, not to mention going to the sake house to drink a little wine from time to time.

Mibuchi Fujiei, Nishiki Yoshimasa and other important ministers have also been reduced to 50 years, and young members of the public can only receive a few pieces of money for the symbolic year and three people to support rice, this treatment is not comparable to a few years ago every public samurai had dozens of years of money, such as Odate Harumitsu retired in Otsu Castle, and the shogunate who had their own source of livelihood simply did not give the year.

The poor life brought a lot of problems to the Nijo Imperial Palace, Ashikaga Yoshiteru soon ordered the dismissal of many small surnames and maids, the staff in the Imperial Palace where Konoe Kenko was located was removed from the original more than 30 people, and only eight people remained, and the female officials who taught the two daughters were all dismissed, and the lack of manpower led to the desertion of several gardens in the Imperial Palace, and the lotus pond became a stagnant water without anyone to clean and dredge the blocked waterway, and became a mosquito breeding ground in the summer.

The sharp decline in the quality of life did not discourage Kenko Konoe, and she did not complain about her husband's empathy and love, and still took care of the family without regrets. She knew that her husband had been used to spending money lavishly over the years. All of a sudden, it declined to the point where it was necessary to consider the purchase of a few decent clothes. quietly entrusted the money of a thousand Kanwen Yongle to Settsu Harimon, and she herself only took the makeup given by the shogunate for ten kanwen every month to raise her two daughters.

Before marrying Ashikaga Yoshiteru, Konoe Kenko was also a well-known talented woman in the circle of the Kyoto Minister, and she took on the education of her children in the days when the female official was dismissed.

At this time, she was not yet thirty years old, and she had been pampered for nearly thirty years, creating a demure and elegant lady temperament of Konoe Kenko. It retains the delicate and delicate beauty that she was proud of when she was a girl, and has a variety of unique styles for young women, like a mountain snow lotus reserved and high, and like a pure and clear autumn water.

At this moment, it is the most brilliant years of a woman's life, but because of the difficult life and no money to wipe the powder, the gorgeous gowns are all sold by her for money, and she is wearing simple home clothes like an ordinary woman holding a child, and gently said: "Don't be afraid, they won't hurt us!" I believe that your father will definitely repel the enemy. ”

"Boom...... Onboard! ”

There was a commotion and cheers not far from the palace, and the frightened two children cowered into their mother's arms and did not dare to move. A few little maids shivered and hid under the cloister, in the corner of the room, hugging each other and crying, and Konoe glanced worriedly at the closed courtyard door in the corner. Thinking about how to escape.

Konoe Kenko's eyebrows frowned slightly, and said secretly: "If only I could escape from the palace and take refuge in my brother." ”

Suddenly, there was a scream, which stirred up her thoughts, and frightened her two daughters into her arms, Konoe Kenko tried to calm her mind and looked out, only to see dozens of black-clothed and masked samurai standing in the small courtyard, they were half-kneeling in the courtyard like a row of stone statues without moving, and only one black-clothed samurai stood in the center of the courtyard.

The black-clothed warrior said in a low voice: "The Imperial Terrace Hall can be in the room, and I respectfully invite the Imperial Terrace Hall to speak, and there are important matters to discuss." ”

Seeing that they didn't look like bad people, Konoe Kenko gently leaned out half of his body and cautiously asked, "Who are you?" ”

The black-clothed samurai borrowed his mask, revealing his old face, and said respectfully: "Iwami Moricho in Shimohattori, who served briefly in the shogunate forty years ago, was ordered by our lord to take refuge in the Imperial Palace, please pack your bags and set off quickly, and there is another army in Kyoto Castle to respond." ”

"Who is the lord of your family?"

"It is the Kanto Gongfang Ashikaga Shoden, under the orders of the Lord, to protect the safety of the Imperial Palace......" Before the words of the Hattori security chief were finished, he heard a fierce exchange of iron cannon fire from less than fifty meters away, and then his face changed and he bowed and said: "The Miyoshi army has entered the palace, and the secret post that is ambushed outside the palace has a handover of troops nearby, which means that the palace is no longer safe, without further ado, please also ask the palace to set off quickly, and it will change later!" ”

"If you are a retainer at the time of righteousness, you can rest assured that the concubine body has nothing to take, and you can set off with a little preparation......" Konoe Kenko breathed a sigh of relief and just turned around to comfort her daughter, and suddenly turned around and asked: "His Royal Highness Iwami also guarded the palace, was he rescued?" ”

Hattori's face darkened, and he secretly said that he was afraid of something, so he bowed his head and said, "...... I'm sorry! His Royal Highness is fighting fiercely with the Miyoshi Army on the front line, and the generals are powerless, so please act quickly! ”

"If Your Highness doesn't leave, the concubine can't leave, and besides, the Qingshou Courtyard is still there, so the concubine can't just leave." Konoe Kenko's expression darkened, slowed down and sat down again, and said: "There is also another lady of His Royal Highness the Prince, the little attendant hall is still pregnant with the flesh and blood of His Royal Highness, it is very likely that it is a healthy little Highness, and the concubine can't watch the heirs of His Royal Highness the Princesses being harmed." ”

Hattori Baocho hurriedly went straight to the fire, and with a wave of his hand, dozens of ninjas quickly jumped out of the quiet courtyard like arrows from the string, and he knelt in the courtyard and said solemnly: "Do you know how dangerous these two Imperial Palaces are now, and how dangerous Kyoto is, the younger brother of His Royal Highness the General, Ashikaga Yoshiaki, announced in the East Temple that he will go to Ouchiri to meet the emperor this evening, and officially be enshrined by the general of Zhengyi, does the Imperial Hall know what this means?" ”

Ashikaga Teruko and Ashikaga Junko quietly walked out of the room, kneeling on either side of their mother, looking curiously at the old black-clad samurai, who had seen a man outside of the Nijo Imperial Palace for the first time in their lives. Junko Ashikaga is too young to understand how dangerous Nijo Gosu is. I just thought that my mother would be fine if she wasn't afraid.

The little girl boldly looked at the Hattori chief who was kneeling in the courtyard. I was very curious about the accent of the old samurai, and said to Ashikaga Teruko with a laugh: "The samurai outside are so strange, and the clothes are strange like I have never seen before." ”

Kenko Konoe softly admonished her daughters to respect the guests, and then said indifferently, "Please Iwami Mamoru Ming." ”

Hattori Chief said solemnly: "Please understand that His Royal Highness the Shogun is very dangerous, and it is very dangerous......"

……

At the end of the day, Miyoshi Masayasu personally led 3,000 troops to attack the West City Gate, and fought fiercely with more than 40 samurai in the square inch of the tiger's mouth at the city gate. Okuyama Shuga Sai held two swords to open the bow left and right, and single-handedly killed several raids of the Miyoshi Army, relying on the imperfect two swords to defeat the encirclement of the four Miyoshi Army generals, and the left and right blocks never fell behind.

Since ancient times, there have often been warriors with one enemy and ten, but it is rare to hear of a general with one enemy and a hundred, even if Leonidas in the battle of Hot Spring Pass is only facing more than ten times the enemy of his own, probably only similar to the tragic scene of Xiang Yu, the overlord of Western Chu, when he killed himself in Wujiang, and at this time Ashikaga Yoshiki is exactly the end of the road.

Each samurai defending the city had to face dozens of times the number of enemies on their own, and although they would not be stabbed by dozens of three guns at the same moment, they could see the enemy army rushing towards them without their own backup. The stress of this desperate mood is very high, and the physical exertion will increase exponentially when the mental tension is stressed. High-intensity battles are all supported by morale, so strong fighting spirit needs to be motivated by swordsmen like Okuyama Suga Sai.

The stalemate lasted for a quarter of an hour, and the Miyoshi Army repeatedly organized the assault of the Ashigaru team to be killed, and the tactics of the iron artillery team were broken by the surprise attack of more than a dozen horseback samurai on the other side.

Until the beginning of the Shin period, the outnumbered general Ueno Iga Mamoru was killed in battle, and it was the treacherous Miyoshi Masaysu who captured him, and he used a small and unique Huai Iron Cannon to suddenly attack, killing the negligent Ueno Iga Mamoru for a while, and the morale of the public was leaderless and the morale collapsed and retreated.

More than 40 people begged for death in the blink of an eye, and more than a dozen of the younger disciples of Okuyama Suga Zhai also died, only he was still fierce and invincible and fought viciously in all directions with his own strength, helplessly outnumbered, and the left and right dodged gradually became more and more powerful, and finally with more than ten remnants of the resistance, he still couldn't avoid the sword and no eyes, and the left cheek was cut with a narrow cut, and he was embarrassed to escape into Sannomaru after many heavy injuries.

At the same time, Shigang Kazuha's experience is also similar to him, less than forty defenders also insisted on not long before most of them died, Shigang Kazuha himself was injured by a knife in the left shoulder, and was forced to withdraw to the imperial palace for emergency bandaging treatment, Yagyu Soyan insisted on a little longer, until there were still seven people left to retreat into the north gate, Kaida Keikakan was more violent, and withdrew from the east gate to the gate of Sannomaru with three people, and none of the three people was to serve the public.

The samurai who survived were all hung with colors, the lightest Keikane Ota was shot in the arm by a stray arrow, if it weren't for the weak power of the bamboo bow of the Miyoshi Army, even the long robe and big sleeves on his body would inevitably be shot through the arm, fortunately he escaped back with only a little skin trauma, less than 30 people survived more than 100 people, and 16 of the swordsmen died, which was the armed force of the entire Nijo Imperial Palace.

Ashikaga Yoshiteru ordered everyone to retreat to the front of the palace to defend, and he himself himself went into battle, wearing a magnificent orakud and holding a sword in front of the permanent palace, and dozens of swords were stuck in the tatami mats behind him, each of which was worth a thousand gold, and Ashikaga Yoshiteru would rather let them all be destroyed here than sell them to dirty merchants, or fall into the hands of the even more filthy Ashikaga Yoshiaki.

Seeing the miserable appearance of the samurai all wounded and covered in blood, Ashikaga Yoshiki sighed lightly: "Worked hard for Ise Shouden to fight for Yu until the last moment, Yu thanked you for your loyalty and bravery on behalf of the shogunate, Ise Shouden has done everything that a guide to the art of war did, so please leave immediately before the Miyoshi army is killed!" ”

"Please rush out of the palace with His Royal Highness the General!" Kamiizumi Hidetsuna suddenly bowed his head and said, "I was actually ordered to protect His Royal Highness the General......

Ashikaga Yoshiki suddenly smiled and waved his hand: "You don't have to say it...... Yu who should know that thanks to Isemori's dedication to the shogunate, it must be very hard to give up the glory and wealth of Kanto and stick to the small world of Yu Nijo Imperial Palace for several years! It's all going to be over today, and there's no point in continuing to hold on to the battle here, so let's go back to Kanto as soon as possible! When he told Yishi, Yu received this love. ”

"His Royal Highness!" Kamiizumi Hidetsuna was stunned, and Hayashizaki Shisuke and Komagawa Kuniyoshi, who did not go into battle, knelt down with Okuyama Sugasai and Shioka Kazuha, who were seriously injured.

At this time, an old woman in a monk's robe walked slowly, she was the mother of Ashikaga Yoshiteru and Ashikaga Yoshiaki, Keiyudai, who had taken care of Ashikaga Yoshitoki, and was also the aunt of Kenko Konoe, cut her hair and lived in seclusion for many years, Keisuin, and said: "Ise Mamoru is dedicated to serving the shogunate as a good minister, and the poor nun thinks that His Royal Highness the public should give a reward as a reward." ”

"Do what Mother wills!" Ashikaga Yoshiteru bowed respectfully, got up again and said: "Yu has no long things now, and all he can give is the sword and the pitiful reputation of this place, I hope Isemori will not mind the stinginess of a dying man before parting." ”

"Your Highness! ...... you are" At this time, not only did Hidetsuna Kamiizumi kneel down in surprise, but even the retainers of the shogunate behind him also knelt on the ground, pleading with a sad expression: "Absolutely not! His Royal Highness is a nobleman, and the general of the Genji of Hanoi must not fall here! (To be continued......)