With the advance of the Han army, the news of the disastrous defeat of the shogunate at the Battle of Himeji Castle also spread quickly to all parts of Japan, shocking every corner. Those who were loyal to the shogunate www.biquge.info were saddened by this, and even fearful, while those who were dissatisfied with the shogunate rejoiced.

As for those who have been unmoved on the surface, but who have been watching the moment in reality, they feel a greater urgency to act as soon as possible to make a profit in the midst of the upheaval, or at least to preserve their vested interests.

Today, when the rule of the shogunate has been stormy, the resistance to their actions has become less and less. While the Han army is getting deeper and deeper into the island of Honshu, they will also face the dilemma of whether to resist the Han.

The Maeda family of the Kaga clan was in such an environment.

Maeda Toshiie, the ancestor of the Kaga Domain, came from a humble background, and was originally just a small samurai of Owari Province, but he became a small surname of Oda Nobunaga since he was a child and was trusted by Oda Nobunaga and began to make his fortune. Over the course of his career, he slowly rose through the ranks of the Oda family, and as Oda Nobunaga moved to the Quartet, he made great achievements along the way, and was finally named the commander of the army by Oda Nobunaga, and gave him a reward of 230,000 koku to Notokoku.

However, it was not only the resourcefulness and bravery of the Maeda Toshiie that really made him prominence, but also the fact that he fought in the turbulent situations of the late Warring States period and always stood with the victors, which became the main reason for his success - and the main reason why the Maeda family was able to maintain its wealth and wealth, rather than being wiped out by the turbulent times like many other daimyo families.

After Oda Nobunaga died in the Honnoji Incident, the various generals of the Oda family began to fight over his legacy, the two main opponents were Shibata Katsuie and Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Maeda Toshiya supported Shibata Katsuya at first, but later, after some review of the situation, he judged that Shibata Katsuya was not Toyotomi Hideyoshi's opponent, so he quickly took refuge in Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

A daimyo of more than 200,000 stone took refuge, which naturally helped Toyotomi Hideyoshi a lot, and then he decisively defeated the Shibata Katsuya in the Battle of Shidake, and forced the other party to commit suicide, so Toyotomi Hideyoshi became the second person in the world after Oda Nobunaga, and also became the new lord of the Maeda Toshiya.

In order to reward the Maeda Toshiya, Toyotomi Hideyoshi gave him new domains, and the Kaga Province and Etsuchukuo around Noto Province also gave him, and the territories of these three kingdoms became the basic territory of the Maeda family and the source of wealth. Maeda Toshiya was very grateful to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and became one of the five elders of the Toyotomi family, alongside Tokugawa Ieyasu, and won the respect of Tokugawa Ieyasu.

However, the turmoil in the Warring States period did not end, and soon, with the death of Taiko Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the regime of the Toyotomi family also fell into turmoil. As more than a decade ago, Maeda Toshiya is once again in a situation where she needs to make a choice.

Maeda Toshiie was grateful for Taiko-sama's kindness to him, but he did not have the will to confront Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was beginning to show signs of taking power, and chose to deal with Ieyasu in a gentle way. Soon after, Maeda Toshiya died, and his son, Maeda Toshinaga, succeeded him as the family governor.

At this time, Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was already full-fledged, was even more aggressive, and he had the opportunity to inherit the careers of Nobunaga and Hideyoshi and become a new man of the world. In such a situation, Tokugawa Ieyasu and some of Toyotomi's former ministers had a huge conflict, and they were about to fight.

At this time, the Maeda family, which has a great territory and power, has also become the target of Ieyasu's key wooing, and he uses both soft and hard measures, hoping that the Maeda family can support him. At this time, Maeda Toshinaga judged that the system left by the Toyotomi family could no longer be maintained, and after thinking about it, after several hesitations, he finally took refuge in Tokugawa Ieyasu, intending to use this way to protect the Maeda family in the chaos of the times.

Like his father, he made the right bet again, in the Battle of Sekigahara, Maeda Toshinaga, as the general of the Eastern Army, although he fought half-heartedly and was blocked by the Western Army several times, but after all, he also became a member of the victors. And in order to consolidate the results of his victory, Tokugawa Ieyasu also deliberately wanted to win over the Maeda family.

At his behest, the Maeda family's domain was further expanded, and eventually it became a 1.2 million koku domain, which was the largest of all the daimyo outside the shogunate.

Of course, this is by no means to say that the Maeda family is smooth sailing in the rule of the Tokugawa family, in fact, as an opposition with many previous convictions, as an old minister who has repeatedly changed courts, and also has a million-stone territory, the Tokugawa family is very suspicious of the Maeda family, and has repeatedly used various methods to suppress the Maeda family and weaken their strength.

After Tokugawa Hidetada succeeded to the shogunship, he was very suspicious of Maeda Toshinaga, and even believed that Maeda Toshinaga had tried to assassinate Tokugawa Ieyasu and the shogunate's important minister Honda Masanobu. In the face of such a charge, Maeda Toshinaga of course tried his best to defend himself, tried his best to dispel the shogun's vigilance, and sent his younger brother to Edo as a hostage, which calmed down the incident.

It can be seen that although it is generous on the surface, the shogunate is suspicious and wary of the Maeda family.

The Maeda family stood in the right position several times in the turmoil of the times, and in this way they obtained a territory that no number of people could fight desperately for, which really became a commentary on that uncertain era. And the fathers' and ancestors' style of standing in line and betting is destined to be passed down as a family style and become the instinct of the children and grandchildren of the Maeda family.

Twenty years earlier, Maeda Toshinaga had already died, and he had succeeded him as the governor of the family, and the lord of the entire Kaga domain was his adopted son Maeda Toshitsune, who was originally the youngest son of the Maeda Toshi, but because his eldest brother Maeda Toshinaga had no children, he was adopted by Maeda Toshinaga at a very young age as the heir to the domain.

At the same time, in order to encircle the Maeda family and control the million-stone domain, the shogunate also married Maeda Toshitsune, who married the daughter of Tokugawa Hidetada, Suhime, who is also the sister of the current Empress Dowager, so in fact he and His Majesty the Emperor are brothers-in-law.

Maeda Toshitsune was now very young, now only forty years old, and although he had led an army of 20,000 men in his youth to participate in the siege of Osaka Castle by Tokugawa Ieyasu, to be honest, he had no military experience, and now one of the most difficult tests was on his desk.

Like his father and brother, he knew that he and his family had reached a new fork in the road, and that the slightest wrong step would be doomed, and he could only summon up the courage and spirit to find a path that belonged to the Maeda family in the fork in the road.

Fortunately, however, Kaga's location in the north-central part of the island of Honshu gave him time and space to buffer, and the vast territory of the domain also gave him ample capital to temporarily calm down and make the most prudent judgments in the chaotic and dangerous situation.

After learning that Himeji Castle had fallen, that the shogunate was powerless to resist the combined forces of the Daihan and Mori clans, and that was in chaos, he immediately gathered a group of core members of the Maeda family and important ministers in the domain to discuss the current situation and the next steps of the Maeda family.

The Maeda family's Kaga domain was Kanazawa Castle in Ishikawa-gun, and the Kaga domain was a million-stone domain, and the Maeda family deliberately ran the castle of the main domain, so Kanazawa Castle was a large castle despite its remote location, and although it could not be compared with Edo-Osaka and other places, it was not small in scale.

However, due to the recent war, the atmosphere in Kanazawa Castle has been much more severe, and martial law is everywhere in the city, and the prosperity of the city is no longer gone.

As with the atmosphere in the city, the members of the Maeda family and the important ministers of the clan who gathered were all solemn.

Some are anxious about the future of the Maeda family, some are afraid of the approaching of the Han army, and some are anxious about what to expect in the future...... But not a single one was saddened by the defeat of the shogunate.

Although the shogunate was ostensibly very close to the Maeda family, and the Tokugawa family was still the in-laws of the feudal lord, the Maeda family did not have much affection for the shogunate, but held a grudge because of the shogunate's constant suppression. Therefore, when the Tokugawa family was at war with the Great Han and retreated all the way, no one was worried about the shogunate, but some people gloated.

If it weren't for the fear that the Great Han would see the Kaga clan as an enemy, or at least a threat to the interests of the Maeda family, many people would have rejoiced.

After gathering everyone together, Maeda Toshitsune explained the latest news to the vassals in detail, focusing on the chaos in and the shogunate.

"Yesterday, the Honvä Domain received an order from the Shogun himself, asking us to move south to as soon as possible to assist the Shogunate army in defending against the Han Invaders." After saying that, he looked at the group of vassals, and then said, "Look, what should this vassal do now?" Should I follow the Shogun's instructions, or should I make another plan? ”

After the shogunate's disastrous defeat at Himeji Castle, Kansai was already in disarray, and because the troops led by Itakura Shigemune who were facing the Han army were nearly wiped out under their pursuit, the shogunate army in Rakuchu was now very empty and in urgent need of reinforcements.

At this time, the shogunate also needed a large number of troops to hold the local area in the Kanto region, so there was an embarrassment of insufficient troops, and after weighing the pros and cons, Tokugawa Iemitsu finally gave up his previous prejudices and decided to let a strong feudal like the Maeda family go south to assist the shogunate to defend against the Han invaders, but he also knew that the Maeda family would not easily command, so he may have promised a lot of benefits in the letter.

However, after receiving this letter, Maeda Toshitsune did not directly raise troops south, as Tokugawa Iemitsu had hoped, but summoned the important ministers of the domain to discuss.

After Maeda Toshitsune asked such a question, these important ministers looked at each other for a while, and no one spoke. Because they all understood that what was being discussed now was a matter of vital importance to the life and death of the Maeda family and the Kaga domain, and there was absolutely no room for negligence.

However, this silence could not be sustained after all.

"Domain lord, I thought we couldn't break with the Great Han!" In the midst of this silence, a very neutral voice suddenly sounded.

His voice was loud and sounded very determined.

Toshitsune Maeda looked up and saw that the person who spoke was his half-brother Toshitaka Maeda.

Because his mother came from a humble background, and his elder brother and the former lord of the domain, Maeda Toshinaga acted very strongly, so Maeda Toshitsune had a very gentle personality since he was a child, and since he became the lord of the domain, he has also paid great attention to maintaining the relationship with his brothers.

It is precisely because of his younger brother's identity that Maeda Toshitaka dared to be the first to speak at such an important meeting.

"Why?" After hearing Maeda Toshitaka's words, Maeda Toshitsune didn't seem surprised, but still asked in a low voice.

"How the shogunate treated our Maeda family before, everyone can see it, they are deliberately dealing with us, wanting to weaken our strength and take away our territory, since they treat us like this, then why do we have to fight for them?" Maeda Toshitaka said proudly in front of everyone's eyes, "Moreover, since they asked us for help, it means that the soldiers of the Han army are too strong for them to parry...... Even the shogunate army is difficult to parry, why do we have to go to the enemy of the Han? ”

"But...... The Han Dynasty was reckless...... Even if we don't fight against them, will they let us go? I'm afraid that the lips are dead and the teeth are cold. Maeda Toshitsune shook his head, as if he didn't agree with his brother's opinion, "If we have to be an enemy of the Great Han, we need to help the shogunate even more." ”

"Although the Han are ferocious, judging from their behavior in recent months, they do not only know how to blindly kill bloodthirsty, but pay great attention to righteousness, and pay more attention to the support of the feudal lords and wealthy families in various places. They had also issued a letter saying that they were going to eliminate the shogunate and some of their feudal lords, and they didn't see us as enemies. Maeda Toshitaka bowed his head and continued to elaborate on his thoughts, "Just look at the examples of the Shimazu family and the Mori family, and even look at the example of the imperial court. ”

"But it's just our own thoughts, and no one is sure." Maeda Toshitsune is still a little hesitant, "The man's deeds are secretive, and he is domineering, so he may not be able to tolerate us." ”

"We may not be able to tolerate us now, but if we fight them with the shogunate, then they will not be able to tolerate us!" Maeda Toshitaka was a little anxious, "Domain Lord, if we blindly suspect, it will only delay the opportunity and make us become the puppets of the shogunate, and we will no longer be able to escape the doom!" ”

His anxious appearance made Maeda Toshitsune slightly touched.

"The lord of the domain, I also think that now is not the time to directly fight the Han." At this moment, another person also spoke, "I think it's best to send someone to contact the Han now, see what kind of conditions they can give us, and then make a decision." If we rashly respond to the Lord Gongfang to fight the Han, it will be tantamount to cutting off our retreat...... I'm afraid that it will be detrimental to the foundation of the Maeda family. My lord, both the Shimazu family and the Maori family can judge the situation and be friendly with the Han army, why can't our Maeda family? ”

The person who spoke this time was Maeda Toshitoshi, who is also Maeda Toshitsune's half-brother, and because of his blood relationship, he also has a lot of say in the domain.

After the two vassals of the blood and feudal lords had spoken, the atmosphere in the cabinet became much stranger, and although the others had different expressions, no one stood up to refute the opinions of the two of them.

Indeed, if the Great Han just wanted to be the enemy of the shogunate and did not mean to target the Maeda family, then the Maeda family really had no reason to fight to the death against the terrible Han Kou.

The speeches of the two younger brothers of the feudal lord also showed that there was already a strong opposition to obeying the shogunate's dispatch and the Han Dynasty's desperate efforts, and this force should not even be underestimated by the feudal lord.

Maeda Toshitsune frowned slightly, then looked around, carefully examined the attitudes of the others, and finally made up his mind.

"Then let's send an envoy to negotiate with the Han, and until the negotiation results are out, we will hold our troops for the time being."

"The feudal lord is wise!" Maeda Toshitaka was overjoyed, and hurriedly kowtowed to the feudal lord, "I am willing to ask Ying to go and negotiate with the Han Dynasty, and please ask the feudal lord for permission!" ”

Maeda Toshitaka was sent to Edo as a hostage when Maeda Toshinaga was suspected of attempting to assassinate Tokugawa Ieyasu, and spent his entire childhood there, so he had a very bad attitude towards the shogunate, and he always had some residual hatred, and he had no chance to retaliate against him before, so he could only endure it secretly, but at this time, he finally waited for the time to strike a counterattack against the shogunate.

"It's okay, it's okay, since it's you who is the one who is in charge of this, then I'll leave it to you." After thinking about it for a moment, Maeda Toshitsune nodded and agreed to his proposal. "The situation is urgent, and we can't afford to waste time, so you can leave tomorrow."

"Yes!" Maeda Toshitaka immediately agreed.

After the former Tian Lichang gave this order, the other vassals suddenly came back to their senses.

The feudal lord has always been cautious, so why did he agree to his brother's proposal so quickly today, and make a decision so quickly? What's more, those who advocate negotiating with Dahan today are also his own brothers.

It can be seen that the feudal lord had already discussed this decision with his two most trusted younger brothers, and held a meeting of the feudal lords today, just to let Maeda Toshitaka take responsibility and observe the reactions of others by the way.

Thinking of this, these vassals secretly congratulated themselves that they didn't raise objections just now, otherwise they would not have ended well.

After making his initial decision, Maeda Toshitsune's face remained unchanged, and he looked at the other vassals, "Actually...... Yesterday I received more than one letter, and the Date family of the Sendai Domain also sent us an emissary. ”

"Sendai Domain?" Again, the vassals looked at each other. (To be continued.) )