Chapter 25 Towards the words of the peers, hesitating and meeting the famous ministers

The blessing of misfortune depends, and getting the effect of Kudo Yucho (Naito Masatoyo) can be described as an unexpected surprise after being stranded for several days. It happened that the Shoeiji Temple was clean and unmanned, and after Jingzhen passed the name, he pulled Kudo Youcho to conduct a confrontation between the monarchs and ministers in the temple.

"I'm a Niko Kesada, born in the Sasaki Kyogoku branch of the Niko clan."

"Oh! Is His Royal Highness from the family of the Yin and Yang One Tai Shou and Niko Izumo Shou for a long time? ”

"Yes, Lord Jingjiu is the uncle of the lower one, and the father of the lower is the Niko Harima Shoujiu."

"His Royal Highness has an extraordinary bearing, it turns out that he was born in a famous family and has a family background."

"It's over, the Kudo clan is also a famous Kai family, and I have heard about the affairs of Kudo Shimoto's chief keeper during my travels, and I have encountered misfortune because of my outspoken admonition to the lord, which is really admirable and regrettable." (Note 1)

As Jingzhen said, the Kudo clan, along with the Oyamada clan, the Anayama clan, and the Chijo clan, are all powerful people in Kai, and Kudo Yucho is the son of the former leader of the Kudo clan and a major minister of the Takeda clan, Kudo Shimoto.

A few months ago, Kudo Toratotaka was ordered to commit suicide after angering the other party by dissuading the head of the Takeda clan, Takeda Nobutoka, from recuperating and reducing the use of troops. In order to prevent Takeda Shintora from angering his descendants, the underage Kudo Yucho escaped from Kai with his brother and came here to join distant relatives. Some time ago, my brother died suddenly of illness, leaving Kudo Yucho alone to live by taking on short-term jobs and helping distant relatives. On that day, when he saw the new inscription in the temple, Kudo Yu grew up and was moved, and then waited for several days to finally achieve this meeting.

In the original history, Kudo Yucho would continue to wander for fifteen years, until Takeda Harunobu succeeded to the throne before recovering him, so that he inherited another Kai name Naito clan and changed his name to Naito Masato. After that, in order to clear his father's stigma, the young man fought in the north and south under the Takeda clan, and took the lead as the deputy general of Takeda Harunobu, and died until the Battle of Nagashino, in front of the Oda coalition army, shed the last drop of blood. It may be that he has always borne the psychological responsibility of the son of a rebellious minister, and this taciturn famous general has never been able to make meritorious contributions, so he is not as famous as his colleagues who are listed as the four ministers of Takeda (Note 2), but his talent as a lieutenant general is deeply affirmed, and he is praised as "a person like Changfeng, who has more credit than others, should have been." ”

Following what happened to Yucho Kudo, Jingzhen said:

"Actually, I'm also a homeless person now, and I can empathize with Genzaemon's plight. Because of the horizontal knife to snatch love, he hated his uncle and grandson, and he was probably the next lord Nizi Quanjiu, plus the revenge of killing the teacher and breaking his arm in the escape, the two sides were already incompatible, and naturally they were not allowed to Izumo. ”

"If there is a big chaos today, there are not only the decline of the former famous families such as Hosokawa, Kamishi, and Yamana, but also a group of heroes such as Saito Minomori who started from the end of the world, which can be described as a world of great struggle. I traveled all over the world just to gain knowledge and gather strength, so that I could return to Izumo another day and get everything back with my own hands. Now along the way, I am also fortunate to have a number of relatives and friends who will not abandon me, and I don't know if Genzaemon is willing to help me and conspire for great things! ”

Yucho Kudo only responded briefly and forcefully:

"Since I have entrusted this body, I hope that His Royal Highness will not hesitate to drive away, and he will not hesitate to go to the soup and fire!"

"Don't hide it from Minamoto Saemon, I have a mining technology called the "Ash Blowing Method", which can greatly increase the output of the mine, and I currently intend to sell it to Kai and Echigo in exchange for recruiting troops. Now it's bound to Kai Kai and his party, I wonder if Genzaemon can be in the way? If you don't want to go to the place of sorrow again, I will leave enough money for you to practice here and wait, and then meet here when the matter is completed. ”

Kudo Yucho listened to Jingzhen's consideration everywhere, not only was he moved, but he still rejected Jingzhen's proposal, and said with a wry smile:

"His Royal Highness also said that it is better not to start a new game than to hold on to the defects. Now that he has decided to follow His Highness to reopen his foundation, it is natural to learn to let go of the shackles of his hometown. After all, I was born in Kai and am familiar with the local customs, which will definitely be beneficial to His Highness's trip, so please let me accompany you. ”

Yucho Kudo has already expressed his position, and Jingzhen is no longer hypocritical. led him back to his residence, introduced him to Nagasaka Nobumasa, Mibuchi Fuji, and Tsuruko, and then packed his luggage and set off.

From Iida to Takato Castle and then to Kai is only more than 100 miles, but the mountain road is difficult to walk, everyone tosses and turns for a full autumn to winter, when arriving at the capital of Kai country, the Takeda clan residence of the Tsugasaki Pavilion, the maple leaves along the way have all turned into branches.

Surrounded by mountains, the museum is a "young city" that was built just over a decade ago. However, as the center of the territory that implemented the policy of centralization and centralization of retainers after the initial unification of the Kai Province by the Takeda clan, the castle walls and out-of-town towns were already quite large-scale, and the defenders of the castle gate were also exceptionally elite, which was quite a great country. It is only slightly suppressed and depressed by the continuous aftermath of the current "Great Chaos in the Xianglu Country" (Note 3).

When Jingzhen and his party paid taxes and entered the city, the fierce temperament that was different from ordinary business travelers attracted the attention of the defenders. After some interrogation, there were no suspicions, but the defenders still temporarily detained the group and sent people into the city to report. In a few moments, a heavily armed warrior in scarlet armor followed the defenders to the crowd. The samurai was not tall, his legs were severely encircled from the long ride, and his face was all hidden under the ghost-faced helmet, revealing only a stern and cautious gaze.

"In Huchang, the rich army department, I don't know what you have to do when you enter the city this time."

Jingzhen suddenly realized that this person was Iitomi Huchang, one of the four contemporary ministers of the Takeda clan. He served the two generations of heads of the family, Takeda Shintora and Takeda Harunobu, and served as the head of the family for a long time, and single-handedly formed the legendary unit "Chibei", which was famous in later generations, and won the trust of the two generations of lords. This can be seen from the fact that he was the backbone of the "Shuangjing Rebellion" but was easily pardoned after the defeat and returned to the main family, and then received the important task of the arch guard and the Akizaki Pavilion.

Jingzhen's mind turned, and he said with a calm expression:

"I was a merchant from Kyoto, who was sheltered by the Kyogoku clan, and I was asked by a customer to buy a batch of Koshu gold and return to Beijing for processing and resale, and by the way, I would like to see if there is any other business to do. Because of the long distance and a lot of goods, I specially invited a lot of good hands to enrich the guard."

After inspecting the Jinggoku tokens and hundreds of taels of silver in the package, Fan Fu Huchang also let down his vigilance, after all, Jiafei has always been rich in gold, silver, and horses, and Koshu gold is one of the leaders and is well-known in all parties. At this time, the defenders had also completed the search of Jingzhen and his party, and did not find any suspicious items such as hidden blades, hostile forces' family crests, letters, etc., so Fan Fuhu Chang waved his hand and let him go.

At the suggestion of Yucho Kudo, Jingzhen opened the door and took the lead in meeting the second four ministers he had seen in the Takeda Nobuta era - Itagaki Suruga Shobukata.

Itagaki Nobukata was in his early forties, shrewd and capable, and was the most relied on minister of the Takeda clan, Takeda Shintora, and played an important role in both civil and military affairs. Therefore, Jingzhen's choice to open the way for the breakthrough is also to consider that he has been in charge of internal affairs for a long time, can be keenly aware of the value of this technology, and has enough weight to speak in front of Takeda Shintora.

At the same time, according to Kudo Yucho, in order to unify Kai and seize Shinano, Takeda Nobutora has long been entangled in internal and external forces (Note 4), and has imposed heavy taxes on the territory, making it difficult for the people to make a living. Only Nobukata Itagaki, who is an expert in domestic affairs, has made every effort to support Sannong, industry and trade, and can barely maintain the domestic situation.

Note 1: Regarding Takeda Shinto's brutality and unkindness, he killed a large number of outspoken retainers for no reason. The brutality and inhumanity have not been washed, but Takeda Shintora is not really insane, and he has nothing to do to kill his retainers to play. Take Naito Masathiro (Kudo Yucho) as an example, he was born in the Kai clan and his father Kudo Toratoshi was a member of the so-called direct advice. Whether Kudo Toratoyo has a way to die, you can know if you look back at history.

In that year, Takeda Nobuta's father and former head of the family, Takeda Nobuna, died prematurely, and the fourteen-year-old Takeda Nobuta inherited the position of head of the family. Faced with his young nephew, Nobue Yatagawa (the younger brother of Takeda Nobukami and the uncle of Takeda Nobuto), who was defeated in the battle for the head of the family, felt that he could do it again and wanted to eat peaches again, so he rebelled, and was soon killed by a surprise attack on the city by his nephew, who did not speak martial arts. And those who supported the rebellion of Nobue Yagawa included many wealthy families such as Kamijo, Kudo, and Kurihara, so although the leader of the Kudo clan who participated in the rebellion switched to Hojo, it is not surprising that Takeda Nobuta was unhappy with the Kudo clan and later found someone to cut Kudo Toratoshi to death.

In addition, it is added that the Naito clan, which Naito Masatoyo later inherited, was also cut off by the latter because the head of the family, Naito Sagami, Shouhu Zhen, admonished Takeda Shintora.

Note 2: The four ministers of Takeda in the era of Takeda Harunobu (Takeda Shingen) were: Teach Lai Ishikeimasa (Baba Nobuharu) - the "immortal ghost Mino" who was unscathed in the forty-year campaign, and after the celibacy break in the Battle of Nagashino, the curtain call was gorgeous; Fanfu Changjing (Changjing, Shanxi) - brother and brother, the commander of the legendary unit "Chibei", one of the protagonists of "The Preparation of That Man", "Red with Horns Triple Speed", etc.; Kasuga Tiger Tsunade (Takasaka Masanobu) - an affair with the lord Takeda Harunobu, "Escape Bomb"; Outside processing Fuji Yucho (Naito Masatoyo), among which the least number of deeds is Kudo Yucho. However, from the fact that he can serve as the general of Minowa Castle and be responsible for the attack and defense of the Takeda clan's Nishi-Ueno, which is equivalent to the identity of the commander of a legion, it can be seen that his talent and achievements are not as mediocre as his reputation.

Note 3: "The Great Rebellion in the Kingdom of Xiangroku" refers to the first month of the fourth year of the reign of Koroku (i.e., 1531), when he was dissatisfied with the Hojo clan because he was dissatisfied with Takeda Nobutora ignoring the fact that the Ogiya Kamishi clan continued to weaken and continued to maintain an alliance with it, and the Takeda clan's lineage retainer Iitomi Toramasa, a public Oi Nobuyo (the younger brother of the Takeda Nobutora wife, the Oi clan), Kurihara Hyogo, Imai Nobumoto, Kasawara Noshishige and others gathered a crowd to rebel at Mt. Ontake, and persuaded the old enemy of the Takeda clan, Shinano Kunichi Suwa Yorimitsu to raid Kofu. Takeda Nobuyo immediately led the army to quell the rebellion, and it took a year and a half to defeat the rebels in three consecutive battles, killing the leaders of the rebels on all sides, including his brother-in-law Nobuyo Oi, and sparing only Iitomi Humasa, which can be said to be true love.

Note 4: The Takeda clan served as the guardian of the Kai kingdom of Genhong Miaozheng, but it was a long and tortuous struggle to truly unify the whole territory and establish authority, which took almost a lifetime for Takeda Shintora. From the time he defeated his uncle Nobue Yagawa and established his position as the ruler, Takeda Nobuta began to devote himself to the three major events of unifying Kai, conquering Shinano, and defending against foreign enemies.

In the 6th year of Eisho (1509), Takeda Nobuta defeated the Koyamada clan, a member of the prefecture, and the lord Oyamada Nobuyu (Echichu Mamoru was defeated) and married his sister to Katsunuma Nobutomo, the younger brother of Takeda Nobuna, as a sign of submission.

From the 12th to the 17th year of Eisho (1515-1520), Takeda Nobuta spent five years defeating the Oi clan who was defending Ueno Castle in Nishi-gun, and during this period, he repeatedly repelled the Imagawa clan, the Suruga guardian who supported the Oi clan and interfered with the unification of Kai, and married Oi Nobukata's daughter Oi no Kata (Takeda Harunobu's biological mother) as the main room.

In the first year of Oei (1521), Takeda Nobuta repelled the Imagawa clan's invasion of the Kuzusakikan, and then defeated the Imagawa clan at the Battle of Iida Kawara and the Battle of Kamijo Kawara, expelling him from Kai.

In the first year of Oei (1521), Takeda Nobuta transferred the Kawachi clan and separated it from the Imagawa clan.

From the 4th to the 6th year of Oei (1524-1526), Takeda Nobutora and his ally Uesugi fought against the Sagami Hojo clan, and fought many battles in Tsuru-gun and Rinokidaira.

In the first year of Koroku (1528), Takeda Nobuta sent troops to invade Minami Shinano Province and held the Suwa clan, but was defeated by Suwa Yorimitsu and Suwa Yoritaka father and son in Kobe and Sakai City. In retaliation for the invasion of Takeda Shintora, Suwa Yorimitsu supported the rebellion launched by Kurihara Hyogo and Iitomi Toramasa, who were dissatisfied with Shintora in Kai, which is also known as the "Great Rebellion in the Kingdom of Kanroku" in Note 3.

In the fourth year of Tenmon (1535), the relationship between Takeda Nobutora and the Imagawa clan broke down again, and the two sides fought at the mouth of Mansawa on the border of the country. Subsequently, the allies of the two sides, the Kamisho clan and the Hojo clan, joined the war one after another, and after the chaos, they each withdrew their troops.

In the fifth year of Tenmon (1536), the head of the Imagawa clan, Imagawa Clan, died of illness, and Imagawa Yoshimoto, who was supported by Takeda Nobuta, finally succeeded to the family governor, and this was an opportunity for the Takeda clan and the Imagawa clan to finally end their hostility. However, the Hojo clan, dissatisfied with the improvement of relations between the Imagawa clan and the Takeda clan, launched an attack on the Imagawa clan, a former ally, the following year, and was defeated by the combined efforts of the Imagawa clan and the Takeda clan.

In the sixth year of Astronomy (1537), Takeda Nobuta besieged Imai Nobumoto, the lord of Lingpu Castle, and finally subdued the Imai clan, who had been in rebellion for a long time.

In the ninth year of Tenmon (1540), Takeda Nobuta took advantage of the death of Shinano's old rival Suwa Yorimitsu and married his daughter to his successor, Suwa Yorishige, and improved his relationship with the Suwa clan. Subsequently, with Sakagaki Nobukata as the general general, he pacified the area around Shinano Saku-gun, and mastered the bridgehead for the advance of Shinano.

In the tenth year of Astronomy (1541), Takeda Nobuta united Murakami Yoshikiyo and Suwa Yorishige of Kita-Shinano to defeat Umino Totsuna, a wealthy clan of Umino Taira in Ore-gun. Only ten days after that, Takeda Nobuta was exiled by his sister-in-law, Takeda Harunobu, ending his career as a family governor.

Throughout Takeda's tenure, there was really a war every year. Despite the vigorous maintenance and expansion of the territory, the hat of reckless militarism cannot be removed.