This war once again demonstrated the prestige of the Nagao family. With his outstanding performance in the two battles, Saito Asanobu spread the name of Echigo Zhongkui to various countries in the Kanto region. Also famous were Honjo Shigenaga and other Echizhi reserves. Of course
This is not the point. The most surprising thing is Nagao Kagetora's glorious record of marching out to Higashino Ueno, sweeping Higashi Ueno, and returning to Nishi Ueno to defeat the Hojo Army in less than three days.
He marched tens of kilometers in half a day and participated in an important battle to defeat the tens of thousands of Hojo's army. This episode was widely circulated by the people of Ueno. Soon the eight Kanto countries and even the world knew that there were such a few powerful famous generals.
The field operation is also known as the "Ueno Return".
The name of the Dragon of Echigo spread throughout the world along with his unique dragon flag. Many curious samurai, cultural people, and monkey musicians began to collect information about him. The adopted brother of the famous shogunate Yoshitoki Kira, who was fourteen years old.
They launched an army to kill their brothers and enemies, and the history of the invincible war for more than ten years was revealed. Only then did people realize that Echigo actually had two famous generals in the world.
Coupled with the Shinano Punishment Battle and the earlier Battle of Kawanakajima that were also spread, the Kira Army easily defeated the Takeda Army and created an extremely brilliant record that became a hot topic. Interested people discovered that Echigo was conducting two battles at the same time.
The war was still victorious, and its war potential was beyond people's expectations.
The Kanto samurai family, who were dubious about the "Echigo Myth", gradually corrected their mentality and began to pay attention to their powerful neighbors in the north. More and more intelligence pointed to the extraordinary influence exerted by the Kira family.
The number one country in the world that suddenly turned over two million stones is simply more bizarre than a fantasy.
If there were still doubts before this, supporting two wars with a scale of over 10,000 and high intensity at the same time would be enough to defeat the doubts of all doubters. There have been many names since ancient times who have brought out an army of 20,000 to 30,000 in one go. But the two
I have never seen an example of a front-line battle and achieving brilliant results at the same time.
Echigo became the top power. The Kira family and the Nagao family were also the first samurai families to become famous with the power of one country. At the same time, Echigo's strange system was also exposed. Many people once suspected that these two retainer groups were mutually exclusive.
Will the mutually integrated and distinct systems cause greater hidden dangers? Of course, they will not get any answers when they ask the Echigo samurai family. The answer will always be hidden deep in their hearts.
"Where will Echigo go?" Hearing the doubts from the outside world, Nagao Kagetora laughed silently, and his sharp eyes gradually turned firm and calm: "I, Kagetora, have never doubted that he will... never!"
The punishment of the Shirakura clan and the Kuragano clan made the people of Ueno realize the power of the Nagao family. Kensei Uesugi, who used to be like a mother-in-law who kept nagging all day long, disappeared. Instead, he was as brave and good at fighting as a sword and a spear.
Echigo Army, they only used a decree from Uesugi Kensei to easily drive out two of the eight Shangzhou families from Ueno. The principle that authority is based on strong force was once again fully demonstrated.
The Kira family imitated the methods of some overlords and used military blackmail and diplomatic means to blackmail the entire territory of Ueno. This display of soft power opened the eyes of the people of Kanto. Have they ever seen the Hojo family beaten so hard that they could not hold their heads up?
, and when have I ever seen Hojo Ujiyasu give in and retreat after suffering a loss, this time he saw it clearly.
The indigenous people in Kanto know better than anyone else the arrogance and tyranny of the Hojo family. After taking over Furukawa, they clamored for the annexation of Ueno Country and ascended to the throne of Kanto governor. That's why Hojo Ujiyasu uncharacteristically pursued Uesugi Kensei. Only
Kill all the direct descendants of the Uesugi family in the mountain and kill Uesugi Kenmasa himself. Only then can he forcefully climb to the top on the grounds that the Uesugi family is extinct.
The Hojo army went to Ueno happily and returned to Odawara dejectedly. Hojo Ujiyasu was so angry that he couldn't eat for several days. His Hojo family had never experienced such cowardice. When Kagotsu fought at night and besieged the city with an army of 80,000, he was not afraid. Now it works.
The 30,000-strong army was forced to admit defeat by the Kira family's light words. This defeat was really heartbreaking.
The Hojo Retainer Regiment also suffered a blow. It lost all the fat in Ueno Country and was maimed by the Edo people. It lost nearly 5,000 lives. If it were not commanded as a samurai, such high battle losses would definitely collapse, and the Nagas on the opposite side would definitely collapse.
The price paid by the Oga family was only the loss of more than a thousand people. The Ueno people resisted the Hojo family's five-color equipment several times, and the losses were relatively large. More than 2,000 people died in the battle, adding another blood debt to the Nishi-Ueno people and the Hojo family.
A few days after returning to Odawara Castle, Hojo Ujiyasu was so angry that he couldn't afford to fall ill. Hojo's retainers were all anxious. Hojo Ujiyasu's health had not been good. His family had a history of high blood pressure. Soun Hojo had a hard time starting a business in his early years.
He only lived to be sixty-four before he died of illness, Hojo Utsusuna died of illness at the age of fifty-five, and Hojo Ujiyasu's younger brother Hojo Oimasa died of illness at a young age, all of which cast a shadow over the future of the Hojo family.
"Kotaro! Don't stand outside, come in!" Hojo Ujiyasu was helped by Zuihein and struggled to sit up. He had been ill for more than ten days and now he has just recovered. The sick look and tiredness on his face cannot be concealed.
"Yes! My lord!" The tall and burly Fuma Kotaro tried his best to shrink into a ball, bowed his head slightly and said, "I'm sorry! Your Highness!"
"Kotaro is a minister of my Hojo family, and Shinkuro often mentions it to me." The dignified and generous Zuihein is now nearly forty years old. This woman who always smiles has an extraordinary affability.
Any occasion where Zuihoin is present will receive a warm welcome. Her actions have made a great contribution to the peace and tranquility of the Hojo family, and she is also loved by everyone in the Hojo family.
"I'm going to check on the children's studies, so I won't disturb you any more! Yes, you must drink this bowl of soup!" Zuihuin stood up with a smile, nodded to Fuma Kotaro and slowly left.
go.
As the daughter of the Imagawa clan and the sister of Yoshimoto Imagawa, when she married into the Hojo family, the relationship between Imagawa and Hojo was at its best, but then his brother fought for power with another concubine.
Secretly forming an alliance with the Takeda family behind the Hojo family's back, she was just pregnant with her first child at that time.
Being blamed by the Hojo family for his brother's betrayal, Zuihein, who was ashamed and angry, soon affected the fetus in his belly. His eldest son died when he was less than one year old. This made Hojo Ujiyasu feel very guilty.
When he needed help the most, he chose to remain silent, so he was especially fond of Zuihein after the incident. She gave birth to several legitimate sons and daughters of the Hojo family.
Even if she suffered a blow, Zuihein is still so generous and kind. The more friendly she is, the more the Hojo retainers will fear her and respect her. This woman has become a symbol in the Hojo family, and she represents the gentle side of the Hojo family.
, for his husband, he worked hard to interact with the wives of various families and comfort the people of the country who had suffered losses.
Hojo Ujiyasu swallowed the unpleasant soup with a grimace. Seeing that Fuma Kotaro was still distracted, he smiled and said: "I have been sick for so many days, and I haven't heard you mention a word about political affairs except for visiting the sick. Today I finally couldn't help but
Did you tell me? Tell me about what happened recently!"
Fuma Kotaro said cautiously: "Everything is going well at home recently. As long as the master's health is good, we will feel relieved..."
"Tsk! Did Kotaro also start telling tricks to fool me? Let's get to the point." Hojo Ujiyasu pointed at his pale cheek and laughed at himself: "Does Kotaro think my family is so scary? Like that monster that eats hearts?"
"No! I do have something to report to my lord." Fuma Kotaro almost broke out in sweat. He took a deep breath and said, "It's about that matter."
"That thing? You mean...the news about the knife?" Hojo Uji sat up and stared at him for a long time before calming down: "Tell me what is going on."
"That sword appeared in Kasugayama Castle in March of this year. During that assassination operation, it was given to Honjo Echizen by Guardsman Kira Sahei as a reward for his role in protecting the savior..." Fuma Kotaro said this
After a clear explanation, he had been carefully observing Hojo Ujiyasu's expression. He found that his face was getting more and more ugly, and he couldn't help but beat his heart.
When he heard the news, Hojo Ujiyasu's mind went blank at that moment, and he couldn't help but said: "Why did you tell me now? Why didn't you tell me before my Hojo family was defeated?"
"Because I couldn't be sure whether the news was true or false, I sent out the Fuuma people to check the reliability of the news through many connections. To this end, I recruited dozens of ninjas. Echigo's intelligence team was completely destroyed, and then I sent out several more ninjas.
Traveling to Mikawa and Omi to investigate the origin of the allusion to buying a knife.
Later, a very important piece of information was discovered. More than a month before the Great Kanto Earthquake, the Hattori clan suddenly left the Matsudaira family and joined the Kira family. It is said that the reason was that the Matsudaira family treated the Hattori clan harshly and sent ninjas to investigate during the great earthquake.
Rumors spread in the country, Sagami country and other places, and it was found that there were fragmentary information about unidentified outsiders at that time. However, a major earthquake destroyed all the information. After so many years, the impact of earthquakes and floods made it difficult to collect intelligence. The following is
We can only verify it up to this point.”
In the past few months, Fuma Kotaro has been running back and forth to verify this information. He knows that the impact of this matter is not trivial. It involves a member of the Ashikaga family, and he uses the situation of the Hojo family to become a small overlord in Kanto to intimidate other countries.
The lord is fine, but a full-scale confrontation with the Kira family is absolutely irrational.
His starting point is good. Unverified information is likely to be false information. If he brings false information to Hojo Ujiyasu, he will be fully responsible for all the bad consequences. The so-called lesser of two evils, he weighs the pros and cons.
I still decided that I would rather bear the responsibility of hiding the information, and I must verify it clearly before reporting it.
"Is that why you have been making preparations for half a year without telling me?" Hojo Ujiyasu's face was very grim, his hands were trembling as if he was trying to suppress the anger in his heart, and he said angrily: "No matter how you deceive me, you have to bear the responsibility, and I will punish you.
I will be demoted one level and my salary will be reduced by half. I will not be punished lightly if I do it again next time!"
Repelling Fuma Kotaro, the anger in Hojo Ujiyasu's heart was burning. He tried his best not to yell at his retainers. This was his style and habit. His father had told him since he was a child that he should not be hasty or panic when it comes to important matters. Only by not losing the demeanor of a family governor can the retainers be sincere from the bottom of their hearts.
Awe, panic, impatience, fear, and anger are all enemies. To be a good governor of the Hojo family, you must learn to overcome these enemies.
"I didn't expect that the enemy I Ujiyasu is looking for day and night is actually you! His Highness Yoshitoki the Guardsman of Kira Sahei and the General of the Garrison! How did my family offend you and make you try so hard to frame me? Because of a knife? No, no! Absolutely!
It can't be that simple, why?" Hojo Ujiyasu roared angrily and tore the bedding fiercely, as if this was Kira Yoshitsune and he wanted to tear him to pieces immediately.
He couldn't remember how long it had been since he had lost his temper like this. It seemed that it was during the Hanakura Rebellion twenty years ago when he and his father heard the news of the betrayal of his cousin Imagawa Yoshimoto. He and his father Hojo Ujitsuna frantically destroyed everything they saw.
utensils. The entire castle tower was smashed to pieces.
Twenty years ago, he was betrayed. Twenty years later, he was framed. Every blow was fatal to the Hojo family. For so many years, he had been responsible for killing the public, and his reputation and the reputation of the Hojo family were destroyed in one day.
Devastated, he spent countless days and nights praying to his father to forgive his stupidity. Now, when he learned that the mastermind behind the scenes was Kira Yoshi, how could he endure it any longer.
After tossing for a long time, I couldn't stand my tired body, so I lay down sweating profusely. He said bitterly: "No matter why! I, Hojo Ujiyasu, will definitely come back with revenge! This family will wash away the grievances of many years! Let the truth be revealed!"
…
Kira Yoshishi, who was far away in Echigo, had no idea about the changes in the Hojo family. He was busy holding an appraisal meeting. It is of special significance that the two largest appraisal meetings every year are scheduled at the beginning of the first year and the beginning of October. The former is the beginning of the new year.
Planning and outlook, the latter is to count the agricultural output of that year after the autumn harvest is over and the late rice is dried and put into warehouses.
"This year is going to be a good year. According to the preliminary statistical data, this year's grain output should be stable at 2.1 million shi. It should not be a big problem. The detailed data needs to be calculated carefully. I believe the error can be suppressed to one
Less than 10,000 stones..." As the important person in charge of the assessment, the Kira family tree was determined and carried out on behalf of everyone. Hosokawa Fujitaka was not happy because of the good harvest, and even his tone seemed stiff. Many retainers present kept their mouths shut.
Don't speak.
"Now let's talk about the problems we encountered. Why are there only 2.1 million koku? We were the first to open two small polders, but this move increased the number of high-quality rice fields by 1,700 steps, and also expanded them piecemeal in various places.
The total number of new fields exceeds 2,300 kibu, so why can’t the grain production increase? Last year it was 2 million koku and this year it is 2.1 million koku. What’s the problem?”
"New fields will be opened one day, and all the easily cultivated wasteland will be developed within three years. In order to ensure the density of the forest and protect the water and soil, the next step will be to prohibit deforestation. Then the only land we can develop is Niigata Town.
And near the more remote Uonuma County, then we are always opening new fields to grow new crops. What problems have we discovered in the past three years? What rules have we summarized, and what have we gained? This requires you to talk freely.
"Fujitaka Hosokawa asked several questions in succession, causing the followers to collectively fall into deep thought.
"Well said by the Ministry of War! I'm just going to talk about the new food problem that has been discovered in the past year." Honjo Shino raised his hand and summoned a few people with surnames to hand out a thin piece of information to all the retainers present, and then said
: "Look, everyone, this is the yield per unit area of the land. It is collected from the data collected from the areas around Jogotsu Jingjo County, Chuetsu Uonuma, Mishima County, Shimogoshi Urahara County, and Iwafune County. Compare the unit yields in the past two years.
decline to varying degrees.
After my consultation, I learned that this involves the hybridization of grain seeds. I don’t understand this. I only know that I have been doing research continuously. Under the current situation, I can only bring out the best grain seeds from Omi for cultivation, and cultivate them every year.
To produce high-yielding grains, it is best not to save seeds, but without saving seeds, it is not enough to rely solely on the export of improved seeds from Omi. We must establish a test field in Echigo to meet the corresponding needs."
Farming is a science. Of course, this knowledge is not something that this group of samurai can understand. It is not easy for a group of Echigo bosses to have the patience to read such incomprehensible terms. As for what difficulties they have, they don't care.
As long as the problem can be solved, I am willing to be an audience and applaud.
There are many samurai who don't understand, but as a follower of the Nagao family, you must understand. Not only must you understand, but you must also keep up with the rhythm. Saito Asanobu scratched his head and said hard: "The experimental field is one thing, I think the potato
There are still some problems with planting, mainly because it is not suitable for storage. If you dig a cellar for storage, many potatoes will become moldy by the next spring.
There are many cases of food poisoning caused by accidentally eating moldy potatoes. The yield of potatoes has been declining. Last year, it often exceeded eight stones and five bushels. This year, it is generally only seven stones and two or three bushels. Should we reduce it accordingly?"
Now the Echigo samurai, who did not understand the technical vocabulary, understood and nodded in agreement. For them, potatoes are both a good thing and a bad thing. Echigo has abundant rain and snow, especially in winter, which is the time of the year with the highest rainfall.
It doesn't matter if it freezes as soon as the freezing snow falls, but the soil humidity and air humidity are very high, especially potatoes stored in cellars can easily go bad, and eating just a few by mistake can cause big trouble.
The halo of high yields of new grains has attracted too many people's attention. As the halo gradually fades, various problems are reported one after another, such as decreased yield, uneven height of plants, adverse effects of diseases and insect pests, and watering.
The exploration and improvement of water drainage facilities has become a top priority for practitioners and agricultural experts.
Advocates have a heavy responsibility. Ensuring a steady increase in grain production is the most important task at the moment. Food is the most important thing for the people. Echigo has high-quality land resources and warm and humid climate conditions. The opening of so many new fields has actually increased the total grain production.
The slowdown, last year's 2 million koku, and this year's 2.1 million koku, is a wake-up call for all devotees. Will the next step of slowing down the growth rate be a decline? If it falls below 2 million koku, it will have a negative impact on Echigo.
What a blow to the confidence of nearly half a million civilians.
This year, there are 2,300 more steps to open Shinda, but the grain output has only increased by more than 100,000 koku. That is to say, the increase in cultivated land has not increased the output. Compared with the same period last year, it is continuously declining. If rice is also included, the output of wheat has been stable.
If it increases, then the decline in new grains will have to wait a lot.
So many problems focus on the excessive decline in yields of potatoes, the large amount of fertilizer required to maintain high yields of corn and pumpkins, etc. The fertilizers in some places cannot keep up, or the artificial slowing down of fertilization has caused large-scale landslides in yields. This is all causing problems.
A headache for people.
After careful analysis and demonstration, Kira Yoshitoki also nodded and admitted: "This is indeed something I have never noticed before! However, Omi is studying related technologies for autumn rice harvest and planting autumn potatoes for late winter harvest. With the current progress
It seems that the test should be successful in the past two years... Let’s not talk about this for now. When it comes to the second phase, do you have any ideas? After all, various studies have been conducted many times in the past three years. What fruitful results have been produced?”
"I'll go first!" Naoe Mitsuna coughed, indicating that he was about to start his speech, and asked everyone to listen up.
"There are several sets of crop rotation methods that have been summarized so far. The first is the rice-wheat rotation method from the Ming Dynasty, which is the traditional two-phase cropping method. The second is the corn-wheat rotation method. The third is the rice-soybean rotation method. In addition,
There are four types of rice and potato rotation methods. I think that the climate in Echigo is more suitable for the rice-wheat rotation method and the corn-wheat rotation method. Let’s not talk about the second phase of cropping for the time being. Let’s talk about the hybrid technology of corn grain seeds. At present, the yield of corn is relatively
It is stable, so we can reduce the number of potatoes and increase the amount of corn planted, and use the corn-wheat rotation method to ensure total food income."
"One more thing. Potatoes are not as hungry as rice and noodles. It seems good to use them as vegetables. To study crop rotation, why not try to rotate them with other vegetables! There are also cabbage seeds brought by the Ming Dynasty scholar. According to him, they can also be used for corn and cabbage rotation.
I just don’t know what the situation is." Saito Asanobu said.
Soon the adherents on both sides began to discuss it. The second phase of cropping without overwintering would have an output of more than two million stones. If the rotation technology of wheat, soybeans, cabbage, and potatoes was popularized, the grain output would not increase by another 20 to 30%.
strangeness.
Take some experimental fields in the Sekikawa River Basin for rice and wheat rotation. A total of ten arable fields were tested. The average yield of winter wheat per arable land reached about three kilo, and the average output of summer rice also reached about three kilo. In this way, each arable land yields grain.
It has increased four to five times compared to five years ago, but correspondingly, it is also necessary to add five or six stones of compost and manure.
Echigo changed from a small agricultural country to a large agricultural country, and is now studying how to change from a large agricultural country to a powerful agricultural country. For example, Nagao Masakae proposed to divide the flat land in the mountainous areas of Uonuma into terraced fields to grow wheat and corn, using Uonuma.
The county's abundant water resources and high rainfall ensure that Uonuma County does not lag behind in agricultural production.
For another example, Honzo Shino proposed to standardize the method of raising fish and shrimp in cages, and formulate corresponding regulations to implement detailed rules to guide fishermen from all over the country to raise fish, cultivate grass carp in rice fields, and promote and standardize loach.
This meeting alone lasted from early morning to dusk, and three meals a day were simply dealt with in the evaluation room. Just after one watch, many warriors' eyelids began to fight, and they saw a group of followers who were in high spirits.
Without any fatigue, they decisively chose to resign.
This can be a embarrassment to Kira Yoshito. Nagao Kagetora left early in the name of "cultivation". He was the only one who had to keep his eyes open and listen to the endless discussion of the followers. Fortunately, they also noticed Kira Yoshi's yawn.
It lasted for days and ended hastily in the middle of the night. (To be continued, please search Piaotian Literature, the novel is better and updated faster!
