Throughout September, Uesugi Terutora continued to test the reaction of the Hojo family, using the powerful combat power of the Kira army to continuously wear down the military strength of the twenty-one Sagami clan, forcing the twenty-one clan members to either abandon their own territory and lead their troops into Odawara Castle. Cage City, or bring your own military strength to fight stubbornly in the walled city.
This kind of stubborn resistance quickly collapsed under the strong pressure of the Kira Army. The meaning of hundreds of people holding on to a small town was very small, especially when the Kira Army adopted a rotation strategy, changing the military strength every half month to ensure that there are always fresh troops, so let It became even more difficult for the people of Sagami Province to resist. Letters asking for help arrived at Odawara Castle one after another, making the Hojo clan feel very troubled.
The Hojo clan is very troubled by being huddled in Odawara City. The Sagami 21st family and the Izu 14th family are the main military bases of the Goshikibei. Now the people led by the Sagami 21st family have suffered a huge blow, which has a bad impact on the Hojo family. It is more than the sum of the lost several important cities. Sooner or later, the lost cities and the lost land can be regained. How can Hojo Ujimasa, the governor of the family, lead the team when the hearts of the people are scattered.
Terutora Uesugi did not besiege the city, but set up a confrontation a few miles north of Odawara Castle. The materials used in the camp were the materials that the Hojo Ujimasa had worked hard to prepare for several months, and the food to be eaten was also the Hojo family's hard work. The military rations, equipment used, and the small load-carrying team were all captured from the Hojo Army. It felt really uncomfortable to be slapped in the face every day.
The most important thing is that Terutora Uesugi is not satisfied with the camp yet. The civilians who recruited Sagami Country continued to build the camp and built several small villages nearby to station troops. This posture is to tell the Hojo clan politics with actions. I am not planning to leave Sagami Country this time, and I will never stop until I take over this country.
Uesugi Teruhora's main force has a total of 20,000 people and is stationed in the main camp to maintain a defensive state. There are more than 15,000 soldiers walking on the Ashigara Plains to mop up the resistance of the Japanese people. Even if they regained their strength, they were severely damaged by Kira's army. With the strong support of the 21 Sagami clan and the 14 Izu clan, the number of troops sitting in Odawara Castle is only more than 22,000. It does not have the numerical advantage to deal with Uesugi Teruhora's main formation, let alone the 15,000 Thousands of mopping up troops can return for reinforcements at any time.
Just as Hojo Ujiyasu and Hojo Ushimasa and their sons were holding evaluation meetings with their family members to discuss strategies for facing the enemy, a series of dazzling news came from the eastern part of Kanto. Kira Yoshitoshi was in Shimosu Province, Hitachi Province, and Shimono Province one after another. A string of incredible victories.
Captured and imprisoned Ashikaga Fujimasa alive, and surrendered the Oyama clan, the Yuki clan, the Chiba clan, the Hara clan, the Takagi clan, the Amanda clan and many other people from the clan, Shimono, and Hitachi. They also made Sano Masatsuna, Ōebu Sadakuni, and A large number of people including Su Ziyin surrendered to the Kira family and almost single-handedly achieved the annexation of Kanto in just one year.
Needless to say, the young Hojo Ushimasa was almost frightened to death. Even the long-tested Hojo Ujiyasu was shocked and turned pale. The confidence of the Hojo family tree generation was greatly damaged. Kira Yoshitoki was so ruthless that he even included all the people of Kanto. Dumpling has single-handedly completed the transformation process of She Tun Xiang. From now on, I really don’t know who can stop him.
After all, this is not Odawara thirty years later. The Hojo family has no influence on the strength of the 80,000 tigers and wolves under the command of the Eight Kingdoms of Kanto. In terms of overall strength and self-confidence, the Hojo family cannot be compared with the Hojo family in another world. It is very Similar to the scene in another time and space where Uesugi Kenshin led an army of 100,000 to besiege Odawara Castle, he was nervous about Uesugi Kenshin's powerful strength and full of fear and worry about the unknown powerful enemy.
If it weren't for the eight thousand soldiers at the core of Kenshin Uesugi, the thirty-five thousand elite tigers and soldiers in front of him would be watching every move of the Hojo family. Maybe the "indestructible" Odawara Castle would have been destroyed thirty years earlier.
Breakthrough, self-confidence in strength and necessary luck determine the fate of a martial arts family.
A few years ago, in the battle of Takayama, the wise and powerful Hojo Ujiyasu suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Terutora Uesugi. As a result, he fell seriously ill not long after returning to Odawara Castle, and then made a decision to make the monk unable to retire.
Since then, the Hojo family has been living in the shadow of the Kira family. The samurai of the Hojo family looked at the northern sky. They seemed to see an evil dragon that was always showing its teeth and claws. His terrifying body and ferocious fangs made every Hojo
The warrior was so scared that he couldn't sleep at night.
In the final analysis, I still lack enough self-confidence. This cannot be blamed on the incompetence of the Hojo family samurai. It is really because the Kira family is too powerful and cunning. The tricks Kira Yoshitoki plays are not common in this era at all. It looks like a deviant and chaotic mess, but in fact it is
He who has not stepped out of the circle and still plays within the rules of the game is a billion times more powerful than national thieves such as Saito Douzan and Nizi Jiujiu. The Hojo family has no right to blame him because of its ruinous financial situation.
The behavioral habits of the Kira family are always traceless and difficult to figure out. The samurai families in Kanto and even the whole world are guessing what Kira Yoshi will do next, but no one would have thought that he could capture Ashikaga Fujimasa alive.
Therefore, Hojo Ujiyasu's resourcefulness can only mean that he is helpless. Every step he takes goes beyond the imagination of the Kanto samurai. Every time he steps within the red line, it makes people uncomfortable and unable to resist. This is Kira Yoshitoki's weird method.
Hojo Uyasu suddenly understood why Takeda Shingen was so aggrieved, and how he suddenly thought of killing the Imagawa family. Perhaps it was because of the psychological distortion caused by Kira Yoshi's various conspiracies inside and outside, or because
The Takeda family members were also driven into madness. He felt that the figure of Yoshitoki Kira might be hidden behind Suruga's attack.
Looking at the members of the clan who were all looking like bereaved dogs with their tails between their legs, Hojo Ujiyasu knew that this time was really going to be bad. He shook his head and sighed: "This is really terrible! Why would I encounter such a powerful opponent?
...What on earth have I, the Hojo family, done wrong to deserve punishment from the gods and Buddhas again and again!"
Hojo Ujiyasu's fear was not wrong. No one could guess Kira Yoshitoki's next move. Just when the siege of Odawara was beginning to take shape, Kira Yoshito led an army of 30,000 and gathered Shimosu Province, Shimono Province, and Hitachichi Province.
The Manro Party gathered an army of 50,000 to launch an attack on the Utsunomiya family, and the name of the attack was Yoshida Kosada, who advocated participating in the anti-Kira alliance.
There was a panic in the evaluation room of Utsunomiya Castle. Similar to the situation in Odawara Castle, several members of the Utsunomiya family were paralyzed with fear on the spot. The remaining ones were wailing like defeated dogs and shouting meaningless slogans for mercy.
We can still see the heroic and fearless attitude of those who fought in the past. Several important ministers shrank like quails and did not dare to move, for fear that Utsunomiya Hirotsuna would raise some difficult problems that could not be solved by calling their names.
"What should we do? This is going to be very difficult for our family!" Utsunomiya Hirotsuna's situation is similar. Ever since he received the Kanto Crusade Order signed by Kira Yoshitsune, his legs and feet have become weak these days.
He didn't have the strength to stand up. He never expected that the dignified general of the garrison would attack him, or in other words, his most important assistant minister, Faga Couture. He really didn't know what to do after leaving Faga Couture.
How to take charge of the family business.
The members of the Utsunomiya family tree kept secretly looking at Hoga Couture, but they were also worried that their aim was too obvious and that Faga Couture would discover their little moves. They were really afraid that Hōga Couture's machinations would be used against them.
On his body, even a powerful person like Tsunbo Mibu was assassinated by his poisonous plot, and the Utsunomiya family's mortal enemy Nasu Takashi was also killed by his plot. With such a vicious and cunning samurai working with him, his life was difficult.
Don't feel too uncomfortable.
Fonga Couture didn't care what these inactive colleagues were thinking. He took this crusade order and read it over and over again, as if he was chewing on the hidden meanings of the words and sentences in the crusade order, until he put down the words and spoke slowly
He bowed to Utsunomiya, and then he burst out laughing. He laughed so freely and heartily that tears almost flowed out. The laughing Utsunomiya family members didn't know what to do.
"Kosada-don... what do you mean?" Utsunomiya Hiratsuna panicked and said hesitantly: "If you have anything to say, I, Hiratsuna, will never abandon any of my family members.
Don’t let your mind wander!”
"No! My lord, you misunderstood! I, Gaoding, am not crazy... I'm sorry to make your highnesses laugh!" Fanghe Gaoding gradually returned to normal, pointed to the crusade order and said with a smile: "Master, do you know that Lord Zhenfu
What’s the point of issuing this order of crusade? Why do you want to name names and force the master to release my haute couture?”
Utsunomiya Hirotsuna and Horatai looked at each other. Fortunately, this conspiracy expert was not really crazy yet. They were thinking about how to persuade him when they heard this question. They shook their heads and asked: "I don't know what is going on here."
.Has Gaoding Palace understood the causes and consequences?"
Yoshiga Gaoding laughed out loud and said: "Although I dare not say that I have complete knowledge, I can at least be sure of one thing, that is, the territory of my Utsunomiya family will probably be reduced. If not, the Lord of the town will not mobilize troops to attack me, Utsunomiya."
The second thing is that I, Gao Ding, is the person wanted by the town government, and the lord must hand over his subordinates to keep peace."
"This is simply unreasonable! Gao Ding is the descendant of my Utsunomiya family. He has made great contributions to our recapture of Utsunomiya Castle. If it weren't for Gao Ding's full assistance, I, Hiratsuna, would not be where we are today! I absolutely cannot agree to this.
Absolutely not!" Utsunomiya Hiratsuna was a young man after all, and a few words of being appointed by Yoshiga aroused a surge of anger in his heart, threatening to fight the Kira family to the end and never back down.
This time, the members of the Utsunomiya Genealogy family were quite frightened. Several older members of the Genealogy family had just been revived. They were shocked and fainted after hearing the lord's statement. Utsunomiya Hirosuna stood up and jumped on his feet.
While cursing Kiragi, the subordinates led the doctor to treat the fainted family member, and the assessment room suddenly turned into a mess.
When faced with a life-and-death crisis, Utsunomiya Hirotsuna could still insist on protecting Yoshiga's high-definition clothes to the point that the Warring States conspirator was moved. However, he did not agree with the decision proposed by the young and inexperienced lord. He shook his head and said with a smile: "My lord.
It is totally wrong to think so. As the governor of the household, my lord, I should put my Utsunomiya family's family business first.
I am just a mortal man who dares not compete with the bright moon compared to the Utsunomiya family's foundation. It would be unwise to offend the governor for my sake. It would be unfilial to give up the Utsunomiya family's centuries-old foundation for my sake. May I ask, my lord?
If we really do this, how should we face the ancestors under the Biragasaka?"
Utsunomiya Hirozuna's heart suddenly went cold. It was like a raging fire bursting out and he was hit by a violent storm. Just a moment ago, he had great ambitions to plan a great counterattack to defeat the arrogant Kira.
Yoshitoki learned a profound lesson. In just a short time, he was doused with cold water. After all, he was still too young and lacked sufficient knowledge and experience. His political skills only gained from Faga Couture in the past few years.
I've only scratched the surface of what I've learned.
However, Hōga Couture is a middle-aged samurai who is over forty years old. His rich experience, outstanding wisdom and deep understanding of Shimono Country are the main sources of his ability to play with people from all over Shimono Country and even stir up the changes in the direction of the entire Eight Kingdoms of Kanto.
, this is just like Saito Douzan, Nizi Jiujiu also won the family business based on his high knowledge of the local area and his rich resourcefulness.
Yukitaka Sanada, who previously conquered Shinano, and Moto Moori, who conquered the Western Kingdom, also belong to this type. However, due to various factors, these two successfully transformed. The former became the lineage of the Kira family and the old commander of tens of thousands of troops as the vanguard.
Launched maneuvers against the Utsunomiya family, and the latter won the battle of Itsukushima in one battle, becoming the new generation hegemon of the Western Kingdom.
Of course, this type of samurai also includes Matsunaga Hide, Mogami Yoshimitsu, and Ukita Naoie. This kind of talented samurai has a major feature. It is almost impossible to defeat them in their own country by playing tricks with them. But because of their own
His characteristics are more focused on strategy, which makes the overall governance strategy tend to be more feminine, and his rigid control over his retainers and people is relatively weak.
And Hoga Couture has won the trust of Utsunomiya Hirotsuna with his unique methods and loyal heart. This influence is even so great that it can influence the mood and decision-making of the young house governor. Take the crusade just now, the same sentence
The words written in the message made Utsunomiya Hiratsuna panic. Repeating it from his mouth aroused the anger in his heart, and he calmed down immediately after he said it. With this push and pull, he had the house governor in the palm of his hand.
The means between them are astonishing.
Yoshiga Gaodada said: "My lord, you should understand one thing. The Utsunomiya family must surrender and only surrender. The one we are surrendering is not the Kira family but the Kanto family! The troubled times of the Warring States Period are like a cauldron in the fire, and we are like a cauldron.
The only way to make a living is to annex each other in order to protect oneself. Now, the appearance of the town government official is like a scoop of cold water from the cauldron that can extinguish the fire of troubled times. Why should we, the Utsunomiya family, give up getting closer?
Where is this ladle of water?"
"Is it really that important?"
"Of course there is. My lord, let's see how many of the Eight Kingdoms of Kanto are left to resist the governor?" Fangga Gaoding stood up and walked to the corner to get a map scroll, on which was drawn a simple map of the Eight Kingdoms of Kanto. In his few
In just a few sentences, Musashi Country, Sagami Country, Shimonosu Province, Ueno Country, most of Shimono Country, and a small part of Ueno Country and Hitachi Country were included. In the entire Eight Kingdoms of Kanto, some or most of the territories of the Six Kingdoms were occupied. Only relatively remote areas were occupied.
The smaller Anfang and Izu countries escaped from the tiger's mouth.
At first, Utsunomiya Hirozuna didn't pay much attention. After a closer look, he realized that he was surrounded from all directions. And the territory of the Kira family was dozens of times larger than his own. Then he heard a few words of estimation from Faga Couture.
He found out that the Kira family actually had an army of 100,000 people. He was shaking all over and his legs and feet were as weak as noodles and he couldn't lift his feet.
Utsunomiya Hirozuna said depressedly: "What should we do? Do you really want to hand over the Haute Couture Palace? You are the heir apparent of my family! Wouldn't your life be in danger if you give away the Haute Couture Palace? No! Even if
There is no life safety, and being claustrophobic is not a good thing!"
"Haha, my lord, there is no need to worry. Most of the time Duke Zhenfu went out to battle because he was drunk and not interested in drinking. I am just one of the people selected by Gao Ding. Maybe someone else will be forced to take him away. This should be Duke Zhenfu's way of dealing with me.
Let’s wait for the check and balance strategy of the new martial arts family! As for the safety of my Gaoding, there should be no problem. The Lord of the Town will never confine me because of some of my transgressions.” Fanghe Gaoding comforted softly, as if he didn’t care at all.
It's like my future situation.
He really does not need to worry too much about his own safety. From today on, the Utsunomiya family must be subordinate to the Kira family, and may even be forced to become a generational retainer and lose their autonomy privileges. All negative actions against the Kira family in the past should not be counted as future consequences.
In the old account, otherwise it would be Kira Yoshitoki himself who broke the trust of his subordinates. I believe that many samurai including Yukitaka Sanada would feel uneasy.
If Kira Yoshi had been so unwise at the time, he would not have become the new ruler to dominate the Eight Kingdoms of Kanto. Hoga Couture can be sure that he will never be threatened. Yuuki Haruto, the resister who protected Koga Furukawa, can finally escape punishment.
It's just a helpless civil servant who comes up with a few ideas. He can be sure that Kira Yoshitomo is looking for a reason to clean up the Utsunomiya family, with the intention of beating the biggest power in Shimono Country and should keep its tail between its legs.
.
There were three fires when the new official took office. When Kira Yoshihiro was in office, the Kanto family, which had not yet been enfeoffed, had already started two fires. These two fires burned down most of Kanto and involved countless samurai families. The Utsunomiya family, as the little overlord of Shimono,
It's not unusual to be targeted, especially since the Utsunomiya family has always been a loyal supporter of the Furukawa family. It's not unusual to be targeted directly or to settle accounts in the future, but Kira Yoshiki chose to hit the door on the spot.
, so as not to cause a big disturbance in Nuo after settling accounts in the future.
The members of the Utsunomiya family tree are well aware of the Kira family's attitude towards it. After all, the Utsunomiya family's territory is several times that of the Oyama family and it is located in the essence of Shimono country. Within its territory is the famous Nikko Yamawa.
Ouji Temple is one of the famous Buddhist holy places in Kanto. The other one is the Bodhi Temple of the Utsunomiya family, Shimono Kuni Fenhe Temple. These two Buddhist holy places establish the special status of Shimono Kuni in Kanto, and both of these places are under the control of the Utsunomiya family.
This is something that a strong man like Kira Yoshihide cannot allow.
Kira Yoshitoki's method to deal with him is very simple. Find a reason to rebel against Kira and directly remove the Utsunomiya family's spine. I will punish the retainers in the territory and take it away. If the Utsunomiya family surrenders, I will start to steal the family.
It is even more difficult to act as a retainer. After all, it is not appropriate for the rulers in the system to rob the newly joined retainers. In another time and space, the monkey loved Naoe, and it was easy for Kojuro Katakura to lure him to his advantage.
fail.
Based on this judgment, Yoshida Koada calmed down and comforted the family governor. The smile just now was just a sigh that he had been planning for the Utsunomiya family for decades, but in the end, his cleverness was mistaken for his clever head. During Kiragi's time,
He was being stared at in front of others with his tricks, but this time he was called out by the Kira family but there was no room for resistance. This is a portrayal of conspiracy and conspiracy being powerless in the face of absolute strength.
Hoga Couture finally left Utsunomiya Castle. When he left, he left with only a few nicknames and a carriage. On the third day after Hoga Couture left, he saw envoys from the Kira family entering Utsunomiya Castle to announce the edict. , the general idea is that the Utsunomiya family participated in the anti-Kira alliance several times, and also protected the former Furukawa Lord Ashikaga Fujimasa. This is a big mistake that must be punished.
Since it is a punishment, it will not be very light. Parts of the territory of Hoga County and Shiotani County, as well as part of the territory of Kawachi County in the core area of the Utsunomiya family, will be cut off as punishment. Kira Yoshitoki does not intend to take Utsunomiya away at once. The family was so anxious that they jumped over the wall, so when they attacked, they only included the family retainers in the southern part of Utsunomiya Castle as their own.
This includes the powerful Utsunomiya family members such as the lord of Tako Castle, Tako Chochao, the lord of Ozan Castle, Ozan Kanechao, the lord of Ojo Castle, Omo Asahitsu, Kamimikawa Castle Imaizumi Takahitsu, etc. Taking them away means that The Utsunomiya family not only had to lose a large area of territory, but also faced heavy losses to their family members.
However, Utsunomiya Hiratsuna had nothing to do with all this. The edict issued by Kira Yoshitsune stated: "Utsunomiya Shimonamori is allowed to arrange the stay and leave of the clan retainers in various territories on his own, but those who are willing to stay at Utsunomiya's home will continue to work." Those who serve as genealogical retainers can be given permission to release, and will be given a decision period of fifteen days from now on. Those who do not give a clear answer after the decision period will be assigned according to their location."
The meaning of these words is to tell Utsunomiya Hirotsuna that I must take away the land, but not necessarily the Genedai retainers. What you want or the Genedai retainers want to take away all of yours and leave nothing behind. On the surface, it is for Utsunomiya. The Miya family had a loose choice, but Utsunomiya Hirosuna, who had actually been cut off a large piece of territory, could not have so much food to feed these large family retainers.
The territories of these retainers can range from a few hundred koku to a few thousand koku. A large group of members of the clan will always have to support as many mouths as possible. Their territories are taken away and then kicked down by the Kira family as if they are throwing garbage. Utsunomiya Hirotsuna, how could he, as a household governor, let these family members who were homeless because of their "loyalty to the Lord" eat rice bran?
He abandoned his own land of several thousand and hundreds of stones for the Utsunomiya family and took refuge with the family governor. If he, the family governor, did not show his sincerity, how would he be able to hang out in Shimono country in the future? In the end, he would have to grit his teeth and take out his direct collar to support his generational retainers. , Utsunomiya Hirozuna would never do such a stupid thing. Hoga Couture told him before leaving that he must be careful not to be tricked into a trap by the Kira family's conspiracy, even if he said nothing, he would be beaten to death. Can't do it.
