Hojo Ujiyasu patiently wrote the letters, with a sincere tone and touching emotions. After the ink was dry, he stuffed them into envelopes one by one and gave them to envoys to send to various places.
Her calm attitude influenced the warriors inside and outside the castle tower who were always paying attention to her, and it was also a way to ease the panic at home.
After writing the letter, Hojo Uyasu stretched and stood up. She knocked on her waist and smiled bitterly at Hatakemoto next to her.
"I'm really old, and my back hurts after sitting at my desk for a while."
The confidant Ji Ji Ji bowed and said.
"What's the matter? You are so powerful that you can lead us into battle to kill the enemy."
Hojo Ujiyasu smiled slightly and asked.
"How is Ujimasa doing now?"
The confidant hesitated and whispered.
"After His Majesty Ujimasa came back, he locked himself in his room. It is said that he has not eaten for two days."
Hojo Ujiyasu shook his head and walked out.
"Go and see her."
"Hi!"
Although the battle of Hojo's army ended in a disastrous defeat, Hojo Ujiyasu did not think that it was all his daughter's responsibility, but that Hojo Ujiyasu himself was responsible.
In order to ensure the transfer of power between the old and new governors, she gave her daughter the Hojo family too much power, and used the inheritance of the family business as an excuse to persuade the important officials to support her as much as possible.
As a result, the Hojo clan and the Ashikaga Yoshi clan were eager for quick success. The members of the clan and important ministers were wary and allowed them to act recklessly, resulting in a huge rout that was difficult to end and almost ruined the Hojo family fortune.
Hojo Uji Yasutai cares about the smooth handover of the family business, Hojo Uji Masata wants to prove himself, and the Kanto Shogun and the retainers have their own agendas, and as a result, they both commit military taboos.
Underestimate the enemy and advance rashly.
Hojo Ujiyasu thought as he walked, he had great admiration for Shiba Kenshin. The plate armor warriors, this heavily armored regiment that should not have appeared on the samurai battlefield, were the root cause of the Hojo family's tragic defeat.
The imperial commander selected the most suitable battlefield for the heavy armored corps and used the most suitable tactics to kill most of the elite members of the Hojo family at a very small cost.
Without his heavily armored legions, especially the heavily armored cavalry, the Hojo family would never have lost so miserably, and at most both sides would suffer losses.
This young man is so confident that if he makes one miscalculation, the Heavy Army will become a useless can.
If the Hojo Ujimasa did not send troops to the plains of Sano Territory, and with the dense waterways near Kawakoshi Castle, there would be no room for the heavy armored army, and all his investment would be in vain.
Hojo Ujiyasu sighed.
I don't know whether it was the young man's extraordinary intelligence or the fate of the Hojo family. In short, the result was that the Hojo family was defeated, and it was a miserable defeat.
Unknowingly, Hojo Ujiyasu had walked to his daughter's residence. The waiter waiting outside the door held a dinner plate and bowed to her.
"What? You still refuse to eat?"
The waiter kowtowed tremblingly.
"His Majesty Ujimasa said she doesn't want to eat it."
Hojo Ujiyasu nodded and said.
"Put down the plate and go down first."
The waiter saluted again, put down his plate and left quietly. Hojo Ujiyasu said something to those around him.
"Stay away, everyone. I have something to talk with Uzumasa."
"Hi!"
Both Hojo Ushimasa's personal attendants and Hojo Ujiyasu's hatamoto walked to a distance to be on guard, leaving space for the two generations of family governors.
Hojo Ujiyasu picked up the dinner plate and opened the door. The room was dark, with only a candlestick lit. The flames swayed slightly due to the wind caused by the door opening, reflecting the decadent figure of the Hojo family.
"Get out! I said there's no need for dinner."
"If you don't eat, you won't have the strength to do anything."
Hojo Ushimasa was startled and looked back at the door, only to see his mother standing there holding a dinner plate.
Her eyes turned red and she kowtowed to the ground.
"I'm sorry, I'm very sorry, Mother, I failed to live up to your expectations."
Hojo Ujiyasu walked into the room and closed the door behind her back. She placed the dinner plate on the tatami and pushed it in front of Hojo Ushimasa who was lying on the ground.
"Eat a little, no matter what, you have to eat a little.
Hunger cannot solve the problem, it will only bring pain. No matter what you are going to face, you must have enough food to have the strength to deal with it."
Hojo Ushimasa raised his head, looked at the rice in front of him, looked at his kind mother, and finally couldn't help but shed tears of regret that had accumulated for many days.
"I'm sorry, it's all my fault.
I didn’t listen to my aunts, I didn’t listen to Domu-sama and the others, it was me who insisted on going my own way and killed them!”
She raised her head, and Hojo Ujiyasu saw the royal flag tightly held in her hand and in her arms, pretending not to know.
"So? What do you want to do?"
Hojo Umasa was stunned and didn't know how to answer. If she were an ordinary Hime Samurai, she could choose to commit suicide and wash away her sins.
But she is the governor of the Hojo family, and her life was bought by those loyal Hime warriors of Hojo Tsunari who fought to the death, so she cannot die.
Hojo Ujiyasu showed a hint of relief in his eyes, stepped forward, patted his daughter's hand, and said.
"Very good. You didn't tell me that you wanted to commit seppuku. You were willing to live with your sins and shoulder your own responsibilities. I'm very satisfied.
Remember this lesson, remember these clansmen and retainers who died in battle. Your life no longer belongs only to you.
So you have to cheer up and start by eating."
Hojo Umasa looked at his mother with a trace of confusion in his eyes, then reached out and picked up the bowl and started eating.
It was slow at first, but soon became ravenous, and in the end, unfortunately, I choked and coughed hard.
Hojo Ujiyasu handed the tea on the plate to Hojo Umasa, and saw her blushing as she drank the tea.
Hojo Umasa felt embarrassed and wanted to wipe the messed up corner of her mouth. She picked up the imperial flag in her arms and was stunned. She glared at the imperial flag and then silently wiped the corner of her mouth with her sleeve.
Hojo Ujiyasu looked at her entanglement calmly, knowing that no one else could help her, and only she could untie it.
The two of them looked at each other indoors under the dim light of a candle. Seeing that his daughter had finished her meal, Hojo Uyasu said slowly.
"I have written to the familiar Kanto samurai family, asking them not to abandon the Hojo family."
Hojo Ushimasa trembled all over and said bitterly.
"Even if you write to them, they won't listen.
The Wu family values profit over righteousness and will not change its mind just because of a letter. Instead, my mother's reputation will become a laughing stock because of these letters."
Hojo Ujiyasu shook his head and said.
"We need time to appease people's hearts and rearrange our defense lines. I don't ask for everyone's response. As long as one person misses the past, there will be more hope.
I also wrote a letter to Ota Yasushi of Edo Castle, saying all the good things and promising conditions, but I just asked her not to vote for Uesugi Teruhora."
Hojo Umasa's eyes widened and he lost his voice.
"Mother!
Yasushi Ota framed Tominaga Yasukage and Toyama Tsunakage, causing the southern front to collapse. The two important ministers had no choice but to fight to the death to seize the rear and died on the battlefield.
How can you bow to such a cunning traitor?"
Hojo Ujiyasu looked at the excited Hojo Ushimasa and said calmly.
"I'm telling you this to make you understand a truth. In the face of survival, dignity is worthless.
Have you ever thought about it?
If the Hojo family perishes, what will happen to you and me, as well as our families, tribesmen, and retainers who are loyal to us?
Remember those who died fighting for you, they also have children, husbands, and relatives. You have the responsibility to take care of their children and relatives!
As a household governor, your rights and obligations are equal! How great your power is, how great your responsibility is!
As long as we can keep the Hojo family alive, your dignity and mine are worthless, and our lives are worthless and can be sacrificed at any time."
