Akechi Mitsuhide is gradually tightening the rope that hanged Oda Nobunaga, and the unknowing Yoshigami is passing through the Tokugawa territory on the Tokaido Road and accepting the warm hospitality of Tokugawa Ieyasu.
Since taking over the Toe Kingdom, Tokugawa Ieyasu moved his residence to Hima Castle and renamed it Hamamatsu Castle, settling here all year round.
In the eyes of outsiders, Tokugawa Ieyasu's emphasis on distant rivers over three rivers was deviated from the fundamentals and putting the cart before the horse.
In these years, Tokugawa Ieyasu, while shouting the soul of Mikawa, tried his best to promote the loyalty of the Mikawa people, and at the same time supported the Toe people, relying on the Toe three people, Ii Naotora and other local samurai families in the Toe area.
Under Tokugawa Ieyasu's deliberate favoritism, the Tokugawa family gradually formed a situation in which the Mikawa clan and the Tokō clan coexisted.
In the eyes of others, Tokugawa Ieyasu was cutting off his foundation and actively alienating the Mikawa people who were the foundation of his fortune. This was not the act of a wise king.
But Tokugawa Ieyasu himself knew very well that the Mikawa Princess warrior had never been as glorious and upright as the spirit of Mikawa he preached. Instead, it had always been a destabilizing factor within the Tokugawa family.
The Matsudaira family was just a wealthy family in the Mikawa Kingdom. Even the identity of the Tokugawa Miao family members of the Kawauchi Genji clan was only accepted by Yoshigan, who recognized Tokugawa Ieyasu, and made a qualitative leap forward.
Before that, what was the Matsudaira family? It was neither the Guardian of Mikawa nor the famous Minamoto family. What qualifications did her family have to be called a famous family in Mikawa Country?
The real famous family of Mikawa Kingdom is the Kira family, which is a family of the Ashikaga Shogun who is the direct descendant of Genji in Kawachi.
The Kira family is actually a family on the same level as the Shiba family, and is considered one of the highest-ranking families in the Ashikaga clan. It was only because of the serious political mistakes they made that their fortunes were not very satisfactory.
But even so, the Kira family is not a noble family that local wealthy families such as the Matsudaira family can touch casually.
The ancestor of Tokugawa Ieyasu was just a fellow countryman who had conspired to seize the land that he had conquered. How could he have any loyal Mikawa spirit?
There were many conflicts between the Higashi-Mikawa and Nishi-Mikawa samurai families. The Tokugawa family used Nishi-Mikawa to annex Higashi-Mikawa. The mountains under their command were at odds with each other, and there was no loyalty at all.
During the Mikawa War, most of Tokugawa Ieyasu's Mikawa-hime samurai defected. If Oda Nobunaga hadn't sent Maeda Toshiie to help, and the chaos was quelled in a short time, the consequences would have been disastrous.
Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was still frightened, could only support the Mikawa people and brag about their loyalty, and at the same time, after taking over the Toe Country, he took the initiative to move the focus of his family business to the Toe Country.
In the past, Tokugawa Ieyasu had no choice but to use the Mikawa clan. Now that she has the Tōkō clan as a backup, her mentality is naturally different.
Therefore, even if Tokugawa Ieyasu shouted Mikawa Soul loudly, his buttocks were still sitting firmly in Hamamatsu Castle in the Far River Kingdom.
At this time, she was in Hamamatsu Castle receiving the passing Saint Cavalry.
Yoshigan was warmly invited by Tokugawa Ieyasu, and after all, he wanted to give this little sister of Oda Nobunaga some face.
He stayed in Hamamatsu Castle for a few days and gave Ii Naomasa a short vacation so that she could return to Ii Valley to visit relatives.
Since that day when Yoshigan punished Naomasa Ii for thinking about his mistakes, and then visited him in the middle of the night, Naomasa Ii confessed his love, and the relationship between the two became ambiguous.
On the one hand, Yoshihiro doesn't want Ii Naomasa to be too upright. This girl does things regardless of the consequences. If she goes on like this, she will cause big trouble sooner or later.
On the other hand, Ii Naomasa is already Yoshigan's tacit approval of his own woman, and she will have sex with him sooner or later, and Yoshigan does not want to criticize her too harshly.
So let's simply let Ii Naomasa go home to visit relatives, visit Ii Naotora's adoptive father, and learn the politically mature martial arts methods.
The Ii family was of noble origin and was a branch of the Fujiwara family. Their ancestor was Iisuke, one of the eight great shoguns in the world, who served under Minamoto Yoritomo, the first shogunate of the Kamakura shogunate.
Although during the Ashikaga Shogunate period, the power of the Ii family was greatly reduced, it was still a prominent family in the Toe Kingdom.
In the early years, the Shiba Imagawa family competed for the right to protect the Yuanjiang Kingdom.
The Shiba clan was defeated, and the Imagawa family took over Enjie. Because they were worried that the Ii family's prestige was too high, they suppressed the Ii family overtly and covertly, causing the Ii family to almost die out.
As a last resort, Ii Naotora had no choice but to serve as the family governor as a male prostitute. In the land of Ii Valley, he became Ii Naomasa's adoptive father.
At that time, the Ono family, an important minister of the Ii family, was instigated by the Imagawa family and coveted the family's property.
In order to keep Ii Naomasa's only seed, Ii Naotora resolutely went north to Echigo country, found Yoshihiro, who was also a male samurai daimyo, and asked him to protect Ii Naomasa.
At that time, Yoshihiro was setting up the Kanto Chamber of Commerce, and in the name of righteousness, he was wooing famous Kanto families. Seeing the hardship of the man Ii Naotora and the pity of the child Ii Naomasa, he accepted Ii Naomasa.
Ii Naotora put aside his worries and returned to Ene Kingdom to deal with the Imagawa family. Until the Imagawa family's business declined and Tokugawa Ieyasu took over the Toe Kingdom, all the hardships finally came to an end.
When Tokugawa Ieyasu took over Toe, the Shiba family was rising like the rising sun, and Ii Naomasa, the Hime samurai raised by Yoshigan, had already made a name for himself among the people.
Whether it was out of his original intention to win over the Toe samurai family, or because he was respectful to the Shiba family, Tokugawa Ieyasu valued Naotora Ii, a rare male figure in the samurai family, very highly.
The northern mountainous area of Ene Province connects to Shinano Province, and the south is a plain. The Tenryu River runs through the central part from north to south, and the coastal alluvial plain forms the core economic belt of Ene State.
In this core area, the most important are the two cities in the north and south.
Hamamatsu Castle in the south is the core of the plains and is also the residence of Tokugawa Ieyasu. She personally guards this prosperous land.
The Ii Valley Castle in the north is the hereditary territory of the Ii family. It serves as the gateway to prevent the invasion of the northern mountains and protects the southern plains.
Just because of Ii Valley's important location as a gateway to resist invasion from Shinano, the Imagawa family back then would have been causing trouble for the Ii family and wanted Zetsuji Ii to take over this territory.
When Tokugawa Ieyasu took over the Toe Country, his methods were not as brutal as those of the Imagawa family.
The Imagawa family has its foundation in the Suruga clan, so there is no need to deliberately win over the Toe area samurai family headed by the Ii family to achieve success.
However, Tokugawa Ieyasu could not trust the Mikawa clan under his command, and instead hoped to use the Tokawa clan to check and balance the Mikawa clan.
The different strategic choices of the Imagawa and Tokugawa families also put the Ii family in very different situations.
On the eve of his attack on Toe Province, Tokugawa Ieyasu bribed the three people of Nishi Ene along the Hamana Lake, and then successfully marched straight in and captured Toe State in one fell swoop.
After the war, Tokugawa Ieyasu left the Nishione Trio under the jurisdiction of Ii Naotora, also known as the Ii Valley Trio.
As a male daimyo, Ii Naotora is not as tough as Hime Samurai. He rarely forcibly orders Ii and the three others, and the relationship between the two parties is harmonious.
Yoshihiro just hoped that Ii Naomasa would imitate the soft figure and political skills of his adoptive mother, and not to be straightforward in everything and offend others everywhere.
———
Ii Valley Castle, residence hall.
Ii Naomasa went home to visit his relatives, which alarmed many Toe samurai families. The three people from Ii Valley also came to Ii Valley City one after another to pay tribute to the young master of the Ii family who was never at home.
Seeing that there were so many people coming, Ii Naotora simply held a banquet for the guests and introduced the Ii family's retainers, relatives, friends, allies, and powerful martial arts families from Yuanjiang area to Ii Naomasa one by one.
Ii Naomasa originally thought that he came back just to see his adoptive father. Who knew he would encounter such a scene? He was immediately in a panic. Just remembering people's names and facing each other made him dizzy.
After only staying at the banquet for half of the time, Ii Naomasa found an excuse to run away because he was tired from the journey and went back to his room to rest.
It was night, Naomasa Ii was reading in his room, when there was a knock on the door outside.
"Naozheng, have you had a rest? Isn't it convenient for me to have a few words with you?"
Naomasa Ii put down the book and said respectfully.
"Father, please come in."
Ii Naotora opened the door and walked in carrying a candlestick. Seeing the dim lights in Ii Naomasa's room, he couldn't help but frown.
"These servants are really messy. I just forgot to ask them to bring a few more candlesticks. They don't know how to use their brains."
Ii Naomasa smiled.
"I think it's already good. It's my sudden return this time that makes you worry about it, father."
Ii Naotora shook his head.
"You and I, father and daughter, don't talk to outsiders. We should read brightly at night, otherwise we will easily hurt our eyes. We should also take care of ourselves."
Naomasa Ii bowed.
"I see."
Ii Naotora is not Ii Naomasa's biological father, nor is he even the husband of Ii Naomasa's mother. He is just a helpless choice to continue the family business when the Ii family is in decline.
But he is indeed very attentive to Ii Naomasa, and Ii Naomasa sincerely treats him like a father. The two of them have a deep affection as father and daughter.
Ii Naotora was concerned for a few words and then asked directly.
"Why did you suddenly leave the banquet just now? You should know very well that they came here just to get close to you. You are the protagonist of today's banquet."
Naomasa Ii smiled bitterly.
"I'm just not used to their closeness, so... I'm sorry, father."
Ii Naotora shook his head.
"There is no need to say sorry between you and me. It was because I was careless and accidentally revealed the news that you were going home, which annoyed visitors from all over and made you troubled."
Ii Naomasa was panicked and wanted to say something, but Ii Naotora signaled with his hand to wait and spoke first.
"Naomasa, if you can serve in front of the saint, you must have a bright future. I know I don't like the small territory of Ii Valley with more than ten thousand stones.
But as a husband, I only have this ability. I can protect this small territory for you.
I don't ask for anything else, I just hope to find a good marriage for you. You are getting older and the Jingyi family needs an heir. Do you understand what I mean?"
Ii Naomasa pursed his lips, lowered his head and said.
"I'm sorry, father, I don't want to get married for the time being."
Ii Naotora sighed.
"I've said I'm sorry so many times today, but we are really estranged from each other."
"No...I just...just..."
"You like saints?"
"!!!Father...how could Father feel this way?"
Ii Naotora smiled bitterly.
"Back then, I had no choice but to go north and beg the saint to take you in. I also saw the saint's majestic appearance.
His beauty is so heavenly that even I, a man, can't control it and am fascinated by him. What's more, you have grown up with him and been treated with kindness and kindness since you were a child. As a young girl, it is inevitable that you can't restrain yourself, right?
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with you liking a saint, I’m just afraid that you’ll waste your time on wishful thinking, which will ultimately harm your own life and the annihilation of the Jingyi family.”
It is not a sin for girls to be affectionate. Which child does not have any attachment to his parents in his heart? Often the spouse he chooses when he grows up has some shadow of his parents. This is also human nature.
Ii Naotora is not surprised by Ii Naomasa's thoughts, but as the governor of the Ii family, he must be responsible for the continuation of the family business.
Ii Naomasa was exposed by his adoptive father's words. He immediately felt pressure and subconsciously retorted.
"No, the saint promised me... uh... that..."
As soon as the words came out of his mouth, Ii Naomasa knew that something was wrong. How could he mention to others the promise that the saint made to him privately? This was really inappropriate.
A look of surprise flashed across Ii Naotora's eyes. He touched the silver threads on his temples that couldn't stop growing and sighed that he was really old.
He smiled.
"Don't be afraid. I won't ask. Just pretend that we haven't talked about this. Just... be careful. This may not be a good thing."
Naomasa Ii nodded, looked at his adoptive father, and saw through the worry in his adoptive father's eyes.
Although the Ii family is a famous family with a long history, it has been in decline for a long time, and the family property only covers more than 10,000 stones of Ii Valley.
If Naomasa Ii can really climb onto the holy bed and obtain the divine seed, he will naturally soar into the sky and have a bright future.
But when he thought that the Ii family had a million-stone family and that they would have a divine descendant like Takeda, Uesugi, and Hojo, and eat at the same table, Ii Naotora's teeth couldn't help but feel sore.
Not everyone can bear this blessing.
The Ii family may achieve unprecedented wealth in Naomasa Ii's generation, or it may be completely crushed and fall into the abyss beyond recovery.
Big risks and big opportunities make Ii Naotora, a seasoned veteran who has had many ups and downs in his life, a little overwhelmed.
Ii Naotora was stunned for a long time, shook his head helplessly and smiled bitterly. Children and grandchildren will have their own blessings, so what's the use of his own random thoughts?
Ii Naomasa looked at his adoptive father anxiously and asked in a low voice.
"Do you think I'm wishful thinking?"
Ii Naotora shook his head.
"The saint is wise, and I dare not make nonsense guesses about the saint's thoughts. But since it is approved by the saint, then it is your blessing, and you must know how to cherish it.
However, you came back abruptly this time, is there something unexpected?"
Naomasa Ii frowned and said.
"To be honest with you, father, I seem to have done something that made the saint unhappy, but I felt that I had done nothing wrong, so I had a few arguments with the saint."
Ii Naotora frowned and asked.
"what have you done?"
Naomasa Ii sighed.
"Do you know Naoyoshi Hanzawa?"
Ii Naotora narrowed his eyes.
"That Hanzawa Naoyoshi who turned the eight states of Guanzhou upside down? Was she the one you sent to Kanto?"
Ii Naomasa nodded, making Ii Naotora take a breath.
My adopted daughter is so courageous. For someone like Hanzawa Naoyi who dares to break the sky, it is really reckless not to cut her off immediately but also to argue with the saint for Hanzawa Naoyi.
