Echigo Province is located at the northeastern end of Hokurikudo and is a long strip of land from southwest to northeast.
To the northwest is the coast and to the southeast is the Echigo Mountains, which is isolated from the Kanto Plain and Shinano Mountains.
Echigo is divided into Joetsu, Nakatsu, and Shimotsu, from west to east, and the Joetsu Takata Plain in the far west is the foundation of the Nagao family in Fuchu.
The Nagao family originated from the Bando Hachihei clan and was the first royal family member of the Kamakura Shogunate of the Genji family. Their status was second only to the Genji bloodline.
The two Genpei clans are not incompatible. The ones who are really competing for the position of the pillars of the samurai family are the Isehei clan and the Kawachi Genji clan. Both of them have the Genpei samurai clan under their command.
The Genpei War was the decisive battle between the Isehei clan who controlled Konkyu in the Western Kingdom and the Kawachi Genjie who controlled Kanto to determine the pillars of the samurai family.
Genji Kawachi won and became the elder of the Genji family, the pillar of the Wu family, and later established the Kamakura shogunate.
The Bando Hachihei clan made great contributions to the Kawachi Genji family and received great rewards from the Kamakura shogunate.
A branch of the Nagao family moved to Echigo and thrived there. It was eventually divided into three Nagao families, the Furushi Nagao family and the Ueda Nagao family.
Three of the Nagao families inherited the Echigo guardianship, and later moved to Mount Kasugayama Joetsu, built Kasugayama Castle, and controlled the Takata Plain.
It is called the place in Fuzhong, and it claims to be the guardian of Fuzhong, and Fuzhong means the location of the country's capital.
From then on, the ambitious Nagao family in Fuchu began to usurp Echigo's right to protect the Uesugi family.
In the generation of Terutora Uesugi's mother, she was full of martial virtue. She killed the Uesugi family's Echigo guardian twice and suppressed the Echigo country. Her decisiveness in killing was eye-catching, and she was called the most evil in the world.
When she died, the Echigo Kingdom fell into chaos.
Terutora Uesugi's father came from the Fushi Nagao family, and his elder brother married into the Ueda Nagao family.
This was the basis for the mother of Teru Uesugi to unite the three forces of the Nagao family to suppress Echigo.
When Terutora Uesugi succeeded to the throne, the Furushi Nagao family firmly stood by her side.
As she continued to win the war in the north and south, the Ueda Nagao family gradually moved closer, thus stabilizing the situation in Echigo country.
Now that Uesugi Teruhora is out of the country, a speedboat enters the Takada Port affiliated with Kasugayama Castle, and the important ministers who stay behind have a secret meeting to discuss.
In the castle tower, the main seat is vacant, and three important ministers are sitting there, namely Naoe Keizuna, Usami Sadamitsu, and Kakizaki Keie.
The Nagao family of Fuchu conquered the superiors to seize Echigo, and the foundation was unstable. Uesugi Teruhora's mother passed away, and she did not dare to succeed immediately.
After the funeral, he first went to Sanjo Castle, the birthplace of the Fuchu Nagao family, as the Fushi County Secretary, to appease the old tribe and win the support of the Fushi Nagao family.
Then he took over Tochio Castle in Central Vietnam and became the city lord, and then he dared to declare his succession.
Thanks to such caution, he was able to gain a firm foothold in the subsequent rebellion.
The border between Vietnam, China and Echigo is divided by the Hida Mountains extending to the coastline, and Kasuga Mountain to the east.
The Fuchu Nagao family built a castle on Mount Kasuga in Joetsu, overlooking the Takata Plain to the east, and to the east is Misan Mountain, and beyond Misan Mountain is Chuetsu.
Tochio Castle is the main route from Chuetsu to Joetsu, and is also the gateway to Kasugayama Castle.
As long as Uesugi Teruhora controls these two cities, the chaos in Echigo will not get out of control.
Among the three important ministers, Naoe Keizuna is a veteran minister who has served the Nagao family for three generations. Naoe Kanade's mother-in-law is deeply respected by Uesugi Teru and takes charge of Kasugayama Castle on his behalf.
The lord of Biwa Island, Usami Sadamitsu, is known as the wisest general of Echigo. Biwa Island is located in the Kashiwazaki Plain, at the eastern foot of Mount Yone, and oversees the direction of China and Vietnam.
Kakizaki Keie is a fierce general in the family, commanding Teruhora Uesugi's standing army. His territory of Kakizaki is to the west of Yoneyama and is the last line of defense to protect the Takata Plain.
The three of them are the garrison retainers left by Uesugi Teruhora, and they are all pillars of the family.
The Kakizaki Kei family was the youngest and had the most irritable temper, so he shouted hurriedly.
"I will lead my army into the middle of Vietnam. There are my strongholds and cities along the way. Just drive all the way there."
She was eighteen years old and made her fortune when Terutora Uesugi was suppressing the rebellion. She was her staunch confidant.
Now that the Lord is in danger in Yuezhong, he is so anxious that he speaks without any sense of control. Usami frowns and then relaxes.
She is middle-aged and is an old minister of the Uesugi guardian. At that time, the Nagao family's army was strong and they killed the guardian twice. The Usami family could not defeat it and had to surrender.
She represents the subjugated faction in her family. These people are veteran guardians and have been subdued by the Nagao family's military power. They cannot be said to be loyal.
Terutora Uesugi gave full respect to Usami just to win over the old guardian ministers in the Sino-Vietnamese area, which can be regarded as a strategy of using one to control another.
This time when she went to Luo, the power of domestic affairs was in the hands of Naoe Keizuna, and the standing army was commanded by Kakizaki Keie.
Usami Dingmankong has the reputation of assisting the government, but her power is only to monitor the old ministers of China and Vietnam, and to promote the people of Northern China. This is to treat her as a slave.
If you offend too many people, sooner or later you will die a bad death.
For her, if Terutora Uesugi succeeds in going to Luo, he will transform from Nagao into the governor of the Uesugi family, and they, the old ministers of the Uesugi family, will recognize him.
But now, let’s wait until Terutora Uesugi comes back alive.
Usami remained silent, but Naoe Keizuna glanced at her and spoke.
"In the name of spring plowing, the Shii Ming family sealed off the country's borders and strictly prohibited the mobilization of military forces, which affected farming.
If the standing army crosses the border, the logistics may take some time to prepare, and we also need to communicate with the Shiina family about the entry."
Naoe Keitsuna is a third-generation veteran of the Nagao family in the mansion. He focuses on domestic affairs and is Uesugi Teruhora's assistant in internal affairs.
She is different from the Kakizaki Kageie who belongs to the family governor's cronies, and she is also different from Usami Sadamitsu who belongs to the subjugation faction. She is a member of the Genedai family retainers group.
Uesugi Teruhora took Uesugi Kensei under his wing, with the intention of changing Nagao into a top shirt and occupying the position of leader of the Kanto region. There were also differences within the retainer group.
However, the Nagao retainers were still loyal to the family governor, and she was willing to support the Kakizaki Kei family's request to send troops, but it was difficult to send troops quickly.
Kakizaki Kage became anxious when he heard this and shouted.
"If the governor is trapped in Yuezhong for a day, he will be in danger for a day. How can he wait.
Xinchuan County in Yuezhong didn't cede the cities along the way to my family, so why couldn't they send troops immediately?
Since the city already belongs to my family, do we still need the Shiina family’s approval?”
Naoe Keizuna gave a helpless explanation.
"There is no problem in sending troops, but the governor only agreed to take over the city at the end of last year, so it is still an isolated city for the time being.
Without the support of the Shiina family, where would the farmers and soldiers for logistics and transportation be?
Now is the spring plowing season, and the mobilization of grain and grass near Chunri Mountain City, as well as the transportation of farmers and soldiers, all have to squeeze manpower to appease the lower class, not to mention the Yuezhong side."
The problem of sending troops is not the standing military strength, but when the supply lines can be arranged.
The Uesugi family had just taken control of some cities in Ezhong Shinkawa County, and had not yet accepted the allegiance of the samurai clan and land servants in the local villages.
Even if they were forced to do so, they could not accept it because everyone was plowing in the spring and manpower was tight.
Spring plowing is the top priority of the Wu family, and no one will compromise on this matter.
Unless the Shiina family comes forward and coordinates the mobilization of some off-duty ashigaru, the city over there will be blind and deaf, just leaving some of the city's defenders in a daze.
Usami Sadamitsu, who was on the side, suddenly spoke and said.
"Recently, China has become more and more unstable. I don't know where the news leaked that the governor of the family, Shangluo, is not in the country.
The troops from the Yangbei and the Central Yue tribes all made unusual movements, and were temporarily suppressed by the important matters of spring plowing.
I'm worried that after the spring plowing, they will mobilize and start a rebellion."
The atmosphere turned cold with her few words, and the situation in Echigo was not optimistic. If the governor did not come back, the situation would be difficult to deal with.
Kakizaki Keie cheered up.
"The family governor will not sit still and wait for death. He will definitely break through Yuezhong and return with all his strength.
Please also ask Mr. Naoe to step up the preparation of supplies and communicate with the Shiina family so that I can set out as soon as possible to respond.
I heard that the shogunate sent Governor Shiba to read out the imperial edict and help him stabilize Echigo.
When the time comes that my family will have a righteous name, and with the bravery of the family superintendent, these young children will surely surrender and will not dare to have any different intentions again."
Naoe Keizuna and Usami Sadaman didn't respond to her words, and they both disagreed.
The Shiba family has fallen into decline, and it is simply unheard of that the current head of the family is a man.
Kanto is far away from Japan, so news is not smooth. Even if they heard about Shiba Kenshin, they would laugh it off and not take it seriously.
The shogunate could not solve Echigo's problem because it was not only about his status, but also Uesugi Terutora's superb military talent and poor political methods.
Both important ministers once stood in the position of the Nagao family in the palace and advised Uesugi Teruhora on domestic policy, but the results were very bad.
The governor is too superstitious about his own force. Under strong pressure, he can stabilize the situation for a while, but cannot solve the fundamental problem.
But it's not appropriate to talk about this at this time, let's wait until the governor returns.
