On the road, they happened to meet the pinned Hojo Takahiro and the seriously injured Hojo Takamasa. The pity and mocking eyes of the two brothers and their cronies made Hojo Takahiro go crazy. He kept yelling and screaming.
He cursed the two of them loudly for not having the dignity of a warrior, and for their heinous crimes, and wanted to fight them both to the death.
As Hojo Castle got closer and closer, his loud curses turned into begging, as if he couldn't bear to be captured with such humiliating treatment. He begged them to give him a decent prisoner treatment, at least let him stand up and walk back.
But after talking for a long time, they still didn't turn around and showed no intention of stopping. The dignified head of the Mori Hojo family could only cry loudly, crying hoarsely, as if he was deeply wronged.
Dragging the captives back to Hojo Castle along the way attracted the attention of many samurai. Seeing the winking expressions of Takigawa Tokimasu and Shima Tokikatsu, and seeing Hojo Takahiro crying, you knew what kind of mischief these two guys were up to.
The samurai tacitly pretended not to see it, and allowed the prisoners of the Hojo family to watch the governor being dragged away. Only they knew what they felt in their hearts.
At this time, the fire had already been put out, and they crossed the dilapidated Otemon gate and came to the main wheel. This is where the Honmaru Castle Tower is located. The relatives of the Hojo family were sent back to their original buildings for surveillance. The samurai of the Kira family were not there yet.
As for embarrassment for these old, weak, women and children, they only locked them up if they had enough food and clothing, and did not do anything more extreme.
Hojo Yoshihiro of Nanjo Castle had surrendered earlier. The old samurai seemed very disciplined. He sat in the castle tower without saying a word, waiting for the order to commit seppuku to protect the family. In the end, Kira Yoshihiro was just lighthearted.
Let him feel at ease and not embarrass the Mori Hojo clan's promise.
Standing on the terrace of the castle tower, I saw two warriors running in from a distance dragging a wailing prisoner. I didn’t need to guess who did the good deed. Kira Yoshitoki could only shake his head and said with a bitter smile: "
These two bastards are so bold that they will cause trouble for our family, but let’s just think of it as teaching Hojo Tango a lesson! Yahachiro! Go and save Tango.”
"Ha!" Honda was running down at a trot. After a while, several people escorted Hojo Takahiro, who had stripped off his armor and was only wearing a samurai uniform, and stumbled in. His hair and face were covered with dust. If it hadn't been for the
Wearing a warrior uniform, I really thought he was an old farmer who had fled somewhere.
When Kira Yoshi arrived, he stood on the terrace with his hands behind his back and admired the mountains in the distance. Under the setting sun, the Nagao family's cavalry drove the prisoners back one after another. At this time, the Kira family's samurai also came to the castle tower one after another, taking off their helmets to reveal their faces.
It's true. Many people began to admire today's victory. The cavalry and infantry fought in two directions and defeated a total of 2,000 troops from both internal and external directions at the cost of only dozens of minor injuries. This is indeed something to be proud of.
Nagao Kageren and Nagao Kagenao also brought a group of retainers to attend the post-war evaluation meeting. Also escorted were the white-haired Hojo Yoshihiro, Hojo Couture and the unlucky Hojo Takamasa.
He was still receiving treatment for his serious illness, and he had no intention of embarrassing the relatives of the Hojo family. Even Hojo Yoshihiro was invited to listen to the winner's declaration of victory. In fact, only two brothers, Takahiro Hojo and Takasada Hojo, had to be dealt with.
At this time, the hall was gradually filled with Kira's retainers, including Nagao Keiren and other samurai from the Nagao family. Kira turned around and looked at Hojo Takahiro, and suddenly laughed and said: "Does Hojo Tango still recognize my family?"
"
The panic-stricken Hojo Takahiro almost collapsed with excitement. He barely suppressed the uneasiness in his heart and said with a smile: "Of course I recognize it! I, Takahiro, admire the heroic appearance of Takeeden. I, Takahiro, admire Takeeden very much!"
"Ahem!" Tokiyoshi Takigawa coughed twice on purpose, causing Takahiro Hojo to close his mouth in embarrassment and curse inwardly: "This little bastard is so disgusting!"
Kira Yoshitoki didn't care about his expression, walked slowly to his side, waved his folding fan and whispered softly: "Hojo Tango must already know Kasugayama Castle's actions, right?"
"Yes, I know... If I had known that Wu Weidenian was the lord of the country, I would never have raised the flag of rebellion." Hojo Takahiro did not dare to look back. He could only wipe the dust off his face and smile. This performance made
Nagao Kageren and others were amazed.
He couldn't control so much. This time, the person he provoked was not the familiar Nagao Kagetora but the son-in-law of the Nagao family. Based on Kira Yoshitoki's indifferent criticism of Takigawa Tokiyoshi, he could also guess that this was the case.
Most of the time it can't be done well.
"That's not what I want to say!" Yoshiki Kira slowly walked up behind him and looked down at the kneeling Hojo Takahiro: "My superior, the Ashikaga family's laws are different from those of the Nagao family. I maintain the majesty of the orthodox shogunate of the samurai family for my subordinates.
Ask No. 1, does Hojo Tango know what betrayal means in the eyes of my family?"
"No... I don't know." Hojo Takahiro replied panicked with sweat dripping down his face.
"Yahachiro, tell him."
Honda Toki was coughing and sneered: "The law followed by our Kira family is zero tolerance for rebellion. Does Tango Morden understand what zero tolerance means? Tango Morden please use your imagination."
"Zero tolerance..." Hojo Takahiro was so frightened that he sweated. This word didn't look like a good adjective. If you think about it carefully, you can guess that zero tolerance means no tolerance. What does no tolerance mean? He couldn't help but
A chill ran down my spine: "Are we going to die? Perhaps only death can provide relief!"
At this point, Hojo Takahiro began to regret his despicable escape again. No matter the reason was to be scared or shameless, the result was the same. Now he really had no shame to see his uncle and two younger brothers. He even felt like he wished he had just been there.
Just the urge to fight to death, but unfortunately you can't turn back time, and you can never get back what you missed.
"Hojo Tango has figured it out, right?" He leaned over and looked at Hojo Takahiro, whose expression was constantly changing. Kira Yoshitoki's expression also changed, and he asked in a stern tone: "After Oe Hiroyuki, the direct descendants of the Oe Mori family
Maori Gaoguang, is that you?"
Hojo Takahiro said ignorantly: "Yes!"
Kira Yoshiki raised his head and shouted to the samurai in the hall: "Who is Oe Hiromoto? Answer me!"
Three members of the Hojo Mori family in the hall subconsciously replied: "The powerful imperial family of the Kamakura shogunate."
Kira Yoshitoshi slowly turned to the back of Hojo Takahiro and asked in a cold voice: "Who are you? What is your origin?"
"I, I am Lord Mouri Hojo, a direct descendant of Oe Mouri clan..." Hojo Takahiro was sweating profusely, and he seemed to realize something bad was going on.
"Then do you know who I am?"
"You are Wuweidian." Hojo Takahiro replied in panic.
"Wrong! You are all wrong! You are so wrong!" Kira Yoshi was furious and kicked Hojo Takahiro in the back and knocked him to the ground.
Both Nagao Kageren, Nagao Kagenao and others in the hall, as well as the uncle and nephew from the Mori family, all looked shocked. For a samurai, personal dignity cannot be trampled on, but this Takeiden actually had no face and kicked him
Takahiro Hojo is simply sensational.
But seeing the disapproval of the Kira family samurai, and remembering the arrogant behavior of dragging Hojo Takahiro, Nagao Keiren also calmed down and thought to himself: "Perhaps only this unconventional Wu Weiden can control these things.
Restless countrymen!"
"Are you going to ask me why? Huh?" Kira Yoshitoki sneered and walked over step by step. He looked at Hojo Takahiro who was lying on the ground and struggling slowly. He directly grabbed the rope that tied him and dragged him to the wall, pointing at
The four flags hanging on the wall opposite asked: "Answer me what are these?"
Hojo Takahiro was already frightened, and said tremblingly: "This is the Ashikaga family's crest flag! This is the Goschi-giri flag, this is the chrysanthemum pattern flag, this is... the imperial flag of the Wuweiden."
Kira Yoshitoshi's expression was ferocious, he patted the white flag print on the wall and shouted at Hojo Takahiro: "Answer me, who am I? What is this! Tell me!"
"You are... Ashikaga Kamisuzaburo Yoshitoki! That's the Ashikaga White Flag!" Hojo Takahiro's legs went weak and he couldn't even find the strength to sit up.
"Very good! You still know how to admit that it is the Ashikaga white flag! It means you can still be saved!" Kira Yoshihi finally smiled, waved to let the samurai untie the rope for him, restored his original calm and calm expression, and glanced at the shocked people.
The Wu family in the hall slowly sat down, as if nothing happened just now.
"Mouri Takahiro, since you know who my family is, do you still remember what this flag means?"
"It means..." Such a big jump question, not to mention Hojo Takahiro couldn't answer it, even Nagao Kageren didn't know the reason, and for a while he didn't know what Kira Yoshiki was going to say.
"What? You can't answer it?" Honda Toki was smiling contemptuously and answered for him: "The imperial family gate of the Ashikaga clan, the pillar of the Genji family in Kawachi. This imperial flag was given to me by His Highness Kōkata in his own handwriting. I can use the Ashikaga white flag.
"Use it, do you understand? You still know that this samurai family is the samurai family of the Genji, and you are the ministers of Ashikaga, but you still don't understand!"
"Buueden..." Nagao Kageren's expression changed after hearing this. He had never thought about this relationship in detail. In theory, the whole of Japan is an Ashikaga retainer, but how long has it been since the Ashikaga white flag was flying in Kanto? Who can remember that it was a hundred years?
Or two hundred years? Long enough for them to forget all their glory.
And at this moment, Kira Yoshitoki once again raised the Fuyin Ryōgo flag, which meant that an Ashikaga army would appear in Hokuriku and even Kanto, making Kanto people like them tremble.
"Mouri Takahiro! You are a minister of my Genji family? Do you still recognize the white flag of my Ashikaga family? You! Do you still know what it means to betray my Ashikaga family?" This roar was like spring thunder, and the rolling thunder filled my ears.
, Hojo Takahiro was so shaken that he sat paralyzed on the ground, his whole body shaking like chaff. How could a rich man like him have ever seen such a battle?
When Mr. Hojo Yoshihiro heard these heart-wrenching words, he fainted without even taking a breath. Hojo Gaodada pulled his uncle and asked for help everywhere in panic: "Save my uncle! Please, my uncle is...
A loyal and reliable warrior, he has never thought of betrayal, never!"
Two samurai from the Kira family came over quickly, and without saying a word, they helped Hojo Yoshihiro to go down for treatment. Hojo Couture didn't even look at his brother from the beginning to the end. He lowered his head and helped his uncle up and hurried down. When he saw
At this scene, Honda Tokimasa laughed secretly and said: "The Hojo Mori family is completely finished!"
The warriors of the Nagao family couldn't help but sweat profusely. This was the first time in their lives that they had seen this level of interrogation. No one would have thought that the matter would be so serious. There was a time when the samurai family could rise to the level starting from the merits of their ancestors.
The level of regulation has never been so harsh even during the Northern and Southern Dynasties.
"Mouri Takahiro, do you still recognize me, the Ashikaga clan, as the pillar of the Genji family?"
"Admit it!" Hojo Takahiro said with a hint of crying.
"Then your founder Oe Hōgen and below are members of my Minamoto family, and your right horsehead Mourimoto is your branch and a loyal minister of my Ashikaga family! And why did you betray my Ashikaga family? Why!"
"I didn't! I didn't!" Hojo Takahiro hit his forehead on the ground and kept kowtowing. After a while, his forehead was bruised.
"You still say no? You and other Echigo people do not respect the laws of the shogunate and act recklessly. How dare you make excuses when I catch you today?"
"I really don't! Please spare me the Maori clan, Takeeden, and I, Takahiro, am willing to commit seppuku! Please!" Hojo Takahiro was so frightened that Kira Yoshitoki's posture was not as simple as letting him die alone.
Basically, the Maori tribe was removed from the roots and labeled as rebellious, so that he could face his dead ancestors. His father and ancestors would not let him go even if they were in hell.
"I, Kosada, would like to commit seppuku and apologize! Please be kind to Wuweidian and bypass my Maori clan!" Hojo Kosada also put aside his prejudices and kowtowed along with his brother.
Nagao Keiren tried to remind him to stop, but he retracted his words. What qualifications did the Nagao family have to interfere in this matter? It was his family business to punish the judge, and the Nagao family was just a member of the Ashikaga family.
The retainer has no position to interrupt.
"Tsk, tsk! I really pity you! How pitiful!" Kira Yoshitsune sneered: "After the dignified Oe Hiromoto and his current status, when did the samurai of Kamakura become so worthless? If you don't learn from me,
If you just follow the example of those rich and powerful people who serve you from day to day, are you still worthy of being a martial artist? Are you worthy of mentioning the glory of your fathers and ancestors?"
“Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
They have to pay for their own land, and they are rebellious for greed for a little financial and taxation rights. They put aside the morality of the samurai family for two hundred taels of gold. How can this be compared with the glory of their ancestors, the powerful samurai family during the Kamakura shogunate period.
Every samurai has a dream to achieve success in his youth. Restoring the supreme glory of his father and ancestors and letting the Oe clan regain its glory is the ultimate dream in the heart of every samurai in the Maori family. However, the reality is cruel. The harsh winter of Echigo blows away the youth.
Their last vestige of fantasy, leaving behind the cruel reality of Hongguoguo, we must either accept it and survive with difficulty, or we can only perish. (To be continued.)