March passed in the blink of an eye, and Kanto ushered in the warm and humid rainy season. With the smooth and bloodless opening of Kururi Castle, the Hojo family's attack on the Hosui Peninsula gradually reached a deadlock and was unable to extricate itself. The continuous rain not only extinguished the Hojo family's attack, but also
It put huge pressure on logistical supplies, and the high morale of the Hojo Army dropped all the way. Hojo Genan appropriately slowed down the pace of the attack.
Masaki Tokishige used his strength to prove that he was stronger than his traitorous brother Masaki Tokitada. The eight thousand troops moved back and forth in the narrow plain valley in the eastern part of Fangsui Peninsula.
Ono Castle and Shirogani Castle were also re-captured with the cooperation of the local people. The Satomi army, which had won successive victories, regained its lost morale, while the rebels retreated to their respective castle defenses with the loss of troops.
The 5,000-strong army stationed in Daofukuyama attacked Taiki Castle several times but was repulsed. Under the pressure of Masaki Tokishige, they could not even stand the Daofukuyama camp. They packed up their bags overnight and retreated to Kururi Castle to defend, which meant that they only had to go back and forth.
With the defeat of Kururi Castle, the situation in the eastern part of the Fangsui Peninsula gradually turned into a stalemate.
The war on the western front in Hojo Genan also came to a standstill. Satomi Yoshihaka of Yamadayama Castle and Satomi Yoshihiro of Sakuki Castle merged together. The 10,000 Satomi Army who were eager for revenge launched a counterattack against the 7,000 Hojo Army.
A battle started with Hojo Genan's troops near the Koito River. During the battle, the main force of the Satomi Army broke through the front line of the Hojo Army and went straight to the front of Hojo Genan's main formation. If not for the timely support of the Hojo Army from Kururi Castle, Hojo Genan might not have been able to survive.
He will be buried beside this shallow river.
In this battle, the Hojo Army lost 1,200 people, while the Satomi Army only lost less than 500 people. The Southern Kanto Army, which had experienced several unsuccessful wars, had poor armament quality and morale. Compared with Satomi Army,
The elite under Hong's command are half a level lower. If the main force of the Hojo Army had not been guarding against the strong men from the north, they would not have reached this level.
The morale of the Hojo army suffered a lot. Seeing that the situation was not going well, Hojo Genan led his army to withdraw to Kururi Castle and wait, trying to wear down the Satomi army through the consumption of troops and food in the confrontation. Anyway, as long as Hojo Genan did not retreat for one day, Satomi's righteousness
Hiroshi would never dare to disband the military service and let the peasants and soldiers go home to farm. Delaying the farming season for a long time and wasting food and grass would make the Satomi family, who already had little food, even more miserable.
It's a pity that nature doesn't work as expected. Whenever the Hojo family finally comes up with a clever idea, someone will always jump out to block their progress.
The person who jumped out this time was Satake Yoshiaki of the Kitahachi Kingdom. In addition to persuading Edo Tadamichi to attack the Oda clan, this king also played a great role in the return of Utsunomiya Hiratsuna, the lord of the Shimono Kingdom, to Utsunomiya Castle, and brought his daughter to Utsunomiya Castle.
Married to Utsunomiya Hirotsuna, and then repelled Iwaki Shigetaka's attack last year, and once again married his youngest daughter to Iwaki Shigetaka's adopted son Iwaki Chitaka.
By using clever tactics to ensure the absolute security of the seven Hitachi counties of Hitachi, he frequently interfered in the affairs of Shimono Junior High School and attacked the Shirakawa Yuki clan, and established the heyday of the Satake family for generations. The only regret was that during the Kanto Astronomical Rebellion
Furthermore, we did not get enough benefits from the second joint war between Guofu and Taiwan, which made us feel like we were returning home in vain.
This can be considered a die-hard anti-Hojo leader. When Satomi Yoshihiro was in a bitter battle, he was also paying attention to the trends in the Fangsui Peninsula. He was reluctant to lead his army on the front line to face the attack of 20,000 Hojo troops. What he could give
His support is the support of food, grass and medicine from the sea, and he also understands the principle of death of lips and teeth.
When Masaki Tokishige was invincible in the eastern part of the Indulgence Peninsula, Satake Yoshiaki's ship carried the food and grass that the Satomi family needed most and arrived outside Izumiura. This is a port close to the capital of Daxi Castle. The only obstacle is the Toki of Wanxi Castle.
Yori, Masaki Tokishige ordered his adopted son Masaki Kentoki to lead the army to besiege Manki Castle, while his second son Masaki Yorifu led the army to defend Katsuura Castle and the rebel general Masaki Tokitada could counterattack at any time.
Masaki Tokishige met with Okamoto Zentetsu, the envoy of the Satake family, at Toki Castle. This scholarly monk from the Satake family was named after another scholarly monk from the Hojo family, Itabe Okae Sekssai, and was famous throughout the Eastern Kingdom as one of the few cultural figures in Kanto.
What the two eminent monks are engaged in is diplomacy, because educated people who speak well will be treated politely wherever they go, and Zen monks can enter and exit any martial family's residence at will without fear of being captured, so it became the special diplomatic culture of the martial arts in this era.
Okamoto Zen philosopher wanted to invite Masaki Tokimo to taste the tea ceremony, and spent half an afternoon talking about the profoundness of the Zen state. After clearing away the remaining tea, he slowly said: "Masaki Daizenden is a famous samurai in Kanto, and so is the Kamizarimi clan.
We, a well-known samurai master from the Eastern Kingdom, should not be rudely attacked by the Hojo family. My lord wants to help, but the distance between the two countries is far away, and the Shimo Kingdom is beyond our reach. Therefore, I have sent some food and grass to express my support. Please see the Penal Department Hall here.
, Zhengmu Dashandian, please understand."
Masaki Tokishige hurriedly leaned over and thanked him: "On behalf of my lord, I would like to thank Satake Ukyoden for his assistance. There are not many samurai families in Kanto who can share this kind of heart. I will never forget Satake Ukyoden's support for my Satomi family. Please
Okamoto-dono would like to convey our gratitude to Ukyo-don from the Fangsu warriors."
The two of them were polite for a while before slowly changing the topic to the ongoing war in Kamisu Province. Masaki Tokishige talked about the great oppression of the Hojo Army and how sad it was that the fall of Kururi Castle was like a sharp knife that divided the Satomi family in the middle.
Second, Satomi Yoshihiro and Satomi Yoshihiro were struggling to support themselves on the front line of Saganuki Castle, while he was blocked in Daiki Castle and did not dare to take a step beyond the boundary. He was worried that if he was not careful, he would be attacked from the north and south by the Hojo Army and take away Daiki Castle.
of control.
Masaki Tokishige sighed in distress: "Nowadays, the situation of my Satomi family is getting more and more difficult. I really don't know how long I can hold on! I have been working hard day and night in these days and can't rest, and the old wounds left on my body for many years have reappeared.
If he relapses, I really don’t know how long I can hold on for my Lord.”
As the patriarch of the Satomi family, Masaki Tokishige's prestige and achievements were earned through hard-fought battles. Since he was young, he had stepped in as a savior in critical situations several times, and personally cut off the queen to fight for Satomi Yoshihiro.
Time, how many times I almost survived, leaving scars all over my body and how much blood I spilled. As my energy and blood weakened with age, my body gradually became unable to support me. Masaki Tokishige once said to his son several times, I don’t know
One day, you may fall off your galloping horse and never get up again.
Okamoto Zenzhe said in a calm tone: "In the future, the outstanding martial arts master of Daishan Palace will be a famous martial artist in Kanto to resist the attack of the Hojo family. How can he say these discouraging words? If the samurai in Kanto know the prestigious spear
If the Grand Dining Hall has to give up, many samurai will definitely express despair! So... think more about the good side and still have a chance to make a comeback."
Gun Daisen was his nickname, and his reputation was recorded in the "Soutai Night Talk" written by the God of the Northern Army. Asakura Soutei only mentioned Nagaoden, Takedaden and Masaki Daisen among the samurai of the Eastern Kingdom.
There are three people in the palace, the first two are the Dragon of Echigo, the second is the Tiger of Kai, and only he, the third one, is just a descendant of the Satomi clan and is slightly unknown.
In fact, Masaki Tokishige's military strategy is not considered to be at the top level in Kanto. If he is given an army of 30,000 men, he might be beaten by Hojo Tsunari, who even his mother does not recognize.
That is definitely the top level among the eight Kanto countries, not even inferior to the likes of Nobuharu Baba and Tomasa Iitomo. It is hard to say whether they can be compared with Kakizaki Keie and Saito Asanobu.
Military strategy can be subdivided into recruiting and commanding. The so-called recruiting refers to generals, and commanding refers to soldiers. A good general can be the commander of an army, and a good general can be a general of a town. This type of warrior is a typical general, and commanding
The only shortcoming is that he is not good at recruiting and can only be a general but not a commander. A samurai like Terutora Uesugi who is an all-round military strategist and only slightly inferior at siege will definitely not be able to find anyone else despite searching the world.
Even Takeda Shingen, the Tiger of Kai, only has a very high level of breeding, only slightly worse than Uesugi Teruhu, and his command level is relatively worse. He is not necessarily much better than Takeda Nobushige and Baba Nobharu who were paired with him, but Takeda Shingen
He is also the best in strategy and politics. He is also very good at recruiting talents, so he is very prestigious in the Jiaxin martial arts family.
Apart from his command, Masaki Tokishige was top-notch, and his martial prowess was no less than that of the young and vigorous Hojo Ushige. This was because he was getting older and his energy and blood were declining. He was not necessarily as good as Saito who was in the same year twenty years earlier.
The letterman's performance was much worse than that of Kakizaki Kage, who was of the same age but cared about his body very much.
"Keep a chance of recovery..." Hearing Okamoto Zenzhe's hint, Masaki Tokishige's eyes lit up. He looked at the learned monk who was still in his thirties and still looked like a young man in his 24s and 25s, and said hesitantly.
: "I don't know what Okamoto-dono said...how to say this?"
"The current situation in Kanto is that the Hojo family is domineering and domineering. We and the Kanto samurai have been beaten and abandoned several times after joining forces. We can only be trapped in the city of Chou and eat nothing, but it is not a long-term solution. Therefore, we need to invite some foreign aid to change Kanto.
The situation." Okamoto Zenzhe smiled slightly, put down the tea bowl and tea spoon in his hand, and lightly wrote a few words on the table with the remaining water droplets in the water cauldron.
"This is... Lord Zhenfu! His Highness the Lord of Haruyue Mountain Castle?" Masaki Tokishige's brows instantly furrowed. With his many years of military strategy and wisdom, he would certainly not forget the master of Hokuriku, but
However, he did not feel ecstatic about this. Instead, he leaned forward and whispered: "This Kōfōden is a nobleman from Kyoto. It is really inconvenient to contact someone who is not my Kanto samurai! After all, I and other Kanto samurai are loyal to Lord Furukawa."
Your Highness Fang."
"Haha! The Masaki Daisenden may not be sincere in what he said! In the past two generations, the governor of the Mi family has never been loyal to Lord Furukawa. It must be inappropriate to say this!" Okamoto Zenzhe looked at him with a half-smile, which meant:
He accused the Satomi family of provoking civil strife between Furukawa and Koyumi by supporting Lord Koyumi, and then gave the Hojo family the opportunity to contact Lord Koga and invade Kanto.
The civil strife in Kantō is nothing more than various battles between the Kantō Crown Prince and the shogunate, the Kantō Crown Prince and the Kantō lords, the Kantō lords and their own clansmen, and the Kanto Lords and their own clansmen. It may be possible because of a trivial matter.
One family would oppose the family governor, and then start a new family, and then a group of Kanto samurai families trying to make profits would join in and create a mess. This kind of drama that is not even a soap opera has been going on for more than a hundred years.
The Satomi clan of Anbo became the Satomi clan of Kamizuki because of the east wind that Xiaoyong Gongfang set up his family in. Therefore, Okamoto Zenzhe seemed to have unintentionally pierced a sentence that left Masaki Tokimo speechless. Fortunately, this person
The scholarly monk did not intend to embarrass Qian Dashan, and said: "The current Koga Kogōden is of bad conduct and has not received the martial arts education that a Kogōden should receive at all.
He slaughtered his two biological brothers as soon as he came to the throne. Such cruel methods are disgusted by the Kanto samurai family like us. What's more, Duke Furukawa married the daughter of Hojo Sagami Mamoru and became very close to the Hojo family. His behavior in recent years has all shown that
This Lord Furukawa has degenerated to the point where he was forced to be a puppet and became a willing puppet. His behavior has completely disappointed me and the Kanto samurai family!"
Apart from the few Furukawa princes who died early, the Ashikaga Haru clan, the ancestor of the Furukawa princes, also rose to prominence for a while. They joined forces with Kensei Uesugi, the governor of Yamauchi Uesugi in Kanto, and Tosada Uesugi, the governor of Ogidani Uesugi, to launch an attack on the Sagami Hojo clan.
It is a pity that the 80,000-strong army could not defeat Hojo Ujiyasu's 12,000-strong army, and in the end, he was gloriously reduced to a puppet yes-man.
Ashikaga Haruji was not willing to be a puppet. He tried to struggle several times and almost got himself trapped. After a few days of peaceful life, he accidentally fell into the well and died. To be honest, the Kanto samurai family still misses him a lot.
This high-minded yet low-minded Furukawa Kōkō, at least with him around, the Kanto samurai family would find a reason to unite.
What is going on now that Lord Furukawa and the Hojo clan are getting together? Is it a den of snakes and rats that share the same odor and collude with each other, or is he a thief who was sold as a gangster to help him count the money? It’s really hard to say clearly. In short, the Kanto samurai family basically has no regard for this Ashikaga Fujimasa.
Completely losing interest, even the few flag-waving people under Furukawa Imperial Palace were openly loyal to the Furukawa Imperial Palace, but in fact, they wrote an invitation to the Hojo family to accept the transfer.
"I probably understand what His Highness Okamoto means. Lord Furukawa cannot protect the interests of the Kanto samurai and the rest of us. Being with the Hojo family wholeheartedly has violated our bottom line. Therefore, we must abandon Lord Furukawa to welcome the Echigo magistrate.
Sir... I just don’t know if His Highness Okamoto has ever thought about it. The Lord of the Town is by no means an easy person like Lord Furukawa. He has tens of thousands of elite men and powerful generals under his command. If the Lord of the Town is invited to go south to Kanto,
It may bring about unpredictable changes!" Tokishige Masaki emphasized the emphasis on the last few words, which probably means that it is easier to invite gods than to send them away.
Okamoto Zenzhe's eyebrows wrinkled slightly and then flattened slightly. Masaki Tokishige's vigilance, clarity of mind, and precise words were somewhat beyond his expectation. At first glance, a military commander who looked like a reckless man could still understand the right and wrong twists and turns. This
The level of thought is definitely not comparable to that of ordinary warriors, it has gone far beyond the level of rough and fine.
However, the problems he mentioned were not difficult and he had been prepared for them, so he smiled and flattered lightly: "Zhengmu Dashandian is really admirable for his quick thinking. Being able to think of this level shows that Zhengmu Dashandian is not only proficient in
The commander of the army is better at planning, this is the talent of a general!"
"Your Highness Okamoto is so complimentary."
"I just wonder if Masaki Daizenden has ever thought that with the strategy of Lord Jinfu and the tens of thousands of elites under his command, he would be trapped in Echigo and not enter Kanto? What would happen if Lord Jinfu wanted to go south to Kanto?"
"This..." Masaki Tokishige hesitated: "It's hard to say! After all, things that have not happened yet are unpredictable, and there is really nothing we can do without advance knowledge."
Okamoto Zenzhe chuckled and said: "It's hard to say at first glance, but my lord's judgment is that the town master is waiting for the opportunity to prepare to go out to Kanto. The reason is that I, the Satake family, happen to have one, and I, Satake, was originally sent to live there.
The Ota Bichu Shou Yasushiden, as well as the Ota Civil Affairs Bureau Daifu Zizhengden, Mengzhen Fugong Xiangzhao has left Hitachi Fuchu and diverted to Haruyue Mountain Castle to seek support for the restoration of power. I believe Masaki Daisenden can understand this.
Make sense!"
"The two actually left Kanto for Echigo, and they were recruited by the town government... It was indeed a prelude to going south to Kanto! No! Why didn't any news about Echigo leak out? This doesn't make sense!" Masaki!
Shi Mao frowned and said: "Logically speaking, some news should be released. For example, if we send troops in May, we have to release the news two months in advance. Whether it is recruiting military service or preparing food and grass, releasing remarks to influence the enemy, we must do something accordingly."
action.”
"This is the difference between the Kira family and the Kanto samurai like us... Sorry! I made a slip of the tongue, it's the Ashikaga family." Okamoto Zenzhe didn't care how inconsistent this unapologetic apology was, Masaki Tokishige also
I understood that he meant that he didn't care about His Highness Echigo.
Attachment does not mean support, support does not mean alliance, alliance does not mean obedience, and obedience never means sincere loyalty. Sincere loyalty does not mean that Taiwan will be sincerely loyal in the future. It does not mean that future generations will be loyal, just like the former Hojo clan was loyal to Minamoto Yori.
Dynasty, and then betrayed the descendants of Minamoto no Yoritomo, personally killed the direct descendants of the Minamoto clan in Kawachi and created the first shogunate. This is the pure mentality of the Chinese people.
In the blink of an eye, the sun set in the west and the twilight became darker. The voices of the two gradually became inaudible. In the shadows, Masaki Tokishige whispered: "The shogunate itself cannot be protected. The shogunate still wants to go south to Kanto. His motives are not pure.
His thoughts are unpredictable! There’s no guarantee that he won’t become another Hojo family…maybe even worse.”
"It is hard to go against the general trend. We are like a small boat floating in the sea. We know that there is a raging storm in front of us but we have to struggle forward. The troubled times are like a ruthless flood. We are waiting for
Just like a boat going against the current and not advancing, it will retreat; if there is no way to retreat, it will only capsize and be submerged, just like the passing of the Momoi clan and Koyumi Kougata, who will completely disappear." Okamoto Zenzhe sighed, feeling a little sympathy and regret for the passing of the famous family.
Yuki joined forces to defeat many samurai families, among them the direct descendants of the Momoi clan were wiped out in this battle. The little Yumikata Ashikaga Yoshiaki and his unlucky son Ashikaga Yorijun were both tricked to death by Satomi Yoshihiro. Speaking of which,
Satomi's performance in the past thirty years can only be described as a pitfall. All wars except for his own expansion are pitfalls. Okamoto Zenzhe expressed his condolences to the unlucky little Yumikata.
Masaki Tokishige didn't even realize that Okamoto Zenzhe was criticizing what the Satomi family had done. He nodded and said, "That's right. We have no choice but to fight against the Sagami Hojo family. The Hojo family is too arrogant and domineering.
According to the rules and regulations of Kanto, they force me and my ministers to obey them without even giving us a chance to survive peacefully. It is said that the prince of the town has a similar surname. Recently, I heard that he also forced the people of Ueno and Shinano to sacrifice their lives.
When Zhi Xing Ling was changed to Wan Xing Ling, many people complained that Zhenfu Gong’s methods were too cruel, even more excessive than Hojo Ujiyasu..."
Okamoto Zenzhe said in a low voice: "The poor monk has also heard of this statement, but this rumor is very strange and strange. There is no specific person who is saying it, and the people of Ueno Country seem to be very taboo about spreading this kind of rumor.
Many people had tested these people on the way to and from Echigo, and all of them sternly denied this statement, which was very strange. The poor monk also heard a saying from the people of Ueno Province that the Duke of Jinfu seemed to
I intend to go on behalf of Furukawa..."
"Is this happening? This is really unbelievable!" Masaki Tokishige widened his eyes in surprise and said angrily: "I and the other Kanto samurai will never agree! I, the Satomi clan, will never agree!
"
"Silence! Zhengmu Dashandian must be careful! These are all rumors that have no trace. Do not spread them. The poor monk just said it casually and treated it as a rumor. If Zhengmu Dashandian spreads this nonsense, then the poor monk will
The monk will never admit it." Okamoto Zenzhe quickly made his responsibilities clear, and Masaki Tokishige nodded meaningfully.
At this time, the sun set and the room fell into a short period of darkness. Xiao Xing hurriedly came over to light the oil lamp and then hurriedly left. Masaki Tokimo showed an embarrassed expression on his painful shoulder and said: "Something went wrong, dinner will be waiting for a while."
, I have also been eating some vegetarian food recently, but I don’t know if eggs are considered vegetarian.”
"Strictly speaking, it is not a vegetarian diet, but if you are short of energy and blood in Zhengmu Dashan Hall, you can eat more to replenish your body..."
Okamoto Zenzhe slapped his head and said embarrassedly: "Look at the surname of the poor monk! Masaki Daishanden should quickly write a letter to tell Satomi Xingbuden that the situation in Shangshui Kingdom is no longer going to be solved, even with me.
The Satake family's food support can only last for three months at most. By then it will still be July before the autumn harvest, and it will take at least more than a month before the autumn harvest. There is not much food left in Shanghui Kingdom...
Masaki Daizenden should understand that if he does not ask for help from Echigo at this time, there may be no chance to ask for help. Which is more important, faith and belief in justice or survival? I hope Masaki Daizenden will consider it clearly. The family business can survive and the territory can be passed down while alive. If you die,
All that is left is a handful of loess and a few lonely graves with no one to offer sacrifices."
"this……"
"Masaki Daizendon wouldn't think of surrendering to the Hojo family, would he?"
"Is that possible..." Masaki Tokishige said hesitantly: "I'm just thinking about whether the Lord of the Town will do what he just said after he goes south to Kanto?"
"This is something you and I can't interfere with, so just keep an eye on your eyes! Besides, it's not necessarily a bad thing for the one who really takes action..." Okamoto Zenzhe said in a very determined tone: "Probably not.