In early spring, in February, the ice and snow melted, and the rivers thawed. It was another beautiful spring with flowers blooming, grass growing, and warblers flying. Echigo, which had been frozen for several months, seemed like a giant slowly waking up, radiating powerful vitality at a speed visible to the naked eye.
In almost every village in the Echigo wilderness, there is a group of young children carrying wooden guns and diligently practicing assassination in front of the grain drying field at the head of the village.
This is the reserve force of the Kira family. Young men between the ages of thirteen and twenty from each village must serve as a reserve force for one to three months according to the regulations. The outstanding ones will be selected by the old priests of each village based on their performance.
The young people were undergoing secondary intensive training. This secondary intensive training was not held at the head of their own village, but gathered at the military camp outside Kasugayama Castle.
There are hundreds of large and small villages like this. The small ones have three to four thousand people, and the large ones have tens of thousands of people. They form a village network, covering 70% of the nearly 800,000 people in Echigo. How big are the reserve military services provided?
There are 85,000 people. Of course, the Kira Army does not need so many little kids to go through life and death.
The original intention of having these young people take one to three months of reserve service every year is to maintain strong morale and combat effectiveness. Anyway, the Kira family has too much food to eat, so feeding these young people for a few months should be used to strengthen their physical fitness.
Life in Echigo has been getting better and better in recent years, but it is still rare to see meat and fish in peasant families. For Kira's homeschool reserve, he can at least eat some meat and fish every now and then, and it is very satisfying to eat every meal.
Yoshitoki Kira took a boat to inspect the construction status of Niigata Town, and encouraged Nobuyuki Matsui to continue the development of new fields. In the past few years, the development of new fields was stopped due to the total population of Echigo and lack of fertilizers. However, as these years passed, the development of new fields was stopped.
Echigo's national strength is increasing day by day, life is prosperous, and a new round of population explosion is ushering in. With the growth rate of two to thirty thousand newborns every year, the problem of food will become a problem for Echigo in the near future. At this time, farmland development
It has become an indispensable link.
Even if the population is insufficient, we must continue to open up wasteland. As long as half of the 200,000 machibu Echigo plains are used, it will be 1 million additional land. Calculated according to the average Echigo standard of three kilo per day of grain production, this will increase production by 300
Ten thousand shi of grain, even if the supply of fertilizer is insufficient, it does not matter much. Relying on two-season crop rotation and a small amount of fertilizer to maintain a production of more than two shi, this is an increase of two million shi of grain. This number can be called astonishing.
It is one thing to have insufficient manpower and insufficient fertility to plant high-yielding fields. It is another thing not to cultivate the land but to be satisfied with the existing stone height. People who do not have long-term concerns must have short-term worries. The followers of the Kira family have already understood this.
The rapid growth of population warned that at this rate, the population would exceed one million in less than ten years. However, the total population of Japan during the Eiroku period was only more than 10 million.
What is the concept of a country occupying one-tenth of the total population of the sixty-six countries? It is equivalent to saying that one of its territories is more powerful than six territories. If it needs to recruit military service, it can easily raise an army of 100,000, although doing so is in the eyes of the lord.
It is completely meaningless to come here, but for the samurai family in this era, population and land are resources. Echigo has both population and a large amount of land, and has powerful homeland defense advantages, making it an extremely difficult opponent.
During the reign of Yoshitoki Kira, Echigo only suffered several small-scale invasions. The clowns of the Ashina family, the Mogami family, the Date family, and the Echichu Jinbo family rushed into Echigo without exception and fled in embarrassment.
The people who followed were sincerely proud of their own strength, and a sense of belonging to the Kira family was quietly established.
Kasugayama Castle Castle. Kira Yoshito was sitting on the terrace, looking at the green mountains and green water outside the window, and talking about the past and the present with Konoe for a long time. A small incense cauldron in the room exuded wisps of green smoke, which made people relax. He held a tea bowl and smelled it.
There is something special about drinking tea. Konoe Maekyu is a highly educated minister. He is very good at Chinese poems, songs, paintings, and calligraphy. What is even more rare is that he is eloquent and has done a lot of research on ancient Ming Dynasty books. Kira Yoshitoki feels
Once in a relationship with a gentleman, he is treated like a spring breeze.
These two people in high positions are not just idlers. As they chatted, they always brought up the current situation. Konoe Maekaku said: "Today's world is in chaos. The prestige of the imperial court and the shogunate has been ruined by traitors, and this
The first rebellion occurred amid the great changes in the Kinai Five Kingdoms. The Kinai Miyoshi Nagakei's wolfish ambitions have long been known to the world. Last year, they formed an alliance with Echizen Asakura Kingoden, the Omi Asai clan, etc., and their power is becoming increasingly difficult to control!"
Kira Yoshitoshi waved his folding fan and said with a smile: "The Miyoshi family is only from Awa, a native of Japan. He was originally a top-ranking head of the Awa Hosokawa family. He only relied on the bravery of a few brothers from one generation to dominate the Kinai hegemony. This family suddenly prospered and could not be guaranteed.
There will be no sudden death.”
Konoe Maekyu hesitated and said: "Yoshitoki means..."
"Yu Ke didn't say anything, he just speculated on a possibility! The Miyoshi family relies on Miyoshi Changqing, and the two brothers Miyoshi Yixian support the family business. It is really unstable!" Kira Yoshi will not reveal it.
My true thoughts cannot be told to Konoe Maekyu that the changes in this region have anything to do with him.
Konoe replied for a long time: "There is a martial arts family in the Western Kingdom called the Maori clan. The leader, Maori Yuan, is an unparalleled genius. As a member of the An Yun Kingdom, he suddenly rose up and defeated Ouchi. Two great names in Nizi are trying to destroy the Western Kingdom. Your Highness Gongfang
I attach great importance to this person’s ability, but how do I view him when I don’t know his righteousness?”
"An Yun's Maori Yuanjiu! He has great abilities, but most of the Western warriors are just outsiders. From Yamana, Ouchi, to Nizi, and Maori, all of them show that the temperament of the Western warriors is comparable to that of the people of Yamashiro Country. Perhaps it is influenced by overseas factors.
Influence! Anyway, I’m not optimistic about how much this family can do.”
Kira Yoshitoki was also a self-proclaimed wise general of the shogunate, and he admired Motonari Mori's personal abilities very much, but he was not optimistic about the future achievements of the Mori family. The samurai of the Western Kingdom were as unscrupulous as the Kanto samurai, and they have always been the most loyal.
Famous places, such as the Sixth Hall or the Yin and Yang Prefecture, are all talking about them. This is simply a fantasy in the relatively conservative Kanto.
The samurai in Kanto are also unscrupulous, but what they sell is the master's desire for self-reliance. Although there are alliances, large-scale submission under the name of a samurai family has never happened. For two hundred years, the nominal ruler of Kanto has always been
The Kantō Gongfang, followed by the Kantō Administrative Region, were not like the Western Kingdom where even a single question was simply deprived of them by the shogunate.
Konoe mentioned a few more lives a while ago, but the daimyo of Kinai Tokai was dismissed by Yoshitoki Kira in a few words. He only hesitated a little when mentioning the name of Oda Nobunaga. Then he said: "This Oda
Danmasadachu is a strange person. Owari Kingdom is located in the hinterland of Tokaido. I have met him once, but I really can't understand him."
Konoe thought he was joking so he didn't take it seriously. After a while, the two of them talked and mentioned the actions in Kanto. Kira Yoshitsune took advantage of the situation and said: "Today, I will go to the Ashikaga family and bring tens of thousands of troops to Kanto in order to eradicate Kanto."
The chaos. To eliminate the shortcomings of the shogunate's inability to control Kanto for two hundred years. This battle is related to the success or failure of our Ashikaga family, and I need a lot of support from the imperial court and the shogunate!"
"This is natural. What help do you need when you don't know what to do?"
It was his words that Kira Yoshi was waiting for, and he said solemnly: "In this operation, I am determined to eliminate the scum of the Ashikaga family. That man Furukawa Lord Ashikaga Fujimasa who has repeatedly provoked me to join the Ashikaga family! Put this stupid person away."
The puppets have been completely eliminated, eliminating a potential troublemaker for the shogunate."
Konoe Maekyu thought he was asking for support in the name of crusading against Kanto. He never expected that he would make such an exaggerated request. He was so shocked that he trembled and said: "Yoshitoki means to make the Furukawa family extinct? The Furukawa Ashikaga clan
But Ashikaga Fujimasa is the only one here! This... this is no small matter!"
"Brother, you are worrying too much! This is not a big deal. The Furukawa Ashikaga family originally had five brothers. The eldest son Ashikaga Fuji was killed by the Hojo clan, and the second son Ashikaga Ume Chiyo Omaru was killed by the Kada clan. The third son is this Ashikaga.
Fujimasa. Not long after he became Lord Furukawa, he killed his two younger brothers with his own hands. What qualifications does such a vicious person have to be Lord Furukawa? He surrendered and became a puppet under the Hojo clan who killed his father and brother and his enemy.
How can we order the Kanto warriors to be loyal to the shogunate?"
In fact, Mr. Furukawa has done so many weird things that he no longer needs to collect information to attack him during Kiragi's time. He did stupid things and advised the Hojo family to rebel. He was considered a "gift" and was sent back. Later, he felt that he was against the Hojo family.
The love was not deep enough, and he took the initiative to hook up with the Miyoshi family to form an anti-Kira alliance, which almost made Hojo Ushimasa faint from anger. The Chinese people who were included in his alliance also hated this man who only shouted slogans and had no real skills.
It was to the bone that even those who were originally anti-Kira were forced not to do so anymore.
Such a weirdo is simply a pig teammate of the Kanto samurai family. This time, he is going to lead the Kira family to victory. Kira Yoshiki feels that to attack Kanto, we must focus on the key points. Whether it is targeting the Sagami Hojo clan or other Kanto daimyo, we cannot openly attack them.
Go ahead, choosing Ashikaga Fujimasa is a very good target, and to deal with Ashikaga Fujimasa, starting from personal morality is the best way to attack him.
Ashikaga Fujimasa's innate hostility towards Kira Yoshitoki had long aroused his strong dissatisfaction. This idiot's military and political strategy can be described as scum. The anti-Echigo alliance ended in an anticlimactic manner before it was even formed. Kira Yoshitoki had long disliked it.
He was standing in the position of Lord Kanto, so it was reasonable to deal with him this time.
"Although there is nothing wrong in saying that, it is Mr. Furukawa after all. Isn't it a little bit to kill him like this..." Konoe shook his head for a long time. As a traditional minister, he did not support his behavior, but it was just a hindrance.
It’s not convenient to talk about the relationship between sworn brothers and in-laws.
Kira Yoshitsune didn't have so many worries. After Claudia gave him a comprehensive spiritual baptism, he no longer cared about the threat of violating the rules. If all the martial arts names in the world followed the rules, he should be in Kyoto.
Serving His Highness honestly, being a well-known Taiping family, riding horses and walking dogs all day is more comfortable, but is the world really as simple as just following the rules? If everything is done according to the rules, how can there be the Yingren Rebellion and the Ming'an Coup?
"Brother, I was mistaken. Lord Furukawa was originally the great enemy of the shogunate. The remnants of the Ashikaga Mochi clan's Eternal Rebellion. It is up to me to kill the remnants of the Ashikaga Mochi clan now. It is to fulfill the ideal that has been unfulfilled for many years for the shogunate. If I hadn't considered
Assassinating that good-for-nothing will bring disgraceful accusations to the Ashikaga family, and this good-for-nothing has been dead for several years." Kira Yoshitoki's contempt for Ashikaga Fujimasa has reached the point of nakedness, and he completely looks down on Furukawa in his words.
The public even treated him as a dead person.
Konoe Maekaku now understood that he was obsessed with killing, and Ashikaga Fujimasa was bound to die. He sighed: "I won't ask more about this matter... I just have to say that Yoshitoki has thought about the consequences of losing Kōkō in Kanto."
What consequences will come? After all, the Eight Kingdoms of Kanto are the birthplace of the Wu family, and your killing will add some new turmoil to the world."
Kira Yoshi raised his eyebrows and said with a sly expression: "This is exactly what I want to say, the Furukawa family must be extinct. But the Kanto family will not disappear. I need my brother to do a big thing for my Ashikaga family.
, when the matter is completed, it will not only be good for me, but also good for the Kanto warrior family and even the nobles of the shogunate and the ministers of the DPRK."
Konoe leaned forward involuntarily and asked, "What's the big deal?"
"I want to turn this fake Ashikaga into a real Ashikaga! The Ashikaga family of the Kamisaki family will become the Kanto Ashikaga family, or the Kamakura Ashikaga family." Kira Yoshitoshi's eyes were bright and his face was smiling, as if he was telling a very beautiful thing.
matter.
The words came out of his mouth easily. But when they fell into the ears of Konoe Maekyu, they were no less than those of Hongzhong Dalu. He was so shocked that he trembled all over and almost fell down. Konoe Maekyu looked at him in shock.
Said: "You...you want to...His Royal Highness will never agree! Absolutely not!"
Kira Yoshi smiled disapprovingly, and suddenly retorted loudly: "His Royal Highness will definitely agree, and he must agree! I have no credit for conquering the Eastern Kingdom for the shogunate, but also hard work. In the past ten years, I have fought bloody battles several times.
To turn the tide, without the full support of Yu Fang, His Highness might still be a royal palace in Sakamoto or Kuchiki Valley!
The great chaos in Kininai is entangled for a moment, and only Yuzai is advancing all the way in the east country and achieving a series of brilliant results. At this time, if the Furukawa Imperial Palace is destroyed and the control of Kanto is seized, why can't the Kanto Ashikaga family be established! The Battle of Rakanaka Riwaka
Without the full support of the Ashikaga family, how could His Highness Minakata securely sit in the Nijo Imperial Palace? Although this was a bit excessive, I didn't think I had done anything wrong. On the contrary, it was the moment His Highness Minakata smashed the vase that impressed me deeply.
Every time I think about it, I still feel pain in my forehead!"
Konoe was restrained by his venting for a long time, and stammered: "Yoshitoki, you...you actually said such outrageous words! Aren't you afraid that I will go to His Highness and file a complaint against you?"
Kira Yoshihide smiled at him and said: "Brother, you can't! Our Ashikaga family is one and the same as Qi Lianzhi. The combination between Yu and His Highness Kōkata is too close. If the Ashikaga family and the Ashikaga Shogun family are united, both will benefit.
There are two evils. With the wisdom of my brother, I should know that the superficial peace of the shogunate is just an illusion. The slightest disturbance may push the fragile shogunate into the abyss. If Yu and His Highness Gongfang fall out at this time, it will certainly be a heavy blow to Yu.
I'm afraid it will be a bigger blow to His Highness."
"You are gambling! You have to know that His Highness has a very strong self-esteem!" Konoe laughed angrily, picked up the folding fan and knocked on the table: "You are so smart and stupid, don't you know the meaning of this disrespect for your family?"
What are you looking for? What is in front of you is not a noble and righteous path, but a bottomless road to hell!"
Ji Liangyi opened the folding fan and asked as usual: "How could it be? Just like what my brother said, I only need to raise my family status and don't want anything else! Isn't His Highness Gongfang going to give birth to a legitimate son? I would like to write again.
An oath was given to the shogunate, the imperial court, and sent to Ishikimizu Hachimangu Shrine and Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine, and I swore a solemn oath to the Great Bodhisattva Hachiman to be forever loyal to His Highness Kōkata and his legitimate sons and grandsons."
"You are playing a word trap! What if the legitimate son and grandson are not there?" Konoe Maekaku said angrily: "If you do this, you will be condemned by the world's heroes!"
Kira Yoshihide sighed and said: "Hey! Brother, why bother! How can I guarantee my affairs after death? It is not easy to be loyal for the whole life! Besides, Kamakura had several plots against the shogunate in the past, so how could I do it?
How can I ensure that the loyalty of future generations will remain unchanged for hundreds of years? If the Ashikaga Shogun family was prosperous at that time, my descendants would naturally be loyal and loyal. If the shogunate declines, even if my descendants will not replace them, how can I guarantee that they will not emerge again?
Where are Dehosokawa Masamoto and Miyoshi Nagakei?"
Konoe thought about it for a long time and sighed: "That's right! I have made the matter of raising your family status too complicated. If the shogunate is strong, everything will be easy. If it is not strong, there will be no guarantee of a coup d'état.
, or cause a scandal like the one between Sakai and Jiangzhou, which will make the relatives hate and the enemies happy!"
Kira Yoshitoshi then said: "Brother, you should be clear that the family name of the Ashikaga family I am descending from is the family title assigned by His Highness Kōkata. With this lesson learned, why not take another step forward? You are just changing the Miao character from Kira to Ashikaga, from the Shogun family.
When a clan has been transformed into an Ashikaga clan, I will never do something stupid like changing the name of Miao today and raising a rebellion tomorrow! The title of the Ashikaga clan was given to me by His Highness Kōkata. If I dare to commit rebellion, I
If you do something treasonous and stupid, His Highness can just say a word to take back your name and you will be punished by all the heroes in the world."
This statement is so reasonable and well-founded that it is irrefutable. Konoe thought about it for a long time and felt that it is indeed reasonable. The current situation of the shogunate is indeed inseparable from the help of Kira Yoshitoki. Besides, the Ashikaga family of Kamisui is a powerful force of the Ashikaga family.
The members of the family had made numerous military exploits for the Ashikaga family during the Kamakura period. If they had not been on the wrong team during the riots later, the third-in-command leader might have squeezed out one of the family members and competed with the Shiba family for the position of the elder of the writing family.
Although the blood relationship is not as close as that of the Ashikaga Riezo clan, its importance as a clan and its influence on the Ashikaga family for three hundred years cannot be underestimated. The current family governor, Kira Yoshi, has repeatedly made outstanding achievements for the shogunate.
He received special treatment and became a new Lian Zhi Zhong, but his Lian Zhi Zhong was an incomplete form. He was only given a name but could not hide the embarrassing dilemma that his Miao character was not Ashikaga.
