On the night of March 17, the fifth year of Tenmon (1536), at the fourth quarter of Hai hour, Anhara Castle in Anhara County, Suruga Province.
"Uncle?" Anhara Tadayin, the lord of Anhara Castle, saw Taiyuan Xuezhai with a torch at the top of the city, and hurriedly led him into the gate. Anhara Masamori, the father of Taiyuan Xuezhai, was the first lord of Anhara Castle, and the current lord is Anhara Masamori.
His grandson is also the nephew of Taiyuan Xuezhai, Anhara Zhongyin.
"His Royal Highness the Governor died suddenly this morning. The cause of death is unknown. It is most likely related to the third son Xuan Guanghui. He changed his name to Imagawa Ryozhen and returned to Imagawa Hall to seize the throne. He sent people to murder the fourth son. The poor monk took him and absconded here." Taiyuan.
Xue Zhai got straight to the point, and Anhara Tadayin was completely stunned by the amount of information. It took him a long time to react, and he quickly wanted to send people to prepare for the city defense.
"It's useless. If the Imagawa family's army comes, how long can the small Anhara Castle resist?" Taiyuan Xue Zhai shook his head and decisively stopped this act, "Burn the baggage in the city and take the Anhara family and all available soldiers in the city.
, follow the poor monk."
"Understood." After hearing this, Anhara Zhongyin did not hesitate and immediately followed the instructions. Half an hour later, a blazing fire ignited in Anhara City. The whole family was surrounded by more than two hundred soldiers from the Anhara family and Taiyuan Xuezhai.
Under the cover of dozens of followers, he hurriedly fled eastward.
"Master Anhara." After finally getting free, Imagawa Ujimoto couldn't help but asked Anhara Tadayin, who obeyed Taiyuan Xuezhai's words, "Master, just one word from the teacher, you burned decades of accumulation and abandoned the city to follow. This is
Why? Even if you are unwilling to report us to my third brother for the sake of fellow clan, you can still shut us out."
"Fourth Young Master, you have been following my uncle for so many years, but why haven't you understood my uncle and his abilities?" Upon hearing this, Anhara Tadayin showed a smile that reassured Imagawa Shimoto, "My uncle is already very confident. With his talents,
, we people just obey our orders, why should we think too much about it? Even my grandfather obeyed my uncle when he was alive, let alone this younger generation."
"You are so confident..." Imagawa clan sighed and looked at the fleeing team, "I don't know where the old man got his confidence."
Soon after, the group arrived at Hengshan Castle in Anhara County. The Xingjin family of Hengshan City was the natal family of Taiyuan Xuezhai's mother. With Xingjin Port as the base, they commanded the Xingjin navy of the Imagawa family and controlled Suruga shipping. Taiyuan Xuezhai entered the city and disappeared.
After a while, under the dark night, Hengshan City and Xingjin Port were also ablaze with fire like Anyuan City. The Xingjin family also took their family and abandoned the city and port to follow Taiyuan Xuezhai.
In the early morning of March 18, the fifth year of Tianwen (1536), at the fourth quarter of the Chou hour, Imagawa Pavilion.
"Report, traces of Taiyuan Xuezhai and Imagawa clan were found in Anyuan County! The Anyuan family burned the city and their supplies, and the Xingjin family burned the city and the port. They all abandoned the city and followed Taiyuan Xuezhai. The lord of Puyuan City, the Puhara Manshi
Reportedly, I saw unidentified messengers crossing the Fuji River to the east before nightfall. It is estimated that they were deployed by Taiyuan Xuezhai. However, Taiyuan Xuezhai's team has disappeared after nightfall, and I don't know where it is now."
"Go east..." After hearing the news, Imagawa Yoshizhin took a breath, feeling that the situation was gradually getting out of his control.
To the east...is Sagami Hojo.
In the early morning of March 18th, the fifth year of Tianwen (1536), in order to bypass the surveillance of Puyuan Castle, Taiyuan Xuezhai and his party traveled through mountains and rivers and finally returned to Zentoku Temple in Fuji County. Returning to this temple, Imagawa Shimoto felt as if he had lived in another world.
Normal - only one day has passed. When he set out to buy hangover medicine yesterday morning, he was just a monk who planned to spend his whole life in the company of flowers, birds, fish and insects. But a day later, he was already involved in a near-death battle for the family governor.
He was carrying and would soon be carrying the lives of more people. This sense of unreality tore at Imagawa Shimoto's will and made him extremely painful.
"Master, what are your next plans?" The head of the Xingjin family, Xingjin Zhengan, had just settled down with his family, so he hurriedly came over - and then discovered that he was actually the last one to arrive. Imagawa Ujimoto, Anhara Tadayin, Anhara
The Zhonglv brothers, Tu Yuanjing and other subordinates were already waiting in the reception room of the temple.
"Yesterday I went to Imagawakan to see the flags of the important ministers in the castle. Almost all of Nishi-Suruga and Naka-Suruga have arrived. Only the retainers and wealthy families of Higashi-Suruga have not arrived because of the long distance. Maybe they haven't confiscated them yet.
I haven't heard any news from Imagawakan, and I don't even know that the late master is dead. Therefore, I want to cut off all communication between the Kadong area east of the Fuji River and Imagawakan, and ambush all the ninjas, merchants and messengers who come and go. No one can
Let it go." Taiyuan Xuezhai revealed his extremely ambitious goal, which greatly inspired the Imagawa clan.
"But teacher, Kadong is so big and there are so many roads, how can we lock it all?" Imagawa Ujimoto was the first to raise an objection, "Higashi Suruga has big and small wealthy families with countless people in the country, and there are also big families like Katsurayama and Fuji. We only have a few hundred
How can people cope with this?"
"Disciple, what do you think I am doing as a teacher at Shande Temple?" Taiyuan Xuezhai smiled confidently, even the two beards under his nose curled up, "Why do you think the First Master recalled us who were practicing in Kyoto?
Shande Temple in Hedong? Because the Hedong area was unstable a few years ago, I secretly planned and managed the espionage here. I know all the roads in the Hedong area, the ninja strongholds, and the preferred routes of each family's messengers. I want to
What’s so difficult about the blockade?”
Having said that, Taiyuan Xuezhai spread out the map, laying out tasks one by one, one by one, one tributary, one by one, allocating troops, and deploying hundreds of men under his command without leakage. After the evaluation meeting was completed, everyone was full of confidence.
"Then let's take action. The rumors came first, and Imagawa Yoshizhen is busy dealing with them, and there are no troops to clear the traffic lines and deal with us for the time being. And this fog of intelligence is the second son left behind by me, the poor monk." Taiyuan Xuezhai waved his hand.
, and snapped his fingers in the direction of Imagawa Hall to the west:
"The poor monk will not receive a single letter from Hedong in the next five days!"
After running around all day and staying up all night, Imagawajimoto fell asleep after finishing his work. When he woke up, Imagawajimoto felt that he was smelly and muttered "It's so dirty". He hurriedly went to take a shower, but when he came back...
Finding that Taiyuan Xuezhai was not in the temple, he went down the mountain to look for it. However, on the mountain road, he happened to meet his old friend - yesterday's thief Xiao Qilang. He seemed to have returned from going up the mountain to cut firewood.
"This young master!" Koshichiro was very surprised when he saw this. He put down the firewood and was about to step forward to say thank you. However, Imagawa Shimoto had an idea and suddenly made a silencing gesture.
"I see that you have good footwork in the mountains. If you really want to thank me, why don't you do me a favor? After that, I will hire you to be my bodyguard." Imagawa Ujimoto leaned into Koshichiro's ear and whispered a few instructions.
sentence.
On March 22, the fifth year of Tenmon (1536), the rumors in the Imagawa Hall were basically under control, but Imagawa Yoshima was worried about another matter.
Since noon on the 18th, there has been no news from Suruga east of the Fuji River. Not only did not a single messenger come, but none of the messengers sent by Imagawakan returned, and the entire army was wiped out. Imagawa Yoshima couldn't help but feel a chill -
—Because the eastern part of Suruga is far away from Imagawakan and the terrain is dangerous, the relationship with the Imagawa clan has not been close enough.
Before Imagawaji Teru died suddenly, Shouguini did not send an envoy to the Hedong area to prevent the news from leaking. In other words, the Hedong area now knows nothing about what happened at Imagawakan. If Imagawaji Motowa
Taiyuan Xuezhai really fled to Hedong - then what they said may have been believed by the retainers and wealthy families in the Hedong area.
"Why can't anyone come back..." Imagawa Yoshima was puzzled. "Taiyuan Xuezhai's subordinates have joined the Anhara family and the Xingjin family. At most, they cannot exceed 500 people. With the strength of 500 people, regardless of
Why is it impossible to complete the intelligence blockade? Then... Could it be that all the retainers and lords of the Imagawa family in the Kadong area have surrendered to the Imagawa clan? That's why they neither sent messengers to Imagawakan, but also deducted all the messengers sent by Imagawakan.
Down?"
"But how can the more than 500 people brought by Imagawa Ujimoto suppress the huge Hedong area and convince the local retainers?"
Could it be...
Imagawa Yoshima felt his heart twisting, and he had to realize that what he had been most worried about might have happened.
Sagami Hojo has entered the game.
In the history of his previous life, after the Huacang Rebellion broke out, Xuan Guang Huitan (i.e. Imagawa Liangzhen) and Mei Yue Chengfang had a stalemate, but Xuan Guang Huitan preemptively attacked Mei Yue Chengfang's side. Although Mei Yue Chengfang got Shou Guini
and the support of many generations, but due to the fierce fighting of Genguang Etan's side, the situation is still between 5 and 5. What really changed the entire situation and caused Genguang Etan's army to be defeated like a mountain was the Sagami Hojo clan's dispatch of troops. They
Entering Suruga as the reinforcements of Mei Yue Chengfang, the huge military power instantly defeated Xuan Guang Huitan's party.
Is history going to repeat itself this time? Imagawa Ujimoto and Taiyuan Xuezai, who fled to Hedong, are about to repeat their old tricks and ask the Hojo family for support? If the Hojo family agrees, then what is happening now in Hedong is not surprising.
The most powerful wealthy family in the Kadong region, the head of the Katsurayama family in Katsurayama Castle in Juntō County, Hiro Katsurayama, is the adopted son of Hojo Soun's third son, and has always had a close relationship with the Hojo family. If the Hojo family sends troops to Kadō, the Katsurayama family will definitely be the first to respond.
Coupled with the military strength of Imagawa Clan and Taiyuan Xuezai, it is not surprising to suppress the entire Hedong area and call on them to submit to the Imagawa Clan's side. In other words, the reason why there is no news from the Hedong area is most likely Hojo.
The family has decided to aid Imagawa Clan and has even sent troops.
Since the Imagawakan has not yet announced the news of Imagawa Ujiteru's death and Imagawa Yoshima's succession to the entire Imagawa family, the document drafted by Sugini is still in the hands of Imagawa Yoshima - so the power of the Imagawa family in the entire Toe area is still against the
He knew nothing about the disputes between the governors and could not mobilize them. Retainers such as the Asahina family and the Sena family, whose bases were in Toe, did not have many troops stationed in the Imagawakan. In other words, Imagawa Yoshizhin had to rely on the more than 8,000 people he could mobilize.
, fighting against more than 2,000 people in the Kadong area controlled by Imagawa Ujimoto and tens of thousands of reinforcements that may be sent by the Hojo family - the odds of winning are too low.
What's more, among these 8,000 people, there are still many people who are alienated from him because of the widely circulated rumors that "Imagawa Yoshima is plotting to kill the late master", and may not necessarily be willing to fight to the death for him.
In the original history, after the Hanakura Rebellion, the Hojo family was dissatisfied with the alliance between the Imagawa family and the Takeda family and sent troops to attack Suruga. The Imagawa family, which had just experienced civil strife, was unable to resist and lost the entire river east to the Hojo family, which was known in history as the First
A Kadong Rebellion. And now, if Imagawa Ryo really wants to fight the coalition forces of the Imagawa clan and the Hojo family, the situation will only be worse than the first Kadong Rebellion in history - maybe even Imagawakan will be lost.
"We must prevent the Hojo family from supporting Imagawa Yoshimoto (Imagawa Ujimoto)..." Imagawa Yoshimoto thought silently in his heart. But if he wants to turn the Hojo family who has decided to support Imagawa Ujimoto to his side, he must give enough
Only benefits can be achieved. What can Imagawa Yoshima give?
After thinking hard, Imagawa Yoshizhin seemed to have an idea.
"Anyway, if history is not changed and Imagawa Yoshimoto succeeds to the throne, the Kadong area will soon be taken away by the Hojo family. In this case, it is better for me to cede the Kadong area to the Hojo family myself in exchange for the Hojo family.
Give up Imagawa Yoshimoto and support me. As long as I can succeed to the throne, the future will be long. Relying on my knowledge as a time traveler, it will only be a matter of time to recapture Hedong and dominate the world. If you are reluctant to let go of Hedong, then you can only watch Imagawa Yoshimoto.
After succeeding to the throne, history will return to its original state, and the direct line of the Imagawa family will face the fate of destruction..."
After thinking about it, Imagawa Yoshima no longer hesitated. He summoned his confidant Tatsuchi Yanakiro and planned to ask him to go as envoy to the Hojo family and cede the Kadong area in exchange for the support of the Hojo family. However, he ran into trouble before leaving. From Suruga
To go to Sagami, you must pass through Kadong. But the transportation line to Kadong is already under the control of Imagawa Ujimoto. What will happen if the messenger is captured?
Imagawa Yoshima stood at the head of Imagawakan Castle, looking east of Suruga. To the south of the endless mountains is the only official road from Suruga to Kanto - which has been cut off by the Imagawa clan. But to the south of the official road, there are
The endless ocean - Suruga Bay.
Imagawa Yoshizhin smiled. This was a unique advantage for time travellers. In this Middle Ages, which generally focused on land, how many people ignored the importance of sea control. In order to retreat, Taiyuan Xue Zhai actually ordered the Xingjin Navy to burn their warships and send Jun
The control of the sea in the river bend was surrendered - this was the innate prejudice that the heroes of the Warring States Period in the Middle Ages could not overcome.
"By taking the waterway, disembarking in Izu, and meeting the Hojo family, we will definitely be able to escape the blockade." Imagawa Yoshizhin ordered to Tatsuki Yanagi, "I will instigate rebellion against Hojo and bring a blow to the bottom of the cauldron for Imagawa Ujimoto and Taihara Yuksai."
"Invite the Hojo family to hunt for rebellion on the banks of the Fuji River."
