Chapter 1614: A heavy blow to calm people's hearts
Yiyin casually flipped through the documents in front of him and asked.
"Is it that bad?"
Pu Sheng clan bowed.
"Hey, the statistical results are shocking.
If it weren't for His Highness Hosokawa's personal connections, we wouldn't have known that those in the Ashikaga Hui clan were living so miserable lives.
Not only do they lack food for the winter, but because of the rare winter snow this year, many houses have been destroyed. There is also a shortage of cloth, salt, and iron pots that are necessary for daily life.
As far as I know, many of them, the Hime Warriors, have over-borrowed in the castle towns in the castle town, and the situation is indeed very bad."
Yiyin frowned.
"Why didn't the entire shogunate respond at all? Only Hatakeyama Takamasa came out to help spread the word."
Pu Shengshixiang sighed.
"Sage, the Ashikaga Horsemen have always been close friends of the Ashikaga Shogun family. Now that Ashikaga is in decline, it is too late for the shogunate samurai to cut ties with each other. How many people are willing to come forward and say a word?
Although we all have friendship from our ancestors, before Shogun Nishikari and the Saint have expressed their stance, who is willing to speak out for the loyal dog of the Ashikaga family?
Even for Her Highness Hatakeyama, her intentions may not be pure, nor can they be said to be good intentions."
Yoshigan glanced at the Kamao Clan Village. Because Hatakeyama Takamasa expressed a favorable impression of Yoshigan, the Hime Warriors who were close to Yoshigan all began to dislike Hatakeyama Takamasa, and even the Kamamo Clan Village subconsciously stepped on him.
The existing samurai family of the shogunate are mainly divided into three groups. One is the die-hard loyalists of the Ashikaga family, the second is the shogunate group, and the third is the local powerful faction.
The die-hard loyalists of the Ashikaga family had been severely weakened by Oda Nobunaga as Ashikaga Yoshiteru was killed and Ashikaga Yoshiaki became chaotic.
Because Ashikaga Yoshiteru once deprived the shogunate group of their interests, the shogunate group, which mainly operated in Kyoto, was not close to the vassals of the Ashikaga family.
Ashikaga Yoshiaki ran away, and the Ashikaga Hikai people were in a difficult situation. The shogunate group looked on with cold eyes, and they may not be adding insult to injury and trying to dominate the situation.
Hatakeyama Takamasa and Hosokawa Fujitaka belong to the powerful local faction of the shogunate. They have little entanglement with the interests of Kyoto. Instead, they are willing to help the Ashikaga family members and improve their prestige in the shogunate.
Yiyin shook his head, the shogunate was corrupt, and these bastards would never let go of their secrets of fighting among themselves.
The tragic situation of the Ashikaga Hui people made Yoshigage feel unbearable. Ashikaga Yoshiaki is a bastard, and the shogunate group are also bastards.
Yiyin stood up and said.
"Ujigo, first allocate some salt, cloth, and building materials from the Shiba Military Depot around Kyoto and distribute them to the Ashikaga Hui people in need.
You should do it now, I don’t know when the next winter snow will come, so do it as soon as possible.”
"Hi!"
"Naomasa, accompany me to the town where Ashikama Hui members gather to have a look."
"Hi!"
———
The gathering place of the Ashikaga Hui is not far from the original imperial palace and belongs to the inner city circle.
The Shiba Residence was the residence given to Yoshigoshi by Ashikaga Yoshiteru. In order to show his favor, it was also in the inner circle surrounding the imperial palace.
Yiyin and his party traveled lightly, and without going too far, they saw a lively crowd queuing up to receive food in front of them.
Yiyin is more complex than Duchui. Is it true?
"Why is she here?"
Ii Naomasa sneered.
"I'm not trying to win people's hearts!
The money and food are provided by the Shiba family, and the Hosokawa family only needs to provide a list of names. But His Highness Hosokawa has been busy, and this time he really showed his face."
Yoshigan glared at Ii Naomasa.
"Be careful, who is Your Highness Hosokawa? Is it your turn to make irresponsible remarks? Your temper is getting more and more outrageous. Go back and find a quiet room by yourself to think about it for a long time."
Ii Naomasa curled his lips and bowed unwillingly to obey his orders. Yoshigan sighed, feeling helpless towards his upright confidant.
Hosokawa Fujitaka's high profile was only approved by Yoshinobu, and it was regarded as a sweetener given by Yoshinobu.
There are many things that the Shiba family can do in Nishikon without the help of the Izumi-Hosokawa family. Hosokawa Fujitaka's position in the Izumi-Hosokawa family is stable and his prestige is rising, which is beneficial to Yoshigan.
Yoshigan saw from a distance that Hosokawa Fujitaka seemed to be dealing with something and said.
"Let's go see what Fujitaka Hosokawa is up to."
When Yiyin approached, a group of people saw the family crests on the clothes of the Tongxin people and immediately bowed to separate the way. Many people even knelt down and kowtowed on the spot to thank the saint for the food.
"Saint! The saint is here!"
Hosokawa Fujitaka heard the shout of the saint behind him, turned around and saw Yoshigan walking towards him, his face became embarrassed.
She was dealing with a difficult matter and didn't want the saint to see her difficulties.
Yoshigan glanced at Hosokawa Fujitaka's embarrassed expression and asked.
"What happened?"
After Hosokawa Fujitaka bowed, he snorted to both parties present and said.
"Speak to the saint yourselves."
Yiyin looked over and saw that each of the entangled parties was occupying one side. On one end was a Ji warrior with a little boy, and on the other was a fat old woman followed by two Ji warriors.
Warrior Ji, who was taking the little boy with him, didn't mind the muddy and dirty ground, so he pulled the little boy to the ground and kowtowed, saying.
"Foreign ministers, the grass is tall and heavy, and they have seen saints."
"Xiao Shi has seen the saint."
The fat woman on the other side looked at the rotten ground, her brows furrowed, and she was unwilling to kneel down. The two Ji warriors behind her quickly followed her and knelt down.
"Kamemaru has seen the saint."
"Ah Liang, Ah Shan, I have seen the saint."
Yiyin nodded.
"Everyone, get up. What happened?"
Boss Kamemaru bowed his head and said.
"Sage, it's actually not a big deal. Da Cao Ji borrowed a lot of money and food from my barn, and I'm asking her for it right now."
Da Cao Gao gritted his teeth and said.
"Sage, it's me who owes money and food, but she wants to take all the rations distributed this time. It's really too much."
Before Yoshigan could speak, Kamemaru had already cursed.
"Obviously you said it yourself. You swore on the name of your ancestors. As long as you give me money and food, you will pay me back immediately. Why, you don't admit it now?"
Naomasa Ii raised his eyebrows and cursed.
"Presumptuous! The saint didn't ask questions, how could he allow you to talk too much!"
Boss Kamemaru turned pale with fright and became silent.
Yiyin frowned. There was something wrong with the owner of the Tucang. When ordinary merchants saw Warrior Ji, they would not dare to be so arrogant even if they asked for money or food.
He glanced at Hosokawa Fujitaka, who came close to his ear and said.
"The Ninagawa family's earthen warehouse."
Yiyin nodded slightly.
It turns out that Kamemaru's boss was lending money for Ninagawa himself, and he was backed by a big boss. No wonder he dared to reason in front of the Ashikaga people.
Thinking about it, Kyoto has always been the interest of the shogunate group, and the Tukura that can lend money in the castle town of Kyoto must be related to the shogunate group.
Yoshigan looked at Kamemaru and said calmly.
"Which family are you a Ji Samurai? Kamemaru is your alias for Miao?"
Boss Kamemaru felt a little bad in his heart and forced himself to answer.
"Back to the saint, Cao Min is not a warrior, he is just a businessman."
Yiyin said coldly.
"Since you're not Ji Ji, how dare you disrespect me?
Ohgusa has been serving the Shogun for generations, and Ohgusa is a member of the Ashikaga clan, shouldn't you call me "sir?"
Yiyin has been fighting for eight years and has been invincible. With the power of a man in a position of authority, how could Boss Kamemaru be able to stop him?
Boss Kamemaru turned pale and murmured. He was speechless in front of Yoshigan.
Yiyin stopped paying attention to her, turned to look at the tall grass, and said softly.
"Da Cao Ji, how much food do you owe her?"
Dacao Gaozhong was silent for a moment and said.
"When I borrowed it, it was two dan. Now with the interest, it's already five dan."
Yiyin nodded and understood.
Shiba Welfare provides a total of six koku a year, and three koku of food stamps are issued half a year. This time, Yoshino Bank allocates three koku of welfare grains to Ashikama Huizhong to provide real food for emergency relief.
Even if all three kilograms of grain were given to Kamemaru's boss, he still wouldn't be able to pay off the debt. The grass was tall and the whole family was hungry, so they would definitely not be able to survive this winter.
No wonder Da Cao Gao Chong was embarrassed by the loss of his family name and refused to let Boss Kamemaru take away the food.
Yoshigami glanced at the ugly-looking Hosokawa Fujitaka, thinking that she didn't want any unpleasantness to happen to Ninagawa himself, so she and Shini acted as peacemakers for both parties.
Unexpectedly, Yoshigan appeared at this moment and saw Hosokawa Fujitaka helping the businessman suppress the Samurai Hime. It was really embarrassing.
Yiyin couldn't help but shake his head.
Hosokawa Fujitaka is very smart, but he is too smart. The calculations of the shogunate samurai are engraved in his bones, and sometimes he seems utilitarian and unflattering.
Yoshihiro said to Ii Naomasa.
"Take people to the castle town, pay back the money Ogusahime owes to Kamemaru's boss, and get the IOU back.
By the way, I will ask other earth warehouses in the castle town to buy back all the IOUs from the Ashikaga Hui clan for the past two years, and the money and food will be paid out of my private treasury."
Ii Naomasa's eyes were full of murderous intent, and he glanced at Kamemaru, which frightened her face that had been smiling so brightly.
Yiyin frowned.
"Go quickly!"
After Ii Naomasa bowed, he left reluctantly. Daocao stood tall and tall, his lips trembling with gratitude, and he didn't know what to say.
In the past two years, due to Ashikaga Yoshiaki's salary arrears, there were 500 people in the Ashikaga Hui community, and almost everyone borrowed money from the castle town to survive.
At this time, Yiyin had wiped out all the money and food they had owed in the past two years.
The Ji warriors around him whispered to each other, spreading the good news quickly, and no one knew who shouted first.
“Saint onboard!”
This sound seemed to ignite everyone's enthusiasm, and the Ji warriors present almost made a wave of noise, shouting over and over again.
"Sage onboard! Onboard! Onboard!"
Boss Kamemaru, who seemed out of place in the noise, felt uncomfortable all over. She bowed and wanted to leave, but was blocked back by the crowd.
As soon as Yiyin stretched out his hand, the shouting Ji warriors immediately responded, as if they were Yiyin's most loyal subordinates and completely obeyed Yiyin's orders.
Glancing at the pale-faced Boss Kamemaru, Yoshigan said.
"Don't leave in a hurry. Now that the debt issue has been settled, it's your turn to do things without distinction.
At the foot of Kyoto, at the center of the shogunate, the laws of the samurai family do not allow for frivolous provocation. Today, such a bad incident of provoking businessmen and trampling on the dignity of the samurai family is intolerable.
Someone come!”
"exist!"
The surrounding Ashikaga warriors responded together, including Ogusa Takagi who was standing at the front, all waiting for Yoshigami's instructions.
Yoshigan pointed at Kamemaru's face, which was paler than a dead man, and said calmly.
"We captured three of them and ransacked this guy's house. We took all the family members to the bank of Kamogawa River and beheaded them in public. Their bodies were exposed for three days to serve as a warning to others."
Before Yoshigan finished speaking, Kamemaru had already fallen to the ground, crying.
"Sage, spare your life! I am... I am... Qin..."
Yiyin shouted loudly.
"I don't care who you are!
The Ashikaga Horsemen are loyal and resolute, and stick to their duties. They are a model of justice for the samurai family in the world. Their dignity cannot be shamed! Their family name cannot be trampled on!
Come on! Take it!"
Boss Kamemaru had already fallen to the ground and did not dare to resist, but the two wild samurai behind her were fierce and wanted to draw their swords in order to survive.
Da Cao was tall and heavy, with quick eyesight and quick hands, and he used the sword-drawing technique to cut off the wrist of a man who was drawing a sword.
Then he shrank and stabbed directly into the other person's arms, piercing the heart with the knife, stirring it up like venting hatred, and smashing his heart into pieces.
A group of Ji warriors around him applauded, and Dacao's masterful swordsmanship and extremely quick reactions attracted applause.
At the same time, Yoshigami grabbed Tachibana Kanade's wrist, looked at the three-eyed gun in her hand before she could light it, and cursed.
"How many times have I told you? Don't suddenly shoot me next to my ear. My eardrums can't stand it! Don't you have a knife?"
Lihua Zuo curled his lips.
"For musket effect."
Yiyin spat.
"What the hell, it's not a revolver. What's better than a fire door gun?"
"Sage, what is a revolver?"
"How did I know? Let's talk about it in three hundred years!"
Yoshigami cursed Tachibana Kanou casually, but in his heart he was angry with Ninagawa and other greedy ministers. Are they crazy about money?
The earthen warehouse opened by the shogunate in Kyoto is forcing the Ashikaga warriors to go to a dead end, and that is a total of five hundred Hime samurai!
In recent times, Sibo had a territory of 200,000 shi, and the registered retainers of Sibo were only 1,500.
If the Ashikaga Hui people are really driven into desperation, Yoshigan can't even imagine what Kyoto will look like. It might turn into a hell on earth.
As a last resort, Yoshigan could only take back those IOUs as soon as possible and kill Kamemaru and his entire family so that the Ashikaga clan could vent their anger.
To be honest, Yiyin is not trying to win people's hearts at this time, he is really afraid of the riots in Kyoto.
The total number of Shiba family's garrison in Kyoto does not include five hundred Hime warriors. If five hundred desperate Hime warriors suddenly appeared from the inner city, just thinking about that scene would make Yoshigan break into a cold sweat.
Those short-sighted ministers, do they know what they are doing?