Eight hundred and ninetieth eight chapters north two lines
Hojo Ujiyasu gave in out of helplessness.
Just as Hojo Genan said, there is a severe drought in the Kanto Plain and Uesugi Teruhora is about to move south. The samurai families of Musashi and Ueno are dissatisfied with the Hojo family and may rebel at any time.
The Hojo family no longer has the energy to help the Imagawa family of Tokaido to really wipe their buttocks, and they can hardly take care of themselves.
Especially since last year, Hojo Ushiyasu has been ambitiously preparing to add the local samurai family of Ueno Musashi to the Odawara public office he created.
Once the establishment is completed, the local samurai's territory will be governed by the Hojo family's laws and officially become part of the nationalization of the Hojo family's territory.
Kanto has been in chaos for more than a hundred years, and the Kanto samurai have long been accustomed to being free. It doesn't matter if they surrender in name, but if they really have to be controlled by the Hojo family's laws, how can the local samurai be willing?
Rumors that foreigners pretending to have the Hojo Miao name are bullying us again have been secretly circulating since last year, and hostile daimyo have also added fuel to the fire.
The gunpowder pile is full, and now it is just short of a spark. Look, Teruhora Uesugi is ready to ignite the fire in the name of being the leader of Kanto.
Hojo Ujiyasu sighed, looked at his daughter Hojo Umasa, and said softly.
"I pushed the two samurai families of Musashi and Ueno too far, and misjudged that the Imagawa clan was really trapped in the quagmire of Suruga Kingdom.
Now that there is a severe drought, the Hojo family is in panic both inside and outside the house. The fault lies with me. I will write a letter of guilt to myself, take the blame and retreat.
Clan Zheng, you should be the governor of the family."
Hojo Umasa was stunned for a moment, and when he realized what he was saying, his face turned pale and he was shocked.
"Mother, the Hojo family cannot live without your leadership!"
Hojo Ujiyasu said calmly.
"When there is such a big mess and a natural disaster occurs, there must be a reasonable explanation.
Aunt, what do you think?"
Hojo Genan nodded in agreement.
"His Royal Highness Ujiyasu is right. I agree with His Majesty Ujimasa in inheriting the position of family governor and giving an explanation both internally and externally in order to appease people's hearts.
It’s just that the Hojo family cannot do without His Highness Ujiyasu, so why not retire in name only and actually help His Majesty Ujimasa take care of the family affairs?”
Hojo Genan praised Hojo Ujiyasu's strategy.
Let’s not mention the Takeda family’s affairs for the time being. The Kanto family’s eccentricity and natural disaster warnings have caused panic among the superstitious middle and lower classes. Someone has to take the blame.
Hojo Ujimasa is willing to give up the title of governor of the family and willingly take the blame. She is worthy of being a good daughter of the Hojo family. However, Hojo Ushimasa is still young and her ability is far inferior to that of the mature governor of Hojo Ujiyasu.
The Hojo retainers did not trust the immature new governor to take charge of the overall situation during this critical period of internal and external troubles. Of course, they had to retain Hojo Ujiyasu in seclusion and assist her in managing military and political affairs.
Hojo Ushimasa thought for a moment, understood the meaning of the two elders, and nodded obediently, completing the nominal handover.
She said uncertainly.
"By doing this, will we be able to appease the dissatisfied samurai families of Ueno Musashi?"
Hojo Ujiyasu sighed.
"It's not that simple. We can only stop the matter of nationalization and don't mention it again for the time being."
The Hojo family is a very special samurai group in Kanto. Its internal stability is completely different from the chaotic Kanto families.
A united family, a united retainer group, and an excellent internal affairs system have laid a solid foundation for the continuous expansion of three generations.
Just like Hojo Ushimasa took over as the governor of the family, Hojo Ujiyasu ruled in seclusion, so there would be no disturbances within the Hojo family. In other samurai groups, the situation of mother and daughter fighting for power would soon be staged.
This may be related to the tone set by the first-generation Hojo family governor, the Ise woman. The Hojo family has always known that they are outsiders, and internal disunity will end sooner or later.
When the Ise women first came to Kanto, they relied on the Hime samurai brought from Konki and their own relatives to establish a foothold in Izu.
From the first generation onwards, the Hojo family's first clan and the six clans headed by the Daidaiji family were very united. As the third generation of Hojo Ujiyasu developed, the internal relationship was still close.
The core territory of the Hojo House Governor is the western part of the Izu Kingdom and the Sagami Province, and is composed of the Mahui clan, the Izu clan and the Odawara clan directly under the clan governor.
To the east, the Hojo family constructed two lines of defense against Kanto.
From north to south, Higashi Sagami has three strongholds: Tsukui Castle, Koki Castle, and Tamana Castle. In particular, the Koki clan and the Tamado clan in the south are all led by the Hojo family clan.
The most important thing is Tamanazu, because south of Tamana Castle is Kamakura. Although Kamakura has been abandoned for a long time, Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine is still there.
Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine in Kamakura is a sacred place for the samurai family. All the Kanto generals and Kanto governors have to worship their ancestors here before officially succeeding to the throne.
The Hojo family controlled Ashikaga Yoshiji and succeeded the Kanto shogunate, and they claimed it after visiting Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine.
Terutora Uesugi, the criticized Kanto governor, was only recognized by the Kyoto shogunate and had not yet visited Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine.
After Sagami Kingdom enters Musashi Kingdom to the east, there are three main rivers, the Mota River, the Arakawa River, and the Tone River, and their tributaries, all of which lead to the sea from northwest to southeast.
The Motagawa River is close to Sagami Province, and to the southwest is the first line of defense of the Hojo family, Tsukui Castle, Koji Castle, and Tamana Castle.
The Hojo Territory north of the Motagawa River is divided into two territories, the Edo Territory in the south and the Kagotsu Territory in the north.
The two places were managed separately by the Edo clan led by Edo Castle and the Kagotsu clan led by Kawagoe Castle.
This is the Hojo family's second line of defense, because the local samurai have not yet been dealt with, and there are many loopholes in it. The forefront of the Hojo family's actual control is actually Matsuyama Castle north of Kawagoe Castle.
Using Matsuyama Castle, Kawagoe Castle, and Edo Castle as three strongholds, a second line of defense was constructed.
The Narita family of Ninja Castle before the confluence of the Tone River and the Arakawa River, the Ota family of Iwatsuki Castle, and the Ota family of Edo Castle after the confluence were all local samurai families that had recently surrendered.
Only Kagotsu Castle, the most important stronghold in the center of Musashi, is firmly in the hands of the Hojo family.
In the night battle of Kagotsu, the Hojo family defended Kagotsu Castle waiting for reinforcements, and then defeated the coalition forces of the Kanto generals and the Ryo-Uesugi family in one fell swoop, thus establishing their dominant position in the Kanto Plain.
Hojo Ujiyasu worked hard and was full of confidence in the two lines of defense he had built. These two lines were not only lines of defense, but also expansion lines for the Hojo family to encroach on the outside world.
Not mentioning Shimo, Hitachi, and Shimoso Three Kingdoms, we only talked about the northward direction of the Hojo family's penetration of Uesugi Teruhora.
Going north along the Tone River, the samurai families such as Tatebayashi Castle and Kanayama Castle in the southeastern part of Ueno Province have nominally surrendered, as have the samurai families such as Amabashi Castle and Akaashi Castle in the central part.
Nowadays, the Hojo family is fighting for the Numata family in the north of Ueno and the Nagano family in the west of Minawa Castle, hoping to completely close Uesugi Teru's door to Kanto.
Hojo Ujiyasu asked.
"Did the Numata family respond?"
Hojo Genan shook her head. As the main person in charge of the Hojo family's external affairs, she also felt helpless about this.
"Kenyasu Numata was stubborn and devoted herself to Terutora Uesugi. She could not be persuaded. In order to strengthen her determination, she even beheaded the eldest daughter who was close to my family to show her determination."