On this side, Luo Yuan was still having a headache about how to rescue the Narita clan, but on the other side, Toyotomi Hideyoshi had already begun to take action.
His first step was to transfer Ishida Mitsunari from Ninja Castle to Odawara Castle, and not only Ishida Mitsunari's headquarters was moved, Asano Nagamasa, Sanada Masayuki and others were all packed up and transferred away, leaving only
We got Nagasuke Masaie, Maeda Toshiie, and Uesugi Kagekatsu.
Nagashumasa's own territory was limited, but he was an important figure in the Advocacy faction and was highly trusted by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, so he stayed in Ninja Castle to supervise the war as the general.
This setting seems to be a bit like the Ming Dynasty's "using small to make big" style, because Maeda Toshiie and Uesugi Kagekatsu are both wealthy celebrities. If they were only left in Ninja City, Toyotomi Hideyoshi would let any of them
If one person is the general, the other person will definitely be dissatisfied.
In this case, then you both should listen to the instructions of my spokesperson. I have to say that the monkey is very familiar with this set of checks and balances.
In essence, Toyotomi Hideyoshi may have done this mainly to show his sincerity to the Sea Trade Alliance, but the chain reaction caused by this move surprised everyone.
First, the Hojo family quickly discovered that there were more flags from Ishida Mitsunari, Asano Nagamasa, Sanada Masayuki and other tribes in the encirclement of Odawara Castle. They were already full of suspicion at that time. Then, Date Masamune, who had been wandering around the border of his home to observe the situation, also discovered this.
At one point, and through the Mononomiban he sent, he discovered that the Nagashumasa family, Maeda Toshiie family, and Uesugi Kagekatsu who stayed outside Ninja Castle all expanded the encirclement a lot - in wars, the encirclement is usually tightened.
Expansion means loosening the envelope, that much is obvious.
Although Ishida Mitsunari and others took nearly half of the troops with them when they withdrew, the previous "front army" of Ninja City had once reached nearly 60,000 troops. After withdrawing half of it, there were still 30,000 troops, which was still ten times the number of defenders. Logically speaking,
It is impossible to relax the siege because of the strength of the troops.
Date Masamune judged based on this, 99% of the time it was because Toyotomi Hideyoshi had successfully mobilized Ninja Castle.
"Strategy" is a commonly used term in Japan's Warring States period. It generally refers to the use of strategies, including bribery, alienation, instigation, and internal strife. Toyotomi Hideyoshi has always been a master of strategy. Date Masamune's judgment is very good.
reasonable.
However, Date Masamune's judgment was only correct in terms of conclusion, and the process was actually completely different, but it didn't matter, as long as the result was correct - he thought that since Ninja Castle had actually changed hands, the Hojo family relied on Odawara Castle.
They cannot persist for a long time, even if the Maritime Trade Alliance gives them blood transfusions, because no crops will grow in Odawara City.
Different from the separation policy of soldiers and peasants inherited by the Toyotomi family from Oda Nobunaga, the Hojo family still has the old samurai-peasant-soldier system. It is now approaching the end of summer, and the autumn harvest will soon begin. The Hojo family only has
There is only Odawara Castle left, and the vast fertile land in Kanto has become capital in Guan Bai's hands.
Although Kanto has not yet been developed by the Tokugawa, the Hojo family, especially during the Hojo Ujiyasu era, was also famous for its agricultural administration. The grain output in the Kanto region is not low. Therefore, even if the Toyotomi army has more than 200,000, it is estimated that there will be no more in the short term.
Food shortage.
In this way, it seems that the two sides can continue to persist in the confrontation. But don't forget that since Ninja Castle has actually been lost, it means that the 30,000 troops in the hands of Maeda Toshiie and Uesugi Kagekatsu can go south at any time (Nagasu
Although Zhengjia is the general, he actually only sends 1,500 troops, which is far less than the two million-dollar elders).
In this case, Odawara Castle would face a siege of more than 200,000 troops. Even if Toyotomi Hideyoshi asked them to dismantle a brick alone, they would be able to dismantle a large section of the city wall. At this point, Date Masamune had to sigh,
The end of the Hojo family has arrived.
So Date Masamune rushed to Odawara Castle overnight to "report in" - he received Toyotomi Hideyoshi's order asking him to send troops to assist in the war, but he never responded. In fact, he just kept delaying and waiting. But now, it seems that this war
There was no more suspense, he had to make a decision.
Even though this decision made him very heartbroken.
It is said that due to the game promotion of a certain Japanese company in later generations, when mentioning the one-eyed dragon Date Masamune, many people may think of his style of fighting the local lords in southern Ou at a young age. At that time, the Ou area had been maintained intermittently.
After more than a hundred years of war, when Masamune inherited the family business in 1584, his family, the Date family, was just one of the more prestigious families. Although their strength was relatively strong, it was far from superior to other families.
family status.
As a result, it only took Masamune six years to suppress many large and small forces one by one, and almost took over the entire southern half of Fukushima Prefecture and Miyagi Prefecture (as mentioned before, Japanese counties are larger than cities).
came down, and almost completely annexed the area. This kind of rapid growth was very rare in the history of the Warring States Period, and Masamune was only twenty-four years old at that time. Unfortunately, at this time, Toyotomi Hideyoshi issued the Odawara Expedition Order
, the sword points at the Eastern Kingdom.
I think back then, five or six years before Hideyoshi sent troops to Kanto, that is, in 1584, shortly after he seized the territory of his late master Oda Nobunaga, Hideyoshi had already greeted the lords of the Ou region headed by the Date family and called for
They must understand and obey as soon as possible, otherwise I, Hideyoshi, will take action personally in the future and attack East Japan, and you will be too late.
However, Hideyoshi was far away at that time, and he himself had to conquer Shikoku, Kyushu and other places first. For the time being, he could only make gestures, talk diplomatic rhetoric, and show his teeth towards the Ou Kanto region. On the other hand, the Ou lords still remembered that year
The all-powerful Oda Nobunaga once vowed to pacify East Japan, but was assassinated by his subordinate Mitsuhide Akechi before he even sent troops.
Now that Nobunaga is dead, thanks to Hideyoshi's efforts, the chaos in Kyoto has just been calmed down. The Hojo family, the strongest force in Kanto on this side, continues to develop as usual. Compared to Kanto, the Ou area further away from Kyoto is more isolated from the world.
Isolated, the Ou lords, including Masamune, were still busy with their own wars. No one knew whether Hideyoshi could really become something big, and they couldn't care less about this "crying wolf" problem.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click the next page to continue reading the exciting content! However, unlike Nobunaga who died before leaving the army, this time, the wolf really came. Hideyoshi, who had greeted him six years ago, finally
The four countries and Kyushu were all leveled, and he completed the task that Nobunaga could not complete, and he has become a highly respected minister, second only to the Emperor Toyotomi Sekipaku.
Those famous Warring States figures who were once famous throughout Japan, such as the Shimazu family, the Chosogabe family, the Mori family, and even big figures such as Tokugawa Ieyasu and Uesugi Kagekatsu also joined the Toyotomi regime and became one of them.
So Hideyoshi finally came to East Japan to fulfill his promise and spread the news to Masamune. At this time, Masamune had accepted almost all the lords in the southern part of Mutsu Kingdom as vassals and became the belated Northeastern bully.
In Minamimutsu, no one dared to ignore Masamune's every move.
Masamune's next plan is to first cooperate with the Hojo family in Kanto and attack the common enemy of the two families, the Satake family in Hitachi Kingdom, and then join forces with the Hojo family in Kanto, and then fight to the death with the Hojo family to dominate the east.
Country - Well, maybe you can get a Kamakura official? Even if it doesn't work, you have to get a Kanto governor, right?
In this world of great strife, there is always only a thin line between allies and enemies.
Unexpectedly, before the plan to fight against the overlord of Kanto, the Hojo family, in Kanto had even been launched, the murderous Toyotomi Hideyoshi came to disrupt the situation. In addition to stating that he wanted to destroy the Hojo family who refused to surrender, he also did not forget to fight Masamune.
The look in his eyes suggested that if he didn't obey, then it would be the turn of the Hojo family and the Date family!
Not only that, after Hideyoshi decided to attack the Hojo family, he also revealed his true colors to Masamune, saying that what he wanted was no longer just a treasure, but Masamune's complete obedience. Lord Kanbai sent people to give Masamune four instructions:
First of all, stop fighting with the surrounding lords. Everything is decided by Guan Bai, and Guan Bai's decision is justice; secondly, in order to show his sincere obedience, Masamune should go to Kyoto in person to visit Guan Bai and swear allegiance; thirdly, the attack on the Hojo family is already underway.
Schedule, express your position quickly; in the end, all the treasures and treasures Guan Bai wants will be presented in full.
When Masamune received these requests, his first reaction was to ignore them. He did not refute them. He just used delaying tactics and tried not to rush to express his position, let alone act.
However, the delaying tactics were aimed at the first three requests, and Masamune responded positively to the fourth request. Falcons, horses, treasures, whatever Guan Bai asked for, he would give it to him without any nonsense or counter-offering.
On the other hand, he continued his original plan to capture the remaining parts of southern Mutsu as soon as possible. Moreover, Masamune continued to contact the Hojo family privately, preparing to surprise the Satake family and make it an established fact. Masamune felt that even in the future
If Hideyoshi really comes to settle accounts, he can openly say that he is not denying Mr. Guan Bai face, but these are the results of Mr. Guan Bai's arrival. The raw rice has been cooked for a long time. I'm really sorry.
I will never do it again in the future.
Unexpectedly, the reaction of the Hojo family greatly disappointed Date Masamune. They actually chose to completely encircle the city. To encircle the city is to defend the city, and generally speaking, this move means placing hope for reinforcements.
Where are the reinforcements? In Date Masamune's view, he was the only reinforcement the Hojo family hoped for.
But is Date Masamune willing to be this reinforcement? No. Because Date Masamune was not sure of fighting a Battle of Okehazama, and amid his hesitation, in just three months, only Odawara Castle and the Hojo family were left.
Forbearance city.
At this time, Date Masamune was ready to surrender. Unexpectedly, an accident happened. As soon as he reached the border, he heard that the Maritime Trade Alliance had sent troops to defeat Toyotomi Hidekatsu who was sent to Ishida Mitsunari as reinforcements. Lord Sekishiro's adopted son lost all his belongings.
Almost only his body was spared.
Date Masamune quickly stopped again and continued to observe the situation.
According to his idea, if the Sea Trade Alliance sides with the Hojo family, Toyotomi Hideyoshi's hometown Osaka Castle on the eastern coast of the Seto Inland Sea will immediately become extremely unsafe. With the powerful maritime power of the Sea Trade Alliance, as long as it attacks Osaka Castle
If he launches an attack, Toyotomi Hideyoshi will probably have to withdraw his troops to stabilize his capabilities, and the crisis in Kanto will naturally be resolved.
However, Date Masamune was disappointed again. What he was waiting for was Ishida Mitsunari and others leading their headquarters to transfer Odawara Castle. This shows that Toyotomi Hideyoshi believed that the problem of Ninja Castle had been basically solved, and he was going to launch the final attack on Odawara Castle.
If you don't go to express your surrender at this time, I'm afraid that if you go to Odawara Castle again, you will really have no choice but to die. Date Masamune, who had a higher heart but was born twenty years later, sighed deeply and rushed to Ishikanzan Castle overnight.
When they arrived at Ishihanzan Castle, Toyotomi Hideyoshi ordered to summon him. When he saw him, he was stunned on the spot: Date Masamune came to surrender dressed in white.
The white clothes on his body are not traditional Chinese filial piety, but are worn by high-status Japanese people before committing seppuku. Date Masamune’s meaning is simple: I am here to die.
But Toyotomi Hideyoshi did not let him die. He just criticized him, raised his killing stick high and put it down gently: he ordered him to receive the reward from Guan Bai to Ou together with the Kamao clan. Among them, Date Masamune was officially awarded Guan Bai.
The territory of 620,000 koku recognized by Shiro was sealed, and he became one of the few great names in Japan.
Date Masamune's surrender had a huge impact on Odawara Castle. The Hojo family waited a long time, but did not wait for Tokugawa Ieyasu to defect before the battle, nor did they wait for Date Masamune to send troops to fight to the death because of his death. However, Ishida Mitsunari and others resigned from the forbearance.
The transfer of the city to Odawara also shows that the power of Ninja Castle to contain the Toyotomi army has been greatly reduced.
No matter why Ninja City experienced such changes, the Hojo family believed that they could not sit still and wait for death. They first ordered the Narita clan leader to write a personal letter, ordering Ninja City to take the initiative to attack, and they must continue to attract the Toyotomi army to gather in Ninja City and reduce the
Pressure on Odawara Castle.
Then they urgently contacted the Misaki Castle Sea Trade Alliance to inquire about the situation in Ninja Castle (Gao Yunping was still in Ninja Castle), and requested another extension of the lease term of Misaki Castle - this time the Hojo family expressed their hope that the Sea Trade Alliance would pay with large tubes and iron cannons.
Unfortunately, Luo Yuan decisively refused, on the grounds that "I have not obtained the authorization from the master and cannot sell firearms."
The Hojo family realized that the situation was becoming increasingly unfavorable, and began to express vague threats: "If my family is not protected, the Misaki rent case will be like a piece of paper."
If our Hojo family is finished, the lease contract you signed with our family will be a piece of waste paper!
But Luo Yuan quickly gave them a reply. In his reply, he did not answer this vague threat at all. Instead, he proposed: If your nobles want to avoid Guan Bai Feng, the Sea Trade Alliance is willing to be hired to send them to the Celestial Empire.
At the same time, he also spoke righteously and expressed compassion for heaven and man: "We, the Maritime Trade Alliance, uphold the benevolence of heaven and want to protect the chance of the Hojo family's revival, but I hope that you will think twice and act with caution."
This reply was sent to Odawara Castle, and the Hojo family was immediately shaken. Originally, they had really planned to kill the Narita clan's long festival flag and prepare to defend Odawara Castle to show Toyotomi Hideyoshi the tenacity of the Kanto samurai. But now there is another one
On the way out, his mentality immediately changed.
On the third day of August, Hojo Ujimasa, his father and son, and the Narita clan chief quietly boarded the warship sent by the Maritime Trade Alliance and sailed away. The next day, the Hojo clan opened the city gate as ordered and led the troops to surrender.
Odawara Castle, the most fortified city in Japan that was said to never fall, fell. Toyotomi Hideyoshi sent people to search for the clan government, but his father and son could not find it. He knew that he would be picked up by the Maritime Trade Alliance, but he knew that now was not the time to fall out.
, so he simply showed tolerance and didn't kill anyone, but only ordered the confiscation of the Hojo family's territory.
The next day, Toyotomi Hideyoshi of Japan's Kanbai announced: Tokugawa Jiro Saburomoto, the court official Ieyasu, was transferred to Kanto, and the Hojo clan was granted the title of Yuan Hojo except for Misaki Castle and Tamana Castle, and remained the internal minister;
Nabo Castle was assigned to the Toyotomi clan and the force. The original leader of Ninja Castle was renamed to the Tokugawa clan, and the clan leader was changed to Sagamimomoru. The contract signed by the Beiyang Maritime Trade Alliance and the Hojo clan was recognized as legal and valid. After the expiration of the former contract, it shall be with
The Toyotomi family will discuss contract renewal again...
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PS: I brewed two bags of coffee in advance today and finally fell asleep without typing...