Hojo Ujiyasu raised heavy eyes and glanced at his legitimate daughter Hojo Umasa under the seat.
She was in her early twenties, a time when she was in the prime of life. She argued vigorously and vigorously with the retainers, and her youth was invincible.
He looked at his daughter's pretty young face, and then looked at the skin on the back of his hands that was gradually withering, with the veins popping up like old tree canes.
An idea slowly emerged in Hojo Ujiyasu's mind. It seemed that the time had come to give his daughter greater power, allowing her to share more responsibilities for his lack of energy.
She said, pulling back her scattered thoughts.
"Did the Numata family in Ueno reply to my letter?"
Hojo Umasa came out and bowed before answering.
"Not yet. It is said that the dispute within the Numata family is quite fierce."
Hojo Ujiyasu nodded silently, a little disappointed.
After destroying the two Uesugi families and taking the Kanto generals into their hands, the Hojo family has occupied Sagami, Musashi, and Shimotsou among the eight states of Kanto.
Except for Sagami Country, which has been in business for many years, Musashi and Shimoso are not at peace. On the inside, there is the rejection of the Tobu family, and on the outside, there is the provocation of the Satake family.
But these are not important. It is difficult for these Kanto warriors to shake the foundation of the Hojo family. What Hojo Ujiyasu was most worried about was Uesugi Kensei who fled to the north.
The former governor of the Yamauchi Uesugi family had gone crazy. She betrayed her family name and her position as governor of the Kanto region, arousing the interest of the Lord of Echigo, Uesugi Terutora, in the Kanto plain.
News came from the Ise family in Kyoto that the Ashikaga generals were wary of the Hojo family's expansion in the Kanto Plain. Uesugi Teruhora of Kamiro was recognized by the shogunate as the successor to the Yamauchi Uesugi family's name and service.
This is a very dangerous signal, indicating that Uesugi Teruhu has the strength and the reputation to come to the Kanto Plain to get a share of the pie.
Nowadays, there are rumors all over the Kanto Plain, all of which are news that the Echigo army is about to move south, which makes the Kanto warriors who have been suppressed by the Hojo family ready to move and have different ambitions.
Under this situation, Hojo Ujiyasu could only remain on the defensive against Satomi Satake and other Kanto samurai. She prioritized the expedition northward to Ueno Country to expand the buffer zone to cope with the impending impact of the Echigo army.
The two countries of Echigo and Ueno are divided into the north and south by the Echigo Mountains. The plateau between Echigo Sakato Castle and Uenonumata Castle is gentle and is the main thoroughfare connecting the two countries.
While Hojo Ujiyasu was conquering various Ueno families during the Northern Expedition, he also expressed his goodwill to the Numata family in the far north of Ueno, hoping that her family would join him and become the first line of defense to stop Echigo from going south.
Now it seems that the Numata family has not yet reached a consensus, and it is not optimistic.
Seeing his mother's brows furrowed, Hojo Umasa followed.
"Mother, there is news from Fuuma Kojiniang that the rumor circulating in the Kanto countries that Echigo's army is about to move south comes from Kai Takuha Shinobu."
Hojo Ujiyasu looked at his daughter with his eyes fixed, and when he saw her nodding her head in confirmation, his mind began to spin.
The Fuma Ninja is a branch of the Sagami Ranha Ninja, recruited and used by the Hojo family for three generations. Their ancestral home is in the winds of Mount Hakone, and they have a very bad relationship with the Kai Takuha Shinobi on the other side of the mountain.
These ninjas were all savages from the mountains who could not survive. They were hired by the samurai clan daimyo to work in exchange for food and drink.
Over the years, Takeda Harunobu has become more and more powerful in controlling Kai, and Touha Shinobi has turned to her for work.
The rumors that are causing chaos in the Kanto Plain this time are probably caused by the Takeda family governor who respects grandson and pays attention to settling matters before fighting.
The purpose should be to distract the Hojo family and reduce the difficulty of conquering Suruga Kingdom.
Touha Shinobu's arch-enemy, the Fuma Shinobi belonging to the Hojo family, was too familiar with his opponent's methods and quickly investigated the matter and exposed the details of the rumor.
Hojo Ujiyasu said.
"Let Fuuma Xiaojiniang take people to Echigo. We must find out whether Echigo will go south after the spring plowing."
Whether Echigo goes south now, after the autumn harvest, or even next year will have a great impact on the Hojo family's strategy.
Hojo Ujiyasu is still unable to decide how to deploy the troops mobilized after the spring plowing, because the Echigo army has an unsheathed sword.
Hojo Ushimasa cheered and made arrangements. Hojo Ujiyasu closed his eyes again and continued to wait for the news.
When you can't see clearly the way forward, choosing to wait patiently is not a bad choice.
———
The Hojo family was still wondering about the movements of Echigo's army. On the Hokuriku Road front line, spring plowing has not yet been completed, and the mobilization of the Jimbo family has been prepared.
After receiving the report from the devout believers, the general of the Yixiang Sect in Yuezhong, Yori Zhao Xiama, was shocked. She personally went to Kaga and came to Oyama Gobo to ask for help.
Oyama Gobo is located in the Kanazawa Plain in northern Kaga. Strictly speaking, this is the boundary of the Noto Peninsula, but the territory belongs to Kaga Country.
The generals of the Kaga Ichimu clan and Nanari Yorishu took advantage of the civil strife in Noto. Last year, they moved north along the Kanazawa Plain and occupied a large area of the Noto plain.
The northern part of the Noto Peninsula is densely covered with hills, and most of the plain grain-producing areas are located at the junction of the southern peninsula. The Kaga Ichikuzon sect occupies a small area, but it is the essence of Noto country.
The Onei family colluded with the Ichizu clan to invade, causing an uproar within the Noto Kingdom, and various families were quite dissatisfied.
Nanari Yorishu is still thinking of ways to bind the Onai family and continue to encroach on Noto land in the new year. Unexpectedly, Yoriteru Shimoma came in person and brought news about the alliance between Uesugi and Jimbo.
The two generals simply held a meeting and called the officials at Weishan Royal Square to discuss countermeasures with all the leaders.
After listening to Shimona Yoriteru's narration, Nanali Yorizhu frowned and said.
"The combined forces of the two Uesugi Jinho families are mostly heading towards the Shiina family. What they want to carve up is the land of Echu Shinkawa County, and they cannot shake the foundation of our sect in Hokurikudo."
Qili Laizhou didn't want to meddle in this business.
The temple lords of the Yixiang Sect in Yuezhong are mainly located in the west. The small temples of the Yixiang Sect in the east are dotted with impure thoughts. They want to expand the temple leadership and even actively participate in the battles between the martial arts.
What do the two Jimbo-Shiina families do to the local temple when they compete with each other? Now that he was being retaliated against, he rushed to Kaga for help.
In normal times, Qili Laizhou might have wanted to have a hand in the situation, but now was the wrong time.
The Daishoji River in southern Kaga was occupied by the Asakura Ono clan of Echizen. The foundations of Xiaozongsan Temple were destroyed, and the leader of the southern group, Haomu Yorinobu, was killed by Qili Laizhou and took the blame.
The Ishiyama Honganji Temple pinched their noses and admitted the matter, but Nanari Laiju's life was not easy.
Master Xianru of Shishan started out with the overall situation of the large sect suppressing the small sect, and pretended to be dumbfounded, but the people within the Kaga Ichikai sect did not buy it.
Nanari Noraishu held a large part of Kaga's loyal faction in Motoyama and won over the northern group, thus suppressing the doubts.
There happened to be civil strife in Noto, which gave her the opportunity to expand her territory and use Noto's land to win over people's hearts. At this important juncture, she had no intention of taking care of the conflict between the Yixiang clan in Yuezhong and the local martial arts family.
Seeing that Qili Laizhou was perfunctory, Shimoma Yizhao quietly gave his daughter Shimoma Yorijun a look.
Lai Jun from the lower room came out and said sincerely.
"Sir Nanali, Uesugi Teruhora's attack this time is a matter of life and death for our Hokurikudo clan. We must not underestimate it."
