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 clean 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 warrior family has long been accustomed to being free. It doesn't matter if you surrender in name only, but if you really have to be controlled by the Hojo family's laws, how can the local samurai be willing?
Rumors that foreigners pretending to be Hojo Miao are bullying us again have been secretly circulating since last year, and hostile daimyo have also added fuel to the fire.
The powder pile is full, and now it is just short of a spark. Look, Teruhora Uesugi is ready to light 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 country.
Now that there is a severe drought, the Hojo family is in panic both inside and outside the house. The fault is mine. I will write a letter of sin to myself, take the blame and retire.
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.
“With such a big mess and a sudden natural disaster, 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 needs His Highness Ujiyasu, so why not retire in name only and actually help His Majesty Ujimasa take care of the family affairs, okay? "
Hojo Genan praised Hojo Ujiyasu's strategy.
Let’s not mention the Takeda family’s affairs for the time being. The disunity of the Kanto warrior family and the natural disaster warning have caused panic among the superstitious middle and lower classes. Someone has to take the blame.
The Hojo clan gave up the title of family governor and took the blame voluntarily. She was worthy of being a good daughter of the Hojo family. However, Hojo Umasa was still young and his abilities were far inferior to those of the mature family governor, Hojo Uyasu.
The Hojo retainers group also did not trust the immature new governor to take charge of the overall situation during this extraordinary period of internal and external troubles. Of course, Hojo Ujiyasu must be retained to live in seclusion and assist her in handling 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.
"Will this 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. It laid a solid foundation for three generations of continuous expansion.
Just like Hojo Ushimasa took over as the governor of the family, Hojo Ujiyasu ruled in seclusion, so there would be no disturbance within the Hojo family. In other martial arts groups, a mother-daughter struggle for power would soon unfold.
This may be related to the tone set by the first-generation Hojo family governor, Ise-onna. The Hojo family has always known that they are outsiders, and internal disunity will end sooner or later.
When 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 clan's first clan and the six clans headed by the Daidoji clan have been very united. Hojo Ujiyasu, who has developed to the third generation, still has close internal relations.
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 organized 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 small Jizu and Jade Ropemen in the south are all led by members of the Hojo family.
The most important thing is the Tamanazu people, because Kamakura is to the south of Tamana Castle. 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 to succeed the Kanto shogunate, and they claimed it after visiting Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine.
As for Uesugi Teruhora, the criticized Kanto leader, he 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 go out to the sea from northwest to southeast.
The Motagawa River is close to Sagami Country, 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 people led by Edo Jodai and the Kagotsu people led by Kawagoe Jodai.
This is the second line of defense for the Hojo family, because the local samurai family has 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.
During the night battle in Kagoshima, the Hojo family defended Kagoshima City 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 are 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 Kingdom 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 Minawa Castle in the west, 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."
