Under Yuya's coercion, Miyoshi Isan reluctantly gave up his intention to resist and was captured without mercy. She looked at Mount Asama, and the last hope for a paradise in her heart was finally extinguished.
There is no paradise in this world, only cruel reality.
The most important means of production in an agricultural society is land, land that can be cultivated.
The population that the land can carry is limited. Before the introduction of new high-yielding crops, the eighteen Han provinces at the core of the Celestial Empire could accommodate a population of about 80 million to 100 million.
As the upper class continues to annex land, the people at the bottom are gradually suffocating. There is only one way to resolve the conflict, and that is to kill.
Intolerable uprisings, ruthless suppression, and even invasion by foreign invaders. It won't be over until the population drops to less than one in ten and land conflicts are fully alleviated.
Enough land is freed up and sufficient means of production are available. As long as the ruling class, frightened by the war, is wise enough to fear the common people and not dare to exploit them too much, a prosperous age will come.
This is the cycle of the Chinese Empire in the agricultural era, but Japan did not have such good luck.
In the tradition of the martial arts, the victor can only deal with the defeated by reducing the title, changing the title, expropriating it, etc. The vacated territory must still be given to the meritorious ministers with rewards.
They would not massacre their serfs, which were part of their property. The people were still imprisoned on the land and exploited by the new Wu family lords.
The contradiction between population and land has not been alleviated. The island country's strict hierarchical system and extreme suppression of human nature have allowed the ruling class of the Wu family to firmly grasp the land through layers of enfeoffments.
The numb farmers are willing to be squeezed, and the grassroots small lords with land management rights cannot be purged, and can only move towards a more tragic involution.
Japan has Kanto and Kansai, which are about the size of the two provinces of Han Dynasty. However, they have relatively barren land and support tens of millions of people. Not only did the war not cause the population to decline, but it encouraged births and increased the population even more.
As the population increased, the quality of life that limited supplies could provide became increasingly poor. In the end, even the highest-level rulers only had the luxury of a bowl of white rice.
Perennial wars, scarce supplies, expanding population, and human desires suppressed to the limit. This is the darkest troubled world, and you can't see even your fingers.
The paradise in Miyoshi Isan's heart can never appear in this era. She was forced to wake up from her dream and face reality.
———
Miyoshi Isan was not the only one who lamented the uncertainty of the troubled times. Ashikaga Castle's Nagao Tocho also ushered in the long-awaited Uesugi Constitution.
The two of them had not seen each other for many years, and now that they see each other again, it makes them sigh with sadness when they think about it.
In Ashikaga Castle's castle tower, the Nagao commander Uesugi Kenmasa ascended the throne and bowed down to pay homage.
"My lord, I'm very sorry. It was me who caused you trouble and hindered your work."
She couldn't help but feel sad when she saw Kenmasa Uesugi's white hair and haggard expression.
This nobleman had once been very high-spirited and had first ascended the throne of the family governor, vowing to unify the Guandong Plain. Now that the family business is in ruins and the heirs are cut off, the family name is entrusted to outsiders for revenge.
Nagao was crying, but Uesugi Kenmasa looked at it with a clear face, she said softly.
"Dang Ji, please get up.
I don't blame you, but I want to thank you. If it weren't for what you did, I would have thought that no one in the Guandong Plain would have remembered me. "
Long Tail bowed.
"You are the master I serve. This is a fact that no one can change."
Uesugi Kenmasa smiled and said lonelyly.
"The current Governor of the Yamauchi Uesugi Family is His Highness Teru Uesugi. You should not disobey her for my sake.
From today on, you must serve your new Lord with all your heart. This is good for you and the Nagao family of Ashikaga Castle. "
Nagao was stunned for a moment, and she asked.
"Are you really willing to give up your family fortune? Give everything from the Yamauchi Uesugi family to the Fuchu Nagao family?"
Uesugi Kenmasa said with a wry smile.
"I am willing to do so, so what if I am not willing to do so? You and I both know very well that it is the instinct of the Wu family to rely on the strong.
The retainers don't care who the governor of the Yamauchi Uesugi family is or whether he has my blood. All they care about is whether the new governor is strong and can protect their family business.
Terutora Uesugi is very strong, so I pinned my hopes on her. I have nothing left, but the Hojo family cannot step on my back to become the new overlord of Kanto. This is my bottom line.
The bloodline of the Uesugi family in Yamauchi was cut off, and the family name was given away. I sacrificed everything just to bring down the Hojo family and let Hojo Ujiyasu taste my pain and feel the same as me. "
The exhaustion and hatred in Uesugi Kenmasa's words made Nagao Toucha tremble.
Her uncomfortable look made Uesugi Kenmasa feel warm in his heart, and he said sincerely.
"Nagahime, you are different from me. The Nagao family of Ashikaga Castle still has a future. You are of the Nagao lineage and were originally a relative of Uesugi Teruhora, so you can be her right-hand man.
Promise me that you will serve this new master with all your heart in the future, stop thinking about me, and keep the Nagao family of Ashikaga Castle alive. "
Seeing Kenmasa Uesugi's sincere words, Nagao couldn't help but choked up.
"I understand, thank you, Master. But, how are you doing in Echigo?"
Uesugi Kenmasa smiled.
“Teru Uesugi is a smart man.
I gave everything to her. If she doesn't know how to treat me favorably, how can she convince the families in Kanto?
Even if she is pretending, she will pretend to be a loving mother and a filial daughter. You don't have to worry about my safety and life.
However, this time the young Hojo girl who went north to Numata Castle was adopted by her as her adopted daughter. I am afraid that she will not kill all the Hojo family in the future, as I wish. "
Uesugi Kenmasa was unwilling to do so, but she really had no choice.
Changwei asked after pondering for a long time.
"My lord, don't you have the slightest idea of making a comeback?"
Kensei Uesugi paused and said.
"If someone asks, I will definitely answer no. But in front of you, I don't want to lie.
It's not that I don't want to, it's just that I can't do anything.
During the Battle of Kawagoe, General Kanto and our two Uesugi families joined forces to besiege the Hojo family.
At that time, I already felt that something was wrong, so I obtained a letter of seal from His Highness Ashikaga Haruji, the general of Kanto, and prepared to contact the Echigo Kingdom to send troops to suppress the Hojo family.
But then the situation collapsed too quickly and was completely out of my control.
Hirai Castle's retainers surrendered to the city and killed my child. I contacted all parties in Numata Castle. The two Nagao and Nagano families, including the Numata family themselves, were all secretly communicating with the Hojo family.
I had no choice but to leave Ueno and go to Echigo, never to return. No one wants me, a failed supervisor, to come back and affect their good life behind closed doors.
Ashikaga Haruji died mysteriously in Sagami Country, and her seal book in my hand has lost its use.
The new Kanto shogun Ashikaga Yoshiji even appointed Hojo Ujiyasu as the head of the Kamakura Ashikaga family, replacing the position of the Yamauchi Uesugi family.
I had nothing in Echigo, and I could not vent my hatred.
After much deliberation, the name of the Yamauchi Uesugi family was still of some use, so they adopted Uesugi Teruhora as their adopted daughter. This is how the Yamauchi Uesugi family returned to the Kanto Plain today. "
