In the twelfth lunar month of winter, the weather is getting colder day by day, but no matter how biting the cold wind is, it is not as sinister and trembling as the human heart.
Back in Kinki, Yoshigan gradually fell into the cold of late winter. The wind was leaking everywhere but I didn't know where the cold came from.
In this winter, he still has a lot of work to do, but he can't finish it.
In the distance, the ice and snow in Kanhachishu is even more freezing than the land of Kinki.
Even the cold of winter could not withstand the passion of the young warrior Hime. The self-purification movement in the Central Government has reached its climax. The boiling grassroots and the out-of-control order have taught the high-level warriors a hard lesson.
What about Toki, Sakai, Masaki, and Maritani? Seeing the once high-ranking famous family trembling in front of them, the dopamine of the rural people has already broken through the forehead, which is better than Zuo Ai.
When the people in blue and the village servants took away the man who managed the territory, the daimyo remained silent.
When they began to imprison the members of the Hime Warriors of each family and parade the important ministers and elders through the streets, the daimyo remained silent.
The high-level officials hesitated and compromised step by step, allowing the self-Qing movement to completely subvert the already unstable order of the Wu family.
What is the Wu family collar? The big guys in the city have no control over the peasant women in the fields. Every time they collect taxes, the followers have to bring soldiers. It is called taxation, but in fact it means regular armed robberies in the countryside.
If Ji Ji doesn't bring enough people and swords, the cunning farmers will not obediently hand over the food, because in this barren island country, there is not enough food to eat.
Even if taxation is the benevolent government of the Wu family, it is the benevolent government of the untouchables chewing the bark of trees.
After so many years of fighting in the Guanbazhou area, the general rule in various places is five citizens, five citizens, six citizens and four citizens. Only outsiders, the Hojo family, would consider buying the hearts of the locals and insist on the tax rate of four citizens and six citizens.
The bottom floor has long been piled with dry firewood, just waiting for a spark to ignite. I didn't want to, but I was waiting for a fierce fire called the self-purification movement.
When dry wood and fire met, they immediately ignited countless people in the world and sent the noble ones to the rooftop.
Because the Self-Qing Movement was related to the political game at the Kanto Palace, it was a civil struggle between the eastern and western samurai families of the eight states of Kanto who were unable to use force when there was no war in Kanto.
Therefore, the daimyo of the Shangzong Kingdom have been hesitant and dare not use force to suppress. The Wu family's greatest source of power, force, has been imprisoned by themselves.
After losing the ballast stone of force suppression, the fragile order in the Wu family's territory unsurprisingly lost its balance in an instant and collapsed.
The self-Qing movement was like peeling an onion, layer by layer removing the peripheral followers, bannermen, important ministers, and family elders, and breaking down bit by bit the Ji Samurai Corps that maintained the violent rule of the samurai family.
When the people in blue and the fanatical village servants arrived in front of the noble and powerful warrior family, the name of the city lord, and the famous nobles.
The noble people sitting in the upper positions suddenly discovered that the violence and organization that maintained their dignified status had been disintegrated.
The noble superior had a rope tied around his neck and was dragged out of his residence like a wild dog. He watched helplessly as his husband, his children, and his family were humiliated by the lowly servants in the village.
The nobles were thrown into the stables and cowsheds and were given one meal a day and no food or clothing. In this cold winter, countless noble warriors with wounded self-esteem chose to commit suicide and commit seppuku to maintain their dignity.
The tragic situation of the high-ranking martial arts families of the Shangzong Kingdom has frightened all the senior officials in Kanto who are paying attention to the direction of the self-Qing movement.
Whether it is the eastern and western samurai families of the eight states of Guanzhou, or Ou, Koshinobu, Hokuriku, and Tokai, high-level officials from all over the country have turned their attention to the Upper General Kingdom.
All the senior officials were watching in panic this carnival belonging to the bottom. Even the Hojo family, which was the most active in supporting the self-Qing movement, became at a loss.
The out-of-control spontaneous movement at the bottom was so violent that all the negative emotions suppressed in the hearts of the islanders, the anger and hatred towards the upper class seemed to be revealed at this moment and completely exploded.
The people at the bottom are not willing to distinguish between righteousness and injustice. As long as they are noble, they are all guilty and deserve to die!
Uesugi, Takeda Hojo and other families who originally wanted to use the self-Qing movement as a political tool to deal with the people in the East gradually changed their mentality.
This is no longer an internal conflict between nobles, but a general outburst of oppression and oppression by the lower class against the upper class after centuries of war and exploitation. It is a contradiction between ourselves and the enemy!
When the domesticated lackeys have turned into hungry wolves and may turn around and attack their masters at any time, the conflict between the martial arts families in the eastern and western parts of Guanba Prefecture does not seem so acute.
At this juncture when the attitude of the top officials was changing, the self-cleansing movement that had already spread to the upper echelons of the Upper Sovereign Kingdom began to spill over again, penetrating deeper into the Anbo Country on the Boso Peninsula.
In the entire Kanto region, the one who is most concerned about the changes in the Central Government and the most afraid of the spread of the self-Qing movement is the Anbo country next door.
Satomi Yoshihide, who had been hesitant earlier, now did not dare to hesitate and immediately sent an envoy to visit Satake Yoshige of Hitachi Kingdom.
———
Changlu Country, Ota Castle, residence hall.
Satake Yishige looked at the envoy of the Satomi family who was pleading with no expression on his face, and sneered in his heart.
If I had known today, why bother in the beginning.
At the beginning, everyone joined forces to start a rebellion, marching together from the north to the south, and raiding the saints who were visiting the Furukawa Territory of the Lower Kingdom. If the rebellion had succeeded, the people of the East would not be in the embarrassment they are in today.
But what about Yi Yao?
Full of selfish motives, she sent her daughter Satomi Yoshihiro to send troops to seize cities and expand territory in the southern part of Shimoso Kingdom. She was perfunctory in cooperating with the coalition forces, but refused to go north to help Satake Yoshiki.
The Eastern People were at odds with each other on the north and south fronts, and were defeated by the Sage. The rebellion was extinguished by the motley army assembled by the Saint in just twenty days, making the Eastern People the laughingstock of the Kanto samurai family.
The people of the East who once gathered the power of the four countries were defeated by the saint in one fell swoop. Satomi Yiyao wants to fight back now. Is there something wrong with her brain? Or do you want to lure the Zuozhu family into trouble?
Satake Yoshige knew very well that the morale of the people in the East had been dispelled in the last rebellion, so the powerful military masters of the Central Kingdom did not dare to suppress the movement and were beaten to death by a group of mud-legged people.
Satomi Yiyao did not really want to cooperate when he sent people here this time. He was just forced into desperation by the overflowing self-purification movement and sought medical treatment in a hurry.
A drowning person still wants to drag others into the water, which is really unorganized and harmful to others and himself.
Facing the anxious envoy of the Satomi family, Satake Yoshitaka said calmly.
"I already understand Your Highness Satomi's thoughts, please give her a few words for me.
The people of the East are finished, and the Guandong Palace has completely won. When you see His Highness, you should no longer have any illusions. No one will raise an army to cause rebellion, and no one dares to resist at the risk of offending the majesty of the saint.
The martial arts families in the Shang Kingdom would rather be tortured to death than dare to start another rebellion. Because they knew very well that rebellion was seeking death, and no one could defeat the saint's army on the battlefield.
Instead of falling into rebellion again, it is better to wait for the judgment of the saints. The saints who believe in benevolence and righteousness will not watch the self-Qing movement rampage, destroy the famous Wu family, and shake the foundation of Guan Bazhou. "
The Satomi family envoy said anxiously.
"But the Saint is far away in Kinki and doesn't know about the chaos in the Upper Kingdom! If the Saint knew about this and sent people to stop the chaos, every family in the East would have been dead!
Your Highness Satake, we need unity. Only by uniting can we get through this difficult time! "
Satake Yoshige laughed, leaning forward and back as if he heard a joke. After a while, she wiped away the tears from laughter in the corner of her eyes and said coldly.
"Unite? It's too late. The people of the East have never been truly united, and there will never be another chance to unite in the future.
I might as well tell you that just a few days ago, the Utsunomiya family had officially expressed their surrender to His Highness Uesugi, and opened the door to invite the Uesugi family to take over Shimono Country. "
"What!"
Satake Yoshizuke glanced at the fussing envoy of the Satomi family, feeling quite disdainful.
Satomi Yiyao wants to live in a desperate situation and drag others into trouble, but others are not all fools.
The Utsunomiya family was not strong in Shimono country to begin with, and powerful samurai families from all over the country were unruly. The Oyama family peeked at the position of guardian of Shimono, and the Sano family had become the lackeys of the Uesugi family.
After seeing the tragic situation of the local high-ranking samurai families in Shimono Kingdom during the Self-Qing Movement, the Utsunomiya family was not as panicked as the Satomi family, and they simply kowtowed to Uesugi Kenshin without mercy.
The Uesugi family took over the Shimono country, which was not unacceptable to the Shimono samurai family.
Although Uesugi Kenshin is domineering and difficult to get along with, she is actually the best fool among the three powerful Uesugi, Takeda and Hojo clans because her ruling method is very traditional.
The Hime Samurai Order of the Uesugi Retainers has the most traditional ruling structure, and the local samurai have great autonomy. Uesugi Kenshin, a warrior woman, does not have much interest in controlling territorial rights and centralizing power in the Warring States Period.
The leader of the Utsunomiya family was not supported internally by the Shimono samurai family, and externally they saw the terrifying power of the self-purge movement, so they simply surrendered without any further action and became a dog for the Uesugi family.
Uesugi Kenshin was the governor of Kanto and had a noble family background. He also gave birth to a descendant of a saint. The future of the Uesugi family was bright.
The Utsunomiya family knelt down as soon as their knees gave out. There was no psychological burden. There was no shame in being a dog for the Yamauchi-Uesugi family, and it was even more of an honor to be a dog for the Kamishi-Uesugi family.
Seeing that Yiyao's side was still unaware of the changes in the country, the envoy's face suddenly turned pale.
The people of the East are mainly distributed in the four eastern countries of the eight states of Guanzhou. Among them, the upper country has been destroyed by the self-Qing movement, and the order of the Wu family has collapsed. The lower country has now opened its doors to surrender.
Now, only Anbo Country, where the Satomi family is located, and Hitachi Country, where the Satake family is located, are left.
The Anfang Kingdom was weak, and Satomi Yoshihiro, who had withdrawn from the Upper Sovereign Kingdom, did not have enough strength to resist, so he could only place his hope on the Satake family's help.
But who is Satake Yoshige? How could she take chestnuts from the fire for someone else and make someone else's wedding dress for nothing?
Seeing the pleading look from the Satomi family envoy, Satake Yoshige sneered.
"I, Satake Yoshitaka, begged for surrender in front of the battle. It was the saint who treated me kindly. He undressed me and gave me food. I will never betray the saint again. Being a pig or a dog is worse than an unjust person!"
The Satomi family envoy said with despair in his eyes and gritted his teeth.
"The Satake family is not afraid of the self-Qing movement spilling over. Isn't His Highness Satake worried that the whole family will become the playthings of the untouchables?"
Satake Yoshige laughed.
"The Satake family treats the guilty, and the punishment and suffering are justified.
I'm not afraid of any kind of self-purification movement. Those people in blue can throw me into the stable and bullpen at most, humiliate me and abuse me, but they can't change the saint's decision!
The Satake family will change its title and move north. The sage promised me that the territory of 400,000 koku will remain unchanged. The Satake family will still be a famous Minamoto family, one of the most powerful feudal lords in the world!
A temporary catastrophe cannot shake the foundation of the Satake family. It doesn't matter if I suffer some physical pain. As long as I don't rebel, the future of the Satake family is promising. "
The eyes of the Satomi family envoy were dim, and she had to admit that what Satake Yishige said was reasonable.
The Wu family values family property most, and the continuation of the family name is above all else.
The saint has promised the Satake family a future. Even if Satake Yoshitaka encounters turmoil and is tortured to death by untouchables, she will still grit her teeth and not gnaw.
Starting a rebellion at this time is the stupidest choice. Why fight if you know you can't defeat it?
He also wanted to make the Sage's Promise that he had already obtained go crazy. Satake Yoshige had a bad brain and would follow Satomi Yoshiyao and go crazy.
Takeda Shingen is now patiently waiting for Satake Yoshige to get out. The two famous families of Takeda and Satake come from the same origin. The Takeda family accepts the protection of Hitachi and the Satake territory naturally hopes for a smooth political transition.
As long as Satake Yoshitaka doesn't cause trouble, Takeda Shingen will definitely ensure the basic stability of the Satake family, so as not to cause extraneous problems and ruin the Takeda family's plan to take over the Hitachi Kingdom.
Therefore, Satake Yoshige is the most unfazed samurai daimyo among the people in the East.
With one hand holding the saint's promise and the other holding the Takeda family's guarantee of peaceful transition, what can those innocent little girls in blue do to the Satake family?
Most of the Blue Dressed Princess Warriors are just a group of children who are dazzled by their ideals and are used as political tools. They are young, ignorant, and full of passion, and they understand the sinister nature of people's hearts.
Hitachi Country is not the Sovereign Country. There is chaos here. What is shaken is the promise of the sage and Takeda Eyama. The most anxious person is definitely not Satake Yishige.
If possible, Satake Yoshige would really like to go into a shed for a few days, walk along the trails, write letters to saints, and repent of his past.
With the kindness of a saint, he might feel guilty for this, so Satake Yishige could leave a huge debt of gratitude to the Satake family.
Calculated this way, it was a huge profit.
At this moment, Satake Yoshige was actually looking forward to the self-Qing movement spreading to Hitachi Kingdom, and he would suffer for a few days and suffer for a few days.
Shimono country is the target of the Uesugi family, and Hitachi country is the target of the Takeda family. These two families just want to expand and have no intention of killing people to seize land.
It is also the best choice for the Utsunomiya and Satake families not to resist, and the most desperate among the people in the East is the Satomi family.
The Hojo family's ambitions are on the Boso Peninsula, and the fate of the Satomi family is worrying.
Satomi Yoshihiro was supported by the Hojo family back then, but after he matured, he turned his back and fought with the Hojo family for many years, making it impossible for the Hojo family to take over the Boso peninsula. The two sides had long-standing grievances.
Satomi Yoshiyao couldn't stop the Hojo family from launching the self-Qing movement. She had no other way out and could only jump over the wall.
Unable to instigate the people of the East to rebel again, the Satomi family is seeking death on their own, and their future is bleak.
Just when the Satomi family envoy was speechless and his face was ashen, Satake Yishige suddenly smiled.
"Actually, Your Highness Satomi has another choice. It depends on whether she is willing to try it."
(End of chapter)
