Imagawa Ujimoto pretended to be magnanimous and walked towards the Asahina family's mansion on the street, facing the gaze of the guards patrolling back and forth on the street as calmly as possible. He walked to the door and knocked on it. Just as the guard at the door was about to question him, someone walked out of the door.
"In an emergency, if you dare to come to Asahina's house, I will ask you personally." The visitor waved his hand and signaled the guards to step back. Then he put his hand on the handle of his sword and whispered, "I am Asahina Kii Shūyasu." , May I ask who you are?"
"The fourth son of the late repairman, Imagawa Gorojimoto." Imagawajimoto didn't know why he gave his name so openly, but he suddenly felt that he was pretending to be more aura at this time. Maybe he can scare the opponent.
"Fourth Young Master..." Asahina Taicho's face tightened upon hearing this, and he looked around carefully, "You are wanted all over the city now. Although you don't know what happened, how dare you come to my house openly?"
"Come and convince the Asahina family to help me." Imagawa Ujimoto continued to pretend to be powerful.
"Don't think too much about it. My brother just said when he returned home that the evaluation meeting of the important ministers has reached an agreement that the third son will return to secular life and inherit the family governor." Asahina Yasinaga lowered his voice for fear of being heard by the people around him, "In the memory of the late master and My old master treats the Asahina family very well, and I risk disobeying orders to let you go, so just pretend I didn't see you and leave as soon as possible!"
If I leave, I can only die, and the old man will be killed by me... Imagawa Shiyuan thought silently in his heart, thinking that Taiyuan Xuezhai's life was also in his hands, and endless courage surged in his heart, and he sank unwaveringly. He said, "Please, Your Highness Kii Mamoru, please take me to see the head of the family. I will convince him personally. If the persuasion fails, the Asahina family can directly escort me to the castle, which will be a great achievement."
"If you have the courage and deserve to be my old lord, then I'll invite you." Asahina Taisho was stunned for a moment, then smiled appreciatively, then stepped aside and raised his hand, "My brother is drinking in the back hall, please introduce me. Fourth Young Master, go forward."
·
When Chuanshiyuan saw the man sitting on the main seat, he doubted whether he had recognized the wrong person.
"His Royal Highness Kii Mori, didn't you say that your brother has just returned from the evaluation meeting?" Imagawa Ujimoto glanced at the half-opened chest and drunk samurai on the seat.
"My brother is a heavy drinker. He doesn't want to drink any time from waking to sleeping. The same goes for the assessment meeting. It's already evening and it's not surprising that he's so drunk after drinking all day." Asahina Tai laughed twice, but shook his head. He shook his head and said, "But don't worry, sir, my brother has never been in trouble because of drinking."
"Brother." Asahina Taishou called out with a raised voice. Asahina Taino, the head of the Asahina family who seemed to be unconscious, suddenly sat up. Although his cheeks were still red, the drunken state he had just now disappeared. The drunken eyes suddenly converged and fell on Imagawa Shimoto.
"...but the Fourth Young Master?" Asahina Taino wiped the drink from the corner of his mouth, wiped it on his pants a few times, and asked casually.
"Exactly, Your Highness Asahina recognizes me?" Imagawa Shimoto was stunned when he heard this.
"Of course I don't know. It's just that the young master looks very similar to your father and your father." Asahina Taino showed a nostalgic smile on his unkempt face, "Especially the eyebrows and eyebrows, they look very much like my old master. "
"Coming here at this time, you must be a lobbyist, lobbying the Asahina family to help you in the battle for the governor?" Asahina Tai could guess the purpose of Imagawa Ujimoto's visit without asking, so he clapped his hands and said loudly, " Send an order to call all the relatives and elders of the Asahina family in the mansion to listen to the Fourth Young Master's lobbying."
"Brother?" Asahina Taishou felt that something was wrong, so he took a step forward and said, "This matter is confidential, how can we make a big fuss?"
"It's okay. Wouldn't it be much more convenient to resolve troublesome matters together?" Asahina Taino shook his head indifferently. "The evaluation meeting just now has unanimously decided that His Highness Yoshizhin, the Third Young Master, will succeed to the throne. This decision has been made It was announced at Asahina's house that even the oath has been handed in. How easy is it to go back on your word? As the head of the family, I can't decide the fate of the family with just one word. Shouldn't all the retainers agree? In this case, let's call everyone together. Come here, let the four young masters convince you together. If you can't be convinced, we will directly detain the fourth young master and hand them over to the castle tower."
"Decision without saying anything? This is not your style, brother. In the end, I won't listen to you alone..." Asahina Taicho smiled bitterly and slandered, but he still obeyed. After a while, all the important ministers of the Asahina family who stayed in the Imagawakan mansion gathered.
"Brother, why bother?" Asahina Chitoku couldn't help complaining to Asahina Taino as soon as he sat down, "In the evaluation just now, His Highness Ryozhen is an unparalleled talent, and no one in the world may be able to match him. The position is already confirmed, and our Asahina family has already submitted the oath, so why waste time here. If word gets out, His Highness Ryozhen and Odai-don blame us, the leader of the Asahina family, what should we do?"
"You haven't passed the Fourth Young Master's exam yet, brother, how dare you judge that he is not as good as the Third Young Master?" Asahina Taino laughed and took a sip of wine, then pointed at Imagawa Ujimoto with a finger, "Come on, Fourth Young Master, let's go straight to the point. First of all Let me ask you, where should I go first to conquer the world?"
"...Kyoto?" Imagawa Ujimoto did not expect Asahina Yasuno to ask the question directly, so he hesitated before answering.
"Wrong, the Third Young Master has said that the forces in Kyoto are intertwined and the relationship between Kinki and Kinki is complex, which will only make people trapped in their own cocoon. If you really want to conquer the world, just one of them can be Omon and Kanto. Both of them have a vast land and rich resources, Omon is connected in all directions, and Kanto is a world of its own. . If we advance in Weinong, we will have eternal hegemony; if we retreat in Guandong, we can protect our foundation for two hundred years."
Asahina Yasuto was able to repeat Imakawa Yoshima's words, which immediately made Imagawa Ujimoto feel great pressure. This insight and overall view were far beyond ordinary people. It's no wonder that all the generations were sincerely convinced by him, and it's no wonder that His mother would change the choice temporarily for him, and would rather kill her biological child than let Imagawa Yoshima lead the Imagawa family.
"Testing you again, if the Imagawa family wants to develop, where should they go?"
"Sagami Hojo, Kai Takeda?" Thinking of what Imagawa Yoshima had just judged before, "Ono and Kantō can conquer the world with just one victory." Imagawa Ujimoto naturally believed that we should march eastward and capture Kantō.
"Wrong again." Asahina Taino waved his hand again, "Third Young Master has said that the Hojo family relies on the natural dangers in front of them and the support of the people in the future. In addition, the descendants are prosperous and talents are born in large numbers. They are not easy to get. Moving eastward will only waste time. And. The tough folk customs of Kai and the wolfish ambitions of Takeda will inevitably disrupt the situation and make it difficult for us to move forward. For the current plan, the only way is to form a three-family alliance with the two and march to Ono without any worries. Mikawa has been a mess since the death of Matsudaira Kiyoyasu, Matsudaira When there is civil strife, there are many people in the country, so it is not difficult to obtain it.”
"But Owari Oda has the Owari Tiger Oda Danmasa (Oda Nobuhide) sitting in charge, and now he is also aggressive towards Mikawa. How can he be an easy enemy?" Imagawa Ujimoto noticed the loophole in Imagawa Yoshi's truth and immediately retorted. He said, "If we take Mikawa, Oda will definitely intervene. Mikawa is a long way away and difficult to supply. We are afraid that we will fall into a protracted war, which will be detrimental to Imagawa."
"The Third Young Master said that although Owari's tiger is brave, the family does not get along. There is a fetter of the same clan in the family, and there is a danger of a wall of resentment in the family. Oda Danzheng already has two concubines, and his legitimate son, Master Ji, is only two years old at the time, and he already has a naughty appearance. , is not liked by the retainers. And his mother has recently added a new daughter. In the future, whether there is a fight between the legitimate concubines or the elimination of the eldest son and the establishment of a younger son, the Oda family will be destroyed forever, so why should we be afraid?"
Do you even know the internal situation of the Oda family far away in Owari? Imagawa Ujimoto swallowed, deeply shocked by his brother's knowledge reserve.
"I'll test you again. In today's world, who are the most powerful names?"
Asahina Yasushi was able to ask questions like a barrage of questions, but Imagawa Ujimoto was already overwhelmed and could only reluctantly answer, "Kinki Hosokawa, Saikuni Ouchi, Kanto Ryoesugi."
"That's all wrong!" Asahina Taino interrupted in a deep voice, and took another sip of wine before reciting Imagawa Yoshima's words, "Hosokawa is not far away from civil strife, and I'm afraid the retainers will overwhelm the superiors. An, the territory is separated by the strait, so it is difficult to have great ambitions; the two cedar trees are in their twilight years, and there are dead bones in the graves. They look huge, but they are actually vulnerable. In the future of the world, Kyushu will push Otomo and Shimazu; Kansai Nizi and Mori; Kinki Mainly Miyoshi and Rokkaku; Kanto looks at Takeda, Hojo, and Nagao. And the one who has the chance to dominate the world is Owari Oda."
"What..." Imagawa Ujimoto was completely stunned - he had heard of some of these famous names, but the rest were all little people whose names he had never heard of - how could they succeed?
"The daimyo recommended by the four young masters are all the powerful ones now. It should be noted that they are strong on the outside and weak on the inside. They have become rotten. In the hundreds of years since the Genpei War, how much glory has been reduced to withered bones, and how many daimyo who once had power and dominated the world have been exterminated. , history is irreversible, and nature is inevitable. Don't look at the present, but look at the future." Asahina Taisun slammed the wine jar on the table, ignoring the splash of wine, but raised his finger and pointed at Imagawa Ujimoto, "Three The young master's teachings are really enlightening! Not to mention the separation of soldiers and peasants, the abolition of customs, and the gathering and housing of retainers, etc., which are unheard of and are very impressive."
"The fourth young master is far less talented than the third young master. In my opinion, there is no need for further debate on this matter." The elder of the Asahina family, Kondo Tadayuki, was the first to speak, and the other members of the clan and important ministers in the room also echoed. Imagawa Ujimoto's face was ashen - Imagawa Yoshima's overall situation and foresight really impressed him, and he realized that they were very different and could not be compared at all.
Just when he was about to give up and surrender, he raised his head and found that Asahina Tenno was still looking at him, his eyes full of expectation. It was as if he was encouraging himself to speak out, encourage himself to lobby, and persuade the Asahina family to support him.
But with such dazzling talent as Imagawa Yoshizhin, Imagawa Ujimoto has nowhere to hide. Many of the rhetoric and promises that were originally prepared are now unspeakable.
But I can't give up... If I give up like this, I will die, the old man will die, and even my mother will be killed in the future struggle. I have to say something no matter what, but compared to Imagawa Yoshizumi, what can I do? What can be said?
"I don't want to die."
What Imagawajimoto blurted out was actually what was in his heart.
