In the early morning of September 24, the 9th year of Tenmon (1540), the Imagawa-Matsudaira coalition forces surrounded Matsudaira Hirotada, crossed the Oto River in a mighty manner, and headed for the southern castle town of Okazaki Castle. Matsudaira Nagauchi (Matsuhira Hirotada's great-grandfather) and Matsudaira Nobutaka (Matsudaira Hirotada's uncle and head of the Miki Matsudaira family) took the initiative to open the city gate and welcome Matsudaira Hirotada into the city. Matsudaira Nobusada knew that he was unable to resist the army, so he fled through the west gate in embarrassment, crossed the Yahagi River and returned to his home Sakurai Castle.
By the time they settled down, it was already morning, and Matsudaira Hirotada went into the city to meet with his people and comfort his subordinates. Imagawa Yoshimoto, however, placed his troops in the castle town and did not enter the city - this was also Matsudaira's request. He did not want to be regarded by the Matsudaira family as a traitor who led the wolf into the house. However, in order to show courtesy to Imagawa Yoshimoto, Matsudaira Hirotada invited Imagawa Yoshimoto and his horsemen to the city as guests. The cautious Nakono Ujitoyo immediately put forward a condition - the Imagawa army must control a city gate to ensure that Imagawa Yoshimoto can enter and exit safely, and Matsudaira Hirotada removed all the guards at the south gate.
Riding a horse and walking in Okazaki Castle, Imagawa Yoshimoto felt a completely different atmosphere from Imagawakan. Although it is also a large city that is the capital of a country, and even Okazaki Castle is larger in area, the feeling is far less than Kawadate. To be more specific, Imagawakan has a more life-like atmosphere: the people are rich, and entertainment and catering are more developed. Teahouses can be seen everywhere in the streets and alleys, where literati can recite poems and write poems.
However, there is an obvious feeling of desolation in Okazaki Castle. The people carrying farm tools and crops on the streets are walking in a hurry, seeming unwilling to stay outside for a moment longer, and their clothes are shabby and rudimentary. There are few restaurants and stalls in the castle towns and inner city neighborhoods. There are also few businessmen, and the few hotels and guesthouses are not doing well.
At first glance, it looks like a place that has been in chaos for many years.
Thinking of this, Imagawa Yoshimoto had already arrived in front of the castle tower. Under the personal leadership of Abe Sadayoshi, we went all the way to the assessment room of the castle tower. Matsudaira Hirotada himself sat in the main seat, leaving the first guest seat on the left hand side to Imagawa Yoshimoto. There were three people sitting in the room: a samurai who was about 70 years old and had a gray beard. He must be Matsudaira Nagaki. The other two samurai are quite similar in appearance. The older one is Matsudaira Nobutaka, and the younger one is Matsudaira Yasutaka. The two brothers are both the uncles of Matsudaira Hirotada and the younger brothers of Matsudaira Kiyoyasu.
"Thank you, Your Majesty Imagawa. We will definitely remember the kindness of the Imagawa Army to me and the Matsudaira family. From now on, the Matsudaira family should be our allies forever." Matsudaira Hirotada first saluted Imagawa Yoshimoto and sent him After entering the table, several other members of the Matsudaira family also leaned over to greet him.
"You're welcome." Imagawa Yoshimoto nodded and sat down, but found that everyone's eyes were turned to the door - there seemed to be some dispute there. The Matsudaira family's Hatamoto seemed to want to ask Imagawa Yoshimoto's bodyguard to wait in the guest room downstairs, but Yutaka Furuno refused to give in no matter what, so he took Hayasaka Nao, Kira Usei, Tasaki Kentaro, Okabe Mototsuna, and Asahina Yasutomo with him. The others refused to take a step back and insisted on guarding the safety of Imagawa Yoshimoto by the castle tower.
"It's okay, just let everyone wait outside the door and serve them tea." Matsudaira Hirotada naturally understood the worries of the Imagawa family guards, and gave the order without hesitation with a wave of his hand.
"It's really ridiculous that I have to bother His Majesty Imagawa to come all the way to mediate our housework this time..." Matsudaira, who was sitting opposite, smiled kindly, like an old man who cares about his younger generations, and his tone was also It was so slow that it almost made people fall asleep. "Imagawa-dono is a talented person, but he is a hero in his youth. He has the same demeanor as your father did back then."
"Thank you, Izumo-sama." Imagawa Yoshimoto bowed his hand and politely thanked Matsudaira Nagachimi, while quietly sizing up this old monster who had made great changes in Mikawa. Back then, his father, the Imagawa clan, personally led an army to conquer Mikawa, with Hojo Soun personally as the vanguard. However, Matsudaira Nagauchi fought back with all his strength, and even the horse seals were washed down at one point. Thinking that his uncle Hojo Soun, who was a brilliant strategist, was actually defeated by him, Imagawa Yoshimoto really did not dare to underestimate this man - but Matsudaira Nagaki looked very old, as if he had lost the vigor of his youth. .
"The Imagawa family is very happy to see the Matsudaira family get back together and His Highness Hirotada return to Okazaki Castle." Imagawa Yoshimoto bowed his hand again, "I hope that the two families will help each other in the future and not fight each other like the previous generations. ”
"That's natural, that's natural..." Matsudaira Changqin nodded repeatedly when he heard this, and a smile appeared on his aging face. "It is a great blessing for the Matsudaira family to be friends with the Imagawa family. Takematsumaru (Matsudaira Hirotada) It was a good job, but I always looked down on him in the past and favored the incompetent third son, which brought countless troubles to the Matsudaira family..."
After saying that, Matsudaira Nagauchi turned to Matsudaira Hirotada. Regardless of his seniority and age, he leaned deeply to bow and apologize. Matsudaira Hiroshi was so frightened that he hurriedly stepped forward to help his great-grandfather, "How can you do this? Don't let it happen!"
"It's my great grandfather, I'm sorry for you...I'm also sorry for your father who died young. I failed to protect his young son. Instead, I was confused and soft-hearted for a moment and allowed that bastard third son to bully you orphans and widowed mothers. I'm really not a thing." Ah..." Matsudaira Nagachi hugged Matsudaira Hirotada with tears streaming down his face, "After you ran away from Okazaki Castle, I dreamed about my dead eldest grandson every night. I dreamed that he asked me, 'Takematsu Maru' 'Where? Every time I don't know how to answer, I wake up suddenly. I'm really sorry for him..."
"Fortunately, you are back safely now, giving me, an old and immortal guy, a chance to make up for the crimes he committed before. From now on, the Matsudaira family will be yours. If anyone dares to do something to you again, I will be the first to stop him." Agree. If that useless third son refuses to surrender, I will personally go to Sakurai City and chop him alive!"
"Grandpa..." Matsudaira Hiroyuki was in the arms of Matsudaira Changqin, listening to those touching words, how could he not shed tears as a child? He was crying like crazy and kept promising in a low voice: "Please don't worry, I will never embarrass the third uncle. As long as he is willing to return, Sakurai Matsudaira's old collar will remain unchanged."
"Good boy, good boy..."
Looking at the warm scene in front of him, Imagawa Yoshimoto couldn't help but feel moved. Could it be that he mistakenly blamed Matsudaira for having a long kiss? He may have been a scheming tycoon back then, but he is no longer so forceful as he gets older. He probably only thinks about having children and grandchildren and family harmony.
At this moment, Tu Atonsu hurried upstairs and asked to see Imagawa Yoshimoto. Knowing that there was an important military situation, Imagawa Yoshimoto hurried to the assessment room.
"Your Highness, last night, the Toda family suddenly launched an army to retake Yoshida Castle, insisting that the Makino family had deceived you. Your Highness Udono himself was small in numbers, and the outer city was breached, so he quickly asked for help from the Makino family. Now the two families are united. We just barely managed to save the Yoshida Castle Honmaru, and the situation is very critical. However, there are faint movements in the Saigo family and the Okuhira family, and there seems to be signs of instability." Tsuchi Atomsuke anxiously reported in a low voice, "Your Highness, please send troops to return as soon as possible!"
"The Toda family... really don't give people peace of mind." Imagawa Yoshimoto sighed, calculated the possible number of rebels from these three wealthy families, and then whispered, "Let Gamaobei, Osawabei and Matsuibei Let’s go back together to quell the rebellion and stabilize our retreat and food routes.”
"It's just Your Highness...who should I let take command?" Tsuchizune was a little confused after hearing this, "Matsui Zaoe Monsa-sama (Matsui Munanobu) has the largest number of troops, but His Highness Osawa Zaoe Monsa (Osawa) Prime Minister) has the most seniority, and His Highness Matsui Hyogo (Matsui Sadamune) is also the father of Lord Matsui Zaoe Monsa..."
"Good question." Imagawa Yoshimoto also fell into deep thought after hearing this. During the Warring States Period, the superiority and inferiority among samurai was very important. If the command authority was not arranged properly, it could lead to tragedy - a samurai might commit seppuku because he was dissatisfied with another samurai commanding him. The most extreme example is Akechi Mitsuhide. There is a saying that he was just dissatisfied with Oda Nobunaga's request for him to accept the command of Hashiba Hideyoshi, so he was so angry that he launched the Honnoji Incident and directly roasted the master.
"Takeohmaru, please go there." After cheering up, Imagawa Yoshimoto turned his attention to Yutaka Furunoji at the door, "As a member of the clan, you will supervise the army and coordinate the progress of each department. The specific command authority will be given to you. they themselves."
"Yes." Yutaka Furuno felt that Imagawa Yoshimoto's arrangement was quite clever and immediately took the order and left. After a while, I saw the Imagawa Army outside the south gate detached a force of nearly 2,000 people and drove toward the southeast in a mighty manner.
"Your Highness Imagawa, what's the matter?" Seeing that Imagawa Yoshimoto had not returned for a long time, Matsudaira Nagauchi came to the door in person to look for him.
"No problem, let's continue the tea party and celebrate the reunification of the Matsudaira family." Imagawa Yoshimoto avoided the question with a smile.
·
On September 26, the 9th year of Astronomy (1540), Okazaki Castle in Mikawa Kingdom.
In the past two days, Matsudaira Hirotada, who returned to Okazaki Castle, sent messengers to each Matsudaira family branch, and received unanimous support and support from the Matsudaira family. Even the Fukugama Matsudaira family, which was originally on the side of Matsudaira Nobusada, also announced their return. The Matsudaira clan was only one step away from formal unification. Regrettably, after more than two days of negotiations, Matsudaira Nosada remained. Unwilling to join the Matsudaira clan. Even if Matsudaira Hirotada and Matsudaira Nagaki still missed their old friendship, they couldn't bear it at this time and decided to send a crusade to Sakurai Castle.
"Please leave this task to me." At the evaluation meeting, Matsudaira Nagamaki personally volunteered against all objections. "I can only clean up this unfilial son myself. Although Takematsumaru is the governor of the family, after all, you have seniority. Being lower than him, it may not be easy to be cruel. But I am his father, so it is only natural for me to teach him a lesson."
"How can you lead an army on an expedition even though you are over seventy years old?" Matsudaira Hirozada shook his head after hearing this.
"Yes, why bother my old lord?" Matsudaira Hirotada's cronies such as Abe Sadakichi and Okubo Tadashi also tried to dissuade them - but they were thinking about something else - they didn't want the military power of the Matsudaira clan to return to Matsudaira. Long kiss in hand.
"Takematsumaru, all this chaos is ultimately caused by me. If I am not allowed to clean up this mess personally and reunite the Matsudaira family, how will I be able to meet my ancestors after my death? With your father and grandfather?" Matsudaira said the emotional part, and she burst into tears again, "Please, for the sake of the old man's hard work, give me a chance to restore my reputation!"
"Grandpa..." Songping Guangzhong was stunned when he heard this, and he could no longer find an excuse to refuse.
However, Abe Nobuyoshi was very vigilant. He was worried that once Matsudaira Nagauchi led the Matsudaira clan's troops across the Yahagi River, he would switch sides and return to the side of Matsudaira Shinsada, so someone had to monitor him. He was also worried that once the Matsudaira clan's army left, Imagawa Yoshimoto would have the opportunity to take control of Okazaki Castle - although after leaving a force in Tojo Castle and sending troops back to Yoshida Castle to quell the rebellion, Imagawa Yoshimoto only had the Shogun Bei on hand. There were 1,300 people with the Mahui crowd - but they were still not to be underestimated in that battle. So, he suggested: "If this is the case, please ask His Highness Imagawa to lead the army together."
"Okay." Imagawa Yoshimoto naturally understood the subtext of Abe Nobuyoshi, but he didn't say much to refuse. All he wants now is to end the matter quickly and return to Imagawa Pavilion to see Taiyuan Xuezhai's precious broken box - this is the exchange condition Taiyuan Xuezhai promised him.
"Please, Your Highness Imagawa!" Matsudaira Hirotada, who was completely unaware, glanced at Imagawa Yoshimoto with great gratitude, "My great-grandfather, please take care of me!"
