"Why did you torment Suwa Sakon like this?"
After being taken to the tent where Suwa Yorishige was imprisoned by Takeda Harunobu, Imagawa Yoshimoto was shocked by the sight before him - Suwa Yorishige was stripped naked and tied up in disgrace like ordinary prisoners of the Suwa Army. Next to a stake in the ground, there was a rag stuffed in his mouth.
"Don't forget about the public rules of 'You can't be punished like a doctor, and you can't be polite like a commoner'. I, Harunobu, have always treated everyone equally. As long as you are a prisoner, you will be treated like this." Takeda Harunobu stood with his waist in front of Suwa Yorishige Before, "The clothes and armor he is wearing are even more valuable, so naturally I can't keep them for him."
"Okay." Imagawa Yoshimoto reluctantly nodded this time, "In the final analysis, wars are started by high-ranking 'meat eaters'. I'm afraid no honest and dutiful people are willing to start a war, right? If the war is over, , the captured people can only be enslaved for life and die in a foreign land, while the captured daimyo can be sent back with good food and drink, that is too unfair. "
"Well said! Refreshing!" Takeda Harunobu laughed and punched Imagawa Yoshimoto twice in the chest, "I never like to do those empty things."
"It's just that Suwa Sakon is also your brother-in-law and my brother-in-law." Imagawa Yoshimoto looked at Suwa Yorishige on the ground who had his head raised and tried desperately to speak but was gagged with a rag, "Since it is Relatives, you should not be so cruel. How sad will my sister be when she finds out?"
"A woman from the Wu family should have realized long ago that she will become an enemy after she gets married. Even if I kill her husband, she shouldn't have any complaints." Takeda Harunobu shook his head completely indifferently.
"If one day I am captured by you, will you do the same to me?" Imagawa Yoshimoto looked at Suwa Yorishige's miserable state and asked with pretense of fear.
"Haha, so try not to be captured by me, and don't let the Imagawa family be weak enough for me to break the alliance." Takeda Harunobu laughed boldly, making Imagawa Yoshimoto also amused.
"Even if you really want to take off my clothes, remember to find a cleaner place to lock me up. Don't throw me naked on the muddy floor. Take a bath for me by the way." Imagawa Yoshimoto did not forget to add. One sentence.
"Haha, you are already a prisoner and you still dare to show off?" Takeda Harunobu slapped Imagawa Yoshimoto hard on the back, "Calm down for a while, I will definitely be able to cure your mysophobia by then."
"But seriously, let's put some clothes on Suwa Sakon, and don't tie him up all the time." Imagawa Yoshimoto straightened his expression, half joking and half serious, "At least for the sake of him being my brother-in-law, You should also take care of your sister's feelings, otherwise your sister will definitely feel sad."
"Okay, okay, whatever you want, Goro." Takeda Harunobu waved his hand impatiently to greet his servants, "Go and change Suwa Sakon's clothes."
·
After leaving the camp, Imagawa Yoshimoto called Hayasaka Nao over and whispered a few instructions to him.
"Collect those family letters and bring them over?" Hayasaka Nao was a little surprised after hearing the order.
"It's just a matter of doing it. It's just a little effort. I don't want their family to miss them every day. Although it's useless to send this book back, they will definitely miss their relatives who are living in a foreign land. But I'm not going to persuade my allies to release the prisoners just because of this. A good person can only go so far." Imagawa Yoshimoto said without explanation. After a while, I realized that Hayasaka Nao did not follow the order and leave as usual, but instead stood silently in place.
"What's wrong, Koichiro?" Imagawa Yoshimoto asked with concern.
"It's nothing..." Hayasaka Nao lowered her head to hide the tears in the corners of her eyes, "Your Highness is such a good person."
"Haha, don't say such pretentious words." Imagawa Yoshimoto turned around and waved his hand with some embarrassment, "Go quickly."
"I'm sorry, Your Highness." Hayasaka Nao bowed deeply behind Imagawa Yoshimoto, "I'll tell you to go now."
·
After Hayasaka Nao left, Ginkgo, who was lying on the mattress behind the screen, smiled and said, "What's the matter, our husband is showing kindness again?"
"You look quite happy?" Imagawa Yoshimoto walked to Ginkgo and sat down, hugging the beauty into his arms.
"There is nothing more joyful than this." Ginkgo kissed Yoshimoto Imagawa gently on his neck, as if giving Yoshimoto Imagawa a reward.
"Speaking of which, are Ginkgo and your sister Mimi familiar? She is the one who married Suwa Sakon."
"She was only in her early 10s when I got married. I haven't seen her for a few years, and I don't know how she is doing." Ginkgo recalled her sister, and the expression on her face softened. "She has been sensible since she was a child. She never fights or robs. She has never She has no special requirements, she is a very quiet and well-behaved little girl."
"That's good. The Suwa family will probably not be spared this time. At most, they will become the retainers of the Takeda family. I hope your sister can persuade Suwa Sakon to calm down and serve the Takeda family well. It would be good to live a peaceful life." Imagawa Yoshimoto took a deep breath after hearing this and smiled reassuringly.
·
On August 25, the 10th year of Tenmon (1541), the Takeda-Imagawa coalition backhandedly attacked Uehara Castle next to Lake Suwa. Suwa Mitsuru and the remaining 1,500 people stayed behind closed doors and frantically sent messengers to seek help from the Takato family, the Kiso family, the Chihisa family, the Fujisawa family and other wealthy families in Minami-Shinano. But the distant water could not quench the near thirst, and the Takeda-Imagawa coalition troops surrounded Uehara Castle that night.
When the master fell into the enemy's hands, half of the samurai and ashigaru in the family were captured, and the people in Uehara Castle were now in panic. In the chaos, the retainers of the Suwa family decided to temporarily support Suwa Mitsuru as the leader, and let him take charge of the overall situation instead of his captured nephew Suwa Yorishige.
However, at the first evaluation meeting held overnight, a fierce quarrel broke out within the Suwa family. Suwa Mitsuru himself did not seem to have the desire to resist resolutely, and believed that he could resist the tens of thousands of Takeda-Imagawa coalition forces by force with only 1,500 remnants of low morale. What's more, the official governor of the Suwa family is still in the hands of the enemy. If Takeda Harunobu asks Suwa Yorishige to write a letter to persuade the samurai in the city to surrender, break the will of the defenders, or force Suwa Yorishige to go into battle in person - then as the acting governor Suwa Mitsuru really didn't know what to do. (He obviously does not have the consciousness to kill his own father as righteously as Date Masamune)
No matter how you say it, the Suwa family can be regarded as the in-laws of the Takeda family. Even if they surrender and are forced to surrender, they will probably be able to retain some territory. After thinking of this, many retainers were shaken, thinking about surrendering to the Takeda family.
However, there are still some die-hards in the family, most of whom are retainers whose territory is south of Suwa Lake. If the Suwa family wanted to surrender to the Takeda family and cede land to the Takeda family, their leaders would definitely bear the brunt - they accused those retainers whose territories were in the north to stand and talk without pain - and the land they were cutting was not theirs anyway.
However, since the acting governor himself, Suwa Mitsuru, was more inclined to the capitulation faction, in the debate at home, surrender still had the upper hand. It was just that the retainers still had the pride of Suwa Shrine in their hearts and were unwilling to surrender so easily to a "Monkey of Mount Kaibi" in their eyes, so they reached a stalemate.
·
"Sounds like there's a chance it won't bleed?"
After learning about the controversy in the city from Sesaku, Imagawa Yoshimoto immediately found Takeda Harunobu, who was also making preparations.
"Yes, I plan to send your brother-in-law back to the city to persuade him to surrender." Takeda Harunobu pointed to the entrance of the camp. Imagawa Yoshimoto looked along his arm and realized that Suwa Yorishige had changed into a set of decent clothes at some point and was escorted to the camp gate by several Takeda family samurai.
"Put Suwa Sakon back?" Imagawa Yoshimoto frowned instinctively upon hearing this.
"Yes, the imprisonment and torture these days have probably softened his mind. He must be thinking about surrendering quickly. How can he have any thoughts of resistance? Could it be that he wants to be captured by me again? ?" Takeda Harunobu laughed triumphantly, as if he was confident.
"Why do I think that with my brother-in-law's temperament, he would hold a grudge because he was abused by you, so he would choose to fight to the death against all opinions after returning to the city?" Imagawa Yoshimoto watched the camp door open, and Suwa Yorishige After Yiqi Juechen rode away on horseback, he couldn't help but feel a little worried.
"It's okay, I threatened him. If he resists, I will massacre the entire Uehara City." Takeda Harunobu's smile gradually faded, and finally stopped with a sneer, "Goro, do you think he can withstand such pressure? "
"Some people will surrender because they can't bear the pressure, and some people will decide to fight with the lives of tens of thousands of people after careful consideration. These are prudent people. But Tora Chiyo, you must not forget that there are stupid people in the world. , because out of resentment, he might drag the whole city to his death without even thinking about it.”
Imagawa Yoshimoto only felt depressed for a while, and then added: "Why do I feel that my brother-in-law is not very cautious?"
