"The Oda family wants to negotiate peace?" After reading Oda Nobuhide's letter, Imagawa Yoshimoto looked at Masahide Hirate with some confusion.
"Why, does His Highness Imagawa not have this intention?" Hirate Masahide was also tough and said back unceremoniously, "If you don't want to negotiate a peace, just go back and fight again."
"Is this the etiquette of Owari?" Imagawa Yoshimoto expressed slight dissatisfaction with Hirate Masahide's attitude, but he did not mean to get angry. Instead, he joked: "It's so rude, Hirate Monitormono."
"We Owari people speak more directly, and we don't have as many red tapes as Suruga." Hirate Masahide also borrowed money, but he had no intention of giving in, "If His Highness Imagawa wants peace talks, then just say so. If you don't want peace talks, , just go back and prepare for war. There is no need to act reluctantly even though you clearly want peace talks, forcing us, the Oda family, to have to say all the good things to you before we agree to peace talks."
"No, I mean, if there is to be peace talks, shouldn't the two divided Matsudaira clans be the ones to negotiate?" Imagawa Yoshimoto tapped the tatami with the folding fan in his hand, "Our Imagawa family is invited by His Highness Hiroutada. The reinforcements came, and the Oda family came here nominally to support Young Master Takechiyo. If there is a peace negotiation, it will naturally be an internal negotiation within the Matsudaira clan. Where will it be our turn to take over?"
"Suruga people really pay attention to these meaningless forms." Hirate Masahide shook his head repeatedly, "Everyone with a discerning eye knows that the Nishimatsudaira clan is our puppet, and the family governor Matsudaira Takechiyo is also an infant. How do you ask him to negotiate peace? Anyone with a discerning eye also knows that the Higashi Matsudaira clan is currently in a precarious situation, and they can only follow the Imagawa family's lead. Once the Oda family and the Imagawa family have reached an agreement, the matter will be resolved. What result can the two Matsudaira clans negotiate? Could it be that the conditions they negotiated are... Will your Imagawa family accept it unconditionally?"
"Of course not, but out of politeness, we can't bypass them and make it an agreement directly between you and me. I suggest convening a peace negotiation including the four families. His Highness Guangzhong will be there, and I would also like to trouble you to arrange for Young Master Takechiyo to be there as well. Send a representative." Imagawa Yoshimoto stated his position, then raised his folding fan and said, "There is also a wording that needs to be corrected. The terms 'Nishi Matsudaira clan' and 'Higashi Matsudaira clan' are said in private or by others. Yes, there is no problem. But in a formal diplomatic situation, as a supporter of Master Takechiyo, how can you, the Oda family, call them the 'Nishi Matsudaira clan'? You should insist that they are the only 'Matsudaira clan'. , just like we only call the Matsudaira family of His Highness Hiroutada the 'Matsuping clan'."
"Haha, the elegant people in Suruga really like to talk about words." Hirate Masahide couldn't laugh or cry, "There is no need to care about this. Let's be direct, in what way are the Imagawa family willing to cease the war and withdraw their troops?"
"I hope it can be resolved through four-party talks. At least His Highness Hirotada must be present." Imagawa Yoshimoto repeated his position, "I think this is very important. The Imagawa family has already been very sorry for the Matsudaira family, and this minimum respect is necessary It’s in place. It’s related to the Matsudaira clan’s internal strife and territorial division. If the peace talks have already been decided without them being able to be present, it would be a great humiliation for the Matsudaira clan.”
Hirate Masahide sighed irritably, but Lin Xiuzhen behind him nodded in a subtle way. Hirate Masahide noticed his movements, and after pretending to ponder for a while, he nodded slowly and said, "Okay, then I will do as His Highness Imagawa wants. See you tomorrow."
·
On June 12, the 11th year of Tenmon (1542), in the Imagawa family camp on the banks of the Yahagi River, Imagawa Yoshimoto and Matsudaira Hirotada were waiting for the arrival of the Oda family envoys.
"Brother, thank you for your trouble." Matsudaira Hirotada, who was invited, didn't say anything for a long time, and in the end he just choked out these few words, "In order to prevent my foolish brother from losing face in front of my ancestors, I was specially invited to come."
"This is what allies should do. The Imagawa family has been sorry for you in many ways before." Imagawa Yoshimoto whispered apologetically, "I couldn't capture the Oda army in Shodozaka. I'm very sorry for causing you so much trouble." It was all in vain, and it probably caused some chaos at home."
"It's okay, brother, please relax. Abe Ozo and the others are all people with general knowledge. How can they blame it on a fake coup plan?" Matsudaira Hirotada waved his hand quickly.
"But in this peace negotiation, it is estimated that the territory west of the Yahagi River cannot be returned, and can only be left to the son. The branch families west of the Yahagi River cannot return. The reunification of the Matsudaira clan will have to wait until the next opportunity. ”
"I can only blame myself. Because I was thinking about my old relationship, I didn't hold the Sakurai Matsudaira family too accountable. Later, I allowed my uncle (Matsudaira Nobutaka) to take over the power, which eventually led to a catastrophe." Matsudaira Hirotada was very annoyed and took a deep breath. He took a breath and seemed to want to make some oath, but in the end he was discouraged, "But I really can't be cruel to my clan members. Maybe I am not suitable to be a family governor by nature."
"You are not the only one who is not born to be a governor." Imagawa Yoshimoto laughed twice, opened the folding fan and fanned his face, "Both of us understand you very well."
Soon after, the envoy from the Oda family arrived again. Obara Jinmi led Masahide Hirate, Lin Xiuzhen and Matsudaira Matsudaira to the tent - the latter is the representative of Matsudaira Takechiyo.
"I've met His Highness Imagawa." The three visitors bowed to Imagawa Yoshimoto and then took their seats without saying hello to Matsudaira Hirotada. Matsudaira Hirotada was a little embarrassed for a moment, but he was resigned and did not show dissatisfaction, fearing to make it difficult for Imagawa Yoshimoto. However, how could Imagawa Yoshimoto, who always valued etiquette, not understand the current situation, and his expression became a little ugly. He coughed twice and did not return the greeting. Instead, the old monk sat still and said nothing, making up his mind to support Matsudaira Hirotada.
"I have met His Highness Matsudaira." Seeing Imagawa Yoshimoto's statement, Hirate Masahide, Lin Xiuzhen, and Matsudaira Shigetada had no choice but to salute Matsudaira, and Imagawa Yoshimoto returned the gift with satisfaction.
Hirate Masahide looked unhappy, apparently dissatisfied with Imagawa Yoshimoto insisting on dragging Matsudaira Hirotada into negotiations, and even putting his position on an equal footing with Imagawa Yoshimoto. The expression of Matsudaira Shigetada is a bit subtle. After all, his situation is very similar to Matsudaira Hirotada, and they are both characters who should be ignored. The Oda family's attitude towards Matsudaira Hirotada can also reflect how the Oda family views their Nishi Matsudaira clan. Lin Xiuzhen, on the other hand, was more aloof. He huddled back and secretly observed Imagawa Yoshimoto with great interest.
"We were polite yesterday, so we don't need to do that today, Your Highness Imagawa?" Hirate Masahide raised his eyes and glanced at Imagawa Yoshimoto, and then said simply, "Our Oda family is willing to come to the Imagawa family's camp to negotiate. I have already given him enough face, I hope the Imagawa family will stop talking about him."
"It's okay to keep things in check." Imagawa Yoshimoto made a "please" gesture.
"The two Matsudaira families are bounded by the Yahagi River. The west of the Yahagi River belongs to the 'Nishi Matsudaira clan', and the east of the Yahagi River belongs to the 'Higashi Matsudaira clan'." Hirate Masahide obviously did not adopt Imagawa Yoshimoto's suggestion yesterday, and still used a very realistic "The Imagawa family and the Oda family will temporarily suspend their troops and withdraw their troops. They will cease fighting for half a year. What do you think of His Highness Imagawa?"
Imagawa Yoshimoto savored the conditions offered by the Oda family - this can be said to be a very conscientious condition. The Yahagi River is a natural geographical dividing line, and it is also the boundary between the areas currently controlled by the two parties. This distinction couldn't be more appropriate. Obviously, the Oda family had no intention of bargaining and just wanted to end the discussion quickly.
If the old man were here, he would definitely wonder if there was a fire in the backyard of the Oda family and rush back, and then extort a huge amount of money to delay time - Imagawa Yoshimoto secretly said in his heart. However, he had no interest in staying in Mikawa for a long time. The expedition would consume a lot of food and grass for the Imagawa family, and he would have to go back for the autumn harvest later. Moreover, he had been on the expedition for three months, and he missed Ginkgo and the children very much, and he didn't want to spend any more time outside. Thinking of this, he lost interest in delaying negotiations.
Only then did Imagawa Yoshimoto realize the teachings of Taiyuan Xuezhai at that time - even under the same objective environment and comparison of national power, different diplomatic negotiators will lead to different results. Taiyuan Xuezhai is more determined, difficult, persistent, and ruthless than him. If Taiyuan Xuezhai were here, he would definitely be able to take another piece of meat from the Oda family. But he himself is not ambitious enough and thinks that it is enough if he can do business. The second is that I feel that I don’t have enough energy to deal with the tiring tug-of-war of negotiations. It would be great if it could be solved easily.
"What do you think, His Highness Matsudaira?" Imagawa Yoshimoto then turned his attention to Matsudaira Hirotada. Although the latter is sad to lose a small half of the family's territory, form is stronger than people, and the Matsudaira family currently does not have the ability to regain the lost territory. Not wanting to cause any trouble to Imagawa Yoshimoto, he nodded in approval. However, Ohara Jinmi looked at Imagawa Yoshimoto crazily, indicating that the latter could not agree. However, after seeing that Imagawa Yoshimoto had already made a decision, he just sighed helplessly.
"I would also like to ask the Higashi Matsudaira clan to hand over the hostages left in Okazaki Castle by the several Matsudaira clans who have surrendered to the Nishi Matsudaira clan to Anxiang Castle." Masahide Hirate added another condition. This time, Imagawa Yoshimoto He frowned slightly.
With these hostages in hand, although the Fujii Matsudaira family and the Fukumagama Matsudaira family have nominally surrendered to the Nishi Matsudaira clan, they certainly would not dare to fight with the Higashi Matsudaira clan. If the Nishimatsudaira clan becomes strong again in the future, it will only be a matter of words for these families to break away and defect. But if the hostages are sent to Anxiang City, the Higashi Songping Clan can actually control these Songping branch families. If the Higashi Matsudaira clan wants to unify the clan in the future, they will have to work hard to get the hostages back first - because these hostages are under the custody of the Oda family -
The ninjas of Mizuhara Sutra have returned from reconnaissance. Although Matsudaira Takechiyo nominally uses Anxiang City as the headquarters of the Higashi Matsudaira clan, everyone knows that Anxiang City is in the hands of Oda Nobhiro's Anxiang clan.
