At noon on March 27, the twelfth year of Tenmon (1543), Miyoshi Nagakei was recalled to Kyoto and showed up swaggeringly at Daikakuji Temple in the northwest of Kyoto, naked and carrying a thorn stick on his back, saying that he wanted to bear a thorn stick to Hosokawa Harumoto. Please forgive me. His high-profile action attracted countless people to watch in Kyoto, causing a sensation throughout the city.
Of course, as Miyoshi Nagakei is also a realist, he will naturally not place his own safety on Kizawa Nagamasa's compliance with the rules. Along with him came 3,000 soldiers and horses—reinforcements from the Fuji family in Tamba. This was also the trump card that Miyoshi Nagakei relied on.
Tanba Kingdom is located in the mountains northwest of Kyoto and has always been a battleground for military strategists. Currently, there are two main factions in Tamba Country. The Naito family in the south, and the Hatano family in the north. Tanba Country was originally the territory of Hosokawa Takakuni, and Naito Kunisada, the head of the Naito family, was also a close confidant of Hosokawa Takakuni. However, after the defeat of Hosokawa Takakuni, Naito Kunisada had to surrender to Hosokawa Harumoto, and this and The Sanhao family has established a relationship.
Naito Kunisada's eldest son, Naito Nagasada, died young and had only one daughter. Naito Kunisada has also been worried that as a remnant of Hosokawa High School, he will be liquidated by the Hosokawa family sooner or later, so he is eager to seek foreign aid for the family. Therefore, under the leadership of Miyoshi Nagakei, Naito Kunisada secretly married his beloved daughter to Matsunaga Nagayori, the younger brother of the Miyoshi family's right-hand writer Matsunagahide, and adopted her as a son-in-law and adopted son, changing her name to Naito Munemori. (Naito Munemori’s second son, Naito Ruyasu, was the famous Japanese negotiator "Konishihi" during the Wanli War to Aid Korea.) As a result, the Miyoshi family and the Naito family formed a secret alliance, which has been kept secret. Fear of incurring repercussions.
But now Miyoshi's family is in danger, Miyoshi Nagakei and Naito Kunisada can't care about this anymore, so they have to show their cards. After Matsunaga Hide came to Yagi Castle to ask for help, Naito Kunisada immediately sent Naito Munemori to lead 3,000 troops from Tanba Kingdom to Beijing to cover Miyoshi Chokei.
The troops of the Hosokawa family and the Kizawa family who stayed in Kyoto had not received any warning in advance that the Naito family might send troops. They did not know how to respond and did not dare to attack their nominal colleagues without permission. The Naito army took advantage of the situation and forcibly occupied Kyoto. An area in the northwest. By the time Kizawa Nagamasa gave the order to stop it, the deal was already done.
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"It's interesting." In Kyoto's Dairenji Temple, Kizawa Nagamasa, who personally climbed to the top of the pagoda and looked northwest, listened to the report of Miyoshi Chief Minister Miyoshi and said to himself: "This is what Miyoshi Nagamasa said. His courage far exceeded my expectations.”
"I didn't expect that he actually dared to return to Kyoto." Mayor Miyoshi was also shocked by the performance of his clan brother. "I originally wanted to use him as an excuse to attack him because he disobeyed orders and refused to return to Kyoto, but in this way, we have been framed for injustice. , after all, we still have Guan Ling and Gong Fangdian under house arrest."
"Echigo Mamoru thinks Miyoshi Nagakei came back for this?" Kizawa Nagamasa glanced at Miyoshi with disdain. The condescending look in his eyes made Miyoshi feel uncomfortable.
But when people are under the eaves, they have to bow their heads. To be a dog, you must have the consciousness to be a dog. Therefore, Masaki Miyoshi did not say much, but responded honestly: "His Royal Highness, Daisuke of the Ministry of Defense, Kizawa Nagamasa." New official position) is clearly stated.”
"He is very down-to-earth. Everything he does is based on reality. He doesn't care too much about fictitious things like 'status' and 'fame.'" Kizawa Nagamasa pointed at his feet, "Whatever he lacks, he just wants to What did it come from?"
"What does His Highness the Ministry of War mean?" Miyoshi still didn't understand.
"Aren't the Miyoshi troops on the front line short of food?" Kizawa Nagamasa sneered, then waved his hand to the west, "There is a large granary west of Kyoto. He tried to rob the food. The robbed food was transported back to Settsu from Tamba , can solve the urgent need.”
"Ah?" Mr. Miyoshi didn't think about it for a moment, "Why not transport it directly from Tanba? Aren't the Naito family already helping them?"
"Tamba was hit by famine last year, and there was almost no harvest. The grain and grass were all rescued from Kyoto. It was precisely to relieve Tamba that a granary was set up in the west of Kyoto." Kizawa Nagamasa slowly stepped on the ground with the soles of his front feet. An interesting smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, "It seems that Sanhao Changqing took the risk to enter Beijing because he recognized this."
"Then we want to take the initiative to attack? While they are not yet secure?" Masakataka Miyoshi pointed to the block in the distance where the Naito family's troops were stationed. "His Royal Highness the Ministry of War has brought 1,000 people. I have 1,000 people on hand, and there are 3,000 people in Kyoto. The Hosokawa Army and the 3,000-man Fenggong Army are available for mobilization.
There are more than 8,000 people in total, including nearly 3,000 combat soldiers, which is three times their number. The Naito family is no match for them. "
"Inappropriate, inappropriate." Kizawa Nagamasa shook his head repeatedly when he heard this, "Although Naito Bei is not known for being good at fighting, but with Miyoshi Nagakei commanding, and it is a street fight, I am afraid that he will not get any advantage. Even if he wins, , the casualties are not small, we cannot waste our troops here for no reason."
"What do you mean by His Highness the Ministry of War?" Miyoshi knew that nothing he said would be adopted, so he simply nodded and bowed his head to ask for instructions.
"You lead your men and the public servants to guard the granary strictly. I will lead the troops stationed at Dalian Temple to be ready to respond to you at any time." Kizawa Nagamasa waved his hand and ordered to Miyoshi, "As long as we guard the granary, let Miyoshi Changqing can't get a drop of food, and he will still have no choice but to die in a few days. Why should we take risks if we remain unchanged in response to external changes?"
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At the same time, a ragged beggar came to the door of Anrakuji Temple where Imagawa Yoshimoto and others were staying. Imagawa Yoshimoto, who was watching the street situation at the door, saw that the old beggar felt pitiful, so he took out some food for him. Unexpectedly, the beggar did not leave, but continued to stay at the door and said: "Good donor, I haven't been here for several days." Now that you have eaten, give me some more.”
"We don't have much of the fast food. Unless it's cooked now, why don't I get you some food?" Imagawa Yoshimoto was about to reach into his arms when the beggar in front of him suddenly whispered:
"Your Highness Imagawa, this is Matsunaga Hide, lead me in quickly."
"Huh?" Imagawa Yoshimoto glanced at the person in front of him - the makeup was so awesome that he couldn't tell the appearance of the middle-aged samurai at all, and the tattered clothes and dirt all over his body were too hard, and he exuded The smell like a garbage dump also hit your nostrils - Imagawa Yoshimoto asked himself that his acting could not be so dirty: "Please come in quickly and have something to eat in the back hall."
After introducing Matsunagahide into the temple, the first thing Imagawa Yoshimoto did was to take him to wash his face by the well in the temple.
"What are you going to do, His Highness Imagawa?" Matsunagahide waved his hands repeatedly, "Kyoto is full of enemy surveillance. If you want to sneak in, you can only look like this. How can I go back after washing it?"
"It's up to you." Imagawa Yoshimoto switched to breathing through his mouth to block the pungent smell, and led Matsunagahide to the reception room where Taiyuan Yuksai and Takeda Harunobu were. However, Taiyuan Yuzhai and Takeda Harunobu did not dislike Matsunaga's appearance, and the four of them soon began a secret conversation.
"My Lord has returned to the capital. He is currently entrenched in the northwest of Kyoto with the troops of the Naito family. However, the troops are weak and may not be able to fight Kizawa Nagamasa." Matsuzawa Nagahide put his crutches aside and sat down cross-legged at the same time. "I'm afraid I have to ask for help from you all in this battle."
"What arrangements does His Highness Chikuzen have? Lord Matsunaga just says it's okay." Taiyuan Xue Zhai asked bluntly.
"It's still the same as before. Please raid Dairenji Temple, attack the enemy's center in Kyoto, and kidnap Kizawa Nagamasa or Miyoshi." Matsunagahide replied while bowing to take the tea handed by Imagawa Yoshimoto. , thanked him, brought it to his nose and sniffed it for a while, then slowly tasted it - the angles of bowing and toasting were just right, which are very standard and elegant tea man movements - and his sloppy beggar appearance It doesn't match at all. Can't you tell that this middle-aged samurai with a fierce face is actually an accomplished tea master?
"When this plan was drawn up before, there were only a few cronies of Masamikasa Miyoshi in Kyoto, and those of us still had a chance to make it happen. But now Kizawa Nagamasa has led nearly a thousand people to the capital, and Hosokawa and the Kōhoden have been Under house arrest, the command of Hosokawa Army and Feng Gong also fell into the hands of Kizawa Nagamasa. They have strong troops, and dozens of us may not be able to make any waves." Taiyuan Xue Zhai expressed the dilemma very realistically. .
Matsunagahide seemed to have been prepared for this question, and replied calmly: "Master Xuezai, don't worry, our Miyoshi family has our own gambling, and naturally we will not let you die on our behalf. In the early morning of three days later, that is, March 30 On the 1st, my lord will lead Naito Bei to raid the granary in the west of Kyoto City, pretend to intercept grain, and attract the troops of Miyoshi and Kizawa Nagamasa. When the time comes, they will definitely send troops to suppress my lord, and Dairen Temple will be empty. By then, they will send troops to suppress my lord. , you can decide whether to act or not. If there are still a large number of guards in Dairen Temple, you can also choose to give up the action. If you succeed, the Miyoshi Army will immediately cooperate with you to kidnap Kizawa Nagamasa and force the enemy to surrender.
Machinery. "
"I understand." Taiyuan Xuezhai happily agreed, "Then I wish His Highness Zhuqian and everyone in the Mihao family good luck in martial arts."
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Matsunaga Hide also performed the whole show with dedication, and after eating a big vegetarian meal, he limped out of the temple gate with a cane. After he turned several corners and disappeared from the sight of the Imagawa family and the Takeda family, he immediately turned into an alley - Kizawa Nagamasa, dressed in yellow, had been waiting for him for a long time. .
"Matsuhisa Hide, right? You move pretty fast. I just sent someone to rebel against you, and you even sent me a letter asking for surrender. Why, your loyalty to your three good masters didn't last even one night. You can't survive it, you don't even struggle, and you rebel easily?" Kizawa Nagamasa shook the letter in his hand and leaned against the wall and said sarcastically.
"Haha, the so-called loyalty and so on are all made up by the superiors to deceive those stupid samurai. I don't believe this. The true meaning is to control your destiny in your own hands. When it is profitable, you will rebel when you should, and your reputation What does it mean? When I have the power, there will naturally be many scholars and historians to clear my name." Matsunaga Hide was not ashamed, but proud, and said with a smile: "I felt like I was enlightened after meeting the envoy of His Highness the Ministry of War. Now that the Miyoshi family is at the end of its rope, the Kizawa family is at its peak. I know very clearly who to help! So I immediately decided to draw a clear line with the Miyoshi family and do my best for the great cause of the Kizawa family!"
"Zhong, I have known for a long time that Matsunaga will not be loyal to the Miyoshi family. Rebellion and other things must be as easy as drinking water for you, right? It is good to abandon the dark and turn to the light. Cooperate with me to destroy the Miyoshi Changqing. In the future, prosperity and wealth will be inevitable for a country. The lord of a city is not a problem." Kizawa Nagamasa straightened up while supporting the wall, looked at Matsuhisa Nagahide with satisfaction, and then said meaningfully: "Look, what about Shinkiyama Castle? Do you want to reward you? "
"His Royal Highness the Ministry of War is really aware of the situation. I have been coveting Shingui Mountain Castle for a long time!" Matsunagahide was amazed and prostrated repeatedly, and at the same time said: "But my stupid brother is stupid and sent troops to help the traitor Miyoshi. I will try my best to persuade him later. Bring order to the chaos. I hope that Your Highness, Your Highness, will have enough to spare the Naito family."
"No problem, as long as you abandon the darkness and turn to the light, I will forget the past." Kizawa Nagamasa laughed and patted his chest, then lowered his eyes and asked: "Tell me, what did Miyoshi Changqing tell you? There are rats hiding in the East Kingdom. In Anrakuji Temple? Or is that Miyoshi Chokei's ninja?"
"Your Highness the Ministry of War, the traitor Miyoshi Changqing has colluded with Jiajun's envoy and will take action in about three days. At that time, Miyoshi Changqing will first pretend to attack the granary to attract the attention of you and the Kyoto garrison, and then let Jiajun The envoy team took the opportunity to raid your residence at Dalian Temple! I hope you will never fall into the trap of trying to lure the tiger away from the mountain!" Matsunaga Hide sincerely revealed the plan in full, and then repeatedly kowtowed to apologize.
"Very good. After knowing the shame, you will be brave and commit the crime. When I catch Jia Jun's envoy, I can get the evidence from the court to use it as evidence and bring down the ministers of the court and the Konoe Ue family who colluded with the Imagawa family. The court will also change. Oh my god." Kizawa Nagamasa patted Matsunagahide's shoulder with his hand in satisfaction, and then slowly made a fist toward the northwest of Kyoto:
"You're a young boy, I want to teach you what it means to be a mantis stalking a cicada, with the oriole behind!"
