A few months later, it was April 17, the 14th year of Astronomy (1545). Imagawa Yoshimoto is taking the Imagawa family's horse back to the Kadong area for training - it's said to be training, but in fact Imagawa Yoshimoto just wanted to go for a ride. Why come to Hedong? It's because Shouguini is going to the Imagawa Family Bodhi Temple next to Imagawa Hall to worship today. If Shouguini bumps into him and wanders around instead of training, he will inevitably be criticized again.
Not long ago, an additional 200 iron cannons purchased from Sakai Town arrived. After being tested by Sano Shinbei, they were all installed on the Imagawa family's horses. Nowadays, there are 400 horse warriors in the Mahui army. Everyone carries an iron cannon on their backs and wears light leather armor to reduce the burden on the horses. There is no need to wear heavy armor for outings.
"It's such a nice day today, let's go for a walk together." Imagawa Yoshimoto hummed some folk songs and galloped freely in the fields east of the river. "It would be great if I brought Ginkgo with me. Who told her to sleep by herself?" I couldn’t get up because I was too lazy to sleep.”
"Your Highness, how are you preparing for the fight with the Sagami guy?" Akai Kurotaka asked from behind eagerly, "Didn't Master Yukisai say that he would build a Hojo encirclement net?"
"It's almost time. We have to wait until the Kanto daimyo are ready. Let's wait until the second half of this year, maybe after the autumn harvest." Imagawa Yoshimoto replied casually, while looking at Mount Fuji in the north - the mountains in late spring are unique. The flavor is in it.
However, as he looked at it, he discovered that characters seemed to appear in the landscape painting - a small ink dot approaching rapidly in the distance. After getting closer, we could see that it was a man and a horse, coming straight from the east of the river.
"Alert." Himura Hiroyuki raised his hand, and the Imagawa family's hatatos all drew their swords in their hands and dispersed the battle formation.
Not long after, I saw the man approaching, with no one else following him. The horsemen gradually felt relieved, and Akai Heigao came forward to check the items that the man carried with him. After unloading his weapons, he was released to see Imagawa Yoshimoto. The man saw the formation of 400 cavalry, and then took a look at Imagawa Yoshimoto's appearance and clothes. He recognized the man in front of him as the governor at a glance.
"Your Highness, I didn't expect to meet you here. It's true that the ancestors of the Kazuyama family are wise. Please save the Kazuyama family!" The man didn't say much. He knelt down in front of Imagawa Yoshimoto and said: "My Majesty, Kazuyama Shikiyo, please send your troops to Kazuyama Castle as soon as possible!"
"Katsuyama clan Kiyo?" Imagawa Yoshimoto immediately remembered this name. Taiyuan Xuezai mentioned it to him many times, "You are my teacher..."
"That's right, I am the internal agent placed by Master Xuezai in the Katsura family." Kazuyama clan Qing clasped his fists at Imagawa Yoshimoto and said solemnly, and at the same time took out the token given by Taiyuan Xuezhai from his arms: "I wanted to secretly gather forces and take back The Katsurayama family has taken the lead and returned to the Imagawa family. However, the matter was exposed and the Hojo family has sent troops to suppress it. I finally escaped from the city. There are still many of my deployments hidden in the city. I hope your highness will come to my aid as soon as possible!"
The Katsurayama family is the most powerful noble family in Koto, Suruga country. Its territory is located in the easternmost part of Suruga County and the easternmost border of Suruga, adjacent to Sagami and Izu. Its residential castle, Katsurayama Castle, is located on the top of Mount Atago, overlooking the valley between Mount Ai and Mount Atago. It strangles the two main roads from Suruga and Izu to Sagami. Its geographical location is very important. ….
The Katsurayama family has a long history and was already a member of the shogunate's imperial family during the Kamakura period. Katsurayama Kegrōn even served as a valet to the third generation general Genmitomo, and was entrusted with the mission of crossing the sea as an envoy to the Song Dynasty. Later, as a close confidant of the Hojo Tokuso family, the Katsurayama family began to operate in eastern Suruga and gradually became a local leader. During the Muromachi Shogunate period, he submitted to the Imagawa family who was appointed as the guardian of Suruga and acted under the command of the Imagawa family.
However, because the territory of the Katsurama clan borders Kai, Sagami, Izu and Suruga, and is located in the land of the Four War, they have to maintain delicate relations with many parties to ensure security. During the period of the Katsurayama clan, the Katsurayama clan once married Hojo Soun, and the Katsurayama clan's daughter gave birth to Hojo Genan, who is now the mastermind behind the Hojo family. It was also because of this relationship that Hojo Soun adopted his third son into the Katsurayama family, changed his name to Katsurayama Clan Hiroshi, and inherited the Katsurayama family business. At that time, the Imagawa family and the Hojo family had a harmonious relationship, so they did not express much dissatisfaction with the Hojo family's move. How can I say that the Imagawa family and the Hojo family are related by marriage? Soun Hojo’s
The son and the Imagawa family are also considered cousins.
However, during the Hanakura Rebellion and the First Kadō Rebellion, the Hojo family and the Imagawa family turned against each other, and the position of the Katsurayama family became subtle. The then head of the family, Ujihiro Katsurayama, chose to desert the Imagawa family and join his brother Hojo Utsuna's side. The rebellion of the Katsura clan also caused the Imagawa family's rule in Hedong, which had been shaken by civil strife, to completely collapse. A large number of wealthy families followed the Katsura clan and defected.
However, the Kazuyama family had no children. After he died of illness in the seventh year of Tianwen (1538), his younger brother Kazuyama Sadashi's son, Kazuyama Yuan, had to inherit the position of family governor. Kazuyama Sadashi died young, leaving behind two sons, Kazuyama clan Yuan and Kazuyama clan Kiyoshi. Katsurayama Ujimoto married Hojo Utsuna's daughter and continued his policy of moving closer to the Hojo family. However, before the Kazuyama clan had a son, his wife from the Hojo family passed away unexpectedly. Therefore, he adopted a child from the Hojo family as an adopted son, intending to completely hand over the Katsurayama family to the blood of the Hojo family. However, his younger brother Kazuyama Ukiyoshi wanted to get rid of the bloodline and control of the Hojo family, so he was developed by Taiyuan Xuezai as an internal agent of the Imagawa family.
According to Taiyuan Xuesai's instructions, the Katsurayama clan Kiyoshi should secretly unite the anti-Hojo forces in the Katsurayama family, cooperate with the offensive scheduled to be launched by the Imagawa family and the Takeda family in the second half of this year, and echo the uprising in Katsurayama Castle. However, the matter was discovered in advance by the pro-Hojo forces in the Katsurayama family, and they immediately informed the Hojo family to send troops to suppress it. Kasama Ujikiyo desperately fled and unexpectedly met Imagawa Yoshimoto who was playing in Hedong.
"The vacation was ruined, and the trip turned into a safari." Imagawa Yoshimoto felt a little headache after hearing the news, but he had to go for this support trip. He had heard Taiyuan Xuezai say it many times - the most important part of this Hojo siege and the Imagawa-Takeda coalition's plan to send troops to Kadong was the uprising at Katsurayama Castle. If the pro-Imagawa forces in Katsurayama Castle are destroyed now, Katsurayama Castle will become the fortress of the Hojo family. When the time comes, the Hojo family clings to the fortified city of Katsurayama Castle, and the Imagawa-Takeda coalition forces really have nothing to do against the Hojo family.
"Immediately send an order to Hatamoto Mitsuto stationed along the Fuji River to prepare for the eastward march, and then send troop dispatch instructions to the Fuji family, Ogi family, Kōtsu family, Anhara family, and Kamahara family. At the same time, report the news to Imagawakan and ask the teacher to Decide how to deal with it." Imagawa Yoshimoto issued a large number of orders to the messengers at once, and then said to the horsemen: "We will go eastward immediately and arrive at Katsurayama Castle before sunset today."….
"Yes!" Everyone said with their hands in hand.
"How many enemies are there in total?" Imagawa Yoshimoto confirmed to Katsuraji Kiyoshi.
"In the Katsurayama family, my brother has a total of more than 360 people and more than a hundred soldiers. The Hojo family has already arrived with 1,000 people, and the leader is Hojo Tsunadaka."
"Hitachi Hojo...the leader of the Akabei team in Goshiki Biri" Imagawa Yoshimoto pursed his lips slightly, and then said: "They only have about 400 soldiers. We are 400 elites, so we are not afraid of them."
On the evening of April 17, the 14th year of Tianwen (1545), after galloping all the way, the horses of the Imagawa family arrived at a place not far outside Geshan City. Along the way, many once-prosperous villages and towns now seemed a little desolate. Some of the few common people they encountered also fled with their families and families after seeing 400 cavalry roaring past.
"When I was a child, I left Zentokuji Temple and often came here to play...I found pictures of flowers and birds, Japanese songs, etc. here. The river east was very lively at that time." Imagawa Yoshimoto looked at the deserted roads on both sides. He sighed sadly, "I don't know what happened to the folks in the countryside at that time."
"Your Highness, please stay focused and be careful." Himura Umoha, who was following behind Imagawa Yoshimoto, did not forget to admonish: "Even if Your Highness has eyes and ears in all directions and has entered enemy-occupied territory, you must Be careful. We didn’t encounter any sentries from the Kazuyama family along the way. Something is abnormal. Or they are hiding in a more hidden place that we don’t know.”
"Katsuyama, this is your family's territory. Do you think this is normal? Is there an ambush?" Imagawa Yoshimoto looked at Katsuragi Kiyoshi beside him with suspicion. After all, Imagawa Yoshimoto has never met Kazuyamaji Kiyoshi before. Although he holds the secret token given by Taiyuan Xuezhai, it may not be able to confirm his identity.
"Everything is correct. Your Highness, please give me directions. There are not many sentries on this road. They may have been transferred back during the previous fierce fighting in the city." Qing Qing, the Geshan clan, assured.
"Tsuchihara, take the ninjas to investigate the nearby area, and then investigate the information about Katsurayama Castle to see if it is what Katsurayama said." After all, it is about his own life and the lives of hundreds of horses, so Imagawa Yoshimoto cannot believe it. An internal response that had never been seen before said that they would rather delay some time and stay at a safe distance - so that even if there is an ambush, their 400 cavalry can retreat unscathed.
Kazuyama Ukiyo seemed to fully understand Imagawa Yoshimoto's concerns. Even though he was worried, he did not say anything to urge him.
Soon after, when the sun was almost hanging on the horizon, Tsuchi Atomsuke led the crowd back: "Your Highness, the reconnaissance is over, there are no hidden troops to the west of Katsurayama Castle, and the east is unknown. There is a small group of troops in Sannomaru, west of Katsurayama Castle. The resistance has been surrounded from the outside of the city and the retreat has been blocked. I wonder if it is the second son of Katsurayama. In addition to the flag of the Katsurayama family, the flag of the Hojo family was also seen in Katsurayama Castle."
"That should be it." Kazuyama Shiqing responded anxiously.
"As long as there are no ambushes in the west, even if there are in the east, we will have time to evacuate after discovering them." Imagawa Yoshimoto raised his hand and pointed: "March to meet the friendly forces in the west of the city."
Fuyao Weiying
