(PS: The map has been uploaded to the book review area: Book Friends Circle-Writers Say, please check it out)
On March 27, the 14th year of Tenmon (1546), there was an evaluation meeting of the generals of the Southern Army at Makishima Castle Castle.
"Oh?" Hosokawa Harumoto looked at the letter of resignation sent by another Nagao family envoy in front of him, and asked in disbelief: "You Nagao family are going to betray me and join the Miyoshi family's traitors. Is that so? Last time, your rude messenger contradicted me in every possible way, and I didn’t blame him. But first of all, you... you really bullied me too much."
The envoy of the Nagao family did not answer, but just knelt down and sat there silently. However, Hosokawa Harumoto, who came from a privileged background, was still very well-educated. He did not lose his composure in front of everyone, but followed the rule of not killing the envoy. He waved away the Nagao family envoy who might have made a fatal decision. go out.
"This "Tora Chiyo" of the Nagao family is actually an upright samurai. "Imagawa Yoshimoto quietly said to Takeda Harunobu next to him, "It's not like the "Tora Chiyo" of the Takeda family. If it were you, you would definitely keep it secret, quietly lead the army to the battlefield, switch sides when the battle begins, and catch the Confederate army by surprise. "
"That's not necessarily the case." However, Takeda Harunobu just smiled and gave an ambiguous reply, "This is not a war for the Takeda family. What should I be positive about? The life and death of the leader has a lot to do with me. Does it matter?"
At this moment, Taiyuan Xuezai, who was sitting behind Imagawa Yoshimoto, suddenly stepped forward, raised his hands to Hosokawa Harumoto who was sitting on the throne, and said: "In charge of the hall, the poor monk has the courage to speak. Now that the matter has come to this, we should Immediately send troops to attack Kyoto, and defeat the main force of the Northern Army stationed in Kyoto before the Nagao Army arrives. Retaking Kyoto can not only cut off the connection between the Nagao Army and the Northern Army, but also demonstrate our military power to the daimyo who are still watching, and support them. Ritsukōden (Ashikaga Yoshiaki) returned to Nijo Castle to take the throne."
"That makes sense." Hosokawa Harumoto nodded slowly after hearing this, "After all, the Nagao family also brought more than 7,000 people. If he joins our side, it will be our Southern Army of 100,000 people versus the Northern Army of 80,000 people. If he goes to the Northern Army, the strength of both sides will be between 50 and 50. We must fight for the initiative. Whoever takes Kyoto will be justified."
"It's just that the terrain in Kyoto is complicated. There are streets, temples and ancient buildings nearby, so I'm afraid I'll encounter street fighting. If I come from afar and are unfamiliar with the terrain and rush to attack, I'm afraid I'll be in trouble." Takeda Harunobu He also cupped his fists and saluted, and took the initiative to speak. The other famous people from the Eastern Kingdom also nodded in agreement.
Imagawa Yoshimoto looked at Taihara Sekssai and Takeda Harunobu beside him suddenly taking active actions, and blinked in confusion.
"That's a problem... Apart from me, the only people here who are familiar with Kyoto are Dansho (Rokkaku Sadeyori) and Sotetsu Asakura Sotetsu. But both of them have to accompany the army, so it's difficult to stay in the center. Military command, it is inevitable that there will be omissions in the dispatch." Hosokawa Harumoto pondered for a long time, then came up with an idea and looked at Taiyuan Xuezhai: "I heard that Master Xuezhai lived in Kyoto for a long time when he was young. The geography of Kyoto should be It couldn't be more familiar. Can you, Xuezhai, be appointed to serve the Southern Army and help me take charge of military affairs?"
"The poor monk has little talent and little knowledge, so he may not be able to hold a big position. But since His Highness is famous, the poor monk can only dedicate himself to it." Taiyuan Xuezhai accepted the task after being politely humble. His name, Taiyuan Xuezhai, has long been famous all over the world, and the other daimyo present would naturally have no objections. Only Imagawa Yoshimoto felt that it was a bit subtle - according to the formal etiquette, Taiyuan Xuezhai should avoid it at least twice to be considered polite. How can there be any reason to accept an appointment the first time? It seems a little too impatient.
"In this case, please make preparations to set off today. We will head north to Kyoto early tomorrow morning." Hosokawa Harumoto then stood up and signaled the meeting to end, "Please give Master Yuksai a lot of thought about the specific military layout and how to attack Kyoto. Already."
·
After the meeting, Imagawa Yoshimoto returned to the military camp with Taiyuan Yuksai and Takeda Harunobu, and immediately expressed his questions to them: "Teacher, why were you so anxious to become a soldier of this army just now? It seemed a little bit...巟
"Silly boy, how can you care about your grace at this time?" Taiyuan Xuezai snorted from his nostrils and glared at Imagawa Yoshimoto, "This is a fat guy. Who doesn't keep an eye on this and won't grab it?" Gone?
Do you still want to be humble? "
"But..." Imagawa Yoshimoto kept remembering what Takeda Harunobu said just now in his mind, "This is not a battle fought by our Imagawa family, but by a multinational coalition. Why should we worry about managing His Highness and other daimyo?"
"You think I'm worrying about them? That's a big mistake." Taiyuan Xuezai laughed and shook his head, then nodded to Takeda Harunobu and said, "Thank you so much for Takeda's meal, for singing with me and helping me win this The position of military service."
Imagawa Yoshimoto was even more confused and looked at Taiyuan Xuezai and Takeda Harunobu with a frown.
"Chengfang, you still don't understand?" Taiyuan Xuezhai sat down opposite Imagawa Yoshimoto, fiddled with his rosary and explained to him: "Of course, if it is convenient, as my teacher, I still hope that the Southern Army can win this battle. Yes. After all, if the Confederate army wins, our Imagawa family’s share of the benefits is indispensable. If the Confederate army loses, our Imagawa family’s troops will inevitably be affected. But, these are not the point.”
Taiyuan Xue Zhai knocked on the table, and then whispered: "The most important goal of our Imagawa family in the battle is not to defeat the Northern Army, nor to win the victory of the Southern Army. It is to trap the Oda Army and Sai as much as possible The Fuji Army and the Hojo Army should let their troops lose as much as possible, and it is best to lose all their daimyo and samurai in this battle."
Imagawa Yoshimoto took a breath: "Why?"
"Because they are the geographical enemies of our Imagawa family. Compared with the illusory rewards from the Imperial Palace and the high-sounding official positions in the Kyoto court, it is more profitable to actually weaken the enemies around the territory and the enemy's allies. ." Taiyuan Xuezhai's extremely realistic analysis does not know whether it will make the samurai who have fought in Kyoto for central power and justice throughout the ages feel ashamed.
"But they are friendly forces." Imagawa Yoshimoto's brows furrowed even more tightly, "It's not convenient for us to go directly... Wouldn't that destroy the Imagawa family..."
"Of course not. Then the Imagawa family will completely cut off the martial arts family in the world, and I will not do such stupid things. We must find a way to kill people with a borrowed sword and let the Northern Army kill us and our friendly forces." Taiyuan Xuezhai has already made up his mind. The beads in his hand were being dialed like an abacus, "That's why the teacher has to compete for the position of military service. This gives him the power to mobilize troops. Although the Oda family, Hojo family and Saito family will probably also My master's orders may be violated in both positive and negative ways, but it's not easy to do it too obviously. They are always at my mercy, so my master has the opportunity to transfer them to death."
"It's not just us who want to win this army, everyone needs it. That's why I took the initiative to speak out at that time, pointing out that the terrain of Kyoto was complicated, and blocking the mouths of the Tokoku daimyo who were not familiar with the terrain of Kyoto, and not allowing them to fight for the army. Takeda Harunobu also helped, "But Mr. Rokkaku and Sotechi Asakura, do you think they don't want to seize the chance? It's just that compared to our Imagawa family, which is far away, Mr. Highness the governor is definitely He is even more worried about the Rokkaku family and the Asakura family on the other side of the bed. Even if they are allies, they are not willing to let them hold the power of the military and endanger the interests of the Hosokawa family. That's why he chose Master Yukisai."
"So we have to lay out a formation to trap the friendly forces without revealing anything, and on the other hand we have to strive for victory as much as possible?" Imagawa Yoshimoto felt his head was getting big, and he subconsciously pulled out a folding fan and started to fan himself, " Isn’t this the opposite? How can it be done? We can only choose one between the actual benefits of weakening the surrounding daimyo and the false reputation of winning this war, right?”
"Just wait and see, Chengfang." Taiyuan Xuezhai put the rosary in his arms, with a faint smile on his lips, "As a teacher, I have my own plans, just keep an eye on them."
·巟
On March 28, the 14th year of Tenmon (1546), the Confederate Army broke camp and set off, heading north from Makishima Castle to Kyoto, and arrived at Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine in the southeast of Kyoto in the evening. Late at night, the Southern Army held its final military situation assessment meeting before the start of the war.
"Tanma reported that no traces of the Northern Army's garrison were found in Dongfu Temple and Guangmingyuan in the north. The monks in the temple have taken refuge and left. They can be used as a base for tomorrow's advance." Taiyuan Xuezhai stood on the map hanging next to the main seat and told everyone present The daimyo explained the current development, "But further north is the city of Kyoto. The view is unclear and signs of activity of a large number of Northern Army ninjas can be seen. Our scouts do not dare to enter rashly."
「
Next, we need to discuss specific combat arrangements. "
As soon as this statement came out, the atmosphere in the tent suddenly became tense.
In any case, this battle between the Northern and Southern armies, in which famous names from all over the world gathered in Kyoto, is a battle destined to go down in history. If you can serve as a pioneer in such a battle or make military exploits, you will become a samurai who will be sung from generation to generation and leave his name in history. Even if there are more interests to consider, this is still a huge temptation for the daimyo who grew up under the moral principles of the martial arts.
Of course, the minor daimyo are not worthy of participating in such competition, and as the general, Hosokawa Harumoto will definitely not be the first to visit the doctor. The only ones who are truly qualified to fight for the vanguard are the Imagawa family, the Takeda family, the Asakura family and the Rokkaku family. Several daimyo exchanged glances with each other, confirming each other's opinions.
Takeda Harunobu's expression was a little subtle, as if he was deliberately showing an attitude of wanting to compete to encourage others to take the lead, but in reality he was focused on studying family interests and didn't care about these so-called reputations and honors.巟
Rokkaku Sadayori is on the contrary. He is more traditional and takes his position as a pioneer very seriously. Although he does not have any unnecessary expressions, the aura he exudes still has a sense of responsibility.
Asakura Sotechi's enthusiasm was somewhere between the above two. He sipped the tea in his cup leisurely, but his eyes were sharp. For a well-known family like the Asakura family who frequent Kyoto, the prestige in Kinki seems to be part of the family's strength.
Finally, everyone turned their attention to Imagawa Yoshimoto, wanting to know more about him.
Imagawa Yoshimoto was minding his own business playing with the folding fan in his hand. When he raised his head and saw three looks, he was a little startled, and then showed an innocent expression.
Just have "no care" written all over his face.
However, in this subtle atmosphere of confrontation, a person suddenly stepped out from the back row and asked for orders in public:
"Your Highness, Master Xuezai, and the three thousand sons of the Oda family are willing to be the vanguard! Fight back to the Imperial Palace and avenge the Gongfang Palace!"
