Ninja City is also known as the Floating City. Now this nickname has become more worthy of its name due to Ishida Mitsunari's previous water attack. With the collapse of the "Ishida Embankment", the area around Ninja Castle became a swamp. Although the Toyotomi army led by Ishida Mitsunari had to withdraw a certain distance due to the flooding of the Arakawa River, the surrounding area of Ninja Castle was even more unbearable and completely became a Marshland general.
At this moment, only people who are very familiar with Ninja City can rely on the memory of the river near Ninja City in their minds to row out and enter Ninja City. Toyotomi's army has basically stopped attacking in order not to fall into the muddy swamp. They prepared to wait for a few sunny days to pass and the summer exposure to evaporate the water in the swamp before resuming the attack.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, the General of Ninja City was able to lead his cronies, Ma Huizhong, to temporarily transfer to medical care to treat and care for injured warriors, peasants and soldiers.
Ma Huizhong can actually be used as a medical staff? This seems a bit strange, because in Japan at this time, the horseback was the guard force of the first army's main formation, responsible for the safety of the command organization of the main formation, similar to the guard force directly under the organization in later generations.
According to the records of the "Zhen Li Shu" compiled by the Warring States Daimyo Legion, the Mahuizhong is mainly composed of the direct subordinates of the general, and is the most loyal unit.
The most famous among the horseback clan are Oda Nobunaga's Akahoro clan (red mother's clothing clan) and Kurohoro clan (black mother's clothing clan). Maeda Toshiie, who later became the "Kaga Million Stone", was originally known as Akahoro clan. The famous generals Sasa Narimasa and Kawakushi Hidetaka were from the Kurohoro clan.
Later, Toyotomi Hideyoshi also imitated Nobunaga's Akahoro clan and Kurohoro clan and established his own security force, the Huangbang clan. In Tokugawa Ieyasu's army, Horseback was known as Hatamoto. Ieyasu's personal guard "Hatamoto Sensou", led by a large number of famous generals such as Kanbaru Yasumasa, Honda Tadakatsu, Torii Motoadaka, etc., was the most powerful in the Tokugawa army. Elite troops who have served as commandos in battles many times.
Such a force, which should be regarded as the most elite and core force in Ninja City, is actually used by the general of Ninja City as a medical staff?
Yes, it is true, because all the horse warriors in Ninja City are women.
There are not many of them, only about twenty, but they are indeed the troops directly under the general. The reason is that the general of Ninja City is a woman.
Her name is Narita Kai, she is the eldest daughter of the castle lord Narita clan, and she is usually called Kai-hime in honor. Ji, in Japan at this time, mainly means princess. Going back further, it is more "Chinese culture" and refers to "female minister" or female official - yes, it is the original meaning of the word "ji" after directly splitting the left and right sides of the word "ji".
Of course, there are differences between Japanese princesses and princesses in Chinese tradition. To put it simply, the daughter of a certain daimyo will usually be called a princess, that is, a certain princess. As for the real emperor's daughter, she was renamed the "Prince in the House" during the Azuchi Momoyama era.
Why can a daimyo's daughter become a "princess", "female minister", or "female official"? Because until now (the end of the Warring States Period), the status of Japanese women has actually been relatively high, and the root of this height is slightly different from that of Dian and Gui Tusi in the Ming Dynasty. It actually has a lot to do with Japan's religious and cultural traditions.
Many future generations may not know that in Japan before the Kamakura period, the inheritance rights of family property generally belonged to women. Even in the era of the samurai family, where force is respected, women's inheritance rights to family property have not been deprived, and the property acquired in the natal family does not belong to the husband's jurisdiction after marriage. Its ownership and control rights still belong to the woman herself, and the wife even has The right to inherit a certain share of her husband’s estate. The house governor system of some samurai families also stipulates that the first child, regardless of male or female, will become the house governor.
Even though the Chinese idea of "three obediences and four virtues" had been introduced to Japan during the Heian period, the effect went in one ear and out the other, and women were still respected by society. Even in the Edo period, when the Chinese Confucian ethical code of male superiority to women was at its peak, the status of women still did not plummet to the lowest level. There was even a baby daddy trend for two centuries.
In addition, women practicing martial arts was not a taboo in Japan during the Warring States Period. Most of the female samurai in Japan are the wives and daughters of the samurai family. They have received strict education and military training from the loyal masters of the samurai family since childhood, and can fight with their fathers and brothers on the battlefield. In the eight or nine hundred years from the end of the Heian period to the Edo period, there were indeed many famous female samurai.
During the Warring States Period, the only famous female samurai was Tachibana Chiyo [Note: By the way, her husband Tachibana Muneshige (formerly known as Takahashi Totora) was also the son-in-law of his wife, and Tachibana Muneshige was very qualified and was the eldest heir of the Takahashi family, but In the end, the son-in-law got married], Honda Komatsu, Tsuruhime, etc. Today, the general of Ninja City, Kahihime, is also one of the best. In the original history, he was not only revered as the "No. 1 War Flower (War Flower) of the Eastern Kingdom", but his beauty was also known as the "No. 1 War Flower of the Eastern Kingdom". one".
For some daimyo, the escort team is all female, and they are called "hime warriors". During the late Tokugawa period, Yamamoto Yae, the daughter of an Aizu artillery family, was influenced by her father and brother and determined to learn gunnery. When she became an adult, she led Aizu's artillery to protect her family and country. She was a famous female samurai at the time. In the Edo period, even the art of naginata was a compulsory martial art for samurai women for self-defense.
Of course, the overall proportion of female warriors is still a minority, and not all women who practice martial arts will go to the battlefield. In addition, unlike Mulan, and even different from the leading female chieftain among the chieftains of the Ming Dynasty, Japanese female warriors do not dress up in men's clothing, nor do they wear men's armor. They have individually designed armor, and they can wear whatever they want. .
Even in the 21st century, female samurai are still a unique sight in Japanese ritual activities.
Frankly speaking, on a global scale, in different eras, different societies, and different countries, the degree of oppression and enslavement of women has been shown due to the influence of various factors such as economy, politics, culture, and customs. and methods vary. But the status of Japanese women can be said to be uniquely high in the history of the world.
So how did this situation arise? There is a famous saying in Japan that praises women: "In primitive society, women are the sun." So much so that Amaterasu, the most central deity in Japanese myths and legends, is a woman. Amaterasu is regarded as the ancestor of the Japanese royal family and the main god of Shintoism. He is also the deity of the sun. He is admired by all people and has an extremely high status.
Japan has had ten generations of female emperors in power. Not only did the first female emperor ascend the throne earlier than China's "Emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty" Wu Zetian and Queen Seondeok of Silla, but the number of female emperors is probably unique in world history.
These female emperors came to power around the time of the Dahua Reform. During their reign, they made great achievements in domestic affairs, diplomacy and culture, and made outstanding achievements in the establishment of a centralized feudal state. The "Century of the Empress" was the era when Japanese women performed most prominently in politics.
Compared with the controversial Wu Zetian, the female emperor of Japan is generally highly praised by Japanese history books. Unlike Cixi, who listened behind the curtain, they were emperors who had officially ascended the throne. You know, among the Japanese female emperors, there are some who are more ruthless than Wu Zetian, and there are also some who are more lustful than Wu Zetian. However, Japanese history books have affirmed the reigns of successive female emperors.
During the Heian period, aristocratic women made outstanding contributions to the development of Japanese culture. The tradition of receiving cultural education from an early age produced many talented women who almost swept the literary field at that time. From "Tatsurei Diary", "Izumi Shikibu Diary", "Murasaki Shikibu Diary", "Saragami Diary", to "The Tale of Genji" and "Pillow", which are representative works of Japanese classical literature, almost all are written by female writers.
Kana (when Chinese people who have never studied Japanese read Japanese, in addition to the Chinese characters they can understand, the part of Japanese characters that cannot be understood is kana). This unique Japanese character was also created and developed by women. This is equivalent to saying that if the foreign kanji are eliminated, then the founder of Japan’s native characters is also a woman!
No one or any group should expect their social status to be given out of thin air, let alone to receive it through gifts. The status of Japanese women is the same. It is supported by both the traditions left by the matrilineal clan society and the achievements that Japanese women have made.
In China and most regions and countries in the world, as the agricultural feudal society replaced the primitive society of "picking wild fruits", the status of men greatly improved as the society needed labor and the country needed combat power, and eventually quickly surpassed women. This is the development of society. inevitable result at a certain stage.
However, this "inevitability" has become a bit magical in Japan. Since the "godhead" of the Imperial family comes from female gods, the status of women has been guaranteed for a long time, giving rise to the current status of the Hime Samurai.
This is obvious when comparing China: China's "God of Creation" Nuwa is also a woman, but China does not have a royal family that has never changed, and no royal family claims that they are Nuwa's "biological" descendants. Therefore, after men firmly took control of society, a deity with greater "merits" than Nuwa appeared - the great god Pangu in "Pangu Kaitian", which established the "legal system" of male dominance.
Therefore, what China talks about is that men are yang and women are yin; men are heaven and women are earth; men are Qian and women are Kun... There has never been a saying that "the sun god is female". [Note: Of course, there is something more awesome about Chinese mythology, that is, people-centered thinking appeared very early. That is, if gods abuse the people, Chinese ancestors would even dare to rebel against the gods. For example, Hou Yi shot the sun, etc. This is this kind of people-centered thinking. manifestation. This is unique in the world. ]
Japan's unique tradition created the Hime Samurai and created the "miracle of Ninja City" at this moment.
Narita Kai took his Ji Samurai and Ma Huizhong to take care of the wounded, which not only accelerated the recovery of the wounded, but also greatly boosted morale. Many peasants and soldiers patted their chests and shouted: "Although Guan Bai's warriors are powerful, when it comes to Ninja, The city can only stare outside the city!"
Every time Narita Kai heard similar words, he always smiled and answered tirelessly: "Yes, yes, the survival of Ninja City depends on the bravery of the kings."
But having said that, when she was discussing the enemy's situation with the Narita family's chief patriarch, Masaki Tanba, the brave generals Shibasaki Izumi, and Sakemaki Renato, she did not have such a relaxed and comfortable look on her face. Instead, she frowned deeply and looked clear. There was obvious worry in his eyes.
The worry came from a new piece of news sent by Monogami Bansou: Sekiba Toyotomi Hideyoshi learned that Ishida Mitsunari was frustrated in Shinobi Castle and ordered a hundred large tubes to be sent from the Chinese Army.
Some proper nouns in Japanese are very vivid. For example, "monoken" means observation and reconnaissance. The Monogami Banto is the leader of the reconnaissance team, responsible for detecting enemy movements, terrain, battle conditions, etc., and providing useful intelligence to the headquarters staff group in a timely manner.
As a side with obviously weak military strength, Ninja Castle used its reconnaissance power to the extreme, and even the Toyotomi Army was placed in the Odawara Castle headquarters. As for the big tube, as explained before, it is the Japanese name for artillery.
According to the report from Mononomibanto, the large tube sent by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in Sekibai has been set off. There are two types of large and small, eighteen large ones and eighty-two small ones. In fact, this means that Toyotomi Hideyoshi sent eighteen Kyohwa No. 2 cannons to Ishida Mitsunari, and a total of eighty-two No. 3 and No. 4 cannons.
Because of the terrain of Ninja City, those No. 3 and No. 4 cannons would probably be difficult to use in breaking down city gates and walls, but the same could not be said for the eighteen No. 2 cannons, which the Japanese considered to be completely cheating.
Narita Kai has not actually seen this kind of giant cannon with her own eyes, but she has heard of it.
A few years ago, when the Beiyang Maritime Trade Alliance opened a shipping route to Ou (Northeast Japan), an artillery battle broke out with the Anton Navy. During the battle, a No. 2 gun shell from the Sea Trade Alliance hit an Anzhai ship of the Andong Navy. That single shell alone punched a hole in the poor Anzha ship diagonally. The shells entered near the waterline on the port side and exited below the waterline on the starboard side. Because the hole was too big, the Anzhai boat was quickly abandoned due to a large amount of water.
With just this one cannon, the navies from Kanto and Northeast China, who had never participated in trade with the Ming Dynasty, were frightened. They never thought that there was such a huge cannon in the world that could destroy mountains and crack rocks. At this point, the fleet of the Beiyang Maritime Trade Alliance rampaged across East Japan, and no one dared to stop it anymore.
"Ezo Principle" The reason why Uyizaki Yoshihiro honestly followed Kyoka's request to find cold-resistant rice seeds in Hokkaido was because the strongest force in that sea area was the Andō Navy, and the Andō Navy was in the Sea Trade Alliance. He was so vulnerable, how could he dare to resist?
Now, Toyotomi Hideyoshi has sent twelve such giant cannons to Ishida Mitsunari. How can Narita Kai not be worried?
In the castle of Ninja, a tall and plump man, Narita Nagasaki, is kneeling on the main throne. Below him, in the two rows to the left and right, are the ministers who are kneeling according to the clan and the family elders, middle-aged elders and other important ministers.
Although Narita Kai is a princess, she is kneeling at the head of a clan as a warrior and a general. At this moment, she is leaning down, and her crisp voice is full of heroic spirit: "Uncle, once you turn off Bai's big tube Upon arrival, as long as there are three clear days, the city gates and walls of Ninja City may be broken.
In view of this, I have decided to take the initiative and launch a sneak attack before the Otsutsu team arrives at the outskirts of Ninja City, in order to destroy Otsutsu and protect Ninja City from threats. Please allow me, uncle! "
Narita Nagauchi still had a simple and honest smile on his chubby round face. He looked at Narita Kai and said: "I heard that in order to transport these one hundred Tang Dynasty barrels, Guan Bai sent more than 3,000 people. We Ninja City only has a total of 3,000 troops. , there are only a few hundred warriors, so how many people do you need to sneak attack Otsutsuki?"
Narita Kai said: "Only two hundred warriors."
"But we don't have two hundred war horses anymore." Narita Nagachi said.
"It's all mud outside Ninja City, and even the inside of the city is flooded, so we can't ride horses in the first place, we can only walk."
"On foot...how to avoid the enemy troops outside the city?" Narita Nagachichi hesitated.
However, Narita Kai seemed confident and replied: "I will take my Hime warriors and drive the boat straight to the Arakawa River. Since there are men and women in the team, we can pretend to be refugees and go out. In this way, the Toyotomi army Then there will be no doubt.”
Odawara Castle is in the southwest of Ninja Castle, and Arakawa is in the east of Ninja Castle. Narita Nagachika thought for a while and said: "Should we go to Arakawa first and then return...Okay, I agreed. You can choose who you want to bring." .”
"Yes, uncle."
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