Chapter 52 11. A Meeting with Nagao Kagetora
After clearing a passage to attack the Hojo, the Yamanouchi Army and the people of various countries naturally prepared to retreat. The remaining wavering Ueno people must be dealt with by Hojo Takahiro himself.
Don't you see what kind of fierce men Hojo Takahiro's subordinates are? Although they are not very famous, they have spread all over Ueno through Nagano Yoshimasa's mouth. Even nearby Shinano, Shimotsuke, and Musashi heard that more than a thousand people defeated more than 6,000 people in less than two hours (Nagano Yoshimasa sold himself out). The myth of the Hojo army's invincibility was torn apart in an instant. How could there be any fools who jumped out and jumped around.
Do you think you have a mine at home, or do you think you have an oil field at home? Who in this area can pull out more than 6,000 troops that are more elite than the Hojo army? The remaining small fish are not a dish in front of Hojo Takahiro. At most, they are appetizers before meals to warm up.
Besides, Kanrei Uesugi Kento still had some face in the local area. Several branches of Nagao, as well as Akai, Yokoze, Yura, Dahu, Shirakawa and other younger brothers did not completely bow to the Hojo clan.
Now that Echigo has three big legs to support them, they have become arrogant and attacked and swept the Hojo clan's garrisons and pro-Hojo forces everywhere. Even Hojo Nagatsuna (Genan), who was originally stationed near Hirai, wisely retreated to Musashi to preserve his strength. His family was old and shrewd. When they saw that there were enemies on all sides, they had already run away. As for his nephew Hojo Yasumoto, he mourned for him. Anyway, his father Hojo Tsunari was able to give birth to seven or eight sons. He could make up for it if he worked harder in bed this year.
Koheita and Hojo Takahiro used up a month's worth of food for 10,000 troops. Anyway, it was not their own, and they didn't feel bad about robbing Hojo Ujiyasu's food. One was willing to give, and the other wanted it at will. The people of Shinano who followed them were so happy that they kept praising the leaders for their kindness. They didn't fight a hard battle and returned to Shinano in one piece. No one died and they got a lot of food. They all raised their thumbs and said, "You are so good. Come and call us next time if you have such a good thing. We will come at your call." As for the soldiers of the Yamauchi army, they all made a fortune in the two counties of Numata and only wanted to go home to harvest wheat. This is a huge limitation. The vast majority of farmers, foot soldiers and sergeants completely deal with the military service of the lord around their own fields. They don't understand the righteousness of the country. So more than 4,000 people went home happily, and their only focus was on their own small piece of land. Yamauchi Yoshikatsu and Koheita were alert to the strong combat effectiveness of the Echigo army. Fortunately, the Nagao family belonged to the pro-shogunate forces and even had to inherit the title of kanrei to maintain this broken ship of the shogunate. After returning to Yamauchi, Kobayata stored all the extra grain in the warehouse, which made Kitabatake University feel strange. In this world, people go out to fight a bad war to eat other people's food. As a result, not only did not many people die in this bad war, but they ate other people's food and brought it back, and the grain became more and more.
This business is really profitable, and they can fight more in the future. Kitabatake University patted the shoulder of the flat-headed man, saying, "Young man, you are great, I look at you with new eyes today." Kobayata was embarrassed: "It's luck, it's all luck." Then he quickly left.
He stored the grain in the warehouse and hurried over to report to Yamauchi Yoshiharu. Yamauchi Yoshikatsu and Yamauchi Chief Accountant had already reported to Yamauchi Yoshiharu. Yamauchi Yoshiharu also heard various descriptions of the Echigo Army from his group of hatamoto. From generals to soldiers, they are all brave, brave in outdoor battles (in ancient and modern times, those who are brave in outdoor battles are elite), moderate, united, clear rewards and punishments, and rely on the enemy for food, etc.
The various things of the Echigo Army aroused great interest in the father and son of Yamauchi Yoshiharu, who admired him for only a chance encounter. The father thought that he could win over this man to become a strong supporter of his family, and the son thought that he wanted to meet such a hero. But it is absolutely impossible for them to leave the territory and go to the base camp of Nagao in Kasugayama, Echigo. After all, the alliance relationship has not been completely clarified, and even if it is an alliance, it must be guarded. What's more, even if they go, what can they do? Nagao Kagetora is not at home.
Yamauchi Yoshikatsu simply proposed that since Nagao Kagetora has made friends with the shogunate and the court in Kakuchu, he can go to Kakuchu in the name of May Festival to present festival gifts to the shogunate and the court, and then pretend to meet Nagao Kagetora on the way.
Several important officials of Yamauchi and Yoshiharu Yamauchi also thought this was feasible. Going to Kyoto was a breeze. The Yamauchi father and son had been going back and forth for decades. Since they were in a third-party territory, the safety factor was greatly improved.
Kobayata immediately jumped out and said that he could escort Yoshikatsu Yamauchi to Rakuchu. There was no need to trouble others to be the guards. He was happy to serve. This made the others present very strange. After all, he, the governor of Uchida County, was already famous for his lazy administration and inaction (euphemistically called it inaction). Except for murder, arson, robbery and taxation, he did not care about other public affairs and let everything go. Some of his colleagues still did not know what their immediate superiors looked like. Moreover, Kobayata had been in office for more than half a year and there was no murder case, which meant that Kobayata had never been to work.
As for encouraging agriculture and mulberry cultivation, rewarding farming and weaving, suppressing bandits, and building water conservancy. These jobs can actually be done without Kobayata. The small peasant society has tenacious stability and vitality. As long as there are no large-scale man-made and natural disasters, it is very stable. As for the rest of the stealing and adultery, what is the point of keeping you like-minded people like Yamanouchi Yoshiharu! Why do you have to bother the family of Zixiaoji Tsuna for such trivial matters?
So, except for Yamauchi Yoshikatsu who didn't understand, everyone else was like Zhu Bajie eating ginseng fruit. It was the first time! This lazy guy who was so lazy actually took the initiative to do the work.
Xiao Pingtai sat down awkwardly and scratched his head. Yamauchi Yoshiharu thought that since you rarely take the initiative to ask for a job, you must be assigned to do it. Of course, Xiao Pingtai was happy. He could meet the dragon of Echigo. What was there to be unhappy about?
At that moment, Yamauchi Yoshiharu ordered that some flour from the new wheat be brought, as the rice had long been used, and some dried fruits from Koshu could also be brought. Don't bring gold, just prepare two more horses to carry a few hundred kan of counterfeit coins, and buy some more wine in Kyoto.
It was a bargain for the public officials in Kyoto, and he could pick up things for free, so Yamauchi Yoshikatsu had no objection. Anyway, it was not painful for the son to sell his father's land. They were all his father's property, and it was not a burden for him to give a few to others.
Xiao Pingtai coaxed Aji, "Your master is going to take you to Luoyang, come with me to see the world."
Four updates at five o'clock, more than ten thousand words today, almost the same as five or six updates, please spare me.