Chapter 5 Second Army Division-2

In April, the military plan remained controversial. At the meeting, Sanada Yukimura and others once proposed to send troops to Kyoto and Seta in Omi to actively meet the main force of the Eastern Army, but this move was also rejected by the two brothers Ono Zhichang and Zhibo. It was Xiaoban Kanbing Wei Jingxian, who was trusted by the Ono brothers, who proposed the plan of sticking to it.Jing Xian was originally a general under Tokugawa Ieyasu, but later he pretended to be a wandering samurai and was sent to Osaka Castle as a spy. Because of his "familiarity with Ieyasu's usual tactics", he was reused by the Toyotomi family.As a spy, the mission Ieyasu gave him was to try his best to prevent Toyotomi's party from going out of the city to fight.For this reason, Jing Xian cited ancient and modern battles to enumerate the benefits of defending the city.

He advocated that "going to war will lead to death", which made all the retainers in the direct line afraid of going out of the city to fight.Naturally, in their view, the idea of ​​a decisive battle 40 miles away from the city "is due to the self-defeating strategy of the wandering warriors." ) Having said that, Matabei was no ordinary person in Osaka Castle.Among the seven decisive battle armies, he was promoted as the general of the first army, and he often participated in the highest military affairs discussed by Governor Ohno.Whether it is among the retainers of the two factions, or among the middle and lower ranks of warriors, Youbei enjoys absolute prestige.

Matabei's squire, Nagasawa Kurohei, was a young samurai of direct lineage who respected Matabei Kiji as if he were a god.Later, he wrote in his autobiography "Nagasawa Wenshu": Once, when Master Jici was taking a bath, my senior brother and I walked in and said, "Let's help you wash and bathe." His body was very strong, and it was hard to tell that he was fifty-six years old.However, what surprised us most was the numerous knife wounds, arrow wounds and bullet wounds all over his body.He asked us to count, so my brother and I counted with great interest, and there were as many as fifty-three wounds.

——This is my whole life! he said with a smile. With such a chuckle, all the old scars trembled, which was really strange and funny.We feel that it is these scars that mean that when God of War returns, we can't help crying. Stories of these scars circulated throughout the city.The scars faithfully recorded Matabei's battle-hardened military career.However, he was not one of those rash, credulous, tricky vagabonds that frightened Mrs. Tai.Youbingwei's manners are decent, his conversation is gentle, more gentle and refined than those direct retainers who grew up in a comfortable nest of rich clothes and fine food.

Also soldiers and guards often say: "Military law is the law of sages and sages. Ordinary etiquette should be humble and respectful. As a general, you should do few things and ask for little. You should be kind and kind. That is, it is very important to be able to command the troops to resist the enemy without losing any chance." He was the commander-in-chief of an army in the Kuroda family, but he couldn't get along with his master Nagamasa, and eventually they had quarrels over some trivial matters, so he abandoned Gao Lu, who had an annual salary of 16,000 shi, and ran away, becoming a wandering samurai. Begging in the capital.However, from Youbingwei's behavior, it can't be seen that he is actually a person who has gone through the seas and is obedient when his fate is bad.Hebei always treats his subordinates so gentle, courteous and thrifty.

Last year, in the autumn of the nineteenth year of Keicho, the Toyotomi family accepted wandering generals, so he enlisted to enter Osaka Castle. Also entering the city at the same time as him were Changzong Gabu Mori and Sanada Yukimura. Although they were also wandering samurai, they were all princes or descendants of princes in the past. There are hundreds or even thousands of people who come to seek refuge.However, Matabei entered the city alone.The Toyotomi family first allocated two thousand soldiers to him and made him the general of the army.Youbingwei ingeniously trained his soldiers, and soon trained them like direct servants who had been in line for hundreds of years.

In the city, Goto Matabei's army can be recognized at a glance.It is said that other troops also naturally imitated the Goto Army, from the formation of the troops to the length of the weapons.Therefore, he is a popular person in the city. However, it is the matter of "Komatsuyama" that people feel troubled about Mabei.The ministers of the direct line were completely unable to muster up their energy, they were afraid of the long drive of Youbingwei to meet the doctrine. At the last military meeting, although Mabei still made a bitter statement, the governor who presided over the meeting cut off his words: "Master Matabei, in front of the lord, you should be careful when speaking." Then, he urged Sanada Yukimura Michi : "Master Saemonzuo, please share your opinion."

Yukimura is the son of the famous Shinshu general Sanada Masayuki. He has only two actual combat experiences: once when he was sixteen years old, he fought against Tokugawa Ieyasu's dispatched army in Ueda Castle in Shinshu with his father; During Ueda's offensive and defensive battles, which was the vanguard of the Japanese War, he repelled the Tokugawa army together with his father. However, Yukimura was gifted as a counselor, and after the Battle of Sekigahara, he and his father became monks and lived in seclusion on Mount Kudo in the Koya Mountains for more than ten years.During this period, he was familiar with the Japanese and Han military books, and learned and mastered all the military arts of his father.It can be said that Matabei was familiar with strategy on the battlefield, while Yukimura learned strategy deeply in his study.

The aforementioned Nagasawa Kurobei recorded in his memoirs: "Sanada Zawei Menzuo, about forty-four or five years old, has a scar on his forehead, is two or three inches long, and is very short." It is conceivable that he is short. A thin, deep-eyed person. It is said that when Yukimura entered the city before the winter battle, even the common people in the city cooked red bean rice and called out "Master Sanada for help." It is famous among the common people.His son Yukimura's resourcefulness is even more "the blue is better than the blue"! Hideyori was also very happy, and sent his retainer, the elder Zhichang, to Hiranoguchi to greet him. He also sent his servant, Kai Shou Suyami, to visit Yukimura's residence, and gave him two hundred gold coins and three silver cents on the spot. Wan Wen.

Soon after entering the city, Yukimura had a quarrel with Matabei. That was before the winter battle, and the inner and outer walls of the city had not yet been filled in, and the city outline was as majestic and solid as when Toyotomi Hideyoshi built the city.Yukimura sighed while inspecting the city: "It is indeed Toyotomi Hideyoshi's territory." But he found a serious weakness in the city defense. The city wall at the Yusuokou in the south of the city appears to be very thin, and Hideyoshi probably never discovered it during his lifetime.However, judging from the terrain and road conditions of Osaka, Yukimura believed that the main force of the enemy attacking the city must be concentrated in the south of the city, and another fortification should be built there.

In other words, build another outer city outside the city.Coincidentally, there is a small hill outside the dry city, and Xingcun has already had a plan in his chest not long after he entered the city. This is the later famous "Sanada Maru". In fact, the hero sees the same thing.Matabei discovered this shortcoming a few days ago, surveyed the hills on the spot, decided to build fortifications outside the city there, and drew a picture, prepared wood and deployed migrant workers in the city. Yukimura arranged for migrant workers in the city to prepare materials on his own.One day, he came to the scene and saw a pile of wood from nowhere. "Find out who ordered this arrangement?" He sent his trusted family member Uno to the city to inquire, only to learn that it was Goto Matabei who conscripted labor to build the fortifications. "Goto?" At that time, Yukimura didn't think much of the military's talent. Although he didn't have much experience in field battles, he was very conceited when it came to defending the city, because the battle he fought with his father in Ueda Castle in Shinshu was rare in ancient and modern times. A case of battle.And what is the guard going to do?He was very unhappy. "Move me!" he ordered. Matabei's temporary work shed was demolished, and the wood was moved to a distant place. Later, when Yubei went to see the scene, he couldn't help being taken aback. He asked who did it, and the migrant worker said, "It's Mr. Sanada." "This yellow-mouthed kid!" Matabei only said such a sentence, but the people in the city added fuel and jealousy, saying that Goto-sama and Sanada-sama had a falling out, and there were even rumors that Matabei threatened that if Sanada had such evil thoughts, he would break into the house immediately. Go to his camp, and don't hesitate to fight with him to see who is better. Among the hundreds of thousands of people in the city, there are 10,000 women.Most of the soldiers were improvised mobs, among whom were many spies sent by Tokugawa.There is no better city to gossip than gossip. Ono Zhichang was taken aback.I don't know how to deal with this son of a female officer of the Ministry of Finance. At this time, rumors that "Master Sanada is going to rebel" spread like wildfire.Yukimura's older brother, Nobuyuki Sanada, is the lord of Ueda Castle in Shinshu, and the territory produces 115,000 stone grains a year.Now he is a prince under Tokugawa, and he is in the army of the Western Expedition.Rumor has it that Yukimura deliberately wanted to build new fortifications outside the city in order to communicate with him. This kind of rumor finally made Zhichang make up his mind to solve this matter.He privately called Goto Matabei.Matabei thought that the governor wanted to listen to military opinions, so he went to Nimaru and went to the governor's mansion. "It's nothing else." The Chief Zhi said seriously about the rumors in the city.He is in his forties, and his talents are mediocre, but when he encounters this kind of personnel relationship, he is really enthusiastic like a son of a female official. "What do you think?" Chief Zhi tilted his head and said, squinting with his left eye. Hebei was so bored, he said: "Since ancient times, there have been many cases where castles were not conquered by foreign enemies, but destroyed by internal troubles. Master Sanada is a son of a famous family, and he is not a person who is ungrateful for profit. Over the years At forty, the character becomes more and more elegant, because of the boldness of heart. Rumors in the city have been heard for a long time. But I deeply agree with Sanada-sama's proposition. Maybe because of this rumor, Sanada-sama did not stick to the city, but stayed in the city Build fortifications outside, intending to risk your life and rush into the enemy's formation to fight. For this reason, I have decided to cede the land to Sanada-sama, and will no longer compete with him for the position. Since Goto readily surrendered, the rumors will be self-defeating." No one doubted that Sanada came to build the castle. Yukimura heard that this matter was Matabei's humility, but he didn't show anything. Youbingwei's staff said: "It's only human nature to come to thank you in person!" Youbingwei laughed and said, "I am the son of a warrior from a village in Bozhou. After losing my father when I was young, I roamed the rivers and lakes. Therefore, I am well versed in the world and can easily feel the love of others. However, the children of the aristocratic family are very different. They are born thinking that 'everything is ready. For me'. Sanada-sama grew up in wealth, how could he take this matter to heart!" Sanada Maru was completed in just over a month in mid-November.Youbei and the generals were invited to visit. The castle is fifty-four feet square, covering an area of ​​ten thousand square meters.There is a fence outside the castle, and there is a deep moat around the fence, and two layers of wooden piles are driven into the moat. Six holes are opened every five or six feet in the fence, and watchtowers are built between the towers. There are countless passages in order to connect with the watchtowers. It took a month to build a castle of such a scale, and Yubei was very surprised by Yukimura's command ability, and he also admired the originality of the castle. "It turns out that he is not an ordinary person." From then on, Matenei began to respect Yukimura.He thought: "This person can still talk to him." But thinking of the battle, he was very conceited.In his opinion, it is undeniable that Yukimura has outstanding talents, but he is just a master of defense who inherits the art of war inherited from his family and only knows how to defend the city. He is by no means a general who leads tens of thousands of troops on the battlefield. Soon after the completion of the Sanada Maru, more than 100,000 troops and horses were gathered in Temma outside the city for inspection, led by Goto Matahei.For this reason, Sanada Yukimura's retainers were very dissatisfied. ——Although Matabei was once a military general under Kuroda, with an annual salary of ten thousand shi, he was at best a retainer, not even an official.It is really unreasonable for us adults to listen to his orders. The family members of the former Tosa shouchang Zongzong Ibu Shengqin also complained.However, the rumors are really mischievous and will change beyond recognition. When these words reach the ears of Goto Matabei, it has become "Master Sanada is dissatisfied with this matter". "Don't ignore it!" Matabei warned his staff.Even so, he is different from Yukimura's admirers of later generations, and he has no admiration for Yukimura.Matabei's feelings are probably also very natural. The winter battle ended with peace talks. Toyotomi's family took advantage of Tokugawa Ieyasu's tricks and filled the castle. Since then, Osaka has become a city without danger, like a salamander with its shell broken. The "Komatsuyama" battle proposed this time is a matter of the decisive battle in summer.