Chapter 14 Seventh Story Hideyasu Yuuki-2

Ieyasu secretly manipulated the situation.It was Xiukang who worried him at this time. Jiakang called Xiukang's family elders and told them: "This man is too dull, you must help him well, and don't let him go astray." If Hideyasu naively got involved in the internal affairs of the Toyotomi family and was used by a faction, then Ieyasu's ulterior motives would have to fail. There are two factions in the Toyotomi family.The impeachment of Ieyasu is a careerist with an attempt to usurp power. It is Hideyoshi's political assistant officer Ishida Mitsunari and his party members. They use Hideyoshi's biological mother Yodohime as the backer of the faction.Opposing Ishida is Kato Kiyomasa and his friends. This faction may be called the field faction. Their core figure is Hideyoshi's official wife Beizhengsuo.Both factions were daimyos cultivated and promoted by Hideyoshi, but after the establishment of the Toyotomi regime, the Ishida faction, as a civil servant, was at the center of the regime.The Kato faction, as professional soldiers, was forced to stay away from the core.The Kato faction believed that it was the Ishida faction around Hideyoshi who often drove them into trouble, so when Hideyoshi died, they threatened: "Now there is no need to worry about Your Highness. Now that things are going to kill Ishida and the others head, eat their flesh!"

At the same time, they armed their respective mansions in Osaka, openly made enemies with Shi and the others, and there was even a trend of hand-to-hand street fighting.Ieyasu tried to take advantage of this internal dispute in the Toyotomi family.Sometimes he mediates as the chief elder of the Toyotomi family, and sometimes he secretly instigates and instigates.Ieyasu privately supports the faction of Beizhengsuo and Kato Kiyomasa and others.Ieyasu's plan is: use Kato's faction to incite the deep hatred of this party against the Ishida faction, let them point the finger at the Ishida faction, drive one party to punish the other, and finally achieve the goal of changing the dynasty through this method.Ieyasu felt that he did not have to use his own Kanto Corps to destroy the Toyotomi family, but to maintain the internal struggle among the trusted daimyo to which the Toyotomi family belonged. A Armageddon, and only then did the coup begin.This is the blueprint of Ieyasu's design.According to this blueprint, Ieyasu actually made the arrangement, and every step of the arrangement was successful.It's really funny.

Ieyasu thought: Because of the reasons mentioned above, "I can't let Xiukang be left alone, and I don't know what this person will do!" If Xiukang is left alone, it is unknown that he will go to Osaka to protect Xiuyao.In doing so, he naturally entered Ishida's camp. Ieyasu also took measures against his son Xiuyasu.In March of the fourth year of Qingchang (1599), Ieyasu called Yuuki Hideyasu to him and said to him, "I want you to be my guard." Ieyasu explained the situation: the situation will worsen day by day, and the Ishida faction is trying to murder Ieyasu, and is constantly making suggestions and plots.Naturally, what Ieyasu said was true, and Xiuyasu had heard about it before.Ieyasu further said: "However, the Tokugawa family has only a small number of troops at the top. It is very difficult to defend." His direct son Hidetada has been ordered to return to Kanto, and he is ready to send troops in Edo at any time. "In Kyoto and Osaka, my Tokugawa family is weak. Please replace Zhong Nagen (referring to Hidetada) and help me." Ieyasu said.

Ieyasu wanted to use this pleading method to arouse Xiukang's chivalrous heart.As expected, Xiukang was very excited when he heard this.As a son, he was entrusted by his biological father, which was the first time in his life.For this alone, Xiukang has already burst into tears.Xiu Yasu almost shouted: "The unworthy son is willing to go through fire and water for adults." Only then did he feel for the first time that he was Ieyasu's son. However, in the days since then, nothing special has happened.In short, he was always either in Ieyasu's mansion or in his own dormitory.He neither goes nor can go anywhere else.

Ieyasu thought: "Now, don't worry." As long as he is in this way, he will not become the bait of other ambitious people by keeping him in the pen. On March 3rd in the fourth year of Keicho (1599), Maeda Toshiie, the second elder who played a mediating role within the Toyotomi family after Hideyoshi's death, died of illness in Maeda's mansion in Osaka.From then on, Kato Kiyomasa and others had the freedom to riot.On the third night after Toshika's death, they staged a coup in Osaka Castle in an attempt to kill Ishida Mitsunari.Sancheng was aware of their plan in advance and fled to Fushimi alone.Kato and the others tracked and chased them.This group of people is Kato Kiyomasa, Fukushima Masanori, Kuroda Nagamasa, Hosokawa Tadako, Kato Yoshiaki, Asano Yukunaga, and Ikeda Teruma.

Sancheng was chased and had nowhere to escape, so he simply broke into Ieyasu's mansion in Fushimi and asked for protection.For Sancheng, Ieyasu is not only the main enemy, but he is secretly supporting the seven generals of the enemy, and he is the culprit hiding behind the scenes.Needless to say, Sancheng knew all of this clearly.Just because he knew the inside information, he was deliberately included in the army.He estimated that Ieyasu would not dare to kill him.If that was the case, Ieyasu kept him and didn't kill him. Many of Ieyasu's servants suggested: "Take this opportunity to kill 30%!"

Their opinion is that 30% of those who have been impeaching Ieyasu should be punished in order to gain the favor of the seven generals.Ieyasu didn't listen to them.Among his subordinates was a military adviser called Honda Masanobu, who held the same opinion as Ieyasu.This opinion is: protect Sancheng, keep him alive, and let him go back to his old lair—Omi Sawa Yamashiro.In the future, he will rise up to rebel, win over the daimyos, and send troops to attack Ieyasu.Only then will the time be ripe for a coup.Before that, 30% had to be kept alive. Ieyasu persuaded the top seven generals who chased to Fushimi.

He half yelled and half threateningly said: "Your Highness passed away not long ago, and Mr. Kuang Xiulai will not take over the throne for a long time. If you cause trouble in Fushimi like this, it is a great act of disloyalty to the old lord. If you If you still don't listen to the advice and insist on killing Zhibu Shaosuke, then my family is determined to accompany you. How?" The seven generals had no choice but to obey Ieyasu's words.Ieyasu let Sancheng live in his mansion that night, and planned to send him out early the next morning.Yet he was still uneasy.Maybe they are lying in ambush on the road.Ieyasu made careful arrangements.

"Major General, please send him all the way to Seta Bridge!" Ieyasu called Xiukang and ordered him to serve as Sancheng's guard.Xiukang nodded in agreement, and then asked, "What should I do if Qingzheng and the others ambushed me on the way?" Ieyasu replied, "Fight!" The word "battle" made Xiukang excited.Xiukang is so heroic, but he has never fought a war so far.He and Hideyoshi participated in the battle against Odawara with the army, and he also went to Hizen Nagoya with his adoptive father when he sent troops to North Korea.But did not participate in field battles.Exactly what Xiukang's temperament is like has not been tested in actual combat so far.

However, Ieyasu reassuredly said "Fight".Fighting, he estimated, would not take place.The guard was none other than Ieyasu's son.Qingzheng and their attack on the garrison led by Xiuyasu is tantamount to challenging Ieyasu.They don't do that. Unfortunately for Soo Kang, nothing happened on the way.Xiukang and Sancheng walked side by side on the Daigoguan Road, hoping that something would happen. "Even if I sacrifice my life, I will defend Your Excellency." As Xiukang said so, a youthful blush appeared on his cheeks.Thirty percent misunderstood what he meant. Ishida Mitsunari thought to himself: "This one is different after all. It seems that he has a special affection for His Highness Hideyori. Unlike Ieyasu and others, he has a deep affection for the Toyotomi family. Maybe he will support us."

He interpreted Xiukang's words to suit his own needs.Soon, the two came to the west end of the Seta Bridge across the Seta River.Walking across the bridge to the east is the vast Omi Plain.The mountains, forests and wilderness of Kita Omi are 30% of the territory. Xiukang said politely: "Then, I'm excused now." Mitsunari also thanked him politely, and presented Hideyasu with a short knife of Masamune (Masamune Okazaki, a famous Japanese sword maker in the Kamakura period.) that happened to be with him.As early as that period, the dagger that Sancheng had hidden was already a world-famous priceless treasure, and he did not hesitate to give it as a gift. Perhaps it can be said that this reflected Sancheng's extremely grateful and friendly feelings towards Xiukang.Later generations called this dagger Ishida Masamune, and it has been passed down. In July of the following year, Sancheng raised his troops in Osaka.He listed Ieyasu's various crimes.Its righteous name is: crusade against Ieyasu and defend Hideyori's regime. At this time, Ieyasu was in the hills, very close to Yuki, Xiukang's home city, probably only a dozen miles away.Ieyasu is on a journey to fight against the Uesugi family in Aizu.Ieyasu attacked the Uesugi family in his official capacity as the head of the Toyotomi family.This expedition is to fight for the world.To this end, he led an army composed of many daimyos belonging to the Toyotomi family.Ieyasu planned in his heart to use this army to fight those daimyos in Osaka. However, the generals also have their own plans.In order to unify their intentions, Ieyasu gathered the above-mentioned generals belonging to the Toyotomi family on the hill where the ruins of the small mountain castle remained, and asked them to decide whether to stay or not.At this fateful moment, some people were hesitant at first, and some people had a negative attitude towards joining Ieyasu.However, it didn't take long for all the participants to be infected by the atmosphere of the venue, and they said in unison: "There is no objection. As things stand today, we are willing to share our destiny with the Inner Palace." Everything worked out as expected.Ieyasu is satisfied.It can be said that Ieyasu's entire future destiny is based on the success of the military meeting in Koyama on July 25. The meeting immediately turned into a combat meeting, specifically discussing how to attack 30%.As a result, Fukushima Masanori, Ikeda Terumasa and other Toyotomi family daimyo formed a vanguard force and immediately set off to march west.Ieyasu decided to go back to Edo first, and then lead the Tokugawa army westward along the Tokaido, and let his son Nagono Hidetada lead the Tokugawa Second Army to go by the Nakasendo. The problem is Soo Kang. Ieyasu adopted the policy of not letting him participate in the battle.In Ieyasu's view, Xiukang was mostly a brave man on the battlefield. If he made great achievements, he would have to be rewarded heavily.In this way, Xiukang's influence will increase, and the relationship with his son Xiuzhong will become difficult.Those soldiers under Tokugawa's command who shared joys and sorrows with Hideyasu in field battles and sieges will eventually admire Hideyasu, and his prestige will surely surpass Hidetada.Xiuzhong's strengths are nothing more than his steady demeanor and his modesty.In this way, the order of the Tokugawa family will be chaotic, because Ieyasu has decided to let Hidetada inherit the Tokugawa family business.Xiukang himself might be pretentious and jealous of his younger brother's power, so he would rebel against him. For the above reasons, Ieyasu decided to send Xiukang to stay behind.Let him guard Utsunomiya Castle to restrain the Uesugi clan, and defend Edo Castle far away in the northeast corner of Kanto.To this end, Ieyasu sent an envoy to Xiukang's barracks.The emissary is Ieyasu's fellow clansman, Matsudaira Iakiyo who lives in Xuanfantou as an official. Xiukang jumped up from his seat and shouted angrily before he finished listening to the envoy, "Bastard!" He said, he was born in a general's family, facing such a large-scale decisive battle, but asked me to stay behind, how could this be possible?I cannot obey this order.I am going to leave here immediately tonight and lead my troops westward along the Tōkaidō as a vanguard.Please pass on my above opinion to my father. Jiaqing, who served as the envoy, was so frightened that his face turned blue, and he hurried back to the small mountain city to report to Jiakang. After pondering for a while, Jiakang said to him, "I see. You go and tell Xiukang to come to my place immediately." For such a vigorous young man, he must pay attention to the way he speaks.Jiaqing doesn't understand this. Xiukang came here by order, and he was climbing from the foot of the mountain to the top of the hill step by step. Ieyasu stood up from his seat deliberately, went to the door of the military tent to meet Xiuyasu, and then let him into another room.That kind of respectful and respectful look is exactly like treating a distinguished guest.After sitting down, he began to talk about the strategy of this battle. Ieyasu said: "Now we have to put aside the enemy Uesugi in the east and fight the enemy in the west. This is a moment that is related to the life and death of the Tokugawa family. If in the battle with Ishida San , the Uesugi clan behind them raised troops out of the Aizu Basin, broke into the Kanto Plain, and took advantage of the momentum to attack Edo from behind, so what will happen? Our Tokugawa family must perish." This is a serious strategic task.However, in fact, Ieyasu has already solved this problem.On the one hand, he has arranged for Date and Satake to contain Uesugi, and on the other hand, it is impossible for Uesugi to attack Kanto. According to Ieyasu, the Uesugi family is only a million-dollar name, and with his little force, it is already very difficult to defend the Aizu Basin.He doesn't have the ability to fight outside.As long as Uesugi Jingsheng doesn't go crazy, their Uesugi soldiers will not hit the Kanto Plain.However, for this Yuki Hideyasu, he couldn't make things so easy.The seriousness of the situation must be fully explained.Ieyasu exaggerates the crisis so that the young Hideyasu feels a heavy burden on his shoulders. Ieyasu said: "The Uesugi family has been a world-renowned tycoon since Uesugi Kenshin. Uesugi Jingsheng strictly abides by the laws and regulations handed down by his father Kenshin. His family's old mountain castle guard Naoe is good at using soldiers. His strategy is so clever that he is the first in the world. No one can compare with him. Unless there is an extraordinary person with high martial arts and extraordinary intelligence, he cannot compete with him. After much deliberation, I decided to ask the major general to take up this important position. I wonder if I can accept the order?" Xiukang couldn't help being overjoyed when he heard this, he was completely different from his predecessor, and gladly accepted the task.Ieyasu explained to him some matters that should be paid attention to in combat. Jiakang said: "You can use such a trick." He explained it in great detail.Uesugi's troops are attacking Kanto, so you should not defend Uto Miyagi, but give up the city. "Do you want to give up Utsunomiya Castle?" "Yes, give up." Ieyasu pointed out to him that Utsunomiya Castle is a castle built on a plain, and it is difficult to defend the city, so it is better to fight the enemy in the wild.Build a position in the wild, and when you see that the enemy has all crossed the Tone River, come to it for a long drive and make a detour, making a gesture of trying to cut off the enemy's retreat.When the enemy sees your move, they will be terrified and retreat back to Aizu in a hurry.Tactically, it doesn't get much prettier.When Uesugi sent troops to the Kanto region, because the battle line was too long, he would always feel that there was danger in the rear. As long as he stimulated this weakness, he would surely win. Xiu Kang became more and more happy.He said in his heart that he regretted rejecting this task at the beginning, it was completely his own superficial opinion.In this great war, isn't there such a glorious front waiting for you? To make a few digressions, during this period, in Tokugawa's army, some people made unambiguous comments about Ieyasu's three sons Hidetada, Hideyasu, and Chukichi. Nagai Naokiyoshi, a trusted samurai under Ieyasu, made the following record, saying that when the important news that Ishida Mitsunari raised his troops above reached the barracks in Oyama Castle, "Hidechu His Highness frowned and worried; Mikawa Mamoru ( Refers to Xiukang) stretched his brows and showed a smile on his face; Samoshou (Zhongji) was furious and very angry." The reason why Xiukang smiled was because he felt that through this battle, if he did it well, he might take advantage of the chaos to win the world.But his son Hidetada worried that the world of the Tokugawa family, which was supposed to be inherited by him, would be lost.This comment does not conform to the facts at the time, but it can be regarded as a description of the characters of Xiukang and Xiuzhong.The story hit the nail on the head with what was on their minds.And this is exactly what Ieyasu is worried about. The Battle of Sekigahara ended with Ieyasu's victory. However, Xiukang had no military exploits.The Uesugi family finally did not step out of the Aizu Basin, and Hideyasu had been serving as a left-behind in Utsunomiya Castle, and he never even got the chance to fire a gun.It can be said that it was shelved.It was as if this young man was destined to be born with only this one lottery. By the way, Ieyasu's heir, Hidetada, led the Second Army westward along Nakasendo. It was originally planned to meet Ieyasu's Tokaido Army in Mino, but unexpectedly, it was blocked by Sanada Masayuki's troops of the Western Army in Shinshu. Catch up with the Battle of Sekigahara.Xiuzhong is loyal and trustworthy, but lacks ability.However, regarding this matter, Ieyasu only expressed a little displeasure, and after the war ended, he did not ask Hidetada to return the throne of heir.Whenever he heard this kind of news, Xiukang couldn't help feeling sad that his hero was useless.He thought many times: What would have happened if he had let himself lead the army through the middle immortal way? After the battle of Sekigahara, the status of Toyotomi's family plummeted, and they became an ordinary daimyo, and Ieyasu won the world.When the feudal lords were redistributed, Ieyasu gave the northern kingdom to Xiukang.Xiuyasu put the capital of the territory in Beizhuang Castle (now Fukui City) in Echizen.In addition to the Echizen country, there are also parts of Wakasa and Shinano, with fiefdoms of up to 150,000 shi.However, these places have heavy snow in winter and cannot go to the Central Plains. Xiukang vented his grievances to Cainu Hasegawa, who came to him from Edo to serve as the elder of the family, in a low voice: "I feel like I have been thrown into a snow prison." Soon, Ieyasu became a general in Edo and established the Tokugawa Shogunate.Two years later, he gave up the position of general to Xiuzhong, and he lived in seclusion in Junfu City. Although Xiuyasu was the general's elder brother, he was only given a noble name, and he changed his surname to Matsudaira, which was an earlier surname of the Tokugawa family.However, the world still calls him Major General Yuki and respects him.And in this kind of respect, there is some feeling of pity for him. Although the innate majestic temperament he possessed since he was a teenager was a bit too sharp, it became stronger and stronger as he grew older.In July of the ninth year of Keicho (1604), when Ieyasu was in Fushimi, Hideyasu held a grand sumo match at his residence and invited his father Ieyasu to watch.Naturally, other daimyo and Xiukang's trusted samurai also came to accompany him.Not long after, the preliminaries of the fourteen pairs of sumo wrestlers ended, and finally it was Ozeki of the East and West Groups (the highest level in the sumo competition. Now the highest level is yokozuna, followed by Ozeki) The top players Zhuifeng and Shunli entered the stage.At this moment, the audience became a sensation.Zhuifeng is from Echigo, a powerful warrior in the capital, he was raised by a certain prince's family. Among the numerous powerful warriors in the world, he is the most famous.Shunli is a native of Kaga and a wrestler of Maeda Toshiie. Not long before this, he participated in the fundraising sumo match of Kitano Tenjin in Kyoto. In seven days, he played thirty-three times, winning consecutive matches and remaining undefeated. Record.For this reason, it was renamed Shunli.The whole audience was very excited about this group of competitions. The daimyos all stood up, and the guards also made loud noises, making the competition field turn upside down and out of control.At this time, Xiukang was sitting under the porch in front of the game.I saw him standing up abruptly. He just stood there without saying a word, looking around the audience with stern eyes.In this way, the whole place and courtyard immediately became silent, like barren mountains and wild forests. Ieyasu was amazed.Afterwards, he said to the people around him: "Today's game was extremely exciting. All four were shocked by Xiukang's majesty." This natural majesty should have been used on the battlefield, but such an opportunity finally never patronized him once. Ieyasu is afraid of Xiuyasu.After making him the daimyo of Echizen 500,000 stones, Nagahama Castle on the east bank of Lake Biwa was rebuilt immediately, and it was handed over to Naito, a direct daimyo of the Tokugawa family, for him to guard.This was to worry that in case Toyotomi Hideyori of Osaka launched a rebellion, his foster brother Hideyasu of Echizen might echo it.Omi Nagahama is located between Echizen and Kamiyama.Naito's garrison at Nagahama is to stop Hideyasu at Nagahama if he wants to join Osaka and go south.If Hideyori of Osaka Castle joins forces with Hideyasu of Echizen, Ieyasu doubts whether Tokugawa Hidetada of Edo can resist. In fact, there were even rumors at the time that once Fukushima Masanori went to Hideyasu's mansion and got drunk. At this time, Masanori raised his voice and said, "If a major event happens in the world, I will definitely stand by your side." This means that Toyotomi Hideyori started an incident in Osaka. If you, Hideyasu, join Hideyori's side as a brother, then I will definitely help you without saying a word.I can assure you of this.Fukushima's remarks after drinking are extremely threatening to the Edo regime. However, this anticipated danger also disappeared.Before the Toyotomi family in Osaka launched the so-called winter and summer campaigns, Hideyasu died of illness in his territory as early as the twelfth year of Keicho (1607).I was thirty-four years old.The cause of death appeared to be malignant syphilis and extreme weakness. People thought Xiu Kang would make trouble while he was alive.For example, every time he came to Edo, the Tokugawa family received him grandly, which can be said to be too much.General Hidetada went straight to Shinagawa. On the way from Shinagawa to Edo, Hidetada even put his sedan chair under Hideyasu.Because Xiukang resolutely refused, the result was changed to two sedan chairs marching side by side.Xiuzhong's well-intentioned efforts are probably instigated by Ieyasu.He used this kind of action of giving generous gifts to eliminate Xiukang's determination.It seems that it was such thoughtful arrangements that caused Xiukang to do nothing all his life from birth to death.Xiukang is a person with a dramatic character, but looking at the road he has traveled in his life, there are no dramatic factors. He has neither initiated any major events nor happened any major events on his life path. How did I come into this world?When Xiukang breathed his last breath in Beizhuang Castle in Echizen, such a question might have crossed his mind.