Chapter 6 Chapter Six Three Years of Dormancy

The victory of Nagashino in the first battle, rather than strengthening Tokugawa Ieyasu's power, it is better to say that it consolidated Oda Nobunaga's position.Nobunaga's status has been rock-solid and unshakable.When Takeda Shingen was alive, Nobunaga had always avoided a decisive battle with him, but in Katsuyori's generation, he abandoned his previous avoidance strategy in one fell swoop.Now, Nobunaga proudly shows off to everyone: "I originally wanted to wipe out Shingen as soon as he stepped into the border of Shinano and Mikawa, but who knew that this old man was full of tricks, cunning and cunning, and he dared not come out, so he had no chance. What a pity. Just at this time, Shiro came out slowly, so I hurried back to Shinano in a panic."

As usual, the two warring parties at this time fought alone with beautifully attired warriors. With the pride of their families, the two sides exchanging names loudly, and then began to fight.The Takeda family followed this trend more.However, Nobunaga used unknown pawns with muskets to fight against the enemy. No matter what the opponent was, he used group tactics, which was a rare failure.As a result, no matter how brave the opponent's cavalry regiment is, as long as they have muskets, they can be dealt with by infantry.This method of warfare is an innovation in the history of tactics.In the past, only one in a hundred warriors were selected as generals, and for this reason, they even did not hesitate to promise high-ranking officials and rich salary, but now, as long as they have muskets, if they use more brains in tactics, Nobunaga's army will be invincible.

Therefore, after the Battle of Nagashino, Nobunaga did whatever he wanted, and established his dominance step by step. On May 25th of the third year of Tianzheng, Nobunaga triumphantly returned to Gifu; in August, he attacked the monks and soldiers of Yixiangzong in the Echizen area and entered Beizhuang; at the end of September, he returned to Gifu.On October 12th, he was already in the capital. On the fourth day of November, Nobunaga was granted the title of Quan Da Na Yan, and also the right guard general, with a high position and authority.On the fifteenth day of the same month, Nobunaga returned to Gifu and ordered his eldest son Nobutada to attack Mino's Iwamura Castle.Nobutada returned triumphantly, and Nobunaga praised him very much: "Nobutada, you are ready to take on the big responsibility. I will pass on this family business to you, and after that, I will retreat to Omi to build a new city."

Words must be done, actions must be resolute, this is the character of Nobunaga.Not long after saying those words to Nobutada, Nobunaga left Gifu lightly, lived in Nobumori's mansion in Sakuma, and spent the New Year there.The speed of action is astonishing. Of course, he did this because of his own considerations.If this is not the case, the construction of the new city cannot be completed as soon as possible.For this reason, Niwa Nagahide, who was ordered to build the castle on Mount Azuchi on the shore of Omi Biwa Lake, worked day and night to meet the construction deadline, even at the end of the year and New Year's.

"Changxiu, hurry up! I don't even have a place to live." Nobunaga rushed from Sakuma Nobumori's house to Azuchi from time to time, urging Changxiu to hurry up.He also said that a seven-story castle tower would be built on a mountain more than 30 feet high to make the city even more majestic. Hearing these rumors, Ieyasu hurriedly sent craftsmen and stone materials to help build the city.Ieyasu knew exactly why Nobunaga gave up Gifu City to Nobutada and went to Azuchi to build a new city.After Katsuyori defeated Nagashino, Ieyasu sent troops to Suruga immediately, captured Suwa Castle on August 24, and then rested and recuperated, dormant.

Ieyasu learned that Nobunaga was building Azuchi Castle in mid-November.When Sakai Tadashi, who was on a mission to Gifu, heard the news, Ieyasu was more worried than happy. "Oh. Finally built the city again." He sighed and fell into deep thought. Chuji's mission to Gifu this time is to participate in the celebration ceremony for Nobunaga's appointment as Kwon Dai Nayan and Right Guard General.Tadashi didn't understand why Ieyasu sighed, and said with great interest, "Gifu's wealth is really innumerable. As soon as the city was decided to be built, the road was ordered to be built immediately."

Ieyasu also nodded slightly, "Oh, even if the new city is built, you can't command the world." "This is not an ordinary road. I heard that Mr. Nobunaga will build all the roads in the territory to be three rooms wide." "Three rooms wide?" "And it's not an ordinary road like ten or twenty li. He wants to build a road from Gifu to Azuchi, and rebuild all the official roads in the territory. It's really a big project that has never been heard before." "Then who is in charge of road repairs?" "It's Fumsuke Sakai, Takaya Fujizo, Tarobei Yamaguchi, and Yaemon Shinoka. Nobunaga ordered them to complete the project as soon as possible, and he spared no expense in terms of money." Ieyasu still said calmly: "Then, the site selection and foundation stone laying , who is the graphic designer?"

"It's Mitsuhide Akechi." "Building cities wisely, and Niwa building roads, you really have a good eye. Soon, I will also build a project or something, so if I learn something, it may be useful." Although Ieyasu was laughing, he was actually very nervous. If there is no way to deal with Nobunaga, the consequences will be disastrous... Nobunaga had used the seal of "Tianxiabuwu" before, so Ieyasu knew exactly why he wanted to build a new city in Azuchi and why he wanted to build roads.Shibata Katsuie had already been installed in Echizen's Hokuso, Ise was already under his control, and Katsuyori of Koshu had been beaten to the ground by him.He has just been appointed as the right guard general, and he just takes this opportunity to control the world.

Azuchi and Sakamoto are separated by a narrow strip of water, and there is only a lake. After passing there, the capital is very close.This is not only the necessary place to go to the Hokuriku area, but also very close to Gifu. In addition, the wide avenues in the territory criss-cross, it is the best place to aspire to the world. "Tadaji," Ieyasu said, "let me ask you, why didn't Nobunaga build a city in the capital? Do you understand the reason?" Tadashi was very puzzled by Ieyasu's attitude today. He was clearly digging into the details of Gifu's affairs, caring about every detail, but his expression was as dull as today's gloomy sky.He was a little anxious, and said: "It's too early for Nobunaga to go to Beijing. There are monks and soldiers from Hongan Temple in Shishan, and they are far away from the west of Setjin."

Ieyasu took his eyes away from Chuji, and glanced at Kanbara Koheita, Okubo Heisuke, Imachiyo and others who were waiting by his side. "Even if Nobunaga conquered the world, he would not go to the capital to build a city." "Why?" "So far, no one who commands the world will live in the capital and cause trouble for the emperor. Nobunaga has realized this a long time ago. When it is really time to command the world, he may follow Azuchi Castle and live in Shishan Hongan Temple. Choose a site to build a city in the area of ​​Osaka." "I see! Then, after Azuchi Castle is completed, Honganji Temple will probably be the next target of conquest?"

"After Chuji conquered Honganji Temple and built a new city in Osaka, where will he go to conquer again?" "Next should be China①, or else..." 『①Refers to place names, which are the places west of Kinki on Honshu Island, Japan. The following may be referred to as "China Region". 』 Before he finished speaking, Tadashi couldn't help but gasped and stopped quickly. Ieyasu smiled: "After the battle of Nagashino, I was carefully planning the direction of the future battle. What kind of strength and what kind of preparations should be made to avoid destruction. These are all in my stomach. Hirasuke, set the table Bring me the notebook above." Okubo Heisuke took a notebook and handed it to Ieyasu.Ieyasu has been shutting himself in his study for the past few days, desperately writing something, and it turned out to be in this little notebook. "The number of muskets is: three thousand and seven for Oda, eight hundred for our side, and a total of four thousand and five for both sides. The number of Takeda troops defeated by these weapons is about eleven thousand. In this way, each gun can kill three thousand. Individuals." Ieyasu explained while staring at everyone, "If we only have 800 guns of our own, what will happen? Assuming that each gun kills three people, in this way, we can only kill 2,400 people. People." Everyone was silent, listening carefully to Ieyasu's list of numbers. "However, once we fight with 15,000 enemy troops, our casualties may be even greater. Therefore, the Sanhe people, whose total strength is only 8,000, don't dare to imagine the consequences, let alone victory. You see, this That is our strength." After listening to Ieyasu's explanation, Tadashi first sighed: "Of course, we must never say that our strength is insufficient. However, without Oda's help, the victory and defeat will be reversed." "Indeed." Xiao Pingtai also nodded emphatically. "Mr. Oda finally waited for the opportunity to command the world, and he wanted to go to Azuchi to build the city. I don't doubt Oda, but if the reinforcements don't come, or if Oda is our enemy, can we still win?" With crow's feet in the corners of his eyes, Ieyasu glanced at everyone with a smile.According to his many years of thinking, from ancient times to the present, the defeated party will certainly perish, but the victorious party will also be wiped out in the near future. This is an iron law.It seems human nature to get carried away after victory. From this point of view, Ieyasu feels that Nobunaga's momentum is too strong.Victory must be proud, and pride must be arrogant.Takeda Katsuyori's big defeat this time was because of his pride after winning the battle of Takatenjin Castle.Therefore, after Shenglixuan, Ieyasu has been constantly reflecting, evaluating his own strength, and seeing if there are such signs inside.Nobunaga is the complete opposite. He wants to take advantage of this victory to unify the world in one fell swoop.His power is so powerful that even this big victory can be ignored. On the second day of victory, that is, May 22, the scene when Okhei Kuhachiro was introduced to Nobunaga is still deeply imprinted in Ieyasu's memory. "Oh, you are the son of the big ghost. You did a good job. Nobunaga will never forget your character. To reward you, change your name to Xinchang from today on." Then, Nobunaga told the Okping family Seven people and five veterans toasted to celebrate. There is no shortage of precedents in history for changing the names of criminals.It can be seen that Jiubalang was trembling with emotion at that time.However, Nobunaga's unscrupulousness shows that he no longer has scruples about Ieyasu. Ieyasu had made up his mind long ago that he would never be someone else's vassal in his life.Nobunaga also knew this, and Nobunaga was still Ieyasu's in-laws, but he gradually treated Ieyasu as an orderer. Ieyasu continued to flip through the notebook: "People, when they win, they often forget to analyze the reasons for the victory. I just tried to write down these for self-defense. The reason for this victory is first of all your loyalty and bravery. No matter what happens , all support me, unite as one, and unite with sincerity. Without these, Oda would not come to support us. We may have perished. No, it can be said that without our strong strength of unity, the soldiers of Mikawa would not be invincible Brave, Oda will not only refuse to save us, but will even attack us in reverse...The second is good luck. Luck does not come by waiting. The object of our alliance is neither Takeda nor Beibata (zai), but with us Oda Nobunaga next door. According to the strategy of long-distance and close-attack, one side between us and Oda must perish. Fortunately, Oda and I have formed an alliance. However, don’t think that good luck will always be with us, we should also go our own way , Think about your own countermeasures..." Ieyasu turned another page, and suddenly, his expression suddenly became serious. Everyone stared at Ieyasu's face together.Witnessing the disastrous defeat of Takeda Katsuyori, Ieyasu believed that his own strength was not enough to protect himself.Everyone's eyes were full of dissatisfaction, but they remained silent. Why is this? "In the future, no matter what kind of enemy we encounter, we must have the power to defeat the opponent without relying on Oda, and luck will beckon to us. Until then, we should try to avoid all dangerous battles. We must work hard to find buried Talented people. Our territory is so small, and the annual harvest is less than 800,000 shi. We must pay attention to everything, pray to the gods and Buddhas, so that everyone can become rich. Work hard!" Everyone nodded together.It is very clear how Ieyasu views Oda's assistance. "Oh, it's getting dark, Tadashi, you've worked hard this time, I should go back too." Everyone congratulates the family. "Compared to when I was in Sanfangyuan, the lord seems to be a different person." Someone muttered. "Yeah, even though it was a defeat at that time, the lord was so angry that he wanted to tear the opponent to pieces. How brave it was. But this time, I always feel so oppressed by his side." "No, this is where the lord's thoughtfulness is. You see, recently, the lord has often written something, rode around the village, and talked to the people. These seem to have become the lord's It's a matter of duty." "Yes, to make the people in the territory rich, once there is any disturbance, let alone 800,000 shi, even 1 million shi, 1.2 million shi of grain can be produced." "In short, we must also be careful." At this time, Ieyasu was taking a bath in the inner courtyard.It is still his beloved Xixiang Aai who is in charge of the daily life, and even let her do the scratching.It's just that she has no children yet. "You are such a magical woman." Ieyasu smiled, "At first, you looked like Kira Kamehime when you were a boy, but now, you have penetrated into the bottom of my heart. Disappeared from my heart." In front of Ieyasu, Ah Ai neither spoke much nor deliberately left him with a strong personality impression. As usual that day, as soon as Ieyasu came out of the bath, she ran over with a change of clothes. "Actually, you don't need to do these things." Ieyasu always said that, but she only agreed, and she was as quick as usual. "As soon as I see you, I think of the calamus that blooms silently in Yahashi no matter in spring, summer, autumn or winter." Aai seems to be very satisfied with her current life. She is considerate and thoughtful, and never envies others. After getting out of the bath, Ieyasu walked into the hall that had just been built.Meals have been prepared long ago, and lamps have been lit in the candlesticks.This was all arranged by Xixiang in advance.Ieyasu sat at the table and ate in silence.It is still five dishes and one soup, with fried rice and meat.Xixiang Bureau sat opposite, watching Ieyasu eat with a happy face. "A'ai..." Ieyasu called out the concubine's name when she was serving the third bowl of rice, as if he suddenly remembered something, "If you have a child, I don't know what it will be like." "I think he should be an obedient and clever boy, but I'm afraid..." "What, you mean you can't give birth? I don't think so. Maybe he is a careful and thoughtful child." Aai suddenly glanced at Ieyasu out of the corner of her eye: "I ask you one thing." "What is it?" "I want to find another woman to serve you." Ieyasu put down his chopsticks all at once: "Your words are so strange. Do you think I'm joking? Do you think I'm blaming you?" "No, no, no. Didn't you say that the more children the better?" "Although I have such thoughts, you don't have to have children. If there is a woman you like, you can tell me at any time. I'm not an ignorant child." "My lord, I feel like I'm pregnant, so I came to beg you." "What, you're pregnant?" Jiakang looked at his concubine, his eyes widened, "Oh? This is such a happy event. No wonder you said you wanted to find another woman for me." In the era of polygamy, once a woman becomes pregnant, she has to give up the pillow next to the man. This is the precept that a woman should abide by.Not only that, but if you are jealous of your concubine after the age of thirty, you will be called an old goblin who seduces men behind your back.Therefore, as soon as that time comes, the main room will propose "letting the virtuous by the pillow" and give up the husband to the young woman. "Yes. I have chosen a woman for you, call her over for you to have a look." Ieyasu put down his chopsticks while thinking about it. "Forget it," he replied solemnly, "I just want to be happy that you are pregnant tonight. Speaking of which, I haven't really thought about having a baby before." "..." "When Xin Kang and Gui Ji were born, I was still too young, and when I arrived at Yu Yi Wan, my mind was full of troubles. This time, the child in your belly made me really want to be a father. Give it to me well. I pray for a good baby." A'ai looked at Jiakang for a long time, her eyes were moist: "Have you finished eating?" "Oh, it smells so good. It can be removed." Aai clapped her hands, called the maids, and cleaned up with them. "Report!" It was Iwan Chiyo's voice, "Just now Hiraiwa Kiyoshi-sama came from Okazaki and said he has something important to report to the Lord." "Nananosuke? Well, you call him here. You can go down now. We have something to say." After speaking, Ieyasu ordered someone to add another candlestick, and looked back at Ai again. Hiraiwa Nananosuke Kinkichi was ordered by Xin Yasushi to report the situation at the end of the year.In order to avoid incidents like Yashiro Ohga from happening again, Xinkang has always ordered Chinji to be the liaison between their father and son.Six or seven guards, including Koheita Kanbara, Heisuke Okubo, and Imachiyo, came in from the outside and stood on both sides of Ieyasu. There has never been such a thing.In the past, most of the conversations between the master and the old minister were just two people, and the words were very casual, regardless of priorities, but Xinkang could not be allowed to follow suit.This is a father's good intentions. "Ah, good luck, thank you for your hard work, come here soon." Knowing Ieyasu's intentions, Qinji saluted respectfully at the door. "Is Sanlang okay? Have you patrolled the territory carefully?" "Yes, through hunting, almost all..." "Did you find the filial son and the martyr? Saburo's eyes are always indifferent." For some reason, Pingyan Qinji hesitated. "Yes, yes, and, the young lady gave birth to another daughter." He lowered his head as he spoke. "Oh, it's a daughter again?" Ieyasu said, "It's okay, you're still young, and you can give birth to many more. Are the mother and child safe?" "Yes, all healthy." "You seem to have something on your mind?" "Yes Yes." "There are no outsiders here, so let's listen to it. Even if it is a bad thing, everyone can learn from it." "Then I won't hide it from you." Qinji blushed and said, "The first birth was a daughter, and this time it's a daughter again. The young master was very upset and chopped down all the pillars in the delivery room." "Xinkang went to the delivery room? You bastard! De Ji is not injured, is he?" "I heard the young master scolding something useless, Yun Yun was so mad at him." "Where's Deji?" "I can't make it through, I want to go back to my mother's house..." "Did no one persuade her?" "Persuasion. Mrs. Jiu Songtai came from Sandao City to comfort the young lady, and Mrs. Zhushan also came..." "Okay!" Ieyasu said, "I don't need to talk about it later. It's just that the matter has subsided like this?" "Yes. I wanted to calm down the young master, so I took him out to hunt. It's really strange. There are more or less prey on weekdays, but there was no prey at all that day. I was not happy. I met a monk in the village. Chanting scriptures. The common people said that because of the New Year’s Eve, they had to practice scriptures, so they brought a monk they met on the road to the village.” Ieyasu closed his eyes.Xinkang was pampered and spoiled since he was a child, he couldn't hunt, and he couldn't do anything good when he met monks. Everyone in the house lost interest, and Xinyasu couldn't speak well to anyone. Knowing this, Ieyasu was both angry and helpless.Whether it's the same for young people, I don't know what's good or bad... Ieyasu recalled his past again. "He killed that monk?" "yes……" "What... what's the matter?" Asking, Ieyasu regretted it. Qinji looked at the people present with trepidation, not knowing how to answer. "In the end, I still killed people. This bastard!" Moreover, it is probably not an ordinary murder.Xinkang was in a fit of anger, maybe... Jiakang didn't dare to think about it anymore, he wanted to change the subject quickly: "So, how is the annual tax?" "Fortunately, it's almost as expected, and it's all in storage." "Oh. There must be no debts. Saburo can't see it. We must pay special attention to those elderly people who are elderly. The rent should not be too heavy, and we must pay attention to the allocation of land..." "Write it all down." "Then, you tell Saburo, just say what I said: Although this year's battle has been won, it will be the same as in previous years, and the New Year will be safe and sound. If there is no assistance from Oda-sama..." "yes." "We must keep in mind the kindness of the Oda clan, and share this joy with the people. Let Saburo not get carried away when he sees that he is the lord of so many people, and maintain a normal heart." "yes." "Also, give my regards to the young lady. Just say don't be discouraged, she is still young, and she will have many sons in the future. I will also pray to the gods and Buddhas for her." Qinji put his hands on the ground and dared not lift his head.He couldn't understand Ieyasu's thoughts very well, after all, he couldn't offend the Oda family.Not only can't be offended, but in the battle of Nagashino, Oda showed his glory, and then expanded his territory like a broken bamboo.These, Ieyasu did not dare to take it lightly.In case of a little carelessness, Nobunaga is angered, and the trouble will be serious.With Nobunaga's straightforward personality, let alone Ieyasu, he would not dare to mess with anyone. "Okay. Nananosuke finally came from Okazaki, let's have a drink together. Ai, hurry up and ask someone to clean up the table." Ieyasu saw that Kisaki finally stopped tears, and smiled to make him happy Get up, "From now on, no matter who you are, you have to learn to forbear. There is no better shield in the world than forbearance. Do you understand? Not everyone can bear it. Those who can bear others but can't bear it, in the future Only then can it become a great tool." "I will tell the young master all these." Understanding Ieyasu's thoughts, Qinji bit her lips again and lowered her head.