Chapter 81 1. The Ruler and His Subjects Get Along Harmoniously with Each Other
The two were in a daze all the way. One of them had a dowry of 15,000 kan for his beloved wife, who was so beautiful that he rode a horse and smiled foolishly every day. He looked like a pig, but fortunately there was no drool on the corners of his mouth. Otherwise, anyone who saw him would say that he was stupid and there was no hope for him.
As for the other, he had a fief of 5,000 kan. A big pie in the sky can also choke people to death. Although Uesugi Masatora kept his word, he would definitely keep his word. He said that he would give Koyata a fief of 5,000 kan as his status as a countryman, and he would definitely not ask Koyata for a penny. But the father and son of Hosokawa Harumiya, the head of the family elders, only had more than 1,000 kan. What was Koyata's status? How could he suddenly become the first retainer of the Yamanouchi clan?
So, the two of them laughed and worried, and became as fast as a closed-circuit television with snow thirty years ago. Even Imagawa Yoshimoto, who was traveling with them, found that the two were absent-minded, but he was not convenient to ask what happened. After a brief hospitality at Suruga Fuchu Castle, Yamanouchi Yoshikatsu and Koyata were escorted out of the country.
After several days, both of them had come to their senses. With such a large estate, Uesugi Masatora was a man of his word. Now, the 20,000 kan of Hachioji in Musashi Tama County will be immediately owned by the Yamanouchi family as long as they get married.
After returning to Yamanouchi Fuchu Castle, the soldiers who had received a lot of rewards from Uesugi Masatora were disbanded. It took about 100 days from the departure in mid-February to the return in early June. The soldiers also suffered from long-term battles abroad. Fortunately, the great victory and generous rewards this time made the soldiers have few complaints.
If this time is still as unsuccessful as in history, Koyata dares to guarantee that these foot soldiers will definitely disperse. It's not a battle on the home front, and the foot soldiers' homesickness is simply not enough to be suppressed. Don't talk about patriotism and national justice with these foot soldiers who can't even count one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, and ten. In their eyes, the importance of these things is not as great as the farm manure stored in the pit behind the house!
That is, it is not too far from home, and Kanto often goes to war, and the fighting time is not exaggerated. The feudal military obligations of these foot soldiers have come to an end. Unless someone hits them in the face this year, even if Yamanouchi Yoshiharu kneels in front of them and calls them daddy, they will not go to war again. (I don’t know if you have seen "God of War", in which Ishida Mitsunari’s army attacked Oshi Castle, and the conscripted foot soldiers outside the city were ready to run away with their wives and children. The second male almost knelt on the ground to beg them, but no one was willing to fight. This scene directly shows the nature of the foot soldiers in the Warring States Period.)
Yamauchi Yoshikatsu comforted these conscripts with kind words, and he also paid for everyone to have a full meal, watching them burp and leave with satisfaction with takeout.
Then he entered the city to report to Yamanouchi Yoshiharu the marriage request made by the Uesugi family, and introduced the envoy of the Uesugi side, Naoesa Yamato-no-kami (Kagetsuna). The banquet is of course indispensable, after all, you can't hit a smiling person. If someone comes to propose marriage, at least listen to what they have to say, right?
Yamanouchi Yoshiharu is a man with 25 years of experience in battle, much better than his son Yamanouchi Yoshikatsu. When Naoe Kagetsuna mentioned the marriage to him, he didn't show any emotion that could be seen by others. Except for the routine smile of the nobles, there was no flaw at all. From this point of view, Yamanouchi Yoshikatsu still has a long way to go to become a qualified daimyo.
After the banquet, Naoe Kagetsuna was arranged to go to rest, and several trusted ministers of the Yamanouchi side and Koheita who knew about this were summoned. After all, the relationship with the Uesugi family is an important event related to the future development of the Yamanouchi family, and it needs to be treated with the utmost seriousness.
Although it was late at night, Hosokawa Harumiya, Yamanouchi Shuketou, Kitabatake Daigaku, Konishihara Saemon, Oishi Saburo and other important ministers all came into the city overnight with lanterns. There was an endless stream of big men under the escort of attendants, and noisy figures came in droves.
When all his main retainers were gathered, Yamauchi Yoshiharu took the initiative to speak: "Originally, when I was serving the previous prime minister in Kyoto, I had an old relationship with the Ichijo Kanpaku. At that time, Sasuke was still young. Although I was interested in marriage, Princess Ichijo was still in her infancy, so it was just an agreement between me and the Ichijo Kanpaku." Everyone nodded to show that they knew about it, so you continue.
"After all, the family is noble, and it is a direct descendant of the Genji family, and the Ichijo family is even more prominent. Now the Ichijo Kanpaku has passed away, and most of his family members are with Major General Ichijo Kingo of Tosa, so I'm afraid they can't contact him." Yamauchi Yoshiharu recalled the past, and lamented that the Kanpaku who boasted to him so happily back then had already ascended to heaven.
"Although the Ichijo clan is a noble family, in the current Warring States period, even the Ichijo clan has already surrendered to Tosa in order to gain control of the territory and retainers. Strong support from the samurai is of great benefit to the main family!" Konishihara Saemon was the first to express his opinion.
Yamauchi Shukei also spoke up: "In my opinion, the Echigo army is the best in the world, and there is no rival in the eastern country. Uesugi Kanrei Danshoden is both civil and military, and has extraordinary courage and strategy. Moreover, he has the heart to rectify the world and protect the shogunate. He is a strong supporter who is unparalleled in the world!" After saying this, he immediately bowed his head and saluted, pretending to advise.
Hosokawa Harumiya considered: "The 15,000 kan that Hachioji holds is a strategic point in Kai and Wu, and it is difficult to defend even if it is obtained. Even if there are three Uesugi retainers behind, it is very difficult. It is not to be underestimated because Kai is the sharp edge of protecting the Takeda clan."
Kobayata didn't plan to speak at first. In addition to his own shallow qualifications, the main reason was that the two thousand kan territory could almost increase the territory of the Yamanouchi family by half. These people would take it no matter what. Even if it rained knives and poured boiling water from the sky, they would take it. Yamanouchi Yoshikatsu would definitely marry the Uesugi family. Whatever Kobayata said was actually redundant, so why bother to speak again.
As for the 5,000 kan rewarded to Kobayata, the big guys were silent, and Yamanouchi Yoshikatsu didn't speak either. Kobayata understood this meaning more or less: "I would rather give it to the young master as a gift to congratulate the wedding."
Yamanouchi Yoshiharu didn't see any change in his expression: "Kobayata, it was my fault that I didn't allow you to serve in the government back then (it was a long time ago that the subject was not my wish, and the result was only a dozen taels of gold). I hope you don't mind." He suddenly bowed to Kobayata politely.
Kobayata quickly stood up and dodged: "My Lord! It's not necessary!"
Yamauchi Yoshiharu came over and held Kobayata's hand: "You can choose any Uchida with 500 kan, and I'll settle you down now."
Okay, the drama of the king and his subjects getting along well is over.
Go! The stud scum has been surpassed by Kobayata by more than 20 people!