Even the Sendai clan has come to the door? This news shocked all the ministers present. The Sendai Domain Date family was a rising star during the Warring States Period, but their rise was not slow. After several generations of management, they became a powerful force. In the troubled times of the Warring States Period, such a force would certainly attract the attention and win over from all parties. the key of. After the death of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the ambitions of the great names under him began to stir again, especially Tokugawa Ieyasu. In order to compete for power, he aggressively suppressed dissidents, and on the other hand, he desperately tried to win over powerful leaders. Name it for your own use. In order to win over the Date family, he promised to increase the Sendai Domain¡¯s territory to at least one million koku after the war, and at the same time, he also made his son Matsudaira Tadaki the eldest daughter of Date Masamune. After careful judgment, the Date family also decided to join the camp that supported the Tokugawa family. After the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate, the Date family's rule within the domain was recognized and secured by the Tokugawa family, and they owned a territory of 600,000 koku. In addition, because of the Sendai domain's superior geographical environment and suitable climate, Therefore, agriculture and fisheries are very developed, and the actual stone height in its territory is higher than the surface. I am afraid it exceeds one million stone, which is no smaller than the Maeda family of Kaga Domain. Such a wealthy and powerful domain will naturally arouse the suspicion of the shogunate. In addition, under the jurisdiction of the feudal lord Date Masamune, the Sendai domain of the Date family has always regarded world domination as its goal. Therefore, the Tokugawa shogunate is establishing After establishing his own rule over Japan, he has always regarded the Sendai clan as his biggest enemy. ??From the first shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu to the second shogun Tokugawa Hidetada to the current shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu, the third generation of shoguns have been trying to establish a marriage relationship with the Date family and treat the Date family with kindness. While being tolerant, the Tokugawa shogunate had always been wary of the Sendai clan, regarding it as an imaginary enemy, and established various preventive systems. During the Battle of Sekigahara, although the Date family became an ally of the Tokugawa family because of Tokugawa Ieyasu's promise, after the war, Date Masamune was forcibly detained by Tokugawa Ieyasu for reasons such as the construction of Edo Castle. Edo was not able to return to his own territory until a few years later. At the same time, the million-stone territory promised to him before the war also came to nothing. If you are a patient person like Tokugawa Ieyasu, you can still endure this kind of embarrassment and humiliation, but the head of the Date family, Date Masamune, is not such a person. He has always followed the example of Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi They have the desire to conquer the world, and they have said many times that they wish they could have been born twenty years earlier and compete with them for the world. With this kind of character, he has naturally been angry with the shogunate, and at the same time he has never extinguished his ambition to rise again and compete for Japan. There have always been rumors that he colluded with his son-in-law Matsudaira Tadaki and some other people within the shogunate to create unrest within the shogunate. Although there may not be direct evidence, the shogunate took very strict precautions against them. Matsudaira Although Tadayuki was Ieyasu's son, the shogunate was very harsh on him. After Ieyasu's death, his brother, Tokugawa Hidetada, who succeeded the shogunate, exiled him several times, and was finally imprisoned in Takashima, Shinano Province. city. Since the discord between Date Masamune and the shogunate is so famous, it is obviously worth pondering that he sent a messenger to the Maeda family at this delicate timing. In the silence, all the uninformed ministers were secretly thinking about what the Date family planned to do with the Maeda family. Fortunately, the feudal lord Maeda Tositsune did not hide their intentions. "This envoy brought a letter. This letter was written by Lord Gonaka-Nagon himself." Lord Gon-Chong-Nagon refers to Date Masamune himself, which is his current official position in the imperial court. "The letter talked about some past friendship between our two families, and also encouraged me, encouraging me to have the courage to preserve the foundation of the Maeda family in this difficult situation In addition, he proposed in the letter that in Dahan During the fierce battle with the shogunate, let our two families work together to protect each other!" Although his words were plain, they caused huge waves here, and everyone looked surprised. The first words were all polite and no one would take them seriously, but the last words were too weighty - Date Masamune actually wanted the two families to advance and retreat together! This is tantamount to asking the two families to unite and not obey the shogunate's orders. Everyone knew that Date Masamune would take some actions in such a situation, but they were shocked that he actually did it so quickly and without concealing it. And the extremely cunning Date Masamune made such a move, which is tantamount to indicating that he has made a judgment that it is impossible for the shogunate to win this war. It will either be greatly weakened or simply disappear, so it is impossible. What substantial punishment will be imposed on the two families after the war? This makes these people feel more relaxed.??, but very nervous - because regardless of agreeing to the other party's conditions or not, this means that the Maeda family has now reached the most tense moment. "What do you mean, Nakaton-sama, for both of our families to wait and see with troops and not to help either side?" Maeda Toshitaka asked in a low voice. "Nakagan-sama was very sincere in his letter. He made it clear that our two families are now in a close relationship and must help each other." In the silence, Maeda Toshitsune continued. "Although our two families are a large vassal, compared with the shogunate and the Han Dynasty, after all, we are still alone. Today's Japan is already in chaos. If we don't unite I'm afraid no matter who wins or loses, there will be chaos after the war. It¡¯s very embarrassing for us.¡± ¡°Nakamon-sama has selfish motives,¡± Maeda Toshitaka said suddenly after pondering for a moment. "He is behind the shogunate and cannot move freely, so he wants to tie our hands and feet!" His words were agreed by many people. Obviously, the Sendai Domain is located in the northeastern region, behind the Kanto base of the shogunate. It is under the greatest pressure from the shogunate and has the least freedom to act. Therefore, for the Sendai Domain, it is best to sit back and watch without action. Anyway, they don't have any Ways to interact with the big man. But it was different for the Kaga Domain. The Kaga Domain was located in the central part of the country. When the Han army invaded the Kinki region, it was obviously the first to bear the brunt. It was under great pressure from the Han Dynasty and needed to take action even more. free. Now that the Kaga Domain has decided to send envoys to Kinki to negotiate with the Han Dynasty, they may follow the example of the Mori family and surrender to the Han Dynasty in order to preserve their foundation. If they really want to do some kind of mutual support with the Sendai Domain, wouldn't they be tying their own hands? "Sir, the Date family has always been cunning, and Lord Nakagan is even more scheming. If we listen to his sweet talk, it will be very detrimental to us, and we may be fooled by them." Li Feng also expressed his opinion the day before yesterday. , "We, the Kaga Domain, must move freely, let alone obey the orders of their Sendai Domain." After these two expressed their opinions, others also spoke one after another. Although they had different opinions, their general opinions were still the same. , all believe that they should not get too close to the Sendai Domain, but should act freely. As he talked, some people even began to laugh at Date Masamune, thinking that he only talked about being powerful, but in fact he had great ambitions and little talent. Although he claimed to be able to compete for the world, he failed to win battles when he fought. On the contrary, he failed repeatedly. He was born twenty years too early as he boasted, but he had already been destroyed by Nobunaga and Hideyoshi. "What everyone said is very reasonable. We really cannot get too close to the Date family, let alone place our hopes on them. However Sendai Domain is a large domain after all, and there are many places that we can take advantage of." At this time, a highly respected vassal official suddenly lowered his head and spoke, "If we advance and retreat together with the Sendai vassal, then our strength and influence will greatly increase. By then, not only the imperial court but also the envoys of the Han Dynasty will also They will think more highly of us. Besides Although we are negotiating with Dahan at the moment, the future is uncertain, and the talks between the two parties may collapse, so we should find a way out for this vassal. Furthermore, we should negotiate with Dahan. , and the alliance with the Sendai clan can go hand in hand." "That makes sense." After pondering for a moment, Maeda Toshitsune nodded and agreed with the elder's opinion. "The current situation is difficult. We should win over everyone we can win over to strengthen our momentum. Expanding our own strength is the only way to preserve our foundation. So no matter what the Sendai clan has in mind, we can use them." , during the deliberations of these people, the Kaga Domain finally determined the general policy of "wooing the Sendai Domain to strengthen its momentum, and then seeking to negotiate with the Han to obtain the best negotiation conditions." Maeda Toshitaka, the younger brother of the feudal lord Maeda Toshitsune, has also become the secret envoy of the Kaga Domain and will personally go to Kinki to find the big man for negotiation. If everything goes well, and the Maeda family is guaranteed to keep the family business and even expand its territory in the hands of the Han Dynasty, then the Sendai clan can be abandoned; if the negotiations do not go well? This short-lived alliance can become the Maeda family's retreat, at least it can Let them worry less. During their deliberations, they also set the bottom line for this negotiation - the situation was that the fiefdom could be maintained or even expanded, but they did not dare to think so wonderfully, so they decided that as long as the foundation could be preserved, even if the territory was slightly reduced. Small is acceptable. The territory of the Kaga Domain is very large, but the most fertile land and the most tightly controlled territory within the domain are the Noto Kingdom, Kaga Kingdom, Etchu and other territories. The stone height of these territories is about 700,000 to 800,000 yuan. They decided that if If the Maeda family really cannot keep all their territories, then it is feasible to appropriately hand over some territories in exchange for preserving their basic base. "At ??I will go out of the city tomorrow to look for opportunities to negotiate with the big man. Even if I have to sacrifice my life, I must save the Maeda family. "After the discussion was completed, Maeda Toshitaka looked at the feudal lord with emotion and said, "I also ask the feudal lord to put this feudal family first and never ruin important events because of personal affairs! " His words mean something. " No matter how the strategy is formulated, if the Maeda family does not obey the orders of the shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu, then the relationship with the shogun will definitely drop to the freezing point, and it can even be said to be close to breaking up. At this time, the feudal lord Maeda Toshitsune needs to eliminate all personal considerations and make a decision based on the interests of the domain. Maeda Toshitsune married the daughter of Tokugawa Hidetada, and his eldest son was also born to this lady. Now. As a hostage in Edo, if the two families break up, the wife will definitely not be able to explain the past, and the eldest son who remains in Edo will most likely encounter something unexpected. At this time, we must show decisiveness. As soon as Maeda Toshitaka finished speaking, everyone else looked away. Apparently, they also hoped that the feudal lord could make a statement in public in order to calm the people of the feudal clan. Under such pressure, Maeda Toshitaka. He frowned slightly. He understood that he usually acted hesitantly and did not make decisions easily, so everyone in the domain had doubts about him, fearing that he would still hesitate when things got tough. In this case, he had to show off. "As a descendant of the Maeda family and the lord of the Kaga Domain, I will only consider the future of this domain. How can I still think about it?" Something else? " He said loudly in the hall in a rare tone that was almost scolding, "Yes, my wife is the daughter of the Tokugawa family, but compared to this domain, she is absolutely insignificant; my eldest son is in the hands of the Tokugawa family. , but I have many other sons! Shimazu Tadahashi could throw away a son in order to raise an army against the shogunate. As a descendant of the Maeda family, can I still be inferior to the Shimazu family? ! ¡± During the Warring States Period, various daimyo often sent hostages to each other to show that they would never attack each other. Such hostages were usually close relatives of the lords of each lord, such as children, wives, mothers, etc. But even if hostages were sent, in terms of interests, When it is critical, the daimyo will usually act according to the existing policy and rarely have any worries - in front of the foundation of the feudal lord, family ties can only take a back seat. In order to stabilize the hearts of the feudal ministers, Maeda Toshi. Chang deliberately said it very decisively, but in essence, since he had made the decision to sit on the sidelines before, he had already made up his mind to abandon his wife and children. Anyway, he still had other wives, concubines and children, not the Emperor. Did he also resolutely abandon the Central Palace and turn against the shogunate? "My lord is wise! "Seeing Maeda Toshitaka's attitude like this, everyone felt relieved, and then knelt down on the ground to pay tribute to their lord. On the next day, Maeda Toshitaka followed the arrangement of the vassal, brought some confidants, and traveled lightly. Jian Cong set out for Kinki to look for traces of the Han army. As they expected, the Han army had wreaked havoc in Kinki. After winning the Battle of Himeji, the Han envoy Zhou Pu came. He sent his deputy general, Tachibana Munesege, who was in charge of the coalition forces of each domain, to pursue him. Munesege Tachibana lived up to expectations. Regardless of his age and declining physical condition, he led the army to pursue the enemy and penetrated all the way to Kinki. The whole of Japan was in shock. The army led by Zhou Pu rested in Himeji Castle for a period of time, and after recovering from the huge damage suffered in the brutal siege, he led the army to attack Kinai again. Tachibana Muneshige had opened the way before, so their army went very smoothly. They did not encounter any resistance along the way, but many people surrendered. For the convenience of logistics, they had been marching along the coast. It didn¡¯t take long, They have already reached the territory of Settsu Province. Settsu Province, like many other Kinki areas, is a place directly ruled by local officials sent by the shogunate. In times of peace, these sacred places provided the shogunate with a lot of products and allowed them to do so. Controlled a large amount of wealth, but in the current situation, there were no local lords to resist the Han Dynasty. After the army gradually entered the territory of Setjin Kingdom, it quickly penetrated into every village and county, and swept almost the entire territory. Zhou Pu also brought his counselors to Kobe City in Arima County, making it his new residence. Kobe is a port city with a long history. In ancient times, Japan sent envoys to the Tang Dynasty. It started from this port. Although the city is now in ruins due to the seclusion after the establishment of the Tokugawa Shogunate, it is still a prosperous commercial port. Kobe's geographical location is also very advantageous., advancing to the northeast, you can get a glimpse of Kyoto, which is located in Yamashiro Country; and not far to the east, the prosperous Osaka Castle and Sakai City are already in front of you and are within easy reach. Zhou Pu made this place his base because he wanted to use this port to maintain supplies for the army, rest and prepare the army for the final march to Kyoto. At the same time, you can also contact various forces in Japan here to further weaken the political and economic strength of the shogunate. The most sensitive to his actions are naturally the wealthy businessmen of Osaka and Sakai City, which are close at hand. Due to the disastrous defeat of the shogunate's army, they are now in chaos, and the shogunate's orders can no longer be carried out, and these have long been combined with The wealthy merchants who had reached a tacit agreement with the Han Dynasty no longer had any scruples. They searched everywhere to supply food to the army that invaded Kinei, thereby making a lot of profits. Zhou Pu deliberately won over them and invested a large amount of gold and silver in transactions with them. On the one hand, this was naturally to relieve the logistical supply pressure on the rear, and on the other hand, it was to strangle the economic foundation of the shogunate. Although the shogunate discriminated against merchants, However, the economy of the shogunate relies on these wealthy businessmen to maintain and operate. As long as these wealthy businessmen no longer cooperate with the shogunate, the economy and financial resources of the shogunate will be severely hit, and it will no longer be possible to maintain stability in the control area. And after he came to Kobe, he also attracted more attention from all forces in Japan. Envoys from various forces continued to flock to Kinki, seeking cooperation with the Han Dynasty, or at least seeking forgiveness from the Han Dynasty. Among these envoys, one of them turned out to be Inaba Masatoshi, a close retainer sent by Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu's younger brother and the current Dai-Nagon's Tokugawa Tadanagi.