"Ladies and gentlemen, this time everyone is gathered for the sake of Ueno, I'm afraid there are still some people among you who don't know, now that the country of Ueno has been completely controlled by the Takayama family, this has a serious threat to the family, the family must not continue to let the Takayama family become bigger, but how to stop the development of the other party, please speak freely." As soon as the retainers sat down, the Hojo clan said with a serious face.

These retainers really didn't know the news that Ueno had been lost, so when the Hojo clan finished speaking, these retainers were all stunned, this news was too shocking, how long had it been since the Echigo War, but a few months, at that time, the family basically controlled the country of Ueno, but it was only a few months, Ueno was lost, is this Alpine Army really so powerful?

However, the retainers are a little confused about this, if the Takayama family really wants to attack Ueno, then with the character of the lord, they will definitely be notified as soon as possible to send the army to fight with the Takayama family, after all, the country of Ueno has nearly 500,000 stones, if this place can be brought into control, then the strength of the family will be greatly improved, but such an important place, after losing it, the lord will notify himself, that means, this matter is probably not so simple, so the retainers did not speak for a while, after all, before figuring out the ins and outs, If you speak rashly, it may make the lord disgusted.

And the reason why the Hojo clan only said the result, and did not say the beginning and the process, was actually out of the protection of the Hojo clan's loyalty, and if they all said it, then I am afraid that they would have to give an explanation to the retainers. Otherwise, how will I control it in the future.

It can be seen that the retainers are all bowing their heads and silent, even if the Hojo clan doesn't want to say it, they can't help but say it. Otherwise, what's the point of gathering the retainers this time. It's just that he has to defend Shi Zhong. And you have to find a scapegoat. Thinking of this, the eyes of the Hojo clan couldn't help but look at the head of the Narita clan, there was no more suitable candidate than this person.

Thinking of this, I only heard the Hojo clan say: "Narita clan chief! Let me ask you, do you know how Ueno Province was taken away by the Takayama family? ”

After hearing this, the head of the Narita clan couldn't help but panic a little in his heart, and said in his heart that his knowledge and deeds were in Musashi. Ueno doesn't care about his own, but the problem is that the lord called his name this time, which can only show that this time I am afraid that he really has his own relationship, but no matter what he thinks, he has not figured out how the lord involved Ueno's loss with himself.

So after a while, I saw the head of the Narita clan say with a puzzled face: "Back to the lord, my subordinates don't know." ”

"You don't know? Well, I'll tell you. Do you know you? It was this man who used your name to trick into Minowa Castle and then suddenly launched a rebellion. And with Saito, who has already taken refuge in the Takayama family, Kohata's family should be outside. And they took the city by subterfuge. If it weren't for your marriage to Na Yura, how could such a ruse be carried out, and how could Tadashi lose Minowa Castle? ”

Hearing this, the chief of the Narita clan understood that the lord involved himself, not as if he wanted to deal with himself, but to use himself to protect the waste of the Hojo clan, and this reason was really far-fetched, if he went to guard Minowa Castle by himself, not to mention Yura Narishi, who had already taken refuge in the Takayama family, even if other retainers of the Hojo family led the army to come, he would take some precautions, not only himself, but I am afraid that the retainers present would also be like themselves, under unknown circumstances, How could it be possible to hand over the responsibility of defending the city to others, this can only show that the Hojo clan is a waste, and nothing else.

But even if Minowa Castle is lost, then it must be that the land of Gunma and the county falls into the control of the Takayama family, how can it be that in the blink of an eye, the entire Ueno is lost?

Of course, he didn't have time to think about this problem carefully, after all, what he had to solve now was the matter in front of him, since the lord was determined to protect the loyalty of the Hojo clan, and he didn't want to do anything with himself, then there was no need to compete with the lord.

When the Hojo clan finished speaking, I heard him hurriedly say: "Please also ask the lord to calm his anger, Yura Narita and his people have always been scheming, and the marriage between his subordinates and his subordinates was also confused by the other party, and when his subordinates understood his true face, he cut off all contact with him, who would have thought that this time he would have the face to borrow the name of his subordinates to defraud Minowa Castle is really hateful, so his subordinates think that the crime is not in the Hojo clan, and in the subordinates, if it is not for the subordinates to marry him, how can the Hojo clan be deceived by his tricks, and the subordinates also ask the lord to punish him heavily." ”

The Narita clan's move to retreat into advance is already considered to be a fire of innocence, not only to take out the Hojo clan's loyalty, but also to amplify Yura Chengfan's ability, and finally take the initiative to ask for punishment, just one sentence to express so much meaning, it's really difficult for him.

The head of the Narita clan also guessed the true thoughts of the lord, so he said this, since the purpose of the lord is to take out the Hojo clan, then he helps him so much, the lord can really punish himself, even if he wants to, other retainers will help him persuade him, after all, this kind of thing is not something that he can control, and such a thing as marriage cannot be taken seriously at all, and the Hojo clan will really believe it. So he didn't have the slightest worry, although the Narita family was also from a wealthy family, it was not comparable to the other affiliated wealthy families of the Hojo family, if it was those wealthy families, maybe the lord would use this as an excuse to confiscate the territory.

And the Hojo family was able to win Musashi, which is all the credit of the Narita family, it can be said that the reason why the Hojo family can have today's strength is inseparable from the contribution of the family, and the Narita family has changed from the status of a vassal to the Hojo family from decades ago, if the lord dares to move himself, then the retainers of the Hojo family will also be in danger because of this, so he can be sure that once he admits his mistake, then the lord will definitely take it lightly, and it will be over with a few words of blame without pain.

Sure enough, as he thought, the Hojo clan really didn't have any plans to move the Narita family, not that he didn't want to move, but he didn't dare to move, the Narita family had a great contribution to helping his father win Musashi, once the Narita family was moved, then it was likely to cause very serious consequences, and it would even be completely beyond his control, after all, the Hojo family had passed for more than a hundred generations, so just like other families that have survived for a long time, its internal strength is intertwined, and it is by no means that you can move whoever you want. There are too many interests involved. Don't say it's a clan government. Even when Shiyasu was alive, he adopted a policy of wooing, and now the Hojo clan can make the decision to eliminate those small wealthy clans, which is absolutely bold, and this is also the bottom line of the Hojo family, which must not be broken, otherwise the Hojo family will face a disintegration.

So sometimes the Hojo clan is very envious of the Takayama family, and the Takayama family started from nothing. However, more than ten years, a generation has not passed, and there is no internal force chaos at all, so that the Gaoshan Clan Sect can not have any constraints, otherwise, even if the Gaoshan Clan Sect is capable, it is impossible to achieve such an achievement in just a dozen years.

If you only talk about the present, then the Hojo clan is very satisfied with the current attitude of the Narita clan, and what he has to do is to use his mouth to keep his younger brother. It seems that the other party completely understands his mind, so that's it. The clan government cannot be punished.

So I just heard him speak: "Okay, there is no need to mention the matter of punishment, I just want to use this matter to tell you to wait, don't be careless at any time, otherwise this time you will lose the city, and the next time, maybe you will lose your life." ”

"Yes, please rest assured, we will remember the teachings of the lord." The retainers practiced the salute and said, but the Hojo family has no shortage of smart people, especially those who are fifty or sixty years old, they have already cultivated to the essence, and they fully understand the lord's intentions, and even if the lord does not use the head of the Narita clan as a scapegoat, they will not be loyal to the clan.

However, the loss of Minowa Castle is not the same as the loss of Ueno Ichikoku, and they don't believe that Yura Narishigeru and others have the ability to capture Ueno, and in such a short period of time, in their opinion, there is no such possibility.

So when the Hojo clan finished speaking, he only heard Hojo Tsunari, who had just taken over Qingbei, ask: "My lord, my subordinates think that even if Yura and others are capable and tricky, it is impossible to win Ueno Ichikoku in such a short time, so I ask my lord to speak up." ”

Since the matter of the Hojo clan was settled, there was no need for the Hojo clan to hide it, and then he briefly explained the causes and consequences of the loss of Ueno Province.

The more the retainers present listened, the more frightened they became, this is no longer a trick that can be described, the courage of the other party even overshadows the resourcefulness, if there is no courage, even if they think of this method, they will never dare to do so.

And when they heard that some of the wealthy families in the territory had openly rebelled, and even sent troops to rob the Hojo clan, they also felt that the situation was serious, and now the Hojo family is really stormy, not only the threat of the Takayama family outside, but also these wealthy families are in turmoil inside, although this situation occurs, the cause is the lord, but they still support the lord's approach.

When the Hojo clan finished speaking, he only heard Tamu Mototada take the lead in speaking: "My lord, my subordinates think that now that Ueno has been lost, and the Takayama clan sect Sanada Masayuki and Eight Thousand Spear Ashigaru are in charge, it is very difficult for the family to recapture this place, and the other party's meaning is very obvious, it just wants to stick to Ueno, and there is no intention to invade Shimono and Musashi, and the family should take this opportunity to eliminate those rebellious wealthy clans as soon as possible, and the subordinates think that before starting a full-scale war with the Takayama family, It is necessary to pacify the territory first, only in this way, when the family fights with it, there will be no worries, and more troops can be mobilized. This is the opinion of the subordinates, and I ask the Lord to decide. ”

After he finished speaking, he immediately attracted many supporters to refine this strategy for him, these people have the same idea as Tamu Motozhong, Ueno has been lost anyway, and it makes no sense to waste more manpower and material resources here, rather than this, then it is better to take this opportunity to do something more meaningful, as long as the territory is stable, then the family can not only free up more troops, but also recruit more troops.

In particular, a part of Ueno's land, although it has become the sphere of influence of the family a few years ago, this land has never really been controlled by the Hojo family, and it is of course better to be able to take full control of this place, but even if it is lost, there is no big loss to the family. Anyway, this year, the family has already won the lower field, the general manager and the house, which is enough for the family to digest for a while.

And their idea is also what the Hojo clan thinks in their hearts, originally when they finished speaking, the Hojo clan was ready to make a decision, but at this time, the first minister in the family, and the Hojo family, who is the most outstanding in both intelligence and bravery, spoke.

I only heard him say: "My lord, my subordinates have different opinions. Speaking of this, Hojo Tsusunari didn't care about the other retainers present at all, but continued to take care of himself: "Lord, if you don't attack Ueno this time, then it will inevitably leave the world with the impression that my Hojo family is weak, if the world's opinion is not important, then what about the opinion of the army under his command, if they have the idea that the Takayama family is strong and cannot fight with one of them, then in the future, there will be a full-scale war with the Takayama army, then I'm afraid that there is no need to fight, and the family has already been defeated, so the first can not be weak in momentum, Even if you can't take Ueno back, you can't quietly let the Takayama family trample on the dignity of your family. ”

"Second, as for what the adults just said about stabilizing the interior first, and then facing the threat of external forces, the subordinates agree, but these wealthy clans can be destroyed with a wave of their hands, there is no need to adopt any tactics against them, and there is no need to pay so much attention to them, and they cannot be compared with the Takayama family at all, so according to the opinions of the subordinates, when attacking Ueno, it is completely possible to recruit them to go together, and those who refuse to go out of the army, the army of the family can destroy them by the way, as for those who send troops to help, The subordinates thought that these people could already prove their loyalty to their own family, so the lord could completely follow the example of the previous master, erase their status as vassals, and recruit them as direct ministers of their own family, which not only calmed their hearts, but also cut off their thoughts of swaying from side to side. ”

"Third, the subordinates think that now the five elites of the family are no longer enough to deal with the battle with the Takayama family, please think about it, the family needs three armies to defend three sides, even if the territory is stable, it also needs to be prepared to guard Odawara, so that the only one that can really be used is only one of eight thousand people, such an army, how to face the attack of the enemy's nearly 100,000 troops?"

When he first said this, he only heard Kasahara Yasukatsu interrupt: "Lord Hojo seems to be a little alarmist, and the expansion of the army is agreed, but the lord said that the Takayama family can send 100,000 troops, and he will not believe it anyway." (To be continued.) )