Chapter 24: Secret Meeting at Luoyang

  "...Go to Luoyang?" The substitutes swallowed hard, exchanging a glance with each other, and saw the incredulity in each other's eyes. Dahe Nei Xianjun furrowed his brow and retorted: "Why would Master think this way? Our family hasn't gone to Luoyang to offer tribute for over thirty years. In recent years, the Shogunate's power has declined, and we, the vassals, have returned to our respective domains to manage our own households. The matter of going to Luoyang to offer tribute is already a thing of the past!"

  "It is precisely because the shogunate's authority has declined that our house must go to Kyoto, otherwise how can we repay the accumulated favors of generations of the Tokugawa family?" Yoshida Kanzai replied with a dignified phrase. The Yoshida family had always reserved the tradition of successive generations of family heads going to Kyoto to serve the shogun, since the time of the ōei disturbance, including Yoshida Kanzai's father, Yoshida Yoshiyasu.

  "It's just that our household is in a life-or-death crisis, and you want to go up to the capital at this time... isn't it a bit...inopportune?" Takahashi Masanobu thought for a moment and still felt it necessary to remind him. The reputation of the Kira family was closely related to theirs, and if Kira Yoshichika went to the capital to serve at this time, who would believe that it was the idea of a nine-year-old child? Others would only think that it was another one of the Kira family's schemes."

  "Which of you has the confidence to withstand the current of the Tsuruga River?"

  "This...” The various daimyos didn't dare to speak carelessly, they themselves knew the current situation in Mikawa Province. Not to mention whether the Imagawa clan would send out an army of eight banners or not, but if the news of today's evaluation meeting were to be leaked out, the daimyos present wouldn't be able to live a peaceful life again.

  "So! Fighting is no use, and relying on the Imagawa family would be humiliating. But someone from either the Honke or the Shimo-Yoshida branch of the Kira family must take responsibility. Which one do you think is more suitable?"

  "It's more suitable for the Gotō family!" This time, everyone chimed in unison, saying that it was the Gotō family, as long as it wasn't themselves. Such a simple truth they wouldn't choose wrongly, but still some people were uneasy, "But surely the Gotō family won't agree to it?"

  "Can't you persuade him without agreeing?" Kiryu Mitsumaru pouted, directly throwing out the killer move he had prepared for a long time: "If the main house comes forward to persuade his brother to change his stance, wouldn't life and death no longer be an issue?"

  "Isn't this difficulty going to be quite large?" The Shirodayu clan whispered among themselves for a while, but still felt that it wasn't that easy. They thought that the difficulty of persuading Yoshirō to return was not ordinary, including Yoshirō's adoptive father, Kiyohara no Motoshige, and many of Yoshirō's vassals who died in the Battle of Yamazaki. In terms of losses, they were several times more than those of the Upper Yoshirō clan. Moreover, since Yoshirō was an adopted son, his status was not as stable as that of a biological child, and he had to consider the will of the Shirodayu clan in everything.

  Tahara no Tsubone had a clear view of this matter, and the various heads of the families expressed different opinions: "If the lord of the mansion comes forward to persuade him, Lord Ukita will surely consider it seriously! After all, as the head of the family, his opinion is very important, and the situation in Eastern Mikawa is more dangerous than that of our own house!"

  Takahashi Masanobu suddenly realized, "Now that you mention it, there is indeed a chance. If the lord of the mansion announces his intention to go up to Kyoto and persuades Lord Kira again, he will certainly have a better effect. After all, the Kira family must also be aware that when the head of the house is not at home, the vassals can make their own decisions! Without the support of the main house, the Kira family's determination to resist Imagawa will also be greatly weakened!"

  "Ah, I see!" The Satake clan was suddenly enlightened. The topic of relying on the Imagawa family had been quietly born after the small bean hill battle last year, but because Kira Kosuke's older half-brother and former head of the house, Kira Yoshisada, was killed by the Imagawa army, the Satake clan also found it inconvenient to openly discuss changing camps. Since Kira Kosuke had made up his mind to give the initiative to the Satake clan, what did they have to complain about?

  Furthermore, the Imagawa clan is determined to eliminate the hidden danger in Mikawa Province. The letter from Taigen Sōsho was not only an invitation for the Kira family to come out of Anjō Castle and engage in battle, but also a coercion for the Kira family to make a choice. If the Kira family still does not comply, Taigen Sōsho has no qualms about leading his army to defeat the Kira family first, considering it as a warm-up before the decisive battle with the Oda clan.

  The upper and lower Kira clans all understood that not surrendering would lead to their downfall, but surrendering didn't have a good enough reason either. On the surface, they appeared to be united in resisting a strong enemy, but in reality, they were still entangled in how to protect the Kira clan's large tree from falling, and ideally, preserve their reputation and maintain their position as retainers. As for which side to defect to, it wasn't really a concern. The upper Kira had defected to the Shiba and Oda clans, while the lower Kira had also defected to the Imagawa clan - what was there to be ashamed of?

  "But what method will the master of the mansion use to persuade Lord Yukimura?"

  Finally, Kirishima Manzaburou took a deep breath and slowly said: "Everyone knows that this is a critical moment for the survival of our clan, and the lower Kirishima castle will also understand this reason! The Imagawa family cannot be stopped, but it's really unbearable to surrender hastily. Therefore, the main house has yielded the decision-making power to all of you, so as to preserve the dignity of the Kirishima family and allow the lower Kirishima castle to make amends with its vassals."

  In Kiryū's view, this is a group of people who are so desperate to save face that they can't even protect their own dignity. They're just barely holding on to their last shred of hope, but in the end, they'll be thoroughly defeated by the iron cavalry of the Imagawa clan. Having lost both geographical advantage and popular support, how can this war be fought? Just the vanguard alone is enough to destroy the Kiryū clan, and when that's all over, who will suffer the most? It'll still be Kiryū Mansaburō and his brother Kiryū Yoshiasu.

  The two brothers, one under house arrest in the Suruga province and the other as a puppet ruler of the Mikawa province, might even be replaced by some vassals from the Imagawa clan. The family's property would soon be exhausted. It was impossible for the Imagawa to trust them like they trusted Matsudaira Takechiyo. The fate of the Kira clan was sealed, destined to be feared and hated by Imagawa Ujizane until death.

  "So that's how it is, has the lord of the pavilion also come to understand this point?" Yamamoto Kan no Suke, who had been pretending to be deaf and dumb at the end, moved slightly and asked with a bow: "Then, has the lord of the pavilion made preparations and awakened to fight for the imperial court?"

  "What's the relationship between Ushiro and Kōhō Denka?" Some of his colleagues who were still confused looked around, thinking what on earth is going on, who knows what kind of monster Kōhō is, this Yamamoto Kan no Sukē really knows how to stir up trouble.

  ōkōchi Nobusada said, still not giving up: "Why can't we just defect to the Imagawa clan? That way, the Honjin wouldn't have to come all the way to Kyoto either."

  "But Ma Shou Dian asked a good question! So, what do you think is the identity of Imagawa Ujizane? He is the master of the Imagawa family and the number one archer in the Tokai region! I am in charge of the two Mikawa provinces, if my family and brother were to defect together, we would certainly be divided and used by Imagawa Ujizane. Which do you think, my family or my brother, will be taken as a hostage to Suruga?"

  "I think that Lord Kōsaka has a better chance!" Kawahara Masashige replied without hesitation: "Because the Kōsaka family is closer to Suruga Province."

  "Is that your answer?" Kiryū Mantsumaru was so angry he almost threw the folding fan in his hand at this guy's head, "The Honke is the head of the Kira clan, and the Shimo-Kira family's head also comes from the Honke. What use did Imagawa Ujizane have for sending his older brother to Suruga as a hostage? Can't the Honke lead both families with one door?"

  "This... I never thought of it!" Kōsuke Kawahara retreated in embarrassment.

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