Chapter 59: Uncle's Wisdom (Seeking Recommendations)

  Nakaino-ke is located in Nakainochō, between Rokujō-dōri and Muya-machi, not far from Rokujō-chō. The other branch of the Kuga family, the Rokujō-ke, also lived there. Although the location of Rokujō-dōri in Shimogyo was not very good, the distinction between Kamigyō and Shimogyō at this time was not recognized by the court or the shogunate, but it reflected to some extent the townspeople's direct perception of Kyoto's prosperity.

  Especially where the Kamogawa River, which runs through eastern Kyoto, meets Rokujō Street, is considered to be one of the unluckiest places in Kyoto and its name is Rokujō Kawaminami.

  From ancient times to the present, on a small riverbank with six river sources, countless heroes and generals have been buried here. The source of the Heian period's rebellion, Minamoto no Yoshitaka and Fujiwara no Shigeyori, the famous generals of the Genpei War, Minamoto no Yoshitsune and Fujiwara no Tsunekiyo, were executed one after another in this place. After these defeated warriors were beheaded, their heads would still be hung on Sanjō ōhashi Bridge to be exposed to the sun, so that passing travelers could see them as a warning.

  Before Kira Yoshinaka entered Kyoto, he had already sent a horseback messenger to the Nakauchi family to send a message. As soon as the procession arrived at Rokujo Avenue, they were met by a retainer of the Nakauchi family who came to greet them. At that time, the front gate of the Nakauchi family was opened, and a young man stood in front of the gate waiting.

  "Lord Kira! Please follow me! The master of the house has been waiting for a long time!" The young man was very quick and didn't bother with formalities, directly leading Kira Yoshinaka into the courtyard. Kira Yoshinaka whispered to Akane to take care of Shigeno and walked in alone.

  As soon as he entered the main hall, he saw a middle-aged man with a white face sitting on the main seat, wearing a black hunting uniform with a six-flower dragon pattern, and a standing black hat on his head. The powder on his face was not thick, at least it could still show a few years of age, and between his eyebrows and eyes, he could vaguely see his mother's appearance.

  "Manmaru, come quickly to your uncle's side! The last time I saw you, you were only this big. In the blink of an eye, eight years have passed, and Okiyo has left, leaving behind only poor you. Is this the gods' punishment for the Nakainomachi family?" The passionate middle-aged man was named Nakainomichi Michikazu, the current head of the Nakainomichi family and also the uncle of Kira no Sanpei. Last year, he had been promoted to Gon Dainagon, a position just below that of the Minister of the Left, and his family's status was slightly lower than that of the Seika family among the Minamoto aristocracy.

  Because it was just a family banquet, Kira Yoshinaka had the opportunity to meet his aunt, Hoshina Masako. She was the eldest daughter of Sanjo Kimiteru, the former head of the Sanjo West family and a legitimate second-class right minister. At that time, when Kira Yoshinaka's mother was still young, she married into the Nakauchi family as the rightful wife. That year, Hoshina Masako had also been close friends with Kira Yoshinaka's mother, so she was very enthusiastic about his arrival. The young man sitting next to Hoshina Masako was her nephew, Kira Yoshinaka's cousin, Nakain Michitada.

  Nakaino Tsunetomo looked like he was only 14 or 15 years old, wearing a black hunting robe. Although he was only five or six years older than Kira Yoshinaka, he had already come of age very early, at the age of eleven, and had been appointed to the fifth junior rank, lower grade, as a chamberlain. As the eldest son of a minister's family, he was immediately promoted to the fifth senior rank, upper grade, then to the fourth junior rank, lower grade, and by the beginning of this year, he had already risen to the position of right minor general of the palace guards, a promotion that left people speechless.

  Of course, this looks very absurd to outsiders, but in fact, it's not the fastest. In the families of ministers, there are also legitimate sons who start their official careers as soon as they are born, with a rank of Shōgoi no Ge (従五位下). The noble families and even higher-ranking families frequently have such cases where someone becomes Sangi (従三位) in their teens. This kind of promotion speed is like riding a rocket. Compared to those poor warriors who can only hold fake positions as "certain guards" for their entire lives, it's really pathetic until death.

  Kirishima Manatsurumar was no better off, currently without a genpuku or official position and still underage. Although he had the privilege of being raised to the rank of Shoden, this could not be compared to his cousin, Nakauchi Tsunetada. Kirishima Manatsurumar paid his respects to his uncle, aunt and cousin, then said formally: "My formal name has been changed to Kirishima Saburo, which is a gift from the Honjo-dono. The Honjo-dono also told me to become Kirishima Kazusa no Suke."

  "Kirishima Kōzō? Is this the intention of the Shogun? This, this is...!" Nakain Michitsura was surprised at his new name. As a relative of the Kirishima family by marriage, the head of the Nakain family, who knew where it came from, naturally looked like he didn't have a very happy expression, and even had some angry color to it.

  Nakajima Tsunetada, who had been like a wooden puppet all along, seemed to come back to life for a moment, twitching slightly as he looked at him carefully, as if he wanted to say something to this distant relative, but hesitated and pressed his mouth shut again.

  The gloomy-faced Nakanojo whispered a few words to the gentle O-hime, then said: "Manatsu Maru! Listen to me, stay in Kyoto and don't go anywhere, it's better than going to Jishō-ji Temple or Sakamoto!"

  Kiriyama Manzaburou couldn't stay here, but it wouldn't be good to hurt his relatives' feelings either. He just casually made up an excuse and said: "However, uncle, there are still some attendants in Sakamoto, Kishu, so..."

  Chūin seemed to have expected this, his eyebrows furrowed slightly before he broke into a bright smile: "In that case, let's bring them all over. The Chūin family still has some estates and assets in the mountain nation, and there's another source of income in Sakamachi town, so it shouldn't be a problem to support dozens of people."

  "It's not dozens of people, but over two thousand." Kiryu Kazuma said somewhat speechlessly.

  "What? Over 2,000 people." The middle-aged man almost fell over, fortunately, Fang Yuetai was by his side and he didn't make a big fool of himself. However, the couple's faces looked very unsightly. He could barely afford to support dozens of people, but these 2,000 people were enough to tie up all the high-ranking officials in the imperial court from the third rank and above and still not have enough food.

  "Man Songwan, you're also too much! Why did you bring so many people to Luoyang? Are you still thinking of fighting a battle?" Fang Yutai supported her husband and helped him catch his breath, scolding him with a tone of blame.

  "My uncle and aunt, I, Kira Yoshinaka, have received great favors from the Tokugawa shogunate, and for generations my family has served as the head of the hatamoto. Now that the Tokugawa government is in trouble and covered in dust, it is precisely the time for me, Kira Kozuke-no-suke, to rise up and support the Tokugawa government! Previously, the shogun bestowed upon me the name and title of Kozuke-no-suke as a reward, so I, Kozuke-no-suke, cannot retreat in this hour of need."

  "Man Song Wan...... you!" Zhong Yuan Tong's hands were shaking with rage, he really didn't expect that this little nephew who was only a few years old would be so stubborn. His face changed from cloudy to white, struggling to hold back the anger that was about to erupt.

  "Manmaru, your uncle and I are doing this for your own good! How can you speak to us like that?!" Fang Yuetai was furious. Such a young and lovely child, yet so stubbornly frightening. Bringing over a thousand people to Kyoto at such a tender age was, in her and her husband's view, extremely perilous.

  "Tell me! Who taught you to do this?! Who is so cruel and poisonous?! This will be the death of you, the downfall of the Kiryu family!" Nakamura Tsukasa was furious, shouting at the top of his lungs. Aki was his younger sister by blood, and their relationship had always been very close since childhood. However, Aki had left him forever, and as her only remaining sibling, he felt a deep affection for her, even considering adopting her as his own daughter.

  But before he could even say it, such a big blow came, someone wanted to kill Oji's child, how could this Sangi not be angry? He had already decided that someone was instructing him, in his eyes the child who was less than ten years old knew nothing, if no one instructed him, he absolutely couldn't do such things.

  He believed that Kiryū Mantsumaru, being so young, must not understand the situation, and so he earnestly advised: "Do you know who is the enemy of Lord Kōhō? It's Miike Norimura! Miike has already entered Kyoto this summer, and with the help of Hosokawa Harumoto, he kidnapped the Emperor and forced Lord Kōhō to flee to Sakamoto. The new Kanrei is Hosokawa Nagatoshi, who was put in place by Miike. Can you defeat Miike with your abilities? This will be the death of you!"

  "Father! I don't think so!" Suddenly, Nakano Shinbei burst out and shouted loudly: "Manzaburou is right! Now that the imperial court's rituals and music are collapsing, the shogunate's great hall is about to collapse. It's exactly the time when loyal and righteous warriors who are faithful to both the imperial court and the shogunate need to stand up, so..."

  "Shut up!" Zhongyuan Tong interrupted his son's words roughly, "What do you young people know? The great army of San Zhuang is unstoppable, and even the three good sects can't stop it. You are no exception! Anyone who opposes San Zhuang will not be able to escape unscathed! Do you know that?"

  "But..."

  "There's nothing to be done! Tsunemori, you should go study the Kokin Wakashū, tomorrow we'll have to check your lessons again, hurry up and go!" The lady-in-waiting hastily gave her son a signal, and he could only leave with a look of regret.

  "I and your uncle both hope you'll stay, so let all of Sakamoto's attendants disperse! Those Kinki samurai can't stop Mitsutomo, nor can the peasant soldiers you've recruited stop him. As for Banshōmaru, he won't be coming back, I'll instruct my servants to inform your guests to leave immediately."

  "No! My attendants are not farmers, but 1,500 elite troops from Sanhe. Uncle doesn't have to worry, San Zhu won't be too presumptuous towards Gong Fang Dianxia. Isn't it a sign of compromise for San Zhu to support the new leader and let me take over as the leader? Gong Fang Dianxia is currently lacking in military power, with the support of my Sanhe warriors, San Zhu will definitely consider it seriously."

  "1,500 sharp... Can you afford to raise so many people? Do you know what you're doing now? Ah! It's really infuriating me!" Zhongyuan Tong was so angry that he almost fell over, a group of maids rushed to hold him up, and after a while, he panted and said: "Forget it! I can't control it anymore, do whatever you want!"

  Kira Yoshinaka felt a pang of guilt, seeing his aunt's face looking very displeased, and said with self-reproach: "Uncle and Aunt, please don't be angry! I, Yoshinaka, am not an ungrateful person. The kindness you both have shown me will always be remembered in my heart. However, I have my own reasons, so please try to understand!"

  "Tell me, where did you hear that San Zhu has the intention to make peace?" As soon as he was no longer entangled in the issue of going or staying, Zhong Yuan Tong once again regained his sharp political sense.

  Kirishima Manzaburou let out a sigh of relief and continued the conversation, "The fact that they are advocating for Hosokawa Ujitsuna to become the new Kanrei and taking on the role of deputy Kanrei himself suggests that the Miyoshi family does not intend to completely turn against them. A reconciliation is inevitable, and without the Shogun's support, the rule of the three strongholds in Kinai would also be illegitimate."

  "But San Suke still wants to intimidate the public and then reconcile on his own terms! Do you think the Public Lord will agree?" The question posed by Chūin Tsū, who possessed unexpectedly sharp political acumen, was also very pointed, leaving even Kira Yoshinaka momentarily unable to refute it.

  Chu Yuan then asked an even more pointed question: "The people of the country are all watching, will it be that Sansheng's momentum is unstoppable and General Zhou will yield again, or will General Zhou withstand the pressure and make Sansheng back down? This process is very dangerous, are you sure you want to stand on the side of Gong Fangdian?"

  He realized that his beloved uncle was not an ordinary noble, and it would take some real material to convince him. So Kiryū Manzōmaru could only throw out his own draft: "Yes, I, Kiryū Saburō, have decided to revive my family's fortunes, and I must overcome the great mountain of Mikatzuki! The large army of Mikatzuki has surrounded the city of Itami in Settsu Province, determined to take down the entire province. Meanwhile, the Taikō and the Imperial Prince are busy building the Nakao Castle. Once both sides have made their preparations, a great battle will erupt, and the outcome of this war will decide who will gain the upper hand."

  "It's fine if you know! Take care of yourself!" The middle-aged man fell silent for a moment before standing up and leaving the large hall.

  Note: Rokujō River is very famous, and Ishida Mitsunari was beheaded there. People usually think it's a desolate place, but that's not the case. Unlike Kamigyō, which was occupied by nobles and wealthy merchants, Shimogyō was a densely populated area where Kyoto townspeople lived. Every time an execution took place at Rokujō River, many townspeople and passing travelers would gather to watch, just like in ancient China's Caishikou Execution Grounds. If the area were not densely populated, there would be no spectators, and without spectators, the purpose of deterring others through punishment could not be achieved.

  30,000-word chapter is coming! Please recommend and collect it. Another 30,000-word chapter will be released soon! Also, considering that everyone may not have time to read the update in the afternoon, the first update will be advanced to 12:00 noon, and the second update will be postponed to 6:00 pm.