The current Hōjō clan in Japan could be said to be the earliest daimyo of Japan during the Warring States period. In reality, they were often referred to as the later Hōjō clan, which was different from the Hōjō clan during the Kamakura shogunate era.
From Wako Uesugi's narration, Yang Rui also understood the rise of the Hōjō clan in detail.
The first generation of the Hōjō clan, Hōjō Zaumu, was first sent to Junhe Country by the shogunate. At that time, Junhe Country's guardian, Imagawa Yoshitada, was killed during the attack on Yukio. His sudden death brought a crisis to the Imagawa clan. Imagawa Yoshitada's young son, Ryukimaru, and his half-brother, Maman Takaru, had an internal conflict over who should be the guardian.
The Imagawa clan was a distant relative of the shogunate, and they were also the representatives of the shogunate in the East. Naturally, they didn't want the Imagawa clan to be in danger, so they sent Hōjō Zaumu to mediate.
The shogunate and Hōjō Zaumu supported Ryukimaru, but Maman Takaru also received the support of Kanto's Uesugi.
After all, Hōjō Zaumu represented the shogunate, and at that time, the shogunate still had a certain amount of influence. Thus, Hōjō Zaumu's mediation was successful. After a compromise, because Ryukimaru was still young, Maman Takaru temporarily took over as the Imagawa clan's guardian. However, when Ryukimaru reached adulthood, he still had to return the position to Ryukimaru.
This situation was obviously a temporary compromise. Of course, it also gave Hōjō Zaumu a chance to gain a foothold in Junhe Country. When Ryukimaru reached adulthood, the conflict between the two sides really exploded, so Hōjō Zaumu helped Ryukimaru to successfully eliminate Maman Takaru.
Hōjō Zaumu obtained the first foothold in the East and became the retainer of the Imagawa clan, the guardian of Junhe Country! And this was just the beginning.
After that, Hōjō Zaumu's encounter was extraordinary. After he set his sights on Izu Country, he used the excuse of Shuzen Temple to investigate the situation in Izu Country.
Taking advantage of the fact that a large number of Izu Country's troops were fighting against Uesugi Yamauchi in Shangye Country, and the country was empty, with a very small price, they successively attacked Laoshan Castle, Horikoshi Castle, Shouye Castle, Shengen Castle, and the other four main cities of Izu Country, and drove away the Izu Country's Guardian Chachamaru. From then on, Horikoshi Castle only existed in name, and Houjou Zaoyun also made Izu Country's Laoshan Castle her new residence.
After conquering Izu. Only then did Houjou Zaoyun truly have her first territory and gradually become independent. After that, Houjou Zaoyun could be said to have worked hard to stabilize her base in Izu Country and used the excuse of pursuing Chacha Maru. From then on, they began the path of annexation.
Actually, in Wako Uesugi's opinion, Houjou Sayumo's path of expansion was nothing more than taking advantage of the conflicts between various parties, as well as a bit of luck at the same time.
Just as Wako Uesugi said, Houjou Zaoyun still hadn't set foot in the Kanto region after conquering Izu. Moreover, compared to the three Kanto tycoons, the Uesugi clan of the Yamanaka, the Uesugi clan of the Fan Valley, and the Kouhei clan!
Take for example the annexation of Sagami Country's territory. Houjou Zaoyun first intervened in the dispute between the Uesugi clan of the Yamanaka and the Uesugi clan of the Fan Valley. On the surface, she supported the Uesugi clan of the Fan Valley, but took advantage of their crisis to use a very dishonorable strategy to seize Odawara City.
After that, the Uesugi clan of the Fan Valley weakened, and finally surrendered to the alliance of the Yamanaka, Uesugi clan of the Echigo clan, and the Kouhei clan. In the end, the three Uesugi clans and the Kouhei clan of the Ashikaga clan unexpectedly formed an alliance. This was the most dangerous moment for the Houjou clan.
But the following series of events inadvertently saved the Houjou clan. It was the little bit of luck that Wako Uesugi mentioned.
There were two main events. One was that Sasakawa Masakado was killed by a retainer, which caused the political position of the Yamanaka Uesugi clan to weaken. But although this matter affected the Yamanaka Uesugi clan, it wasn't enough to completely change the situation.
But the second event was more serious. The Echigo Guardian Dai Nagao Weijing activated the mode of the weak to subdue the strong, and killed the Echigo Uesugi Family Supervisor Fang Neng (the younger brother of the Yamanaka Family Supervisor Hidetsu). This removed an arm from the Yamanaka Uesugi clan!
Houjou Zaoyun saw this opportunity and immediately formed an alliance with Nagao Weijing and Nagao Jingchun. They restrained the Yamanaka Uesugi clan from the north and south, and took the opportunity to attack the already weakened Fan Valley Uesugi clan. It could be said that they were very unscrupulous.
Even so, the Yamanaka Uesugi clan and the Fan Valley Uesugi clan still managed to catch a breather. They also received help from the powerful Miura clan of the East Xiangmo, and together, they attacked Odawara City and dealt a heavy blow to the Houjou clan.
At this time, the three major factions agreed to the Houjou clan's request for peace. The reason was that the Yamanaka Uesugi clan had an internal struggle for the position of Family Supervisor. The weakened Fan Valley Uesugi clan and East Xiangmo's Miura clan weren't enough to guarantee that they could take Odawara City.
Thus, the Houjou clan actually got a chance to catch their breath!
After the previous series of chaos, the alliance army of the four major factions in the Kanto region, the Echigo Kingdom, was temporarily crippled. The Yamanaka Uesugi clan and Guhekō clan had internal strife, and only the half-crippled Fan Valley Uesugi clan was left. They couldn't do anything to the Houjou clan.
Wako Uesugi was able to understand the Houjou clan in such detail. Furthermore, he didn't mind telling Yang Rui a lot of information. In fact, it was to let Yang Rui know the enemy and know himself, so that he wouldn't be defeated in a hundred battles. Wako Uesugi had always admired the military tactics of the three kingdoms, and this time, he put it to good use.
At the same time, who was the person involved, Nagao Weijing? Naturally, he was Wako Uesugi's biological father in name. Perhaps it was because of this that this child was able to understand these matters in such detail.
In fact, when Wako Uesugi told the series of events mentioned above, Yang Rui already had a good understanding of the Houjou clan, especially Houjou Zaumu. This guy was simply a hypocrite, a wily old fox. He made use of every opportunity to insert himself into a situation, and he didn't lack in treachery.
Especially when Wako Uesugi mentioned the end of East Xiangmo's Miura clan, it made Yang Rui have a deeper understanding of the Houjou clan.
On the other hand, although the Houjou clan had sought peace with Uesugi Shantani, East Xiangmo's Miura clan had also come to attack Odahara City. However, against the wily old fox Houjou Zaumu, there wasn't much they could do. No matter how much the Miura clan's army challenged and cursed outside the city, the Houjou clan just stayed in Odahara City and didn't show their faces, directly admitting defeat.
In the beginning, the Miura clan's army was still valiant and high-spirited when they came to fight, but in the blink of an eye, almost two years had passed. The Miura clan's army had completely given up on their vigilance, and they had lost all will to fight in the vicinity of Odahara City. At this moment, the Houjou clan suddenly charged out from the city and defeated East Xiangmo, who had fled in defeat.
The Houjou clan had endured for two years. When Yang Rui heard Wako Uesugi mention this matter, the image of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle appeared in his mind! (To be continued.)
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