Namida Bridge - Unexpected Guest (1)

For some time after that, Tameuji was bedridden from exhaustion. Although he did not neglect the management of his territory, he did nothing but grieve over the death of Princess Michiyo, and no orders for a military campaign were issued.
It was no wonder that Tameuji was lost in grief. According to what Genzo secretly told me, Tameuji did nothing but eat, spending his days simply shedding tears. The administration of the Iwase region was effectively being handled by the Four Heavenly Kings through consultation.
Regardless of Tameuji's state, the retainers, led by the Four Heavenly Kings, were preparing for war.
According to rumors, Jibu-no-taifu declared, "It is inevitable that Tameuji will soon issue an order to march and attempt to take the castle. Let us use our wisdom to hole up in the mansion and defend it. Even if it is like a mantis trying to stop a carriage."
According to reports from spies sent from Wada to Sukagawa, Jibu-no-taifu had apparently issued a proclamation to the territories near Sukagawa.
He was spreading the word that there was not a single wise man among Tameuji's troops, and that they were people trying to achieve great feats with only meager schemes. Furthermore, likely to gather his forces, he had sent the following proclamation to each village:
"If you wish to abandon the foolish lord of a dying country and join the righteous retainers of the Bushido code, all men between the ages of fifteen and seventy must hasten to this castle and follow me at once. Loyal retainers will be rewarded, and the disloyal, regardless of age or gender, will all be put to death."
He was not sinking into the sorrow of his beloved daughter's death, but rather using it as an opportunity to issue a rallying cry. The one who brought this rumor was Saburobei, the third son of the Suda family. The ninja he had sent into the Sukagawa castle town had brought back the rumor. As had been rumored for some time, Jibu-no-taifu was indeed intent on solidifying his power as the governor of Sukagawa. Princess Michiyo had been nothing more than a pawn for that purpose.
Thinking of this, Tosho-no-suke's heart sank.
Meanwhile, the people of Wada had no time to worry about Tameuji's state of mind. Led by the elders, such as the members of the family and the Four Heavenly Kings, a manifesto was sent out requesting reinforcements from the Nikaido clan in Izu, Sagami, Suruga, and Shinano.
Along with this, a circular based on that written oath was also shown to the people in the territory.

1. Jibu-no-taifu is steeped in greed, holds power without pity for the people, covets wealth, and has killed people beyond the normal scope. He drowns in alcohol, has not noticed for a long time that the people are starving, and does not listen to the pleas of the musicians.
2. Despite being sent to a distant land as a deputy to protect the country, he has failed to do so, embezzling finances that should have belonged to the protector, and his momentum is no different from a dragon ascending to the clouds to gain water.
3. He imposes unprecedented forced labor and covets land taxes, causing people to seek wives and children in distant lands or other countries, leading to the sorrow of separation for husbands and wives, parents and children, and leaving the people impoverished and the national strength weakened.
4. His wickedness is rampant, he defies reason, indulges in bribery, and does not know the expenses of the world.
5. He defies his lord, plots rebellion, and gathers troops to manipulate the country.
These five sins violate the heavens; who could possibly leave them be?

Tosho-no-suke, too, while diligently copying the circulars for the territory as ordered by Mino-no-kami, once again pondered Jibu-no-taifu's evil deeds.
Perhaps the reason he was taking more land tax than necessary was to fund his efforts to lobby the shogunate in the capital to appoint him as the governor of the Iwase region. If Jibu's campaign were to be recognized by the shogunate, it would be an unprecedented and rare event.
Even as he told himself this, his heart remained heavy when he remembered the tragedy at Kureyazawa.
Also, the circumstances in the capital and Kamakura must have been intertwined in the background of Jibu-no-taifu's tyranny.
According to news from the Isshiki family in the capital, there is currently no shogun in the shogunate. Yoshikatsu, the seventh shogun, died of illness shortly after taking office. After that, news reached Tosho-no-suke from the main Isshiki family in the capital that a child called Miharu-dono had been given the name Yoshinari by the Emperor at the age of only eleven by the Kanrei, Hatakeyama Mochikuni. That Yoshinari is scheduled to have his coming-of-age ceremony next year—.
Since I also had my coming-of-age ceremony at fifteen, Yoshikatsu's coming-of-age was by no means early. However, I had some doubts about whether such a child could maintain the country.
And what am I doing in this land? I was supposed to have come down to this land for the revival of the Miyauchi Isshiki family, but my only glorious achievement was arranging the marriage between Tameuji and Princess Michiyo. And even that fell apart with the incident at Kureyazawa. The excitement for the war that would soon begin and my own strangely cold-eyed view of the Nikaido family's internal strife were mixed together.
When I spilled this to Tobei, Tobei gave a bitter smile.
"You said something similar when you first came down to this land."
"Did I?"
Now that he mentioned it, Tosho-no-suke remembered. At that time, he had looked down on Tameuji as "still a child," but Tameuji had managed to maintain his dignity as the lord of the country, albeit with the help of the Four Heavenly Kings and the family members.
But now, just before the decisive battle with Jibu-no-taifu, he is only lost in grief. Was the loss of Princess Michiyo that much of a blow? And what do I want to do after the battle of the Nikaido clan is settled? Lately, that purpose has been becoming unclear.
"For all your talk, you have a soft heart."
Tosho-no-suke also realized that Tobei's point was valid. The tragedy of the lord and his wife was not necessarily Tosho-no-suke's responsibility alone. Nevertheless, the reason he thought so much about that tragedy might be because Tosho-no-suke had also been captivated by Princess Michiyo's charm.
"There is no doubt that there will be a war soon. Tosho-no-suke. If you don't want to stain the name of Isshiki, don't make any mistakes."
Tobei's face, as he gave his advice clearly like a childhood friend, was that of a true Bando warrior. He had been like an older brother to Tosho-no-suke since they were in Kamakura, but it seemed he intended to settle down in Sukagawa in earnest after his marriage to Hana, the daughter of Hattori. Apparently, from his perspective, Tosho-no-suke still had some growing up to do.

©k.maru027.2023

>"Unexpected Guest (2)" continues to

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