Chapter 656 1. One Wave Has Not yet Subsided, Another Wave Has Come.

Hojo surrendered!

Although it was expected, it was also a pleasant surprise!

The intermediary between the two sides this time was quite magical, His Excellency William, Archbishop of Hamamatsu of the Roman Anglican Diocese of Macau.

He was dressed in a simple black robe, straw sandals, a little red hat on the shaved part of his head, holding a rose rosary, and chanting something all the time. Welcomed by Christians from both sides, he rode a pony and arrived outside Edo Castle with only one follower.

Nanban Town was established in Shimoda, Izu and Odawara, Sagami. Nanban merchant ships brought cannons, foreign guns, gunpowder, armor, and Christianity. There were also thousands of believers in the Hojo clan, and many of them joined the army.

As for the Totomi people on the Yamanouchi side, it goes without saying that according to the previous agreement, Nanban Town and believers had to provide 140 people for the Yamanouchi family, of which 40 people were required to hold two long and short guns and wear a full set of armor.

The Christians sang hymns and welcomed their pastor!

William greeted Yongtu Yao and Xiao Pingtai warmly. Now his Japanese is very pure, and he can even speak a few words of the Eastern dialect. There is no problem communicating with the believers, and it is naturally no problem to act as an intermediary for the peace talks between the two sides.

Many people on the coalition side saw the Nanman monk for the first time, and they surrounded him and another Christian priest who followed them. It was very strange that such a foreign monk could be unanimously recognized by Yamauchi and Hojo and serve as a witness for the joint deliberation.

"Good day, sir! How are you!" William now has a professional smile that is very consistent with the aesthetics of the Japanese, and the aura of sacred glory is undoubtedly revealed on him.

Just for this look, he will definitely be canonized in the future!

"Congratulations on your appointment as a bishop! May more lambs listen to the Lord's holy voice." Xiao Pingtai said politely anyway, and it doesn't cost any money.

"It is a great joy that the two countries of Yamanouchi and Hojo, who have been blessed by the Lord, can cease fire."

"Thank you!"

The Hojo brothers also followed, and with Tushi Yao as a believer, they were naturally closer to William. Although the other brothers were not religious, they also maintained considerable goodwill. After all, at this time, Christianity brought advanced weapons and prosperous trade, and did not establish a religious group to learn Ikko-shu, so it was still popular.

"It is an honor for me to preside over the peace talks between the two countries this time! Please wait for a moment."

After that, William's attendant untied the package from the horse's back and took out the robe woven by the believers for William. The gold-woven robe looked very gorgeous, and the crown was also decorated with complicated patterns with gold thread. Everyone realized that this Nanman religion could be so gorgeous.

"Just for the sake of solemnity!" William made a gesture of invitation.

Everyone sat down. William was originally going to draft the ceasefire document. Unfortunately, William had learned Japanese well, but his Chinese characters were still a little bit behind.

So Xiao Pingtai gave in and Oishi Ujiteru wrote down the conditions agreed upon earlier. After both parties confirmed, Hojo Ujinao and Yamauchi Taro signed and sealed. Finally, with William's co-signature, the peace talks were officially concluded.

………………

After entrusting Satomi Yoshiyasu to control the waterways in Uraga on the Miura Peninsula, leaving a hatamoto and 300 foot soldiers to garrison Uraga, the Yamauchi army began to gradually withdraw.

The various armies in the coalition had already been plundered, and now they were singing songs and carrying packages and happily leaving Edo. The local nobles in the Yamauchi army also began to evacuate in batches. Only some troops were left to rebuild Edo Castle.

Since Ota Sukemasa was serving Uesugi Kenshin as a guest general at the moment, he waited for more than ten days. After the Edo camp was built, this big man rushed back to Edo with only nine horses.

This is not as good as the old man Uesugi Shizuken. Even if the old man is not good enough, he still has dozens of loyal followers who will kill anyone he wants without saying a word. Each of these dozens of people must have a few relatives, friends, brothers, etc. With just a call, a core group of two or three hundred samurai retainers was established.

It is impossible to dominate the countries, but it is still easy to keep a family business of tens of thousands of kan.

But you, Ota Sukemasa, are too shabby!

Although Xiao Pingtai knew that the Iwatsuki Ota clan had experienced two large-scale splits, Ota Sukemasa was not the eldest son of Ota Sukeyori, and his brother Ota Suketoki was the head of the Iwatsuki Ota clan at that time. However, the Ota family suffered heavy casualties in the Kawagoe night battle, and his eldest brother died in the battle!

Ota Sukemasa succeeded as the head of the family as the second son, and the Hojo faction of the family immediately fled to the Hojo clan. The generals such as Ota Bungo-no-kami, who had shown great power in the Tone River Battle, joined the Hojo clan at that time.

The second time is more well-known. Ota Ujisho sold his father and defected to the Hojo clan, but was sold by the Hojo family. Not only did he die, but he also gave his family business to Hojo Ujinao's younger brother, Ota Juro Ujifusa.

After these two tossings, the Iwatsuki Ota clan is now so miserable that only nine retainers are left. No! It's eight, because there is another one of his now adult son, Ota Genta Masakage.

How can they hand over important towns like Iwatsuki Castle and Edo Castle to the two of them!

Ota Sukemasa also knew that with just a few people coming, once the Yamanouchi family left, the Ota family would collapse immediately. He immediately explained that he still had a dozen retainers in Echigo, escorting him and Ota Masakage's family to Edo. In addition, when Ota Ujisuke betrayed him before, there were more than 20 retainers who were temporarily staying in the farm given to him by the Satake clan.

In this way, he has more than 40 samurai retainers.

As long as he is given time, he still has some face in Musashi, and he can call friends to recruit some people who are willing to follow him. It is relatively easy to gather a hundred riders of Ota.

Since he said so, Xiao Pingtai had to believe him. He arranged for someone to send Yamauchi Taro back to the palace, and summoned Ogasawara Nagamasa in Koga to bring 500 men to Edo Castle to help the Ota family continue to build the city and serve as garrison soldiers.

After all this was done, Xiao Pingtai stayed in Edo until July before he could finally withdraw and return to the palace.

When he returned to the palace, he was overwhelmed with countless things to do. It was really the most appropriate description.

"Tanzheng! Saemon-sama, who went to Luoyang to serve the country, is coming back!" Honda Tadakatsu, who came in with documents, finally looked a little taller.

"Is my uncle back? Where is he?" Xiao Pingtai did not look up.

"This is the letter that was sent back. We just left, and we should be in Mino by now! After all, we have to return with the army."

"What does the letter say?"

"Let me see." Honda Tadakatsu put down the things and started reading.

"The Asakura clan and the Miyoshi Three have formed an alliance!"