Chapter 1165 Betrayal?

Higashijima Hakata
In the mansion of the Hojo family, Watanabe Kenjiro was brought to the Hojo River again, but compared to the last time they met, this time Hojo was accompanied by his retainers, and Watanabe Kenjiro was not as handsome as last time. He showed anxiety from the inside out...
When Watanabe Kenjiro saw Hojo Kawa, he knelt down without saying a word, bowed deeply, and shouted loudly:
"Uncle Hojo, please save our Watanabe family for the sake of the generations of friendship between the Hojo and Watanabe families and the decades of friendship between you and my father!"

Although Hojo Kawa knew that the situation of the Watanabe family in Bangtao City was not optimistic, he still didn't expect Watanabe Kenjiro to be so anxious!
Looking at Watanabe Kenjiro kneeling on the ground in tears, Hojo Kawa also stood up and walked in front of him, personally helped him up and then promised with a serious expression:

"Don't worry, Kenjiro. I understand the principle of the loss of lips and teeth. Don't worry, the Hojo family will definitely not stand idly by!"

Watanabe Kenjiro felt relieved after hearing this and immediately said:
"Thank you, Uncle Hojo! We, the Watanabe family, will never forget your kindness!"

After saying a few more words to calm Watanabe Kenjiro's anxious mood, Hojo Kawa went straight to the point and asked Watanabe Kenjiro:
"Kenjiro, what is the current situation in Bang Tao City?"

Watanabe Kenjiro, who had just calmed down after hearing this, became excited again and spoke in great sorrow:

“In the past two months, the shogunate’s army has launched fierce attacks on Bang Tao City almost every day. The situation in Bang Tao City is now very dangerous…”

Beijo Chuan asked again:

"Kenjiro, can you tell me in detail?"

"The shogunate launched a fierce attack for nearly a month. They not only attacked during the day, but also attacked at night with torches and cannons. We suffered hundreds of casualties almost every day. They even wanted to attack with fire. Fortunately, a heavy rain put out the fire and prevented their trick from succeeding!"

"Because Uncle Hojo sent troops to harass their supply lines, the shogunate army had to temporarily stop the large-scale siege plan due to lack of logistical support."

"Now they have changed their tactics and want to besiege Bang Tao City, trying to trap us to death. During this period, they have also been harassing Bang Tao, which has made us nervous and we dare not relax at all. We must always be vigilant against their comeback!"

"Although Bangtao City is still under the control of our Watanabe family, the situation in the city is very bad under their siege. First of all, there is food. My father has already plundered all the food in the city and implemented a rationing system. But even so, the food in the city can only support one and a half months at most. After one and a half months, there will be nothing to eat in the city!"

“The second is the lack of medicines. Previously, in order to resist the shogunate’s army, many soldiers of my Watanabe family died, and many more were injured. After months of war, our Watanabe family’s medicine reserves have been completely used up. Now, not only are the seriously injured unable to get treatment, but even the lightly injured can only wait to die…”

When he said this, Kenjiro Watanabe's voice became choked.

"Even my uncle Yusaku Watanabe died due to lack of medicine!"

Everyone in the hall was shocked when these words came out. Beijo Kawa was also somewhat surprised and asked back:
"Watanabe Yuu is committing suicide?"

Watanabe Kenjiro nodded and said:
"Yes! When the shogunate army attacked the city at the beginning, the battle was very fierce. My uncle went to the front line to command the battle and was injured by the shogunate army's musket. My father wanted to replace him, but in order to resist the shogunate army and defend Bangtao City, my uncle insisted on fighting with injuries and fought the shogunate army to the end!"

"As a result, the wound did not heal and medicine became increasingly scarce. My uncle also did not have enough medicine to treat it, so the wound became infected!"

At the end, Watanabe Kenjiro looked extremely sad, with two tear marks on his face. It was obvious that he and his uncle Watanabe Yusaku had a very good relationship.

Listening to Watanabe Kenjiro's story, Hojo Kawa felt very heavy-hearted. He knew that if the current situation could not be changed, what happened in Bangtao City would most likely happen again in his Hakata City!
It is even possible that the situation in Hakata Castle will be worse than that in Bangtao by then. After all, he is now sending troops to attack the food supply routes of the shogunate army and relieve the pressure on the Watanabe family in Bangtao from the rear!

But once the Watanabe family can no longer hold on and Bangtao Castle is captured, the shogunate army will march on the border, and by that time, Hojo River will not even have anyone to help him·························
Just as Hojogawa was thinking hard, Watanabe Kenjiro also said loudly:
"Uncle Hojo, please send troops to assist Bangtao City as soon as possible!"

After hearing this, Hojo Kawa also said with a helpless look on his face:

"Kenjiro, it's not that I don't want to get sick. It's really that Ishihara Nobuyuki sent Nakamura Kaikai to lead 10,000 foot soldiers to station in Kosei, and the Aso family also colluded with them. Before, whenever I sent troops, they immediately attacked Hakata, and I had no choice!"

Watanabe Kenjiro was also very anxious when he heard this, and he didn't care too much and continued:

"Uncle Hojo, our Watanabe family can't hold out in Bangtao for too long. Once Bangtao falls, our Watanabe family will be destroyed, but as the Zhou people said, no egg will be left unbroken when the nest is overturned! Please think twice, Uncle Hojo!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Hojo Kawa and several retainers in the hall, although they did not like Watanabe Kenjiro's threatening words, they had to admit that what Watanabe Kenjiro said was true, and after the Watanabe family fell, their Hojo family would not be able to escape!
After a brief silence, Hojogawa said to Watanabe Kenjiro:
"Kenjiro, you must be very tired after rushing all the way from Bangtao. Go down and rest first!"

"uncle···············"

Kenjiro Watanabe wanted to say something more, but he was interrupted by Hojo Kawa as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Kenjiro, I know what you want to say. Go back and rest first. I will give you a reply as soon as possible!"

Feeling the attitude of Hojogawa, Watanabe Kenjiro was helpless, but he had to nod and say:

"I'm counting on Uncle Hojo and everyone else!"

After saying this, Watanabe Kenjiro bowed respectfully to everyone present, then left somewhat dejectedly. After he left, Hojo Kawa spoke:
"Everyone, please share your opinions!"

After the words fell, the five retainers of the Hojo family in the hall remained silent. No one took the initiative to break the silence. Seeing that none of them had the intention to speak, Hojo Kawa could only look at the first one on his right, a middle-aged man with an elegant expression, and asked:
"Nanamori, you are the chief retainer, so please tell me your ideas first!"

Nanamori Takeei, who was called by Hojo River, hesitated for a moment and began to speak:
"Master, I think there are only two solutions for now. The first is to find a way to kill Nakamura Kai who is stationed in Kasei!"

"Although the Aso family is now on the side of the shogunate and eyeing Hakata Castle, the Aso family has always been weak and fence-sitting. As long as Nakamura Kai's troops are destroyed, they will not dare to offend our Hojo family!"

"This way we can lead our troops to Bang Tao without any worries and lift the current siege of Bang Tao!"

Nanamori Takeei paused, then looked at Hojogawa and said:
“But if we can’t get rid of Nakamura Dahai and his troops, then we won’t be able to help Bang Tao, so we may need to find another way…”

As soon as Nanamori Takefusa finished speaking, a cold snort was heard in the room, and then another retainer, Ueda Kou, asked, "May I ask what Nanamori-sama means by finding another solution? Are you going to surrender to the shogunate?"

"Nanamori-sama, there is an old saying in the Great Zhou Dynasty: If you don't want others to know, then don't do it yourself. Have you contacted the shogunate's envoy privately?"

Nanamori Takeei, whose true thoughts were exposed by Ueda Hang, couldn't help but blush. He glanced at Hojo Kawa who was sitting in the main seat with some trepidation. Seeing that the head of the Hojo family did not express his opinion, Nanamori Takeei simply stopped hiding it and explained loudly to Ueda Hang's questioning:

"You don't have to tell me! I wanted to report this to the master anyway!"

"I think our chances of winning the war are slim to this day. Although the Zhou people made good promises, they never showed up except for the first few times of military aid. It was these bastards who betrayed us!"

"If we continue, we will all be destroyed together! The shogunate has promised that as long as our Hojo family surrenders to the shogunate, the shogunate will forgive us for what happened!"

As soon as these words came out, the other three retainers who had not spoken could not help but change their expressions, and at this time, Hojo Kawa also spoke:
"What are the conditions of the shogunate?"

Seeing that Hojo Kawa seemed to be willing to compromise, Ueda Kou hurriedly said anxiously:

"Master Patriarch! You absolutely cannot do that!"

Hojo Chuan ignored Tian Hang's advice and still looked at Nanamori Takefusa. Under his gaze, Nanamori Takefusa hesitated and said:
“The shogunate demands that the Hojo family hand over those Great Zhou spies, and requires you, the head of the family, to go to Kyoto to apologize to His Majesty…”

Before Nanamori Jianying had finished speaking, Ueda Kou stepped out again to admonish:
"Master! This is nothing but a trick of the shogunate. Things have come to this point. We are at loggerheads with the shogunate. The shogunate will never give up until we are killed!"

"A new batch of military aid from the Great Zhou will arrive soon. Once it arrives, things will turn around! Master, please don't give up!"

Seeing that Ueda Kou was still tirelessly encouraging Hojo River to continue fighting, Nanamori Takefusa angrily accused:
"It is because of the instigation of you warmongers that things have come to this point. Ueda Kou, you are already a sinner of the Hojo family. Do you have to push the Hojo family to a point of no return before you will give up?"

Seeing Nanamori Takeei bite back, Ueda Ko also shouted:

"Nanamori Takefusa, you are unworthy of being the chief retainer of the Hojo family. In this difficult time, you did not think of reporting the grace of the lord and helping the lord to overcome the difficulties, but colluded with the shogunate in private and shamelessly discussed selling out your master for fame and fortune. You are a traitor!"

After saying that, Ueda Kou knelt down in front of Kitajikawa and suggested:

"Please, Master, use Nanamori Takeei's head to restore morale in the army!"

After hearing this, Nanamori Jianying was a little panicked, and he quickly explained to Beijo Kawa:

"Master, you know me. I have always been loyal to you and the Hojo family. The reason I contacted the shogunate was for your and the Hojo family's sake. It was those Zhou people who betrayed us. They promised to give us a large amount of military aid and food to help us overthrow the shogunate's rule!"

"But where are all these things?"

“These liars tricked us like fools! They never really wanted to help us. They just wanted us on East Island to kill each other and shed every last drop of blood so that it would be easier for them to invade…”

After hearing this, Beijo Kawa was also moved. However, at this moment, a general suddenly came in and reported to Beijo Kawa with great joy:

"Master, the fleet of the Great Zhou is coming!"

After hearing this, Hojo Kawa, who had just thought that Nanamori Takeei's words made some sense, immediately asked with shining eyes:
"really?"

The general nodded and said:

"It's true! There are a total of ten ships from the Great Zhou fleet, all of which are large and full of cargo! The fleet has arrived at the port and will be unloading soon!"

As soon as he finished speaking, another general came in and reported to Beijo Chuan:

"Master, Wang He wants to see you!"

When Beijo Chuan heard this, a surge of power emerged in his heart. He immediately nodded excitedly and said:

"Please bring Wang He in!"

"Yes!"

After saying this, Hojo Kawa looked at Nanamori Takefusa, who had just advocated surrendering to the shogunate. At this time, the chief retainer of the Hojo family was also very embarrassed.

He really didn't expect that he had just been saying that Da Zhou had deceived them, that military aid had been delayed in arriving, and that he had suggested that the Hojo Kawaka shogunate surrender, and the next second the Da Zhou fleet had already arrived. This was really a slap in the face!
Just as Nanamori Takeei was trying to organize his words to excuse himself, Hojo Kawa directly opened his mouth and ordered:
"Someone, capture Nanamori Jianying! Give him fifty strokes of the cane and order him to reflect on his mistakes behind closed doors!"

"Yes!"

Ueda Kou, who was standing by, was also very happy when he first heard that Hojo Kawa was going to take down Nanamori Takefusa, but what he didn't expect was that Hojo Kawa would just punish Nanamori Takefusa with a stick!

This undoubtedly made Ueda Ko very disappointed. After all, with the death of Nanamori Takefusa, he would be the chief retainer of the Hojo family. He immediately wanted to suggest to Hojo Kawana to kill Nanamori Takefusa again, but before he could open his mouth, Hojo Kawana hurriedly prepared to meet Wang He...

(End of this chapter)