The previous article details Hatakeyama Yoshitsuna, who fought for a lifetime to revive the family and the courtiers, and this article is at the request of fans, let's talk about the "Mino Pit Viper" Michizo Saito, who became a daimyo from a merchant.
In the third year of Meiyo (1494), Michizo Saito was born in Kyoto and was born as Minemaru. According to the historical book "Gunmonoki", Michizo was originally named Shogoro Matsuba, and his father was an ordinary samurai Matsuba Kimune who guarded Kyoto. After the Onin Rebellion broke out, Matsuha Kimune lost his job and had to become a monk at Myokakuji Temple in Kyoto, while the young Saito Michizo followed his father to live in the temple. A few years later, Somba Kijō began to run an oil mill. It is said that he was skilled in pouring oil, and every time he sold oil, he would put a copper coin on the oil pot, and then inject the oil through the square hole of the copper coin, only to see the oil pass through it finely, without spilling a drop.
Matsuzaka Kimune also promised everyone that if there was a drop of oil, nothing would be taken. With this ingenious sales pitch, he became the most popular local oil seller.
Eleven-year-old Minemaru became a monk at Myokakuji Temple in Kyoto, his legal name was Horenbo, and he married the daughter of a lamp oil merchant Naraya clan, and changed his name to Yamazakiya Shogoro, and Shogoro inherited his father's business as an oil seller, and his oil pouring skills were better than blue. This incident attracted the attention of Yano Gozaemon , the guardian of Mino Country. Yano Gozaemon believes that if he can apply this magical skill to martial arts, he will become a powerful samurai.
He summoned Zhuanggoro and said, "If you can abandon business and follow martial arts, and cultivate martial arts to such an extent, it will be far more promising than merchants." The young Minemaru was also unwilling to work as an oil seller all his life, longing to one day make a name for himself, and after thanking Yano Gozaemon for it, he began to immerse himself in marksmanship and the emerging arquebus.
Because of his superb marksmanship, he was recommended to Nagai Nagahiro, and Nagai Nagahiro saw that Minemaru's potential was unlimited and recommended him to the head of the family, Mino Moritsuki Masaka. Masaka's eldest son, Tochi Yoritake, thinks that others are small ghosts and has bad tricks, and is a villain who hides needles in Mian, and does not agree to let him serve his father. Here I have to say that Lai Wu's eyesight is really cattle. Nagai Nagahiro, on the other hand, felt that he was a shrewd young man who could shine if he was cultivated a little.
Due to Yoritake's strong objections, he was unable to enter the court guarded by Mino, and Nagai Nagahiro recommended him to Tochi Yoriyi, the second son of Masabyo. Lai Yi is not interested in government affairs, but he is deeply loved by his father Tuqi Zhengfang, and many virtuous sons are not favored, probably because they are afraid of threatening their status, after all, father-son cannibalism was a family meal in the Warring States Period.
Zhuang Goro blindly threw himself into his favor, and quickly won Lai Yi's trust because of his superb marksmanship. In the seventh year of Dainaga, Toki Yorimasa died of illness, and Shogoro encouraged Toki Yoriyi to send 5,000 troops to attack Kete Castle's brother, but because he was unprepared and soon the castle fell, Yoritake was forced to flee the Echizen Asakura family.
In this battle, Shogoro made great achievements, and Toki Yoriyi canonized him as the lord of Mino Honchao Gunyu Yamashiro. Lai Yi officially became the guardian of Meino. Nagai Nagahiro saw that Shogoro finally had a chance to show his talents. Nagahiro let him inherit the Nishimura family's family business and served as the lord of Mino Light Sea West Castle, and his father Matsuzaka Kimune changed his name to Nagai Norihide, and Shogoro changed his name to Nagai Hideryu, and the Nagai clan was very kind to his father and son.
In the third year of Yonglu, in order to absolutely control the army, Lai Yi secretly discussed with his henchman Xiulong to assassinate Nagai Nagahiro, and made Xiulong the head of the Nagai family in the name of a heavy minister. Weighing the pros and cons, Hideryu sent someone to assassinate the great benefactor Nagai Nagahiro, and became the lord of Inabayama Castle himself, and since then Hideryu has entered the power center of the Toki family. Here you can see Xiulong's viciousness, unscrupulous and ungratitude for the sake of profit.
Careful analysis shows that Doki Yoriyi has a strong ability to govern, and later generations belittled him as an incompetent person because he was robbed of the family business by Dozo, and it was unfair to endure at home because he was not the eldest son, showing that he did not pay attention to government affairs and only pleased his father, secretly supporting forces and waiting for his father to die, immediately sending troops to chase his brother, and then assassinating the heavy minister in the family with a new person with no foundation in his henchman, which not only solved the threat of the heavy minister, but also made the newly succeeded Nagai father and son grateful and loyal, so that power was concentrated, this proper hero.
Soon after, the frustrated Toki Yoritake died, and his son Toki Yorijun waited for an opportunity to take the family business. In the fourth year of astronomy, Toki Yorijun asked the Asakura family to attack Mino together. The Rokkaku clan also sent troops to aid Lai Yi, and the war burned all over Mino Land. Hideryu, who had made great achievements in this battle, married Komi no Katata, daughter of Mitsuji Senshi, in the second year of Tenmon (1533), making the Nagai clan the head of the people of Mino. Soon she gave birth to a daughter, named Saito Guidie.
Mino guardian Dai Saito Toshira died of illness, leaving no heirs. Yoriyi then let Hideryu change his name to Saito Toshimasa, inherit his family business, and become the guardian of Mino. At this time, Saito Toshimasa was already a veritable real power. Forty-four-year-old Li Zheng developed from an oil seller to a national guardian with his resourcefulness and bravery.
And these could not satisfy his ambitions, and driven by desire, Lizheng planned to eliminate the power of the Tuqi clan. In the tenth year of astronomy (1541), after poisoning and killing Toki Yoriyi's younger brother Toki Yoriman, Dozo led troops to capture Daisang Castle. Tuqi Lai Yibing was defeated and exiled, and Lai Yi could not complain about others, so he could only blame himself for not knowing the checks and balances, and let Li Zheng be exiled at home. Yorii asks for help from Owari no Tora Oda Nobuhide (Nobunaga's father). Nobuhide complained to the shogunate that the Saito clan had stolen the Toki clan's guards. The shogunate forced Saito Toshimasa to return the guardianship, but Toshimasa ignored it.
In the sixteenth year of astronomy (1547), Oda Nobuhide led troops to attack Mino, and the "Battle of Ghana Mouth" began. Toshimasa uses Kenjo Inabayama Castle to fight against Oda's army. Nobuhide was helpless against Inaba Mountain Castle, which was easy to defend and difficult to attack, and could not be attacked for a long time. Near the end of the evening, the Saito army suddenly opened the city and killed, and Nobuhide's brother was killed in battle. Nobuhide had to make peace with the Saito family. He married his daughter Gui Butterfly to Oda Nobunaga, the eldest son of Oda Nobuhide, and the two formed an alliance. At this point, the Saito family completely captured the country of Mino, became a monk, and officially changed its name to Saito Michizo. He gave way to his son Saito Yoshiryu.
Because of Oda and Saito's marriage, Toki Yorii was exiled again, and it was not until the Saito family was destroyed by Nobunaga that he returned to Mino Country and was able to return to his roots.
Dochi prefers Yiryu's two younger brothers, and he considers deposing Yiryu. It is said that because Tochi Yoriyi gave his favored concubine to Michizo, he gave birth to his eldest son, Saito Yoshiryu, that year. Many people suspect that Yilong is the son of Lai Yi, but there is no evidence.
In the second year of Koji (1556), Yilong and his uncle held a banquet to get the two younger brothers drunk, and instructed the retainers to kill the two younger brothers. Sending troops to attack his father, Michizo Saito, the "Battle of Nagara River" broke out. At that time, the Dao Third Army only had more than 2,000 people, while Yilong led more than 17,000 people, occupying an overwhelming advantage. The retainers of the old Toki family scoffed at Michizo's theft of the country, and almost no one was on his side. Michizo asked his son-in-law Oda Nobunaga for reinforcements, and although Michizo used his wise command to repel the Yoshiryu army several times, he was outnumbered and died in battle, and could not wait for his son-in-law Nobunaga to come to help, at the age of sixty-three.
Looking back at the history of Saito's development, he has taken revenge many times, and there is no faith to speak of, just like a viper, vicious and cruel, even if he is resourceful, he will not end well when using troops like a god. There is an old Chinese saying: If you do too much unrighteousness, you will kill yourself!