Detailed explanation of the characters of Taiyuan Xuezhai

Taiyuan Xuezhai was born in the fifth year of Mingying (1496). His father is Anwarazaemon, an important minister of the Suruga Daimyo Imagawa clan, and his mother is the daughter of the Kōtsu clan, who is also an important minister of the Imagawa clan. "Xue Zhai" is a Taoist name, also known as "Taiyuan Chongfu". The actual name is unknown. When he was a child, his father sent him to the nearby Shande Temple to study. Since then, Xuezhai has realized that he will live the life of a Zen monk throughout his life. Until the sixth year of Yongzheng (1509), the fourteen-year-old Xuezhai entered Jianren Temple in Kyoto, worshiped Chang'an Longchong as his teacher, and officially became a monk, changing his name to "Jiuying Chengju". Taiyuan Xuezhai spent his childhood in Jianren Temple. Later, in the second year of Daiei (1522), under the orders of the Imagawa clan, he returned to Zentoku-ji Temple in Suruga and was responsible for the education of the fifth son, Yoshikumaru. By the way, most of the samurai families at that time would follow the practice of the Ashikaga Shogun family. Except for the heir, all the sons of the family governor were sent to temples to become monks. In this way, brothers fighting for power could be avoided. . And this Hōkikumaru was later named "Umetake Seiyoshi" and was known as the "first bow in the East China Sea" by the Tokaido giant - Imagawa Yoshimoto.

After that, with the permission of the Imagawa family members, the two returned to Kennin Temple to continue practicing. After completing their studies, they went to Myoshin Temple in Kyoto to study under the famous monk Daikyu Sokyu. Buddhism; during this period, Taiyuan Xuezhai gradually distinguished himself in the family by virtue of his talents and learning, and was highly regarded by Shihui and Shouguini. In this case, a few years later, Imagawa's own father died of illness, and his eldest son, Uji Teru, succeeded him. Ujiki was only fourteen years old when he succeeded to the throne, and most of the government affairs were handled by his biological mother Shouguini personally, which was able to maintain the prosperous situation that the Imagawa family had worked hard to manage. Ujiteru's biggest enemy during his reign was none other than Takeda Nobutora of Kai. The most intense battle between the two sides took place in June of the fourth year of Tenmon (1535). The Imagawa and Takeda armies fought at Manzakou on the border of Koshun. The Imagawa army could not withstand the powerful Takeda army and was completely at a disadvantage. As the Imagawa family's strategist, Taihara Yuksai quickly sent envoys to Odawara Castle and asked Hojo Ujizuna to attack the eastern part of Kai to relieve Imagawa's urgency. Unexpectedly, Takeda Nobutora also sent a letter to Shougani Uesugi Chao Xing, inviting him to attack Odawara Castle in order to contain the Hojo clan Tsuna. Therefore, the Imagawa and Takeda armies were in a stalemate, and they did not withdraw their troops until the autumn harvest, which was regarded as the end of the war. However, in the following year (the fifth year of Astronomy, 1536), the family governor Imagawa Ujiteru was mercilessly summoned by the God of Death. He was only twenty-four years old when he died. On the same day, Ujiuchi's second son (Ujiteru's second brother) Hiko Goro was also found dead. Because Uji Teru was weak, he had no heirs. As a result, undercurrents began to arise in the family about who would succeed the family governor...

Imagawa Shiteru has five younger brothers, namely Hikogoro, Xuanguang Huitan, Elephant Erquan Zang, Meiyue Chengfang, Imagawaji Yutaka. Hikogoro and Ujiki died on the same day, Izumi Zang was far away in Kyoto, and Imagawa Uji was still alive in Owarina Furuno Castle. Therefore, the only two people vying for the position of family governor are Xuan Guang Huitan and Mei Yue Chengfang. Logically speaking, the family governor should be succeeded by the older third son Genguang Etan, but he is only the son of the Fukushima family, the concubine of the Imagawa family. Compared with Meiyue Chengfang, who is born to the main wife Shouguini, he will inevitably suffer. . However, Xuanguang Etan's grandfather, Fukushima Shosuke Masashige, was also an important member of the family and controlled important castles such as Gaotian City. His power should not be underestimated; so Xuanguang Etan decided to rely on this advantage to fight Mei with force. Yue Chengfang competed with others and at the same time returned to secular life and changed his name to Imagawa Yoshizhin.

On the other hand, Shougini was not to be outdone. He thought that since he was the main wife of the Imagawa family, his son could of course legitimately succeed to the throne, so he ordered Meiyue Chengfang to return to the secular life immediately and change his name to "Imagawa Goro" shows orthodoxy. "Goro" is the general name for the heirs of the Imagawa family from generation to generation. In this case, it is important to symbolize that Mei Yue Chengfang is the orthodoxy. 〉;At the same time, Taiyuan Xuezhai and other close friends were invited to help. As Mei Yue Chengfang's master, Taiyuan Xuezhai has supported and supported him since he was a child and established a deep master-disciple relationship. It is his duty to achieve great things now. Xuezhai used Mei Yue Chengfang's legitimacy as a rallying cry to win over his retainers. Those who were invited to join Umetake Seiyoshi's side included the important ministers Asahina Bitchu Mori Taino, Sena Mutsu Mori Sadad, in addition to Guanguchi Hiroshi (the biological father of Sena Hime, Tokugawa Ieyasu's first wife), Amano Hikoshiro, etc. .

At this point in the secret war, fierce fighting is an inevitable fact. In May of the same year, the armies of both sides fought at the foot of Sunfu Castle. Imagawa Yoshizhin's side, with the Fukushima Army as the main force, was severely defeated and retreated to Takatenjin Castle, Kunoyama Castle, and Katakami Castle.

However, these cities were also captured one after another, and Imagawa Yoshizhin had no choice but to retreat to the stronghold of Huacang Castle. On June 8, Umetake Chengyang personally commanded the army and captured Hanakura Castle. Imagawa Yoshizhin fled to Setoya Bomon Temple.

As the saying goes, "when a tree falls, the hozen disperses." Imagawa Yoshima fled to Pumon Temple, and his subordinates immediately dispersed. Only Fukushima Masashige, Horikoshi Sadaki and others still supported Yoshima. They begged Shou Guini to surrender for the sake of Liang Zhen, but both Xuezhai and Shou Guini advocated eradicating the roots to avoid future troubles. On June 14, Liangzhen committed seppuku and committed suicide at Pumen Temple, thus ending the "Huacang Rebellion".

After the death of Imagawa Yoshima, the 18-year-old Umetake Seiyoshi succeeded to the position of family governor. He was appointed by the shogunate as Suruga Shou. He accepted the "righteousness" from General Yoshiharu and changed his name to Imagawa Yoshimoto. In this battle for power, Taiyuan Xue Zhai tried his best to win over all the retainers and surrounding forces, so that he could have the power to compete with Imagawa Yoshizhin, and finally won. The contribution he made cannot be erased. After Yoshimoto succeeded to the throne, he immediately recruited Taiyuan Xuezai, who was both a hero and a good teacher, to become his military advisor. From then on, Xuezai was able to fully demonstrate his talents. During his lifetime, the Imagawa family was at its peak.

At this time, Taiyuan Xuezhai concurrently served as the abbot of Suruga Rinzai Temple and Xingjin Kiyomi Temple, and was the founder of Suruga Rinzai Sect. After Imagawa Yoshimoto became the governor of the family, he decided to change his attitude towards the surrounding forces and adopt the policy of "pro-Takeda and far away from Hojo". On the one hand, he mediated the marriage between Takeda Nobutora's son Harunobu (Takeda Shingen) and the daughter of the minister Sanjo Kōryori. On the one hand, he severed his alliance with Hojo Ujitsuna and married Takeda Nobutora's daughter as his first wife in the sixth year of Tenmon (1537). From then on, Imagawa and Takeda formed an alliance, which was conducive to Shangluo's ambition to dominate the world.

In October of the fifteenth year of Astronomy (1546), Owari's Oda Nobhide launched an invasion of Mikawa. Matsudaira Hirotada of Okazaki Castle asked Imagawa Yoshimoto for help. Taiyuan Xuesai proposed rescue, and Yoshimoto agreed, allowing Xuesai to lead his army into Nishi Mikawa to resist the invasion of the Oda army; then, Yoshimoto asked Matsudaira Hirotada to send hostages to show his loyalty to the Imagawa family. However, the hostage of the Matsudaira family, Takechiyo Matsudaira (son of Hiroutada, later Tokugawa Ieyasu), was kidnapped on the way to Sunfu Castle by Yasumi Toda, the lord of Tahara Castle who switched his allegiance to the Oda family, and was sent to Oda Nobhide, who intimidated Matsudaira. Guangzhong leaves Imagawa's house.

In March of the 17th year of Tianwen (1548), Oda Nobuhide led more than 5,000 troops to invade Mikawa again. Imagawa Yoshimoto then ordered Taiyuan Xuezhai as the general general and led 25,000 troops to fight. . The two sides faced off at Shodosaka, southeast of Okazaki Castle. The two armies coincidentally dispatched vanguard troops to investigate the enemy's situation. Oda Nobhiro's vanguard, Oda Nobhiro's army, and Asahina Yasuhide's vanguard, Imagawa's army, met and started a white-knuckle battle, which was inextricable. Taiyuan Xuezhai then sent Okabe Motobu to lead the team to support, and finally repelled the Oda army. This war was known as the "Battle of Shodosaka". After the war, Taiyuan Xue Zhai led his army into Okazaki Castle to deal with issues such as combat readiness and internal affairs in the Nishi Mikawa area in order to prepare for the next war.

In November of the following year (1549, the 18th year of Astronomy), Xuezai commanded an army of 7,000 troops to besiege Anxiang Castle, the strategic point of Mikawa. He defeated Oda Nobuhide's reinforcements in one fell swoop and captured Anxiang. Castle, captured the defender Nobuhiro Oda, and achieved an overwhelming victory. In order to obtain the bridgehead of the Matsudaira family, Yukisai negotiated with Oda Nobuhide and successfully exchanged the newly captured Oda Nobhiro for Matsudaira Takechiyo who was kidnapped midway. This move not only controlled the Matsudaira family, but also allowed them to enter and leave the Nishi Mikawa area at will. It was particularly helpful for strategic deployment and gave a boost to Yoshimoto's ambition to go to Luka. However, behind Imagawa Yoshimoto's ambitious plan to go to Luka, there were also major hidden worries; this hidden worry was the movements of Sagami's Hojo Ujiyasu (who was already dead at the time). After the alliance between Imagawa and Takeda, Hojo Uyasu continued to burn, kill and loot villages and temples in border areas, causing nuisance. In order to eliminate his worries, Taiyuan Yuksai wrote a letter to induce Yamauchi Uesugi Kensei to attack Hojo. Yamauchi Uesugi Kensei also contacted Ogitani Uesugi Tosada to attack Kawagoe Castle guarded by Hojo Tsunari; while Yoshimoto himself led his troops to surround Shun. Kubo Castle in Higashi County. Even though Hojo Ujiyasu had a great strategy, he thought that it would be difficult to resist the various armies. What's more, Imagawa Yoshimoto's goal was only Kamikawa and did not want to compete with the Hojo family for hegemony. As a result, due to Takeda Shingen's mediation, Imagawa Yoshimoto, Uesugi Kenmasa, and Hojo Ujiyasu spoke. and. This triangular alliance is called the "Triangle Wheel". After the peace talks, Hojo Ujiyasu was not yet relieved, so he had no choice but to divide Shutong and Fuji counties into the Imagawa family, hoping to temporarily eliminate the hostility of the Imagawa family and reduce one enemy to himself.

But this peace agreement can only last for a short time. Soon the famous Night Battle of Kawagoe broke out. Hojo Uji Yasudai defeated the coalition forces of Ogidani Uesugi, Yamauchi Uesugi and Furukawa Lord Ashikaga Haru who invaded Kanto, and became famous.

In the 19th year of Tianbun (1550), Imagawa Yoshimoto's wife, Takeda Nobutora's daughter, passed away; in order to prevent the good relationship between the two families from being severed, Yoshimoto moved to Tianbun in the 21st year. <1552> In November of 1552, he married his eldest daughter to Shingen's legitimate son Yoshinobu, thus maintaining the alliance. In the same year, Hojo Ujiyasu defeated Yamauchi Uesugi Kenmasa, forcing Kensei to flee to Echigo. Ueyasu's strength at this time was different from before. In order to avenge the ceding of territory, he decided to send troops to Suruga. At this time, Imagawa Yoshimoto was preparing for the battle of Kamikawa. Ujiyasu suddenly attacked, which shocked everyone in the Imagawa family. Takeda Shingen, an ally of the Imagawa family, learned of the news and immediately sent troops from Fujikawa to support Yoshimoto.

Taiyuan Xuezai believes that if Hojo Ujiyasu attacks, he will be a difficult opponent and will also hinder Shangluo's plan. So he strongly suggested negotiating peace with the Hojo family. Imagawa Yoshimoto accepted Yukisai's proposal, and in March of the same year met Takeda Shingen and Hojo Ujiyasu at Zentokuji Temple, where Yukisai had practiced together when he was a child, to conduct peace talks, which was known as the "Zendokuji Temple Alliance" in history. With his excellent diplomatic skills, Yukisai was finally able to persuade Hojo Ujiyasu to reach a peace agreement. After the alliance, Takeda Shingen's daughter Huangmein married Ushimasa, the son of Hojo Uyasu, and Ujiyasu's daughter Hayagawa-don married Ujima, the son of Imagawa Yoshimoto. At this point, the "Three Kingdoms Alliance of Jia Xiangjun" was formally established.

In October of the first year of Hongzhi (1555), Taiyuan Xuezhai passed away at the age of sixty. After his death, he was given the posthumous title of "Zen Master Baozhu Protecting the Country".