On the evening of October 5, the coalition forces suddenly held a rather mysterious meeting. Only high-level samurai were allowed to participate in the meeting, and samurai at the level of Ikeda Hengxing and even Mori Katsunari were excluded.
Ame Akihei, Oda Nobunaga and others arrived at the main account early, but the gloomy-looking Ashikaga Yoshiki must wait until everyone has arrived before making an announcement. After a while, Asakura Yoshikage and others hurried over. Ashikaga Yoshiki
Hui immediately announced in a serious manner that he had locked the door of the main tent, and also asked his servants to patrol around to ensure that no one was eavesdropping around the tent. His approach made everyone nervous, not knowing how much he was going to announce.
Important information.
After everything was ready, Ashikaga Yoshiki cleared his throat and spoke in the deepest voice: "I would like to introduce someone to you." As he spoke, he pointed to a strange young man who had been following him, "He
It was the nickname of one of my close confidants when I was in Nijo Castle. When I was expelled from Nijo Castle, I kept him as an undercover agent in Nijo Castle. On the evening of the day before yesterday, he finally found a chance to escape from Nijo Castle. After wandering for three days, he finally escaped.
When he came to us, he brought top-secret information."
When the young man saw Ashikaga Yoshiki gesturing for him to speak with his eyes, he was so nervous that he couldn't speak for a while. After stammering for a long time, he finally managed to say one sentence. Then, with this sentence, the entire tent instantly exploded.
.
"Ashikaga Yoshie died of illness on the night of October 1st!"
·
"What do you mean? Can you tell me in detail?" In the chaos, Yu Qiuping didn't know who asked this question loudly. The young man paused, seemed to gradually calm down, and began to slowly recall the events of the past few days.
.
"Ashikaga Yoshie caught a cold about half a month ago. The illness was not particularly serious, so no one took it to heart. Since I am a former minister of Kōho-den, I have always been unpopular, and was assigned the job of cleaning the courtyard.
Therefore, I don’t know the specific condition of the disease.” Xiao Xing seemed to be a little scared when he recalled what happened at that time, and his face turned slightly pale: “But one night, the Nijo Castle General’s residence suddenly became a mess. There are a few of you following me.
Friends close to Ashikaga Yoshie's trusted bodyguards told me that Ashikaga Yoshie suddenly died suddenly. They didn't believe it at first, but in the middle of the night, Miyoshi Mikyu led many people directly back to Nijo Castle and surrounded Nijo Castle.
The place was tight and no one was allowed to come in or out. All of us were called up in the middle of the night to check to see if anyone was missing. Then, martial law was issued, and orders were not allowed to be discussed about the general, as if to block the death of Ashikaga Yoshie.
information."
"I realized at that time that something might really happen to Ashikaga Yoshie." Xiao Xing was describing the situation at the time, but the experienced samurai present had already expressed their expressions of war. If Xiao Xing's description is correct, then Ashikaga
Something bad happening to Yirong is no longer a possibility, but a certainty.
"I was able to confirm that something happened to Ashikaga Yoshie in the early morning of that day. I was still cleaning in the courtyard when I suddenly found Miyoshi Mikyu leading dozens of people, who seemed to be surrounding a coffin, heading straight out of the east gate.
He seemed to be mumbling something like 'buried first at Okazaki Shrine'." After saying so many words in succession, I couldn't help but feel a little dry. When Ashikaga Yoshiki saw this, he excitedly poured a glass of water himself and gave it to him
In his hand, I was flattered and thanked him profusely. After drinking the water, he continued: "After I learned such important information, I concentrated on how to escape and reported it. I finally found an opportunity and followed the path from Lake Biwa.
!”
Everyone here looked at the little man with very grateful expressions at this moment. Because they all understood how important this information was - because Ashikaga Yoshie was so important to the Miyoshi family and the Matsunaga family.
"Is this person reliable?" Oda Nobunaga first doubted the identity of this nickname. "The Miyoshi family has put the entire territory under martial law! How did you sneak out? Is it a trick of the Miyoshi family?"
"This person is absolutely trustworthy." Ashikaga Yoshiki said firmly and solemnly, "This person is my confidant! He followed me through life and death, and he even blocked a knife for me. When he stayed in hiding, in order to show his determination,
Even if you leave your wife and children in my hands, you will never betray me?"
"Your Majesty Oda, I'm sorry. The path I'm walking on is the path Kōhoden explored in order to go to Lake Biwa to practice in the morning. Now it has been abandoned for a long time, and Miyoshi is not aware of it, so I managed to escape by chance."
The young man replied fearfully.
"In any case, even the people in the Kōho-den should not be credulous. This is a matter that affects the lives of tens of thousands of people in the Alliance Army." Oda Nobunaga whispered very cautiously and waved his hand to signal Takigawa Ichimasu.
The young man was taken down for interrogation. Ashikaga Yoshiteru understood that the matter was serious and did not dare to be willful. He nodded towards Oda Nobunaga to express his approval.
After more than an hour of interrogation, Takigawa Kazumasu returned and reported to Oda Nobunaga. This little surname was able to describe his escape experience repeatedly and upside down several times, and there was no deviation in his recollection of the incident.
Maybe he was a spy bribed by the Miyoshi family.
"If so, this information is quite credible." Oda Nobunaga nodded slightly when he heard this.
Ashikaga Yoshie is a pseudo-shogun supported by the Miyoshi family and the Matsunaga family after they exiled Ashikaga Yoshiteru. At least in terms of procedures, he is the orthodox general of the Muromachi shogunate now, and he is also the face of the Miyoshi family and the Matsunaga family. Although many people are not familiar with it.
Ashikaga Yoshie's identity is quite criticized, but we can only respect him as a shogun. And with Ashikaga Yoshie in hand, the Miyoshi family and the Matsunaga family can use the shogun to order their daimyo, and rely on the shogun's daimyo to order them.
They were divided into two groups to dominate Kinki. The Kamikawa coalition relied on the great reputation of the abolished direct line general Ashikaga Yoshiteru. The two generals declared each other to be traitors, which constituted a restriction in a certain sense. The two groups of troops
, each supported their own puppet general and fought for Kyoto.
However, if Ashikaga Yoshie suddenly dies of illness, the Miyoshi family and the Matsunaga family will lose their support. Now that the position of shogun is vacant, Ashikaga Yoshiteru is the only person qualified to succeed. The Miyoshi family and the Matsunaga family have lost their reputation for justice.
There is no reason to continue to block the Upper Luo Alliance Army. This righteous name is very empty, and the daimyo politicians don't believe it, but they can't ignore it. Because among the bottom samurai, ashigaru, and common people, there is still a lot of people who occupy the righteous side.
Market. It can be said that Ashikaga Yoshie's unexpected death directly put the Miyoshi family at a loss. Miyoshi Yoshihide could only block the news of his death to temporarily maintain the morale of the frontline troops.
Kyoto and Nijo Castle must be commanded by shoguns - although this has no practical significance, it is the concept of the vast majority of middle and lower-class samurai, ashigaru, and common people. Therefore, every time a shogun is forced into exile, he will be welcomed back to Kyoto soon or
Establishing a new shogun is a choice that the daimyo who controls Yamashiro Kingdom have to make under pressure from all walks of life. And if the Miyoshi family has no one to support, then welcoming back Ashikaga Yoshiteru is their only choice, and they have no choice but to do
Make a compromise.
"Oh my God. Is Ashikaga Yoshie really dead?" Niwa Nagahide was stunned and speechless at this moment. He stumbled and said: "He died on the evening of October 1st. The Miyoshi family will come on October 2nd.
They came to us for peace talks and agreed to welcome him back to the Kōbōden as a shogun... I see! I was still wondering why the Miyoshi family suddenly compromised after clearly winning the battle. It turned out to be because Ashikaga Yoshie died of illness! They have stopped fighting.
Reason!"
"No wonder, no wonder." Asakura Yoshikage was also beaming with joy at this moment. He cupped his hands to Ashikaga Yoshiki and said, "It's really God's help for Kōhoden! Our Kōhoden is indeed the destiny of destiny. The puppet general suffered first before fighting.
God's punishment. In this way, going to Luo will be a matter of course!"
Ashikaga Yoshiki was very grateful for such compliments and nodded repeatedly with a smile. Although he was ecstatic at the moment, his demeanor as a general could not be abandoned, otherwise he would have laughed immediately. And in the big tent,
Other samurai did not have Ashikaga Yoshiteru's level of self-cultivation, and many of them were already celebrating the upcoming success of Shangluo.
·
However, Oda Nobunaga thought much more than Ashikaga Yoshiteru and Asakura Yoshikage. He was not satisfied with supporting Ashikaga Yoshiteru back to Kyoto, but wanted to establish the hegemony of the Oda family in Kinki. For this reason,
Eliminating or seriously injuring the Miyoshi family is what he must do. The entire Miyoshi family is here now, and the Oda family also has two allies, the Asakura family and the Asai family, to help out. If they can use them to take the opportunity to defeat the main force of the Miyoshi family, they will be able to defeat him.
It couldn't be better.
"The puppet general died of illness, and the Miyoshi family lost the reason to fight again. Then there was a fire in the rear, and the Miyoshi family had to return to defense." Oda Nobunaga recounted the situation at hand in a low voice, with a sharp look on his eyebrows: "From Mitsuhide and
Judging from the information Yonegoro brought, the repair doctor Miyoshi is also mentally and physically exhausted and does not plan to continue fighting."
"That is to say -" Oda Nobunaga paused, looked around meaningfully, and whispered: "The withdrawal of the Miyoshi family may happen in the next few days."
"Lord Mingjian!" Shibata Katsuie immediately smelled a fighter opportunity, "It's more than fifty miles away from here to Settsu. If we pursue them in tandem, we will definitely hit Miyoshi's family hard."
What Shibata Katsuie said is true. For such a huge army, it is simply an impossible task to retreat fifty miles in front of another even larger army without being injured.
"Pursue, why pursue?" However, Asakura Yoshikage put forward a different opinion: "We just need to support Gongfangdian Shangluo, why cause more trouble. If we pursue too closely, the Miyoshi family will retreat at first sight
If it doesn't work, if we turn around and fight instead, won't it only cause more trouble? Is my ashigaru's life no longer my life?"
"Your Highness Asakura is really leisurely." Oda Nobunaga choked Asakura Yoshikage angrily when he heard this and said: "Does Your Highness think that conquering Kyoto will be the end of it? If the Miyoshi family is unscathed, wait until they deal with the civil strife.
After that, won’t they make a comeback? By then we will be too far away from Kyoto and will not have time to support us. Should we let Gongfangden alone fight against the Miyoshi Matsunaga coalition?”
Although Oda Nobunaga's words were very irritating, Asakura Yoshikage suddenly turned pale and stopped talking. However, Ashikaga Yoshiki understood that Oda Nobunaga was right, so he opened his mouth to smooth things over and said: "No matter what,
, we cannot let go of the traitors and the three good deeds. They must be severely punished to uphold justice."
"Well said, Gongfangden!" Asai Nagamasa suddenly became energetic when he heard the word "justice" and shouted enthusiastically. Seeing this, Asakura Yoshikage had no choice but to nod reluctantly.
The decision to pursue was approved.
"Now that everyone has agreed, we must be prepared. As soon as the Miyoshi family retreats, we will start to pursue them." Oda Nobunaga strode to the edge of the map and hammered the locations of Kyoto and Nijo Castle with his fist.
Liao Zhui said: "Following the pursuit, forcing the Sanhao family to fight with us here, completely defeat them!"
"Everyone, go back and prepare immediately." As soon as Oda Nobunaga finished speaking, he began to walk toward the door of the big tent resolutely, "The Miyoshi family may evacuate at any time. We must cheer up and not let them get in front of us.
He ran away from under his feet!"
Chapter completed!