Asakura Yoshikage gathered the folding fan in his hand, smashed it on the tatami, and cursed.
"You still dare to argue that the person who cut off the throne is Hashiba Hideyoshi, the garrison of Kyoto, and his identity as an Oda retainer cannot be mistaken!
You are obviously deliberately protecting the traitor army and rebelling against the party. I asked you how the Oda army could besiege Tsuruga Port and not attack it. It turns out that you have been secretly colluding with the Oda family for a long time!"
Asakura Kageki explained without changing his expression.
"Family Governor Mingjian, I don't know Hideyoshi Hashiba, let alone that she is a garrison sent to Kyoto by the Oda family.
Lord Akechi said in the letter that the visitor was an old friend of Tsudoden, so I didn’t think much about it and just treated him with courtesy.”
Asakura Yoshikage glared.
"Are you using Jindoden to pressure me?"
Asakura Kageki answered respectfully.
"Jing Ji doesn't dare."
She said she didn't dare, but she looked determined. Asakura Yoshikage's face felt hot and he was about to have an attack, but Nagamasa Asai got there first.
"Of course I believe what Akechi-sama says.
Tsutama was born in Owari, and it is normal to have friends in his hometown. But the war continues, and friends and relatives are forced to draw swords against each other, which is really sad."
After Asai Nagamasa said this, Asakura Yoshikage couldn't say much.
The Asai family and the Oda family are related by marriage. Asai Nagamasa married Oda Nobunaga's younger brother, and the cooperation between the two parties was quite pleasant.
This time the Asai family took action for the Asakura family, Asai Nagamasa was forced to fall out with Oda Nobunaga, and Asakura Yoshikage wanted this love.
Asai Nagamasa was sighing one after another at this time, and he was determined to protect Asakura Kageki. No matter how unhappy Asakura Yoshikage was, he would not get angry.
Oda Nobunaga has retreated, but he may come back at any time, and the Asakura family's crisis has not passed yet. Asakura Yoshikage needs to cooperate sincerely with Asai Nagamasa to fight against powerful enemies.
Staring at the innocent-looking Asakura Kageki, Asakura Yoshikage said slowly.
"Forget it, hand over Hashiba Hideyoshi and her troops first."
Asakura Kageki bowed and apologized.
"I'm very sorry, they have already left Tsuruga County."
Asakura Yoshikage was thinking about catching Hideyoshi Hashiba and forcing her to bite Asakura Kageki back. A small businessman is not a big shot. What kind of testimony can't Mikishita get?
As long as Hideyoshi Hashiba admits that Asakura Keiki has colluded with the Oda family, Asai Nagamasa will have nothing to say, and Asakura Yoshikage will have reason to deal with Asakura Keiki.
But Asakura Kageki said that Hideyoshi Hashiba had left, which made Asakura Yoshikage make another mistake, and he suddenly became angry.
"What! How dare you let her go!"
Asakura Kageki said helplessly.
"She is not one of my subordinates, she is just temporarily hiding from the war in Tsuruga Port.
Now that the civil war in Tsuruga County has subsided, she left early and took a boat to Wakasa Country. How she returned to Kyoto after that, I don’t know."
Asakura Kageki pushes everything to the end and does not take any responsibility on his shoulders.
How could she not know Asakura Yoshikage's malicious intention towards her? Of course, she must send Hideyoshi away as soon as possible to avoid being caught.
Tsuruga Bay and Wakasa Bay are connected together. Tsuruga Port has a very high commercial status. The nearby port towns and merchant towns follow Tsuruga Port for a living. It is not difficult for Asakura to send Hashiba Hideyoshi away.
The Hashiba palace army suffered huge losses in the battle, with only two or three out of ten left. The Ashigaru paid them to find a way to return home on their own, and the Hime Samurai followed Hideyoshi Hashiba. The number of people was only a few dozen, and a ship could send them away.
When they arrived in Wakasa Country, a familiar businessman helped send them to Kyoto. Dozens of people disappeared on the mountain road. Where else could Asakura Yoshikage look for them?
Asakura Yoshikage's teeth chattered in anger. Asakura Kageuki was very slippery, and with Asai Nagamasa helping him, it was really difficult to get started.
Asai Nagamasa saw that Asakura Kageki had eliminated the hidden danger,
Feeling relieved, she said with a smile.
"Akechi-sama, it's true, how can you just help Oda retainers write trusts and pay them, treat war as child's play, and do things too frivolously? This is not causing trouble for Asakura Kageki-sama.
I will definitely mention this matter when Jindo-don comes back, so that Jindo-don can reprimand her."
Asai Nagamasa always talks about things with Shiba Yiyin, which also makes Asakura Yoshikage understand who is standing behind Asakura Kageki.
Of course, Asakura Yoshikage understood the meaning of her words and looked evil. She just wanted to pretend to be stupid, so she dealt with Asakura Kage first. As long as Tsuruga Port was obtained, she could negotiate terms with Shiba Yoshikage.
Would Shiba Yoshigan risk the entire Hokurikudo trade route being cut off for a mere Asakura Kageki?
But Asai Nagamasa kept reminding her, and his attitude of protecting Asakura Kageki to the death made Asakura Yoshikage very helpless.
Before the power of the Oda family retreated, the Asai and Asai families were an unbreakable alliance. Of course, she would not destroy her relationship with Asai Nagamasa because of Asakura Kageki.
Asai Nagamasa saw Asakura Yoshikage without saying a word, and then said.
"Sotiko was benevolent to Tsutado-don, and Tsuruga Port gained a large share of the Hokurikudo trade route. This is the benefit of the trees planted by the predecessors for the benefit of future generations.
If someone else were sitting in this position, Jindoden might not be willing to be so generous.
Asakura Kageki-sama must be very grateful to His Highness Asakura for coming to the rescue this time. I heard that the Fukui Princesses also have some business in Tsuruga Port, and I think the business will be even more prosperous in the future."
Asai Nagamasa is here to wake up Asakura Yoshikage. Don’t think that your little tricks are useful, everyone is not stupid.
Yoshikage Shiba gave a high share to Asakura Kageki because he was thinking of Asakura Sotechi's kindness. Can Asakura Yoshikage have such honor?
Once Asakura Keiki is pulled down, the benefits of Tsuruga Port may shrink, and the gains outweigh the losses.
This time Asakura Lord's family came to help, Asakura Yoshikage captured Kanazaki Castle, and his influence has reached Tsuruga County, Asakura Kageki must compromise.
If you want the benefits of Tsuruga Port, you can talk about it, but if you break up, the consequences will be unpredictable.
Asakura Kageki was also aware of the situation, so he kowtowed to the ground and said.
"The family governor ignored the previous suspicion and sent troops to help. Jing Ji was extremely grateful.
This time when the Oda army invaded the prefecture, Tsuruga Port was not affected, and the shops and warehouses of the Asakura families in Tsuruga Port were intact.
In order to thank Zhu Ji for your kindness, I have ordered the customs office to return this year’s commercial tax, and there will be related measures in the future to thank the host family for their help.”
As soon as these words came out, all the important ministers from Asakura were overjoyed and thanked Asakura Kageki one after another.
The Asakura family has ruled Echizen Country for five generations, and there are many Asakura families in the Fukui Plain. Naturally, they will not miss the prosperity of Tsuruga Port and come here to reap some benefits.
Asakura Kageki gave benefits to these divisions while giving gifts to the main family. It seemed that he was giving in to Asakura Yoshikage, but in fact he was using the divisions to put pressure on the main family and wanted to continue Tsuruga County's independence.
Asakura Yoshikage glanced coldly at Asakura Kageki, then at the beaming Asakura girls, and finally turned his attention to Asai Nagamasa who was clapping his hands.
She took a deep breath and forced a smile.
"Jing Ji is interested."
Seeing her softened attitude, Asakura Keiki felt relieved and bowed.
"This is what Jing Ji should do."
Asai Nagamasa clapped his hands and sighed.
"The Asakura concubines are united in their determination, and the Asai and Asakura families are united as one, so there is no need to worry about His Highness Oda making a comeback."
As soon as Asakura Yoshikage relented, Asai Nagamasa turned the topic to the main topic of confronting Oda Nobunaga, leaving no room for Asakura Yoshikage to continue to use the topic, and Asakura Kageki's problem was left unsolved.
After this battle, Tsuruga County's independence was bound to be greatly reduced, but Asakura Yoshikage was worried about Shiba Yoshikage's reaction, and for a while he did not have the courage to take Asakura Kageki and annex Tsuruga County.
Asai Nagamasa has accomplished this step, which means he has been worthy of Shiba Yiyin's entrustment. Let's wait for him to come back from Kanto and handle the rest.
Asai Nagamasa talked about the war, Asakura Yoshikage's expression condensed and he said.
"I heard that the Oda traitor has returned to Gifu City in Mino Country and is mobilizing the army to prepare for another battle?"
Asai Nagamasa nodded solemnly.
"Yes, as far as I know, His Majesty Oda is preparing to mobilize more troops than before. The total number of troops in Owari, Mino, Ise, and Minami Omi is probably 50,000 or 60,000, right?"
Asakura Yoshikage took a breath.
"The Oda traitor dares to be arrogant, and he does have some confidence."
The Asai family's Kita Omi is close to the Oda territory, and their information is much better informed than that of the Echizen Asakura family.
The Asakura family belonged to the powerful Echizen clan, and Asai Nagamasa was known as the Eagle of Omi. Their combined mobilization power amounted to millions of koku.
According to the standard of mobilizing 250 people for 10,000 dan, they should be able to mobilize 25,000 people. Coupled with the local battle, they were really anxious. They could withstand doubling the army's strength.
If we really have to mobilize 40,000 to 50,000 troops, on the one hand, the quality of the troops will decline, and on the other hand, the selfish tradition of the traditional martial arts will come into play.
To be continued...