There are constant storms inside and outside the shogunate, and Ashikaga Yoshiteru's remaining ministers, shogunate ministers, and local powerful factions are secretly wrestling with each other. Powerful names such as the Miyoshi family, the Rokkaku family, and the Asai family are also deeply involved.
Outside Konki, Ashikaga Yoshiaki went to Hokuriku Road to seek help from the Asakura family. At the western end of Tokaido, the rising new power of the Oda family also took a peek at the chaos in Konki.
Time passes, autumn passes and winter comes. In this long winter, many things will happen.
Turning our attention from the near future to Kanto, just around the time when the general was killed, Kanto also completed a great battle that shook the original balance.
The Hojo family defeated the Sano leader, and faced the Echigo army's defensive strategy, the entire front collapsed.
There was still quite some time before the first snowfall, so Hojo Ujiyasu tried every means to prevent Uesugi Teruhora from launching another offensive, hoping to survive until the depths of winter so that the Hojo family would have a chance to breathe and regroup.
But those Kanto warriors who dared not express their hatred for the Hojo family would never let her pass easily.
Hojo Ujiyasu's reforms infringed on too many interests of high-ranking samurai families. In particular, her new tax system prevented high-ranking nobles from expropriating their territories. She favored the grassroots and weakened the famous families.
The benevolent government of the four public officials and the six citizens allowed the Hojo family to be supported by the lower-class villages. The famous families in Kanto did not dare to openly oppose it, so they were forced to boil frogs in warm water, and gradually lost their control over the grassroots.
This time Hojo's defeat finally gave them the perfect opportunity to break free from the shackles of the Hojo family that restrained them.
The Satomi family of the Boso Peninsula and the Satake family of Hitachi began to attack the local samurai who had taken refuge with the Hojo family, seeking their own interests in the name of supporting Uesugi Teruhora.
Shimoso, who was close to the Hojo family's sphere of influence, went to the two samurai families, broke away from the Hojo family's ruling system, and took a bite.
The Hojo family was reduced to a street rat in the Kanto Plain, and countless samurai were so righteous that they turned their backs and raised their troops and threw themselves under the command of Terutora Uesugi, the commander of the Kanto region, to bring order to the chaos.
Terutora Uesugi was supported by the Kanto samurai who had found their conscience, and in an instant there were more than 100,000 troops, and every move made Kanto look at him with suspicion.
As the main battlefield between the Hojo family and the Echigo army, the situation between Ueno Musashi and Ueno Musashi is even more complicated.
As an ally of Uesugi Teruatora, Nagano Yamasa immediately obtained the military information of Sano leading the battle.
She made a prompt decision and raised her troops to go south. She cooperated with her second daughter-in-law, Kohata Keitai, to drive out the eldest daughter-in-law, Kohata Nobusada, from Kunamine Castle, and eliminate the hidden dangers in Nishi Ueno.
Obata Nobusada, who was deported, had no choice but to pass Usui Pass and went to Shinano Kunitoishi Castle to seek refuge with Yukitaka Sanada, who he had a good relationship with.
In Toishi Castle, Nobuzada Obata, who had run away in embarrassment, had finished bathing and changed clothes and was sitting in the teahouse.
She had no intention of appreciating the tea master's tea art. She waited until the performance was over and took a sip of the tea offered by the tea master in front of her, feeling depressed.
After Yukitaka Sanada gave the tea man a reward, he dismissed her and said to Nobuzada Obata with a smile.
"What? Kobata-hime is dissatisfied with this tea maker's craftsmanship? I guess so. The Koshishin Mountains are poor and there really aren't any good tea makers."
Kobata Nobuzada smiled bitterly.
"Mr. Sanada, please stop teasing me. You know, I don't have the intention now."
Sanada Yukitaka said solemnly.
"I'm not teasing you, but I hope you calm down first.
When people are excited, it is easy to make decisions that they regret. No matter how serious the situation is, the first thing you have to do is take a deep breath and calm yourself to face the reality."
Xiaoban Xinzhenhenhen said.
"How do you want me to calm down?
I have always been very respectful to my mother-in-law, and if anything happens to Jilun City, I will do my best to help.
But what about her? She actually joined forces with Kohata Kagesada to expel me, the governor of the Kohata family, which is simply repaying kindness with hatred!"
Sanada Yukitaka shook his head and said.
"You have to understand Mrs. Nagano's painstaking efforts, but she has no choice.
I heard about the situation of the combined battle between the Sano leaders. The strength of the Echigo army far exceeded the imagination of the Kanto princesses.
Eight thousand against 20,000, the Hojo family had the upper hand but ended in a disastrous defeat. Countless famous generals and veterans of the family were killed in the battle, and none of the elite five colors were spared, and all were lost in the battle.
Now that the situation in Kanto has become clear, the anti-Hojo samurai in various places have finally found a strong backbone, and His Highness Uesugi's trend of sweeping Kanto is unstoppable.
If Mr. Nagano doesn't clean up the pro-Hojo family forces in Nishi Ueno first, it will be too late by the time His Highness Uesugi takes action.
She just kicked you out. Firstly, she didn't destroy your life. Secondly, she didn't touch your family. She still missed her old relationship.
This matter must be done for the Kohata family in Kunamine City, so Kohata Kagesada will cooperate with Mr. Nagano.
The winner is the king and the loser is the bandit. You are on the wrong team and the people of Nishi Ueno have to stop their losses in time. What can you complain about?"
Obata Nobuzada hummed and said nothing. She understood the truth, but the feeling of losing power was really unbearable.
The Kohata family of Kunamine Castle and the Nagano family of Minawa Castle echo each other from the north to the south, and they are both the leaders of the Nishi Ueno nation. Who can bear it if such a prominent family fortune is all lost to someone else overnight?
Family love, reality, helplessness, even if there are 10,000 reasons, they cannot extinguish the wildfire in Nobata's heart. Her power was taken away.
she said angrily.
"Mr. Sanada, you and I have known each other for a long time. I understand what you said, but please understand my feelings.
I have something to ask of you, please introduce me to His Highness Takeda Harunobu, I want to serve in the Takeda family."
Yukitaka Sanada looked at her and knew that Obata Nobusada wanted to return to Nishi Ueno with the help of the Takeda family.
If she had come a year earlier, Yukitaka Sanada would definitely have facilitated this matter and drawn Takeda Harunobu's attention from Tokaido to the Kanto Plain.
The roots of the Sanada family are in Toshin. No matter how much benefit the Takeda family gets from Tokaido, they will not share it with the Sanada family. The greedy Kai Takeda family can't even get enough for themselves.
If the Sanada family wants to become a big business, they can only find a way to bring Takeda Harunobu's strategic focus back to Shinano Country and invest it in Ueno Country.
But at this time, Yukitaka Sanada's mentality completely changed. This year, Nobushige Sanada gave her too many surprises.
If we say that Sanada Nobushige invested in the Kanto Palace and received the Matsushiro 1,000 stone as a gift from Shiba, it was Sanada Yukitaka's strategy of hedging his bets.
Then the successful completion of the Azuma County strategy, and Sanada Nobushige's outstanding performance in the Sano Battle. The balance in Sanada Yukitaka's heart has completely tilted towards this blockbuster granddaughter.
Sanada Nobushige's outstanding military exploits ensured that after the war she could capture the Tomoyuki territory of Azuma County, and Lord Sanada Matsushiro was already a ten thousand stone daimyo.
Sanada Nobushige's title came from the Kanto Palace and was recognized by the shogunate. It was several levels higher than the daimyo claimed by the local samurai.
Before Obata Nobusada arrived, Sanada Yukitaka had already received a letter from Sanada Nobushige's military advisor and Umino Riichi, vaguely mentioning that Sanada Nobunaga's next target was Nishi Ueno.
Even Yukitaka Sanada, who had always been calm, was shocked by the courage of this little granddaughter. She was so desperate that she dared to covet Nishi Ueno and deal with the Ueno mother-in-law gang of Nagano Yamasa.
Nagano Yamasa relied on having many sons and marrying well, and used marriage to build a tight marriage network in Ueno and even Kanto.
Uesugi Teruhora was worried about whatever he wanted to do to her, let alone the fledgling Sanada Nobushige.
However, the letter mentioned that Nagano Yamasa was very old, and Yukitaka Sanada instantly understood what these juniors wanted to do. They were prepared to spend their lives to outlast Nagano Yamasa.
Thinking of the Minawa clan's current situation in which Nagano Yomasa's eldest daughter died in the night battle at Kawagoe, and the younger daughter's inability to convince others, Sanada Yukitaka was also moved. The arrival of Nobata Nobuzada gave her some new ideas.
Yukitaka Sanada picked up the tea cup and took a sip. He had already made up his mind to disturb Huang Xiaohao Nobutada's intention of joining the Takeda family and lead her to Sanada Nobutaka.
The Kohata family of Kunamine Castle is a famous family in Nishi-Ueno together with the Nagano family of Minawa Castle. With the help of the former family governor, Nobada Nobada, Sanada Nobushige's future is really exciting.
Moreover, Obata Nobusada is the eldest daughter-in-law of Nagano Yamasa, and her experience is a kind of vigilance for Ueno’s daughter-in-laws.
With this clear evidence, all the daughters-in-law of Ueno Yamasa will have a knot in their hearts. When needed, will this majestic and wise mother-in-law abandon herself for the sake of the overall situation?
Obata Nobusada didn't know that Yukitaka Sanada had marked a price on her in his mind and was preparing to trick her into taking the bait.
She anxiously looked at Yukitaka Sanada, who was bowing his head in thought, and said.
"Sir Sanada, if you are willing to help me introduce you, I will never forget your kindness and I will definitely repay you in the future."
Yukitaka Sanada shook his head with a sincere look on his face.
"Obata-hime, my family fortune was in ruins and I had no choice but to flee to Nishi Ueno. You didn't despise my poor settlement and became a close friend with me for many years. I have always been grateful.
It’s not a problem to introduce you, but is it really good for you?”
Obata Nobuzada was stunned, looking at Sanada Yukitaka's sincere eyes, he couldn't help but hesitate.
Yukitaka Sanada was famous for her strategy among the Shino clan. Only a few years after she returned to Toshin, she became the leader of the Takeda family's Toshin followers. Her extraordinary intelligence impressed Obata Shinsada.
Her advice made Kobata Nobuzada reflect on whether she had made the wrong choice?
Takeda Harunobu, the female protagonist of the generation, led the Takeda family to conquer the north and south, and its power was at its peak. I want to use the strength of the Takeda family to return to Nishi Ueno. Is there anything wrong with that?
Kobata Nobuzada bowed and said.
"I don't understand something. Please give me some advice, Mr. Sanada."
Yukitaka Sanada helped her up and sighed.
"Family scandals should not be made public. I shouldn't have mentioned these words. But you and I have known each other for many years and are not outsiders. I am willing to tell you frankly.
His Highness Takeda fought a bloody battle with the Echigo army on Kawanakajima last year. Neither side was able to gain any advantage. In the end, each side took a step back and reached a compromise.
This year, the Takeda family's record is indeed dazzling, defeating the Imagawa family, repelling the Hojo family, and swallowing up the Suruga Kingdom.
However, the Takeda family rose up in Kai and treated the Kai clan with tolerance and kindness. The Shinano clan and the Suruga clan were inferior to others, and both had some bad feelings.
After His Highness Takeda conquered Suruga Kingdom in the spring, he made no new moves. He was also hampered by the discord at home and was unable to expand outside.
If Obata-hime wants to serve in the Takeda family, I will have no problem introducing you. Your Majesty Takeda will of course welcome you.
But if you want to rely on the strength of the Takeda family to return to Nishi Ueno, you are afraid that in the future..."
Sanada Yukitaka stopped talking and sighed. It seemed that he was sincerely thinking about Obata Nobusada, but in fact it was half true.
The Takeda family does have internal conflicts.
Kai was a small country with few people. Takeda Haru believed in Hiroshi's bold strategy and used the small to swallow up the large, and took over most of the land of Shinano and Suruga.
The Kai clan believed in their own merits, but they also held contempt for the samurai who had taken refuge in Shinano, Suruga and other countries, and behaved harshly, which indeed caused many conflicts.
But with Takeda Harunobu’s wisdom, suppressing these contradictions is not a problem. Exporting contradictions through external expansion is also the best way to resolve internal problems.
Therefore, it is true that the Takeda family has internal conflicts, but it is false that the conflicts are so strong that it affects the Takeda family's external expansion. At least until the death of Takeda Harunobu, the internal conflicts of the Takeda family will not affect the strategy.
The real reason why Takeda Harunobu did not take advantage of the chaos in Kanto to seek more benefits was actually very simple. She was pregnant and giving birth to a baby.
The spirit of Yoshigoshi Shiba is far more ferocious than the men in the world of women, and even Takeda Harunobu, who is in excellent physical condition, can't bear it.
After the war in the spring, she lay down in Sunfu Castle, unable to move. After giving birth to the child, it took a long time for her to recover.
Takeda Harunobu has to deal with the Hojo family and the Tokugawa family externally, and deal with the Kai clan and the Suruga clan internally. How can he still have the energy to pay attention to the Kanto war situation and seek benefits.
But it is not clear to the outside world why the Takeda family stood still. The fact that Takeda Harunobu forced himself on Shiba Yoshigan and gave birth to a child was a big scandal for the Takeda family, and all the Takeda retainers who knew about it were tight-lipped.
Takeda Harunobu is smart and flexible. But this time he is unexpectedly stubborn and must give birth to this child.
The top management of the Takeda family were in panic, but they could not defeat Takeda Harunobu, the powerful family governor. They could only keep their mouths shut, hoping that this matter could be concealed and that the outside world would not know the truth.
Yoshigan Shiba is the imperial post of the current Ashikaga Shogun. He was raped and gave birth to an evil son. This scandal was enough to ruin the reputation of the Takeda family.
The Takeda family wanted to hide it, but there was no airtight wall in the world. This incident happened in Yantian City, under the eyes of so many warrior families who participated in the war.
As long as they know the strange story of Takeda Harunobu adopting a baby girl and calculate the ten-month pregnancy cycle, some smart people can make a rough guess.
Yukitaka Sanada is one of them. She also lamented that Takeda Harunobu's great reputation may be ruined by this incident.
Of course, she, an old fox, would not talk too much. Instead, she took advantage of the fact that Takeda Harunobu was inconvenient to move, inducing Nobata Nobuzada to misjudge and give up her idea of joining the Takeda family.
After hearing Yukitaka Sanada's explanation, Obata Nobuzada's face turned ugly for a moment. She originally thought that the Takeda family was a good way out, but now it seems that this idea was naive.
The Takeda family had internal disagreements and had no intention of continuing to expand. This news was a blow to her, but she was still confident in persuading Takeda Harunobu to send troops to Nishi Ueno.
What really disappointed her was the attitude of the Kai clan towards other people. Even the Shinano clan, the samurai clan who were the first to join the Takeda family, the Kai clan was unwilling to share some benefits with them, so who was she?
Even if Obata Nobusada helps the Takeda family get Nishi Ueno, the Nishi Ueno people can only be second-class people under the Kai clan. How can the Kohata family of Kunimine Castle explain to the disappointed Nishi Ueno people?