If Ashikaga Yoshiaki's road to the Echizen Kingdom goes smoothly and the Asakura family sends troops to assist Kamiro, then Hosokawa Fujitaka will not have to tangle with the Shiba family.
It goes from Echizen Province to the north of Omi, along the northern shore of Lake Biwa and the Hira Mountains, and goes straight into Kyoto, not touching the Shiba family's territory in the south.
However, the Oda family was determined to go south to Omi and seize the Rokkaku family's territory through Kamilakus, which could not circumvent the influence of Konji's wave territory.
In recent years, the military power of Shiba was in the hands of Maeda, but Hosokawa Fujitaka could not find her.
Because when Shiba Yiyin left Konki, he handed over the diplomatic authority of Konki Spo to Akechi Mitsuhide.
Although in recent years, many people inside and outside Spur have realized that Mitsuhide Akechi played a disgraceful role in the Kyoto Incident.
But on the one hand, there is no evidence, and on the other hand, Yoshihiro Shiba is not in Japan, and no one has the power to deprive Mitsuhide Akechi of his diplomatic authority.
No matter how unhappy Hosokawa Fujitaka saw her, he could only hold his nose and negotiate with her, unable to avoid her.
Ashikaga Yoshiaki said suspiciously.
"Hosokawa-hime, are you sure? In recent times, Shiba has been watching us go to Luo?"
In recent times, the Ashikaga Shogun's gold seal has been stored in Shiba Territory, which has been made known to the world and has been confirmed by famous samurai families.
Ashikaga Yoshiaki and his group rushed to Luo without waiting for Yoshigan Shiba's return. This was because they wanted to cook the raw rice into cooked rice and forcibly pick the peach of reorganizing the shogunate.
If Fujitaka Hosokawa gives some advice, then those important ministers who have been led by Shiba in recent years will give up? Isn’t it realistic?
Hosokawa Fujitaka couldn't explain clearly to Ashikaga Yoshiaki that Mitsuhide Akechi was not a thing. After the death of Ashikaga Yoshiteru, this person was not clean.
Because if you want to explain clearly, Hosokawa Fujitaka himself is not clean either.
At first she was aware of Akechi Mitsuhide's conspiracy to overthrow Ashikaga Yoshiteru, but she persuaded the two family governors of Hosokawa Mibuchi to stand still and watch the chaos in Kyoto and the general's death in battle.
Many people were aware of Mitsuhide Akechi's conspiracy, but few saw how vicious she was in daring to kill Ashikaga Yoshiteru. Now that the general is dead, the blame is too big. Who dares to get involved?
If it were revealed that Akechi Mitsuhide conspired with Miyoshi, Rokkaku, and Ise to rebel against the party, it would be a scandal that would shatter the sky.
The death of Ashikaga Yoshiteru actually involved the Shiba family. Yoshigan Shiba, the white lotus, turned out to be the mastermind behind the murder of the general!
Outsiders don't care whether Akechi Mitsuhide obeys orders or not, this basin of sewage will definitely be poured on Shiba Yoshigan. Hosokawa Fujitaka, who speaks out about this matter, will also completely break with the Shiba family.
If she can't produce conclusive evidence, Shiba Yiyin will definitely find a way to kill her. With a red mouth and white teeth, how can you arbitrarily smear someone's innocence?
If she could produce conclusive evidence, Shiba Yoshigan would even want to kill her. This would ruin the reputation of the Shiba family and leave no place for them within the Ashikaga Shogunate and the guardian system.
Regardless of the outcome, the Ashikaga Shogunate will experience a major turmoil, which may lead to its complete collapse.
Doing this is not in the interest of the Hosokawa Mibuchi family, and it is not in the interest of Hosokawa Fujitaka himself. What she wants is a political marriage with Yoshigoshi Shiba, not an enmity with him.
Publicly and privately, Akechi Mitsuhide's suspicion of killing the general cannot be proven clearly. Not to mention that there is no evidence, even if there is evidence, it can only be destroyed and buried.
The Ashikaga shogunate could not withstand the storm of backlash from the Shiba family. All the samurai who ate at this table would not question Yoshigan Shiba's morality, but would instead maintain his loyal image.
Ashikaga Yoshiaki was waiting for Hosokawa Fujitaka's explanation, but Hosokawa Fujitaka was very embarrassed and finally spoke reluctantly.
"In recent years, the Shiba community has not been united and united. When Shiba Kenshin publicly left the country, he was decentralizing the power in the family to check and balance.
Akechi Mitsuhide gained the power to negotiate with foreign countries, including the right to declare war. I don't need to convince the Japanese wave leader, I only need to convince Akechi Mitsuhide to remain silent.
Even if Maeda's interests have the military command power over the Kasbo Territory, they cannot start a foreign war without authorization.
She must obtain diplomatic confirmation from Akechi Mitsuhide and Nizi Katsuhisa's delivery of supplies within the territory before she can mobilize the military and go out into battle."
Hosokawa Fujitaka briefly introduced the power structure within the Spur Kingdom in recent times. Ashikaga Yoshiaki listened thoughtfully and nodded slowly.
"So, we just need to convince Mitsuhide Akechi to favor our side."
Because of Akechi Mitsuhide's sincere letter of advice, Ashikaga Yoshiaki decided to leave the temple and return to secular life, and he had the ambition to succeed Ashikaga Shogun.
She had a very good impression of Mitsuhide Akechi, thinking that he was a good companion who was loyal to the previous shoguns and had feelings for the Ashikaga Shogunate.
She thought for a while and said.
"Hosokawa-hime, then please go to Iga country for me.
Tell Akechi Mitsuhide for me that if she can stop the recent Sibo leader from obstructing my Kamiro succession, I will remember this kindness in my heart.
I am very aware of her loyalty to her ancestors. I hope she will remember her feelings for her ancestors and choose to support me.
After taking the throne, I will definitely reward her generously."
Hosokawa Fujitaka was stunned when he heard this.
Akechi Mitsuhide is loyal to his ancestors? How did Ashikaga Yoshiaki come to this conclusion?
Ashikaga Yoshiteru was obviously killed by Mitsuhide Akechi, a sinister man who spoke sweetly and was a man of swords!
Ashikaga Yoshiaki saw the strange look on Hosokawa Fujitaka's face and said in surprise.
"Hosokawa-hime, did I say something wrong?"
Hosokawa Fujitaka's chest was filled with breath, and he was panicking because he couldn't get up or down.
"No, you are right. I will try my best to convince Akechi Mitsuhide."
Although he didn't know why Ashikaga Yoshiaki had such a good feeling for Mitsuhide Akechi, Hosokawa Fujitaka was unable to refute her statement.
Could it be that she was told that Ashikaga Yoshiteru died under the conspiracy of Akechi Mitsuhide?
Starting from Miyoshi Shangluo, Akechi Mitsuhide has always played the role of a loyal and loyal companion without revealing any flaws.
If Fujitaka Hosokawa wants to subvert her character, he needs to reveal more details, and he may get himself into it if he is not careful.
Although Ashikaga Yoshiaki had a misunderstanding, the more she explained at this time, the more trouble she would have. It would be better to let her misunderstand that Akechi Mitsuhide's loyal shogunate would help them stop the army of Konki Shiba.
As for Hosokawa Fujitaka's trip this time, how he convinced Akechi Mitsuhide of the truth is not important.
Indoors, the details of the specific operation were being perfected little by little, and Ashikaga Yoshiaki was in a good mood. With the active participation of the Oda family, her plan to go to Luo finally ushered in the dawn of dawn.
———
Ashikaga Yoshiaki finalized a new plan at Ichijodani Castle in Echizen Province and took action quickly.
Wada Weimasa and Niwa Nagahide walked north to Omi to Gifu Castle in Mino Province. On behalf of Ashikaga Yoshiaki, they formally invited Oda Nobunaga to Raku.
Raise volunteers to drive away the three good men, avenge the tragic death of the previous generals, and support Ashikaga Yoshiaki to become a new generation of Ashikaga generals.
On the other side, Hosokawa Fujitaka went to Iga Country to find Akechi Mitsuhide.
Since withdrawing from Kyoto, Akechi Mitsuhide has lived temporarily in the village of Shini on the border between Yamashiro Province and Iga Province, so that he can easily obtain first-hand news from Kyoto.
She deliberately let Fujibayashi go, but with Fujibayashi taking over the follow-up, the network of the Central Group in recent years is still running smoothly, and intelligence is constantly flowing into the new village.
The arrival of Hosokawa Fujitaka did not surprise Akechi Mitsuhide. She poured a cup of tea for Hosokawa Fujitaka and said with a smile.
"The village residence is simple and crude, and the greetings are poor. Please forgive me, Hosokawa-hime."
Every time he saw Akechi Mitsuhide's hypocritical way of reuniting friends, Hosokawa Fujitaka felt sick to his stomach. It was really hypocritical.
She said coldly.
"Sir Akechi, you don't have to be polite. I'm not here to enjoy myself, but to be entrusted by others."
Akechi Mitsuhide filled a cup of tea for himself, rubbed the side of the cup with his fingers, and smiled.
"Let me guess, is it an entrustment from His Highness Ashikaga Yoshiaki?"
Hosokawa Fujitaka forced a polite smile on his lips and said.
"good."
Akechi Mitsuhide said with a smile.
"Hosokawa-hime is really good at it.
Not long ago, we had a chat in Tamon Mountain Castle. You are here on behalf of the Hosokawa Mibuchi family. In recent years, the ladies of the Sibo leaders have treated each other with courtesy and treated their allies with sincerity.
Unexpectedly, you turned around and went to Sakamoto Castle to communicate with those people privately. Is this worthy of my master? Are the Hosokawa Mibuchi family allies of the Shiba family?"
Akechi Mitsuhide spoke uprightly, but in his heart he was very satisfied with the current situation.
She doesn't care about Ashikaga Yoshiaki, as long as she doesn't fall into the hands of the Miyoshi Ise family in Kyoto and doesn't let them stabilize the situation in Kyoto.
Hosokawa Fujitaka is indeed amazing.
She couldn't find a breakthrough with the Shiba family, so she immediately turned to Sakamoto Castle. She joined forces with the old Ashikaga party and pushed Ashikaga Yoshiaki to go to Raku. She wanted to take the initiative in reorganizing the shogunate.
It's just that she miscalculated a little.
Hosokawa Fujitaka believed that a stable Ashikaga shogunate could still emerge in Kyoto, at least one that could protect the vested interests of the old shogunate.
To be continued...