"Those who serve the lord must be Warrior Ji. You should feel lucky because the lord gave you the status of a warrior family and gave you the basic conditions to repay the grace of saving your life.
As a Ji Samurai, you need to be proficient in using swords. This is a skill you must master to serve the Shiba family."
Glancing at the weak Takata Harano, Tachibana Kanade said.
"To kill people, it is more efficient to use a musket."
Takada Yukino thought for a while and said.
"Are you talking about the iron cannon? It's too slow and cannot be accurate.
I can smell the scent of you struggling on the verge of death. Like me, you have transcended life and death and are a returner struggling to return to the human world.
You can break through the limits of the human body and learn my flying sword style."
Tachibana Kanou retorted.
"Then what? Will I become disabled like you? There is a price to pay for exceeding the limits of the human body."
Yukino said coldly.
"This is what you owe the Lord. Before he comes back, you must become a useful swordsman and serve the Lord for me."
Tachibana Kanade looked at Takada Yukino.
"You have a lot of resentment. You hate your current incomplete state. I am just a tool for you to replace yourself."
Takada Yukino tried to clench her fist, but her fingers trembled uncontrollably.
"Xiao Zuo, you also have a lot of resentment. I can feel that you hate this island country."
Lihua Zuo was silent for a while and said.
"Yes, why should I like it here? What is there that I should like here?
My name, my life, my freedom were all taken away in the name of salvation."
Takada Yukino glanced at her.
"At least you're alive."
Takumi Tachibana twitched the corners of his mouth, as if he wanted to smile, but his expression became even colder.
"I once didn't understand anything, so I pointed to the sea and told my friends that there was wealth waiting for us to get it. So, three ships left my homeland from distant England with my dreams.
I was very lucky. I met my eldest sister who took care of me. She taught me a lot, and then she died in a storm.
I was very sad. A little sister comforted me. It was also her first time to go to sea. She was very scared and hoped to have a sister who could take care of her. I think I can be a good sister, and then..."
Tachibana stopped, and Takada Yukino asked calmly.
"Is he dead too?"
Tachibana Kanade's eyes were a little distracted.
"On an island, she was hit by a poisonous arrow from a native. She rolled on the ground in pain and kept calling my name before she died, asking me to save her.
I held her until her body became cold and stiff. That was the last time I cried.
Three ships went out to sea, and I met many, many friends. Some of them were enthusiastic, some were wise, and some were brave. In the end, most of them died on the journey.
Those of us who survived got a boatload of nutmeg. As long as we return to England, we can live the life we longed for, be rich and happy.
However, a storm in the Pacific changed everything. I was forced to come to this island country, and my friends were bewitched. They betrayed me and our beliefs.
Shouldn’t I hate this place?”
Takada Yukino was silent for a while and said.
"I allow you to hate this island country, but I ask you to be loyal to my lord and serve him on my behalf. This is what you owe him."
Tachibana Kanou turned to look at the sky outside the court and said calmly.
"I will serve him until the merits I have established are enough to repay his life-saving grace, and then I will leave this country."
Takada Yukino nodded and said.
"Then continue practicing your sword, Xiao Zuo."
Tachibana Kaoru glanced at her, took out a black stick from his arms, and pointed it at the branch of a tree in the garden.
Takada Yukino stared blankly at what she was doing, and after waiting for a few breaths, there was a loud roar, and a large area of gray and black was blown out of the tree trunk. Half of the branches slowly fell to the ground, and dust was everywhere.
Tachibana Kanade looked at Takada Yukino.
"First, call me William. Second, I think short guns are more suitable for killing people than your so-called flying sword style."
Takada Yukino blinked and answered.
"Okay, Xiao Zuo.
We still have a hundred strokes to draw the sword before we can have dinner, please work hard, Xiao Zuo."
Takada Harano, who was discussing matters with Imai Munehisa in the inner room, heard a loud noise in the courtyard. She walked out of the room and saw only a mess.
"I spent a lot of money on this art tree! What are you two doing!"
Tachibana Kanade and Takada Yukino looked at each other, and neither of them said a word, using silence to deal with the furious Takada Yoshino.
———
The Yodogawa River runs through the Osaka Plain and the Kyoto Basin from east to west. The north and south sides of the border between the two countries belong to Setsu Province and Hanoi Province.
The junction of the Three Kingdoms is a battleground for military strategists. There are two important cities on the north bank of Yodo River in this section.
Yodo Castle is located at one end of Yamajo Province, and Takaki Castle is located at the other end of Settsu Province. The two castles serve as gateways to each other, and both stand on the north bank, controlling the Yodo River waterway.
Although the Oda army was the main force in this Settsu attack, the prestige of the shogunate played an extremely important role in the local samurai family.
Ashikaga Yoshiaki also went to the front line in person, scolded Fang Qiu, and was stationed in Takatsuki Castle to remotely control the water transport hub and supervise the military.
At this time, Gao Guicheng lived in the museum.
There were only two people sitting across from each other in the room, Ashikaga Yoshiaki looked hesitant, and Wada Weimasa had just returned from the front line.
Ashikaga Yoshiaki looked cautiously and asked again.
"Miyoshi Yasunaga really said that?"
Wada Weimasa affirmed.
"I personally went to Sakai Port to negotiate with her, and she conveyed to me Miyoshi Yoshitsugu's request for surrender. The Miyoshi family indeed intends to surrender to the shogunate."
Ashikaga Yoshiaki thought.
"This attack on Settsu was in the name of revenge for our ancestors. If I easily agreed to Miyoshi Yoshitsugu, how would I explain it to the world?
Also, Oda-hime is fighting fiercely at the front, and I’m behind to reach an agreement with the Miyoshi family alone. Isn’t this inappropriate?”
Wada Weimasa shook his head and said.
"My lord, Miyoshi, the three people who killed our ancestors have already been executed. Miyoshi Yoshitsugu was just deceived and coerced by a traitor. He was not the culprit, but an accomplice at most.
The foundation of the Miyoshi family is in Shikoku, but the Awaji Navy is blocking it. Even if we take Settsu, we can only look at the sea and sigh, unable to eradicate the foundation of the Miyoshi family.
Since the Miyoshi family cannot be eliminated, why not give Miyoshi Yoshitsugu a chance to return from his lost ways?
The shogunate is facing difficulties both internally and externally. We should not expand the scope of our involvement. Instead, we should show your generosity and allow the Miyoshi family to be used by the shogunate. This is the best policy.
Think about it, the Miyoshi family brought the shogunate into disgrace back then, and even the ancestors had no choice but to tolerate many things.
If you can subdue the Miyoshi family, in the eyes of the martial arts families in the world, it will greatly enhance the authority of the shogunate and your majesty.
As for Oda-sama...don't you think her hand is stretched too long?
Settsu Country is far away from her territory, but she is very dedicated to the Settsu Strategy. This is not something that people can laugh off.
The territory of the Oda family already exceeds two million koku. It would not be a good thing for the shogunate if His Highness Oda is allowed to expand his influence in Settsu Kingdom.
Whether it's the Miyoshi family or the Oda family, they are all vassals that the shogunate needs to carefully check and balance. Only by leveling the bowl of water can you mediate the situation, which is also most beneficial to the shogunate."
From Wada Weimasa's point of view, the speed of the Miyoshi family's collapse was also unexpectedly exaggerated, which led to many speculations.
If I had known that the Miyoshi family was so reluctant to fight, why should I have taken advantage of the Oda family? Wouldn't it be better for the shogunate to keep this piece of fat for itself?
I wanted to drive the tiger to devour the wolf, but who knew that the wolf had degenerated to the point where it was even worse than a dog. If the tiger was fed to become stronger, it would be difficult for the shogunate to control it.
Ashikaga Yoshiaki nodded slowly after hearing this. What Wada Weimasa said was reasonable, but she was no longer the stupid young girl who was manipulated by Wada Weimasa and others.
Although her political skills are still a little immature, she is no longer easy to fool.
"Wada-hime, I saw the post-war resettlement plan you submitted. Do you want to divide Settsu Country into three guardians?
The shogunate sent people to control East Settsu, and the Ikeda and Itami families were in charge of West Settsu and North Settsu. What about Oda Hime? She paid a lot for the Settsu strategy, and the shogunate couldn't let the loyal ministers' hearts go cold.
And Matsunaga Hime, she made a great contribution to the shogunate by convincing the people of Settsu to switch sides anyway."
Ashikaga Yoshiaki knew that Wada Weimasa had been active in the shogunate recently and wanted to take over the position of guardian of Higashisettsu. She actually had no objection and had even hinted that she acquiesced to this matter.
The strength of the Ashikaga Shogun family has long been reduced to what it used to be. Although Yoshigan Shiba went to Kanto, the local powerful faction introduced Hatakeyama Takamasa as its leader, and they have been unhappy with Ashikaga Yoshiaki.
There was also Ninagawa himself from the shogunate faction who was acting as a constraint and secretly helping Hatakeyama Takamasa, which made Ashikaga Yoshiaki very difficult to deal with.
Wada Yimasa was a meritorious official who supported Ashikaga Yoshiaki, and her interests were consistent with those of Ashikaga Yoshiaki. Letting her serve as the guardian of Settsu would help Ashikaga Yoshiaki consolidate his position.
In fact, the Settsu Kingdom was not conquered by the shogunate and Oda coalition forces, but the Settsu people took the initiative to rebel and sold the Miyoshi family.
The shogunate cannot control the Northwest Settsu, and does not want to take advantage of the Oda family. It is the best choice to give the local powerful Ikeda family and Itami family the guardianship position and win them over to serve the shogunate.
But the three guardians of Settsu were all divided by the shogunate itself. Oda Nobunaga's force and Matsunaga's lips and tongue were all defeated by Ashikaga Yoshiaki Haku. There is nothing such a good thing in the world, right?
Wada Weimasa said.
"His Majesty Oda is busy with the war, but he is not idle in private either.
Miyoshi Yasunaga told me that the Oda family has sent someone to contact wealthy merchants at Sakai Port, namely Kyoto garrison Hideyoshi Hashiba."
Ashikaga Yoshiaki frowned slightly, Oda Nobunaga actually attacked Sakai Minato without telling him?
At this time, she seemed to have forgotten that she and Wada Nobunaga were calculating behind Oda Nobunaga's back. She only felt that Oda Nobunaga acted without authorization and disrespected her Ashikaga general.
In Ashikaga Yoshiaki's thinking, she is a noble Ashikaga general. Whatever she does is for the sake of Ashikaga, there is nothing she cannot do.
But when it comes to Oda Nobunaga, he is an arrogant minister of a foreign domain who does things in a reckless manner without knowing the importance of it.
Abbreviation, double standard.
Wada Weimasa saw that Ashikaga Yoshiaki's face turned cold and said immediately.
"Matsu Nagahide seems to be respectful to the shogunate, but he is always loyal to His Majesty Oda. His intentions are clearly revealed."
Ashikaga Yoshiaki was even more unhappy and said.
"Three surnamed domestic slaves cannot be trusted."
Matsunagahide successively sought refuge with the Miyoshi, Ashikaga, and Oda families. Although it is unpleasant to say that she is a slave of the three surnames, it is not unfair.
Wada Weimasa became increasingly displeased when he saw Ashikaga Yoshiaki and struck while the railroad was hot.
"The Miyoshi family is willing to withdraw from Sakai Port, and His Majesty Oda is interested in Sakai Port. It is better to use Sakai Port as a reward for the Oda family to send troops and allow the Oda family to send people to manage it.
As for Matsunagahide, isn’t she serving under His Majesty Oda? Let’s ask His Majesty Oda to reward her for her contribution this time.”
Ashikaga Yoshiaki felt something was wrong.
The shogunate sent troops to seize Jin this time, and foreign ministers from various families participated in it. This was an act of honoring the public.
Is it too much to refuse Matsunagahide's reward and ask her to ask for it from Oda Nobunaga? Ashikaga Yoshiaki, a general, is somewhat thin-skinned, not as thick-skinned as Wada Weimasa.
However, Wada Weimasa did not casually smear Matsu Nagahide, but deliberately suppressed him.
She wants to be the guardian of Higashi Settsu, and the best castle to live in is Takaki Castle, which is right under her feet.
Takaki Castle is the gateway to and from Settsu, a mountainous city. The benefits of the Yodogawa Waterway are so great that who wouldn’t salivate?
Matsunagahide occupies Yodo Castle on the other side of Yamashiro Country, and he must also want to capture Takaki Castle and the entire gateway into and out of the Kyoto Basin.
Wouldn’t it be nice to sit on the ground and collect money?
Without reducing Matsunagahide to nothing, how could Wada Weimasa snatch away the fat piece of Takatsuki Castle?
In addition to the dispute over the Yodogawa waterway, the Matsunaga family and the Wada family also had a deeper conflict.
At first, Miyoshi Chokei placed Matsunagahide in Yodo Castle to supervise the movements of the Kyoto shogunate. He assigned the samurai family on the border of Settsu Province to Matsunagahide for management.
If Wada Yaomasa wants to be a powerful guardian of Higashi Settsu, he must suppress Matsunagahide so that the Takayama family and other local samurai families in Higashi Settsu can switch to him.
There is no room for two tigers in one mountain. This contradiction is irreconcilable and the only way is for the east wind to prevail over the west wind.
Wada Yaimai spoke for the shogunate, but in her heart she only cared about herself. In order to kick out the influence of Matsunagahide from Higashisettsu, she stabbed him in the back and spoke all kinds of slanderous words.
This time when he went to Sakai Port, Wada Weimasa not only met Miyoshi Yasunaga, but also met with Ikeda Itami, the governor of the family.
It is in the interest of the three families to protect the three Settsu families, but the Oda family's army attacking Settsu is a sharp sword hanging over everyone's heads.
Is it because Miyoshi Yoshitsugu is willing to surrender and Miyoshi Yasunaga is willing to withdraw from Sakai Port because of Ashikaga Yoshiaki's power as a shogun? Nonsense, it's just because Oda's army is coming fiercely and we can't defeat it.
Wouldn't it be nice to use Ashikaga Yoshiaki's reputation as a general to suppress an outsider like Oda Nobunaga, and then everyone hides behind to get the benefits?
It was not that Ashikaga Yoshiaki knew nothing about the thoughts of people like Wada Yaimasa, but Wada Yaimasa had one sentence that captured her worries.
Oda Nobunaga's territory already has two million koku, and she is actively coming to Settsu Country to expand, which poses a great threat to the shogunate.
If you are not in your position, you will not pursue your political goals.
After using deceitful tactics to take away Yoshihiro Shiba, Ashikaga Yoshiaki desperately needed to prove that he was a good general. Just like Li Shimin killed Li Jiancheng, he had to prove that he was a better emperor.
Ashikaga Yoshiaki tacitly allowed Wada Weimasa to change the situation. He was the usual balancing act of the Ashikaga shogun family. He had been tried and tested for two hundred years. Ashikaga Yoshiaki could be regarded as a self-taught master.
But she was a little worried about giving such a big fat piece of meat from Sakai Port to Oda Nobunaga.
"Although the three guardians of Settsu have no share in the Oda family, Oda-hime got the Sakai Port. Isn't it considered a jackpot?"
Wada Weimasa heard the hidden meaning of Ashikaga Yoshiaki and smiled.
"Master Gongfang, the Miyoshi family has withdrawn from Sakai Port, but the Shiba family is still there."
Ashikaga Yoshiaki was stunned for a moment, then he immediately reacted and laughed.
"Yes, the Miyoshi family has withdrawn from Sakai Port, and the Shiba family should assume more important responsibilities for the shogunate in Sakai Port. I believe Tsutado-den will not refuse, right?"