The Settsu attack went so smoothly that the relationship between the Ashikaga and Oda families quickly broke down.
Ashikaga Yoshiaki felt that he was very good, and the Oda family had turned from a help to a threat. Naturally, he had to use the method that the Ashikaga family was best at, rebalancing the power of the foreign vassals, and not allowing the Oda family to become dominant.
And Oda Nobunaga is not a good person. With a mobilization power of two million koku, he is the only powerful one among the great names in the world. How can he be easily manipulated by the shogunate?
As soon as the two sides started fighting, all kinds of small problems popped up one by one.
Matsunaga Hide, the owner of a small Yodo Castle, dares to complain to the shogunate. Who is supporting her? How did Ibaraki Castle fall into the hands of Araki Murashige? Does His Highness Oda have the right to distribute in Settsu Province?
You must know that Ibaraki Castle is located in the center of Settsu Country, at the intersection of the three guardian forces of Settsu, and across from the Oda family forces in Sakai Port. This location was not chosen casually.
And the situation behind the Oda family suddenly became unstable.
When the Oda family attacked Northern Ise, due to the Kyoto Incident, Oda Nobunaga chose Huairou and the Northern Ise samurai family to concentrate on seizing the opportunity to settle in Konki.
The Northern Ise samurai family was able to protect themselves and was not completely conquered by the Oda family. Now that the Oda family is more powerful, the Ise samurai family has become more aggressive? Who gave them the courage?
The Rokkaku mother and daughter tried to stop the coalition forces led by Yoshigan from going to Luo, but were beaten and fled to Ishibe Castle. They were in panic all day long. The Oda family had now suppressed Minamiomi, how could they dare to jump out and seek death?
Ashikaga Oda, it seems that neither of them is idle, and they are both working hard to cause trouble for the other party.
Akechi Mitsuhide ridiculed Ashikaga Yoshiaki, but Honda Masanobu was wondering in private. What was the intention of this poisonous man who brought him here and said so many mean words?
She knew very well that Akechi Mitsuhide's nature was to speak outright in front of her, and she must use herself to do something.
Just like the mysterious death of Ashikaga Yoshiteru, who is Akechi Mitsuhide's target this time?
Honda Masanobu cautiously probed.
"The general is at odds with His Highness Oda, and Tsuta-den is far away in Kanto.
You are deeply trusted by Tsuta-den, and it is really hard work for you to be stationed in Kyoto and preside over affairs on behalf of the Shiba family."
Akechi Mitsuhide raised his eyebrows and looked at Honda Masanobu. He saw that she was not squinting, with a respectful look on her face, seemingly loyal and thinking about herself.
The corners of his mouth curled up, and Akechi Mitsuhide couldn't help but want to laugh. Honda Masanobu said he was bitten by a snake once and was afraid of ropes for ten years.
Last time, Akechi Mitsuhide planned to kill Ashikaga Yoshiki and tricked her into a trap. He was also hated by Yoshiki Shiba and abandoned her.
If it weren't for Ashikaga Yoshiaki's ungratefulness, which brought the shameful Yoshigan to disgrace in Kyoto. If it weren't for Takada Yukino acting without permission to regain ground for Yoshigan, and being assassinated, which would make Yoshigan furious.
It is really not easy for Mitsuhide Akechi to regain his power.
All in all, it was all thanks to the trust of his peers that Yoshihiro realized that he could not do without a poisonous person like Akechi Mitsuhide as a white glove.
If you want to be an upright and benevolent king, you have to have someone responsible for doing dirty things, smashing black bricks, and doing dirty and shameless things. But every time you take a step, you will gain wisdom, and Yoshihiro is also wary of Akechi Mitsuhide.
Nowadays, the person in charge of Shibo in recent years is Nizi Katsuhisa, and Yoshihiro has been given full authority. If Akechi Mitsuhide wants to mess around like before, Nizi Katsuhisa will not turn a blind eye and tolerate her chaos anymore.
Honda Masanobu seemed to be complimenting Mitsuhide Akechi, but he was actually reminding her that today is different from the past, so don't go too far.
Regarding Honda Masanobu's overt and insidious sarcasm, Akechi Mitsuhide was able to tolerate a few arrogant words from her. After all, there were still things that could use her.
Akechi Mitsuhide said with a smile.
"The bullock cart of the Shogunate is going downhill. Someone has to step up and give the bullocks a hard whip on the buttocks to speed up.
Long-term pain is worse than short-term pain. A hundred years of troubled times have been long enough, and the martial arts families in the world have suffered too much."
Honda Masanobu glanced at Mitsuhide Akechi, who was lamenting and sighing, and couldn't help but curse. He was secretly engaging in conspiracies, and he could still pretend to be so compassionate. He was so dark and thick.
On the surface, Honda Masanobu pretended to feel the same and sighed.
"I just don't know who should whip this whip and who it will hit."
Akechi Mitsuhide smiled.
"Who to smoke?
Of course, we cannot whip our mighty Ashikaga General. She has no capital and cannot afford to whip her. Once whipped, I am afraid that she will never get up again.
When two tigers fight, it is best if they are evenly matched. If the strength and weakness are clear and the winner can be determined by one move, what else is there to see?
As for those who whip cows with whips, the Shiba family is upright and the Tsudo hall is upright, so naturally they won't whip them."
Honda Masanobu can now confirm that Akechi Mitsuhide is still loyal to Shiba Yoshigan. This is to balance the power of Ashikaga Yoshiaki and Oda Nobunaga, so that they will both lose in the fight.
But Ashikaga Yoshiaki has the name of a general, but his strength is very weak. If he really wants to anger Oda Nobunaga, what can the shogunate with only empty frames do to fight against the Oda family with a mobilized force of two million koku?
The shogunate has its status, but if its status could really withstand everything, the world would have been in chaos for hundreds of years.
The key to the problem is who has the strength to crack the whip and help Ashikaga Yoshiaki hold up the position.
Judging from Akechi Mitsuhide's statement, the Shiba family will never end up in this fight. So, where does Ashikaga Yoshiaki's confidence come from?
Sensing the doubt in Honda Masanobu's eyes, Akechi Mitsuhide smiled.
"Honda-hime, do you think among the recent few, apart from the general, who else has the biggest conflict with the Oda family, and who has the most strength and willingness to help the general suppress His Highness Oda?"
Honda Masanobu thought for a while and shook his head. This was really hard to say.
Yoshigan Shiba was stabbed by Ashikaga Yoshiaki first because he wanted to unite with the shogunate to suppress Oda Nobunaga. Now that Yoshigan Shiba has withdrawn, who has the strength to fight against Oda Nobunaga, who is at the height of his power?
Ashikaga Yoshiaki destroyed the Great Wall and was still complacent, which is really speechless.
Akechi Mitsuhide did not continue to talk about it and gave the answer directly, she said.
"Ishiyama Honganji Temple.
The Ichigo clan has the strength and the shogun has the reputation. As long as both parties cooperate, they can unite the various daimyo and organize sieges against His Highness Oda again and again.
Once, twice, three times, as long as the Master of Honganji Temple is willing to keep fighting, the general will not lose, and the battle of Ashikaga Oda will not be over."
Honda Masanobu finally understood what Akechi Mitsuhide wanted to do, and why Akechi Mitsuhide wanted to find him and talk so much.
Among all the recent forces, the conflict between Honganji Kenru and Oda Nobunaga is the most intense.
Even though Yoshigan gave Honganji Kenru a reassurance at Ishiyama, he barely suppressed Ichibune's worries about the Oda family.
But as long as Ashikaga Yoshiaki is willing to come forward for help, Honganji Kenjo will definitely take this opportunity to completely eliminate the huge threat of Oda Nobunaga.
Temples are the earliest commercial and trade centers in the island country. Religious sacrificial meetings gather a large number of people, forming the prototype of temple fairs.
Businessmen make money through temple fairs, nobles raise funds through temple fairs, and temples make mortgage loans through temple fairs. The large flow of people leads to large demand.
Ancient times were no better than modern times. Transportation was inconvenient and local people rarely traveled far. The exchange of goods must have a definite time and place, and the emergence of temple fairs formed an effective business opportunity.
Since the beginning of the Emperor's court, Japanese temples have made a lot of money by providing trade facilitation, and have become independent commercial forces. Temple earth warehouses have the financial attributes of deposits and loans.
The temples of the Yixiang Sect are even more terrifying, because the Yixiang religion has simple and clear teachings and can attract a large number of low-level people and frustrated wild warriors.
After the reform of the Eighth Dynasty Dharma Master, the Yixiang Sect organized a large number of villages and formed a network all over the place.
The Yixiangzong temple has become a node and gathering place in the network, using lecture groups as the starting point to organize believers.
Therefore, the mobilization power of Yixiang Zong is even stronger than that of traditional martial arts.
In recent years, there have been a large number of temples and villages that believe in the Ichikō sect in Hokuriku and Tokaido. The head of the Ishiyama Honganji Temple has also become a Buddhist daimyo bound by faith, with overwhelming power.
There are differences between villages.
The Kanto region has a conservative tradition, and Yiyin went to the countryside in Kanto mainly to win over the traditional martial arts families under the manorial economy.
There are many famous families in Guandong. The imperial family received the power to develop land as a reward from the public. Most of the grassroots villages are in the hands of the descendants of the imperial family. To win over the villages is to win over the local servants.
In recent years, the manorial economy has already collapsed.
Since the time of the Emperor's court, people at the bottom have continued to flee. The fugitives have gathered together outside to keep warm and open up new fields, forming a nomura outside the system.
Once these villages become powerful, they will seek the recognition of their rulers.
Some villages moved closer to the samurai regime and became common people and local servants. Some villages gathered together due to their faith and became fields under the name of temples.
The conflict between the Ichiko clan and the Oda family is all-round.
Oda Nobunaga's Rakuza policy shifted the rural commercial center from temples to castle towns, weakening the status of temples in various places.
Oda Nobunaga's reform of the separation of peasants and soldiers demanded more power from the grassroots, and the autonomy of villages, including religion, was weakened.
The alliance between the Nichiren sect, the religious enemies, and the Oda family has made the sect like a thorn in the back even more.
The Oda family sent people to help Tokugawa Ieyasu suppress Mikawa Ichikaku. There are a large number of Ichikou sect temples in the Oda territory. Will Tokugawa Ieyasu's method of converting the religion be followed by the Oda family?
You must know that Mitsui Temple in Omi Province and Nagashima in Ise Province are important strongholds of the Ichikai Sect. Nowadays, these places are within the sphere of influence of the Oda family.
In addition, the Oda family has already reached out to Sakai Port and is secretly colluding with the Nanman Sect, making the nearby Ishiyama Honganji Temple very sensitive.
In Settsu, the village vendetta between the Nanman Sect and the Ichigo Sect has never stopped. The Nanman Sect’s intention to attract the Oda family, and the head of the Ishiyama Honganji Temple, all knew they were targeting themselves.
Honganji's nerves were tense. Once Ashikaga Yoshiaki asked for help, Ichigo Mune was capable and more willing to help Ashikaga General deal with Oda Nobunaga in order to get rid of Oda Nobunaga once and for all.
The Ichibuki clan's will to fight against the Oda family is far more determined than the samurai forces such as Asakura, Miyoshi, and Rokkaku. This is because the contradiction between the two parties is more profound and cannot be compromised.
Oda Nobunaga's decisions on the economy, religion, internal affairs and other aspects all made Ichizune feel unprecedented pain.
With Ishiyama Honganji, the staunch anti-Oda leader, and Ashikaga Yoshiaki, the general, calling on all forces, the siege of the Oda family by all forces would never give up halfway because of one or two failures.
The reason why Akechi Mitsuhide made it so clear to Honda Masanobu was because he wanted to take advantage of Honda Masanobu's status as a religious believer.
Honda Masanobu was expelled from Mikawa Kingdom by the Tokugawa family because he refused to convert.
Through Suzuki Shigehide's relationship, she followed the path of Ishiyama Honganji Temple. With her diplomatic performance, Matsunagahide took a liking to her, and she joined the Matsunaga family.
Although Matsunaga Hide now hates Honda Masanobu to death, in terms of religion, Honda Masanobu is still a trustworthy and good believer of Ishiyama Honganji Temple.
Akechi Mitsuhide hoped that Ishiyama Honganji Temple would speed up its hostility towards Oda Nobunaga, and wanted to bring Ashikaga Yoshiaki to Honganji Temple as a powerful ally. Honda Masanobu needed to be the thread in the middle.
After all, Akechi Mitsuhide is Noun-kun's cousin and a relative of Oda Nobunaga, and has a deep relationship with the Oda family. She cannot stab Oda Nobunaga openly in the back, but can only play with him secretly.
With a bitter look on Honda Masanobu's face, he knew that Akechi Mitsuhide called him over and talked so much that something bad must be done.
Akechi Mitsuhide's plan this time is basically a replica of the murder of Ashikaga Yoshiteru.
She herself hid behind the scenes to instigate and guide, so that due to the intensification of conflicts, various forces spontaneously formed a Nobunaga encirclement network and made things difficult for the Oda family.
Akechi Mitsuhide covered his mouth gracefully, revealing a pair of big watery eyes, and said to Honda Masanobu with a smile.
"Honda-hime, would you like to help me?"
Honda Masanobu secretly cursed viciously, but she had no choice but to follow Akechi Mitsuhide's baton and play a disgraceful role again.
If she dared to show any reluctance at this time, Akechi Mitsuhide would kill her immediately. She knew too much, either follow or die, there was no third way.
Honda Masanobu looked solemn, bowed and said.
"I am willing to serve you."
Akechi Mitsuhide's eyes turned into moonlight smiles as he said.
"I knew that Hondaji would not let me down."
As she spoke, she gently pushed the tea soup placed on the corner of the table into the table, moving it in a little to prevent it from accidentally falling to the ground.
Honda Masanobu caught sight of this scene from the corner of his eye and couldn't help but twitch, pretending not to care, with a polite smile on his face.
Outside the tea room, Saito Rizo loosened his grip on the handle of the knife and waved to the people behind him. The group of people slowly pushed back and disappeared into the shadows silently.
———
Ashikaga and Oda are on the verge of breaking up, and Akechi Mitsuhide is ready to add fuel to the fire.
She was cautious and did not want to expose herself in front of others. She just wanted to stir up Ishiyama Honganji and rush out to embarrass Oda Nobunaga.
But in Sakai Port, there was someone more anxious than her.
Oda Nobunaga's calm stop made Lewis and Frois of Nanman Cult very uncomfortable.
In order to intensify the conflict between the Oda family and the Ishiyama Honganji Temple, the Nanman Sect has sacrificed a military expert from the Knights and even sacrificed the outstanding priest Peter and Bautista.
However, Oda Nobunaga was more cunning and calm than the Nanman Cult imagined. He only took the bait without taking the bait, which immediately made Flois dumbfounded.