Chapter 1412: Turn around and see chaos in recent times
Let’s not talk about how Sanada Nobushige racked his brains and tried every means to avoid the marriage olive branch extended by Obata Nobusada, but only talked about the already concluded autumn review of the Kanto Palace.
At the council meeting, all United Front members successfully completed all agendas and unanimously elected Ogasawara Nagatoki, Sanada Nobushige and Oda Ujiharu to serve as non-permanent senior middlemen of the first standing council.
After the Grand Council next spring, the Standing Council will be officially launched. During the closing period of the Spring and Autumn Grand Council, it will manage the daily affairs of the Kanto Palace and exercise its rights on behalf of the Grand Council.
After the meeting, the United Front members unanimously believed that this was a successful review. A successful review is a review that builds on the past and forges ahead in unity.
Their excitement is not fake.
Yoshigan Shiba left the land of Kanto, and Teru Uesugi ambushed Kasugayama Castle. Neither of them participated in the agenda of the Grand Council.
As the representatives of martial arts families from all over the country, the Kwantung Shisuo United Front has truly gained the highest authority of the Kwantung Shisuo.
Although power is shared in the form of a review, this has made everyone very satisfied. They all feel that Siboyi Bank is sincere in decentralizing power and benefiting. This new line of peaceful development for the Wu family has begun.
As Sanada Nobushige said, samurai groups in various places are stepping up their integration, hoping to unite their forces so that they can compete for power and profit in the Grand Council and peek into the non-permanent senior position of the Standing Council.
At this time, a fast ship did not add any commercial warehouses, and brought Yoshihiro Shiba and his followers back to Tsuruga Port in Echizen Country as quickly as possible.
These days, Asakura Kageki is so eager to see what he can do that he doesn't even want to stay in a hotel in the city. He just stays in Minato Town, not far from the pier, just waiting for Yoshihiro Shiba to return.
Also waiting is the San Taifu of Hundred Lands from the nearby Sibo Territory. She compiles and summarizes the newly arrived information from various places in the nearby lands and wants to submit it to the Lord as soon as possible after his arrival.
As soon as Yoshigan Shiba boarded the pier, he was invited into Tsuruga Castle and checked into a residence that had been packed up. Asakura Kageki, the city lord, was willing to live in a separate courtyard and stay with him.
At the dinner party at the residence hall, Yoshigan sat at the main seat, gently holding the wine glass, and smiled at Asakura Kageki.
"Asakura Hime, you are too polite.
Things are urgent over there these days, so I might stay for one night and then leave, but you don’t have to go to such trouble."
Asakura Kageki bowed cautiously and said respectfully.
"This is what Jingji should do. Jingji has no way to repay Jinduodian's kindness. Only by sweeping the couch to greet him can he repay Jinduodian's kindness."
In just a few years, the status of Shiba Yoshigan and Asakura Kageki has rapidly grown, and they are already worlds apart.
Back then, under the protection of Asakura Sotechi, the immature Samurai Hime who was still a little arrogant has now become frightened.
Back then she dared to comment frivolously on Yiyin's extraordinary appearance, but now she doesn't even dare to get wet.
This is the power of power. Yiyin couldn't help but sigh, and could only secretly say that things are different than people.
Both Yoshigan and Asakura Kageki knew in their hearts that Yoshigan had already repaid Asakura Sotechi's kindness to him.
Sotechi Asakura fought hard for Yoshigan, and was exhausted. Yoshigan also gave Asakura Keiki enough benefits to ensure that she successfully took over the Tsuruga County.
Asakura Sotechi's life was only a few days old, but Asakura Kageki had a few years to stabilize his position in troubled times, which was enough.
Oda Nobunaga attacked Echizen Province and entered Tsuruga County. He surrounded Asakura Kageki but did not attack him. This was to give Yoshigan Shiba face.
Asakura Yoshikage brought troops to help, and occupied Kanazaki Castle and refused to leave. If Asai Nagamasa hadn't come forward to intercede, Asakura Kageki would have suffered an embarrassing end.
Asakura Keiki understands that his situation is very bad. Only by continuing to hold onto Yoshigoshi Shiba's lap can he preserve the Tsuruga Asakura family name in this increasingly chaotic world.
And Shiba Yiyin had no intention of abandoning her.
Although maintaining the independence of Tsuruga County requires the Shiba family to pay a lot of money to make deals with other samurai daimyo, it is worth it.
There are two reasons.
First, Yoshigan’s protection of Asakura Keiki was based on repaying a favor.
It is said that a drop of kindness should be repaid by a spring. The kindness of Asakura Zongdi and Shiba Yiyin has long been spread throughout the world.
The more Yiyin doesn't care about gains and losses, the more martial arts families all over the world admire his character, which is very beneficial to maintaining his upright and awe-inspiring persona. It is reasonable to pay a little cost to buy horse bones for a thousand gold.
Secondly, Tsuruga Port is a core part of the Hokurikudo trade route and cannot be lost. Retaining Asakura Kageki's control over Tsuruga County means preserving the independence of Tsuruga Port.
Although Yoshihiro Shiba can also make deals with Asakura Yoshikage and Oda Nobunaga, no matter who controls Tsuruga Port, they cannot ignore the interests of the Shiba family.
The Hokuriku Road trade route gathered the interests of too many people. Even if Oda Asakura controlled it, he was still using it as a bargaining chip to bargain with the Shiba family.
It is absolutely impossible to dare to cut off the Hokuriku Road trade route. It would be too offensive.
Even so, Yoshigan did not want other samurai daimyo to control Tsuruga Port, especially Oda Nobunaga. He still hoped that Tsuruga Port would be in the hands of Asakura Kageki.
Because Asakura Kageki has no other way out, her best choice is Yiyin.
After leaving Yiyin, she is just like a child passing through the market with gold in mind. A common man is innocent but guilty of possessing a jade. The interests of Tsuruga Port are so great, who can let her go?
But if Tsuruga Port is controlled by Oda Nobunaga, and if the Oda family opens up the Tokaido trade route and in turn threatens the Hokuriku trade route, what should Yoshibank do?
Even if the Tokaido trade route continues to be chaotic and blocked, it will be difficult for Yoshigan to accept that his life is controlled by Oda Nobunaga.
The Hokurikudo Trading Route and the Shibachu Fund are closely linked, and the Shiba family's hard-core crops are entirely supported by the Shibachu Fund's income from the Hokuriku Trade Route.
In addition, for the Kanto-based Samurai Giri Promotion Association, an important source of income for maintaining public welfare undertakings also comes from the business interests of Hokuriku Province.
Regardless of whether it was in Kokomo or Kanto, Yiyin needed to spend money to solidify his base. He could not afford any turmoil in the Hokuriku Road trade route.
There is an egg in Sakai Port and an egg in Tsuruga Port. Whichever one falls into the hands of Oda Nobunaga, Yiyin will be in trouble.
If it all falls into the hands of Oda Nobunaga, then even the sausage will fall, and the entire jelly will be controlled by Oda Nobunaga.
To sum up, considering both the reputation and the actual benefits, Yiyin will support Asakura Kageki to continue to rule Tsuruga County. The hesitation in Asakura Kageki's heart is actually unnecessary.
But from the perspective of Asakura Kageki, she only saw that Asakura Yoshikage and Oda Nobunaga were coveting Tsuruga Port. The Shiba family was far away, and the Asai family next to them was beaten half disabled by the Oda family.
.
Regardless of whether Asai Asakura's coalition forces won this recent fierce battle or Oda Nobunaga won, it will be difficult for Tsuruga County to maintain its independent status.
In particular, the nearby Kanazaki Castle was occupied by Asakura Yoshikage and the gates of Tsuruga County were wide open. Asakura Yoshikage could send his troops westward at any time and capture Tsuruga Port.
The feeling of having a knife on her neck was really uncomfortable, so she had to be brave today.
Asakura Kageki hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said.
"The prestige of Jinduo Hall spreads far and wide, and is admired by all martial artists in the world.
There is a person living outside the residence now. Hearing that Tsutama-dono returned to Japan by way of Tsuruga County, he wishes to pay homage to you and begs to see him."
Yoshigami glanced at Asakura Kageki and saw that she was sweating on her head. It seemed that she knew that this move was quite trespassing and not in line with etiquette.
Not many people knew the specific time of his return to Kokomo via Tsuruga Port. Asakura Kageki actually dared to leak it to outsiders and even brought people to introduce him, which was actually very taboo.
That is to say, Yi Gin is famous for his benevolence and righteousness, and has a deep relationship with the Tsuruga Asakura family, so Asakura Keiki dared to take the risk.
Yiyin smiled and asked.
"Who wants to see me? Is there something wrong with her?"
Asakura Kageki quickly shook his head.
"The person who came here does not have anything to ask for. He just admires your honorable name. His name is Makoto Kasuke, and he is the guard stationed at Kanazaki Castle by His Highness Asakura Yoshikage."
Yiyin nodded.
No wonder Asakura Keiki made such a request abruptly. It turned out that the opponent was the defender of Kanazaki Castle, the biggest potential threat to Tsuruga Port at this time.
Kanazaki Castle is surrounded by mountains and the sea. On one side, it guards the mountain road leading to Tsuruga County from the Fukui Plain, and on the other side, it stares at Tsuruga Port and the small plains surrounding Tsuruga Port.
Oda Nobunaga attacked Tsuruga County and immediately bypassed Tsuruga Port to capture Kanazaki Castle, cutting off the Asakura family's support route.
Later, it was discovered that the Asai family had betrayed their alliance, and Oda Nobunaga had no choice but to retreat. Hashiba Hideyoshi defended Kanazaki Castle for ten days, and finally abandoned the city and ran away, allowing Asakura Yoshikage to take the castle.
Yoshihiro is very surprised. Kanezaki Castle is so important, and Asakura Yoshikage must be guarded by someone he trusts. How could his guard be in secret communication with Asakura Kageki? This is unreasonable.
He glanced at the Third Taifu of Baidi who was waiting obediently at the side. The Third Taifu of Baidi understood what he was saying, stepped out of the queue, bowed and said.
"Your Majesty, the Maara family suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Anegawa. Not only did the family governor Naota Maara die in the battle, but also her sister Naocumi Maara and her daughter Takahiro Maara were killed in the battle, resulting in the death of the clan family.
Because of this incident, the people in the area before South Vietnam were very dissatisfied with His Highness Asakura Yoshikage. In order to unite the hearts of the local people, His Highness Asakura Yoshikage jumped over the rank and promoted Shina Kasuke, who is a member of the Shina family."
Yiyin nodded, somewhat understanding.
The Chinese people in the former South Vietnam area guarded the southern end of the Fukui Plain, and their territory was Kanazaki Castle running through the mountains to the north.
Asakura Yoshikage sent his sister Asakura Keika to lead the Ono people and followed Asai Nagamasa into Mino Country. As a result, Asakura Keika had hidden selfish motives and just pretended to withdraw to Echizen Country with the Ono people.
Asai Nagamasa was caught off guard and could only retreat. Oda Nobunaga took the opportunity to seize the initiative and attack Kitaomi.
In order to appease the angry Asai Nagamasa, Asakura Yoshikage sent General Asakura Keiken to support him, and he followed Asai Nagamasa to rescue Yokoyama Castle and fight the Battle of Anegawa.
Who would have known that the Battle of Anegawa would be such a disastrous defeat, and Asakura Kageken accidentally trapped and killed all the members of the Makara family, killing all members of the Zong family.
If Asakura Yoshikage doesn't express anything, the people in the former South Vietnam area will no longer listen to her greetings.
But even if she handed over the strategic location of Kanazaki Castle to the Maya family as compensation, Maya Kasuke would not hesitate to hook up with Asakura Kageki, and it was obvious that he was at odds with Asakura Yoshikage.
Regarding the information about the Asakura family and the details of the Battle of Anegawa, the third husband of Momochi sent documents to Kanto for Yoshigan to review. After a few reminders from her, Yoshigan understood the cause and effect.
But even if he understands the cause and effect, Yoshihiro still doesn't understand. The Manae family is dissatisfied with the Asakura family, so why would they come to find him, an outsider?
At this moment, the Oda family and the Asakura family are fighting fiercely. These former South Vietnamese people are dissatisfied with the Asakura family and want to join the Ming Dynasty. They should also go to Oda Nobunaga.
Yoshigan looked at Asakura Kageki and asked.
"Why do the Manae family show respect to me? Recently, Shiba has been far away in Yamato-Iga, so there is nothing that can be done to help them."
Asakura Kageki smiled.
"Your Majesty, the Shiba clan used to be the guardian of Echizen. Both the Asakura family and the Mahae family served your ancestors as officials of the Shiba family."
Yoshigami opened his eyes and felt a little like laughing. Asakura Kageki's words were not only speaking for the Maya family, but also providing a footnote for his own behavior.
At that time, the Asakura family usurped the Echizen Kingdom, drove away the Shiba Mune family, and by serving the shogunate, they obtained the title of Echizen's guardian. They were already able to rule this territory.
But now it seems that the situation in the Asakura family is not right. Both the people of the country like the Manae family and the heirs of the branch family like Asakura Kageki have begun to reminisce about the time they spent serving the Shiba clan.
They are rushing to jump off the ship. They can use their status as monarchs and ministers from more than a hundred years ago, and they are quite thick-skinned.
Yiyin couldn't help but smile bitterly.
"Is the Asakura family's situation that bad?"
Asakura Kageki sighed.
"Your Majesty, you don't know, but Asai and Asakura's coalition forces are currently trapped on Mount Hiei."
Yiyin was startled and looked at Bai Di San Tai Fu, Bai Di San Tai Fu nodded and said.
"His Majesty Oda heard that Yamashiro Kingdom was being harassed by Asai Asakura's coalition forces, and he withdrew his troops from Settsu Kingdom overnight.
The Miyoshi family did not pursue the attack, and only the Ichiko clan from various parts of Settsu spontaneously attacked the Oda army, causing a lot of losses.
However, because the Ichichi clans in each region were fighting on their own, no one could stop Oda's army from moving in, allowing His Highness Oda to quickly return to Kyoto.
The Asai Asakura Allied Forces did not expect His Highness Oda to come back so soon, and were caught off guard. The two sides fought at Shimosakamoto, and the Asai Asakura Allied Forces were defeated and had no choice but to bite the bullet and go to Mount Hiei.
Currently, Asai Asakura's coalition forces are waiting in formation in the areas of Fengfeng, Qingshan, and Juli Mountain.
His Highness Oda sent people to Mount Hiei and asked Master Kakushu of Enryaku Temple not to help Asai and Asakura's coalition forces, otherwise he would bear the consequences.
But it seems that the nuns of Enryaku Temple were angered by His Highness Oda's threat. Master Kakushu, who just returned from Kyoto, is very worried. The temple is still discussing it and has not replied to His Highness Oda for the time being."
Shiba Yiyin was dumbfounded when he heard this. The situation in recent days has really changed rapidly.
The news he received before boarding the ship was delayed. Now Mount Hiei was forced to take sides. Oda Nobunaga was really crazy.
You must know that behind Oda Nobunaga's butt, he still has the coalition forces of Miyoshi and Ichikazu, which may attack Yamashiro Kingdom from Settsu Country at any time.
The Oda family is now surrounded by enemies. Oda Nobunaga still dares to threaten Enryaku Temple on Mount Hiei at this time. He is really not afraid of offending the proud Tendai religious group and joins the battle circle to fight the Oda family to the end.