After joking with Takenaka Shigeharu for a few words, Hideyoshi Hideyoshi couldn't help but sigh.
"That person just now is such a pity."
"Are you talking about the young Samurai Hime named Takatora Toudo, the envoy of Masa Isono?"
"Yes, that's her. She and I are actually old acquaintances.
At that time, I was ordered by the main palace to go to Luo to buy iron cannons, and I happened to meet Tsutado-don in Kyoto. At that time, Tsutado-don had just finished the Norada battle, and he was accompanied by Takatora Toudo, the heir to the Todo family.
Unexpectedly, she would choose to leave the Shiba family and serve the Asai family."
"So that's it."
Takenaka Shigeharu nodded, Todo leader's status in the Shiba family is very special.
At that time, Todo Takatora, the mother of Takatora Toudo, wiped out all the wealth of the Todo clan in Inugami County and helped Yoshigan Shiba, who had nothing at the time, win the Norada War.
After the war, the Todo clan invested in the Shiba family in the form of stipends. Unlike the general reward contracts for the princess samurai, the stipends that emerged during the emperor's court did not have much binding force.
This is also the reason why Toudo Takatora used his mother's murder and the Shiba family's inaction as an excuse to resolutely leave the Shiba family without being punished.
On the one hand, Yoshigan Shiba did not argue with Takatora Toudo out of guilt.
On the other hand, also because of the special status of the Gaiyo clan led by Toudo, the Shiba retainers group could not use the righteousness of the samurai family to punish Toudo Takatora.
I just didn't expect that Takatora Toudo had just switched to the Asai family, and the Asai family broke with the Oda family and suffered a severe fall, and Takatora Toudo was also paralyzed.
Hideyoshi Hashiba smiled.
"Isono Masaru wanted to surrender, but he did not dare to let his subordinates come to negotiate for fear of leaking the news.
Takatora Toudo has an old relationship with me, so she should have come forward on her own initiative. Look at her efforts in front of me just now. Could it be that the Asai family is about to end, and she is looking for a new way out?"
Takenaka Shigeharu was speechless and laughed.
"The main hall is now under siege from all sides, and most of the samurai families are not optimistic about the future of the Oda family these days.
This Fujido Takatora is quite interesting, the Shiba family is at its peak, and she doesn’t want to stay, so she insists on getting in front of you."
Hideyoshi Hashiba sighed.
"Humans are always swayed by their own emotions.
If you think about it, Takatora Toudo is one of the first batch of warriors to follow Tsuta-den. If she loyal to Tsutado-den wholeheartedly, her status will inevitably rise.
However, she was impetuous and wanted to find another way. Tsutado-don gave in and compromised at the Kyoto shogunate. It seemed that her future was bleak, so she became anxious and fled to another family.
It is rare for someone to be so eager for quick success and instant benefit. It is a pity that the foundation her mother laid in the Sibo family was all in vain.
Now that she is returning to the Shiba family, how should the status of the Toudo leader be determined? Even if Tsudo-don ignores the past grudges, the Shiba retainers will not give her the original status.
Todo Takatora is young and vigorous, and he has no shame in taking advantage of this situation, so he can only bite the bullet and find another way out."
Takenaka Shigeharu smiled.
"Indeed."
If people make a mistake in an important decision, they are often unwilling to admit their mistake. The more time, energy and money they spend, the less willing they will be.
Because they care too much about past investments, they ignore the possibility of greater losses in the future, and are unwilling to stop losses based on a sense of luck. In the end, they can only sink deeper and deeper.
Stopping losses in time is a very simple but difficult choice to make.
The girl Takatora Todo was successful, and she had no plans to run away with Shiba Yoshigan. As a result, she made great achievements in the war between the shogunate and the Miyoshi family.
She succeeded too easily, set her sights higher than her goals, overestimated her own talent, underestimated the difficulties of troubled times, and even discarded the Shiba knitting that Yoshigan Shiba wanted to compensate Todo leader for.
After her mother's death, she chose to break away from the indecisive Shiba Yiyin and look for other steps to take a step further. As a result, she made one wrong step and another wrong step.
The Asai family defeated Anegawa, and saw the family business going downhill. Takatora Toudo, who took the initiative to join the Asai family and pay military rations to Isono Genmasa, didn't know what he felt in his heart.
Let Takatora Toudo admit his mistakes, return to Shiba's house in disgrace, and beg for Yoshihiro Shiba's acceptance and Maeda's forgiveness.
How could this young man who boasted of his extraordinary talents be able to swallow such a sigh of relief?
She will definitely try to find other opportunities to stand out to prove that she has made no mistakes, instead of going back and being laughed at by others.
As for Todo Takatora, no one else knows whether she has ever truly regretted her choice.
Even if she tossed and turned in the middle of the night, biting her pillow and hiding in bed and crying, she would not let others see her loss.
Just like the former high-ranking intellectuals living in the lighthouse, even if they see their old classmates rising steadily in their hometown and their lives are completely different from their own, they can only repeatedly hypnotize themselves.
I made the right choice, I don't regret it, I really don't regret it.
———
The misfortune of life lies in unwillingness.
Hashiba Hideyoshi and Takenaka Shigeharu, with a victor's mentality, pointed condescendingly at Toudo Takatora's leaving back, chatting and laughing.
In the main formation of Mount Hiei, Asai Nagamasa watched Yoshigan Shiba go up the mountain to visit Enryakuji Temple, and he could not let go for a long time.
At first, it was the Asai retainers who were afraid of Oda Nobunaga's massive reforms in the Minami Omi area, and forced Asai Nagamasa to turn against the Oda family.
Now that Asai Nagamasa has defeated Anegawa and is trapped in Mount Hiei, the wind in the family has begun to change again.
The Asai retainers group could not help complaining behind their backs, why the governor couldn't think more carefully, be more cautious, and think more carefully.
These people have completely forgotten that it was they who invited Asai Hisamasa out of retirement and forced Asai Nagamasa to sever ties with Oda Nobunaga.
At this time, they just wanted to put all the responsibility for the defeat on Asai Nagamasa, and use their dissatisfaction to ease the panic of defeat.
The name of the Wu family and the family governor, His Highness, is really a scapegoat in a sense.
The loss of Hengshan Castle has already put Asai Nagamasa under tremendous external pressure. And because of the unfavorable war, internal public opinion began to deteriorate, which made her even more angry.
It was obviously the retainers who forced her to fall out with Oda Nobunaga, but once things went bad, the retainers put all the responsibility on her. Rumors were that the governor was incompetent and unworthy of his duties.
In Kodani City, facing the city king who was crying all day long, Asai Nagamasa felt very regretful. But is regret useful? At this point, she could only go to the dark side.
Akao Kiyosuna on the side looked at the silent master worriedly and whispered.
"We are trapped in Mount Hiei. I wonder what the situation is like at Sawayama Castle?"
Asai Nagamasa groaned.
"Masa Isono is no longer reliable. I will replace her when I get back."
There was a turbulent undercurrent in Asai's family. Asai Nagamasa originally wanted to rely on victory to unite people, which was also the method the samurai family was best at using.
As long as we can still win the battle, all problems will no longer be a problem.
However, the combined forces of Asai Asakura and the Yamaboshi of Mount Hiei attacked from both front and back, but they failed to shake the Oda family's defense line.
Although Mori Katsunari died, she desperately defended the front line of Sakamoto Castle, preventing Asai and Asakura's coalition forces from going deep into enemy territory.
The Miyoshi family's reluctance to move forward allowed Oda Nobunaga to quickly escape from Settsu Country and rush back to catch Asai Nagamasa off guard.
The siege of Mount Hiei was another embarrassing stalemate. Although Asai Nagamasa did not lose, in the eyes of the Asai retainers, this battle was becoming more and more useless, and the governor was not good enough.
Since the Battle of Norada, the prestige built up by Asai Nagamasa in previous battles has been completely shaken by two failed battles.
The Akao family is related to the Asai family by marriage, and the relationship between the two parties is one of prosperity and loss. Hearing Asai Nagamasa's melancholy tone, Akao Kiyosuna became more and more uneasy, and she advised.
"Masa Isono is brave and good at fighting, and she spares no effort in serving her master's family. With her in Sawayama Castle, the Oda family will not dare to go north easily, and the pressure on Otani Castle will not be too great.
I would like to ask the Lord to give more consideration to Isono Umasa's arrangements.
I heard that Sawayama Castle has been asking for help from Otani Castle. My lord should at least support Isono Tamashiro with some supplies so that she can have the confidence to continue to hold on."
Akao Kiyosuna's status in the Asai family is unusual, and Asai Nagamasa cannot directly refute her.
After thinking about it, Asai Nagamasa explained.
"The Oda garrison of Yokoyama Castle sent troops to block my connection with Sawayama Castle. I sent messengers there several times, but they never returned.
But just before I sent out the troops, Isono Yuanmao's communication was able to be contacted again, hoping that I could provide her with a large amount of supplies.
Mr. Akao, you also know how bad the situation at home is now. I must send troops as soon as possible to open up the situation, but there are only so many supplies, and I can only take care of one end."
Akao Kiyosuna was silent.
Last year, in order to assist Oda Shiba in the Battle of Kamiro, Kitanomi mobilized a large number of peasants and soldiers out of season, and all their wealth was taken away.
Although afterwards, with the support of the Oda family, the Asai family formally annexed the Shinsan County and received compensation. However, money and food are easy to spend, but difficult to save.
Therefore, war is a costly business, and Asai Nagamasa does not have the money-making skills of Shiba Yoshigan and Oda Nobunaga. She is just a traditional martial artist, so how can she get so much money and food.
To be continued...