Chapter 1472 The Two Elders of the Genji and Taira Clan
Even before the Battle of Otani Castle, the Asai family had already been plunged into precarious political turmoil.
The Asai family, which was originally just the co-leader of the Kitaomi Samurai Alliance, had been defeated several times and its decline was obvious. The powerful local samurai had already begun to wait and see.
Moreover, because of the massacre of hostages, they turned against each other, such as Masa Isono and Sasaki Aguki, and the Asai retainers regiment continued to have accidents, accelerating its demise.
Taking advantage of the turmoil within the Asai family, Hashiba Hideyoshi used his own silver bullet tactics to bribe Asai's retainers, and finally opened the gates of Kotani Castle from the inside and captured this fortified city.
In fact, the outcome of the Battle of Otani Castle was already decided before it even started. Asai Hisamasa, Asai Nagamasa and his daughter committed seppuku. Akao Kiyotsuna was captured in the battle and committed seppuku in front of Oda Nobunaga.
Oda Nobunaga captured Kitanomi and Echizen Province in one fell swoop. He was overjoyed and held a grand celebration banquet in Gifu Castle.
At the celebration banquet, Oda Nobunaga actually took out the golden cups made of the heads of Asakura Yoshikage, Asai Hisamasa, and Asai Nagamasa, and asked the retainers to appreciate them. The audience was shocked into silence, and all the concubines were afraid.
The Asakura clan is hereditary guardian of the Echizen Kingdom, Asai Nagamasa is the guardian of Kitaomi appointed by the previous shogun, and Oda Nobunaga made their heads into wine glasses, which is simply appalling.
Obviously, Oda Nobunaga was no longer willing to continue to be a minister of the shogunate, and began to reveal her true ambition. But at this time, the world's samurai families had lost their voices in response to her arrogance, and no one dared to respond.
The Oda family now owns five large and prosperous countries: Owari, Mino, Ise, Omi, and Echizen, with a stone height of three million.
The sixty-six countries in the world have a total of only 20 million dan, and the Oda family alone owns 3 million dan. Who dares to easily accuse such a powerful vassal and make enemies with it?
The three Asakura families of Rokkaku Asai were destroyed, and the Takeda family who raised their troops to Luo also retreated without a fight. In addition to breaking up, they could only bite the bullet and fight to the end. Nobunaga's siege network was almost completely destroyed.
The Oda family is still responsible for the garrison of Kyoto, and the Ashikaga shogun who controls Nijo Castle seems to be holding the emperor hostage to order the princes.
Oda Nobunaga also claimed to be a descendant of the Taira clan. After conquering the Asai Asakura family, he further claimed to be the elder of the Taira clan. His ambition to unify the world was already clear.
At that time, the Heike, a branch of the Ise Hei clan, competed with the direct line of the Kawachi Genji family. The two sides fought a Genpei war. As a result, Minamoto Yoritomo, a direct line of the Kawachi Genji family, won and became the pillar of the samurai family.
Subsequently, Minamoto Yoritomo received the title of Great Shogun from the Emperor's court, established a palace in Kamakura, and became the first shogun.
From then on, the three identities of the elder of the Genji family, the pillar of the Wu family, and the shogun were combined to become the highest righteousness of the Wu family's regime.
Nowadays, Oda Nobunaga claims to be the elder of the Taira clan. He obviously wants to make a comeback on behalf of the Taira clan and establish his own regime of the samurai family, which is the precursor of Oda Gongyi.
The Samurai family originated from the bloodline descendants of several emperors who descended into the imperial family and were given the surname of the Minamoto clan and the Taira clan. After they dispersed around the country, they married with powerful people in various places.
The Genpei War was not a battle between the Genji Taira clan, but a battle between the direct descendants of the Genji clan in Kawachi and the Taira clan in Ise. The Bando Haira clan, the first to come under Minamoto Yoritomo, was also from the Taira clan.
After the Genpei War, Minamoto Yoritomo finally confirmed the direct lineage of the Genji clan in Kawachi as the leader of the samurai family.
The elder Genji is the head of the Genji clan, the leader of the samurai family is the leader of all the warriors, and the shogun is the head of the samurai government.
These three identities are also the fundamental reason why the Ashikaga family was able to re-establish the shogunate government in the name of the direct descendants of the Genji family in Kawachi after the collapse of the Kamakura shogunate, and was supported by samurai families all over the world as co-owners.
The samurai group, which advocates bloodline family status and pays attention to ancestor worship, finally brought the Ashikaga shogun to the stage and formed the Ashikaga shogunate, the second samurai regime that represented the common interests of the samurai family.
After two hundred years of changing times, the Ashikaga shogunate has declined, and Oda Nobunaga is unwilling to be content with becoming the head of the shogunate and ruling the world as a deputy official like Miyoshi Nagakei.
What Oda Nobunaga wanted was his own Oda Gonggi, his own ruling system.
Therefore, she began to declare to the outside world that the elders of the Taira clan were obviously competing with the elders of the Genji family for the status of the pillars of the Wu family, and that they would open a new palace for the Oda family and make political preparations.
Ashikaga Yoshiaki, a poor official, was not only an incompetent person, but also a puppet general with no title.
She deprived Yoshigan Shiba of his status as a direct descendant of Kawachi Genji by pouring sewage on her, seeming to forget that without the help of Yoshigan Shiba, she would not have become Ashikaga Shogun so easily.
Because of Ashikaga Yoshiaki's indifference, Shiba Yoshigan voluntarily resigned from the monkhood and gave up his identity as a survivor of his ancestors and the grand court of the Ashikaga family, but he cleverly grasped the identity of the elder of the Genji family.
Of course, Ashikaga Yoshiaki did not recognize Yoshihiro Shiba's status as an elder of the Genji family, but because of his own misconduct, he did not dare to deny it rashly. To do so would completely break up with Yoshihiro Shiba politically.
Now that Yoshigan Shiba has withdrawn from Kyoto and returned to his duties, let Yoshigan Shiba call himself the Elder of Genji in his own territory, and Yoshiaki Ashikaga will just pretend he didn't hear it.
However, Ashikaga Yoshiaki was unable to defeat Oda Nobunaga. The two encirclements of Nobunaga led to chaos and chaos, which disappointed the samurai of the shogunate again and again.
Until the Miyoshi family made a comeback, under the control of Mitsuhide Akechi, Ashikaga Yoshiaki was disgraced in the Gouchi Sho Incident, and the dignity of the Ashikaga General was completely lost.
Because they were deeply disappointed with Ashikaga Yoshiaki, most of the shogunate samurai families chose to acquiesce in Yoshigami Shiba's identity as an elder of the Genji family, and pinned the interests of the traditional samurai family on this patron saint of the samurai family.
Therefore, although Ashikaga Yoshiaki at this time had the title of Ashikaga General and the pillar of the samurai family, he did not have the title of elder Genji in the third rank.
In other words, Oda Nobunaga's identity as an elder of the Taira clan actually corresponds to Yoshigan Shiba's identity as an elder of the Genji clan.
On the contrary, the noble Ashikaga Yoshiaki in the capital had the title of shogun, but he had lost the popularity of the samurai family. He could no longer represent the interests of the samurai family in the world as the pillar of the samurai family, and he had been eliminated politically.
Mitsuhide Akechi persuaded Yoshihiro Shiba and watched helplessly as the Oda family grew bigger step by step. Wasn't he just hoping that Oda Nobunaga would expel the general Ashikaga Yoshiaki and overturn the mess of the Ashikaga Shogunate?
The Oda family is prospering, but the Shiba family still has ways to fight against it.
But if the Ashikaga shogunate refuses to collapse, could it be that Yoshigan Shiba, the patron saint of the samurai family, takes action himself and ruins his reputation as a saint?
The lesser of two evils, even though he knew that the powerful Oda family with three million koku would be a big trouble for the Shiba family in the future, Mitsuhide Akechi could only bear the criticism from his family and be the scapegoat.
Because when it comes to the fall of the Ashikaga shogunate, Yoshigan Shiba's hands must be absolutely clean and spotless.
———
In Gifu City, Hashiba's residence, all Hashiba's retainers are anxiously waiting for Hashiba Hideyoshi's return.
Today is a celebration banquet held by Oda Nobunaga, but most of Hashiba Hideyoshi's retainers are from humble backgrounds and are not qualified to attend.
Only Masakatsu Hawasuga, the governor of the Hawasuga family, and Shigeharu Takenaka, a famous military advisor who was favored by Oda Nobunaga, were qualified to accompany Hideyoshi Hashiba.
To celebrate achievements at a celebration banquet, it is natural to discuss merits and reward them.
Oda Nobunaga left Hashiba Hideyoshi in Yokoyama Castle. He originally thought that he would be given two big tasks, and it would be even more difficult to betray Isono Tamashi and Aguki Sadaki.
Unexpectedly, Hideyoshi Hashiba did such a good job, almost pressing forward step by step, forcing Asai Nagamasa to despair.
When the Asai family fell, Hashiba Hideyoshi's contribution was the most dazzling. With Oda Nobunaga's generosity, he would not be stingy with rewards, and these retainers under Hashiba Hideyoshi could also follow the chickens and dogs to heaven.
Everyone waited until midnight before they heard the sound of footsteps coming from the porch. Their spirits, which were slightly tired due to being too excited for too long, instantly cheered up.
Everyone looked at the door together. The sliding door was opened to the left and right. Hideyoshi Hashiba appeared in front of everyone and asked in slight surprise.
"Huh? It's so late and everyone is still here. Aren't you sleepy?"
Hideyoshi Hashiba's ridicule immediately relaxed the atmosphere, and all the ladies laughed in embarrassment.
As a biological sister, Hashiba Hidenaga came to cover up for everyone.
"Sister, it's hard for you to visit the main hall, and everyone is too concerned about it, so we gathered together to wait for your return."
Hideyoshi Hashiba walked up to the main seat with a smile and winked at Hideyoshi Hashiba.
"Do you really care about me?"
Hashiba Hideuchang smiled.
"of course it's true."
Takenaka Shigeharu and Haesuga Masakatsu followed him into the room. Takenaka Shigeharu's expression was quite steady, while Haesuga Masakatsu's face was beaming with joy, which made everyone feel even more itchy.
Hideyoshi Hashiba took the handkerchief handed over by Hideyoshi Hashiba, wiped his face and asked.
"What did Tsuda Muneki of Sakai Port say?"
Hideucha Hashiba was stunned, why did my sister ask about other things at this time?
"Her attitude is still respectful, and her attitude has not changed because the Oda family left Sakai Port.
After all, she has cooperated so deeply with us that even if she wants to regret it now, it is not easy to switch to her.
What's more, the Oda family only temporarily evacuated Sakai Port, but the family business has become more prosperous, so she has no reason to abandon us.
I had a great time cooperating with her. She was very cooperative in terms of price and logistics of the materials the hall needed."
Hideyoshi Hashiba nodded and asked again.
"Where's that Governor Konishi?"
Hashiba Hideyoshi succeeded Hashiba Hideyoshi and was responsible for the affairs of Sakai Port. However, Hashiba Hideyoshi deliberately kept asking about business affairs at this time, completely ignoring the retainers who wanted to know, which made Hashiba Hideyoshi couldn't help but laugh.
Hidetaka Hashiba noticed that Hideyoshi Hashiba was teasing everyone.
"Please rest assured, as long as the Oda family business is prosperous, there will be no problems with President Konishi.
The Uki family behind her really wanted to be close to the powerful Oda family, and would not alienate and neglect us just because we retreated from Sakai Port.
Okay, sister, stop teasing everyone, you know everyone can’t wait."
Hideyoshi Hashiba, who had been pretending to be serious about talking about business, was actually already happy in his heart. At this time, his sister scolded him and he finally couldn't hold back his laughter.
"Hahaha, look at their expressions, it's really interesting. Kato's eyes are about to pop out. Fukushima, are you in a hurry to urinate and why can't you sit still?
Okay, okay, stop joking, Takenaka-hime, come and make everyone happy."
Takenaka Shigeharu was not only Hashiba Hideyoshi's military advisor, but also taught all the concubines under her command in Owari Kingdom. She was both a teacher and a friend, and everyone respected her.
At this time, Takenaka Shigeharu saw that Hashiba Hideyoshi was so happy that he lost his composure. He also smiled and shook his head and said out of the queue.
"The main hall is generous and provides 120,000 stones from the surrounding area of Omi Castle in the north to reward the Lord for his merits.
My concubines, from now on you will call me Lord."
Although everyone expected a heavy reward, they did not expect Oda Nobunaga to be so generous and reward Hashiba Hideyoshi Tomoyuki with 120,000 koku.
The joy was unbearable for a moment, and everyone cheered together. The shouts were so loud that they almost overturned the roof.
Omi Kingdom is one of the largest countries in recent times, with a stone height of 780,000, and the advantage of Lake Biwa. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is the richest in the world.
Before the fall of the Asai family, they occupied six counties in Kita Omi, with a stone height of no less than 350,000 koku. With a wave of his hand, Oda Nobunaga allocated one-third of it to Hashiba Hideyoshi, which was extremely generous.
After the girls vented their anger, Hideyoshi Hashiba clapped his hands and said.
"Have you had enough trouble? It's getting late, and I'm tired when I come back from the celebration banquet, so let's call it a night.
Now, go back to sleep!"
After waiting for this good news, the group of people naturally stopped disturbing their master's rest and bowed to leave.
Hideyoshi Hashiba's knowledge and practice of 120,000 koku was indispensable for everyone's benefit.
But before the land was measured, divided and handed over, Hashiba Hideyoshi didn't know how to reward and enfeoff. It was useless for them to make a fuss now. They might as well go back to rest early, calculate carefully, and work hard behind their backs.
Hashiba Hideyoshi only left Hashiba Hidenaga and Takenaka Shigeharu behind. After everyone else had left, he sighed.
"I feel a little guilty about today's huge reward. The palace has given me so much that I don't know what to expect."
Hideyoshi Hashiba This is the truth.
She was originally just a person with a thousand stones from Owari, and she was able to serve as the garrison of Kyoto. Oda Nobunaga recognized Takenaka Shigeharu's contribution and made her extra important.
And because of his heroic efforts in the Battle of Kanazaki, he was rewarded with a thousand stone in Minami Omi, which gave him the honor to enter the Oda family.
But even with Oda Nobunaga's favor and promotion, Hashiba Hideyoshi, who was in charge of Yokoyama Castle, only had two thousand koku. Yokoyama Castle was a military officer, and Yokoyama Castle was not her place of knowledge and practice.
Although through the support of Oda Nobunaga, Niwa Nagahide gave Ushiba Hideyoshi enough money and food, so that Ushiba Hideyoshi could bribe the Kitaomi samurai family regardless of the cost and have some of his own team.
But no matter what, Oda Nobunaga promoted her from a low-level daimyo of two thousand koku to a daimyo of 120,000 koku, which was too fast.
Although today's Shiba Hideyoshi is not as good as Niwa Nagahide and Shibata Katsuie, his status is equivalent to that of Ikeda Tsuneaki, Sakuma Nobumori and other important ministers, and there is no room for concessions.
Hideyoshi was excited about Oda Nobunaga's promotion, but he was also a little flustered. He couldn't figure out what Oda Nobunaga was thinking.
Takenaka Shigeharu understood this clearly and said with a smile.
"My lord, don't worry too much. The palace's move does have profound meaning, but it is not directed at you alone.
If you think about it carefully, this time around the reward based on merit, will the Kitaomi Samurai family be rewarded generously and be highly valued?"