After listening to Takenaka Shigeharu’s analysis, Hideyoshi’s jealousy slowly dissipated, replaced by awe of Oda Nobunaga’s decisive decision.
Hideyoshi Hashiba sighed.
"It seems that the main hall is determined to win next year's war.
Echizen Kingdom handed over more than 400,000 dan without blinking an eye. If it were me, I would not be able to bear this decisiveness."
Takenaka Shigeharu said.
“The purpose of the main hall is not only in Echizen Province, but also in Kitanomi Takashima County.
Oda Nobsumi was sent to Takashima County and became the adopted daughter of Isono Danmasa. The Oda family was a member of the noble family, but they had to condescend to be the daughter of a surrender of the Asai family.
The main hall has great plans, and it no longer cares about the temporary face, and attempts to carry out the old affairs of the Kitahata family.
Kitahata Nobubo now controls the Minami Ise territory, and the Kitahata samurai family is surrounded by the North and South Oda territories. They are much more peaceful than before, and the Oda family's rule in Ise country has also become stable.
Kitanomi Takashima County has a special location. One end leads to the entrance of Hokuriku Road to and from Konki, and the other end is close to the border of the mountain city of Kyoto.
It seems that the main hall is still worried about Masa Isono. This time, Oda Nobucheng was sent to supervise, and he will probably replace him in the future.
Once Takashima County is controlled by the direct descendants of the Oda family, the land of Kitaomi will be separated from the Shiba family's sphere of influence, and there will naturally be less thought of standing on the fence."
Hideyoshi Hashiba sighed.
"It's a pity that Isono Umasa, a fierce general, is destined to move his seat to make a wedding dress for Oda Nobsumi."
Takenaka Shigeharu smiled.
"That's not necessarily the case."
Hashiba Hideyoshi frowned.
"Don't you dare to resist Isono Umasa?
The main hall is powerful, and there is always a tragedy in front of it. Anyone who dares to resist at the critical moment of Shiba Oda's battle will definitely be hated by the main hall and bring disaster to the whole clan.
I don't think Masa Isono has the guts to do that. When Kitahata Goji was forced to do that by Kitahata Shinpao, he was just seeking asylum from Tsutado-den and escaping to Yamato country with his children.
Now that the main hall is more powerful, how many people in the past had the courage to take the risk?"
Takenaka Shigeharu seemed to have some inner fluctuations, and he coughed again. His face turned red and he looked at Hideyoshi Hashiba.
"Naturally, Masa Isono has no guts to resist, but whether she will or not is not up to her to decide. It depends on whether you need her to rebel."
Hashiba Hideyoshi was stunned and repeated.
"I?"
Takenaka Shigeharu nodded and said in a deep voice.
"Soon, the Shiba-Oda family will go to war, and this war will determine the status of the Shiba-Oda family's future relations.
And you, my lord, do you want the Oda family to win in this battle, or the Shiba family to win?"
Hashiba Hideyoshi trembled all over and subconsciously looked outside the door. The sliding door was tightly closed, leaving only Takenaka Shigeharu and himself in the room, which was very private.
She squinted at Takenaka Shigeharu and whispered.
"Hime Takenaka...what do you think?"
Takenaka Shigeharu smiled.
"If you wholeheartedly want to be a loyal minister of the Oda family, you will naturally fully cooperate with the main hall's strategy, suppress Isono Umasa, and become Oda Nobsumi's help in controlling Takashima County.
Originally, the main hall arranged for you to stay in Kitaomi River and rewarded you with a generous reward of 120,000 shi of knowledge, just to give you the absolute strength to suppress the local samurai family.
Whether it's Aguan Zhenzheng's more than 20,000 dan or Isono Yuanma's 60,000 dan, they are both far inferior to you.
But if you are ambitious, you should think more about other possibilities."
Hideyoshi Hashiba asked.
"how do I say this?"
Takenaka Shigeharu said.
"The fight between the Shiba and Oda families is actually not to eliminate each other, but to determine their future political status.
In terms of strength, both sides have their own strengths and weaknesses, and it is difficult to eliminate the other in one fell swoop.
It is easy to fight a battle to decide who is better, but if you fight with the intention of destroying the opponent, you will probably end up with two tigers fighting each other, both sides will suffer losses, and in the end you will gain the advantage of others.
Both Tsudo-den and the main hall are well aware of this. Therefore, the two sides in this battle are only competing for the dominance of future interactions, and it is by no means a life-and-death struggle.
Tsuta-den is a strange man from the samurai family. He is benevolent, righteous, and trustworthy, and all samurai families in the world respect and admire him. Even if the Shiba family loses this battle and loses to the Oda family, the main hall will not really do anything to Tsuta-den.
Tsutaden has too much political value. It is the elder of the Genji family, the patron saint of the samurai family, the protector of Buddhism, and the designated successor of Hachiman Tainiang.
The humiliation and persecution of Tsutaden by the main hall will only arouse the resentment and anger of samurai families around the world towards the Oda family, and will be harmful rather than beneficial to the Oda Gongyi that the main hall is planning.
The Oda family's innovative policies have aroused the vigilance and fear of too many samurai families.
Although the main hall has a huge mobilization power of three million stones, the total stone height of the sixty-six countries in the world is twenty million stones.
It is not a wise move to really force the world's samurai family into a corner, make them jump over the wall in a hurry, and fight the Oda family to the death.
The best way is to divide and disintegrate, fight and pull together. Appease some Wu families, then attack some Wu families, and finally make the world surrender.
The Shiba faction headed by Tsudoden is the one the main hall wants to win over.
The main hall acquiesced in Mitsuhide Akechi's promotion of the Genpei fusion at Oda's house, in order to prepare public opinion for marrying Tsutado-don after defeating him.
In fact, there is no real irreconcilable conflict between the Shiba family and the Oda family, because the head of the Shiba family is a man.
If two women fight for power, one of them will inevitably die, but between a man and a woman, what can't they talk about?
As long as the main house marries Tsuta-dono and gives birth to a blood heir belonging to the two of them, all the political problems between the Shiba and Oda families can be perfectly resolved.
And marrying Tsuda-dono and taking over the Shiba family is equivalent to giving allies in Shiba's camp a step to win them over to accept the existence of Oda Kyouki.
The Ashikaga shoguns in Kyoto have long since disappeared, and as long as the Tsuta-den is defeated in the main hall, there will no longer be a leader in the world who can command the group of women and establish a united front against Oda.
With the power of the Oda family today, as long as the martial arts families in the world cannot unite to fight, it is only a matter of time before the main hall unifies the world."
Hashiba Hideyoshi listened to Takenaka Shigeharu's explanation, but his mind went blank, leaving only the scene of Oda Nobunaga marrying Shiba Yoshigan.
So, Oda Nobunaga tried his best to win this battle just to force Yoshigan Shiba to marry her?
Hashiba Hideyoshi's heart became empty, and he determined to climb from an unknown person to the position of 120,000 koku daimyo in six years. The initial starting point was that night in the corner.
That night, she made up her mind to work hard to climb up and become a very important person.
Then...she wants to be the woman who sleeps with Shiba Yiyin in the house, instead of spending the night cuddling in the corner in the cold spring, listening to the man she loves moaning and turning under someone else.
Today's Hideyoshi Hashiba holds a territory of 120,000 koku, and is already a great man in the eyes of ordinary people.
However, in the eyes of the two superiors, Oda Nobunaga and Shiba Yoshigan, Hashiba Hideyoshi was just a nobody.
Hideyoshi Hashiba asked himself.
Is it going to end here? Is it going to stop here? Will Shiba Yiyin always become an existence that is beyond my reach?
Hashiba Hideyoshi gritted his teeth and asked.
"If, as a loyal minister of Oda, I wholeheartedly assist Oda Nobusumi in supervising Isono Emasa and help the main hall win this war, what harm will it do to me?"
Hideyoshi Hashiba wanted to resist, to resist Oda Nobunaga, who was pressing down on her like a mountain, who would always make her breathless.
But she didn't dare. Her heart was full of awe for Oda Nobunaga. Oda Nobunaga was a strong man that she could never compare to. She could only follow in Oda Nobunaga's footsteps and be a follower with peace of mind.
If he wanted to resist Oda Nobunaga and keep the possibility of pursuing Yoshigan Shiba, Hashiba Hideyoshi needed a reason, a strong reason to convince himself.
She is already a famous person with 120,000 kilograms, and many people under her command eat with her. She is no longer the unknown person who did not know the heights of the world. She can no longer do whatever she wants and willfully.
Hashiba Hideyoshi looked at Takenaka Shigeharu with blazing eyes. She was eager to get a sufficient reason from Takenaka Shigeharu to resist Oda Nobunaga.
And Takenaka Shigeharu did not disappoint Hideyoshi Hideyoshi, calmly analyzing.
"The expansion of the Oda family has reached a critical moment. If we can defeat the Shiba family in one battle, we will have no rivals in the next few days.
If Tsutaden is forced to marry into the Oda family after the war, and the Shiba clan surrenders, do you think you will have a chance to make progress in the future?
Following the Owari Princesses who rose to prominence, the Mino Princesses led by the three Mino people, plus the surrendered Ise samurai family and the Omi samurai family.
In addition to the important ministers of the Shiba family, Hatakeyama Hosokawa Mibuchi and other shogunate samurai families who have close ties with the Shiba family.
The available talents in the palace's hands will become more and more abundant, enough to conquer the world.
After defeating the Sibo family, the possibility of successfully conquering the world became more and more real.
The Owari Mino girls, who were originally little rich, would also be very energetic and want to leave a rich family fortune for future generations.
The main hall now has no shortage of people, and the retainers' group is stimulated by ambition again. The talent problem that originally restricted the main hall's external expansion has been completely solved.
At that time, why should the main hall still reuse you, Lord?
My subordinates are saying something presumptuous, you are just a servant from Owari, but to reach the status of a 120,000 koku daimyo today, you have already reached the sky in one step.
If everything goes well for the palace and the martial arts under his command actively forge ahead, you, the catfish responsible for stirring up a pool of stagnant water, will have no use value.
Although you are from Owari, you are not as close as Niwa Nagahide and Ikeda Tsuneki, and your prestige is far inferior to Shibata Katsuie and Sakuma Nobumori.
If you enjoy your current status and are satisfied with the glory of the 120,000-koku daimyo, then you can play your role as a loyal minister step by step and help the palace defeat the Shiba family with all your heart."
Hashiba Hideyoshi frowned, thought for a while, shook his head and said.
"I know the temper of the main hall very well. She will not tolerate anyone lying down and enjoying themselves. If I am content with the status quo, I am afraid that sooner or later she will catch her and cut off my territory and remove my power."
Hashiba Hideyoshi did not say that she had restless thoughts in her heart and wanted to go further. She just said that Oda Nobunaga was a difficult leader to follow, and he liked to cross rivers and burn bridges, and confiscated the rewards given.
Takenaka Shigeharu naturally understood the implication of Hideyoshi Hashiba's words, which was unwillingness. This was also the answer Takenaka Shigeharu wanted to hear.
Back then, Takenaka Shigeharu refused Oda Nobunaga's solicitation and stayed with Hashiba Hideyoshi, hoping for a promising future and proving herself that she was Yao Guangtiao who wanted to help lead the successful rebellion.
Hashiba Hideyoshi and Takenaka Shigeharu had a long-standing friendship. Hashiba Hideyoshi wanted to climb up to the highest place. Takenaka Shigeharu appreciated Hashiba Hideyoshi and tried his best to help him.
If Hashiba Hideyoshi was satisfied with his current position and remained a loyal minister of the Oda family, Takenaka Shigeharu would be very, very disappointed.
Fortunately, Hashiba Hideyoshi's words showed reluctance, which made Takenaka Shigeharu cheer up and said with a smile.
"The main hall has a surly temperament and is moody.
Lin Xiuzhen, Ando Mamoru and other old Owari Mino warriors all turned against each other when they wanted to, and directly deprived them of their territory and expelled them from their situation.
Although this move shocked the comfortable and hedonistic people among the retainers, it also chilled everyone's hearts.
The old samurai from Owari would invest in real estate and stocks in the Shiba family, just because they were worried that one day the palace would fall out and they would end up like Lin Xiuzhen.
Compared to the kindness of Tsuta-den, the main hall can be described as mean and ungrateful, which is indeed worrying.
Moreover, the main hall has always been arbitrary and ruthless in doing things, taking everything and taking away everything. If you have no use value, it is really hard to say whether this 120,000 stone territory can be preserved in the future."
Hideyoshi Hashiba nodded.
"So I'm not disloyal to the palace, I'm just trying to protect myself, and I need to think more about it."
Takenaka Shigeharu laughed.
"The Lord is right."
Hideyoshi Hashiba asked.
"So, assuming that the outcome of the battle between Shiba Oda is that Tsudo-den wins and the main-den is defeated, will it be a benefit or disadvantage to me?"
Takenaka Shigeharu said.
"Neither of the Shiba Oda family can destroy the other in one battle. Even if the main hall is defeated, Tsutado-don will just give up and never push the main hall to a dead end.
With the main hall's temperament and strength, if Tsutado-don really wants to accomplish something, the main hall will definitely do its best to counterattack and drag the Shiba family to death.
The foundation of Jinduo Hall is not as strong as that of the main hall, so he will definitely not want to try it due to this backlash."
Hideyoshi Hashiba said.
"So, even if the Shiba family wins, Tsudo Hall will not push people too hard, and the main hall can still escape intact."
Takenaka Shigeharu nodded.
"Yes, but if the main hall fails, her plan to marry Tsudado will go bankrupt.
Because of the defeat, the Oda family's sweeping trend across the world is at risk of being interrupted, the aggressiveness of the Oda retainers group will be weakened, and the idea of defending the existing territory and being content with the small fortune will rise again.
If she fails to capture the Shiba family's main hall, she will inevitably face the follow-up situation of people being distracted, and she will be very short of people.
And as your proactive lord, your value in the heart of the hall will become more and more important.
In addition, in order to continue to conquer the world, the main hall had to seek cooperation with the Shiba family, and Tsutado-den was able to take the initiative in the exchanges between the Shiba and Oda families.
You and Tsudado met in Owari, and your relationship has been good over the years.
If the Shiba Oda family really wants to join forces to conquer the world, your personal friendship with Tsutado-den will also add a lot of points to your reputation in the palace."
Hideyoshi Hashiba smiled.
"So, it would be most beneficial to me if the Spo family wins this battle?"