Chapter 1606: Si Bo’s righteous man wins people’s hearts
The Ashikaga Huizhu, the Hime Samurai Order formed by the third generation shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, was once synonymous with the shortcut to Zhongnan.
After opening up trade with the Ming Dynasty, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu accumulated a large amount of wealth and began to divide the powerful samurai who threatened the shogunate, centralize power, and stabilize the status of the Ashikaga Shogun.
The method she chose was to pull one faction to fight another, using checks and balances to weaken the threat of the powerful samurai family to the Ashikaga shoguns, so that the Ashikaga family could become the co-leader of the samurai alliance and truly become the people of the world.
Ashikaga Yoshimitsu used the wealth from the Kankai trade to recruit the second daughters of the samurai family who had no inheritance rights, and branched out to the common people to form a huge corps of 3,000 Hime warriors.
Then, when there was a succession change in each family, the Ashikaga Shogun's decision-making power was used to send the Ashikaga Hui clan's cronies back to support them in their fight for inheritance rights.
Some samurai chose to surrender. For those who were unwilling to surrender, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu would personally lead the Ashikaga horse back to the crowd to shock them.
The finances are not as rich as the general's, and the military force is not as strong as the general's. If you beat the stubborn warrior a few times, the remaining guys will know how to choose to obey, and the master will send the person who the general likes to take office.
As a result, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu gained the admiration and loyalty of a large number of young samurai warriors, and accomplished the hegemony that even a generation of generals, Ashikaga Takauji, could not accomplish. The Ashikaga family finally conquered the world for two hundred years.
However, no matter how magnificent the hegemony is, it will come to an end sooner or later. Ashikaga Kaizu, who once made the world's samurai bow down and fear, has now become a beggar's son who can't even get a salary.
As early as after the death of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, the Ashikaga family's joint trade was usurped by the Hosokawa family and the Ouchi family.
Later, these two families competed for tribute in Ningbo and caused Japanese rebellion, which angered the Ming Dynasty and cut off the trading rights that Ashikaga Yoshimitsu had finally obtained from Ming Chengzu.
Having lost this economic pillar, the Ashikaga family's finances have shrunk. In addition, samurai families from various places have continued to encroach on the Ashikaga shogun's imperial palace, resulting in the Ashikaga family's financial income continuing to deteriorate.
In the hands of the 13th generation shogun Ashikaga Yoshiteru, the Ashikaga family's finances had already been unable to make ends meet. Only 500 of the three thousand Ashikaga Kaimen who were once powerful in the world were left.
But even if it shrunk to 500 Hime samurai, the Ashikaga family could not afford to support them. Their salary and salary stopped for a while, and they could barely maintain the loyalty of the Hime samurai by relying on the afterglow of the Ashikaga shogun.
By the time of Ashikaga Yoshiaki, the life of the Ashikaga Hashira became even more difficult. It was no longer a question of whether one would be paid or not, but it had never been a problem before.
Before Ashikaga Yoshiaki came to Raku, military supplies relied on the Shiba family and the Oda family for support. After she secured her position as shogun, she caused a scandal that threw dirt on Yoshigan.
Yoshihiro retreated to his residence, Yukino was seriously injured and fell into a coma, Haruno became furious, and the Kyoto shogunate never received any benefits from the Hokurikudo trade route.
The feud between Oda Nobunaga and Ashikaga Yoshiaki led to him taking away the Sakamoto Castle controlled by Hitoshi Yoshimasa and taking away the Ashikaga Hui's last base for military supplies.
Niki Yoshimasa did not dare to return to Kyoto, so he went directly to Iga country, and was protected by Yoshigan by virtue of the kindness he had given to Yoshigan as the guardian of Iga.
However, things turned out badly for the Ashikaga warriors. Ashikaga Yoshiaki showed off as a general in Nijo Castle, sent out several imperial letters, and set up Nobunaga's siege twice, which seemed majestic.
But this poor princess was hated by the Shiba family and the Oda family. She was trapped in Kyoto by Oda Nobunaga and was forced to accept the terms of being called the royal mother. The Ashikaga family's finances collapsed and they could not get a penny.
The Ashikaga Kaishou not only have to serve as guard dogs for Nijo Castle, but they are also wild dogs that cannot even get a salary and bring their own dry food.
Ashikaga Yoshiaki served as a shogun for three years, and Ashikaga Huishou worked in vain for three years.
In these troubled times, the landlords' families have no surplus food, and the families of many Hime samurai members of the Ashikaga Hui clan have long been unable to solve the problem, and their lives are extremely miserable.
Ashikaga Yoshiaki also knew that during her three-year career as a general in Kyoto, she had never been kind to others, and she had a lot of grievances against the Hime warriors below.
Therefore, when Ashikaga Yoshiaki ran away, he did not dare to take the Ashikaga Hikari with him. He just took the person who usually took care of him and ran away secretly.
Now when talking about the experience of the Ashikama Hui people, Yoshigage is not very sad.
Maeda Toshiie also sighed.
"I didn't expect that the former No. 1 Princess Warriors, the Ashikaga family that shocked the world's smallest and most powerful armies, would have fallen to this level.
Saint, since they have come to ask for help, how are you going to reply to them?"
Yiyin sighed.
"I am a survivor of the ancestors and an elder of the Genji. I have a responsibility for the direct succession of the Genji in Hanoi.
Ashikaga Yoshiaki did not want to be a human being and regarded the shadow of his ancestors as a burden, so he lost his job. But little did she know that what she lost was the people's heart and military morale, and the respect that the world's martial arts had for the direct descendants of the Genji family in Kawachi.
Ashikaga Yoshiaki can stop doing human affairs, but I dare not not shoulder this heavy burden for her.
Oda Nobunaga already regarded himself as the elder of the Taira clan and wanted to establish Oda Kōki. If the direct descendants of Kawachi Genji gave up on themselves and Ashikaga Kōki was lost, Oda Nobunaga would be extremely happy.
This time, it was the Ashikaga General who abandoned the loyal Ashikaga Horsemen. Those Hime warriors who have not received a salary in three years, how desperate are they now? How angry will they be towards Genji?
To reverse this bad influence, I must give a clear attitude.
I decided, in the name of the elders of the Genji family, to commend these five hundred Ashikaga horses who have never given up and maintained their loyalty for free, and recognized their loyalty.
I will officially grant them the title of Spo's martyrdom and enjoy the same treatment as Spo's official staff."
Maeda Toshiie was shocked. She did not expect that Yoshihiro would treat these Ashikaga members so favorably.
I thought that the most the Yoshino Bank would do was give some money and food, but those Ashikaga members were actually desperate and were living worse than beggars. Giving them some money and food would make them grateful.
But Yiyin was unexpectedly generous and directly gave five hundred people the title of Spo's righteous soldiers.
Maeda Toshiie was silent for a moment and said.
"Saint, in recent years, the coalition forces have won a bitter battle at Yuwu Lake, and there are only two to three hundred Ji warriors from each family who have received the title of Sibo martyr.
The Ashikama Hui clan has never done anything for the Shiba family, so you generously gave five hundred Shiba martyrs and enjoyed the same treatment as Shiba's establishment. I'm afraid many people outside will feel it's unfair."
Yiyin shook his head and said.
"When I grant Sibo the title of martyr, I will write an open letter to inform the world.
From the death of their ancestors to the current shogun Nishikari, the Ashikaga clan has not received a single cent of the Ashikaga family's reward, but they have been able to uphold justice, fulfill their duties loyally, and never leave.
The Ashikaga Horsemen were worthy of the righteousness of the samurai family, but it was Ashikaga Shogun who failed them.
The general may be confused, but Genji is not confused. As an elder of the Genji, I recognize their loyalty, and the title of Shiba's righteous soldier is not a favor to them from me, but a compensation given by the Genji to them."
Maeda Toshiie somewhat understood.
Ashikaga Yoshiaki ran away, and she went to Tomo in Bingo Province. With the support of the Mori family, she reopened the shogunate and established a new central government. This made the Kyoto shogunate an embarrassing existence.
Yoshigan has always been committed to justice. This time, he must also stand on the moral high ground and suppress Ashikaga Yoshiaki. If he wants to stabilize the hearts of people inside and outside the shogunate, he must nail Ashikaga Yoshiaki to the pillar of shame.
Oda Nobunaga has already begun to establish his own Oda Gonggi and Taira regime. If Yoshigan does not suppress the runaway general Ashikaga Yoshiaki, the world belonging to the Genji family may collapse at any time.
Although the Taira regime of Oda Nobunaga also respected the saint Yoshigin.
But for Yiyin, before the future political situation is determined, maintaining a balance between the two sides of the Genji and Taira families is better than letting Oda Nobunaga's family dominate.
The title of Shiba's martyr is itself used to win over the elite samurai warriors of the recent alliance families, making them love Shiba, and subtly strengthening the centripetal force of each family towards the Shiba family.
Although the five hundred Ashikama Hui members live like beggars, they are not real beggars after all. Their ancestors were once rich, and they also have many relatives and friends inside and outside the shogunate.
The fact that Hatakeyama Takamasa was willing to go to Ui-Ginza to deliver a message for them shows that these people have considerable political energy.
Although Yiyin can spend a small amount of money to win over them, to do something like showing kindness, you either don't do it, or you have to do it in one step, which is to have the impact of knocking people unconscious in that moment.
The title of the 500 Spo's martyr was thrown away, and he suddenly changed from a beggar with no food to a man who enjoyed the benefits of Spo's establishment.
Ashikaga members will immediately become die-hard loyalists of the Shiba family in the shogunate and become the anchor of the Shiba family's control of the shogunate.
Not to mention that the shogunate samurai had done anything bad to Yoshigami, even if Ashikaga Yoshiaki came back in person, the Ashikaga warriors would still dare to swing their swords at her.
After being lucky enough to rise from hell to heaven, who would want to go back to hell again? Even if the Ashikaga shogun stopped him, the Ashikaga warriors would still dare to kill him.
Loyalty and betrayal are two sides of the same coin as the samurai family. If Ashikaga Yoshiaki chose to give up their loyalty, then Yoshigan happily accepted it.