Chapter 1743 Introducing the Oda family to the Western Kingdom
Akechi Mitsuhide rubbed his brow, feeling very tired.
To outsiders, she looks good at dancing and lifts weights with ease, but in fact, which of the warriors she comes into contact with is the kindest person? Every word she says is carefully considered over and over again, and it takes a lot of energy to think before and after.
Even Hosokawa Fujitaka, who serves the saint together, has his own ideas and is not an NPC that Akechi Mitsuhide can manipulate at will.
Akechi Mitsuhide said.
"Before I came, Settsu had not yet been captured, and His Highness Oda was asking me if I could unblock Tanba to protect the Hatano family and make Hatano Hideharu surrender to the Oda family.
Hey, she didn't say it so openly, at least she brought the Shiba family with her to see if the Hatano family would be willing to surrender to Shiba Oda."
Hosokawa Fujitaka shook his head and said.
"We haven't conquered Long yet, but we are already looking forward to Shu. Your Highness Oda is really anxious. Isn't she really afraid of pushing herself to death?"
Akechi Mitsuhide smiled.
"When the saint returns to Kanto, he must integrate the Kanto samurai family and return them to the Kanto shrine. Once this is accomplished, half of the world will belong to the Shiba family. Of course His Highness Oda is anxious.
She also wants to conquer the world first, force the saints to make peace with her, and unite the Shiba and Oda families to rule together, so that all of us, the candidates for the divine descendants, will step aside."
Hosokawa Fujitakapi said with a smile.
"She dares to think about ruling the world alongside a saint. Who does she think she is?"
Akechi Mitsuhide let out a breath.
"She is Oda Nobunaga, and she thinks she is the only woman in the world who can conquer the saint.
The Echizen Oda Army had already launched an attack on Kaga Province. Shibata Katsuie took advantage of the spring plowing season to launch an offensive out of season, which forced Shibali Laizhou to flee to Obo on the Kanazawa Plain in embarrassment, unable to escape.
The Oda army was not a believer. Half of the Kaga country was taken away, and all the followers of the Ichijo religion who dared to resist were slaughtered.
No matter how loyal your faith is, it will be of no use in front of the butcher's knife. If the body is destroyed, how can the soul rely on it?"
Hosokawa Fujitaka sighed.
"Kaga Ichikui is going to die."
Akechi Mitsuhide shook his head and said.
"Now I don't care about Kaga's fate, but I am curious about whether His Highness Oda will stop after conquering Kaga.
The Etsuchu Ichiko clan fought with the saint and were beaten to pieces, and they surrendered quite completely. There was also the Noto Hatakeyama family, and Hatakeyama Yoshitsuna was single-handedly supported by the saint to return to Noto country and rule.
Back then, the saint and His Highness Uesugi went to Echuchu and won the battle. They won the hearts of all the merchants and reorganized the distribution of interests on the Hokuriku Road trade route. Only then did the Hokuriku Road trade route become stable over the years.
Originally, everyone was sitting in rows, sharing fruits, and living a good life. Now the Oda family came and killed them, breaking the balance.
After the Oda family occupied Kaga, the border was pushed to the two countries of Vietnam and China. What would the Vietnam-Chinese Ichikou clan and the Noto Hatakeyama family think?
The Shiba Oda family has the political system of Fushimi Castle to coordinate their interests, but the Hokurikudo families signed a peace agreement with the sage, His Highness Uesugi.
If His Majesty Oda insists on going his own way, the Saint may consider it carefully, but His Majesty Uesugi may not be willing to show weakness.
In the past two years, His Highness Uesugi has been giving birth and raising children in Kasugayama Castle, and many people seem to have forgotten His Highness's violent temper.
Your Highness Uesugi has a strong temper, and I hope His Highness Oda will not get carried away and cause trouble because of the success of the Settsu-Kaga two-country strategy."
Akechi Mitsuhide said he was worried, but his tone was gloating, which made Hosokawa Fujitaka shake his head.
Hosokawa Fujitaka finally figured out Akechi Mitsuhide's thoughts. Oda Nobunaga could develop westward, but Kanto is the private territory of the Shiba family, and the Oda family had better not go there and bring trouble on their own.
Among the three main routes in Kinki Kanto, the Nakasendo Road is rugged and difficult to navigate, and with the strong backbone of the Takeda family blocking the way, the Oda family will not look for trouble.
For the sake of Takeda Yoshinobu, the inexplicable illegitimate daughter, Shiba Yoshigan gathered his team and gave Oda Nobunaga a hard fight.
The two families have fought a bloody battle without gaining any benefit at all. They will not easily fall out with each other again. It is neither unwilling nor impossible.
After a fall of face, Shiba Yiyin lost 4 million koku of money and grain, and the political aftermath of Kanto was everywhere. Oda Nobunaga was beaten to a pulp, and his deterrence in maintaining a strong dictatorship was almost wiped out.
Oda Nobunaga will never take the initiative to trouble the Takeda family's hedgehog again. He can't eat meat and has to guard against being pricked again, so why bother.
As for the two lines, Hokurikudo and Tokaido.
Tokaido's Tokugawa Ieyasu behaved well on both sides. She always acted like an obedient little sister in front of Oda Nobunaga. Only regarding the matter of Shiba Yoshigan, Tokugawa Ieyasu always lied down and pretended to be dead.
Last time Shiba Oda started fighting, Tokugawa Ieyasu cried and shouted to his brothers and sisters not to fight. I was so embarrassed! Then he huddled in a corner and didn't interfere at all, leaving Oda Nobunaga speechless for a while.
Now, Tokugawa Ieyasu is licking his face and begging Ushiba Yoshigan to reopen the Tokaido trade route. There is a peaceful atmosphere in Tokaido seeking wealth, and even the Takeda family has voluntarily given up Suruga Country to express sincerity.
The Tokugawa, Takeda, and Hojo families refused to fight the Tokaido, and Oda Nobunaga couldn't find a reason to intervene, so he had to give up.
Now, the only breakthrough point through which the Oda family can penetrate Kanto is on the Hokuriku Road.
Capturing Kaga and marching into Noto, Vietnam and China was almost an inevitable choice for Oda Nobunaga, but here Mitsuhide Akechi pretended to be worried that the Oda-Uesugi family would fight.
Hosokawa Fujitaka can guarantee that even if the Oda-Uesugi family did not want to fight, Akechi Mitsuhide would instigate the two families to fight, and the Oda family would still be beaten violently.
Only when Oda Nobunaga suffered a big loss would she restrain herself, return her attention to the west, and expand westward along the path Akechi Mitsuhide hoped.
Hosokawa Fujitaka shook his head, Akechi Mitsuhide was full of bad ideas, she really didn't want to know too much.
As long as we maintain our relationship with the saint and give birth to the saint's descendants, the status of the Izumi-Hosokawa family, a famous family in Western Kinki, will be as stable as Mount Tai.
Hosokawa Fujitaka really has no interest in causing too much trouble. She is quite content now and doesn't want to make any more fuss. Akechi Mitsuhide doesn't like anything, as long as she is dragged down.
She changed the subject.
"You just mentioned the Hatano family of Tanba Kingdom. Do you still want to help His Highness Oda persuade Hatano Hideharu to surrender to the Oda family?"
Akechi Mitsuhide shook his head and said.
"The Hatano family is independent in Tanba country. The mountains are high and the city is thick, making it difficult to conquer. Why should they kowtow to the Oda family?
Even if the Oda family pulls over the Shiba family, the Hatano family will at most surrender superficially, but they will not give up their independence.
But the Hatano family will not be able to pass this test easily. Tamba Country is the easternmost territory of the Yamayin Road. It is not only the starting point of the Western Kingdom, but also the barrier of Kyoto. His Highness Oda will never let the Hatano family off easily.
I plan to clear things up first and get the Hatano family to agree that the Oda Shiba family can use the Tanba Kingdom to enter and leave the Western Kingdom.
As for the matter of surrender or not, we can talk about it later. At worst, I will use my old father as a guarantee and ask Hatano Hideji to go to Azuchi Castle to discuss it with His Highness Oda in person."
Hosokawa Fujitaka nodded, but did not notice a trace of gloom in Akechi Mitsuhide's brows.
If Akechi Mitsuhide wants to kill Oda Nobunaga justifiably, she must have a justifiable reason. The cheap old man she found has been enjoying life under the nose of Oda Nobunaga in Azuchi Castle.
Eat well, drink well, and always go on the road. The revenge of killing his father was enough to convince the Kinki samurai family that Akechi Mitsuhide was betraying him, and they were willing to help Akechi Mitsuhide.
Of course, the time to take action is not yet ripe, and the plan to send my father to death will have to wait.
Akechi Mitsuhide said.
"In the land of Kanto, there is no need to worry about His Highness Oda. His Highness Uesugi will help me convince the stubborn Lord Oda to turn back.
After the Oda family takes Settsu Stone Mountain and clears the Tanba Kingdom, His Highness Oda's next target will be the Western Kingdom.
The Maori family is already the overlord of the Western Kingdom, and the Nizi old party has a deep feud with the Maori family. If the Oda family wants to conquer the West, the Nizi old party will definitely ask to get involved, and our Shiba family just wants to get a share of the pie.
I just don’t know who His Highness Oda will send to conquer the Western Kingdom, and can I get closer to that person?”
Hosokawa Fujitaka glanced at Akechi Mitsuhide suspiciously. She knew that Akechi Mitsuhide had been secretly inciting the emotions of a party in Nizi Mountain in Kinki Shiba Territory recently, which made Nizi Katsuhisa very angry and helpless.
But would Akechi Mitsuhide really be so kind and help the Nizi family return to the West?
You should know that Nizi Katsuhisa and Yamanaka Yukimori were deeply trusted by the saint, and they served as the acting magistrate of Kinki Shiba and the deacon of the Kanto service office respectively.
The Nizi Mountain Party is located in Kinki Kanto and is already the largest force in the Shiba family. If it takes over the Western Territory, it will be the only one with a strong position.
Akechi Mitsuhide and Nizi Katsuhisa didn't get along happily in Kinki Shiba. There was a lot of friction. They just wanted to show respect to each other on stage. Would she be so kind to Nizi Katsuhisa?
Being attentive for nothing, committing adultery or stealing, Hosokawa Fujitaka always felt that Nizi Katsuhisa was going to be unlucky.
In fact, Hosokawa Fujitaka thought too lightly, and Akechi Mitsuhide not only wished for the misfortune of Niko Katsuhisa, but also longed for Niko Katsuhisa's death.
Oda Nobunaga was surly and mean, but the samurai family admired the strong, and those who disobeyed the strong must have sufficient reasons. To make the Oda family hate Oda Nobunaga deeply, in addition to being quick afterward, they had to work harder.
Western country has more mountains and less land, with eight points of Sanyo country and five points of Sanin country. The total stone height of the thirteen countries is not as high as the stone height of two Mino and Owari countries.
In the Oda family, whoever was moved by Oda Nobunaga to gnaw on the hard nut of the Western Kingdom would be dissatisfied.
This was Oda Nobunaga's internal worry.
Secondly, Nizi Shōhisa was so virtuous and highly respected that he gathered together the old wandering Nizi party in the Western Kingdom and took charge of the internal affairs of Kinki Shiba Territory.
In recent years, most of the benevolent policies and benefits announced by Shiba Yoshigan in Kinki were implemented by Nizi Katsuhisa. The samurai family under the leadership of Shiba in Kinki were very grateful to this acting official who was serious and responsible.
If Katsuhisa Nizi died in the Western Kingdom, and was killed by the Oda family in the Western Kingdom, both the Nizi Mountain Party and other samurai families in the Kinki Shiba region would be extremely resentful towards the Oda family.
This constituted Oda Nobunaga's foreign invasion.
Once internal and external troubles form a combined force, even a strong leader like Oda Nobunaga will be overwhelmed and unable to take care of everything. At that time, it is the best time for Akechi Mitsuhide to take action.
Hosokawa Fujitaka saw Akechi Mitsuhide sitting there elegantly and meditating, with a deeper and deeper smile on his face. Suddenly, he felt uneasy in his heart and asked.
"What are Mitsuhide thinking?"
Akechi Mitsuhide said.
"I'm thinking...after we go to Sakai Port, how can we convince Takada Haruno to cooperate with us to block the Maori family's maritime support to Ishiyama Honganji Temple.
Ishiyama Honganji Temple is strong, and the best strategy is to completely isolate Ishiyama, so that Xian Rushangren will fall into despair and surrender voluntarily.
Once Morishige Dobashi died, the Nishi-Kinki samurai family already understood my determination. The Shiba family and the Mori family were at odds with each other, and no one dared to help Ishiyama secretly.
Over the years, the Ichikikai clan has been continuously suppressed by His Highness Oda. The Ichikikai clan's influence in Mikawa, Ise, and Omi has almost been uprooted. Especially the Nagashima Ichikikai clan suffered a tragic end, with all their members slaughtered.
Now that Kaga and Ichikui are about to be destroyed, it is clear that the master no longer has the strength and confidence to continue to deal with the Oda family.
As long as the Maori family's maritime foreign aid is cut off, Master Ru will not be able to hold on for long and will choose to compromise."
Hosokawa Fujitaka felt relieved and said with a smile.
"What's the problem? I'll just walk with you to Sakai Port.
I occupy the Sakai Port Customs Office and have to deal with Takada Yono from time to time. We both benefit from cooperation and hurt from our resentment. She always gives me some bad treatment.
Furthermore, everything you do is based on the cooperation mechanism of the Fushimi Castle system and prevents the Ashikaga General who is held hostage by the Mori family from messing up.
The authorization for the Fushimi Castle system comes from the sage. If Takada Yono is dissatisfied, he can write a letter to appeal to the sage, but he cannot refuse your reasonable request in person.
So don’t worry, even if she is unwilling, as long as you give her face and greet her properly, she can only follow our actions and will not make any mistakes in secret and cause trouble for herself."
Akechi Mitsuhide smiled and bowed.
"This will cause trouble for Fujitaka."
Hosokawa Fujitaka bowed in return.
"It is the duty of the shogunate warriors like us to serve the saint."