The anti-corruption operation that started in the spring will last for a long time. It is necessary to uncover countless bad elements hiding in the Kanto samurai family and give a clear explanation to the lower levels of the Kanto samurai family.
The anti-corruption campaign that penetrated deep into Kanto also completely shattered the intricate old power network of Kanbashi, and completely integrated the entire Kanbashi into the new system of Kanto shrines ruled by the Shiba family.
During this period, the saint stayed in Edo Castle without saying a word, but became the anchor of stability in the political situation of the eight states.
Since his debut, Shiba Yoshigan has been invincible in every battle and has become an insurmountable mountain in the hearts of the Kanto warriors.
He was in the Edo town, and all the Kanto warriors did not dare to use force to resist the investigation of the Sanada inspection team, and could only cooperate obediently.
After this battle, Umino Riichi became famous in one battle. She was no longer the silent woman behind Sanada Nobushige, but an iron-faced judge known throughout Kanto.
Through this incident, the Sanada clan became the rising fourth strongest clan in Kanto, and gradually had a tendency to stand alongside the three strongest clans.
As for Sanada Nobushige, who was silently raising her child in Azuma County, it was the divine seed in her arms that gave Sanada the confidence to show his sword.
As long as Sanada Nobushige has a divine descendant, the Sanada people will not be afraid of any outdated Kanto famous family. These days, a true famous family has a Shiba divine descendant.
I am from a famous family!
Sanada Nobushige avoided the limelight, but Umino Riichi, who was slightly unknown, was forced to rush to the front-line stage and was scrutinized by many eyes. I don't know whether it was a blessing or a curse.
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In late winter and early spring, just as the anti-corruption campaign in Kanto was just beginning, Hashiba Hideyoshi, who was far away in the Western Kingdom, was also preparing carefully for the new year's expedition.
The Oda Legion relied on its own abundant capital and liked to use off-season warfare. Starting a war before spring plowing and suppressing the opponent while the opponent was busy with farming was also a common move of Hashiba Hideyoshi.
This winter, Hashiba Hideyoshi was not having a comfortable life. She was called the General of the Western Kingdom and commanded the Western Army. She seemed to have a bright future, but in fact, there was a turbulent undercurrent, and there were three difficulties lying in front of her.
First, the Nizi army defeated the Izumo Kingdom, and the Mori family temporarily removed the threat from Sanin's front line, and could fully deal with Hashiba Hideyoshi of Sanyo Road.
After all, the Mori family is a famous samurai family, occupying the ten countries of the Western Kingdom, with a stone height of millions. Even if there is a loose alliance of samurai families within, it is not a weakling that Hashiba Hideyoshi can easily attack with a small force.
The Oda family was strong, but Hideyoshi Hashiba only had the old Kitaomi clan, the Harima clan was slightly more powerful, and the peripheral samurai families such as Bizen Misaku were not reliable.
Oda Nobunaga did send troops and troops to help, but the Oda family now has a large business and many conquests, and the Western Kingdom is not the only direction.
Kitahata Nobuba of Ise serves as the general general of the Shikoku strategy, and is assisted by the family elder Niwa Nagahide, who wants to expand territory on Shikoku Island.
Shibata Katsuie won Kaga Country through diplomatic efforts, and is cooperating with Maeda Toshiie to change the seal and digest this new territory.
Ikeda Hengxing was stationed in Settsu Province and surrendered the local samurai. The neighboring Tanba Kingdom was still in rebellion. As the general logistics station for the two-way strategy of the Western Kingdom and Shikoku, Ikeda Hengxing was under considerable pressure.
Oda Nobunaga himself sat in Azuchi Castle, stabilizing the rear area and conveying power to all parties.
Hashiba Hideyoshi is only the general in one direction and does not get much help. She must rely on the existing power in her hands to fight against the Mori family, which is not easy.
Secondly, the collusion with the Mori family that led to the defeat of Nishi's army, the assassination of Nishi Katsuhisa, and the instigation of Oda Nobunaga to kill Hatano Hideharu were all done by the conspiracy of Hashiba Hideyoshi and Akechi Mitsuhide.
The Shiba family has sent people to investigate in the Western Kingdom. Sooner or later, they will pull out the assassination of Nizi Katsuhisa. If they follow the clues, they are afraid that a series of conspiracies will be exposed and the truth will be revealed.
At that time, Oda Nobunaga will definitely be furious, and Hashiba Hideyoshi will be in great trouble.
In order to consolidate his strategic goal of dominating the Western Kingdom, Hashiba Hideyoshi made a deal with the devil.
That devil Akechi Mitsuhide must have hidden the intention of killing Oda Nobunaga, but Hashiba Hideyoshi didn't know when she would take action.
Hashiba Hideyoshi felt uneasy, not only looking forward to the Oda family's support for his attack on the Western Kingdom, but also hoping that Oda Nobunaga would die soon so that he could truly become an independent prince.
And if she didn't take action, it would be too late. If Hideyoshi was beaten to the end by Oda Nobunaga first, then even if Oda Nobunaga died later, she would have no chance to start over.
Thirdly, even if Oda Nobunaga died at the hands of Akechi Mitsuhide soon, Hashiba Hideyoshi might not be safe.
Akechi Mitsuhide will definitely blame all the bad things she and Hideyoshi conspired on Hashiba Hideyoshi, and then take advantage of the anger of the Shiba family to kill Hideyoshi.
This is almost a certainty. After killing Oda Nobunaga, Akechi Mitsuhide will definitely cut off the military commanders who are responsible for all aspects of the Oda family one by one to stabilize the power of the Shiba family.
No matter whether it was Hideyoshi Shiba in the Shikoku direction, Katsuie Shibata in the Hokurikudo direction, Nagahide Niwa, Tsuneki Ikeda, or even Tokugawa Ieyasu and other Oda factions, they could not escape this disaster.
Others may still have a way to survive, but Hideyoshi Hashiba is in dire straits.
Nizi Katsuhisa was the saint's confidant. She was defeated and died in the Western Kingdom, which already made the saint heartbroken. If the saint knew the truth of the matter, Hashiba Hideyoshi would definitely be crushed to ashes.
Akechi Mitsuhide was pregnant with a god, which was equivalent to a gold medal for immunity from death, but Hashiba Hideyoshi had nothing and could only use his Tenlingai to hold up the Shiba family's mace.
These three dilemmas made Hideyoshi sleepless and sleepless.
As the saying goes, if you had known what it would be like, why would you have done it in the first place? But if Hideyoshi hadn't done these evil things, and Hashiba Hideyoshi would have been a normal person step by step, how would he have gotten ahead?
Wealth is something that can only be gained through danger. How could she, a humble servant-born person, have the status and power she has today if she didn't try her best to take advantage of the situation and step on the red line?
But at this moment, these three levels are really a bit sad, making Hideyoshi miss the dead Takenaka Shigeharu especially.
If Takenakahime was still here, she would definitely come up with a perfect plan to help her pass the test again, right?
Feeling helpless to remember the deceased, Hashiba Hideyoshi had to summon Kuroda Takaka, an insider and the strategist recommended by Takenaka Shigeharu before his death, to discuss the next plan.
Kuroda Takataka was also an insider. When Akechi Mitsuhide sent Fujibayashi Mukuro to arrange the assassination mission of Nizi Katsuhisa, Hashiba Hideyoshi asked Kuroda Takataka to participate in providing intelligence and cooperating with the operation.
Kuroda Takataka has already handed in the certificate of surrender, and is tied to a rope with Hideyoshi Hashiba.
Naturally, Takataka Kuroda and Hideyoshi Hashiba were not as trusting as Shigeharu Takenaka.
However, Takenaka Shigeharu had his last words. If he wanted to win the Western Kingdom, Kuroda must be reused. Hideyoshi Hideyoshi also believed in this and had to borrow from him.