In a sense, Hideyoshi Hashiba and Tsuneaki Ikeda are actually grasshoppers strung on a rope, back to back, hugging each other for warmth.
Not to mention that both of them were born in Shimowari, they were both close ministers of Oda Nobunaga, so they had some old friendships.
Just talking about the current strategic situation of internal and external difficulties can force two strangers to become die-hard allies who share life and death.
As a leader in a new territory where everyone hates Oda, Hideyoshi Hashiba and Tsuneaki Ikeda, two well-established Oda bosses, have no choice but to unite, otherwise they will not be able to survive at all.
Having figured this out, Ikeda Tsuneki ignored the doubts about Hashiba Hideyoshi's rapid return to the army, and his mentality and emotions quickly tilted toward Hashiba Hideyoshi.
Tsuneaki Ikeda's eyes were red and he bowed deeply to Hideyoshi Hashiba.
"I was confused for a moment, and if it wasn't for Yu Shibahime's reminder, I almost made a big mistake!
You are right, the blood feud in the main hall cannot be delayed, we must go to Luo quickly!"
Hashiba Hideyoshi was overjoyed. As long as Ikeda Tsuneaki let go, she would be sure to reach Yamashiro Country as quickly as possible and catch Mitsuhide Akechi off guard.
The Settsu Country controlled by Tsuneki Ikeda was the frontline military station for the Oda family to conquer the four countries of the Western Kingdom. It stored a large amount of military supplies to supply the needs of the two frontline legions.
In addition, Settsu's domestic Yodogawa water transport can reach the southern suburbs of Kyoto. As long as Ikeda Tsuneaki is willing to help recruit ships, Hashiba Hideyoshi's Western Army can reach the city within a few days.
Kyoto was in chaos. Without the authorization of the saint, Akechi Mitsuhide, with the connivance of the concubines, killed Oda Nobunaga, who had hurt the feelings of the entire ruling class of the samurai family.
But also from the moment Oda Nobunaga died, all the samurai who silently helped Akechi Mitsuhide lost their reason to continue helping Akechi Mitsuhide.
It's one thing to kill Oda Nobunaga, it's another thing to help Akechi Mitsuhide fight against the revenge army brought back by the Oda family's red eyes. No one is stupid.
The most important thing now is to dispatch troops quickly. We must kill Akechi Mitsuhide before the saint returns to Kinki. As long as Akechi Mitsuhide dies, the saint will no longer be able to hold other samurai families accountable.
The blame for killing Oda Nobunaga will be shouldered by the dead Akechi Mitsuhide, so why not?
Akechi Mitsuhide's seemingly powerful blow killed the nearly invincible Oda Nobunaga, but after killing Oda Nobunaga, Akechi Mitsuhide also became extremely weak and became a stumbling block in the eyes of others.
Hashiba Hideyoshi took advantage of this mentality of the Kinki samurai family, so he was eager to appear in Yamashiro Country to complete the reversal in order to maximize his political capital to avenge Oda Nobunaga.
What she needs to do now is to quickly! Quickly! Quickly! Kill the seemingly arrogant and fierce, but actually extremely weak Akechi Mitsuhide before all the warriors react!
Ikeda Tsuneki's hesitation fulfilled Hashiba Hideyoshi's great cause. At this moment, Hashiba Hideyoshi had taken the initiative, and Ikeda Tsuneki became a new ally who was willing to be driven by Hashiba Hideyoshi.
But Ikeda Hengxing still felt uneasy. After all, the incident happened suddenly and most of the samurai were still in a state of confusion. Few people could recover from the chaos and see clearly the true background of Akechi Mitsuhide.
So after confirming that he would follow Hideyoshi Hashiba, Ikeda Tsuneaki also expressed his concerns.
"Leave all these matters to me, including raising military supplies and armaments, and recruiting ships and water transportation.
With the Western Army having already arrived, and the Shikoku Army that could turn back and land at any time, the Settsu samurai family did not dare to act against the will at this time, causing a fatal disaster.
But I have two concerns, and I hope Yu Chaihime is aware of them."
"All ears."
"First of all, although the saint is not in Kinki, Kinki's Shiba Territory is very close.
Even if Shiba's retainers disdain Akechi Mitsuhide's misbehavior, they will not just watch Akechi Mitsuhide's defeat.
After all, they are all retainers of Shiba, and the saint may not be able to come back in time, but they will not ignore death and save Akechi Mitsuhide's life, and let the saint who returns decide."
Hideyoshi Hashiba was confident and sneered.
"Ikeda Hime, guess why Mitsuhide Akechi chose this time to launch an attack, completely overthrow the Fushimi Castle system of the Saints and the Oda family, and kill our main hall.
Isn’t she afraid that Shiba’s retainers will oppose her and hinder her?”
Ikeda Hengxing frowned.
"this.."
Hashiba Hideyoshi gritted his teeth and said.
"Because no Shiba retainer can restrain her at this time, doesn't it mean that she is allowed to do whatever she wants?
The Shiba family's Kinki general, Maeda Yoshie, and the Owari Shiba's acting commander, Maeda Toshiie, were all in the period of childbirth. At the critical moment when the god's birth was difficult, they had no energy to distract themselves from other things.
So they can't control Akechi Mitsuhide's disorderly behavior, and naturally they can't control our revenge."
Ikeda Hengxing suddenly realized.
"That's true! Daniko Yukimori..."
Among the pregnant ladies of Kinki, Nizi Yukimori rushed back to Kinki from Kanto after hearing the news of Nizi Katsuhisa's death.
Therefore, her pregnancy was the latest, and she had not yet reached her delivery date. Although she had difficulty moving during pregnancy, she was not unable to control everything.
Maeda Benefit and Maeda Toshiie really couldn't help Akechi Mitsuhide. The Hime Warriors under their command were more concerned about the fact that their boss gave birth to a divine descendant.
This is a major event that affects the prosperity and wealth of the family from generation to generation. Even if Mitsuhide Akechi and the Oda family were beaten to pieces, they would not be able to disturb their eldest son's birth.
But Nizi Yukimori was different. She was pregnant at the latest. Although she was physically and mentally exhausted from pregnancy, she had some energy and could manage some things.
Yamanaka Yukimori entered Nizi's family by virtue of the divine descendants in his belly, inherited Nizi's Miao name, and forcefully overpowered Nizi's retainers as soon as he entered the house. It can be said that he has real power in his hands.
Nizi Katsuhisa has been running the Kinki Shiba Territory for nearly ten years. The power of Nizi's family is deeply rooted. Although they have experienced the setbacks of the defeat of the Western Kingdom, Nizi Yukimori is the mother of the divine descendants. Who dares not to give him face?
If Nizi Yukimori really intervened in the chaos in Kyoto, she wouldn't need to help Mitsuhide Akechi defeat Hashiba Hideyoshi's Western Army. She would only have to wait until the saint returns, and the Oda family's revenge would have failed.
After Oda Nobunaga's death, no one in Kinki could confront the saint head-on, not even the leaderless Oda family, nor the so-called revenge alliance of Hashiba Hideyoshi and Ikeda Tsuneaki.
But regarding Ikeda Tsuneaki's worries, Hashiba Hideyoshi just smiled.
"Ikeda Hime, Niko Yukimori will never help Akechi Mitsuhide. She didn't kill Akechi Mitsuhide herself because she was pregnant and had difficulty moving."
Ikeda Hengxing asked in disbelief with his eyes widened.
"Why...why?"
Hideyoshi Hashiba said coldly.
"Because it was Akechi Mitsuhide who killed Nizi Katsuhisa."