There was already a hint of coolness in the evening breeze of early autumn, and Ichijo Hideyoshi, who was not completely ignorant of the Shiba family's actions, felt restless.
Outside the courtyard wall, there was a faint sound of scolding. It was Mimi and the mayor's servants who had another argument over some trivial matter.
Marrying the Lord of the City and becoming the younger brother and sister-in-law of Oda Nobunaga, a member of the Oda family, was Hideyoshi's genius in the Oda Civil War.
The mayor married Asai Nagamasa and Shibata Katsuie successively, but both of his wives committed suicide while trapped in the city. The family business disappeared and he became an ominous person.
Especially since Oda Nobunaga is dead, Ichijun has lost his biggest support.
As the old ministers of the Oda family had their own agendas and went their separate ways, the mayor, who was once the proud son of heaven and needed Hideyoshi to look up to him, fell into the control of Ichijo Hideyoshi and eventually married her.
But Ichijo Hideyoshi knew very well that Ichikun never thought highly of him from beginning to end.
This man's temperament is very similar to that of Nobunaga. The only reason why he married her was because of his hatred for Shiba Yoshigan.
The most lasting emotion in the world is not love, but hate. Hate is like a glass of aged wine. The longer it goes by, the more it makes people want to stop.
Therefore, the mayor will marry anyone who can cause trouble to Shiba Yiyin, whether it is a pig or a dog, it doesn't matter.
As long as Sibo Yiyin is having a hard time, that's fine.
After taking over Oda's old collar, Ichijo Hideyoshi gradually alienated the city king. She knew how hysterical this crazy man was, but politics required calm calculations.
The two families of Ichibo and Shiba divided the world equally, and Hideyoshi turned to attack the peninsula, but he did not attack Shiba Yoshigan as he promised before their marriage.
This made Ichijun feel angry and betrayed, and the two gradually drifted apart. Over the years, Ichijun lived elsewhere, and the relationship between the two parties was indifferent.
But with the death of Oda Xinbao, Oda's old territory became unstable again, and Ichijo Hideyoshi also made up his mind to fight to the death with Shiba Yoshigage.
At this time, Ichijo Hideyoshi must regain the once diluted political identity of the Oda clan and strengthen her political status in Oda's old territory.
However, Ichijo Hideyoshi took the city king back to live in Himeji Castle as a political gesture of intimacy, but he accidentally touched Mimi's bottom line.
During these years, Ichijo lived in seclusion, and Ichijo Hideyoshi lived in Nagoya Castle near the front line of the peninsula all year round. Himeji Castle was the nominal residence of Hideyoshi, but Mimi was in charge.
Now that his wife is back, his little husband is also back, and they have to stick together every day to show their political affection. This makes Mimi, who is older but has no children, inevitably feel uncomfortable.
Mimi is old and has no heirs. If the mayor gives birth to a child, his status will plummet, and his old age may be miserable.
But the current overall situation is not going well, and Mimi has always been virtuous, so she endures it and does not get angry.
But just because the master is unhappy and can't lose his temper, it doesn't mean that his subordinates don't know how to watch their actions.
Himeji Castle has been run by Mimi for many years. Suddenly, a group of newcomers followed the mayor back to grab the territory. Naturally, the old man felt uneasy.
The newlyweds and the elderly have become the outlets for the masters to vent their unhappiness. The servants have been making a lot of noise these days, which makes Ichijo Hideyoshi very irritable.
But what can she do?
Oda's old territory was not at peace, and the political symbol of the city king must be held in the palm of one's hand and not left out in the cold.
And Mimi is not someone to be trifled with. Ichijo Hideyoshi has been working hard outside these years, and most of his Rikihime warriors are relatives of Mimi, and they have been taken care of by her since childhood.
Many of the generals under Hideyoshi's command were close to Mi Mi, and now that it was time to employ people, Ichijo Hideyoshi couldn't let everyone's hearts get cold due to such bullshit in the backyard.
This dilemma made Ichijo Hideyoshi even more upset.
There are clouds in the sky. If you don't sweep a house, how can you sweep the world?
Ichijo Hideyoshi couldn't even handle the two men in her family, so how could she convince everyone that she could defeat Yoshigan Shiba and take over the world?
What makes Ichijo Hideyoshi even more sad is that she actually doesn't love either of these men. The person she really loves is the Yoshigan Shiba, the Yoshigan Shiba whom she gave up for her ambition in the world.
After a while, Ichijo Hideyoshi shook his head, stood up and walked out of the yard, heading to Ichikun's residence.
———
Indoors, the city king was watching a monkey show, covering his mouth with a fan, not showing a smile, maintaining the reserve of a high-ranking martial arts man.
He has been in a good mood recently, and Ichijo Hideyoshi is finally going to take action against Shiba Yoshigan.
Once, Ichikun wanted to commit suicide with Shibata Katsuie, but his life had long been boring, and life and death no longer made any difference to him.
But when he thought that Shiba Yiyin was still living comfortably in this world, his heart felt as if he was being eaten by thousands of worms, and he was unwilling to die.
Ichikun endured his disgust and married a despicable monkey, Hideyoshi Ichijo, just to make Shiba Yigen unhappy. Only when he was unhappy could Ichikun feel that he was still alive in this world.
At this time, footsteps were heard on the porch, and Ichigo Hideyoshi's figure appeared outside the door. A group of servants and the monkey master kowtowed to the ground, and Ichijo Hideyoshi waved his hand to let them all leave.
From the beginning to the end, the city king did not salute. His slender and long neck was like a swan. He proudly raised his chin and looked at Ichijo Hideyoshi, who was as angry as a hozen in front of him, feeling disgusted in his heart.
Ichijo Hideyoshi sat in front of him and said solemnly.
"Can't you take care of your servants? After all, Mimi has lived in Himeji Castle for many years, so why not give him some face?"
The mayor covered his mouth with a fan and chuckled.
"He is the main wife and I am the side wife, how dare I not give him face? But are his grievances and provocations really caused by my offense?
Over the years, have you touched me? Have you touched him? You have no children. You don’t know how unpleasant the rumors are. Everyone blames me and him for the childlessness of the Ichijo family.
But you know very well in your heart that that is your problem and you are not willing to touch us at all.
Sometimes, I also wonder, you don’t want to touch me, and you don’t touch him either. Who are you thinking about?
Are you like my stupid Nobunaga sister and that idiot Nagamasa, all you can think about is this bitch Shiba Yoshigan!"
Ichijo Hideyoshi retorted with a cold face.
"Nonsense! Whoever talks nonsense in front of you, I will smash the mouths of these bastards!"
The city king suddenly smashed the paper fan in his hand on the tatami and cursed fiercely.
"Don't think I don't know anything! You bastard!
The Ichijo family needs an heir! The Ichijo family needs Shiba Yigen to die!
And you, my stupid wife, you keep running away from your responsibilities, but I don't care either.
I just want Sibo Yiyin to die. As long as he dies, everything I have will be yours. I will do whatever you want me to do.
I can handle everything from Oda's old collar to obeying the main wife..."
Ichijo Hideyoshi squinted his eyes, with a dangerous light flashing in his eyes, but Ichikun looked back at her with his head raised, not afraid at all.
The silence between the two lasted for an unknown length of time. A smile appeared on the corner of Ichijo Hideyoshi's lips and he said.
"Very good, very good.
I will defeat Shiba Yiyin, I will kill him, take everything he has, and gain the world.
But I think your attitude is very problematic. Is this your attitude of asking for help? Is this your attitude towards your wife?
You must learn to obey your wife and dedicate everything you have to your wife. City Lord, you are not qualified to negotiate terms with me. The only thing you should do is to beg.
Now, kneel down."
He grabbed a handful of Shijun's hair and slowly pushed down his proud swan neck. Not only did Shijun not feel humiliated, but his eyes showed morbid joy.
"Please kill Sibo Yiyin for me. Everything I have is yours."
Ichijo Hideyoshi looked at him coldly.
"Prove it to me."
The mayor smiled and meekly lowered his head.
The next day, Ichijo Hideyoshi formally went to Luo as a public and military official to discuss the name of the king of the island country, and asked Yoshihiro Shiba to explain the Ming Dynasty's canonization of the Japanese king.
A legion returning to the island country set off from Harima Country, with 80,000 troops and 200,000 troops, and marched into the Shiba family's sphere of influence.