Even before the Battle of Otani Castle, the Asai family had already been plunged into precarious political turmoil.
The Asai family, which was originally just the co-leader of the Kitaomi Samurai Alliance, had been defeated several times and its decline became obvious. The powerful local samurai family had already begun to wait and see.
And because of the massacre of the hostages, he turned against Isono Emasa, Aguki Sasaki and others, and the Asai retainers regiment continued to have accidents, accelerating its demise.
Taking advantage of the turmoil within the Asai family, Hashiba Hideyoshi used his own silver bullet tactics to bribe Asai's retainers, and finally opened the gates of Kotani Castle from the inside and captured this fortified city.
In fact, the outcome of the Battle of Xiaogu City was already decided before it even started. Asai Hisamasa, Asai Nagamasa and his daughter committed seppuku. Akao Kiyotsuna was captured after fighting hard and committed seppuku in front of Oda Nobunaga.
Oda Nobunaga was overjoyed when he captured Kitanomi and Echizen Province in one fell swoop, and held a grand celebration banquet in Gifu Castle.
At the celebration banquet, Oda Nobunaga actually took out the golden cups made of the heads of Asakura Yoshikage, Asai Hisamasa, and Asai Nagamasa and asked the retainers to appreciate them. The audience was shocked into silence and all the concubines were afraid.
The Asakura clan is hereditary guardian of Echizen Province, Asai Nagamasa is the guardian of Kitaomi appointed by the previous shogun, and Oda Nobunaga made their heads into wine glasses, which is simply appalling.
Obviously, Oda Nobunaga was no longer willing to continue to be a minister of the shogunate and began to reveal her true ambitions. But at this time, all the martial arts families in the world had lost their voice to her arrogance, and no one dared to respond.
The Oda family now owns the five rich and powerful countries of Owari, Mino, Ise, Omi, and Echizen, with a stone height of three million.
The sixty-six countries in the world have a total of only twenty million koku, and the Oda family owns three million koku. Who dares to easily come forward to accuse such a powerful vassal and make enemies with it?
The three Asakura families of Rokkaku Asai were destroyed, and the Takeda family who raised their troops to Luo also retreated without a fight. In addition to tearing their faces, they could only bite the bullet and fight to the end. Nobunaga's siege network was almost completely destroyed.
The Oda family is still responsible for the defense of Kyoto, and the Ashikaga shogun who controls Nijo Castle seems to be holding the emperor hostage to order the princes.
Oda Nobunaga also claimed to be a descendant of the Taira clan. After conquering the Asai Asakura family, he further claimed to be the elder of the Taira clan. His ambition to unify the world was already clear.
At that time, the Taira clan of the Ise clan competed with the direct descendants of the Kawachi Genji clan. The two sides fought a Genpei battle. As a result, Minamoto Yoritomo, the direct descendant of the Kawachi Genji clan, won and became the mainstay of the samurai family.
Subsequently, Minamoto Yoritomo received the title of shogun from the emperor's court, opened a palace in Kamakura, and became the first shogun.
From then on, the three identities of the elder of the Genji family, the pillar of the Wu family, and the shogun were combined to become the highest righteousness of the Wu family's regime.
Nowadays, Oda Nobunaga calls himself the elder of the Taira clan. He obviously wants to make a comeback on behalf of the Taira clan and establish his own regime of the samurai family, which is the precursor of Oda Gongyi.
The Samurai family originated from the bloodline descendants of several emperors who descended into the imperial family and were given the surname of the Minamoto clan and the Taira clan. After they dispersed around the country, they married with powerful people in various places.
The Genpei War was not a battle between the Genji Taira clan, but a battle between the direct descendants of the Genji clan in Kawachi and the Taira clan of Ise. The Bando Haira clan, the first to come under Minamoto Yoritomo, was also from the Taira clan.
After the Genpei War, Yoritomo Minamoto finally confirmed the direct lineage of the Genji clan in Kawachi as the leader of the samurai family.
The elder Genji is the head of the Genji clan, the leader of the Wu family is the leader of all the Ji warriors, and the shogun is the head of the Wu family's political power.
These three identities are also the fundamental reason why the Ashikaga family was able to re-establish the shogunate regime in the name of the direct descendants of the Genji family in Kawachi after the collapse of the Kamakura shogunate, and was supported by samurai families all over the world as co-owners.
The samurai group, which advocates bloodline family status and pays attention to ancestor worship, finally brought the Ashikaga shogun to the stage and formed the Ashikaga shogunate, the second samurai regime that represented the common interests of the samurai family.
After two hundred years of changing times, the Ashikaga shogunate has declined. Oda Nobunaga is unwilling to be content with becoming the leader of the shogunate and ruling the world as a deputy official like Miyoshi Nagakei.
What Oda Nobunaga wanted was his own Oda Gonggi, his own ruling system.
Therefore, she began to declare to the outside world that the elders of the Taira clan were obviously competing with the elders of the Genji family for the status of the pillars of the Wu family, opening the palace for the Oda family, opening it again, and making political preparations.
And Ashikaga Yoshiaki, a poor official, was not only an incompetent person, but also a puppet general with no title.
She deprived Yoshigan Shiba of his status as a direct descendant of the Kawachi Genji family by pouring sewage on her. She seemed to have forgotten that without the help of Yoshigan Shiba, how could she have become Ashikaga Shogun so easily.
Because of Ashikaga Yoshiaki's indifference, Shiba Yoshigan voluntarily resigned from the monkhood and gave up his identity as a survivor of his ancestors and the Ashikaga family's Grand Odaisho, but he cleverly grasped the identity of the elder of the Genji family.
Of course, Ashikaga Yoshiaki did not recognize Yoshihiro Saba's status as an elder of the Genji family, but because of his own misconduct, he did not dare to deny it rashly. To do so would be to completely break up with Yoshihiro Saba politically.
Now that Yoshigan Shiba has withdrawn from Kyoto and returned to his skills, let Yoshigan Shiba call himself the Elder of Genji in his own territory, and Yoshiaki Ashikaga will just pretend he didn't hear it.
But Ashikaga Yoshiaki couldn't defeat Oda Nobunaga. The two encirclements of Nobunaga caused chaos and made the samurai of the shogunate repeatedly disappointed.
Until the Miyoshi family made a comeback, under the control of Mitsuhide Akechi, Ashikaga Yoshiaki was disgraced in the Gouchi Sho Incident, and the dignity of the Ashikaga General was completely lost.
Because they were deeply disappointed with Ashikaga Yoshiaki, most of the shogunate samurai families chose to acquiesce in Yoshigami Shiba's identity as an elder of the Genji family, and pinned the interests of the traditional samurai family on this patron saint of the samurai family.
Therefore, although Ashikaga Yoshiaki at this time had the title of Ashikaga General and the pillar of the samurai family, he did not have the title of the elder of the Genji family in the third rank.
In other words, Oda Nobunaga's identity as an elder of the Taira clan actually corresponds to Yoshigan Shiba's identity as an elder of the Genji clan.
On the contrary, the distinguished Ashikaga Yoshiaki in the capital had the title of shogun, but he had lost the popularity of the samurai family. He could no longer represent the interests of the samurai family in the world as the pillar of the samurai family, and he had been eliminated politically.
Akechi Mitsuhide convinced Shiba Yoshigan and watched the Oda family grow bigger step by step. Isn't it just hoping that Oda Nobunaga will expel the general Ashikaga Yoshiaki and overturn the mess of the Ashikaga Shogunate?
The Oda family is prospering, but the Shiba family still has ways to fight against it.
But if the Ashikaga shogunate grits its teeth and refuses to collapse, could it be that Yoshigan Shiba, the patron saint of the samurai family, takes action himself and ruins his reputation as a saint?
The lesser of two evils, even though he knew that the powerful Oda family with three million koku would be a big trouble for the Shiba family in the future, Mitsuhide Akechi could only bear the criticism from his family and be the scapegoat.
Because when it comes to the fall of the Ashikaga Shogunate, Yoshigami Shiba's hands must be absolutely clean and spotless.
———
In Gifu City, Hashiba's residence, all Hashiba's retainers are anxiously waiting for Hashiba Hideyoshi's return.
Today is a celebration banquet held by Oda Nobunaga, but most of Hashiba Hideyoshi's retainers are from humble backgrounds and are not qualified to attend.
Only Haesuka Masakatsu, the governor of the Haesuga family, and Takenaka Shigeharu, a famous military advisor who was favored by Oda Nobunaga, were qualified to accompany Hashiba Hideyoshi.
To celebrate achievements at a celebration banquet, it is natural to reward them based on their merits.
Oda Nobunaga left Hashiba Hideyoshi in Yokoyama Castle. He originally thought that he would be given two big tasks, and it would be even more difficult to betray Isono Tamashi and Aguki Sadaki.
Unexpectedly, Hideyoshi Hashiba did so well, almost pressing him step by step, forcing Nagamasa Asai to have no other choice.
When the Asai family fell, Hashiba Hideyoshi's contribution was the most dazzling. With Oda Nobunaga's generosity, he would not be stingy with rewards, and these retainers under Hashiba Hideyoshi could also follow the chickens and dogs to heaven.
Everyone waited until midnight before they heard footsteps coming from the porch. Their spirits, which had been slightly exhausted due to being too excited for too long, instantly cheered up.
Everyone looked at the door together. The sliding door was opened to the left and right. Hashiba Hideyoshi appeared in front of everyone and asked in slight surprise.
"Huh? It's so late and everyone is still here. Aren't you sleepy?"
Hideyoshi Hashiba's ridicule immediately relaxed the atmosphere, and all the girls laughed in embarrassment.
As a biological sister, Hashiba Hidenaga came to cover up for everyone.
"Sister, it's hard to visit the main hall, and everyone is too concerned about it. So we gathered together to wait for your return."
Hideyoshi Hashiba walked up to the main seat with a smile and winked at Hideyoshi Hashiba.
"Do you really care about me?"
Hideucha Hashiba said with a smile.
"of course it's true."
Takenaka Shigeharu and Haesuga Masakatsu followed him into the room. Takenaka Shigeharu's expression was quite stable, while Haesuga Masakatsu's face was beaming with joy, which made everyone feel even more itchy.
Hideyoshi Hashiba took the handkerchief handed over by Hideyoshi Hashiba, wiped his face and asked.
"What did Tsuda Muneki of Sakai Port say?"
Hideuchang Hashiba was stunned. Why did his sister ask about other things at this time?
“Her attitude is still respectful, and her attitude has not changed because the Oda family left Sakai Port.
After all, she has cooperated too deeply with us. Even if she wants to regret it now, it is not easy to switch to her.
What's more, the Oda family only temporarily evacuated Sakai Port, but the family business has become more prosperous, so she has no reason to abandon us.
I had a great time cooperating with her. She was very cooperative in terms of price and logistics of the materials the hall needed. "
Hideyoshi Hashiba nodded and asked again.
"Where's that Governor Konishi?"
Hashiba Hideyoshi succeeded Hashiba Hideyoshi and was responsible for the affairs of Sakai Port. However, Hashiba Hideyoshi deliberately kept asking about business affairs at this time, completely ignoring the retainers' desire to find out, which made Hashiba Hideyoshi laugh.
Hidetaka Hashiba noticed that Hideyoshi Hashiba was teasing everyone.
"Please rest assured, as long as the Oda family business is prosperous, there will be no problems with Mr. Konishi.
The Uki family behind her really wanted to be close to the powerful Oda family, and would not alienate and neglect us just because we retreated from Sakai Port.
Okay, sister, stop teasing everyone, you know everyone can't wait. "
Hideyoshi Hashiba, who had been pretending to be serious about talking about business, was actually already happy in his heart. At this time, his sister scolded him and he finally couldn't hold back his laughter.
"Hahaha, look at their expressions, it's really interesting. Kato's eyes are about to pop out. Fukushima, are you in a hurry to urinate? Why can't you sit still?
Okay, okay, no more joking, Takenaka-hime, please come and make everyone happy. "
Takenaka Shigeharu was not only Hashiba Hideyoshi's military advisor, but also taught all the concubines under her command in Owari Kingdom. She was both a teacher and a friend, and everyone respected her.
At this time, Takenaka Shigeharu saw that Hashiba Hideyoshi was so happy that he lost his temper. He also smiled and shook his head and said out of the queue.
"The main hall is generous and provides 120,000 stones from the surrounding area of Omi Castle in the north to reward the Lord's merits.
My concubines, from now on I will call you my lord. "
Although everyone expected a heavy reward, they did not expect Oda Nobunaga to be so generous and rewarded Hashiba Hideyoshi Tomoyuki 120,000 koku.
The joy was unbearable for a moment, and everyone cheered together. The shouts were so loud that they almost broke the roof.
Omi Kingdom is one of the largest countries in recent times, with a stone height of 780,000, and the advantage of Lake Biwa. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is the richest in the world.
Before the Asai family was destroyed, they occupied six counties in the north of Omi, with a stone height of no less than 350,000 koku. With a wave of his hand, Oda Nobunaga allocated one-third of it to Hideyoshi Hashiba, which was extremely generous.
After Zhu Ji vented his anger, Hideyoshi Hashiba clapped his hands and said.
"Have you had enough trouble? It's getting late, and I'm tired when I come back from the celebration banquet, so let's call it a night.
Now, go back to sleep! "
After waiting for this good news, the group of people naturally stopped disturbing their master's rest and bowed to leave.
Hideyoshi Hashiba's 120,000 koku knowledge and practice was indispensable for everyone's benefit.
But before the land was measured, divided and handed over, Hashiba Hideyoshi didn't know how to reward and enfeoff. It was useless for them to make a fuss now. They might as well go back to rest early, calculate carefully, and work hard behind their backs.
Hashiba Hideyoshi left only Hashiba Hideyoshi and Takenaka Shigeharu, and then sighed after everyone else had left.
"I feel a little guilty about today's huge reward. The palace has given me so much that I don't know what to expect."
Hideyoshi Hashiba This is the truth.
She was originally just a person with a thousand stones from Owari, but she was able to serve as the garrison of Kyoto. Oda Nobunaga recognized Takenaka Shigeharu's contribution and made her extra important.
And because of his heroic efforts in the Battle of Kanazaki, he was rewarded with a thousand stone in Minami Omi, which gave him the honor to enter the Oda family.
But even with Oda Nobunaga's favor and promotion, Hashiba Hideyoshi, who was in charge of Yokoyama Castle, was only a man of two thousand koku. Yokoyama Castle was in military affairs, and Yokoyama Castle was not her place of knowledge.
Although through the support of Oda Nobunaga, Niwa Nagahide gave Ushiba Hideyoshi enough money and food, so that Ushiba Hideyoshi could bribe the Kitaomi samurai family regardless of the cost and have some of his own team.
But no matter what, Oda Nobunaga promoted her from a local daimyo of two thousand koku to a daimyo of 120,000 koku, which was too fast.
Although today's Hideyoshi Shiba is not as good as Niwa Nagahide and Shibata Katsuie, his status is equivalent to that of Ikeda Tsuneki, Sakuma Nobumori and other important ministers, and there is no room for concessions.
Hideyoshi was excited about Oda Nobunaga's promotion, but he was also a little flustered. He couldn't figure out what Oda Nobunaga was thinking.
Takenaka Shigeharu understood this clearly and said with a smile.
"My lord, don't worry too much. The palace's move does have profound meaning, but it is not directed at you alone.
If you think about it carefully, will the Kitaomi Samurai family be rewarded generously and be highly valued this time? "
