With the first snow of winter, a rare peace has been restored in recent days.
Oda Nobunaga's military campaigns in the north and south quickly extinguished the flames between Nagashima and Echizen, allowing the anti-Oda forces that were ready to move to calm down again.
Everyone is waiting for the strong confrontation between Shiba Yoshigan and Oda Nobunaga, and no fool continues to stand up and show off.
Oda Nobunaga rushed to attack Echizen Country before the heavy snow closed the road, which also completely exhausted the last bit of strength of the Oda army, and had no plans to continue using troops in the winter.
After eliminating the Echizen Ichikui, Oda Nobunaga left Shibata Katsuie and his troops to guard Echizen country, then led the army to transfer, and each returned to recover and recuperate, waiting for the spring war.
And Yoshihiro Shiba, who was in Kyoto, had no intention of taking the opportunity to launch an attack. He was also silently waiting for the coming spring when the Kwantung Allied Forces would advance to Luo.
There is a tacit understanding between Shiba and Oda, and peace has been temporarily restored in recent days. Although the shogunate has become empty, there is still an endless line of shogunate samurai who visit Luo in winter.
Just because the Ashikaga Shogunate has become a decoration and may be pushed down at any time, everyone must seize the time to find a way out, take advantage of the opportunities of winter exchanges, and make more connections.
———
Kyoto, Nijo Castle.
Kyoto is brightly lit at night. Ashikaga Yoshiaki stands on the castle tower and looks into the distance. Beside her stands the shogunate chief, Yagyu Munegan.
Outside the door, it was Korokichi Nagasaki who was leading a guard, the last line of defense to protect Ashikaga Yoshiaki.
Today's Ashikaga Yoshiaki has lost the bookishness of his fledgling life, and no longer looks like a Taoist monk who has returned to secular life, and his face is becoming increasingly cold and solemn.
But she didn't have the sharpness and fortitude that Ashikaga Yoshiki had developed through years of practicing swordsmanship. She had a similar face filled with meanness and narrowness, as if everyone she looked at seemed to owe her something.
Today, Ashikaga Yoshiaki has become the biggest joke of the shogunate.
The biggest supporter Wada Nobunaga was pursued and beaten by Oda Nobunaga, and finally turned to surrender to Oda Nobunaga, and was killed by Araki Murashige in Settsu Province.
Next, Niki Yoshimasa was defeated by the Oda army and captured Sakamoto Castle. He was defeated and fled into the Konki Shiba Territory. With the help of the incense love back then, he was protected by Shiba Yoshigan.
The two biggest supporters, Yiwen and Wuwu, both met a happy end. Naturally, the rest of the people felt sympathy and loyalty.
The Ashikama Hui clan was on the verge of collapse due to lack of military spending. Only Koji Yoshinaga, who came out of Kofukuji Temple together, was entrusted with important tasks by Ashikaga Yoshiaki and barely maintained the bodyguard of Nijo Castle.
Ashikaga Yoshiaki looked around, and in the end, only Yagyu Soen, the great eldest son, remained.
However, Yagyu Soen is inextricably linked to the Yagyu-gumi of the Shiba family, which Ashikaga Yoshiaki cannot believe.
But now, if Yagyu Soen is not used, Ashikaga Yoshiaki will not be able to find anyone who can use him.
Only Yagyu Sogan, a fan of officialdom, refused to give up his position as Omatsuke and was willing to continue to be driven by Ashikaga Yoshiaki.
Ashikaga Yoshiaki pointed to the commotion of an open fire in the distance and asked.
"Is that the Sibo Mansion?"
Yagyu Zongyan said respectfully.
"Go back to Master Gongfang, it's Sibo Mansion."
Ashikaga Yoshiaki said coldly.
"It's so lively."
Yagyu Muneyan said in a low voice.
"Tonight, I heard that Tsuta-den is hosting a banquet for the governor and heirs of the two families of Hosokawa Mibuchi. You know that these three families have a close relationship, and coupled with the shogunate samurai families who are joining in the fun, it is indeed a bit lively."
Ashikaga Yoshiaki snorted.
The Shiba Residence was the residence given to Yoshiki by Ashikaga Yoshiteru. It was very close to the burned-down Imperial Palace and was in the core area of the Kyoto Shogunate.
Nijo Castle is a military castle built by Ashikaga Yoshiteru. It is located in the north of Kyoto, but it is far away from the residence of the shogunate samurai family.
The bustle of Shiba's mansion was in sharp contrast to the desolation of Nijo Castle, and the desolation of the Ashikaga Shogun's family was even more evident at this time.
Those shogunate samurai who went to Luo for an audience were only polite and business-like to Ashikaga Yoshiaki during the day, but at night they went to camp with Yoshihiro Shiba. This attitude made Ashikaga Yoshiaki hate his teeth.
Everyone was not optimistic about the future of Ashikaga Yoshiaki, and either took refuge in Oda Nobunaga or Shiba Yoshihiro.
Ashikaga Yoshiaki waved his sleeves and left the observation deck, returned to the room, she sat on the main seat and asked.
"Did Miyoshi Yoshitsugu get in touch? What did she say?"
Yagyu Soyan followed him into the room and bowed.
"His Royal Highness Miyoshi was flattered by your greetings and said that he will be loyal to the shogunate and the general and do his best to serve the public."
Ashikaga Yoshiaki frowned.
"Are these just lies? I've promised her the position of acting as a shogunate, and she's still not satisfied?
When Sanhao went to Luo for Changqing, he was just asking for the leadership! "
Yagyu Soyan smiled bitterly in his heart.
That was then, and this is now. At that time, the former general Ashikaga Yoshiteru was not as depressed as you, and he spoke as if he was playing p.
Besides, the Miyoshi family was at its peak back then, and Miyoshi Changqing's appointment as governor was equivalent to ruling the shogunate, which was enough to command the world's martial arts families.
Now Miyoshi Yoshitsugu is nothing more than a minor celebrity in Hanoi, and the old subordinates in Shikoku may not be willing to listen to her orders. Is it important whether she has a supervisory commission?
What's more, Ashikaga Yoshiaki's Gouchishu has already tricked Miyoshi Yoshitsugu once. Even if Miyoshi Yoshitsugu is a fool, he was already injured the last time. How can he be stupid again?
In the final analysis, it was Ashikaga Yoshiaki who failed to take responsibility and denied the imperial letter under pressure from both inside and outside the shogunate. As a result, Miyoshi Yoshitsugu was dishonest and was beaten half to death by the Shiba coalition forces.
The funniest thing is that in the end, the imperial letter was sent back to Kyoto, and it was Yoshigan Shiba who came forward to clear Miyoshi Yoshitsugi's name and save her life.
Ashikaga Yoshiaki's face was swollen from one slap to the left and the other to the right, and he became a joke among the samurai inside and outside the shogunate.
No matter how stupid Miyoshi Yoshitsugi is, he can't continue to be tricked by Ashikaga Yoshiaki. Ashikaga Yoshiaki asked Yagyu Soen to contact Miyoshi Yoshitsugu, which was a self-inflicted humiliation.
Of course Ashikaga Yoshiaki understands this truth, but she has no choice.
Today, around Kyoto, apart from the power of Oda Nobunaga and the power of Shiba Yoshigan, there are not many daimyo who are not related to both sides.
Since the Hatano family of Tamba Country is unwilling to get involved in Kyoto affairs, how many choices does Ashikaga Yoshiaki have?
Ashikaga Yoshiaki said helplessly.
"I know that I felt a little wronged by Miyoshi Yoshitsugi about the Gouchishu last time, but that was Yoshigan Shiba's conspiracy, and it was him who made me have to deny the Gouchishu.
Miyoshi Yoshitsugu was forced to surrender to Shiba Yoshigan, and he must have resentment in his heart. As long as she is willing to stand on my side, I promise to make it up to her in the future. "
Yagyu Zongyan felt depressed, this poor official was really unreliable.
Until now, Ashikaga Yoshiaki was still obsessed with the sense of superiority brought by his bloodline and family status, thinking that as long as her bloodline was noble, the martial arts families in the world would beg to be her as a dog.
This general who came from a nunnery did not understand the underlying logic of Wu family society at all.
Yoshigan Shiba defeated Miyoshi Yoshitsugu and defeated the Kingdom of Hanoi. Does Miyoshi Yoshitsugu have to hate Yoshigan Shiba?
Mu Qiang of the samurai family, if Yoshiyoshi Shiba is just a little better than Miyoshi Yoshitsugu, Miyoshi Yoshitsugu may not be convinced.
But Yoshigan Shiba is much better than Miyoshi Yoshitsugu. Miyoshi Yoshitsugu now respects and worships Yoshigan Shiba, maybe even more.
To be a dog for the superior, of course, you should find a strong person like Shiba Yiyin. How could Miyoshi Yoshitsugi, a weakling like Ashikaga Yoshiaki who even had to swallow back the imperial letter he wrote, possibly cheat her?
But Yagyu Muneyan cannot refute Ashikaga Yoshiaki face to face. Now Ashikaga Yoshiaki is blushing at the loss and gets angry anytime and anywhere.
Yagyu Sogan had no intention of angering this incompetent general. She just regretted that she had chosen the wrong master and did not know what would happen to her in the future.
Fortunately, Yagyu Munenomi followed Shiba Yoshigan, and one of the Yagyu family finally managed to get ahead. While Yagyu Sogan was sad for himself, he was also proud of his daughter.
she said with a bow.
"I will continue to keep in touch with Miyoshi Yoshitsugi. I hope she can be considerate of Mr. Kimata's kindness and make the right choice."
Ashikaga Yoshiaki didn't hear the perfunctory meaning in Yagyu Muneyan's words at all, but nodded happily and continued.
“I heard that the Tiantai Sect’s mage named Tianhai has been talking some incomprehensible nonsense recently.
Why is Tsutaden the descendant of Bishamonten? He is the living god who protects the world of the samurai family and walks in the world.
Is there no one in charge of the Tiantai Sect now? Can a leader of a sect like the Tiantai Sect say such extremely ridiculous things casually?
The monstrous words confuse the public! The monstrous words confuse the public! "
Ashikaga Yoshiaki was shocked and angry about the changes in the Tendai Sect.
During the reign of Ashikaga Yoshiteru, the Tendai Sect had a deep relationship with the Odaisho and was one of the strongest supporters of the Ashikaga Shogun family in Kyoto.
After Ashikaga Yoshiaki succeeded to the throne, although she was incompetent in the political struggles of the shogunate, she was quite successful in winning over the sects by virtue of her own understanding of the various Buddhist sects.
When Ashikaga Yoshiaki formed Nobunaga's siege network, the Tendai Sect also actively delivered news to Ashikaga Yoshiaki who was trapped in Nijo Castle and made many contributions.
It's a pity that Ashikaga Yoshiaki's Nobunaga encirclement network failed twice. Not only did he lose himself as a puppet general, but it also caused the Tendai Sect and Oda Nobunaga to become enemies and eventually broke up.
After the siege of Mount Hiei, Master Kakushu's attitude began to shift toward Yoshigami Shiba, who was better able to protect the interests of the Tendai Sect, and he gradually alienated Ashikaga Yoshiaki, a useless general.
Giving Sibo Yiyin the Buddha Jewel and the Armor of Nine Virtues of Light, and claiming that Sibo Yiyin is the Buddha's foot protector were all the plans of the Master Jueshu during his lifetime.
Although because Oda Nobunaga burned Mount Hiei, Master Kakushu was inexplicably enshrined in the Kyoto annex, the Tendai Sect was now leaderless, and its move to get closer to the Shiba family temporarily stopped.
However, Master Tianhai, who was supported by the Sibo family, returned to Kyoto from the Jiaxin Mountain area, took over the banner of Master Jueshu, and began to further advocate Siba Yiyin and deify Siba Yiyin's religious identity.
As the former virtuous nun of Kofukuji Temple, Ashikaga Yoshiaki felt deeply uneasy.
As a former shrine holder, Ashikaga Yoshiaki was far more sensitive to religious aspects than Oda Nobunaga.
Starting from the Shingon Sect, to the Tendai Sect, and with the addition of the Ichigo Sect, the three most influential sects in the world have begun to build momentum for Shiba Yiyin.
If Yoshigan Shiba is a living god who walks on earth and is the patron saint of the Samurai Buddhism, then who is Ashikaga Yoshiaki, the Ashikaga general?
No matter how awesome the pillar of the Wu family is, can he still be as awesome as the God of the Wu family?
Theocratic power and royal power are two aspects of the feudal dynasty's rule of the world. From ancient times to the present, conflicts between theocratic kings and kings competing for the right to rule have always existed.
Even in the Celestial Dynasty, where feudal centralization was the only one in the world, the emperor still ruled the world as the emperor, and could not strip away the divine right of kingship.
In the island country, the thousand-year-old emperor's bloodline is the biggest trouble for the Ashikaga Shogun in ruling the island country, and it is an obstacle that the Ashikaga shogunate can never overcome politically.
At that time, Ashikaga Yoshimitsu resisted the pressure and slaughtered the emperor's ministers and the Shinto religion in one fell swoop, completely eradicating the Ashikaga Shogun's biggest political opponent.
Today, the three major sects of Buddhism are building momentum for the divinity of Shiba Yoshigan, which seems to indicate the return of divine power to the island country, making Ashikaga Yoshiaki very uneasy.
Although Oda Nobunaga is powerful, the origin of the Oda family is really humble. Even if Oda Nobunaga forged his life experience and connected his family with the once powerful Ise Heike family, it would still be difficult to convince the public.
The direct descendants of Kawachi Genji have been the pillars of the samurai family for five hundred years. The idea that a non-Genji cannot be a shogun is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. It is not that easy for Oda Nobunaga to replace Genji with Taira.
Even if Oda Nobunaga succeeds, Ashikaga Yoshiaki, a direct descendant of Kawachi Genji, will not be liquidated because the political weight of the direct descendant of Kawachi Genji is too heavy.
Even if Oda Kogi replaces Ashikaga Kogi, Oda Nobunaga will not take the risk of killing Ashikaga Yoshiaki and causing political trouble for himself.
In other words, Ashikaga Yoshiaki has the confidence to cause trouble for Oda Nobunaga, because Oda Nobunaga is a loser.
Even though he had an overwhelming military advantage, Oda Nobunaga was still in a weak position politically. He could only curse Ashikaga Yoshiaki, the great tengu, to die, but he could not really kill her.
The only person in the world who could possibly kick Ashikaga Yoshiaki out politically and make her fearful was Yoshihiro Shiba.
Shiba Yiyin, this slut, clearly slept with an outsider in Kanto and even had a child. How could he still have the nerve to claim to be a survivor of his ancestors!
Ashikaga Yoshiaki dreamed of expelling Shiba Yoshigan from the direct line of the Genji family in Kawachi and completely cutting off Yoshigan Shiba's orthodox status.
If Shiba Yoshigan is willing to marry, Ashikaga Yoshiaki can really laugh in his dreams. But it happened that this slut refused to marry. Instead, he pretended to become a monk to pray for his ancestors.
Bah, you have a bastard with an outsider, why are you pretending to be a chaste husband? Bah!
Ashikaga Yoshiaki was very frightened, although Yoshigan Shiba voluntarily gave up his status as a direct descendant of Kawachi Genji and became a monk.
However, he always insisted on calling himself the elder of the Genji family and refused to cut off the real connection with the direct line of the Genji family in Kawachi.
Ashikaga Yoshiaki's mediocrity made the samurai inside and outside the shogunate extremely disappointed in her, making everyone willing to recognize Yoshigami as the elder of the Genji family.
Nowadays, the three major sects of Shingon Sect, Tiantai Sect and Yixiang Sect have joined forces to build momentum for Shiba Yiyin.
If Shiba Yiyin is really regarded as a living god by the people of the world, he will return to the core position of the island country's politics with divine power, and he will have the blessing of the elder Genji.
Who else cares about Ashikaga Yoshiaki, an Ashikaga general who lacks prestige? Even the title of direct descendant of the Genji family in Kawachi and the pillar of the Wu family will be transferred to Shiba Yiyin.
After all, Yoshigan Shiba is also a direct descendant of the Genji family in Kawachi, and he is also a widow of an earlier generation. How can Ashikaga Yoshiaki compete with Yoshigan Shiba, a living god, for his orthodox status? Can she not be afraid?
Now, Ashikaga Yoshiaki wants to use Shiba Yoshigan to deal with Oda Nobunaga, hoping that the snipe and the clam will fight and the fisherman will benefit.
But Ashikaga Yoshiaki knew very well that his biggest threat was not Oda Nobunaga, but Yoshihiro Shiba.
Because Oda Nobunaga could only take away her power, Yoshigan Shiba, the cheap brother-in-law who once helped her rise to the position of Ashikaga Shogun, was able to take away all her status!
After failing in the power struggle and being trapped in Nijo Castle, Ashikaga Yoshiaki finally figured out that Yoshigan Shiba was her biggest problem.
(End of chapter)
