On March 14, the 14th year of Tianwen (1546), 30,000 people from the Kanto Five Power Allied Forces entered the Omi territory in a mighty manner. Although they had already greeted the Asai family before, seeing such a large formation of troops, the Asai family's samurai still felt as if they were facing a formidable enemy - Kitanomi had never seen such a large number of troops since the Onin Rebellion. Soldier. Spend
In the Kamazana Castle Castle Tower, Imagawa Yoshimoto and Asai Hisamasa sat opposite each other by the window, watching the troops passing by on the official road outside the city.
"Unexpectedly, the "Shinagawa-sama" that day was actually His Highness Jibu himself. "Hisama Asai squeezed out a smile in embarrassment and apologized to Imagawa Yoshimoto: "I hope His Highness the Governor will forgive you for saying those outrageous things."
"It doesn't matter, His Highness Shimono Mamoru (Asai Hisamasa) is telling the truth. I am just like you. I don't like to participate in the affairs of the samurai family, and I have no interest in glory and wealth." Imagawa Yoshimoto's smile was much gentler, "So Your experiences and complaints back then had a profound impact on me. Sure enough, just after I left your territory and returned to Yuanjiang, I also encountered a rebellion by my retainers and almost died. It was only after experiencing these that I understood the relationship between my teacher and the like. The loyal ministers in your family have worked hard. In order not to cause too much trouble to them, no matter what, you have to work hard to cheer up and participate in some important things at home."
"Your Highness Jibu is joking. We are not the same people. I don't have the ability of His Highness Jibu to resolutely do things that I hate for the people who are important to me. All I can do is escape and muddle through." Asai Jiuzheng lowered his head regretfully, not wanting to look at the Asai army outside the city, "This time I went to Luo, I didn't lead the army myself, I left it to the retainers."
"I heard that His Highness Shimono Mamoru gave birth to a son last year?" Imagawa Yoshimoto suddenly brought up another topic, joking to ease Asai Hisamasa's inner anxiety, "Maybe when he grows up, he can become a good household governor. Reply The retainers are looking forward to it.”
"I hope the Asai family has not perished by then." Hisamasa Asai took a deep breath and glanced at the southern sky with complex eyes - that was the direction of Minami Omi Rokkaku's family.
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On March 16, the 14th year of Tenmo (1546), together with the 3,000 Asai Army led by General Kai Akame, the Kanto Six Nations Allied Forces entered the Minami Omi—another ally on their way to Luo— The then governor of the Rokkaku family was the famous leader Dai Rokkaku Nobuyori.
In his youth, Rokkaku Sadayori was a valet of the 10th generation general of the Muromachi Shogunate, Ashikaga Yoshimoto, and made great achievements in battles with Hosokawa Masaru. Due to the early death of his brother Rokkaku Utsuna from an injury, Rokkaku Sadayori inherited the Rokkaku family's territory in Minami Omi and formed an alliance with Hosokawa Takakuni. In the Battle of Tomochiin, Rokkaku Sadayori defeated Miyoshi Nocho (Miyoshi Nagakei's great-grandfather), an important minister under Hosokawa Sumimoto, and forced him to kill him. It can be said that he had a blood feud with the Miyoshi family.
But soon after, with the confrontation between Ashikaga Yoshimoto and Hosokawa Takakuni, Rokkaku Sadayori turned to cooperate with Hosokawa Harumoto, the son of Hosokawa Sumimoto. Rokkaku Sadayori married his daughter to Hosokawa Harumoto, and jointly attacked and killed Hosokawa Harumoto. Sichuan Gaoguo. Due to the merits of supporting Ashikaga Yoshiharu, the son of Ashikaga Yoshimi, Rokkaku Sadeyori was named the governor and was demoted from the fourth position to Shobi. He relied on the rich territory and huge national power of Minami Omi and the governor Hosokawa Haru. Yuan Dynasty showed a tendency to fight against each other, and frictions between the two families continued. In order to confront the Hosokawa family, the Rokkaku family also reached out to Kita Ise and Kita Omi, and reached a close cooperative relationship with the Koga ninja and Iga ninja in the southern mountainous area.
However, with the civil strife in the Hosokawa family, Miyoshi Nagakei and Hosokawa Harumoto officially broke up, and Rokkaku Sadayori also joined Hosokawa Harumoto's side - after all, the Rokkaku family and the Miyoshi family have a deeper hatred than the Hosokawa family. a little. And compared to the Hosokawa family in the sunset, the Miyoshi family, which seems to be on the rise, needs to be contained more. And if he joins the Sanhao Changqing side, he will have to face the Shangluo army coming from the East Kingdom, which is not cost-effective in any way.
On March 17, the 14th year of Tenmon (1546), everyone in Shangluo met Rokkaku Sadeyori for the first time in Minami Omi Kannonji Castle, a veteran who had been calling the shots in Kinki for decades. He was dressed in a decent public attire, without any airs, and came to the city gate in person to greet everyone politely - this kind of behavior was very appealing to Imagawa Yoshimoto, and he secretly set a high standard for Rokkaku Sadarai in his heart. evaluation of.
"What a big city...
"Walking on the road to the Kannonji Castle Castle Tower, Imagawa Yoshimoto was struck by the sheer scale of this mountain castle more than once. Imagawakan is already a first-class large city, but the Kinki city in front of him is more than twice as big as Imagawakan - even Imagawa Yoshimoto began to doubt that this Kannonji Castle and the giant city of the Hojo family Which one is bigger, Odawara Castle?
He looked back at the expression on Hojo Tsunaka's face who was walking not far behind him - it seemed that he was a little surprised, but not too shocked, which meant that it still did not exceed the size of Odawara Castle. Spend
"Is Jibu interested in this?" Rokkaku Sadayori asked with a smile - it is hard to imagine that such a kind and kind old man was actually a brave general who killed enemies on the battlefield when he was young.
"Please ask the supervisor to clear up any doubts." Imagawa Yoshimoto respectfully asked his senior for advice.
"You also know that in Kinki, there are many people from the country. Whose ancestors have never been prosperous? Therefore, no one can tolerate others. Our Rokkaku family has been entangled with the shogunate and Kyogoku family for so many years. Territory has been lost and regained. There is me in you, and you are in me. The retainers and nobles under me are all from the Qin Dynasty to the Chu Dynasty, and they have connections between the various factions. They often turn against each other and rebel. Among them, there are several governors of the Rokjia Family who were overpowered and killed by their retainers. Damn it. When I was here, I could still control them. But I am not young anymore, so I am afraid that a hundred years from now, these rebellious retainers will make things difficult for my descendants..."
Rokkaku Sadayori sighed, and the wrinkles on his forehead seemed to become clearer. He looked like a helpless old man: "There is no way, I have to find a way to solve this problem while I am still alive. So I took advantage of the opportunity Since I still have some strength, I asked all the retainers to move to Guanyinji City, the home city of our Rokkaku family. Life in Guanyinji City is good and comfortable. My own castles in various places are useless anyway. , it should be demolished completely, leaving only the basic city walls to make more space for the people to farm. I hope that the retainers can live together, get along day and night, cultivate some feelings, and unite, so that they will not commit suicide in the future. The matter of massacre."
Imagawa Yoshimoto nodded—the first half of the description was fairly objective, but the second half was just whitewashing. Rokkaku Sadayori clearly wanted to move his retainers out of their own territory and reduce or even destroy the city they relied on to defend their rebellion. Without a solid city to rely on, it would be difficult for the people of the country to fight against the Rokkaku family. Moreover, the retainers all live in Guanyin Temple City, so there is no chance of rebellion? Sneaking out of Guanyin Temple Castle itself would cause alarm. This old man who looks amiable and harmless to humans and animals is actually a ruthless character who can calculate three steps at a time.
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At the banquet not long after, the guests of honor and guests enjoyed themselves while drinking and drinking. Rokkaku Sadayori was considerate in his dealings, and he made toasts many times during the banquet regardless of his status, which made this "rabble" from various countries in the Kanto region look like a "coalition of allies". After the meeting, Imagawa Yoshimoto planned to leave with Takeda Harunobu and return to the camp of Kashun coalition forces outside the castle town of Kannonji Castle, but he was stopped by Rokkaku Sadayori:
"In charge of the Ministry, I wonder if your respected master is in the army? I heard a few days ago that he also went to Luo with the army. Why didn't he come to the banquet?"
"Teacher, he doesn't want to show up too often and wants to keep a low profile."
"Haha, with his reputation, he can't keep a low profile even if he wants to." Rokkaku Sadarai laughed when he heard this, "The Labor Department has brought a message for me. I would like to invite you to come to the city for a small gathering and prepare some wine. Talking about old times."
"Reminiscing about old times? My teacher knew Guan Lingdai before?" Imagawa Yoshimoto asked curiously.
"Haha, Master Xuezai was a well-known figure in Kinki back then, with a wide network of contacts. If you are lucky enough to make friends with him, you can become a source of conversation after dinner! It's not like "the master knows me", but that I know the master. Rokkaku Sadayori mentioned the past, squinted his eyes, smiled and nodded repeatedly, "Speaking of the Imagawa family, who doesn't know the reputation of Taiyuan Xuezhai?"
"Haha, I didn't expect the teacher to be so famous. He didn't even tell me when I was in Kyoto." A proud smile appeared on Imagawa Yoshimoto's face unconsciously, while Rokkaku Sadayori looked at Imagawa Yoshimoto meaningfully. Yuan's demeanor.
"Tonight?" Imagawa Yoshimoto then asked, "I'm not sure if the teacher has eaten."
"No, no, wait a few days, there will be an old guy I met before who is still on the way.
Go up and get together when he arrives. Rokkaku Sadeyori waved his hand. A few days later, Imagawa Yoshimoto found out who the "old guy" he was talking about——
Echizen Military God—Asakura Sotechi.
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On March 21, the 14th year of Tenmon (1546), Asakura Sotechi led the 10,000-strong Asakura army to Minami Omi. As an ally of Hosokawa Harumoto's side, he came to Luo and joined the Eastern Kingdom Allied Forces staying at Kannonji Castle. That night, Rokkaku Sadayori held a banquet in the inner room on the top floor of the Kannonji Castle Castle Tower and invited Taiyuan Xuezhai and Asakura Sodi to have a drink and have a good time.
"Sessai, that's ridiculous. You're stationed outside the city. Senior Sotechi comes all the way from Echizen and is on time better than you." Inside the room, Rokkaku Sadeyori poured wine for Asakura Sotechi and asked Shanshan Taiyuan Xuezhai, who arrived late, joked.
"I know the food here is very vegetarian." Taiyuan Xuezhai glanced at the exquisite dishes on the wine table with disdain - but he strictly followed the meat ban and there was no trace of meat. "How can such things taste so good with wine? ? I ate some pork and beef before I came here."
Afterwards, Taiyuan Xuezhai turned to Asakura Sodi, bowed to him before sitting down and said, "Old senior, how are you doing recently?"
"If the juniors in my family don't make people feel at ease, my health will never be in bad condition." Asakura Sotetsu sighed and took a sip of his drink. He is nearly 70 years old, his temple hair has turned gray, and the wrinkles on his face are almost as big as ravines, yet he still has to go out on a dusty expedition in person for the benefit of the Asakura family.
"When was the last time you came to Kinki? At the request of Ukyo (Hosokawa Takakuni)?" Taiyuan Yusuzai also took the initiative to offer a glass of wine to Asakura Mune, "After that, you went back to Echizen, and I went back Suruga, it seems like we’ve never seen each other again.”
