The death of Kenji Yanagimoto caused an uproar within the Hosokawa family.
Kenji Yanagimoto, Hatano Inemichi, and Miyoshi Motocho are the central figures in Hosokawa Harumoto's fight against Hosokawa Takakuni. Now Miyoshi Gencho has gone to Awa and is not interested in worldly affairs, Yanagimoto Kenji has died in Harima, and Hatano Aizumi is also restrained by Naito Kunisada of Hosokawa Takakunikata in Tamba.
But now that the 20,000-strong army of Hosokawa Takakuni and Urakami Muramune was heading towards Kyoto, Hosokawa Harumoto suddenly began to panic. Except for Kyogoku Takamasa, no one expected that things would develop like this.
In the past few days, Hosokawa Motonsune, Hosokawa Mototaka, Kizawa Nagamasa, Miyoshi, Ibaraki Changtaka and others have been discussing countermeasures in Sakai. Although Sakai Lord Ashikaga Yoshimi has no real power, it is related to whether his "general position" can continue to be stable, so Ashikaga Yoshimi is also very active in this regard.
However, the bad news doesn't stop there.
On August 29, Hosokawa Takakuni and Urakami Muramune headed for Settsu Jinjuji Castle and were almost reaching Kyoto.
"Shogun, Settsu must not be lost. Once Settsu is lost, Izumi, Kawachi, Yamashiro and other countries will be completely exposed to Dr. Ukyo, and our army will be extremely passive!" In the Sakai Palace, Hosokawa Harumoto With a sad look on his face, he reported the latest situation ahead to Ashikaga Yoshimi.
Although Ashikaga Yoshivi is not yet the official shogun, Hosokawa Harumoto and others all call Ashikaga Yoshivi "Sakai Daiki", which means "shogun".
"Hosokawa-dono, I appoint you as the general-in-chief. You will be fully responsible for the war with Hosokawa Takakuni. You can make your own decisions in everything!" Ashikaga Yoshimi is just a puppet supported by Hosokawa Harumoto and others to fight against Hosokawa Takakuni. That's all, whatever opinions and power he has, it can only be a formality.
This was what Hosokawa Harumoto wanted. After Ashikaga Yoshiki finished speaking, he immediately turned his head to the other retainers in the palace, "Setsatsu Itami Castle and Tomimatsu Castle are the must-stops for Hosokawa Takaguchi and Urakami Muramune. As long as we hold on to this place, there will still be room for maneuver!"
"Send troops to support immediately!"
In September, Hosokawa Harumoto's eight thousand reinforcements went to Settsu to prepare to support Yakushiji Kunimori, the lord of Tomatsu Castle. However, Yakushiji Kunimori was defeated by Hosokawa Takakuni soon, abandoned Tomimatsu Castle and fled to Amagasaki Castle.
Immediately afterwards, Yakushiji Kunimori was surrounded at Amagasaki Castle and then surrendered to Hosokawa Takakuni.
For a time, Hosokawa Takakuni's troops swept through everything in Settsu, and soon captured Ikeda Castle. The citizens of Settsu looked down on the wind, and the situation suddenly became extremely difficult for Hosokawa Harumoto.
"Asshole!" In Hosokawa Molitaka's house, Hosokawa Harumoto originally came to play chess with Hosokawa Molitaka. However, as soon as he sat down, he learned about the fall of Ikeda Castle and was so angry that he threw the chessboard in front of him. He walked out, which made Hosokawa Mochitaka feel distressed.
"My lord, the battle situation in Settsu has been in ruins. For the current plan, I am afraid that only the lover Miyoshi Chikuzen Senden is back!" Hosokawa Motaka looked into Hosokawa Harumoto's eyes and said calmly.
Hosokawa Harumoto nodded, "Now that the matter has come to this, only Chikuzenmori can resolve this crisis. Sanqi Mamoru, go to Awa personally and ask Chikuzenmori to send troops as soon as possible!"
"ha!"
At the same time, the war situation continued to develop in a direction favorable to Hosokawa Takakuni.
In February of the fourth year of Yonglu's reign (1531), the army of Hosokawa Gao, who had just celebrated the New Year, launched another attack. Settsu Ikeda Castle and Itami Castle were captured successively, and Kyoto was immediately exposed to Hosokawa Takakuni.
Speaking of the fall of Itami Castle, it was actually the hole dug by Kenji Yanagimoto.
Itami Castle is the residence of the Itami clan, a wealthy Settsu family. Initially, the Itami clan was under the command of Hosokawa Harumoto's father, Hosokawa Sumimoto. Later, when Hosokawa Harumoto and Hosokawa Takakuni were in conflict, he supported Hosokawa Harumoto along with Miyoshi Motocho.
However, due to the conflict between Yanagimoto Kenji and Miyoshi Genchang, Yanagimoto Kenji began to attack the wealthy families in the Settsu area who were close to Miyoshi Genchang, and Itami Castle bore the brunt.
In the end, Itami Castle was captured, and Itami Castle's lord, Itami Hyogo, assisted in his death. Serving Itami Hyogosuke's son Itami Kunifu to succeed to the throne, he ostensibly surrendered to Hosokawa Harumoto, but in fact he had an internal relationship with Hosokawa Takashi.
So when Hosokawa Takakuni's army appeared outside Itami Castle, Itami Kunifu directly opened the city gate and threw himself into the arms of Hosokawa Takakuni, and by the way, he also trapped Ikeda Castle next door. Nobumasa Ikeda, the lord of Ikeda Castle, fled in panic.
After the news of the fall of Itami Castle and Ikeda Castle spread, the most panicked person was Kisawa Nagamasa, who was in charge of the defense of the Kyoto area. At this time, Kizawa Nagamasa was fighting Naito Hikoshichiro of Hosokawa Takakuni's side.
Naito Hikoshichiro has the support of the Omi Rokkaku family and has more than 3,000 troops. The war is in a stalemate. At the same time, Ashikaga Yoshiharu is also stationed in the Omi Sakamoto area, eyeing Kyoto and may join the battlefield at any time. However, when he suddenly heard the news that Ikeda Castle and Itami Castle had been lost, Kizawa Nagamasa ran away without saying a word.
Just kidding, I am a retainer of the Hatakeyama family. I came to help you Hosokawa Harumoto in the hope of following you to "promote and make a fortune", but I don't want to die for your Hosokawa family.
After many years, Hosokawa Takakuni and Ashikaga Yoshiharu finally returned to Kyoto.
"Ukyo Daifu-den, I am able to return to Kyoto this time thanks to the strong support of Ukyo Daifu-den and Mimasaku Morden. The shogunate will never forget the kindness of the two of you!" In the Flower Palace, Ashikaga Yoshiharu looked grateful. He said to Hosokawa Takakuni and Urakami Muramune.
The Flower Imperial Palace was the residence of the shoguns of the past dynasties. It was originally very large and the building was extremely luxurious. However, during the Onin Rebellion, the Flower Palace was destroyed by the war. Although it was restored several times by the Shogun's family after the war, only a small area was restored due to limited financial resources.
In general, the Flower Palace at this time is no different from a ruin.
"Sir General, this is serious, this is our duty!" Hosokawa Takakuni replied without taking any credit.
Ashikaga Yoshiharu nodded with satisfaction, feeling particularly comfortable, "On the occasion of this great victory, I will gather the ministers in Kyoto to hold a grand banquet to announce to the world that I, Ashikaga Yoshiharu, am back!"
"Of course, the corresponding expenses will be incurred by Ukyo Daifuden and Meisaku Shuden!" Ashikaga Yoshiharu is used to eating and drinking, and he doesn't blush at all when he speaks.
Hosokawa Takakuni was about to agree, but Urakami Muramune on the side refused, "Sir General, please forgive me for rejecting this matter!"
"Although Kyoto has been captured now, the Ashikaga Sasumazuden (Ashikaga Yoshimi), Hosokawa Rokuroden and others are still in Sakai. Why not wait until the Hosokawa Rokuroden and Ashikaga Sasumazuden are completely defeated before celebrating?" Urakami Muramune is not a fool like Ashikaga Yoshiharu and Hosokawa Takakuni.
Just kidding, what's so exciting about capturing a shabby Kyoto? The enemy's base camp is in Sakai. If you don't take advantage of the situation and push together, why bother outside?
What if someone pushes back then!
