Owari, Kiyosu Castle.
The Shiba family, who is also a third-in-charge and fourth-level family, was also a famous eldest brother at first, sitting in several countries such as Owari and Toe. However, with the passage of time, the territory that is still nominally belonging to the Shiba family is only Only Owari is left.
But even if only Owari is left, the Shiba family's situation in Owari is quite embarrassing. The reason is very simple. The Shiba family's rule in Owari has long since collapsed, and the power of the family has basically been eclipsed by the guardian of the Oda family (the Qingzhou Oda family or the Oda Yamato Mori family).
During the Warring States Period, this situation was common across the country.
The traditional guardian daimyo were constantly suppressed by their retainers and lost their power. They all withdrew from the stage of history, while new forces sprung up like mushrooms after a rain.
Shiba Yitong is the current head of the Shiba Wuwei family. Although he is only 27 or 28 years old, he has been the family governor for more than 20 years.
The main scapegoat for the situation that the Sibo family is in today is Sibo Yitong and his father Siboida.
Although the Shiba clan at that time was already in decline, it still dominated the two countries of Owari and Tokin. However, it was constantly attacked by the neighboring Imagawa clan, and after several joint battles, the Toyo Kingdom was taken away by the Imagawa clan.
After losing the Tokin Kingdom, the power of the Shiba family further shrank, and Shiba Ida was very dissatisfied with this. Therefore, Siboida was preoccupied with thinking about how to regain Yuanjiang, and he continued to send troops to Yuanjiang, regardless of the opposition of his retainers.
Seeing that they could not stop Shiboida's insistence, the retainers headed by the guardian Dai Oda Tatsusada united and raised troops to fight against Shiboida.
Although Spoida won this confrontation, it further weakened the family's strength, which indirectly led to the failure of the subsequent military expedition to the Yangtze River.
In this battle, Spoida himself was captured by the Imagawa clan.
Considering that the Shiba family was a famous samurai family after all, the Imagawa clan did not execute Shiba Yida, but released Yoshito Shiba back.
However, after this defeat, Sibo Yida also lost his ambition and soon announced his seclusion and gave up the position of family governor to his three-year-old son Sibo Yitong.
Within a few years, Spoida died in depression.
After Siboida's death, Siboyi, who was only three years old, could no longer suppress the retainers who were already very dissatisfied with his master's family. The previously defeated Oda Tadasada and others quickly recovered their strength, and then gradually emptied the Shiba family.
More than twenty years have passed, and the Shiba family has become like puppets in Owari.
In Sibo Hall, Sibo Yiyi drank wine with a melancholy look on his face, his eyes full of confusion. More than twenty years have passed, and the Shiba family is getting worse year by year. Shiba Yitong doesn't know how he can revive the Shiba family.
"Yagoro, I want to eat fish tomorrow, is that okay?"
After drinking, Shiba Yitong, half drunk and half awake, asked the retainer Na Furuno Katsuyasu next to him.
Nagoya Katsuyasu hesitated for a while, and then replied in a low voice, "My lord, this matter needs to be reported to Yamato Mamoru, I'll..."
"absurd!"
"How ridiculous!"
"I am the head of the Wuwei family. Do I need the permission of my retainers to even eat a fish?!"
Sibo Yitong roared hysterically, venting his dissatisfaction.
After scolding for a long time, Sibo Yitong gradually came to his senses, not only because he was drunk but also because of something else.
"Has anything new happened recently?"
"There is nothing important in Owari, but on the Yinshi side, the Kyogoku family defeated the Kitahata family. It is said that the Kyogoku family's right horse head was adopted to the Kitahata family, and now Yinshi and Shima have been adopted by the Kyogoku family. dominated."
"Kyogoku?"
"Both have three positions in charge and four positions. In just a dozen years, the Kyogoku family has risen again. Looking back at the main family, hahahahahaha!"
Shiba Yitong watched how the Kyogoku family turned around. It can be said that the Kyogoku family's original situation was worse than the Shiba family. After all, his Shiba Yitong still had the Owari Kingdom in name, but the Kyogoku family had been suppressed to the point where only a few villages in Sakata County were left, not even half of the county.
But in more than ten years, the Kyogoku family's leadership has far exceeded its peak.
Looking back at himself, Sibo Yitong couldn't help but lament why everyone was just a salty fish, but their final situation was so different?
"Lord, there is actually something I have always wanted to say, but..." Nagoya Katsuya was about to say something but hesitated.
"Yagoro, tell me what you have to say!"
"ha!"
Nafuruno Shengyasu organized his speech, and then said, "My lord, Owari and Omi are adjacent. The Kyogoku family and the main family are both one of the three management and four-level families, and they have also fought together in the past."
"Now that the Kyogoku family is strong and my own family is weak, why don't my lord ask for help from the Kyogoku family? If I can get the support of the Kyogoku family, then people in the family such as Yamato Mamoru will no longer dare to look down on my lord!"
Then Furuno Katsutai wanted to let Shiba Yitong hug the Kyogoku family's lap.
Sibo Yitong suddenly felt as if he had eaten a fly, his face a little ugly. As the head of the Shiba Wuwei family, Shiba Yitong was quite proud. To be honest, Shiba Yitong was not particularly willing to ask him to be a dog for others.
Seeing Shiba Yoshito's behavior, Nagoya Katsuya decided to add more fuel to the fire, "My lord, it was heard that yesterday Yamato Mamoru, Bigomomo (Oda Nobuhide) and others sent people to Kiriyama Castle to be friendly with the Kyogoku family."
"If the Kyogoku family forms an alliance with Yamato Mamoru and others, then my family..."
Before Furuno Katsuyasu finished speaking, Shiba Yoshito suddenly became anxious and said quickly, "Yagoro, you will be solely responsible for negotiating with the Kyogoku family on this matter. No matter what, please make sure that the Kyogoku family supports me!"
"The future of the Sibo family depends entirely on you and me!"
............
Kiriyama Imperial Palace, Kyogoku Takamasa received envoys from the Oda family and the Yamato wealthy Ochi family separately in the side hall.
The Oda family just exchanged simple greetings, and then the envoy Hirate Masahide expressed Oda Nobhide's goodwill to Kyogoku Takamasa, and presented 10 swords, 20 pieces of silk and satin, and 20 gold knives. Kyogoku Gaozheng also gave 5 Oshu horses as a gift.
After defeating the Kitahata family this time, Kyogoku Takamasa discovered that the Kitahata family had just received a batch of Oshu horses purchased from the Mutsu Yonda family. There were dozens of them, all of them good horses.
Among them, the large deer hair that Kitahata Harugu himself rode was adopted by Kyogoku Takamasa for his own use, and the others were given to retainers. There were still more than ten pieces left, and a few were given to the Oda family.
There is nothing to talk about with the Oda family, they are just doing business together and exchanging blows.
During the dinner, Masahide Hirate made some insinuations about the Kyogoku family's attitude towards the Oda family, especially how the two parties should get along with each other in the future.
Kyogoku Takamasa also hinted that the Kyogoku family had no intention of moving eastward, but wanted to vigorously develop business in Yinshi.
Hirate Masahide then promised to establish trade relations with the Kyogoku family in Yinse and Owari, and the two parties would exchange supplies in the future.
Kyogoku Takamasa really has no idea about the east. If we develop to the east, the Imagawa, Takeda, and Hojo families will not be easy to mess with. Moreover, the center of the world is still Kyoto, and the Kyogoku family's future focus will definitely be on how to control Kinai.
Being friendly with the Oda family does not affect the strategic direction of the Kyogoku family, and there is no entanglement of interests between the two parties. Why not be happy if you can have one more friend and one less enemy?
After sending away Masahide Hirate, Gao Zhengcai met the envoy of the Ochi family with a serious look on his face.
As soon as the envoy of the Ochi family spoke, Kyogoku Takamasa knew that the time had come to expand his sphere of influence to Yamato!
The head of the Yamato Tsutsui family, Junkei Tsutsui, is dead!
