Japan's Warring States Period: The Rise of the Wakasa Tiger

Chapter 15 Harumoto's Plan
"Look at the Hosokawa Kyojo family. Those daimyo are vying to marry their daughters to them as concubines. In the final analysis, it is all about strength. Our main family is currently weak, so the Rokkaku family will naturally bargain. Please believe me, father, in five years at most, I will make the Rokkaku family, the Asakura family, the Hosokawa Kyojo family and even the Kubo rush to marry their daughters to me." Nobushige vowed.

"I am very pleased that you are so heroic." Takeda Motomitsu didn't know where Nobushige got the confidence from, but it sounded very convincing, not like he was talking nonsense. He seemed to feel a little more unfamiliar with his youngest son.

The father and son talked all night long, and it was almost five o'clock in the morning when Takeda Motomitsu left.

"The Takeda family is left to you." Before leaving, Takeda Motomitsu said the same words as Takeda Nobutoyo, but compared to the latter's lost tone, the former's tone was a little worried and expectant.

"Yes, the Takeda family will rely on me to carry the heavy burden from now on." Nobushige walked out of the palace and looked at the bright moon in the sky. A ripple appeared in his heart: in the last life, he was just an otaku. Today, can he lead the Wakasa Takeda clan, this precarious family, to the other side of the calm sea?

Wakasa Province is only three counties in size, but its advantage lies in its advantageous geographical location. It is located in the Hokuriku region, but is adjacent to Kinki. It is the intersection of the Tango Road and the Hokuriku Road. It has always been an important connecting point for sea goods to be brought into the capital and for daimyo to pay tribute to Kyoto.

Every move here is under the watchful eyes of various forces at all times. How could such a big turmoil as the "Miyagawa Rebellion" not attract the attention of surrounding forces?

Two days later, Kyoto, Nijo Palace.

Ashikaga Yoshiharu, the 12th Shogun of the Muromachi shogunate, who loved cuju, was playing with several of his retainers, sweating profusely and having a great time. At this time, a young man came to report that Hosokawa Harumoto had come to see him.

After hearing this, Ashikaga Yoshiharu, although reluctant, still dismissed everyone and returned to the inner hall to bathe and change clothes. Then he came to the Ohirikawa to meet the complacent shogunate leader.

Just over a year ago, with the outstanding political skills of Hosokawa Harumoto, first the Enryakuji Temple and the Rokkaku family helped him quell the "Tenmon Hokke Rebellion", and then eliminated the remnant forces of Hosokawa Takakuni (the kanrei supported by Takeda Motomitsu), stabilized the order in Kinai, and soon after was promoted to Junior Fourth Rank, Lower Ukyo Daifu, and completely took charge of the shogunate.

With the "assistance" of this "lord of restoration" who ended the civil strife of the Hosokawa clan, Ashikaga Yoshiharu, although three years older than him, played the role of puppet more and more vividly.

Even though he was extremely dissatisfied, his impotent rage was of no use. He could only hope that one day the Hosokawa clan would experience civil strife again so that he could seize the opportunity to gain some power and restore the prestige that the Ashikaga shogunate had lost for a long time since the Onin War.

After the two of them sat down in the palace, Hosokawa Harumoto stroked his mustache and got straight to the point, asking in a rather sharp Awa accent, "Your Highness, have you heard that the guardian of Wakasa Province was replaced not long ago?"

Ashikaga Yoshiharu's first reaction was, "How long has it been? Half a year? I remember that Takeda Nobutoyo was appointed as the Lord of Izu not long ago, right?"

Hosokawa Harumoto nodded, "That's right. It's only been half a year, and the head of the family has changed again. But this time is not ordinary. The shogunate in Wakasa reported that first, Izu no Kami's cousin Takeda Nobutaka rebelled and forced him to give up the position of head of the family. Then, within half a day, Takeda Nobutaka was defeated by Takeda Nobushige and committed suicide. Poor Izu no Kami, he abdicated twice in one day, which is unheard of."

"There is a Chinese saying, 'A small temple brings out the evil spirits'. It is exactly what the Wakasa Takeda family is talking about. They are already weak and there are internal strife at every turn. They are really asking for trouble."

After Hosokawa Takakuni and Takeda Motomitsu were defeated in the Battle of Katsura Gawahara, they forced Ashikaga Yoshiharu to flee to Omi Sakamoto Castle, during which time the two sides had many conflicts. Now, Hosokawa Takakuni has been defeated, and Ashikaga Yoshiharu has returned to Kyoto. The Takeda clan has also tried to repair the relationship with the shogunate in many ways, but Ashikaga Yoshiharu still has a grudge about what happened back then, so it is understandable that he said this.

"But then again, who is this Takeda Nobushige? Why haven't I heard of him before?"

"This man is the younger brother of Izu no Kami, the youngest son of Master Sosho (Takeda Motomitsu), only seventeen years old. He had been a monk in Kennin-ji Temple before, and only returned to Wakasa a month ago."

"He is only seventeen years old... and just returned to secular life a month ago... With such a shallow foundation, how can he command those arrogant and powerful generals in Wakasa?" Ashikaga Yoshiharu couldn't help but feel curious about this unfamiliar new head of the Takeda clan.

"I think this guy is quite capable. He used this rebellion to defeat the Awaya and Naito families of the 'Four Heavenly Kings of Takeda' and also annexed the territory of the Miyagawa Takeda family. His strength has increased significantly."

As they talked, Hosokawa Harumoto actually developed a better impression of Nobushige, the head of the Takeda clan, whom he had never met before, and suggested to Ashikaga Yoshiharu whether they should take the opportunity of congratulating him on his succession to test his strength and try to win him over. After all, there were only a handful of daimyo who could give their full support to the shogunate, and the Wakasa Takeda clan was one of them.

"That's what I mean." Ashikaga Yoshiharu immediately agreed: "I will report to Your Majesty in the next few days and send an imperial envoy to Wakasa to appoint him as the governor of Izu."

"Your Highness, who do you think is suitable for this trip?" asked Hosokawa Harumoto.

"Does the Kanrei have a candidate in mind?" Ashikaga Yoshiharu asked. "What do you think of Sanjo-kun?"

"Oh? Sanjo A-sho ("A-sho" is the Tang name for the Grand Councilor)... If I remember correctly, he is your father-in-law." Upon hearing that Hosokawa Harumoto wanted his father-in-law to serve as an imperial envoy to Wakasa, Ashikaga Yoshiharu immediately became alert:
"The Takeda clan has changed its head twice in one day. There is no guarantee that there will not be troubles within the clan. I am worried that this mission will not go smoothly. Huangmendian is of noble status, so there is really no need to take the risk."

In terms of intelligence, Hosokawa Harumoto was much smarter than Ashikaga Yoshiharu, so how could he not know what the general was worried about? In order to implement his plan smoothly, he had to make up an excuse:
"Though things are different now, the Wakasa Takeda clan has always been on good terms with the shogunate. This time, the new lord must send someone who knows the lord well and has a good status to show his respect. After careful consideration, I think the Prime Minister is the best choice. After Masako passed away, I remarried, so please don't worry too much about the so-called 'father-in-law'."

Sanjo Konyori was the son of the Prime Minister Sanjo Saneka. Although he himself was unknown, his three daughters were all famous.

The eldest daughter was the wife of Hosokawa Harumoto, but unfortunately she died young due to illness, so Harumoto married Rokkaku Sadanari's daughter as his second wife.

The second daughter, Sanjo no Kata, married to Kai two years ago and became the second wife of Takeda Harunobu, the young master of the Takeda clan.
The third daughter was not born at this time, but later she married Kennyo of Honganji and was passed down to later generations with the Buddhist name "Ruchunni".

Although Sanjo Konyori and Hosokawa Harumoto are no longer related by marriage, the two are still close personal friends. This has long been known to everyone, and Ashikaga Yoshiharu is also well aware of it.

"The only choice..." Ashikaga Yoshiharu could tell that Hosokawa Harumoto was hinting to him that there was no other choice except Sanjo Konori, and he had no choice but to agree.

When you are under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. Even the shogun Ashikaga Yoshiharu had to bow his proud head in front of the rising star Hosokawa Harumoto.

"Then let's do as you wish." Although he didn't understand what Hosokawa Harumoto was up to, Ashikaga Yoshiharu felt a little uneasy.

In fact, Hosokawa Harumoto did have selfish motives in recommending Sanjo Konori, but it had nothing to do with Ashikaga Yoshiharu. He was just too sensitive after being a puppet for too long.

As mentioned earlier, Hosokawa Harumoto had acted as a matchmaker, hoping that Takeda Nobutoyo would marry Rokkaku Sadanari's daughter as his principal wife. Now, just as Takeda Motomitsu expected, after hearing that Takeda Nobutoyo had been driven out of office, Hosokawa Harumoto felt that he had lost his usefulness, so the marriage naturally fell through.

However, Hosokawa Harumoto had a favorable impression of the newly succeeded Nobushige, so he wanted Sanjo Konyori to go to Wakasa on his behalf to continue to promote the marriage between the Rokkaku family and the Takeda family, but the marriage partner changed from Takeda Nobutoyo to Nobushige. If this marriage was successful, Hosokawa Harumoto could become a brother-in-law with Nobushige and pull the Wakasa Takeda clan into his side.

You know, Asai Ryomasa of northern Omi was defeated by Rokkaku Sadayasu not long ago, and he was already like the Rokkaku clan, and Rokkaku Sadayasu basically unified Omi;
The Kawachi guardian, Hatakeyama Yoshiuji, was Harumoto's nephew;

Harumoto himself served as the guardian of the five kingdoms of Yamashiro, Ozu, Tanba, Sanki, and Tosa.

Therefore, once the marriage with Nobushige is achieved, Hosokawa Harumoto will be able to use the power of Rokkaku and Takeda clan to form a huge network of power bordering Wakasa Bay in the north, Seto Inland Sea in the south, Harima in the west, and the three passes (Suzuka, Fuwa, and Aiha) in the east. At that time, Harumoto can rest assured.

Hosokawa Harumoto's idea is good, but whether it can be realized depends on the eloquence of Sanjo Kanarasu.

However, Hosokawa Harumoto was not worried about this. After all, being able to marry into powerful families in Kinki such as Rokkaku and Hosokawa Kyocho was what many small daimyo dreamed of. He expected that the Takeda clan had just encountered civil strife and would definitely hope to be able to rely on a powerful daimyo to stabilize their rule in Wakasa. Now that he was extending an olive branch, there was no reason for them to not accept it.

Two flowers bloom, each with its own beauty. While Hosokawa Harumoto was dreaming, he also learned that the forces that wanted to change the heir of the Takeda clan were also ready to make a move, including the Echizen Asakura clan and the Tango Isshiki clan.

Inside the palace of Ichijodani Castle, an envoy from the Asakura family was kneeling and trembling.

"Following the orders of my lord, I went to suppress the rebellion of Awaya Katsuhisa in Kuniyoshi Castle. Unexpectedly, this guy was ungrateful and directly drove me out." The messenger lowered his head, not daring to look directly at Asakura Takakage, the tenth head of the Echizen Asakura clan, who was sitting in the hall with a stern face.

This chapter mainly changes the angle and describes the situation faced by Takeda from a global perspective. It must be said that it is still very bad.

Thank you very much to Daidai Map, I don’t have an account, book friend 160702210353024, Qingdi 321 and other friends for their rewards, monthly tickets and recommendation votes!


(End of this chapter)