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

Chapter 63 Willing to Give It a Try

Sanjo Konori was the 16th head of the Sanjo family. His original surname was Fujiwara and he was from the Fujiwara Kita family, the Kanin-ryu direct line. The Sanjo family was one of the Qinghua families. In terms of family tradition, they were quite firm in their beliefs and advocated frugality, so they were well-known in the court.

Although he advocated frugality, Sanjo Konori was not good at riding a horse and could only take a ride to Wakasa.

At first, they took the Kuchikikoshi route from Kyoto to Obama. The road conditions were pretty good and not too bumpy. However, the roads from Obama to Kuniyoshi Castle and from Kuniyoshi Castle to Kanayama Castle were mostly mountainous, which really made the Gon Dainagon very dizzy and vomiting. The journey that was supposed to take less than two days took six days to arrive.

Fortunately, after passing Kanazawa Castle, they entered the plains, and Sanjo Konori was able to catch his breath, passing the prosperous Tsuruga Town and arriving at Kanazaki Castle. Since Nobushige was at the Kimei Pass at the time, Kagawa Morihisa was in charge of the city affairs. He arranged the best guest room for Sanjo Konori, and took great care of his food and bathing, allowing Sanjo Konori, who had experienced a bumpy journey, to feel the long-lost comfort.

There are many stories behind why Sanjo Konori, who was over 40 years old, served as the imperial envoy.

It was mentioned before that Hosokawa Harumoto was planning to send Sanjo Kamiyori to Wakasa and appoint him as the Lord of Izu, while also trying to arrange a marriage between the Takeda clan and the Rokkaku clan depending on the situation.

However, man proposes, God disposes. Before Sanjo Konraji set out, Hosokawa Harumoto received news that the Asakura and Isshiki clans were attacking Wakasa from the east and west.

Hosokawa Harumoto, who was always cunning, was also undecided at this time.

In his impression, the Wakasa Takeda clan lacked martial virtues, and they had just experienced civil strife, so they were definitely no match for Asakura Takakage. This time, the Asakura clan sent more than 10,000 troops, and the veteran Asakura Munetoki was the military commissioner. With Nobumori's limited force, they would probably be defeated and destroyed in less than a month. Sending people to Wakasa at this time would not benefit him, on the contrary, it might anger Asakura Takakage.

Therefore, the request for the imperial court to send an imperial envoy was put on hold. Even when Yunfeng Ryuoki and Takeda Motomitsu arrived at Nijo Palace on the twelfth day of the first lunar month, Hosokawa Harumoto suggested that Ashikaga Yoshiharu should not meet them, but arrange for them to stay temporarily at Shokoku-ji Temple. After that, the two asked to see Hosokawa Harumoto many times, but they were unsuccessful.

Although it was inconvenient to meet with the two for the time being, Hosokawa Harumoto was also paying close attention to the situation, especially on the 14th day of the first lunar month, when he learned that the Asakura army had suffered heavy losses in Iwadeyama and had been unable to capture the city after a long siege. On the 18th day of the first lunar month, he received secret reports that the Asakura clan had experienced internal strife and Asakura Kagetaka had usurped the position of head. Only then did he feel that the Asakura army might not be able to conquer Wakasa this time.

Since he couldn't take over Wakasa, he might as well do a favor and help the Takeda clan in time of need, and then use Nobushige to contain the Asakura clan so that it could not extend its tentacles to Omi, thereby maintaining his sphere of influence in Kinki.

On the 23rd day of the first lunar month, Hosokawa Harumoto received a secret report that the Asakura army had lost three battles against the Takeda army and that the Takeda army had already counterattacked into Echizen. He was surprised by the bravery of the Takeda army and immediately set out for Nijo Palace to persuade Ashikaga Yoshiharu to summon Unmine Ryūoki and Takeda Motomitsu.

Ashikaga Yoshiharu was a puppet controlled by Hosokawa Harumoto. He received the two men warmly according to the instructions of Hosokawa Harumoto, and promised to send someone to the palace immediately to ask the emperor to send an imperial envoy to the Wakasa front to mediate.

After repeated consideration and discussion, Hosokawa Harumoto chose Sanjo Konyori as the imperial envoy.

Before leaving, he told Sanjo Konori that his purpose of going to Hokuriku was, first, to mediate the conflict between the Takeda clan and the Asakura clan and find out the strength of both sides; second, to appoint Nobushige as the Lord of Izu and to improve the relationship with the Takeda clan; third, to test whether the Takeda clan had the intention of marrying the Rokkaku clan, which would also determine whether Nobushige was willing to work for him.

On the 26th day of the first lunar month, accompanied by Yunfeng Longxing and Takeda Motomitsu, Sanjo Konyori officially set out from Kyoto and headed for Wakasa.

On the 30th day of the first lunar month, they arrived at Obama Castle, but learned from the castle lord that Nobushige had already gone to Kanezaki Castle, so they hurried to Kanezaki Castle. However, before they set off, Sanjo Konrai caught a cold, which delayed them for a few more days. They finally arrived at Kanezaki Castle on February 11th.

It took this group of people 16 days to complete a journey that could have been completed in 5 or 6 days. No wonder some people say that the nobles in Kyoto are spoiled. It seems that there is a reason for this. Upon learning that Sanjo Konori had arrived at Kanazaki Castle, Nobushige immediately rode back from the Kometoge Pass. When he arrived at the castle, Sanjo Konori had just finished his lunch.

Seeing the head of the Sanjo family, the Gon Dainagon, who wore a tassel, a belt, and spoke in an "elegant" language, Nobushige bowed respectfully. Although the etiquette was still different from the standards of the court, Sanjo Konori did not say much because he was sincere, but just reminded him lightly: "Your Highness needs to learn more about etiquette, so as not to be impolite when you see His Majesty and the court in the future."

"I understand. Thank you, Prime Minister, for your advice." Xinzhong said respectfully.

"Stand up and talk." Sanjo Gonglai said in a rather sharp voice.

Xinzhong then raised his head and looked at the middle-aged man in front of him with a fair face and a mustache.

At this time, Sanjo Konraji was also looking Nobushige up and down. Looking at this handsome, imposing, and upright head of the Takeda family, he nodded with satisfaction.

"I heard that Your Highness has been in the mountains and forests recently to guard against the Asakura family. It must be very tiring."

"For the sake of my family business, I have to work hard and travel a lot. But you, Prime Minister, came from the prosperous Kyoto to this poor and remote place for the sake of my Takeda clan. I am really ashamed."

Hearing what Nobushige said, Sanjo Gonglai was very satisfied. Compared with those country warriors, this guy was quite polite and knew how to entertain and get along with guests.

"I have been entrusted with a task and I must be loyal to the person who entrusted me with it. Since I have agreed to come as an imperial envoy to mediate the dispute between you and the Asakura clan, please do not be too polite. Please tell me what conditions you can accept and what conditions the Asakura clan can accept. Only when the conditions of both sides are understood can I mediate between them."

Then, Nobushige put the conditions of both parties in front of Sanjo Konori and explained in detail why he could not agree to Asakura's conditions.

After listening to Xinzhong's description and explanation, Sanjo Gonglai frowned slightly. It was obvious that this job was not an easy one.

"Your Highness should be aware that with the strength and status of the Asakura clan, it is already a great honor to offer such conditions." Sanjo Kuniyori said, "If the stalemate continues, I am worried that Master Sotei will lose his patience..."

"I believe that with the intervention of the Prime Minister, this matter will soon turn around and will not remain at a stalemate." Xinzhong said with a smile.

"I urgently need to figure out one thing. Is this master of Zongdi determined to stop or does he just need a step?" Sanjo Gonglai analyzed: "If he won't give up until he takes down the other half of Tsuruga, then it will be difficult. If he just needs a step, maybe I can give it a try."

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(End of this chapter)