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

Chapter 68: Yukute Ishiki
Nobushige obviously had no motive or desire to kill Isshiki Yoshiyuki, who was like a puppet in front of him: one should look at the owner before killing the dog. After all, this guy was a member of the Ashikaga Shogun's family. Although the shogunate had declined, the righteous cause was still there. Considering the future development, some face should be saved. Especially in this peace with the Asakura family, Ashikaga Yoshiharu also made an effort, so he couldn't slap him in the face at this time.

"Don't worry, Your Highness. I won't hurt you in the slightest." Xinzhong said, "But now that things have come to this, there is one thing I still need Your Highness to make a decision on."

"What's the matter?" Isshiki Yoshiyuki looked at Nobushige in the palace with suspicion.

"Your Highness, do you want to stay in Tango or go to Kyoto?" Nobushige asked.

"What do you mean?" Isshiki Yoshiyuki felt puzzled.

"It's very simple. If you want to stay in Tango, you have to agree to one of my conditions. If you want to live in seclusion in Kyoto, I will not stop you. I will also give you enough money for the trip and send someone to escort you along the way."

"Ridiculous," Isshiki Yoshiyuki snorted, "You want me to go to Kyoto and leave Tango to you? Wishful thinking."

"Do you think that if you stay in Tango, it will be yours? Besides, whether you can stay or not is not something you, a prisoner, can decide!" Kumagai Takashige, who was standing next to Nobushige, asked unhappily.

Just as Isshiki Yoshiyuki was about to argue, Nobushige raised his hand to stop Kumagai Takanao from speaking, and continued: "Since Your Highness wants to stay in Tango, you must agree to one condition of mine."

"What conditions?" Isshiki asked cautiously.

"It's very simple, Your Highness can do it with just a little effort." Nobushige smiled amiably again. "A few days ago, I sent someone to Kanto to meet with His Highness Naoyori of the Isshiki family of the Koute, hoping that he would adopt his second son, Ise Fukumaru, to you, and that the little prince would succeed the head of the Isshiki family."

The Saketsu Isshiki clan is a distant branch of the Isshiki clan, named after the Saketsu Castle in Tamiya-sho, Kanto. Unlike the Isshiki clan, which had a high status in the shogunate, the Saketsu Isshiki clan could only enjoy the treatment of the shogunate's "Gaibanshu" most of the time, and because they lived in Kanto for a long time, they had a very distant relationship with the main family.

At this time, the head of the Kote Isshiki clan was Isshiki Naoyasu, a veteran of the Koga Kubo. He had two sons, one was Isshiki Naotomo who inherited the position of lord of Kote Castle, and the other was Ise Fukumaru who was only eight years old.

Nobushige wanted this little kid to replace Isshiki Yoshiyuki and become the head of the Isshiki family. His purpose was clear, which was to use the bloodline of the side branch to dilute the status and prestige of the main family and create conditions for himself to gradually control Tango.

Isshiki Yoshiyuki was obviously unwilling to agree to this condition. He tried to argue with Nobushige, "Although I have no children yet, I am only twenty years old. Isn't it a bit too hasty to choose an heir for me now?"

"Too hasty? I just said that this is a necessary condition for Your Highness to stay in Tango. Pass the position of family head to Ise Fukumaru, and Your Highness can live in peace. Otherwise, I can only send you to Kyoto." Nobushige's words were casual, but the threat was already strong.

"The Yukitate Isshiki clan is a distant branch. If the throne has to be passed on, I would rather pass it on to the close branch, the Shikibu Isshiki clan." In order to stay in Tango and make a comeback, Isshiki Yoshiyuki decided to agree to Nobushige's conditions, but he still wanted to fight for the details.

"Haha, it's precisely because he's a distant branch that I let him inherit." Xinzhong thought so in his heart, but he couldn't say it out loud:

"I have heard that Ise Fukumaru is very smart and talented, and is the perfect candidate to revive the Isse clan. Your Highness, rest assured, when he takes the position of the head, I will send someone to assist and teach him."

"Since you have already thought of everything for me, what else can I say?" Isshiki Yoshiyuki snorted coldly, thinking that as long as he could stay in Tango, he would just endure it for the time being. After all, he had endured it all these years in the hands of Nobuyoshi Nobuyuki. "That's great," Nobushige was very pleased after getting Isshiki Yoshiyuki's reply, "There are two more things that Your Highness needs to know."

"What's the matter?"

"First, I will report to the shogun and ask him to appoint me as the guardian of Tango. Second, after I assume the post of guardian, I will remove Nobunaga Harunobu from his position as the guardian deputy and replace him with Shirai Tamebe Mitsutane."

"What do you mean?" Isshiki Yoshiyuki was shocked. "You want to be the guardian of Tango as well? Where does that put the Isshiki family?"

"After all, the Isse clan is descended from a famous family. I will grant your clan 1,800 koku of land in Katayama Castle in Kasa County," Nobushige replied.

"One thousand eight hundred stones?! We are a famous family with 'four positions' and 'seven heads', but we only have less than two thousand stones?" Isshiki Yoshiyuki was completely stunned. When he was a puppet before, the stones in his hand were more than one thousand eight hundred stones. This number can only be ranked in the middle and lower ranks among the people of Tango.

"The 1,800 koku was fought for by our lord for your Isshiki clan. You have to know that the Takeda clan has so many meritorious ministers who need rewards. It is a great gift to be able to squeeze out so much land for you." Kagawa Morihisa, who participated in the preparations for the post-war assessment, also stood up at this moment, hoping that Isshiki Yoshiyuki would not let down Nobuyuki's kindness.

"Haha, I won't be the head of the family anytime soon anyway, so do whatever you want." Isshiki Yoshiyuki said this, but he was actually very angry. He firmly believed that the Wakasa Takeda clan would never be so smooth sailing forever, and as long as he had the opportunity to make a comeback, he would definitely take back everything that belonged to him and the Isshiki clan.

"Okay, okay! Since His Highness has agreed, then I will be a good person to the end. Please also write a letter to recommend me as the guardian of Tango. In this way, it will be easier for the royal court to talk to me." Nobushige said to Isshiki Yoshiyuki with a smile.

Isshiki Yoshiyuki shook his head helplessly, and replied with a sad tone: "The winner is the king and the loser is the bandit, do whatever you want!"

Nobushige didn't expect Isshiki Yoshiyuki to be so easy to talk to, so he nodded with satisfaction and told his attendant, "Send His Highness to rest. I won't bother His Highness with the rest."

Looking at Isshiki Yoshiyuki's drooping back, an idiom emerged in Nobushige's mind: "good intentions but lack of strength". Yes, as a famous military family, they have fallen into such a situation. Any head of the family with a little ambition would not watch all this happen and do nothing, right?
But they are not Nobuyoshi, nor do they have the same opportunities as the Takeda clan. What else can they do except "impotent rage"? If they are lucky, they can still preserve their bloodline, but if they are not careful, their family name will be cut off.

The chaotic Warring States period was like a balance. On one side of the balance was success and fame; on the other side was failure and eternal damnation.

In times of chaos, who can guarantee that they will always be on this side of the scale, always victorious and undefeated, and everlasting prosperity?

感谢矢敏之、胖嘟嘟教授、delgnze、不可避免的分离痛、读者164561964919827456、七宗罪之懒惰、书友20230611125658285、合金蛋挞、雪竹清、20220317153900165、波风乾、书友20200729204517200、第三次重开账号、ming@@、西域响马、zhui1219、怒发升天、潜水鱼雷、miona、书友20240209125107159朋友的打赏和月票支持；

Thanks to Jiliang, Qingdi321, Jueshitiansha, kingleo, Shiaqingya, Guagua123 and other friends for their recommendations and wonderful comments.

This book will be on the shelves tomorrow. As you all know, Xiong Zai is usually busy with work, so I don’t have many manuscripts saved and it’s difficult to update them quickly. I hope everyone can understand. Thank you again for your company over the past month. Xiong Zai is very happy and I wish everyone can be happy every day! I also wish all the students who are taking the college entrance examination can be admitted to their ideal universities!
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(End of this chapter)