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

Chapter 86 Kinki Pillar
In fact, Nobushige was one year older than Miyoshi Toshinaga. Although the latter had an army of 2,500 people, which seemed very intimidating, he was actually just a fledgling army. He was still unable to shake the powerful daimyo of the giant level like Hosokawa and Rokkaku. It would take at least ten years before he could truly challenge the hegemony of the Hosokawa clan.

Therefore, Nobushige was unwilling to join forces with Rokkaku Sadanari to deal with Miyoshi Toshinaga, but he couldn't refuse his face, so he had to find an excuse:

"It's a pity that my Wakasa Takeda clan has just experienced internal strife and encountered foreign enemies. The people's livelihood is in decline and there are many treacherous people. Although I brought a thousand people to Kyoto, it was just a facade, purely to show off to the shogun and the kanrei. The soldiers are of mixed quality and low morale. If they fight against the Miyoshi army, I'm afraid they will be defeated in just a few rounds. Alas, I am really disappointing..."

Hearing what Nobushige said, Rokkaku Sadanari's face turned from sunny to cloudy. How could he not hear the hidden meaning behind Nobushige's words: "I came all the way from Wakasa just to boost your momentum. At most, I only have so much wealth. If a fight really breaks out, I won't rush to the front."

However, Rokkaku Sadanori was not angry. After all, he was an old fox, and he knew the relationship between Miyoshi, Hosokawa and his own Rokkaku clan. The reason why he said that just now was just to test Nobushige to see if he regarded the imperial court and the shogunate as important as the previous heads of the Takeda clan.

Facts have proved that Rokkaku Sadanari's conjecture was accurate. Nobushige would not do a losing business for the so-called "righteousness". This is fundamentally different from Takeda Motonobu and Takeda Motomitsu.

"This new head of the Takeda clan is quite interesting." Rokkaku Sadanari thought, "Since they are all smart people, things will be much easier."

Although Rokkaku Sadanari intentionally expressed his dissatisfaction with Miyoshi Toshinaga, he knew in his heart that what was needed now was the power of the Miyoshi clan to disturb the stagnant water of Kinki. Only when the water was turbid could he profit from it.

Although Hosokawa Harumoto is now the guardian of five countries and the overlord of Kinki, excluding his important ministers Kizawa Nagamasa, Hatano Hidetada, Miyoshi Masanaga and Miyoshi Toshinaga, the territory he actually controls is not even as high as the direct territory of the Rokkaku clan.

Therefore, the two sides were in a delicate balance in Kinki. On the surface, they were allies, but secretly they were looking for opportunities to weaken the other side in order to achieve their absolute dominance in Kinki. The emergence of Miyoshi Toshinaga happened to give Rokkaku Sadanari an opportunity.

Although Miyoshi Toshinaga was still young at this time, as the head of the Miyoshi clan, he actually controlled the three countries of Awa, Sanuki and Awaji. Although Hosokawa Harumoto was nominally the guardian of Yamashiro, Settsu, Tamba, Sanuki and Tosa, he actually only controlled part of Yamashiro and Settsu. From this point of view, if fighting alone, Miyoshi Toshinaga could indeed defeat Hosokawa Harumoto.

However, as mentioned above, the important officials under Hosokawa Harumoto were all very powerful, and they would not ignore the rise of Miyoshi Toshinaga, especially Miyoshi Masanaga, who was also from the Miyoshi clan, and wanted to get rid of Miyoshi Toshinaga as soon as possible. Under such circumstances, Miyoshi Toshinaga rashly sent troops to Kyoto, obviously to show off his military power, and did not intend to achieve much tangible results.

Rokkaku Sadanari also saw this, and on the surface he stood with Hosokawa Harumoto, condemned Miyoshi Toshinaga, and supported Harumoto's invitation to Nobushige to Kyoto to boost his momentum. But in fact, he sent people to secretly communicate with Miyoshi Toshinaga, sharing all the intelligence he had obtained with him, so that he knew the weaknesses of the Hosokawa clan, and was able to capture Akutagawa Castle and gain a foothold in Settsu.

The presence of the Miyoshi family in Settsu was like a thorn in the side for Hosokawa Harumoto, forcing him to shift his attention from Kinai to Settsu, thus creating conditions for the Rokkaku clan to expand its control in Kinai.

In addition, Rokkaku Sadanari also knew that although the overall strength of the Hosokawa clan was greater than that of the Miyoshi clan, it would not be easy to drive the Miyoshi clan back to Shikoku. Not only would it require launching a large-scale offensive, but it would also require his own territory to be subjected to war. Hosokawa Harumoto would certainly be very cautious. Moreover, the 17 Kawachi territories were originally the former territories of Miyoshi Motonaga, and Miyoshi Toshinaga held a legitimate position. In this case, Hosokawa Harumoto would not risk the disapproval of the world and go to war with them.

The final result is likely to be that Hosokawa Harumoto compromised and "granted" the Kawachi Jujuuke to Miyoshi Toshinaga in exchange for stability in Kinki. But there is also a disadvantage to doing so, that is, the daimyo of the world will see that the authority of the Hosokawa family was trampled by Miyoshi Toshinaga, who was a retainer, and in the future, Hosokawa Harumoto will be even more difficult to convince the public. In contrast, the prestige of the Rokkaku family in Kinki will be further strengthened. With the above considerations, Rokkaku Sadanari will intentionally or unintentionally adopt a strategy of indulgence towards Miyoshi Toshinaga. This move of "sitting on the mountain and watching the tigers fight" is quite similar to what Nobushige just expressed.

"Yes, I have heard that it is not easy for Your Highness to be in Wakasa these days." Rokkaku Sadanori responded with feigned sympathy: "I also hope that the Kanrei and Iga no Kami can make peace so that the war will not affect us daimyo around us. We are old and can't stand the torment anymore."

"Your Highness, you are too modest. You are the pillar of Kinki. With you around, Iga-no-Kami will never dare to act rashly." Nobushige flattered.

"The pillar of Kinki? Hahaha." Rokkaku Sadanari laughed, "I didn't expect you to think so highly of me. Yes, I have taken Kinki's stability as my own responsibility. I have been in power for decades. The surrounding daimyo have all given me some face, and Kinai has been stable in recent years."

"What a pity," Rokkaku Sadanori changed the subject, looked at Rokkaku Yoshihide beside him, shook his head and said, "I wonder if the Rokkaku family will still be able to shoulder such an important responsibility after a hundred years of my life? Shiro, what do you think?"

"This..." Being asked this question out of the blue, Rokkaku Yoshitaka was caught off guard. After thinking for a moment, he bent down and said in a panic but confident tone: "Please rest assured, father. With my son here, I will definitely be able to continue the glory and authority of the Rokkaku family and keep Kinki peaceful."

"Haha, I hope so." Rokkaku Sadanori did not say much, but continued to ask Nobushige: "Let's not talk about these troublesome things. Your Highness has been in Kyoto for a while. How do you feel? Have you visited the Kubo and Kanrei?"

"The first person I'll pay a visit to when I come to Kyoto is His Highness Danjo. This is indeed impolite to the Kofu and His Highness Kanrei," Nobushige replied.

"Is that so?" Rokkaku Sadanari showed a satisfied look on his face. "This is indeed my negligence. Later, I will go to the Imperial Palace in person to apologize to the lord."

"What are you talking about?" Xinzhong hurriedly flattered, "I have long heard of your noble name and have known you for a long time. In order to meet you today, I can only neglect you. This is all my negligence. What crime has your highness committed?"

"This kid is really good at talking." Rokkaku Sadanari muttered happily in his heart, and then pointed at Rokkaku Yoshitaka and said to Nobushige: "Shiro and His Highness were both born in the first year of the Great Ei. If His Highness does not mind, please take good care of him in the future."

"You're joking. Shiro is a man of noble bearing, handsome and suave. He will surely become a great leader of the Rokkaku family in the future. In the future, I, the Wakasa Takeda clan, will have to ask Shiro to take care of me." Nobushige said respectfully. These flattering words made Rokkaku Yoshitaka feel very happy and he had a better impression of his future brother-in-law.

(End of this chapter)