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

Chapter 93: Guardian of Two Counties
Hearing Ashikaga Yoshiharu agree so readily, Nobushige was about to kowtow to express his gratitude, but was poured cold water by Hosokawa Harumoto's words.

"I'm afraid this matter needs to be discussed further..." Hosokawa Harumoto said to Ashikaga Yoshiharu.

"Why?" Ashikaga Yoshiharu was quite puzzled, thinking that even his companions could be given away so readily, but why couldn't he be given a guardian of a sub-county.

"The situation in Aki is a bit complicated right now." Hosokawa Harumoto originally wanted to explain to Ashikaga Yoshiharu in private, but the latter was in high spirits at the moment and insisted that he explain himself clearly.

"It is like this. Although the Wakasa Takeda family nominally owns the four counties of Annan, Sadō, Yamagata, and Anhoku, and occupies half of the eight counties of Aki. But in fact, their power in Aki has always been exercised by the Aki Takeda clan.

After so many years of chaos and fighting, Aki has now formed a three-way balance of power. Among them, the Ouchi clan occupies all four counties of Yamagata, Toyota, Kamo, and Annan, as well as part of Takata County, and is the nominal guardian of Aki; the Takeda clan occupies the three counties of Sadō, Sasaki, and Ankō; and the Mori clan occupies the eastern part of Takata County.

To be frank, the Yamagata and Annan counties have already fallen into the hands of the Ouchi clan. Under such circumstances, how can the Wakasa Takeda clan continue to be appointed as the guardian of these two counties? "

Although Hosokawa Harumoto's words were harsh, they were also true. Moreover, the Ouchi clan was wealthy and powerful at the time, and had always been on good terms with the imperial court and the shogunate. For the sake of the small Wakasa Takeda clan, it would be a loss-making or even bloody deal to offend the overlord of the western country, Ouchi Yoshitaka, who was the guardian of the six provinces of Suo, Nagato, Iwami, Aki, Buzen, and Chikuzen.

"Besides, the territory of the Takeda clan in Aki is now surrounded on three sides by the Ouchi clan. To put it bluntly, it is questionable how long they can hold out. The Shogun has appointed you as the guardian of the two counties of Sadō and Anboku. This will inevitably cause dissatisfaction among the Ouchi clan (a respectful title for Ouchi Yoshitaka, derived from his official title "Souhosuke"). Who will calm the anger of the Ouchi clan then?"

After Hosokawa Harumoto's explanation, Nobushige understood that he didn't want to give himself any of the protection of these four counties.

The atmosphere at the scene suddenly became depressing. Ashikaga Yoshiharu, who was cheerful just now, also felt the change in Nobushige's aura and tried to smooth things over:

"In my opinion, the two counties of Anbei and Sadō are not in the hands of Ouchisuke yet. Besides, he is already the guardian of Aki, so why would he care about the sub-guards of these two counties? How about this, I will make the decision. The sub-guards of these two counties will still be your Wakasa Takeda clan. As for the issue of Yamagata and Annan, we will discuss it later."

"Your Highness, you must know that Ouchisuke has always regarded Aki as his own. If you rashly grant the protection of two counties to the Takeda family, the consequences may be..."

Before Hosokawa Harumoto finished speaking, Takeda Motomitsu, who was sitting next to him, got angry and said, "Your Highness, what you said is wrong. What do you mean by bestowing it on the Takeda family? Since Lord Ujinobu, my Takeda family has been the governor of Aki for more than two hundred years. Isn't this enough? Do you think the Ouchi family has the nerve to compete with us for this governorship?"

"Please calm down the fire in the temple." Hosokawa Harumoto also realized that what he said just now was a bit rash, and hurriedly apologized to Takeda Motomitsu, "But please also think about the public official and me, and don't make things difficult for us."

"Your Highnesses," Xin Zhong spoke at this moment:
"I have led a thousand elite soldiers from Hokuriku to Kyoto, regardless of the chaos in my territory. I only want to serve the shogun wholeheartedly, suppress the rebels, and relieve His Highness Kanrei's urgent needs. Who could have thought that our Takeda clan's dedication and hard work would be rewarded with the unwarranted deprivation of the position of guardian of the four counties of Aki that has been held by generations. How can I explain this to my ancestors? It seems that I can no longer stay in Kyoto..."

After saying that, Nobushige sighed deeply, turned his face away, and pretended to be heartbroken. This scene made Ashikaga Yoshiharu feel ashamed: "Yes, the Takeda family came thousands of miles to protect Kyoto, but in the end, not only did they not reward them, but they were deprived of their service. This is really unacceptable."

"Kyozhao," Ashikaga Yoshiharu tugged at Hosokawa Harumoto's collar, frowned and said softly, "Look at how serious this matter is. You should do as I say. After all, the two counties are still in the hands of the Takeda clan. It is legitimate for them to be appointed as governors of the branch counties. I think Ouchisuke will not say anything. If it really doesn't work, I will send Shinji to Suo later to explain it to him. He should give me this face. The most urgent task is to persuade the Miyoshi army in Akutagawa Castle to withdraw as soon as possible."

Hosokawa Harumoto was silent for a long time, and thought for a long time, and finally patted his thigh and agreed: "Since the Lord of the Imperial Court has spoken, what else can I say? Let's just settle the matter of the guardian of Anbei and Sadō counties."

"Thank you, Your Highness!" As soon as Hosokawa Harumoto finished speaking, Nobushige pulled Takeda Motomitsu together to kowtow to Ashikaga Yoshiharu and Hosokawa Harumoto to express his gratitude.

Nobushige thought, "Although I lost the position of guardian of two counties, I gained the position of a shogun's companion. Overall, the gains outweigh the losses. We should be moderate in doing things. Since Hosokawa Harumoto has made concessions, I should also take a step back. Otherwise, we might end up in a bad mood."

"In that case, let's make it a deal. The ceremony for promoting the companions, appointing the two kingdoms guardians, and appointing the two counties guardians will be held together soon. But I heard that the Miyoshi army in Akutagawa Castle is ready to take action." Ashikaga Yoshiharu said, turning his head to look at Hosokawa Harumoto: "You promised me that you would never let the war spread to Kyoto."

Hosokawa Harumoto nodded and responded in a fearful manner: "Please rest assured, Your Highness. I will send someone to ask for help from Rokkaku Dansho right away. Please also ask Wu Wei to prepare and bring the troops to Yamazaki Castle as soon as possible."

"I understand. As soon as the investiture ceremony is over, I will personally lead the troops to Yamazaki Castle," Nobushige replied.

"Very good." Hosokawa Harumoto nodded.

As the sun was setting, at the suggestion of Hosokawa Harumoto, Ashikaga Yoshiharu invited Nobushige and Takeda Motomitsu to dine at the Imperial Palace, and Sanjo Konori also stayed to accompany them. Several people were toasting and drinking happily, especially Ashikaga Yoshiharu, who hadn't been so relaxed for a long time, so he wanted to drink to his heart's content. The banquet lasted until late at night, and Nobushige and Takeda Motomitsu were drunk before it ended.

After ordering Xiao Xing to send the two to the other courtyard to rest, Hosokawa Harumoto returned to the palace. Looking at Ashikaga Yoshiharu, who was still unsatisfied and drinking by himself in the palace, a complex emotion suddenly surged in his heart, including contempt and disdain, but more of sympathy - as a dignified Shogun, living like this today, is it his personal sorrow, or the sorrow of the times?
"Your Highness, what do you think of the new head of the Takeda family?" Hosokawa Harumoto approached Ashikaga Yoshiharu and asked softly.

"Good, very good!" Ashikaga Yoshiharu said drunkenly, "This kid will definitely be an extraordinary person in the future."

"What does your highness think?" Hosokawa Harumoto suddenly became interested.

"This, this guy has a good alcohol tolerance!" As he said this, Ashikaga Yoshiharu fell on the table with a "clang" and fell into a deep sleep.

"Haha, I shouldn't have asked him." Hosokawa Harumoto laughed bitterly and shook his head. "However, this kid is indeed a little different. It would be a blessing if he could be used by me in the future."

(End of this chapter)