Chapter 30

"By the power of Lord Oda, I wish to have the Miyoshi Trio expelled from Kyoto."

In the autumn of 1566, Takeda Yoshinaga, the younger brother of Ashikaga Yoshiaki, appeared in Gifu with a few shogunal retainers.

After Yoshiaki's assassination, the Miyoshi Trio and Matsunaga Hisahide installed Ashikaga Yoshihide, Yoshiaki's cousin, as the 14th shogun, using him as a puppet. Yoshinaga was seen as a threat and nearly assassinated.

Yoshinaga barely escaped and asked Nobunaga for help to become the legitimate Seii Taishogun.

Nobunaga accepted their request.

Before that, Yoshinaga and his group had also asked Asakura Yoshikage for the same assistance, but were turned down.

Hikaru thought to himself, 'The Ashikaga shogunate is probably over,' but as a former CEO of a small company, he read the room and never said it out loud.

"Lord Shinchi, Lord Yoshinaga says he does not mind your name. He also says he will grant you the position of Ise Shima's guardian. Follow Lord Oda and march to Kyoto."

Since Nobunaga had accepted the request, Hikaru, as a vassal, had no reason to refuse.

Although he didn't particularly want it, he was told he would receive the position of Ise Shima's guardian, so he returned to Shinchi to gather troops, thinking it would be a loss-making venture.

Once it was decided that Nobunaga and Hikaru would help, Yoshinaga left the priesthood and changed his name to Yoshinaga.

Many shogunal retainers gathered around him when he arrived in Gifu.

Many had followed him in his escape to save Yoshinaga from the Miyoshi Trio, but others, who had fled after Yoshiaki's assassination, saw this as an opportunity to regain power and joined him.

A capable-looking man named Hosokawa Fujitaka encouraged Hikaru to participate, but Hikaru didn't have a good impression of him.

As a shogunal retainer, he must have come from a prestigious family, but Hikaru couldn't help but wonder why he was so condescending.

'Mitsu, I'm counting on you.'

'My lord, the position of Ise Shima's guardian will be necessary.'

Encouraged by Nobunaga and urged by Yasuharu, the Shinchi army joined the Oda family in supporting Yoshinaga and began their march to Kyoto.

This was also joined by Azai Nagamasa, who had formed an alliance with the Oda.

The two armies joined forces and, as the saying goes, 'Yesterday's enemy is today's friend,' they attacked the Rokkaku family's castle, Kannonji Castle, and either destroyed or surrendered the powerful clans of southern Omi.

For the Azai family, the Rokkaku were mortal enemies.

They fought valiantly, defeating and subduing many powerful clans and capturing their castles.

"The Azai family! They are just foxes borrowing the authority of Nobunaga!"

Rokkaku Yoshikata, Yoshitaka, and Yoshinaga, along with some of their retainers, fled to the Koka district to resist the Oda army.

Southern Omi had been the Rokkaku family's territory for generations, and they judged that they could resist by waging guerrilla warfare.

In the past, some ancestors had fled to the Koka district and regained power from there, so it was a common tactic for the Rokkaku family.

However, the three were captured by the Shinchi army when they reached the Koka district.

"Too bad, the Shinchi army was on a separate mission crossing Iga."

Accompanying the march to Kyoto, Nobunaga decided to use the Koka Fifty-Three Families as a direct ninja corps of the Oda family, following Hikaru's work in Iga.

Many were hired by the Oda family and moved to live in the mountains of Mino.

Those left behind were put under the command of Wada Koremasa, a native of the Koka district who followed Ashikaga Yoshinaga.

The Koka district had already surrendered to the Oda family before the Rokkaku family fled there.

"Cut off their heads!"

Without waiting for Nobunaga to intercede, Yoshinaga ordered the heads of the Rokkaku family to be cut off.

He must have been unable to forgive them for killing his brother, collaborating with the Miyoshi Trio and Matsunaga Hisahide, and preventing his march to Kyoto.

He angrily ordered Nobunaga.

"By the order of His Excellency, prepare yourselves."

Nobunaga had thought about pardoning them as they might be useful, but since Yoshinaga wouldn't forgive them, there was nothing he could do.

The three were beheaded and later displayed in Kyoto as 'rebels.'

"Hurry up."

Here, the Shinchi army of ten thousand joined the Oda and Azai allied forces, and they headed for Yamashiro.

The Shinchi army, led by Hikaru, includedHonda Masanobu and Masaharu, Horio Nagayoshi, Hidetsugu, and Shimazu Kiyohisa.

Seiki was still a recluse, and Emiko, who was expecting her third child, and Oichi, who was also about to give birth, did not come.

"Mitsu, this is Azai Nagamasa."

"I am Shinchi Hikaru."

"I am Azai Nagamasa. I have heard of the Overlord of Ise."

Hikaru was called this nickname because he and his brother had completely taken control of Ise and Shima in a short time, despite their unknown origins.

While Seiki, who had a case of otaku syndrome, might have been happy about it, Hikaru honestly didn't like it.

He felt embarrassed when called that.

"It's all thanks to my retainers. I'm just a light palanquin."

"The Overlord of Ise is humble."

Nagamasa, a gentle young man close to Hikaru's age, made a good impression on Hikaru.

"Before long, I will become your brother-in-law, Mitsu."

Nobunaga had decided to marry his sister to Nagamasa.

Nagamasa was twenty-one, and Noh, Oichi's younger sister, was fifteen.

Nobunaga seemed to think their ages were just right.

"Together, support me, your brother-in-law, from now on."

"Of course!"

"Then, let's head to Kyoto."

The Oda, Shinchi, and Azai allied forces of seventy thousand headed for Yamashiro.

While the movements of the Miyoshi and Matsunaga alliance were a concern, they had gathered as many troops as possible and were waiting between Omi and Yamashiro.

Their number was forty-eight thousand, and they planned to use their smaller numbers to their advantage by defending and using their knowledge of the terrain.

"Although we couldn't get the help of the Mikawa troops led by Ieyasu, we have two reliable brothers-in-law. Charge!"

At Nobunaga's signal, the two armies, the Miyoshi-Matsunaga alliance and the Oda-Shinchi-Azai alliance, clashed.

The Oda side attacked, and the Miyoshi side defended, trying to accumulate damage to the Oda side and force them to retreat.

"Lord Nobunaga! Can we really win?"

"Rest assured, Lord Yoshinaga."

Yoshinaga, with a small force of about two hundred, including his retinue and those who joined in southern Omi, was stationed at Nobunaga's headquarters and did not participate in the battle.

He seemed anxious about being directly involved in the fighting, as he had been a monk and was not used to it.

He called out to Nobunaga with a quavering voice.

"(Not fit to be a shogun)"

Nobunaga judged that Yoshinaga was inferior to his predecessor, Yoshiaki, when he was so shaken by such a situation.

"Battle situation!"

"Yes! Our army has the advantage."

"The left wing..."

Nobunaga looked at the Shinchi army, which was deployed on the left wing.

The Shinchi army was mainly fighting against Matsunaga Hisahide, who was based in Yamato.

"It's just a charade."

In fact, the Matsunaga family had already surrendered to the Oda side.

Hisahide, who had a good relationship with Hikaru through the trade of Chinese porcelain, had surrendered to Nobunaga.

He had given Nobunaga a famous tea utensil, the Ninety-Nine Eggplant, and in return, his surrender and the peace of Yamato Province were recognized.

"I thought it would be a decisive battle, but the outcome has already been decided."

Facing the eight thousand Matsunaga troops, the Shinchi army fired blanks and training arrows sparsely, and the Matsunaga side did the same.

With the Shinchi army, they also fiercely attacked the army of Iwanari Tomonari, who was stationed next to Hisahide.

With their numbers and the betrayal of the Matsunaga army, the Miyoshi army had no chance of winning.

Gradually, the damage to the Miyoshi army accumulated, and finally, the Matsunaga army turned traitor and attacked the Iwanari army.

"Traitors! Danjo!"

"This is the way of the world, don't take it personally, Tomonari."

The gap in strength widened, and the Miyoshi army, attacked from the front and the left, gradually collapsed, and more and more kokujin left the battlefield.

"Retreat!"

Miyoshi Yoshitsugu decided to retreat the main army.

The armies of the Miyoshi Trio followed, but Nobunaga ordered further pursuit.

"Strike when you can."

"Lord Nobunaga, isn't it better to enter Kyoto now without unnecessary pursuit?"

"For the safety of the future."

Nobunaga inwardly scolded the battle-ignorant Yoshinaga.

He thought, 'If you don't know, at least keep your mouth shut.'

"The pursuit will also help to pacify Yamashiro."

The Oda army, including the Matsunaga army, continued the pursuit until Miyoshi Yoshitsugu surrendered and the Miyoshi Trio fled to Shikoku by ship, capturing key points in the Kinai region.

Returning to Yamashiro, Nobunaga ordered Hashiba Hideyoshi to clean up and restore the devastated Kyoto, made a donation to the court, and installed Yoshinaga, who had changed his name to Yoshinaga, as the 15th shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate.

"Lord Nobunaga is like a father to me."

Yoshinaga, pleased with this, offered Nobunaga the succession of the Kanrei Shibata family or the position of Kanrei-dai or vice-shogun, but Nobunaga declined and only obtained the control of Izumi Province and Sakai, leaving his new retainer, Akechi Mitsuhide, in Kyoto and returning to Gifu.

"Hongyu, shall we return to Ise?"

"Yes. We'll probably have to come back to the capital soon, though..."

Just because Yoshinaga was made shogun, it didn't mean the work was over.

The Miyoshi Trio could bring troops from their base in Awa and Sanuki into the Kinai region at any time.

In this case, the kokujin of Settsu, who were easily subdued, were strong and would change their allegiance as the situation demanded.

They couldn't afford to be complacent.

"Lord Nagamasa, I'll return to Gifu for now, but if anything happens, I'll rely on you."

"Leave it to me."

Nobunaga returned to Gifu, and Hikaru also returned his army to Ise.

"You are a upstart who destroyed the Northern Kitabatake family, but I am not so narrow-minded as to not recognize the current situation."

Hikaru wanted to return quickly because he was told this when he met with Yoshinaga to receive the position of Ise Shima's guardian.

"I think beheading the Matsunaga traitors who killed my brother is appropriate, but since Lord Nobunaga asks for it. Reflect and serve me."

He had the same attitude towards the surrendered Matsunaga Hisahide, and both returned home in a bad mood.

"You stupid shogun!"

"At least, can't you have the sense not to say such things openly!"

Originally, they had a relationship and both disliked Yoshinaga, so they became friends on the way back.

From then on, Hikaru and Hisahide would hold tea parties together and become friends despite their age difference.