Oda Nobunaga looked at Hashiba Hideyoshi's happy appearance and couldn't help but shake his head.
She couldn't understand why Takenaka Shigeharu didn't want to come to her and insisted on following this jumping little monkey.
If Takenaka Shigeharu is willing to assist him directly, why bother to go through such a roundabout way.
He glanced at Takenaka Shigeharu next to Hideyoshi and saw that she was looking at him indifferently, obviously knowing that this benefit was not easy to obtain.
Oda Nobunaga smiled slightly and asked.
"Takenaka Shigeharu, what do you think of the Asai family?"
Seeing his master's question, Hideyoshi Hashiba quickly stopped his smile and looked at Takenaka Shigeharu. She was not a fool and knew how much she weighed.
Oda Nobunaga paid more attention to her, who had lost her use value, because he believed that Takenaka Shigeharu's suggestions made her gain new value.
Today's Hideyoshi has not had the opportunity to express her ambitions, and she cannot figure out what Takenaka Shigeharu values in herself as she is dependent on others.
Takenaka Shigeharu smiled at the nervous Hideyoshi. She was willing to follow Hashiba Hideyoshi because she saw enthusiasm and sincerity in this person.
Takenaka Shigeharu, who had been betrayed by Mamoru Ando, instinctively felt disgusted with Oda Nobunaga's utilitarian face.
This master is a complete utilitarian, and Takenaka Shigeharu does not want to be used by such a person anymore, and then be abandoned after losing value.
She chose Hideyoshi Hashiba, firstly because Hideyoshi treated her sincerely, and secondly because she was feeling very angry.
Takenaka Shigeharu boasted of his outstanding intelligence, and everyone in Meinong was called Kong Ming.
But she suffered a big fall as soon as she debuted. She gave advice to Mamoru Ando, but was betrayed by him and became the laughing stock of the Mino samurai family.
She came to Owari frustrated, and was casually sent to Hideyoshi by Oda Nobunaga.
Takenaka Shigeharu saw the shining point in Hashiba Hideyoshi, and she wanted to help this commoner who was looked down upon by everyone to achieve a great cause.
When Oda Nobunaga ignored her, she would not go back to assist this surly master with shame.
She patiently served as Hashiba Hideyoshi's military advisor, vowing to let everyone see clearly what she was capable of, Takenaka Shigeharu!
When Oda Nobunaga mentioned the Asai family, Takenaka Shigeharu was stunned.
She originally thought that Oda Nobunaga was worried about the shogunate and wanted to implement the policy she had proposed before to support the invaders and respect themselves.
Unexpectedly, Oda Nobunaga seemed not to care about the movements of the shogunate, but instead cared about the Asai family in Kitaomi.
Takenaka Shigeharu said cautiously.
"What does the main hall want me to think?"
In order to seize the land of Minami Omi, Oda Nobunaga did a lot of harm to Asai Nagamasa. Takenaka Shigeharu joined the war, so he naturally saw it clearly.
Now when Oda Nobunaga asked about the Asai family, Takenaka Shigeharu had to understand what she had in mind before he could answer her question.
Oda Nobunaga curled his lips to Niwa Nagahide and said.
"Mi Wuniang said that I treated my in-laws harshly. In the future, everyone in the congregation will betray my relatives and leave, and I will die sooner or later."
Niwa smiled wryly.
Oda Nobunaga had a bad temper and always had to retaliate. She just said a few unpleasant words, which made Oda Nobunaga unhappy, and he seized the opportunity to bury her.
Before Niwa Nagahide could explain, Hashiba Hideyoshi had already said decisively.
"Impossible! Main Hall, you must have misunderstood Niwa-senpai!
I, Hideyoshi, guarantee with my life that senior is loyal to you and will never mean this."
Seeing Hideyoshi rushing out to defend himself, Niwa Nagahide felt warm in his heart.
Oda Nobunaga glanced at Hideyoshi and hummed.
"You are the only one who talks a lot!"
Takenaka Shigeharu smiled slightly.
Hideyoshi Hashiba came from a humble background, but he was smart and knew how to behave. Many times, even though he knew that she was not a simple person, he was always unconsciously moved by her enthusiasm and care.
Even Haizuka Masakatsu, who was reluctant to be implicated by Hideyoshi, was finally coaxed to smile by Hideyoshi and was willing to obey orders.
This is Hideyoshi Hashiba's ability.
No matter how powerful a person is, there is a limit. But if you have a way to be charming and make others willing to drive and die for you, that is really a terrifying talent.
Hideyoshi Hashiba is such a talented person, and few people will hate her from the bottom of their hearts, because she is really good at doing things.
This is where Shigeharu Takenaka noticed the shining point in Hideyoshi Hashiba. She had the talent to become a charismatic leader.
Niwa Nagahide was one of Oda Nobunaga's most trusted subordinates, and was Hideyoshi Hashiba's old boss when he was in charge.
Seeing Niwa Nagahide being criticized by Oda Nobunaga, Hideyoshi Hashiba immediately jumped out to defend his old boss. This was a very favorable act.
It was also she who saw through the relationship between Oda Nobunaga and Niwa Nagahide. There would definitely be no serious differences between the two, so she was not afraid of being implicated.
Hashiba Hideyoshi, who was so sophisticated in human affairs, naturally had many friends and few enemies.
Niwa said with a smile on his face.
"Hideyoshi, I was just joking, don't be so serious."
He blamed Hideyoshi Hashiba for being troublesome, but Nagahide Niwa was very happy with it in his heart.
Oda Nobunaga became a great name with two million koku, and all the retainers were trembling when they saw her, fearing they would say the wrong thing.
Even though they knew that Oda Nobunaga loved to joke, no one dared to test her bottom line at will in the face of this surly master.
Hideyoshi Hashiba's immediate reaction was to speak for Niwa Nagahide, which was very touching. This old subordinate has a heart.
Oda Nobunaga glanced at the two of them, twisted his neck in displeasure, and said.
"This guy knows shit, Takenaka Shigeharu, tell me. Mi Wu Niang speaks for the Asai family, is she nosy?"
Takenaka Shigeharu squinted his eyes and thought.
If Oda Nobunaga had not been moved by Niwa Nagahide's advice, he would not have summoned him to ask for advice.
She must have felt that what Niwa Nagahide said was reasonable, but she couldn't think of a way to improve the relationship with the Asai family, so she thought of herself.
Takenaka Shigeharu wanted to understand the joints and answered.
"The Asai family is a powerful feudal lord of Kitaomi, and is also an in-law of the Oda family. They are one of the people the main palace can trust.
The Oda family has just taken over Minami Omi and entered the recent political situation. It is of course a good thing to have a trustworthy in-law ally to help."
Oda Nobunaga seemed to be playing with his fingers indifferently and said calmly.
"But I took over the land of Minami Omi, and I had some unpleasant troubles with Asai Nagamasa. If I go to win over the Asai family at this time, will Asai Nagamasa understand my good intentions?"
Takenaka Shigeharu smiled.
"It depends on what the Asai family cares about and what the main hall can do to help."
Oda Nobunaga's eyes flashed, and he looked at the confident Takenaka Shigeharu.
"I'm curious, what kind of trouble does Asai Nagamasa have, can I help?"
Takenaka Shigeharu solemnly said.
"Master, I have studied the disputes between the Asai family and the Rokkaku family in recent years, and found that there are quite a lot of hidden dangers within the Asai family.
During Rokkaku Sadayori's lifetime, he expanded the territory and the Asai family was forced to surrender, leaving only three prefectures in Kitanomi, struggling to survive.
After Rokkaku Yoshiken came to the throne, he was eager for success and wanted to annex Kitaomi in a battle. She sent people to ambush the envoys of the shogunate mediating the dispute between North and South Omi, and deliberately created an excuse to attack Kitaomi."
Oda Nobunaga sneered.
"Rokukka Yoshiken is too greedy, and the shogunate is not a fool either.
If the Rokkaku family annexes the entire Omi country, can General Ashikaga still sleep in Kyoto? Of course, someone must be sent to mediate to prevent the Rokkaku family's conspiracy from succeeding.
Wait, are you talking about the old story of Duke Qianxin?"
Takenaka Shigeharu nodded.
"Yes, that envoy is the Odaisho himself.
Odaisho's battle formation was unparalleled, so the Rokkaku family's ambush was unsuccessful. This incident angered Odaisho, so he turned to Kitaomi and jointly sent troops with the Asai family, which led to the joint battle of Noragada.
The Noragada battle was actually fought very reluctantly. Although the Asai family won face by repelling the Rokkaku family, their vitality was also severely damaged.
Returning to the land of three counties under the control of Kitaomi, the Asai family only had the name of ruling, but was unable to truly govern the area.
Afterwards, Rokkaku Yoshihide made another Northern Expedition, but failed again. The Asai family themselves were so weak that they could only rely on the strength of the samurai families of the three counties to resist foreign enemies.
This resulted in the three counties taking credit for their own merit, and it became increasingly difficult for the Asai family to actually control the land of the three counties."
Oda Nobunaga thought for a while and asked.
"You mean, let me help Asai Nagamasa regain actual control of the three counties?"
Takenaka Shigeharu nodded in agreement.
"Although Your Highness Asai is extremely talented, the Asai family's rule in Kitaomi is full of hidden dangers, making it impossible for her to forcefully integrate the three counties.
The three prefectures were only nominally surrendered to the Asai family, and military and food services were ignored, which made the Asai retainers very dissatisfied. In the past three years, Kitanomi's internal conflicts have been fierce.
Unable to resolve the internal conflicts, His Highness Asai had no choice but to wage war externally, hoping to get more benefits and ease the internal conflicts.
This is the reason why His Highness Asai actively participated in the Battle of Kamiro, hoping to regain more territory from Minamiomi.
North and South Omi have been at war for many years, and the hatred between the samurai families on both sides can even be traced back hundreds of years.
Even if the Asai family, the leader of North Omi, gets the land of South Omi, it will be difficult to rule the area. The antagonism between the north and the south is too strong, and the local samurai family will inevitably be unruly and disrespectful.
In fact, for Her Majesty Asai, Minami Omi is worthless and tasteless. But the three counties of Kitanomi cannot solve the problem, so she has no choice but to settle for the next best thing and choose to conquer the land of Minami Omi."
Oda Nobunaga glanced at Takenaka Shigeharu, who was talking eloquently, and suddenly remembered that she was born in Fuwa County, Mino Country, which is the county on the border between Mino Country and Kitaomi.
It’s no wonder that she knows so much about the inside of Kitaomi and the plight of the Asai family.
Oda Nobunaga asked.
"Then according to your opinion, how should I help Asai Nagamasa?"
Takenaka Shigeharu said.
"His Royal Highness Asai is planning the battle for Minami-Omi, even if the spring plowing is damaged, he will send troops.
Now that the battle results are few and the harvest is destined to be poor after autumn, the retainers are naturally dissatisfied with the Oda family.
In the main hall, you can use a two-pronged approach to gain favor with the Asai family.
First, the territories you control are fertile and highly productive. You can use food to subsidize Kitanomi's poor harvest after autumn.
Secondly, the Oda family had 30,000 soldiers who went to Luo, and now there are countless female soldiers in Nan Omi, which is enough to frighten Xiao Xiao.
As long as you support His Highness Asai to collect military and food services from the three counties, the military families of the three counties will never dare to disobey. Although they love money, they are more afraid of death and will understand what is good and what is bad.
Among the three counties of Takashima, Inugami, and Aichi, the only one with some trouble is probably the Todo leader of the Shiba family in Inugami County."
Oda Nobunaga raised his eyes and repeated.
"Shiba family, leader Todo?"
Takenaka Shigeharu bowed and said.
"Hi, it's the Todo leader of the Shiba family.
The Todo leader was originally the Todo clan of some villages in Inugami County, led by Todo Toradaka, the leader of the Todo village.
In the battle of Noragada, Todo Toradaka led the Todo members to join the Odaisho and achieved considerable military exploits.
During Rokkaku Yoshiken's second Northern Expedition, Todo Toradaka contacted Inugami and the samurai families of the two counties of Aichi to defend the Asai family against the Rokkaku family's military attack, and played an indispensable role.
Todo Torakaka was a royal family member appointed by the imperial court. She transferred 10,000 koku of territory and became a retainer. Her Todo domain was independent of the recent Shiba domain, and she had a high reputation in Inugami County.
Among the three counties that the Asai family took over, Takashima County on the west bank of Lake Biwa is headed by the famous local Takashima family. On the east coast, the Inugami and Aichi two-gun samurai families are headed by Todo Toradaka."
Oda Nobunaga said doubtfully.
"Todo, who is tall and powerful, can't command ten thousand stones. How did he get such great influence?"
Takenaka Shigeharu said.
"The main hall doesn't know something.
Todo Torakaka is a very capable person, but he had no way of getting ahead because of his humble background.
After joining the Imperial Guard, Todo Torako carefully contacted the samurai families of the Inugami and Aichi counties, and took advantage of the local samurai's unwillingness to pay the Asai family's military food service to interfere with it.
The Todo Territory is the territory of the Shiba family, and His Highness Asai is not willing to impose high taxes on Todo Tora. The other samurai families simply put Todo Tora in front to resist the tax, which makes His Highness Asai very embarrassed.
Todo Torako is not only active in dogs, but also operates in the two counties of Aichi, and even penetrated into Sakata County, where Asai is the leader, and has contacts with the local samurai family.
As far as I know, Ishida Mitsunari, the daughter of the Toto family in Ishida Village, Sakata County, was introduced to the Shiseba family by Todo Toradaka.
The Ishida family was very grateful to the fact that Ishida Mitsunari was a high-ranking official and well-paid in the Shiba family. The other samurai families saw this and flocked to him, becoming even more enthusiastic about Toudo Togaka."
Oda Nobunaga nodded.
"This Todo Torakaka is a powerful person who is good at dancing. No wonder he can disturb several counties with his great reputation and give Asai Nagamasa a headache."
Kita-Omi was originally the territory of the Kyogoku family, one of the four shogunate officials. The Asai family conquered the land and occupied this place.
Although the shogunate has granted the Asai family the guardianship of Kitaomi, the Asai family is not confident enough to rule Kitaomi.
The Asai family has its roots in the three oldest counties. Asai County is the ancestral home of the Asai family, and the famous Akao family in Ika County is a relative of the Asai family. The two families are connected by the same spirit and have always advanced and retreated together.
The relationship between Sakata County and the Asai family is relatively distant.
Asai Nagamasa must have been very angry when Todo Toraoka was wooing the local samurai family in Sakata County. If it weren't for the fact that Todo leader was a vassal of the Shiba family, Asai Nagamasa would have found an excuse to annihilate the Toudo family.
Having said this, Oda Nobunaga felt a little pity for talents and asked.
"This Todo Toraoka is pretty good. Is it possible for her to work for the Oda family?"
Takenaka Shigeharu shook his head and said.
"Tora Todaka's fortune is due to Odaisho's kindness. She understands her situation very well, and it is very difficult for her to leave the Shiba family."
Oda Nobunaga sighed.
"It's such a pity."
A trace of murderous intent flashed in Oda Nobunaga's eyes.
The presence of Todo leader in the middle of Omi is not only a problem for the Asai family. Anyone who does not get along with the Shiba family must guard against this thorn.
Since you can't win over it, you have to remove it as soon as possible to avoid future trouble.
