Chapter 1928: A land without a owner, where the able ones live
Hideyoshi Hashiba said calmly.
"I sent the evidence to Koriyama Castle. I think Nizi Yukimori already knew the truth by this time.
If she is willing to send troops to help Akechi Mitsuru show off, I will dig out my own eyes and drink them, pretending to be blind.
But according to my expectation, not only will she not send troops, she will also block the Kinki Shiba leader from helping Akechi Mitsuhide, and even withdraw the soldiers under Akechi Mitsuhide, diluting Akechi's military strength."
Ikeda Hengxing nodded.
Everyone knows that Nizi Yukimori and Nizi Katsuhisa are as close as sisters. It is true that Akechi Mitsuhide killed Nizi Katsuhisa. Is there anything that Nizi Yukimori can't do?
But Tsuneki Ikeda didn't know at this time that Hideyoshi Hashiba only said half of it and left the other half unsaid.
If you want to stop Nizi Yukimori, you must tell the truth. As long as the evidence is slightly flawed, you will be suspected of fraud, so... the desperate Hideyoshi Hashiba revealed all the inside stories.
How Mitsuhide Akechi seduced Hideyoshi Hashiba, and how the two conspired to kill Katsuhisa Akechi... In short, Mitsuhide Akechi died unjustly, and Hideyoshi Hashiba was also involved.
Hashiba Hideyoshi did not expect Nizi Yukimori to have any favorable impression of him. He only hoped that Nizi Yukimori would regard his crusade against Akechi Mitsuhide as a dog-eat-dog retribution and not get involved.
Seeing that Hashiba Hideyoshi was confident and had indeed considered the reaction of Kinki Shiba leader thoroughly, Ikeda Hengxing also breathed a sigh of relief and became more confident in Hashiba Hideyoshi.
So, Ikeda Hengxing continued.
"I have a second question, that is, how did the army enter Yamashiro Country through the Yodogawa River?"
The army of the Western Kingdom passed through the Yodogawa Kamikawa, and it was smooth sailing in Settsu Province, but it was different when they arrived in Yamashiro Province.
After the Fushimi Castle system was established, the Shiba and Oda families joined forces to conquer the world.
Settsu Province is occupied by the Oda family, while most of the Yamashiro Kingdom where Kyoto is located is controlled by the Shiba family. Only a few important towns in the east, such as Sakamoto Castle, are controlled by the Oda family.
Here on the border of Settsu Province in the west of Yamashiro Province, the Oda family did not have any foothold.
If you want to go to Luo via the Yodogawa River, you cannot avoid Yodo Castle, the gateway city.
The lord of Yodo Castle, Matsunaga Hide, not only occupied Yodo Castle, but was also arranged by Miyoshi Nagakei to control the border counties of Settsu Kingdom. He had considerable influence on the local samurai families such as the Takayama family on the Settsu side.
Ikeda Hengxing said in a deep voice.
"As we all know, Yodojo Matsunagahide and Akechi Mitsuhide have been friends for many years..."
As soon as he said this, Hashiba Hideyoshi couldn't help laughing, and then apologized.
"I'm very sorry. I'm rude, but I have a letter here. Please take a look at it, Ikeda-hime."
Ikeda Hengxing took the letter in confusion and was stunned when he opened it.
"This...is this written by Matsunaga Hide? Aren't she and Mitsuhide Akechi close friends? How could she take the initiative to confess her sincerity to us? Is there any fraud in this?"
Hashiba Hideyoshi shook his head and said.
"Matsu Nagahide asked his daughter Matsunaga Hide to come to our formation in person with a letter of allegiance. She was not the only one, but there were also the signatures of dozens of powerful samurai families around Yodo City.
There are many hostages and there is a group of witnesses, so it is difficult to fake it. I can only say that Akechi Mitsuhide has done many evil things, and the Kinki samurai family has been suffering for a long time."
Tsuneki Ikeda's face is a little ugly. The Kinki samurai family has been suffering from Mitsuhide Akechi for a long time, and they are still willing to acquiesce in Mitsuhide Akechi killing Oda Nobunaga. So what does Oda Nobunaga mean?
But we cannot delve into this matter for the time being. The most important thing now is to avenge Oda Nobunaga first!
Ikeda Hengxing sighed deeply.
"Hashiba-hime, you are amazing."
Hashiba Hideyoshi bowed slightly and kept being humble, but Ikeda Tsuneaki was really impressed.
Originally, Tsuneki Ikeda was only moved by Hashiba Hideyoshi's words and wanted to follow Hashiba Hideyoshi to avenge Oda Nobunaga.
But when he saw Hashiba Hideyoshi's powerful methods, all the joints were clearly calculated, Ikeda Tsuneaki couldn't help but feel a sense of awe in his heart.
After Oda Nobunaga died, Ikeda Tsuneki, who had lost his backbone, looked at Hashiba Hideyoshi in a slightly different way.
It is his nature to be strong in the martial arts, and Tsuneaki Ikeda is now more interested in cooperating deeply with Hideyoshi Hashiba to seek some future stability.
Returning the letter to Hideyoshi Hashiba respectfully, Ikeda Tsuneaki said with a smile.
"It turns out that Hashiba-hime has already made up her mind. Since everything is ready, I won't be pretentious. I am willing to drive Hashiba-hime and avenge the palace!"
Hashiba Hideyoshi was stunned for a moment by Ikeda Tsuneki's words of wish. Then he looked into Ikeda Tsuneki's eyes and felt infinite ecstasy in his heart. This was the change that Hashiba Hideyoshi had been waiting for.
If Oda Nobunaga had not died, die-hard Oda loyalists like Ikeda Tsuneaki would never have said such ambiguous words.
There is only one voice in the Oda family, and everyone only listens to the instructions of this one voice, and that is the voice of Oda Nobunaga.
But now that Oda Nobunaga is dead, it is not an exaggeration to say that when a tree falls, the hozens scatter.
The Oda family suddenly rose to prominence, growing from less than 100,000 koku to the most powerful feudal clan in the world with 4 million koku in just seven or eight years.
Not only is the foundation unstable, the family has been left without a legal heir for a long time.
Oda Nobunaga herself was full of confidence, but the traditional samurai under her were uneasy.
The barefooted Owari country bumpkin back then, who doesn’t have a big family and a big business now, and who doesn’t want to be rich and live on?
After Oda Nobunaga died, what would happen to the Oda family in the future? This question must be bothering all the Oda retainers.
The most important thing is that Hashiba Hideyoshi is 100% sure that Akechi Mitsuhide will never let go of Oda Nobunaga's child.
The orthodox heir of the Oda family will inevitably die in Kyoto along with Oda Nobunaga, and the vast assets of the Oda family will become a land without an owner, and only those who can live in it will live there.
There were many Oda ministers like Ikeda Tsuneaki who lacked strength. They either had no ambition or no strength.
They will not covet the position of Oda Nobunaga's successor. Instead, they will choose to rely on new strong men and find ways to preserve the family fortune they have already acquired.
Hashiba Hideyoshi liked such people. She bowed slightly to Ikeda Tsuneaki, who suddenly became more respectful, and said with a smile.
"I will never forget Ikeda-hime's helping hand today, Hideyoshi, thank you very much."
Ikeda Tsuneaki quickly bowed in return, and the two of them looked at each other and smiled, as if the victory was already within their grasp.
———
Hashiba Hideyoshi was very deliberate and hid in the dark to see through Akechi Mitsuhide and calculated everything.
But she calculated countless things, but she failed to calculate one thing, that is, Oda Kimaru did not die together with Oda Nobunaga.
Oda Nobunaga desperately struggled to find a way out for his daughter, but a blast killed Mitsuhide Akechi's unborn child and left Mitsuhide Akechi in a coma for five days.
During the time-consuming incident at Honnoji Temple, a window of two or three days was enough for all the military nuns watching to complete the private communication and adjust their attitude towards Mitsuhide Akechi, not to mention a sufficient five days.