Chapter 572 34. Yoshiaki and Nobunaga Are Close Relatives

Yamauchi Shukei rushed to Kai in the heavy snow as the great-uncle of Yamauchi Taro. At this time, Yamauchi Shukei's status was more noble, as he was a member of the Ashikaga clan of the Seiwa Genji clan. Kobayata was the head of the family, and his status in the samurai family was far lower than that of Yamauchi Shukei.

Naturally, in a more formal occasion like a funeral, things like status and rank are relatively more important. Just like when Yamauchi Yoshiharu died, the Takeda clan sent Takeda Nobumasa and Yamamoto Kansuke. As Shingen's younger brother, Nobumasa can be said to have a noble status, even though his territory was far lower than that of Kosaka Danjo or Yamagata Masakage.

There was no crying for Zhou Yu or the like. According to Takeda Shingen's last wish, he was put into a large urn and sunk to the bottom of Lake Suwa. In addition, a tomb was set up in Huilin Temple, and all the armor, swords, saddles, and military equipment used in his life were offered to the temple. It is not allowed to hold a grand funeral to save military funds.

However, Takeda Yoshinobu still did not fully comply with his last wish. At least the funeral was held in a very grand manner. Otherwise, how to win the hearts of Kai's old retainers?

It is obvious that the retainers of Suruga are now completely on the side of Takeda Yoshinobu, and the retainers of Kai have acknowledged the fait accompli. As for the retainers of Suwa, Shingen purged them before his death, and Takeda Nobutoyo temporarily controlled the situation.

In addition, after Kobayata came back, he immediately contacted Shoukenni. She was still very happy about Takeda Shingen's death. However, the old nun was still hesitant about the Yamanouchi family's hope that she would lead the remaining Imagawa's old retainers to launch a rebellion with internal and external cooperation.

It is undeniable that due to Takeda Yoshinobu's long-term management in Suruga, a group of Suruga people have stood behind him in a timely manner.

Now these people have risen in power and entered the political center of Kai. This is something that cannot be avoided in the rule of feudal monarchs. Monarchs will definitely use their confidants who support them first, commonly known as ministers who follow the dragon and have meritorious service.

This also led to some of Kai's old retainers being "promoted" to various counties and towns in Suruga to serve as deputy governors. The ruling power of the Takeda clan in Suruga has not weakened much, and its loyalty may even have increased.

On the other hand, after the devastating defeat at Toishi Castle, both the Suwa clan and the Kai clan suffered a considerable blow. Many samurai families were exterminated, and countless public servicemen died under the hooves of the Yamauchi army cavalry.

The Suruga clan, led by Okabe Masatsuna, Okabe Motonobu, Abe Motoshin and others, was happy. When the Kodaita cannon sounded, the Toishi clan rushed with all their strength and collapsed in a rush. More than 4,000 people were intact, with almost no losses, and trotted all the way back to Suruga Province.

The current situation is that the status of Suruga Province, which can provide 5,000 to 6,000 troops, has changed significantly within the Takeda clan. This is not reflected in the actual change of positions, but in the fact that the samurai of the Suruga clan can be on an equal footing with the samurai of the Kai clan.

At this time of turmoil, Takeda Yoshinobu, since the Suwa clan cannot be trusted, must rely on the power of Suruga to resist the inevitable invasion of the Yamanouchi clan. No matter how unbearable the Suruga clan is, it cannot change the fact that he has as many as 5,000 or 6,000 people.

At this time, any soldier is precious to the Takeda clan and cannot be treated lightly.

It is not so easy for you to get the Suruga samurai, who have already stiffened their backs, to get up and fight. Even Shoukeni feels that she can't incite too many people.

A centipede is dead but not stiff!

This is the most appropriate description of the Takeda clan now!

It is really difficult to completely destroy a daimyo these days. Even when Oda Nobunaga attacked and destroyed the Asakura clan for the first time, Asakura Kageaki and Asakura Kageken were still alive and well. Not only were their territories safe, but they were also rewarded by Oda Nobunaga.

It means that Echizen Province is still the same Echizen Province, and the actual ruler is still the Asakura clan of the year. This will not be different from the change of these people's surnames to Tsuchihashi (Nobukage) and Anju. Even a hero like Oda Nobunaga still has to compromise.

After thinking about it, the Rokkaku family was destroyed, but people like the Gamo clan and the Aochi clan are alive and well. The Asai clan was also destroyed, but people like the Miyabe clan and the Todo clan are still alive and well.

Only the Takeda family, Nobunaga's order was a completely unconditional Takeda hunting order, and all those who had served the Takeda clan were hunted down. It was completely a way to give up mobilizing all military capabilities here in order to actually occupy Kai.

The Yamanouchi clan may still have some bones to chew on in their strategy against the Takeda clan.

On the other hand, Oda Nobunaga and Ashikaga Yoshiaki were very close. First of all, Oda Nobunaga was very tactful and returned all the shogunate's royal property in Yamashiro, Settsu, Omi and other places that were originally occupied by the Miyoshi Three to Ashikaga Yoshiaki.

After the autumn harvest, Ashikaga Yoshiaki's wallet suddenly swelled up. Not only did he incorporate the original Luoyang Town Fire Fighting, but he also promoted his original team and the public servants who were still loyal to the shogunate and did not rely on Ashikaga Yoshiei when the Miyoshi rebelled.

For example, the monk Jingkong, whom Xiao Pingtai met when he was in Beijing, never left and always guarded Ashikaga Yoshiaki. This time, he was suddenly appointed as the head of Luoyang Tojiin. Although he was a monk, he was actually responsible for Ashikaga Yoshiaki's guards. Who in Luoyang didn't call him Jingkong Shangren?

Another example is Ozaki Hyogo Sukemasa, who traveled all the way and returned with Ashikaga Yoshiaki through ups and downs. Now he is the Gokōshu, responsible for Ashikaga Yoshiaki's travels, and is the first among the public servants.

All the 40 or 50 people who followed Ashikaga Yoshiaki through hardships now have high positions and high salaries.

After more than half a year of non-stop fighting, Oda Nobunaga finally pacified the six-cornered remnants in the southern Omi region. Ashikaga Yoshiaki was very fond of Oda Nobunaga, who stabilized the situation in Luoyang and supported him to go to Luoyang.

He once again appointed Oda Nobunaga as Kusatsu Bugyo and Shirakawa Shobetsu, and handed over another large market town by Lake Biwa and the first customs post from the east to Luoyang to Oda Nobunaga.

The two were as close as honey and oil. Ashikaga Yoshiaki figured out Oda Nobunaga's routine. It turned out that he was a profit-seeking person! Just give him money!

Although Ashikaga Yoshiaki had no money, he had the power to appoint the deputy official of Tenkazu Minato. Now he saw where Nobunaga was going to conquer, and he granted the large town there to Nobunaga. The two cooperated seamlessly. One gave the title, and the other took the real benefits.

Luoyang also began to recover under the governance of Ashikaga Yoshiaki and a group of shogunate retainers. The shogunate's institutions were also largely rebuilt and even expanded.

Except for Asai Nagamasa, who led more than 10,000 people to fight with Nobunaga for half a year and only got half a county, and then left in anger on the pretext that the soldiers were eager to return home, there was no conflict.