Chapter 699 11. The Troops and Horses Returned to the Mountain Safely

Nobunaga suddenly changed his mind. Although many people in Kinai didn't know the reason, most of them were still happy to accept this result.

Enryakuji Temple on Mount Hiei was the most excited! You see, even the shogunate's regent Oda Nobunaga was afraid of the power of gods and Buddhas and asked for peace with us. No one in this world can tell Mount Hiei what to do!

And the shogunate Ashikaga Yoshiaki and the official emperor of the court naturally breathed a sigh of relief. One sent Hosokawa Fujitaka and Mibuchi Fujiei, and the other sent Kikutei Haruki and uncle Tsunatoshi to rush to Mount Hiei overnight. Kobayata represented the Shimoyama Uchi clan, and all parties drew a paper together to make an agreement and negotiate.

The thousands of defeated soldiers of Asakura Asai that were previously required to be handed over by Mount Hiei were also left unfinished. Mount Hiei only symbolically handed over two so-called defeated soldiers to Nobunaga to vent his anger and then did nothing else, and Nobunaga no longer asked the monks of Mount Hiei's Enryakuji Temple to go down the mountain and evacuate.

Then Nobunaga rode back to Gifu without stopping. On the way, he took advantage of his powerful army and captured the Yokoyama Castle in Jiangbei. As a base for the Oda clan to monitor and attack Jiangbei, he sent General Hashiba Hideyoshi to settle there.

Hashiba Hideyoshi accumulated merits and was awarded the title of Lord of Yokoyama Castle in Jiangbei, with 10,000 kan. As the main general of Jiangbei, he presided over the attack and adjustment of the forces of Asai Nagamasa in Jiangbei.

Jiangnan was still guarded by the general Mori Yoshinari in Usayama Castle, who monitored Luoyang on the one hand and took the responsibility of contacting and monitoring Ashikaga Yoshiaki with Akechi Mitsuhide of Sakamoto on the other hand.

In order to encircle the Asakura clan, which had already launched an attack, Niwa Nagahide entered Wakasa as the Wakasa Shugodai, commanded the Wakasa people who were still resisting the Asakura clan, and began to directly threaten the Asakura clan's rule in Wakasa.

As for Nobunaga himself, after returning to Gifu, he ordered Shibata Katsuie, Takigawa Ieyasu, and Hayashi Hidetada to lead more than 20,000 Owari northern forces to suppress the Ikko Ikki of Nagashima.

Before the fall of Nagashima Castle, the lord of Oki Castle, Nobuoki, the seventh brother of Nobunaga, who was monitoring Nagashima, fought hard, but still could not withstand the huge attack of the Ikko Ikki and was defeated and killed. Nobunaga was extremely angry about this, which was one of the reasons why he was willing to withdraw his troops from Eizan and immediately return to suppress Nagashima.

After all the arrangements were completed, Nobunaga ordered Matsunaga Hisahide of Yamato to reconcile with Tsutsui Junkei, but Matsunaga Hisahide turned a deaf ear to it. Then Tsutsui Junkei became the new guardian of Yamato and was recognized by Oda Nobunaga.

The restless Miyoshi trio, together with Shinohara Nagashina who had landed on the shore and Yusa Shinkyo who had re-started their army, first killed Hatakeyama Akitaka, who was relatively supportive of Nobunaga, and prepared to seize Hatakeyama's power in Kinai, expand their base, and continue to confront Oda Nobunaga.

This move was strongly reacted by Hatakeyama Takamasa, who summoned the Negoro group (Shingon sect?), the Yukawa group, and some forces in Kawachi to start a deadly battle with the Miyoshi trio.

The total force of the Miyoshi trio reached 50,000, and the mobile combat force reached more than 30,000. Then, the forces of the Miyoshi trio gradually began to march out of Kawachi Takaya Castle. They tried to seize the main castle, which was of great significance to the Hatakeyama clan, and suppress Kawachi.

Miyoshi Yoshitsugu, who was caught in the gap, became the weakest party. After joining forces with his great-uncle Miyoshi Yasunaga, he focused on defending Wakae Castle. But at least for the time being, he has not yet raised the banner of rebellion against Oda Nobunaga, and belongs to the forces of Ashikaga Yoshiaki of the shogunate.

As for the Tanba guardian Hatano clan and Tango guardian Isshiki clan, they completely broke off relations with Oda Nobunaga and said they would no longer accept Nobunaga as the leader of the shogunate. The Yamana clan, who had surrendered after being attacked by the Oda army, once again raised the banner of rebellion, and Nobunaga's territory in Kinai shrank considerably.

Master Kennyo of Ishiyama Honganji finally publicly issued a "general mobilization order" to the Ikko sect believers all over the world! He called on all disciples to rise up against the brutal rule of Oda Nobunaga.

In addition to the father and son of Ganshoji Shoe and Shoi who had already raised their armies, Master Kennyo also sent the official Shimoma Raitan to lead the monks and believers to Nagashima to help in the battle. Many iron cannons and surprise attack talents from Iga and Koga were also hired to enter Ganshoji in Nagashima to strengthen the defense of the temple.

Although Ashikaga Yoshiaki in Makishima Castle was questioned by Akechi Mitsuhide sent by Oda Nobunaga, since he had already escaped, he would definitely not return to the canary cage in Nijo Palace. The imperial edict was issued, completely ignoring Oda Nobunaga, and Mori Terumoto was asked to transport military rations to Yamashiro.

He also asked Asakura Yoshikage to send a large army to the west bank of Lake Biwa as a flank defense for the shogunate army. Asakura Yoshikage was also very loyal and sent Asakura Kageken to lead 6,000 people to advance to Omi. As for whether they could reach Makishima Castle, it was completely unknown.

The Yamauchi army, which was temporarily stuck in the quagmire of Kinai, is now in a situation where it is impossible to advance! Retreat, there is nowhere to retreat! Although it managed to ensure the stability of Sakai, Shinohara Nagafusa was afraid of the Yamauchi family's military power and went straight to Kishiwada Castle.

However, with enemies on all sides, the Yamauchi family was very embarrassed.

Oda Nobunaga himself still had a mess that he couldn't clean up. Facing the issue of the Yamauchi army's return to the country raised by Kobayata, he spread his hands in a very helpless manner.

I can help you send a message to Tsutsui Junkei of Yamato and Kitabatake Nobuto of Minamisei. When we get to Toba, we don't need the navy of the Oda family. The merchant ships and military ships of Hamamatsu can bring people back to Hamamatsu.

But how to cross the territory of Yamato, which is now controlled by the forces of Matsunaga Hisahide who is against Nobunaga, is not something Oda Nobunaga can do.

At this time, the people of Sakaimachi came forward, greeted Matsunaga Hisahide, and gave him 2,000 kan to let Matsunaga Hisahide open the way.

As a man with a clear vision, Matsunaga Hisahide had a relatively thorough understanding of the mess of the shogunate. He knew that the Yamanouchi clan, who was dedicated to supporting the shogunate, would inevitably clash with the Oda clan in the end. So he was willing to let the Yamanouchi army pass.

In Kinai, whether it was the anti-Nobunaga forces or the Nobunaga forces, they actually hoped that the Yamanouchi army would leave quickly to varying degrees. No matter where the 15,000 people were placed, they would not dare to act rashly. Everyone was working hard, and everyone felt uncomfortable with you, a neutral force with an unclear attitude, standing in the middle.

Only Ashikaga Yoshiaki was the most reluctant. It would be great if his beloved son's 15,000 people came to Makishima Castle. Unfortunately, the road to Beijing was blocked by the Miyoshi Three. Yamanouchi and Matsunaga could talk, but not the Miyoshi Three. Naturally, it became an excuse for the Yamanouchi army to be unable to enter Beijing, and Ashikaga Yoshiaki was perfunctory.

The army was still a little scared along the way. Although the Minami region was still ruled by Kitabatake Nobutoshi, who was controlled by the Oda clan, there were many small groups of Ikko-ikki and Do-ikki, and Kitabatake Nobutoshi was also trying to suppress them. Unfortunately, there were many remnants of the old Kitabatake clan among these people, and their fighting power should not be underestimated.

The reason why Minami had not completely fallen into chaos was that Kitada Tomori was alive and well. Kitabatake Nobutoshi was confirmed by the shogunate as the successor of the Kitabatake family as his son-in-law, and there were still quite a few retainers of the Kitabatake clan who supported him.

Without mentioning it, it was already May of the fourth year of Genki when Kobayata stood on the ground of Hamamatsu Port again!