Chapter 758 6. What a Magnificent Scene of the Shogunate

The spring is here, and the flowers at Kyoto's Yamauchi Shrine are in full bloom.

As a shrine dedicated to Yoshikatsu Yamauchi, who died in battle during the reign of Emperor Eiroku, it has a very special meaning in the shogunate system. Although the shogun's family temple is in Shokokuji Temple in Kyoto and the Yamauchi family's family temple is in Shorekiji Temple in Shinano, it does not prevent Yamauchi Shrine from enjoying special care from the shogun Ashikaga Yoshihide.

It seems that Ashikaga Yoshihide is in high spirits. He stands at the top of the steps of Yamauchi Shrine. The sixty-eight steps are high and steep, and it is not easy to climb up. Originally, a flatter step was built on the side of the Shinto, but Ashikaga Yoshihide still climbed the "male steps" and called the flatter steps "female steps".

After all, he was a general who was going to conquer the world, and he was unwilling to show weakness at all.

The shogunate officials naturally had to follow Ashikaga Yoshihide to climb up. Now that Kyoto is full of spring colors, Ashikaga Yoshihide is in a good mood and sighs while patting the roadside stone.

"That patch of peach blossoms is in full bloom!" said Yoshinobu Kiso, the younger brother of Ashikaga Yoshihide, who was serving beside him.

"It is indeed very beautiful." Oji Jigoro Tsunayoshi, the younger uncle of Ashikaga Yoshihide, also echoed.

"From a distance, you can only see its shape, but not its fragrance, hahahahaha..." Kurosawa Yoshiki, one of the few remaining old ministers, came up later, after all, his legs and feet are not as good as those of the young people.

"What Bingo-no-kami said is that when the flowers are in bloom, how can you not smell their fragrance?" Ashikaga Yoshihide seemed to have thought of something.

Soon, Higuchi Yamajo no Kami Hidekane, who was the shunjinyou, gave orders to the sons of the daimyo, the hatamoto, the shunjinban, and the daimyo below the steps. Whoever can run to pick a peach blossom first and then present it to Ashikaga Yoshihide will receive a generous reward from Ashikaga Yoshihide.

As soon as the order for the competition was given, the sons mounted their horses and rushed to the peach forest. Some people were really good at horse riding. They didn't dismount, but used a trick of wearing flowers on horseback. They picked flowers in an instant, held the branches in their mouths, and rode their horses back.

It was so smooth and flowing that it was amazing!

Everyone was eager to get ahead. It was a great thing for the children of samurai to be so lively. Ashikaga Yoshihide and the daimyo on the steps applauded. Even some sons were riding horses below, which naturally cheered even more.

Those who were good at riding had already rushed to the bottom of the steps. The horses were neighing. The first few people who arrived dismounted, holding plum blossoms, and climbed up.

However, the stone steps were so steep that they couldn't go fast at all. If they were not careful, they would fall down. It was a small matter to make a fool of themselves, but it was a big matter to twist their necks and lose their lives.

At this time, a young samurai was lagging behind others. The first ones had even climbed more than 20 steps. If he dismounted and climbed the steps like this, he would definitely lose. He simply did not stop the horse, but hugged the horse's neck with both hands and shouted "Get up!"

The horse under his crotch was not afraid of the steep steps, and rushed up the steps with the young warrior on its back. The big men on the steps were amazed and asked themselves, it is definitely not an ordinary person to ride a horse up the steps in such a dangerous way!

"This man is really good at horsemanship, brave and courageous!"

"Indeed!"

"I don't know whose son is so courageous!"

Everyone on the steps admired the young warrior very much, and Ashikaga Yoshihide also had a heart of love for talents. Although the world was just beginning to settle and the war was temporarily stopped, which monarch would not like such a warrior?

A short warrior in the crowd did not squeeze in front of the crowd at first, so naturally he could not see anything clearly. When everyone cheered, he saw the figure rushing up the steps among the people, and he couldn't help but feel overjoyed.

Although the young warrior was a little scared, he didn't expect that he would really rush up the steps. He didn't show any sign on his face, and jumped off the horse heroically. He held the peach blossom in his mouth with both hands and ran to Ashikaga Yoshihide in small steps.

"Please enjoy the flowers, Your Highness!"

"Hahahahahahaha... As expected, the peach fragrance is refreshing! Whose son are you?"

"I am the famous owner of Jiangbei Hengshan, the heir of Hashiba Chikuzen no Kami, Hashiba Koichiro Hidekatsu!" The young warrior announced his family name loudly.

I never thought that he was Hashiba Hideyoshi's son. The crowd automatically made way and let Hashiba Hideyoshi, who was hidden behind, come out. Although Hashiba Hideyoshi was old and slow, he never thought that Hashiba Hidekatsu would be so popular, and the joy on his face could not be concealed at all.

"Your Highness, I am the son of my younger brother Hidenaga. Since I have no children, I will be the heir. Your Highness has summoned me this time, so I brought him here to show my humility in front of you."

"It's okay, it's good for young people to have a competitive spirit!"

At this time, the world was pacified. Even if the Hashiba family was an old retainer of the Oda family, didn't they see that Oda Yoshio was enjoying the status of a traitor in Owari as a close vassal of the shogunate? No one mentioned his so-called traitor status.

In addition, Ashikaga Yoshihide had promised to reward the first child who presented flowers, so he could not go back on his word.

"Hashiba Hidekatsu, huh? From now on, you are my close associate. I will grant you 500 kan of Kawada in Jiangbei!"

Hashiba Hideyoshi and Hashiba Hidekatsu were overjoyed when they heard this. Now that they could not gain military merit, it was impossible for them to increase their territory. Hashiba Hideyoshi followed Ashikaga Yoshihide for more than ten years before he recovered to 10,000 kan in Yokoyama. Hashiba Hidekatsu earned 500 kan in just one minute.

As for being Ashikaga Yoshihide's close associate, it was even more promising. The two of them kowtowed to thank him and could not hide their joy!

The beginning of spring was a good start. Ashikaga Yoshihide officially offered sacrifices to his biological father Ashikaga Yoshikatsu. The ceremony was grand and solemn. From the central hall of the shrine, along the Shinto all the way down, more than 30,000 soldiers showed the power of the shogunate.

What a magnificent new shogunate scene!

(The whole book is finished, you can delete it from the bookshelf!)