Chapter 25 - Since I was reborn as Saito Yoshitatsu, I'm aiming to hand over the territory to Oda Nobunaga and live longer!
1537 (Tenbun era, year 6)
TL: YuinaChapter 25: I need a little more peace and quiet in my life
Inabayama Castle, Mino Province
Spring is drawing near. It seems that the salt water selection is going well again this year. Last year, we gathered up the weighty seed hulls from the selection process, planted them, and used the newly cultivated rice as this year's seed hulls. As I expected, the sunken seed rice had more weight than the seed rice floating in the salt water, so I have high expectations for this year.
At the same time, my father had received information about the situation of various regions from his trusted aide, and my uncle and Hirai Kunaikyo Nobumasa were called in. The aide is like a ninja who specialize in gathering information, and Hirai-dono is a guest general who escaped from Kyoto to Mino Province to avoid the war. He also knows a lot about military arts, waka poetry, and kemari, so he has been teaching me a lot of things, just like a personal tutor. Recently, important discussions have been held exclusively between these four. And by the way, they gave up on teaching me waka. I just don't get it.
"However, there's the Koshun alliance. The Imagawa clan is also trying hard to stabilize their territory."
"Brother, it wouldn't be wise to be at odds with the Hojo clan."
At the beginning of the year, in February, Imagawa Jibu no taifu Yoshimoto took as his wife the daughter of Takeda Nobutora, and the Koshun alliance was established. The Imagawa clan, who had yet to fully recovered from the civil war, wanted to stabilize the northern part of their territory. In the west, the Oda Danjo [1] house was becoming more active.
However, the Hojo clan in the east was angered by this. Takeda and Hojo were in the middle of a border war, and he thought that Imagawa had turned against him. Before the marriage ceremony was even completed and done with, Hojo Ujitsuna invaded Suruga Province and took the area east of the Fuji River, called Kato.
If you stand up for the other party, you can't stand up for yourself. It seems to be troublesome to deal with enemies and allies in the Sengoku period.
"For the time being, the Danjo [1] house can move freely. The target is probably Nagoya."
"It seems that they have been attending frequent poetry gatherings at the castle in Nakono lately. In Owari, I hear that the atmosphere is relaxed as the reconciliation is smoothly progressing, but... that's impossible."
His father let out a snicker at the words of Hirai Kunaikyo. Nobuhide, the current head of the Danjo house, is Nobunaga's father. In the Sengoku games, I think that he dies early, but I still remember that his abilities were very outstanding. I'm sure he's black-hearted, just like my father, so he can read people's thoughts.
"Let us try to stabilize our territory while the south is in turmoil. In a little while, we'll be dredging again this year and proceed with the flood control measures."
"We'll leave that to Shinkuro. We must prepare for Tsuru's wedding, which is scheduled for May."
That's right, it was decided that my sister, Tsuruhime, would get married. Her partner is Toki Shichiro Yorimitsu. He is the younger brother of the Governor general Sakyo no daibu Yorinari. Regarding the succession of Mino's Shugo, he was supporting his eldest son, Ein-sama, who just became a priest. He was suspected to have been secretly involved in the invasion of the Asakura clan the year before last, and that is why the Governor general, who had officially taken over the position of Shugo, led this marriage for reconciliation.
"I can't afford to screw this up," he said. "I have to take car of her wedding dowry."
"Some of the glass bowls are already finished, do you want to add them?"
"Shinkuro, that's a good idea. Tsuru will be very pleased."
"You are such a good brother. As your uncle, I'm glad to see that you and your sibilings are on good terms. It's a good thing that our lord has shown with his own example that a family feud is not a good thing."
Everyone but me laughed at my uncle Hayatonosuke Michitoshi's words. I try to make time to visit the Butterfly Princess, also known as Nohime. I also have three older sisters, but one of them is already married, and the other one, Tsuruhime, is a concubine's child and doesn't live in the same mansion, so I rarely see her. It would be remiss of me not to do something for them, at least on such occasions.
Speaking of sibilings, Omi had a baby girl last year. Her name is Fukuhime [2], and she is hoping that her days will be free of war. Actually, your wife's pregnant now as well, such a hudge baby boom. That's why, you have to pull yourself together, father.
"Even if the chid who is now on her stomach is a boy,"
"Yes."
"You will still be the successor of the Saito Shugodai. This has already been decided."
"Yes."
"That's right. If the lord keeps his attitude clear, there will be no discord."
"When a boy is born, he should inherit the Nishimura name. When she married into the family, she took the surname of Nishimura. No one will complain."
This is what my father has been telling me every now and then. From the standpoint of the relationship with Toki, the child of my mother Miyoshi, who had been given to him by the Governor general, would be more favored in Mino as a whole. He seems to be thinking about that. However, I've never said anything about wanting to take over. I am too scared to say anything.
"Speaking of the inheritence, I heard that the Governor general is in trouble."
"Iboshimaru-sama, huh? He is such a difficult boy to deal with, both for my lord and the Governor general."
The only son of Yorinari-sama, the Governor general, is Iboshimaru-sama. I remember his gritted teeth more than his face, but it seems that he is the one who is making Yorinari-sama want to cry. It is said that he plans to go for his first compain as soon as he has his coming-of-age ceremony this year. I must be the cause of this. Well, not exactly. It was because I had completed my first battle in such a haste and with such splendid results, although it was all a mascarade. It seems that he is continuously boasting to his vassals that he is going to invade the Asakura's territory in a show of defiance.
He was in a bad mood because I, who was younger than him, had beaten him to both having my coming of age ceremony and my first compain. It seems that he has a bad drinking habit, and when he gets drunk, he shouts out big words and lashes out at his Kosho.
I heard that all but a few of the sycophants are disgusted by him and his temper. In addition to power harassment, he had caused for people to get injured. If it happened in my past life, he would have been the subject of a weekly magazine and his parents would have been hung out to dry for a while. The rumors that have been circulating about him are probably the same as those going around today.
"It is said that he has no interest in Toki's falcon paintings or waka poetry, but only in martial arts and long-distance rides. I have also heard that he sometimes deliberately fails to observe etiquette."
"He may wish to imitate the Kabukimono, but as it is, he acts like nothing more than a moron."
"I heard that the other day was rude to the messenger of the Shugo of Owari who came to visit, and that Echigo no kami put an end to that in a hurry."
"Since they [3] had been appointed as Shugo at the same time, they sent messengers to congratulate each other, but Young Master Iboshimaru first tried to meet the messengers in his hunting robe. That's why Echigo no kami tried so hard to stop him. Brother and I were so dumbfounded that we couldn't even say a word."
Shiba Yoshimune and the Governor general were assigned to the post of Owari's Shugo and Mino's Shugo respectively, at the same time by the bakufu. Therefore, they sent each other congratulatory speeches to confirm their authority, but if the legitimate son acted as an idiot, there would soon be a problem. Therefore, one of the servants, Echigo no kami, managed to control him. I can only imagine the hardships he must have had to endure.
"The Kinai region is making steady progress toward stabilization. The marriage between the Shogun's Deputy (Kanrei Hosokawa Harumoto) and the daughter of the Dainagon, Sanjo Kinyori, was already decided. As a result of Sadayori-sama's involvement in this, the lead of the Kinai region was shared between the Kanrei, the Rokkaku clan and Kizawa Nagamasa."
"Nevertheless, some sparks are still smoldering inside. The handling of both the Hatakeyama and the Miyoshi clans, as well as the Hongan-ji Temple and the Hokke sect (Nichiren sect)..."
"We must be on our guard. Don't forget to dispatch your spies."
In the Kansai region, the cooperation between Hosokawa Harumoto and Rokkaku Sadayori seems to be settling down with the addition of Kizawa Nagamasa. If Kyoto is in trouble, it will affect the sales of my soap. I hope they will do their best.
"Speaking of Hongan-ji Temple, what about the matter with Fukusho-ji Temple?'
"The Hongan-ji Temple in Ishiyama did not know, so I received a reply through the Rokkaku."
"It is obvious that they sheltered Munehiro in Omi."
In fact, Hongan-ji Temple was at odds with the Toki and the Saito clans at that time. The Fukusho-ji Temple in Tagi County took the lead in the revolt of Ikko sect followers, and Saito Munehiro took advantage of this to go wild.
"Both Ishiyama and Yamashina have been taken down by the main household, and the extremists have been thoroughly eliminated. They don't want to be constantly on guard against the people who are revolting."
"However, Magokuro-dono has advised me not to be too harsh with them."
The head temple, Ishiyama Hongan-ji Temple, is in the process of issuing a textbook related to Hongwan-ji Temple's teachings called The Epistles in February to take control of the situation. We don't want to be looked down on by the forces in the Kansai region for defending those radical people in such a situation, and so we denied our involvement in this matter. However, my father's retainer from long ago, Magokuro Miyagawa, who is a member of the Jodo Shinshu sect, has asked him to forgive Fukusho-ji Temple for leading the revolt, making it difficult for him to deal with them.
Incidentally, last year Azai's troops appeared near the border with Omi, taking advantage of the Ikko Ikki revolt.
It seems that the Azai clan and Hongan-ji Temple have some kind of cooperative alliance.
"It's a difficult question, Kunaikyo, can you think of anything?"
"If we show signs of reconciliation with Hongan-ji Temple, Munehiro will lose his place and run to the Asakura clan, but it's hard to say if... Ishiyama will give us a reply, or anything."
"Hmm. Shinkuro, do you have any opinions?"
I was suddenly asked for my opinion. These days, I've been getting these sudden unscrupulous remarks a bit more frequently. But is there any good idea I could remember?
In a certain Sengoku game, it is favorable to be able to reconcile with your enemy, but it is also possible to dare to isolate the enemy and increase your number of allies. Where are our Buddhist allies? Is it the Hokke sect? Where can we better increase the number of our allies? By the way, there must be people who think differently in the Jodo Shinshu sect.
"Hmm, how about making friends with the Takata sect [4]?"
"Well, drawing Hongan-ji Temple's enemies into Mino? That might be a good idea."
"If that's the case, let's ask Muryoju-in Temple in Ise Province for their cooperation. We should also tell Magokuro-dono that we will allow the Takada sect to practice the Shin Buddhism, and have them convert the entire Fukushoji Temple. As I recall, the current head priest of the Takata sect fell ill and his successor is young. I'm sure the Takada sect will cooperate as it will be a good foil for their successor."
"Brother, how about we set up a Takada sect temple near Fukushoji Temple, and those who convert will receive a reduction in annual tribute? Magokuro-dono will be in charge of persuading the temple, and if he is successful, we will guarantee the temple's territory, the temple's new territory would be guaranteed."
"That's a good idea. It won't empty our pockets too much. We should guide them well and get the Takada and Honganji factions to fight each other. Don't let them get the better of us. Once we've conquered Fukushoji Temple, we can slowly incite a confrontation with Nagashima."
I was terrified of the three of them who were so casually piling up their schemes, and I thought that I had already learned aboout this way of governance in history classes, which involves making use of sowing discord among different parties.
Ah!
"Divide and conquer."
I couldn't help but say it out loud. That's from Queen Victoria.
"Hmm. That's an interesting phrase."
"I've never heard it before, but it fits well what we're trying to do."
"Do these words come from Ming? It's true that the third and sixth shogun also used internal conflicts to reduce the power of the shugo."
"I'll try to incorporate that philosophy in our future plans. Good job, Shinkuro."
I can't help but feel that I said something unnecessary. The only thing I'm worried about is whether I'm giving the three of them any strange pointers.
Author's Note:
Queen Victoria was not yet born, so if this was transmitted to posterity, would people say instead, "As expected, the son of a viper."
I have nothing esle to say about Hongwan-ji Temple itself (I intend to do my best to include the Otani sect I visited during my sightseeing in Kyoto), but the situation in Mino at the time and the relationship with the Oda would make it inevitably hostile to Hongwan-ji Temple.
In fact, among many sects, Hongwan-ji Temple bears many more rational aspects, but the situation doesn't allow to delve into that.
The situation in Imagawa and Kinai will gradually become more and more relevant to our MC. However, I want to keep the information about the situation to a minimum as much as possible. I'm still inexperienced in this area. I'll keep working on it.
[1] Danjo - judge (of the Imperial Prosecuting and Investigating Office); judicial officer; minister of justice
[2] Fukuhime (福姫) - 福 "fuku" can mean good fortune; happiness; blessing; good luck, and 姫 "hime" means princess.
[3] The Shugo of Mino (Yorinari) and the Shugo of Owari Province
[4] Takada sect (of Shin Buddhism) so it is a Branch affiliated to the Jodo Shinshu sect.
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