different warring states of japan

Chapter 2070: Good Sisters Who Love and Hate Each Other

Akechi Mitsuhide took advantage of Hosokawa Fujitaka's first love complex and continued to deepen her admiration for Sasaki Yoshikane. He used both soft and hard tactics to completely tie the Izumi Hosokawa family to the Sasaki family's warship.

Now, Hosokawa Fujitaka has no choice but to follow the Sasaki Group all the way to the end, but she has been educated in shogunate politics since childhood, and she cannot change her selfishness in her bones.

If it weren't for Sōma's rapid rise, or if it weren't for his close ties with Akechi Mitsuhide, Hosokawa Fujitaka would have sold off Akechi Mitsuhide in a minute. It was truly a fake sisterhood.

  And Akechi Mitsuhide was not to be outdone. Hadn't she deceived Hosokawa Fujitaka enough?

This pair of wise sisters really know each other's cards. They smile on their faces but curse at each other in their hearts, and they just live their days one by one.

In response to Hosokawa Fujitaka's complaints, Akechi Mitsuhide changed the subject.

"Tamba Province is the old territory of the Hosokawa family. Izumi Hosokawa family should be able to find a few old friends there, right?"

Hosokawa Fujitaka narrowed his eyes.

"What do you want to do?"

Akechi Mitsuhide smiled.

"You and I are sisters of the same mind, how can I forget you when I have something good to offer?

The saint has tacitly agreed to the surrender of the Tamba Kunitake family and allowed me to hold this gateway to Kinki as a buffer to prevent Kyoto from facing the might of the Hashiba army.

You also know how troublesome those mountain people in Tamba Province are. Think of a solution for me. I want to imitate the old Tango Province and have Tamba Province shared by the Akechi family and the Hosokawa family."

Hosokawa Fujitaka lowered his head and remained silent, weighing the pros and cons.

The main Hosokawa family had occupied Tamba Province for 150 years. As the head of the branch family, Hosokawa Fujitaka naturally hoped to restore the femininity, take back the old territory belonging to the Hosokawa family, and succeed the head of the Muneshige family.

But Tamba Province is a difficult place to deal with, as its geographical location is similar to that of the Koshin Mountains in Kanto.

The Koshin Mountains run across the center of Honshu Island, especially the Shinano Mountains, which are well connected in all directions and have an extremely important strategic location.

Also, because the mountains are rugged and the mountain people stick together, it is difficult for outside forces to conquer them and they cannot effectively manage the local military families.

The same is true for Tamba Province, which is an inland highland located northwest of the Kyoto Basin. It is well connected, but it is a mountain range connected to another, and the mountain people are unruly and poor.

The rule of the Hosokawa family in Tamba Province was not very comfortable. The powerful local military families such as Naito, Hatano, Akai, etc. were all difficult to tame.

The Hosokawa family was weakened and destroyed in the struggle with the Miyoshi family, and the Tamba Kunifu family became independent.

Later, the Naito family was wiped out in an internal struggle, and now the Tanba guardian falls into the hands of the Hatano family, and the Akai family is an ally of the Hatano family.

The Hatano family successively fell out with the Miyoshi family, the Oda family, and the Hashiba family. The Tamba Kunifu family closed themselves off for many years. Although outsiders could not invade, the life of the mountain people was also difficult.

There was a lack of daily necessities in the mountains, and the local samurai saw no end to their hard times, so they turned to the Sasaki family, but it was not a true surrender.

If Akechi Mitsuhide just wanted to be a nominal ruler, it would be fine if everyone gave him some face and kowtowed to him, but if he really wanted to swallow up this strategic location, it would probably cause a violent backlash in the local area.

Hosokawa Fujitaka felt that this muddy water was not easy to wade through, but she was unwilling to just shake her head and give up.

Not to mention that Tamba Province was the old territory of the Hosokawa family, just the thought of dividing this large country of 26 koku close to Kyoto in half was enough to make her excited.

The Izumi-Hosokawa family has been doing well in recent years. In addition to Izumi Province and 200,000 koku of Kitakawachi, they also obtained half of Tango Province from Akechi Mitsuhide.

If they could take over half of Tanba, their koku would exceed 400,000 koku, making them a powerful domain in Kinki.

Hosokawa Fujitaka thought for a moment and said.

"Among the six Tanba counties, the Hatano family is from Taki County, and the Akai family is from Hyokami County. It is difficult to affect their base in the counties where they started.

But as for the other four counties, I can think of a way."

Akechi Mitsuhide clapped his hands and cheered. "I knew you had a way, Fujitaka."

Hosokawa Fujitaka snorted coldly.

"Don't be happy too soon.

The Hosokawa family has been expelled from Tamba Province for decades, and even the main Hosokawa family has been destroyed. I don't know if those old connections will still give the Izumi Hosokawa family some face."

Akechi Mitsuhide smiled.

"The Izumi Hosokawa family is a descendant of the Sasaki family. The local samurai of Tamba are so happy to have such a high-ranking relationship. How could they not give you face?"

Hosokawa Fujitaka sneered.

“There is also the deputy governor, Ninagawa Chikayo, whose family’s territory is in Funai County, Tamba Province.

As far as I know, Ninagawa Yoshiyoko and Hatakeyama Takamasa are secretly colluding and planning to bring back the Kufang-sama.

Are you sure that Ninagawa would like to see the Shiba family truly control Tamba Province? The Ninagawa family is not strong enough to accomplish anything, but they still have the ability to cause trouble in Tamba Province. "

Hosokawa Fujitaka never dared to underestimate Akechi Mitsuhide. Although Akechi Mitsuhide had just been released by the saint to do evil, she did not think that the Kyoto shogunate's little tricks could be hidden from Akechi Mitsuhide's eyes and ears.

Deliberately bringing this matter to light is both a test and an instigation.

Akechi Mitsuhide was not prepared to hide anything from her allies. She had Fujibayashi Ryou from the confidentiality group as her minion, and he was not idle during the days in prison. How could he not know about the changes in the Kyoto shogunate?

After hearing Hosokawa Fujitaka talk about this, Akechi Mitsuhide's eyes turned cold and he smiled.

“Back when Miyoshi went to Kyoto, Miyoshi Yoshitaka conquered Tamba Province. It was the saint who stood up for the Ninagawa family and saved the Ninagawa family’s territory in Tamba Province.

Ninagawa Chikashi has grown old and confused, and has already forgotten God's grace, so don't blame me for not valuing our friendship.

Hatakeyama Takamasa was a dissolute person in her early years. If the saint had not cherished the famous Hatakeyama family, she would not even be able to keep the land of Minamikawachi, let alone the glory of being the governor of the shogunate today.

These two people have such bad hearts that they have forgotten who has kept them rich and powerful for the past ten years. They deserve to die.”

Hosokawa Fujitaka narrowed his eyes.

As one of the most famous families in the shogunate, the Izumi-Hosokawa family was well aware of Kyoto's secret tricks.

She never thought that the shogunate retainers could turn the tables. The shogunate was now only left with its skull, and how could it withstand the mace of the Sasaki family?

Compared to the tough nut to crack in Tamba Province, Hosokawa Fujitaka was more interested in Kyoto.

The island nation and the Japanese people originated in the Nara Basin, but their real rise came after they took over the Kyoto Basin.

The Kamo River originates from Kitayama, the Katsura River originates from the Tamba Plateau, the Uji River originates from Lake Biwa, and the Kizu River flows down from the Iga Basin.

These rivers converge in the south of Kyoto, become the Yodo River, flow to the Osaka Plain, and finally flow into the sea on the west coast of the Seto Inland Sea.

In ancient times, logistics costs were extremely high, and the flow of people and materials was heavily dependent on water transportation.

The Kyoto Basin is a gathering place for rivers from all directions, so whether you are heading to Tamba, Iga, Omi, or heading downstream to the Osaka Plain, there is water transportation to help.

The Japanese people started from the Nara Basin, and after taking over the Kyoto Basin, they went east to Omi and west to Osaka. By occupying the core economic zone of the island country, they were able to defeat enemies from all directions and seize the island country.

(End of this chapter)