different warring states of japan

Chapter 2172 Who are you thinking about?

Harima Province, Himeji Castle.

The early autumn evening breeze was already a little chilly, and Hideyoshi Ichijo, who was not completely unaware of the actions of the Sasaki clan, felt uneasy.

Outside the courtyard wall, there was a faint sound of scolding. It was Mimi and Ichijun's servants arguing over some trivial matters.

Marrying Ichijo and becoming the sister-in-law of Oda Nobunaga and a member of the Oda family was Hideyoshi's stroke of genius during the Oda civil war.

Ichi-kun married Asai Nagamasa and Shibata Katsuie successively, but both wives committed suicide in the city, and their family businesses disappeared. He had become an ominous person.

Especially since Oda Nobunaga was dead, Ichikun lost his greatest support.

As the old retainers of the Oda family each had their own agenda and went their separate ways, Ichi-kun, who was once a favored child of heaven and had to be looked up to by Hideyoshi Ichijo, also fell into Hideyoshi Ichijo's control and eventually married her.

But Hideyoshi Ichijo knew very well that Ichikun had never looked down on him from the beginning to the end.

This man, whose personality is very similar to Nobunaga, married her only because of his hatred for Yoshigaki Sasaki.

The most lasting feeling in the world is not love, but hatred. Hate is like a glass of aged wine. The longer it ages, the more addictive it becomes.

Therefore, Ichi-kun is willing to marry anyone who can cause trouble to Yoshikin Sasaki, no matter if it is a pig or a dog.

As long as Yoshigin Sasaki is not having a good time, that's enough.

After taking over Oda's former territory, Hideyoshi Ichijo gradually distanced himself from Ichikun. She knew how hysterical this crazy man was, but politics required calm calculation.

The Ichijo and Sasaki families divided the world equally, and Ichijo Hideyoshi turned to attack the peninsula, but not as he had promised before their marriage to attack Sasaki Yoshikane.

This made Ichijun feel angry and betrayed, and the two gradually drifted apart. Over the years, Ichijun lived elsewhere and the relationship between the two became cold.

However, with the death of Oda Nobuhiro, Oda's old territory became unstable again, and Ichijo Hideyoshi also made up his mind to fight a desperate battle with Sasaki Yoshikin.

At this time, Hideyoshi Ichijo had to regain her once faded political identity as an Oda clan member and strengthen her political status over the old Oda territory.

However, Hideyoshi Ichijo brought Ichikun back to Himeji Castle to live as a close political move, but he accidentally touched Mimi's bottom line.

In recent years, Ichi-kun has lived in seclusion, and Hideyoshi Ichijo has lived in Nagoya Castle close to the front line of the peninsula all year round. Himeji Castle, Hideyoshi Ichijo's nominal residence, is where Mimi is in charge.

Now that his wife is back and his young husband is back too, they stick together every day to show their political affection, which inevitably makes Mimi, who is old and childless, feel uncomfortable.

Mimi is old and has no children. If Shijun gives birth to a child, his status will plummet and he may live a miserable old age.

But the overall situation was not going well for her, and Mimi had always been virtuous, so she endured it and didn't lose her temper.

But just because the master is unhappy and cannot lose his temper doesn't mean that his subordinates don't know how to read the master's expression.

Himeji Castle has been managed by Mimi for many years, and suddenly a group of newcomers followed Ichikun back to grab territory. The old man naturally felt uneasy.

The new and old employees became outlets for the masters to vent their anger. The servants had been making a lot of noise these days, which made Hideyoshi Ichijo very annoyed.

But what can she do?

The old Oda territory is not peaceful, and the political symbol of Ichikun must be held in the palm of one's hand and not neglected.

And Mimi is not someone to be trifled with either. Hideyoshi Ichijo has been working hard outside over the years, and most of the powerful warriors under his command are Mimi's relatives, who have taken care of her since childhood.

Most of the generals under Hideyoshi Ichijo have close contacts with Mimi, and now is the time to recruit people, so Hideyoshi Ichijo cannot let everyone down because of these messy things in the backyard.

This dilemma made Hideyoshi Ichijo even more anxious.

As the saying goes, if you can't even clean your own house, how can you clean up the world?

If Hideyoshi Ichijo couldn't even handle the two men in her family, how could she make everyone believe that she could defeat Yoshikane Sasaki and seize the world?

What made Hideyoshi Ichijo even more sad was that she actually didn't love either of these two men. The person she truly loved was Yoshigaki Sasaki, the one she gave up for her ambition to rule the world.

After a while, Hideyoshi Ichijo shook his head, stood up and walked out of the yard, heading towards Ichikun's residence.

---

In the room, Ichi-kun was watching a monkey show, with his fan covering his mouth, not showing a smile to the outside world, maintaining the reserve of a high-ranking samurai man. He was in a good mood recently, and Ichijo Hideyoshi was finally going to take action against Sasaki Yoshikin.

Ichikun once wanted to commit suicide together with Shibata Katsuie. His life had long been boring and there was no difference between life and death to him.

But when he thought of Yoshigin Sasaki still living comfortably in this world, his heart felt as if it was being gnawed by millions of worms, and he was unwilling to die.

Ichi-kun endured the disgust and married the despicable monkey Ichijo Hideyoshi just to make Sasaki Yoshikin unhappy. Only when he was unhappy could Ichi-kun feel that she was still alive in this world.

At this time, footsteps were heard on the porch, and Hideyoshi Ichijo appeared outside the door. All the servants and monkey musicians knelt down and kowtowed. Hideyoshi Ichijo waved his hand and asked them all to leave.

From beginning to end, Ichijun did not bow. His slender neck was like a swan, and he raised his chin proudly. He looked at Hideyoshi Ichijo, who was as angry as a monkey, and felt disgusted in his heart.

Ichijo Hideyoshi sat in front of him and spoke solemnly.

"Can't you manage your servants? Mimi has lived in Himeji Castle for many years, so why not give him some face?"

Ichi-kun chuckled, covering his mouth with his fan.

"He is the principal wife and I am the concubine. How dare I not give him face? But are his grievances and provocations really caused by my offense?
Have you touched me in these years? Have you touched him? You have no children. You know how bad the rumors are. Everyone blames the lack of children in the Ichijo family on me and him.

But you know very well in your heart that it is your problem and you don't want to touch us at all.

Sometimes, I also wonder, you don’t want to touch me, and you don’t touch him, so who are you thinking about?

Are you like my stupid sister Nobunaga and that idiot Nagamasa, whose mind is full of that bitch Shiba Yoshigane! "

Ichijo Hideyoshi refuted with a cold face.

"Nonsense! Who is talking nonsense in front of you? I will smash these bastards' mouths!"

Ichikun suddenly smashed the paper fan in his hand onto the tatami and cursed fiercely.

"Don't think I don't know anything, you bastard!
The Ichijo family needs an heir! The Ichijo family needs Shiba Yoshigine to die!

And you, my stupid wife, you keep shirking your responsibilities, but I don't care.

I just want Yoshigin Sasaki to die. As long as he dies, everything I have will be yours. I will do whatever you want me to do.

What about the old Oda territory, what about obeying the principal wife... I can do it all..."

Ichijo Hideyoshi narrowed his eyes with a dangerous gleam in them, but Ichikun looked back at her with his head held high, not afraid at all.

The silence between the two lasted for an unknown amount of time, and then Hideyoshi Ichijo smiled and said.

"good, very good.

I will defeat Sasaki Yoshigane, I will kill him, take everything he has, and rule the world.

But I think your attitude is very problematic. Is this the attitude you take when you ask for help? Is this the attitude you take when you treat your wife?
You must learn to obey your wife and devote everything you have to her. Ichi-kun, you are not qualified to negotiate with me. The only thing you should do is beg.

Now, get down on your knees. "

Grabbing Shijun's hair, he slowly pressed down his proud swan neck. Shijun not only did not feel humiliated, but his eyes revealed a morbid joy.

"Please kill Shiba Yoshigane for me, and everything I have will be yours."

Ichijo Hideyoshi looked at him coldly.

"Prove it to me."

Ichi-kun lowered his head meekly with a smile on his face.

The next day, Ichijo Hideyoshi formally went to Kyoto in the name of the king of the island nation and demanded that Sasaki Yoshikane explain the Ming Dynasty's enthronement of the King of Japan.

An army returning to the island country set out from Harima Province. The 80,000-man army, claiming to have a strength of 200,000, marched into the Sasaki family's sphere of influence in a mighty force.

The Battle of Sōba-Ichijo is about to break out.