Great name!

Chapter 262: Dispatching to Honganji Temple

In the Oda family, Akechi Mitsuhide was not the only one vying for the position of army commander. Hashiba Hideyoshi had already obtained the position of army commander to conquer the western country.

In fact, Hashiba Hideyoshi knew about this the day before Nobutora was about to let Kuroda Kanbei meet Nobunaga, and he secretly ran back to Gifu Castle to meet Nobunaga.

That night, Hashiba Hideyoshi disguised himself and entered the Honmaru at dusk, and then ran to meet Nobunaga.

Nobunaga looked at Hashiba Hideyoshi, who looked like a servant, and said with some dissatisfaction: "Monkey, why are you not staying in Nagahama? What are you doing?"

Hashiba Hideyoshi quickly apologized, "I'm very sorry, Master, I have something I want to talk to you about, and this matter should not be known to others."

Nobunaga became interested. He sat in the corridor, looked at Hashiba Hideyoshi who was kneeling on the ground, and asked, "Now, what do you want?"

Hashiba Hideyoshi said quickly: "Today, I learned that Kuroda Xiaogao from Harima once again paid a visit to the Jingzhao Yin.

Master, Harima is a special place. If you want to achieve the goal of spreading martial arts throughout the country, you must defeat the Mori family. Given the current situation, our army must occupy Harima."

He took out a map, pointed at Harima and said, "Look, Harima is adjacent to Settsu. If the Mori family occupies Harima, they can join forces with Honganji to attack Settsu, or they can stop the Oda army from entering the Sanyo Road.

Therefore, we must never allow the Mori family to occupy Harima.

Besides, the various lords in Harima are independent and like a pile of loose sand. Monkey is willing to go to Harima and persuade these lords to submit to the Oda family!"

After listening to Monkey Hideyoshi's plan, Oda Nobunaga nodded and said, "Well, your idea is very good. In fact, I think so too. The Oda family will definitely be enemies with the Mori family in the future.

However, the timing for conquering the Mori is not right. We must first solve the problem of Honganji before we can deal with other issues."

Although the power of Honganji was weakened by Ganshoji Temple in Nagashima, the Buddhist kingdom established on earth in Echizen failed, and Kaga also lost two counties.

However, the strength of Honganji was still very strong. He felt that if he did not defeat the monks of Honganji, he would not be able to move forward in Gyeonggi Province.

Although Nobunaga did not directly agree to Monkey Hideyoshi's request, his words and implications would encourage Monkey Hideyoshi to attack the Mori family.

When Hashiba Hideyoshi saw this, he realized that he couldn't eat hot tofu in a hurry, so he nodded and retreated.

Although Nobunaga did not explicitly agree to Hashiba Hideyoshi that night, after meeting Kuroda Kanbei, and with Nobutora's suggestion that a deputy general be sent to divide the monkey's power, Nobunaga immediately determined that Hashiba Hideyoshi was the main figure in the crusade against the Mori family.

He couldn't let the Tsuda family dominate the market, especially since both the civil and military officials in the Tsuda family were powerful.

Anyway, the Takeda family is not a threat now, so Nobunaga begins to weaken Nobutora's strength.

Now that the commander of the corps in the western and central regions had been given to Hashiba Hideyoshi, the others could no longer sit still, and several important officials were thinking of vying for the commander of the corps in the capital.

But there were many people keeping an eye on this person, including Niwa Nagahide, Sakuma Nobumori, and Harada Naomasa.

For example, Niwa Nagahide was testing Nobunaga with words, but he did not get any useful information.

As for Sakuma Nobumori, he was proud of his status. He thought that he was an old minister and he must have a share in being the commander of the army in the capital.

But Nobunaga was never sure.

Harada Naomasa could no longer sit still, so he had to ask someone to ask Harada Naoko to go out and test Nobunaga's attitude.

Nobunaga originally wanted to support people close to him, and Harada Naomasa happened to be within his consideration.

Compared to Harada Naomasa, Niwa Nagahide is still not as close as Harada Naomasa.

Nobunaga listened to Naoko Harada's whispers and deliberately revealed some information to her. Naoko then sent someone to tell Harada Naomasa that there was a chance for the legion commander.

When Harada Naomasa heard the news, he immediately went to visit Nobunaga, and Nobunaga verbally agreed to let Harada Naomasa be the commander-in-chief and send troops to attack Honganji next year.

However, one thing Nobunaga has to do now is to build a new castle for himself, not only for himself but also for the Oda family.

He planned to build a city as magnificent as Kyoto to demonstrate the power of the Oda family.

The city should be located close to Kyoto, but not too far away from Nobi, my hometown.

The location finally chosen was Azuchi, a branch castle of the Rokkaku family near Kannonjiyama Castle.

The terrain here is flat, enough for Nobunaga to build a huge castle town nearby. At the same time, this place is close to Lake Biwa, and you can reach Kusatsu or Otsu by boat in one or two hours, and then ride a fast horse to Kyoto, which will not take more than half a day.

It only takes one day at most to get to Mino Gifu Castle from here.

At the same time, it radiates to Hokuriku and Ise in the south.

It can be said that Azuchi is the most suitable place to build a city.

After Nobunaga selected the location for the new city, he appointed Niwa Nagahide and Hashiba Hideyoshi as governors to be responsible for building this big city.

When Nobutora heard that Nobunaga was going to build Azuchi Castle, ripples of emotion arose in his heart. He was afraid that he would have to move to Azuchi Castle next.

This is a magnificent city, a symbol of the Oda family's strength and one of the symbols of Oda Nobunaga.

Later generations therefore called the thirty years between 1573 and 1603 the Azuchi-Momoyama period.

Nobunaga's Azuchi period followed the Muromachi period, and Hideyoshi's Momoyama period preceded the Edo period.

Xin Hu thought that he was able to witness such a magnificent era, and his life was worthwhile.

However, it is still unknown whether the Momoyama period will continue, but since he personally experienced the Azuchi period, he will also assist Nobutada in creating a new era after Nobunaga's death.

Although Xinhu is over 40 years old, he is still full of fighting spirit when he thinks about the future.

He must not relax at all. These are the most critical years for the Tsuda family. He must try his best to fight Nobunaga and compete with other colleagues in wisdom and courage.

……

It was winter again, and Xinhu didn't go anywhere. He stayed at home to accompany Axia who was not feeling well.

The plum blossoms outside the yard are in full bloom, but Xinhu has no interest in admiring them.

He accompanied Axia and said, "You should have a good rest. Don't worry about Adong. She is recovering well now. The three magicians are also in good health."

A-Xia smiled and said, "More than a decade has passed in the blink of an eye. At that time, A-Dong was very naughty and didn't look like a lady at all.

But in the blink of an eye, she is now a mother. Time flies so fast."

When people get old, they like to reminisce about the past and count the good times.

Even Xinhu cares about every little thing in the past.

He smiled and said, "Yes, time flies. When you first came into my house, you were still young, as young as a flower. Time flies, and you and I are both old now."

A-Xia chuckled and said, "I am already old and ugly now."

"Hahaha..." Xinhu couldn't help laughing and replied, "Look at you, you're almost 40, why are you still like a little girl?"

A-Xia said a little aggrievedly: "Yes, I'm old now. I can't act like a little girl anymore. No one likes me."

Xin Hu smiled helplessly and touched her face: "Okay, okay, in my eyes, you will always be that fourteen-year-old girl."

When Axia heard this, even though she was old, she couldn't help but blush.

Xinhu talked to Axia enthusiastically about children. As time passed, Axia became tired and fell asleep unknowingly.

Xinhu then covered her with the quilt, then quietly stood up and left the room.

It was very warm in Axia's room. When Xinhu went out, a cold wind blew, making him shiver.

Uchida Mori quickly took out a pair of warm boots and handed them to Nobutora. Nobutora put them on and said with a smile, "Did you warm my boots?"

He looked at the low-ranking warrior in front of him and for a moment couldn't remember who he was.

Uchida Mori said quickly: "Ha, I am worried that the cold boots will affect the health of the master of the family."

Xinhu listened to this and thought of an old story. He asked with a smile: "These boots don't smell very good."

Uchida Mori immediately expressed his opinion: "Without the support of the master, how could I be where I am today? I will always remember the master's kindness.

It's just a small matter like warming shoes, I don't think it's a big deal, as long as the master of the house is comfortable wearing it, I will be satisfied. "

Nobutora felt very proud when he heard this. He now understood why Oda Nobunaga trusted his servant Monkey so much.

Could it be that this Uchida Mori will also be like a monkey?

He felt that he could test Uchida Mori's sincerity like Nobunaga did.

Nobutora simply nodded in response to Uchida Mori's words and left immediately.

Uchida Mori looked at Nobutora who was leaving, but he was not discouraged. He was originally a ronin. After going through untold hardships, he finally passed the selection of the Tsuda family and entered this mansion to work. He would never give up any opportunity.

Tsurusaki Naoshige walked over, looked at Uchida Mori who was still kneeling in the snow and said, "Although you are a bit unscrupulous and despicable, it is still impressive that you can do this."

Uchida Mori didn't dare to say anything and could only bow his head.

Tsurusaki Naoshige nodded, then left the yard and followed Nobutora.

……

The cold weather dissipated, the sun began to rise, and in the blink of an eye it was already February. Accurate news came from the capital that the Mori family had reached an agreement with Shogun Ashikaga Yoshiaki, and Ashikaga Yoshiaki officially went to the western country.

When the Oda family heard the news, everyone was excited.

But at this time, news came that Kenshin of Ishiyama Honganji intended to mobilize believers in Hida, Kaga, Echizen, and Noto to fight against the Oda clan.

Naturally, Oda Nobunaga would not tolerate Honganji Nobunaga's provocation to the Oda family, so Nobunaga planned to send troops to attack Honganji.

He immediately summoned all his retainers for discussion and announced that he would send troops to attack Honganji in April.

Everyone in Hiroma immediately looked at Nobunaga. They were all waiting for Nobunaga to announce the list of generals who would lead the troops.

During the meal, Sakuma Nobumori looked determined to win, Niwa Nagahide was calm, and Harada Naomasa was a little nervous.

Nobunaga looked at it and said directly: "Gorozu, you still have to keep an eye on the construction of Azuchi Castle. Naomasa will be the general commander of this expedition."

Harada Naomasa was very excited. He walked out excitedly and bowed to Nobunaga to express his gratitude.

Sakuma Nobumori was a little bit incredulous, then became a little angry and embarrassed, lowered his head with a gloomy face, and said nothing.

Nobunaga didn't care about this and directly announced the dissolution of the meeting.

Time was tight, and after the meeting, the Oda family began to mobilize troops and food supplies.

In early April, Harada Naomasa, as the commander-in-chief, led 3 troops along with Araki Murashige, Hosokawa Fujitaka, Akechi Mitsuhide and Tsutsui Junkei to attack Ishiyama Honganji Temple in Osaka, while Honganji Shonyo also built castles in Kizu and Nanwa for defense.

Among them, Araki Murashige launched an offensive by land and sea from Amagasaki, built three fortresses in Kitanoda and other places in Osaka, and blocked the passage to the river and the sea.

Akechi Mitsuhide and Hosokawa Fujitaka went to Moriguchi and Morikawachi, southeast of Osaka, to set fire and build forts.

Harada Naomasa built a fortress in a strategic location in Tennoji, attempting to cut off Honganji's external access.

In order to strengthen the defense of Tennoji Fort, Oda Nobunaga also ordered Sakuma Nobuyoshi, Akechi Mitsuhide, and Tsutsui Junkei to guard it together. At the same time, he sent Inoko Heisuke and Otsu Nagamasa to inspect the battle situation and convey the order to attack Kizu.

A few days later, the Ikko Ikki faction's Shoganji, Boshoji, Suzuki Ikkusu and other generals suddenly launched a fire attack on Sumiyoshi Shrine.

Afterwards, the Oda army used Miyoshi Yasunaga as the vanguard, leading the Negoro and Izumi people in the front, and Harada Naomasa led the Yamato and Yamashiro people in the rear, and the spearhead was directed towards the Ikko Ikki's Kizu Castle.

Ishiyama Honganji also dispatched 10,000 troops to rescue. When the two sides fought, the Ikko Ikki side used thousands of foreign rifles to shoot and defeated the vanguard army of Miyoshi Yasunaga. Miyoshi Yasunaga retreated, and Harada Naomasa then led his troops to fill in and continued to attack the Ikko Ikki army.

But after several moments of fierce fighting, he was still at a disadvantage, and finally Harada Naomasa was shot and killed by a stray bullet in the melee.

The Oda army was defeated without its main general, and generals such as Hanawa Yasuhiro, Hanawa Koshichiro, Minoura Muemon, and Niwa Koshiro were killed in the battle.

The Ikko Ikki pursued the victory and surrounded Tennoji Fortress guarded by Akechi Mitsuhide, Sakuma Nobuyoshi, Tsutsui Junkei, Inoko Heisuke, and Otsu Nagamasa.

The Ikko Ikki used a large number of cannons to attack Tennoji Fort two or three times a day. The offensive was very fierce, but because Tennoji Fort was defended with a fence to prevent cattle and horses and was quite strong, they were unable to capture it.

Later, Akechi Mitsuhide and Sakuma Nobuyoshi also sent envoys to Kyoto to ask Oda Nobunaga for help.

Nobunaga in Gifu Castle thought the battle was going well, but he didn't expect bad news from the front line. Harada Naomasa was killed in the battle and the Oda army was defeated!

"Harada Naomasa, you're a piece of shit!"

Nobunaga was furious and started cursing.

Sakuma Nobumori gloated and said, "I should have gone there in the first place. What real ability does Harada Naomasa have?"

Nobunaga glanced at Sakuma Nobumori, anger boiling in his heart.

You old man, sooner or later I will kill you!

Nobunaga gritted his teeth and didn't argue with Sakuma Nobumori. He immediately stood up, walked outside and shouted: "Gather all the troops and follow me immediately."

"Hurry up and tell Wulang Zuo to lead his troops to rescue the capital."

"And Xinhu, send troops to support immediately!"

(End of this chapter)