A tour of Japan's Warring States Period

"Is it okay for Ah Shi to be in Xiaogu?"

"I'm thinking of you, my sworn brother. My wife is very nice. If she hadn't been pregnant (Ah Chu), we would have come to Gifu together."

Oda Nobunaga held a wine plate and toasted from a distance to Asai Nagamasa, the Lord of Kotani Castle who was sitting at the foot of the "Eagle of the North." Asai Nagamasa, who was sitting at the bottom, looked normal and accepted it calmly.

Theoretically speaking, the Asai clan was not a retainer of the Oda clan, and Asai Nagamasa was not a retainer of Oda Nobunaga. Although the power gap between the two families was huge, as ministers of Ashikaga Yoshiaki, the Muromachi shogunate's conquest general, the two should sit facing each other instead of sitting one above the other as they do today.

The scene is a little weird!

Nagamasa Asai, who was the guardian of Jiangbei, was naturally invited by Oda Nobunaga to come to Gifu. In name, it was to congratulate the New Year, but in fact, Oda Nobunaga issued an order to Asai Nagamasa, who could mobilize 10,000 troops. It was an order rather than an invitation, asking him to gather troops and horses after next spring plowing and go with him to Settsu to seek peace with Miyoshi and the others. This is a serious problem for everyone.

Miyoshi and the three of them have fifteen thousand troops, plus the rebels that have sprung up in Settsu, as well as some ambitious elements in Kinei who are unwilling to fail, they can probably pull out twenty thousand troops.

Although Nobunaga has an army of 100,000, but due to the crowd of heroes looking around and the undercurrent in the territory, his mobile troops are only half of them. On the one hand, Luoyang needs to be suppressed, and on the other hand, the Asakura clan needs to be on guard against the Asakura clan, which has actually completely broken up with each other. So, all together, only about 30,000 people can go to Settsu to join the battle.

To be honest, Nobunaga was not very confident. The regiments under Miyoshi's trio were the capital of Miyoshi Changqing who gathered the elites of the nine countries and moved to the territory to suppress the heroes. In terms of level, he is truly one of the best in Kinai.

If 30,000 people go to fight against three good people, it may not be possible. After all, Nobunaga didn't ask for any favors during the melee in Settsu. It's just that both sides are exhausted, and someone has brokered an agreement. Each side has its own steps, and there is a temporary peace.

Moreover, Oda Nobunaga also sensed Ashikaga Yoshiaki's dissatisfaction with him. He did not want to use the ministers of the shogunate for the time being, or he did not dare to use them at all. Looking at Kinai, the only one who can be credited with driving is Asai Nagamasa, the "little brother Kotani" in front of him.

In addition, he betrothed his sister Aichi, known as "the most beautiful woman in the Warring States Period", to Asai Nagamasa, and helped Asai Nagamasa get the longed-for guardianship of Jiangbei and the title of a county in Jiangnan. He made a big move to win over this younger brother. capital. Although the matchmaking for Asai Manfukumaru's marriage was not completed, it did not prevent him from thinking that he had shown great kindness to the Asai family.

In the end, it was very realistic. The alliance was formed at the beginning because Oda Nobunaga only had Owari. At that time, there was not much difference in strength between Oda and Asai. The Oda clan needed the Asai clan to contain Yoshiryu Isshiki of Mino and Yoshihide Sasaki and his son of Jiangnan. At that time, they relied on the Asai clan, so they could interact with each other on an equal footing, even with a bit of humiliation.

Things are different now. Oda Nobunaga is the overlord of Kinai. Princes come from all over and the shogunate holds the power. He has millions of territories under his command, and hundreds of thousands of men and horses. Then the status of the Asai family, whose power was only one-eighth of the Oda family, began to become embarrassing. Oda Nobunaga was overtly or covertly subduing the Asai family, trying to make the Asai family, like the Matsudaira family, completely vassal.

It might have been a temptation before, but now it's a clear order!

Whether you are willing or unwilling in your heart, under the suppression of Oda Nobunaga eight times the strength, you must weigh your own weight and position yourself correctly.

It's not a big deal that Asai Manfukumaru didn't marry the daughter of the Yamauchi family. The worst thing is that Oda Nobunaga will have another daughter and send it to the Asai family in the future. The daughter of a powerful shogunate family will not fall into your family. When both father and son became the sons-in-law of the Oda family, it wouldn't be long before the Asai family became retainers of the Oda family.

"During the New Year, Shinshu Shimataro will come to Luoyang to pay homage to the big tree and perform the Yuanfu ceremony. You can also come and watch the ceremony."

"With such a grand gift, I will definitely come with you!" Asai Nagamasa bowed to express his understanding.

"That's good!" Nobunaga is still very satisfied with Asai Nagamasa's recent obedience.

Although on the issue of crusade against the Asakura clan, Nobunaga deliberately did not embarrass Asai Nagamasa, and would rather pull reinforcements from the Yamauchi clan than allow the Asai clan to send troops. But when fighting other miscellaneous fish, he spared no effort in "squeezing" this younger brother Xiaogu.

"Why does His Majesty Xinzhou, dismounting the horse, have to perform the ceremony of Yuanfu at such an age?"

"Brother, I want him to have his head shaved and crowned to strengthen our friendship." Nobunaga was already a little tipsy.

"His Majesty is highly respected in the world, and he is a noble man. There is really only one sworn brother in the world who can be crowned!" Asai Nagamasa has always been a serious person who does not flatter, and he rarely gave Oda Nobunaga a gentle compliment.

Oda Nobunaga also knew the temperament of his foster brother, who was upright and not very tactful in dealing with things. Nowadays, it is rare to hear him say a kind word. It is like eating iced watermelon in the dog days of summer, so refreshing.

"Hahahahaha! In the future, Wanfuwan's Yuanfu ceremony will also be handled by my brother!"

I, Oda Nobunaga, hold power in the shogunate and have the greatest reputation in the world. I usually help people like Taro Yamauchi to serve. You see, I am still willing to help Asai Manfukumaru Yuanfu, what a favor!

"Then I would like to thank Wanfu Wan here, my foolish brother!"

Nobunaga left his seat and sat next to Asai Nagamasa. He picked up the wine plate, ordered someone to fill it with wine, drank half of it, and handed the wine plate to Asai Nagamasa. Asai Nagamasa took the wine plate with joy and drank it all in one gulp.

The guests and hosts enjoyed themselves, and the banquet came to an end. Asai Nagamasa was taken to a residence specially prepared by Oda Nobunaga to stay and rest. The rules for hospitality were quite high.

The next day, it was sunny and no snow fell.

Nagamasa Asai agreed to Oda Nobunaga's request to mobilize the military after next year's spring plowing, and promised that at least 8,000 troops would be mobilized to settsu to join the battle.

Oda Nobunaga was naturally extremely satisfied with his brother Otani's understanding, and personally escorted Asai Nagamasa out of the city. He also gave the BMW he was riding directly to Asai Nagamasa to show the intimacy between the two.

Needless to say, Asai Nagamasa was naturally extremely grateful. He held Oda Nobunaga's hand. Although he didn't say anything, his reluctance to leave was eye-catching.

After the group left Gifu and traveled more than a mile, the Gifu City behind them was hidden in the white snow, leaving only an endless trail of falling snow between the sky and the earth. Asai Nagamasa slowed down his horse and looked thoughtful.

The entourage also followed Asai Nagamasa as he rode slowly, only to see Asai Nagamasa suddenly stop his horse, first looked at Nobunaga's BMW under his crotch, and then turned back to take a deep look in the direction of Gifu Castle without saying a word.