different warring states of japan

Chapter 2094: The Natural Change of Flag

Unwelcome outside and with his own strength severely damaged, Ieda Harusuke can no longer control the situation in the Furukawa territory.

Especially after the marriage between Kai-kun and Uesugi Kagetora, the adopted sons and daughters of the two saints, the aggressiveness of Sekijuku Castle further squeezed Ieda Harusuke's room for maneuver.

Today, apart from the Koga Castle, there is very little territory that Harusuke Ieda can control and he has little influence.

At this time of internal and external troubles, news came from Kinki that all the Ashikaga leaders were destroyed by heavenly lightning at Iwashimizu Hachiman Shrine.

This made the already nervous Ashikaga Yoshiuji and Ikeda Harusuke even more panicked, and it became the last straw that broke the camel's back in the harmony between the monarch and his ministers.

Ashikaga Yoshiuji, who was out of breath, looked at Ida Harusuke, who was sitting there in silence, and said with gritted teeth.

"Why is the old man so silent today?"

Ieda Harusuke sighed and bowed.

"Kamakura-dono summoned me to see him today. I think he has made a plan. I will just listen to you."

Ashikaga Yoshiuji glanced at the old man who was once full of vigor and vitality but now listless, and said lightly.

"I intend to write to the Saint and offer Koga Castle and return Ashikaga Naoji in order to protect myself."

If it were normal times, Ashikaga Yoshiuji would certainly not be willing to hand over the territory and family status of the Kamakura Ashikaga family.

Although she no longer has much power in her hands, the title of General of Kwantung still has value and can be exchanged for a living.

If Ieda Harusuke wanted to suppress the Koga domain, he also needed the authorization of the Kanto Shogun, which was enough to ensure that Ashikaga Yoshiuji would receive enough respect and make her life lacking.

But today, it’s different.

Ieda Harusuke could not save himself, and the Ashikaga family's reputation became a hot potato.

Whether Ashikaga Yoshiaki, the Ashikaga Shogun, killed himself or was killed by a saint, it made no difference to Ashikaga Yoshiuji, the Kanto Shogun.

  The Ashikaga Shogunate's lineage was cut off, and the Kamakura Ashikaga family, a close branch of the family, became the target of public criticism. If Ashikaga Yoshiuji had not made plans early, who knows what would have been the outcome?

The Sōma family is now flourishing and prosperous, and many people want to flatter the saint but fail to do so.

If Ashikaga Yoshiuji herself did not want to be respectable, it is hard to say whether anyone would help her to be respectable.

Even if the saint has no intention of making things difficult for the Ashikaga family of Kamakura, there is no guarantee that there will be people in Kanto who want to stand out and eliminate the saint's future troubles.

Given that Ieda Harusuke is in a situation where she is unable to protect herself now, Ashikaga Yoshiuji does not think that she has the ability and courage to protect herself.

Rather than worrying about being betrayed by Ikeda Harusuke, Ashikaga Yoshiuji might as well cut off the relationship between the two and take the initiative to surrender to the saint.

No matter what, Ashikaga Yoshiuji is the Shogun of Kanto after all. If she is willing to let go of the reserve of the Ashikaga family in Kamakura and not learn from the people in the Kyoto shogunate to do such tricks, the saint will still show mercy.

After all, the saint is kind-hearted, and he needs to keep some appearances for outsiders to see. If he really wiped out the Ashikaga Shogun and the Kanto Shogun at the same time, it would be too ugly.

Therefore, as long as Ashikaga Yoshiuji kneeled beautifully, she believed that the saint would definitely treat her well and let her and her descendants become the proof of the Sasaki family's kindness to the remnants of the previous dynasty, and show it to the world.

As for what will happen to Ikeda Harusuke in the future, Ashikaga Yoshiuji is no longer interested in thinking about it.

The most important thing is to save your own life first. As for Ieda Harusuke, informing her to disband is already worthy of the friendship between the monarch and his ministers over the years.

In fact, Ieda Harusuke was aware of Ashikaga Yoshiuji's little thoughts and was mentally prepared.

Speaking of this Kwantung general, her rise to power was not exactly glorious.

Hojo Ujiyasu, a heroine of her generation, fought back vigorously in the night battle of Kawagoe, and defeated the Ashikaga and Uesugi coalition in one fell swoop, truly overturning and destroying the old system consisting of the Kanto Shogun and the Kanto Kanrei.

The Yamanouchi Uesugi clan and the Ogigayatsu Uesugi clan were all killed, but Hojo Ujiyasu was considerate and showed mercy to the Kamakura Ashikaga clan.

She captured the previous Kanto Shogun and detained him in Odawara Castle, then announced his death to the public, and then supported Ashikaga Yoshiuji, the new Kanto Shogun, to take the throne.

Afterwards, through the mediation of the military official Harusuke Ida, Hojo Ujiyasu replaced the two Uesugi families and became the Kanto Kanrei, taking over the dual rule system of the Kanto Shogun and the Kanto Kanrei.

If Uesugi Kenshin and Sasaki Yoshikin had not joined forces to march south and launch the Kanto conquest, the king-minister combination of Ashikaga Yoshiuji and Hojo Ujiyasu might have been able to cooperate happily.

Hojo Ujiyasu was a very good person. He imposed restrictions but also showed respect to Ashikaga Yoshiuji, and gradually integrated the Kamakura Ashikaga family into the ruling system of the Hojo family.

If Hojo Ujiyasu is given another ten years, she may be able to unify the Kanto region.

Unfortunately, there are no ifs in life.

The head of the Yamanouchi Uesugi family, Uesugi Kenmasa, and his entire family were killed by Hojo Ujiyasu. He fled to Echigo Province alone, with nothing and no ties.

In order to avenge his family, Uesugi Kenshin adopted Uesugi Kenshin as his daughter and gave the family name of the Yamanouchi Uesugi family and the hereditary position of Kanto Kanrei to Uesugi Kenshin.

This ignited Uesugi Kenshin's ambition, making her determined to go to Kyoto to seek support from the Kyoto shogunate, and then go south to the Kanto Plain to seize hegemony over Kanto.

It was during this trip to Kyoto that Uesugi Kenshin met Sasaki Yoshikane, and their story in Kanto began.

Looking back, Ashikaga Yoshiuji was quite unlucky. She was once young and ambitious, but was beaten badly by reality.

In the Battle of Sano-ryo, Yoshikane Sasaki and Kenshin Uesugi joined forces to defeat the elite Hojo troops led by Hojo Ujimasa. This battle not only shattered the Hojo family's hegemony in Kanto, but also captured Ashikaga Yoshiuji.

In order to protect himself, Ashikaga Yoshiuji, who had originally cooperated happily with the Hojo family, was forced to recognize Uesugi Kenshin as the Kanto Kanrei and made a political break with Hojo Ujiyasu.

At this point, Ashikaga Yoshiuji and Uesugi Kenshin formed a new dual ruling system in Kanto, squeezing out Hojo Ujiyasu.

When Sasaki Yoshikin performed miracles at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine, Hojo Ujiyasu bowed his head and acknowledged Uesugi Kenshin's position as Kanto Kanrei, which closed the final door for the Hojo family's hegemony in Kanto.

From then on, the Hojo family could only protect itself as a powerful feudal lord in Kanto. It could no longer use the status of Kanto Kanrei to elevate its own political status, annex Kanto, and achieve hegemony.

In short, after a hundred years of turmoil in Kanto, from the open and covert struggles between the Ashikaga family in Kamakura and the two Uesugi families to the fierce game between Hojo Ujiyasu and Uesugi Kenshin, the political situation eventually eased.

Sasaki Yoshikin proposed the political proposition of no war in Kanto through Ashikaga Yoshiuji, and used relief, studying abroad, water conservancy and other means to win the hearts of the people in Kanto, with remarkable results.

In Kanto today, the Kanto samurai only know about Sasaki Sage but not the Kanto Shogun. The original Kanto dual political system has been replaced by the new Kanto Samurai-sho system headed by the Sasaki family.

Ashikaga Yoshiuji's early ambitions had long since been blown away by the wind, which is why he became a confused shogun here under Ieda Harusuke, living a life of eating and drinking well.

But a major change in the Kyoto shogunate made Ashikaga Yoshiuji unable to help but curse his father.

Ashikaga Yoshiaki, this idiot, went against the will of heaven and brought about his own destruction, but he also made it so difficult for Ashikaga Yoshiuji to continue pretending to be an idiot.

In order to ensure the safety of himself and his family, Ashikaga Yoshiuji had to reluctantly give up his family property, gave up his Ashikaga surname, and voluntarily handed over his ancestral heritage to others.

Ashikaga Yoshiuji was not a stupid person. As long as there was a way out, she would certainly do everything she could to preserve her family name and status.

But things in this world are impermanent, and now only by letting go of everything can we gain the mercy and compassion of the saints.

Today, Ashikaga Yoshiuji officially notified Ieda Harusuke of the disbanding, and Ieda Harusuke, who was also disheartened, had no energy to fight for anything anymore and just acquiesced.

The Furukawa Territory cannot be saved for sure, I can only pray for the saint's mercy.

The king and his minister looked at each other and smiled bitterly, knowing in their hearts that this day would come sooner or later.

They were not willing to do so, but Yoshikin Sasaki had been managing Kanto for ten years, eroding the functions of the Kanto system and eventually replacing it. It was a natural outcome. It was an open conspiracy and they had no way to stop it.

The divine punishment incident at Iwashimizu Hachiman Shrine was just an opportunity. In fact, even if there had been no divine punishment incident, the land of Kanto would have changed its color long ago, and would have had to change its flag sooner or later.

Ieda Harusuke bowed and said.

"Since Lord Gongfang has made up his mind, please write to the Saint. I am willing to sign and seal the petition."