Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

That's well said. Kennyo of Honganji Temple is a key figure in resisting Nobunaga's invasion. In particular, Kennyo has the support of the Hokuriku Ikko-ikki. Although Nagashima and Mikawa have been destroyed, their strength should not be underestimated.

Furthermore, the Saiga followers of Kishu consistently supplied mercenaries to the Honganji Temple, and even sent 500 Saiga followers to support Takeda Shingen's campaign to Kyoto. However, Shingen is now completely dead; it's all a mess, and Sakuma Nobumori and his men have seen it all clearly. It's unknown whether those 500 Saiga followers are still serving Takeda Katsuyori.

"The Grand Master must have acquaintances in Osaka, right? Send someone to ask." Shichibei can't leave until Ashikaga Yoshiaki is settled, so naturally he has to inquire.

"Okay." Tsuda Muneki agreed, and the two parted ways.

What about Ashikaga Yoshiaki? Ashikaga Yoshiaki was no longer at Ishiyama Hongan-ji Temple. He boarded a large ship arranged for him by Kennyo Shonin, and with more than twenty followers, he fled at breakneck speed to Miyazakiura on the south bank of the Tagawa River in Kishu. There, he received the protection of Kokoku-ji Temple, a branch of the Rinzai sect.

This Kōkoku-ji Temple has no direct connection to the Kōkoku-ji Temple of Hōjō Sōun in the Kanto region. This temple was founded by the monk Hōtō Kokushi (Shinchi Kakushin), who studied in the Song Dynasty, and was originally a Bodhi-ji Temple during the reign of Minamoto no Sanetomo. During the reign of Emperor Go-Daigo, it was granted a new name and renamed Kōkoku-ji.

The art of shakuhachi (a Japanese bamboo flute) in Japan was passed down in this temple. Furthermore, this temple is the birthplace of Kinzanji miso, which held a monopoly in the soy sauce industry within the Kinai region.

In short, they have power and influence.

Having escaped to Xingguo Temple, Ashikaga Yoshiaki became active again, immediately sending letters to Hojo Ujimasa, Takeda Katsuyori, and Uesugi Kenshin, hoping that the three families could be completely harmonious, join forces, march on Kyoto, and eliminate the traitor Oda Nobunaga.

Hilarious! Uesugi Kenshin is currently in Ueno, removing the thorns that the Takeda and Hojo clans have planted there. The three clans are practically locked in a bloody battle.

In addition, Ashikaga Yoshiaki also knew that distant water could not quench immediate thirst, so he sent letters to Kumano Hongu Taisha Shrine and the Yukawa family, the governors of Kishu, hoping that these two families would also mobilize all available resources to escort him back to Kyoto.

Leaving aside the Kumano Taisha Shrine, the Yukawa clan of Kishu was a renowned military family. As a powerful force supporting the Hatakeyama Kingo clan, they were once able to mobilize 15,000 men to support the Hatakeyama Kingo clan and other forces in the Kinai region in their conquests.

Even now, Naoharu Yukawa is still a powerful figure in Kishu. I dare not say more, but he can definitely pull out ten thousand men, no doubt.

Regardless of whether these people listened or not, Ashikaga Yoshiaki and Kennyo had a somewhat fruitful discussion. Kennyo clarified his mission: to hold back a portion of Nobunaga's main force at Osaka Castle in Settsu Ishiyama, while Yoshiaki used his remaining influence to garrison troops around the world.

Naoharu Yukawa is quite proactive; he's willing to do his part for Yoshiaki Ashikaga, but what are the benefits?

During the Warring States period, having an army of ten thousand was truly a sign of being a superior person. It's impossible for Ashikaga Yoshiaki to simply say a word and have Yukawa Naoharu raise an army and march on Kyoto.

Haha, Ashikaga Yoshiaki has lost his mind, spouting off about bestowing the entire province of Kawachi as a reward. Upon hearing this so-called reward, Yukawa Naoharu went straight home, only giving Ashikaga Yoshiaki two hundred kan so he could buy two new sets of clothes.

Leaving aside the current situation with Miyoshi Yoshitsugu and Yusa Shinkyo in Kawachi, Naoharu Yukawa doesn't know how to deal with the theoretical lord of Takaya Castle, the two-year-old eldest son of the Hatakeyama Kingo family.

He was a key retainer of the Hatakeyama family, and he didn't want to bear the infamy of plotting against his lord and seizing his lord's property.

Besides, even if the march on Kyoto succeeds, where will Miyoshi Yoshitsugu and Yusa Nobuyoshi go? It's utter nonsense; there wasn't a genuine offer at all. Even if they offered half of Kawachi or half of Izumi, Yukawa Naoharu might have believed them, but offering the entire Kawachi province is just fooling a fool.

As for Kumano Taisha Shrine, there was no sign of Ashikaga Yoshiaki, not even a messenger. Just moments before, Takeda Shingen had been trying to rely on the Arima clan's navy at Kumano Beach, but instead, this group of officials and priests were engaged in a major internal conflict. They were killing each other, secretly having a great time.

They have no time to help Ashikaga Yoshiaki march on Kyoto; they haven't even decided to fight each other to the death yet.

Chapter 312 Venting Anger in Ruojiang City

"what?"

Shichibei seemed to have misheard, because what Tsuda Muneyuu said seemed impossible to him no matter what.

“That person left Ishiyama-Osaka five days ago.” Tsuda Muneki took out a handkerchief and wiped his forehead, whether it was because the weather was really hot or something else, I don’t know.

"Then how come..." Something's not right.

Five days? Five days is enough to make five round trips between Sakai and Osaka. Even if Ashikaga Yoshiaki is a young lady who can neither ride a horse nor walk, and has to travel by oxcart, she could still make at least three round trips, and might even have some left over.

"I'm afraid..." Even without Tsuda Muneki saying it, Shichibei could understand that something must have happened.

Ashikaga Yoshiaki ran away!

Immediately prepare the boats—no, the horses! Shichibei must rush to Kyoto to inform Oda Nobunaga of this news. Right now, Nobunaga is probably still thinking about how to deal with Ashikaga Yoshiaki, never expecting that Ashikaga Yoshiaki had outmaneuvered everyone and fled like the wind, disappearing without a trace.

I rushed to Kyoto, and sure enough, Nobunaga was still there. He was dealing with the resettlement of Ashikaga Yoshiaki's eldest son. Staying him in Kyoto was definitely not a good idea, but staying in Gifu was relatively reassuring. Of course, I still had to pay close attention to the education of this Ashikaga child, and raise him to be a good child who loves Oda more than anything else.

Shichibei burst through the gate and rushed inside. The hundred foot soldiers guarding the gate were stunned. What major event had occurred? Lord Kawamura was completely disoriented.

Of course! Go ride a horse for hours in the sweltering summer heat and see if it looks decent.

Before rushing to Nobunaga's residence, the guards and pagemen did the same. Shichibei immediately said that something important had happened, which startled them so much that they didn't dare to stop him and obediently opened the door for him.

Nobunaga was inside discussing Kyoto's administrative issues with Murai Sadakatsu when he saw Shichibei burst in looking like this, and knew something was wrong. He immediately asked, "Did Ashikaga Yoshiaki die at your hands?"

If Ashikaga Yoshiaki were to die openly at the hands of Shichibei, it would be no different from dying at the hands of Oda Nobunaga. Everyone knows that Shichibei was one of Nobunaga's most trusted retainers; the two are essentially the same thing.

"They've escaped! They fled from Ishiyama five days ago and their whereabouts are unknown!" Shichibei shouted at Nobunaga with all his might.

"They've escaped!" Nobunaga jumped up immediately, flew three steps to Shichibei's side, and confirmed it again.

"Master Tsuda learned in Ishiyama that the man left Ishiyama by boat five days ago. Now he can reach not only Honganji Temple, but also Hakatazu."

"Despicable and shameless, despicable and shameless!" Nobunaga never expected that Ashikaga Yoshiaki would be so shameless.

If it were just about betraying his brother-in-law, Miyoshi Yoshitsugu, that would be understandable; in this day and age, betraying a brother-in-law is considered a minor offense. But to betray even the Mori family, who were always on friendly terms with the shogunate, and his own son—that's tantamount to selling out allies, brothers-in-law, and son at once. That's truly a despicable act that could topple empires.

Why do we say that Mori also sold it? Because Ankokuji Ekei and Hoida Motochika are still in Sakai-cho. They plan to visit Ashikaga Yoshiaki before returning to Yoshida-Koriyama Castle.

Hoida Motochika was not only Mori Terumoto's fourth uncle, but also the very reason for the Mori family's rule over Bitchu. The Hoida clan was a prestigious family in Bitchu, a branch of the Shou clan, the governor of Bitchu. If Hoida Motochika were sold out, the Mori family's already mediocre rule in Bitchu would be greatly shaken.

Originally, Hoida Motochika was even intended to be held hostage in Kyoto to ensure Ashikaga Yoshiaki's safe arrival in Sakai. It was only because Oda Nobunaga respected the alliance between the two sides that he did not keep him there.

Clearly, the Mori clan hadn't expected Ashikaga Yoshiaki to be such a scoundrel, completely disregarding the Mori hostages and diplomatic monks, and simply running away.

Nobunaga was also caught off guard and immediately ordered Murai Sadakatsu to mobilize all available resources in Kyoto to investigate Ashikaga Yoshiaki's whereabouts. As for the Mori family, Ankokuji Ekei and Hoida Motochika should not rush off; they should stay and enjoy their time as guests in Sakai.

The alliance between the Mori and Oda clans was already unstable, and now this incident has occurred.

Even in his fallen state, a former shogun of such stature would inevitably resurface in a short time if Ashikaga Yoshiaki didn't intend to disappear. In fact, one could say that Ashikaga Yoshiaki needed to make his presence known, signaling to the lords preparing to oppose Oda Nobunaga.

You still have one card to play!

Naturally, the news quickly reached Oda Nobunaga in Kyoto. Nobunaga was truly amused and exasperated. He'd seen far too many bad people; there were countless others worse than himself these days. He'd seen countless fools, as stupid as pigs. But someone as stupid and wicked as Ashikaga Yoshiaki was truly a first.

It should be noted that he was only allowed to leave Wakae Castle because the Mori family acted as guarantor and even offered their own son as a hostage.

He may have run away, but after doing something so despicable, would anyone still be willing to follow him or support him? It's highly unlikely. Only someone truly insane would shamelessly rush towards him.

However, since the deed has already been done, it must be dealt with. How should it be dealt with? Ankokuji Ekei and Hoida Motochika went straight to Kyoto. Without saying a word, Hoida Motochika was about to commit seppuku in front of Oda Nobunaga, saying that this was a great evil that would ruin his military reputation, and only by committing seppuku could he preserve his honor.

Clearly, if the Mori clan truly supported Ashikaga Yoshiaki's escape, they wouldn't have risked such an important member of the Jikuni sect.

At Akechi Mitsuhide's urging, Oda Nobunaga swallowed his anger, stating that since the Mori family was unaware of the situation, he would not blame them. However, he hoped that Mori Terumoto would see through Ashikaga Yoshiaki's ugly face and carefully consider whether he still needed to maintain a friendly relationship with him.

Nobunaga then allowed Ankokuji Ekei and Hoida Motochika to return to Yoshida-Koriyama Castle, instructing them to give Mori Terumoto a proper message: stop hanging around with that stupid and wicked guy all the time.

Ashikaga Yoshiaki, who was at Kōkoku-ji Temple in Kii Province, was definitely out of the question to kill him at that moment. However, Oda Nobunaga was not convinced and was determined to vent his anger.

He ordered the commanders of the Oda clan's various armies to immediately gather 50,000 to 60,000 men and come to Kyoto, so that they could first blow the entire Miyoshi Yoshitsugu family to the sky.

This time, it wasn't just Akechi Mitsuhide who advised them; even Niwa Nagahide and Murai Sadakatsu suggested that they clean up the mess in Echizen first before dealing with the situation in Kawachi.

The mess in Echizen has completely exploded. Tomita Nagashige has not been able to secure his position as the lord of Echizen at all. Under the command of Shimoma Yorimitsu and Shichiri Yoriyuki, the Hokuriku Ikko-ikki launched a large-scale invasion of Echizen.

To be honest, Tomita Nagashige was truly courageous and strong. The Kaga Ikko-ikki, together with the local militia of Echizen, numbered as many as 140,000, and stormed into various parts of Echizen like a tsunami.

Moya Inosuke, who guarded the Kitasou Castle, and Masui Jinsuke, who guarded the Katayama Castle, were completely overwhelmed by the rebels after only one day of defending the castle, and died without a burial place.

Tomita Nagashige, whose total force numbered only three thousand men, finally realized that he was doomed. His three thousand men were not even all in one place; some were guarding his old home, and some were with Moya Inosuke outside. He only had a mere thousand or so men by his side.

Facing 140,000 rebels, death was almost certain.

Thus, Tomita Nagashige led his seven hundred most trusted men to fight a desperate battle against the approximately twenty to thirty thousand vanguard troops of the Ikki at Hoyama-gawara. With a determination to die, Tomita's army, with an almost unbelievably high morale, crushed the Ikki in a very short time.

After stirring up the rebels, the fleeing vanguard overwhelmed the rear guard, and seven hundred men managed to drive twenty to thirty thousand men in a retreat of more than ten kilometers. Countless rebels drowned, were trampled to death, or were frightened to death, and more than three thousand heads were taken.

This resounding victory immediately turned Tomita Nagashige's crisis into safety. Many of the Echizen forces that had initially adopted a wait-and-see attitude gradually joined forces with Tomita Nagashige.

In particular, the three schools of Jodo Shinshu, namely the Shōchō-ji established by Dōshō, the Shōchō-ji established by Jōichi, and the Shōchō-ji established by Jōichi, are collectively known as the Hokuriku Three Mountains and are called the Three Schools of Jodo Shinshu.

During the time of the eighth generation of Honganji Temple, Renryo Shonin, the temple competed with Ishiyama Honganji Temple for leadership of the Hokuriku Jodo Shinshu sect, which led to their confrontation.

After confirming Tomita Nagashige's great victory, the three disciples of Shinshu immediately mobilized over three thousand men to join the battle between Tomita's army and the rebels.

However, this number of men was still insufficient to fight against the more than 100,000 Ikko-ikki. Therefore, Tomita Nagashige issued a decree to the townspeople in Fuchu, Sabae, Mikuni and other places, guaranteeing them the treatment of "eternal 3,000 koku" and asking them to arm themselves and join the battle against the Hokuriku Ikko-ikki.

Finally, Tomita Nagashige managed to gather an army of 6,500 men and head to Kita-sho to meet the more than 100,000 rebels.

With his unparalleled martial prowess and his tactic of directly attacking the enemy commander and risking his life to kill the enemy, Tomita Nagashige once again achieved an almost unbelievable victory. Sugiura Genjin, the leader of the Kaga Ikko-ikki, was directly expelled from Kitasho-kan that day, and the vanguard of the Ikko-ikki collapsed. The army of more than 100,000 men collapsed like a landslide and almost all of them had to withdraw from Echizen.

And then what? Then things are bound to go wrong.

If he were just a reckless fool, and continued to act recklessly, he would at most die from it. Based on his previous performance, it was indeed possible that Nobunaga would recognize him as the lord of Echizen, because Nobunaga needed a brave general who could recklessly charge forward without hesitation.

But what I'm afraid of is that this reckless man is also capable of using his brain.

The previous incident involving the killing of fish by the entire Jukei family was caused by overthinking. Now that the situation is miraculously calming down, Tomita Nagashige has started thinking again.

He noticed that Anju Kagetake and Asakura Kagetane, who had been observing from the sidelines, were neither rebelling nor surrendering; they were very composed and never placed any bets.

The threat from the Hokuriku uprising has been temporarily eliminated, and the Echizen local uprising has also been suppressed. The next step is to eliminate those within Echizen who are not entirely loyal to us.

Therefore, he felt he should teach Anju Jingjian a lesson, and before the troops had even had a chance to rest, he launched a strong attack on Anju Jingjian, who was observing from Changquan Temple.

So Anju Kageken sent Asakura Yoshikage to his side, and Kobayashi Saburojiro, who was serving as a member of Tomita Nagashige's arquebusiers at the time, shot him in the back.

Tomita Nagashige, whose bravery surpassed that of Fan Kuai, was killed on the spot at the young age of twenty-four.

The Kaga Ikko-ikki, who had already been defeated, rose up again and swept across the region, leaving the entire Echizen region completely rotten and in ruins.

The Kaga Ikko-ikki rebellion was also incompetent. Logically, with Echizen leaderless, this should have been an opportunity to seize the entire region, establish fortifications, quell the mutinous troops, restore rule, and strengthen conscription. This would have been the best preparation for Oda Nobunaga's armed intervention later.

What happened? The Kaga Ikko-ikki rebels launched a furious attack on the temple of the "heretic" Shinshu sect's three disciples. They disregarded everything else and focused their main force on killing the heretics.

As for Oda Nobunaga's interference? To hell with it, what does it have to do with me?

Given this situation, it's no wonder that Niwa Nagahide and Murai Sadamatsu both advised Nobunaga to deal with Echizen first before considering anything else. The situation in Kawachi is nothing but trivial matters, not worth mentioning.

Going to Echizen in the middle of summer, it would only take two or three months to quell the unrest, just in time to put an end to the situation before the snow falls. If it drags on for another year or two, who knows what Echizen will become?

Nobunaga thought to himself, "Great, no problem. What's so important about this?"

He immediately ordered his own followers, including Kanamori Nagachika, Sasa Narimasa, Maeda Toshiie, Fuwa Mitsuharu, Nonomura Masashige, and Tada Hiromasa, to combine their forces of 5,000 men with those of Oda Nobuhiro, Nobunaga's brother, totaling 5,000 men, for a total of 10,000. Nobuhiro led the charge, ordering Otani Asai Nagamasa to lead 10,000 cavalry, Yokoyama Hashiba Hideyoshi to lead 5,000 cavalry, Sakamoto Akechi Mitsuhide to lead 5,000 cavalry, Okazaki Tokugawa Ieyasu to lead 5,000 cavalry, and Wakasa Kohama Niwa Nagahide to lead 5,000 cavalry, for a total of 40,000 elite troops to launch a fierce attack on Echizen.

Nobunaga himself led an army of 60,000, fiercely attacking Wakae Castle and capturing the entire Kawachi region. He was that tough, daring to challenge even the Buddha and refusing to yield an inch to demons.

That's what we need to do—be bold and unrestrained!

We can't be lenient!

So Niwa Nagahide and Murai Sasakatsu stopped trying to dissuade him, and Shichibei had no one to persuade him either. He immediately bowed and accepted the order, indicating that he would be stationed in Kyoto and begin to gather military supplies and logistics for Oda Nobunaga.

Once the order was given, troops from all directions sped off, converging on Kyoto day and night. Even Oda Nobuhiro rushed to Kyoto to personally discuss matters with Nobunaga. The two brothers talked for a long time, but the details are unknown. In any case, the next day Oda Nobuhiro rode to Tsuruga to await the arrival of the various armies.

Upon hearing that Oda Nobunaga had amassed tens of thousands of troops to attack him, Miyoshi Yoshitsugu, who only had three or four thousand men, was terrified. Little did he know that his well-intentioned act of urging Ashikaga Yoshiaki to leave the dangerous place would result in Ashikaga Yoshiaki turning around and betraying him.

At this point, cursing Ashikaga Yoshiaki is pointless; the only option is to try every possible means to seek help from all sides and obtain assistance from the anti-Oda forces in the surrounding area. Only then will there be any possibility of resisting Nobunaga's army.

Fortunately, the monk Kennyo of Honganji Temple wasn't a fool. He knew he had wronged Miyoshi Yoshitsugu in some way. He immediately hired three thousand Saiga followers, led by Saiga Magoichi, and they rushed to Wakae under cover of darkness to assist Miyoshi Yoshitsugu in defending the castle.

Chapter 313 Fake Submission, Real Attack