The time had shifted to October 7th.
The Hosokawa Kitcho family served as shogunal deputies of the Muromachi shogunate and as Ukyo-daibu (Chief of the Right Capital District), responsible for maintaining public order in Kyoto.
That enormous and magnificent mansion is now being demolished.
Needless to say, it's for the sake of the new resident, the head of the Asai family.
"Even so, I feel like this is going a bit too far..."
My murmurs were drowned out by the noise of the demolition of the Hosokawa Kitcho family residence.
Haruhime was in overall command of the construction. Takatora stayed by her side, serving both as a student and a bodyguard.
"The mansion is practically gone now, isn't it?"
Naturally, demolishing or constructing new facilities costs money.
The wages for the laborers and the cost of procuring materials are, in many ways, not insignificant.
But it goes without saying how this became possible.
The Asai family received donations from influential figures in Kyoto, particularly from temples and shrines.
(I thought I'd inevitably be in conflict with the temples and shrines of Kyoto due to the demands of the biwa sect... but it seems the monks are more flexible than I imagined. Or perhaps I should say they're worldly...)
However, in any case, it was certain that religious forces located both within and outside Kyoto would provide not only large quantities of timber and stone, but also laborers.
From their perspective, they probably wanted to do us a favor while they still could, but thanks to that, they were able to significantly reduce construction costs, and it seems unlikely that they will be scolded by Masamoto when they return home.
Incidentally, the facility planned for construction is not the Asai family's residence.
It's a religious facility, or rather, a church, of the Biwa sect, where people can live and where troops can take refuge in times of emergency.
This would be the first official establishment of a branch company outside of Omi Province, wouldn't it?
(Although, we haven't trained any priests yet... This is a situation where we might need to act quickly.)
We can buy some time.
The branch shrine will pretend that it does not have the sacred object entrusted to it by the water deity, and will postpone its public unveiling until next year.
This would surely allow us to maintain the mystique surrounding the spin-off without diminishing it.
After all, humans are creatures that love the unknown.
(That said, we really need to seriously consider who to put in the Kyoto branch office.)
It is virtually impossible to train a priest who is also a cultured individual in less than a year.
Therefore, they had no choice but to appoint someone from the samurai class—specifically, someone of the rank of senior retainer.
After all, it's Kyoto, the seat of the Emperor.
They will inevitably be drawn into political matters, and it will be necessary to place people with flexible thinking skills in their positions.
(But the Asai family is short on personnel for one reason or another... there are no surplus personnel to spare...)
The three generals of Kaiseki and Ame are elderly, but their military leadership abilities are extremely high.
The Asai clan will almost certainly have their battle lines divided into two by the Asakura clan: one in the Wakasa region and the other in the Echizen region.
If they were in Kyoto at that time, it would be a bit of a problem.
(To be honest, I'd prefer if Kazumasa and Naotsune stayed in Omi. If I told Haruhime to stay in Kyoto, she'd probably cry...)
There's no way we can assign Masamoto to that position.
The Asai family's financial administration would undoubtedly collapse.
(That's why expanding your territory too much can also be a problem. In games, expanding your territory is the top priority, but the unfortunate thing is that it doesn't always work out that way in reality.)
Only groups with abundant human resources can expand their territory and maintain stable control.
If the Asai family were to focus their attention on Kyoto and the surrounding Yamashiro Province, it could jeopardize the management of Omi Province itself.
(Therefore, let's leave Kyoto to the Oda family. The Asai family must first start by consolidating their power base.)
After all, following the devastating defeat the Imagawa clan at the Battle of Okehazama, the Oda clan solidified their base in Owari during a long war against the Mino Saito clan that lasted for about 10 years.
In many ways, the gap between us and the Oda family had widened. This was a matter of time, and something that was difficult to bridge.
(But if we don't get some allies in Kyoto soon... things are going to get pretty complicated.)
For example, the most likely candidate for a collaborator is Akimoto, the head of the Hosokawa Kitcho family, but even if we wanted to recruit him, he has already been released from custody.
The reason is simple: Ashikaga Yoshiaki, who was at Honkoku-ji Temple in Kyoto, took custody of him.
In short, they seem to be saying that only the Ashikaga family, the shogunate, can subjugate the prestigious Hosokawa family.
The Oda family certainly found it costly to keep him, so they quickly let him go.
"Now, what should I do...?"
I was muttering this to myself in front of the construction site, but I couldn't stay like that forever.
News of Oda's victories came in almost daily, and the forces of the Miyoshi Triumvirate were being rapidly driven out of the Kinai region.
The generals believed that the Oda army had practically pacified the Kinai region and would soon return to Kyoto in triumph.
Therefore, I must coordinate with the Oda family's military officers and bureaucrats stationed in Kyoto, as well as my collaborator Matsunaga Hisahide, to make arrangements to welcome the returning army.
I left the matter of the Biwa Sect's Kyoto branch to Princess Haruhime for the time being, as my primary concern was dealing with political matters.
◆
The meeting between the Asai and Oda families was to be held near the Kyoto Imperial Palace, where the Emperor resided.
The residence, situated between what is now known as Teramachi Street and Kawaramachi Street, also served as a small fortress built by the Miyoshi Three to exert pressure on the Kyoto Imperial Palace.
The Oda clan apparently intends to renovate this small fortress and use it as a temporary base for their control of Kyoto.
Since the meeting was to be held in such a place, it was only natural that the imperial court would show interest.
And since the meeting was held with that aim in mind, it goes without saying that it would have extremely political implications.
I was being led to a room that faced the courtyard of the building.
A Japanese garden, with its white sand and moss, is sure to soothe the soul just by looking at it.
However, what is about to be discussed is unlikely to be anything that will bring you peace of mind.
After all, the Oda family rose to power by pacifying the Kinai region, which was essentially the entire country.
Even without Nobunaga's presence, it's fair to say that a general vision for how the organization will be managed going forward has been presented.
Ultimately, this could be a turning point in determining how the Asai family should operate, or even how they should survive.
"It's been a long time, Lord Bizen-no-kami... no, Lord Ukonoe-chujo."
The highest-ranking official on the Oda side in Kyoto was Oda, Nobunaga's younger brother and also my other brother-in-law .信包Nobukane
Historically, he was adopted into the powerful Nagano Kudo family to gain control of Ise Province, but it seems things are different in this world.
When he, who bears a striking resemblance to Nobunaga, enters the room accompanied by the Oda family's officials, it's certainly startling.
Nobukane positioned the bureaucrats at the back and sat directly in front of me, opening his mouth with a smile.
"It appears that Mr. Matsunaga has not yet arrived, but we have been informed that he will be delayed."
Then, after pausing to think about whether what he was going to say was appropriate or not, he continued to utter words.
"I understand there is someone who would like to introduce you to the Lieutenant General of the Right Imperial Guard."
"Now, who could it be? It must be someone important..."
I said that, and after thanking Nobukane, I continued speaking.
"In any case, this person will have a significant impact on the future management of the nation. Otherwise, Lord Matsunaga would not have tried to introduce me to him on this day."
"It wasn't exactly right, but it wasn't far off either."
Nobukane said, shaking his head.
"However, they are no longer of any interest to the Oda family."
"I'm not interested."
"Yes, at least for my brother."
Before I could answer, I heard a voice asking for permission, and when I responded, the women entered the room.
Then, after serving sweets and tea, they quickly leave.
The Oda family probably conveyed that they did not need any servants.
They probably don't want outsiders to overhear their conversation.
"If my brother-in-law isn't interested..."
I moistened my lips with tea and asked.
"They were probably monks or court nobles..."
"That's not right."
Nobukane said that and laughed.
"Despite his outward appearance, my brother is extremely sensitive to public opinion. Of course, he often uses the tactic of actively stirring up bad rumors to find someone to kill, but otherwise he is extremely mild-mannered. He always pays close attention to the monks and court nobles who stir up public opinion."
"So, it must be someone from the samurai class?"
"Of course, this is not something I should be saying."
"Yes, that's certainly true."
I smiled back and told my other brother-in-law:
"The joy of a gift comes from not knowing what's inside; if you know what's inside, the surprise and delight diminish."
"I'm certainly happy to receive anything at all."
Nobukane said this while sipping his tea, looking up at me with his eyes.
"That's only true in principle, of course. There are certainly gifts that end up as trash or just get in the way."
"That's a harsh thing to say."
I let out a deep sigh and couldn't help but smile wryly.
"So the person Lord Matsunaga is trying to introduce me to is worthless to the Oda family? This must be a disgrace for that old man."
"This is merely from the perspective of the Oda family, my lord..."
Nobukane said with a wicked smile.
"As the saying goes, 'It's all in how you use it.' What might be useless to the Oda family might not be so for the Asai family. Of course, the one who will decide that is none other than the head of the Asai family, the Lieutenant General of the Right Imperial Guard."
I nodded.
Then I put the nerikiri (a type of sweet bean paste confection) adorned with gold leaf into my mouth.
Gold leaf has no taste. Only the surface has any flavor .餡bean paste
This is probably the part Nobunaga wanted .餡bean paste
(What about Asai...? He wants the bean paste, but the reality is that without the ostentation of gold leaf, he's useless. At least, not when dealing with the Oda family.)
While I was thinking about all that, before I knew it, all the nerikiri (a type of Japanese sweet) was gone.