Chapter 50: To be the Shogun

Muromachi Palace – Ashikaga Yoshiteru¹The current shogun, if you don’t remember.

1561. Winter.

“Your Excellency, the one we assigned to monitor Oda’s activities in Owari has sent us a letter.”

“What does it say?”

Mitsubuchi Fujihide²The raw has it as Mibuchi Fujihide, but I assume this is a typo as his real name is Mitsubuchi Fujihide., one of the Hōkōshū³They are high-ranking officials, as well as close retainers of the shogun. They are among the few who have the rights to have an audience with the shogun, on top of other duties such as managing the territory directly under the shogun, serving as bodyguards for the shogun, and many more. Using medieval fantasy trope as a comparison, these guys are basically part of the ‘King Faction’, as opposed to the daimyos who are the ‘Noble Faction’., then unrolled the letter and began to read its content.

“It appears Oda Nobunaga has successfully captured Inuyama Castle. Inuyama’s castle lord, Oda Nobukiyo is currently missing. According to the rumors going around in Oda’s inner circle, he had either fled to Saitō or Takeda.”

“So Oda Nobunaga has finally conquered Owari then. Two years ago, when we met, that man was looking for a justification to do so. To think that he actually succeeded in such a short time. It appears that we have misjudged him.”

“Only due to the men you’ve provided him with, Your Excellency. Oda will still depend on us.”

Fujihide put away the letter and returned to his seat.

Even so, we still hadn’t regained the real power within the bakufu⁴Shogunate.. Though I was still here, sitting on the throne of Kyōtō, it was Ise, the head of the Mandokoro⁵A group of official in charge of managing the general affairs and the administration of the domains that belongs to the ruling clans. Basically, they are what the papacy is to the pope., and Miyoshi Nagayoshi were the ones who possessed it.

I had fought many times to reclaim it, even went as far as enlisting the help of everyone around me, yet I was bested, to the point that I was driven out of Kyōtō once. Then, when I managed to return after making peace with Miyoshi, all I received was this.

This empty, meaningless title of shōgun. Nothing else.

“Send a messenger to Oda.”

“To Oda? Is it to congratulate his unification of Owari, Your Excellency?”

The one who asked that was Hosokawa Fujitaka, a member of the Otomoshū⁶A group of individuals who has the right to accompany the shogun in all of his travel., as well as the younger brother of Fujihide—the man who had just read the letter to me.

He was a sharp, clever man, and that was why he kept on questioning every word I spoke. He was one whom everyone deemed as someone who’d ensure that I wouldn’t make any foolish moves, but that didn’t make his actions any less annoying. However, his father had been taking care of me ever since Father was still around, so I couldn’t just dismiss him.

“Yes. Our bakufu will recognize Oda as the governor of Owari. This will put Nobunaga in debt to us and motivates him to lend us his strength when we ask of him later.”

“The Shiba clan is the current governor of Owari. What will happen to them then?”

“Shiba Yoshikane has been driven out of Owari. Owari practically has no governor anymore. It will not be strange for us to appoint Oda in that position.”

“However, Oda Nobunaga-dono has no ties to the bakufu at all. This decision will be faced with opposition from all sides, Your Excellency.”

“Then, we just have to create that tie. Fujitaka, go to Owari and pay Nobunaga a visit.”

With this, I could get rid of this nuisance out of the palace. Using the pretense of ‘sending him on an important task for the sake of the bakufu’, no one would complain.

“Me, Your Excellency?”

“Yes. Hosokawa Fujitaka, you are to depart for Owari immediately as our messenger. We will have the letter prepared for now, so prepare for your departure immediately. Time is of the essence.”

With that, even he wouldn’t dare to raise any objections. Frustrated? Good. That was why, hurry and scurry off to Owari, you dolt.

After Fujitaka’s departure, silence enveloped the room, but Shinji Haruie broke it before long.

“Your Excellency, there is one matter that concerns me.”

“Haruie. What is it?”

“Ever since Imagawa Yoshimoto-sama’s passing at Okehazama, Imagawa hasn’t been stable. In Mikawa, Matsudaira, who had been under Imagawa’s protection, declared their independence and began their conquest of Mikawa. For the past few months, the two clans have been fighting over their rule in Mikawa.”

“Is this information reliable?”

“Yes, it is.”

Imagawa was related to our Ashikaga, making them a clan of vital importance. With similarly important clans to our Ashikaga falling to ruins one after another, Imagawa was a clan that we had to protect no matter what. Especially considering that they were still standing strong, ruling over two provinces after such a huge loss in the hands of Oda.

However, if I were to mediate peace on Imagawa’s behalf, it would end up sullying their honor, if nothing else. Was there a way to keep Mikawa stable without directly meddling with Imagawa’s affairs…?

“…Haruie, feel free to speak your mind.”

“I propose we mediate a peace agreement between Saitō and Oda. That would let Oda focus on their remaining enemy nearby, Mikawa. If Imagawa and Oda were to work together to pacify Mikawa, you may then arrange for a peace agreement between them, Your Excellency. After all, it is only natural for the shōgun to mediate peace between two governors.”

“We see the logic in your suggestion… Very well. Fujihide, you are to accompany Fujitaka to Owari, and bring up the talk of a peace agreement with Oda.”

“Understood.”

“Haruie, you are to go to Mino and bring up the talk of a peace agreement with Saitō.”

“By your will, Your Excellency.”

This would leave Mikawa’s Matsudaira with enemies to their north and south, limiting the moves they could make. While Matsudaira was occupied with that, Imagawa would then be able to consolidate their forces again and regain their control over Tōkai. If Owari also came under my control, I would be able to use Tōkai’s forces to strike Miyoshi. Even Nagayoshi wouldn’t be able to stop me.

After that, I would finally reclaim the bakufu for myself.