Chapter 57 Section five
(it's finally over……)
Koichiro looked at the Otani Castle that had just been occupied, and said to himself.Most of the city towers and gates were burned and damaged, making the whole Xiaogu City look surprisingly small. It was hard to believe that this was the fortified city that had tortured them for three years.
(Actually, it's not just this city...)
Koichiro thought again.Takeda Shingen died of illness, Ashikaga General Yoshiaki was expelled from the capital and fled to Tomoji in Bingo, and the Asakura family also perished.Now the only enemy of the Oda family is Ishiyama Honganji.With so many powerful enemies, they all disappeared in just four months. It can be said that Nobunaga's three years of hard work have borne fruit overnight.Not long ago, he was still worried that he would lose his life at any time due to the pincer attack of Takeda, Asakura, and Asai, but now thinking about it, it is as unreal as a dream.
(It turns out that the fate of people is like this...)
Koichiro thought to himself as he looked at the Jiangbei mountains and fields in deep autumn colors.But my brother didn't give him too much time to be sentimental.
"Koichiro, be on your guard."
Before going to Gifu with the victorious Nobunaga, the elder brother specifically asked him to be in charge of this short-term stay-at-home job.
"I see, don't worry."
Koichiro replied in a natural tone, because he was already mentally prepared.
Staying behind in Jiangbei, where the enemy has never been seen, is a thankless and boring task. It is impossible to make meritorious deeds, and there are many troublesome things to worry about.
Joining the triumphant ranks and participating in the banquet of meritorious deeds and rewards is the most enjoyable thing for warriors of all ages.Especially the samurai in the Warring States Period always regard being named by the lord at the celebration banquet as the highest honor. As long as they can see the lord, even if it is only once, they can get the status of "Royal Eye", which will greatly affect the treatment and promotion in the future. speed.Therefore, of course, everyone under Hideyoshi Kinoshita wanted to join the triumphant ranks.
However, Fang Ai, the Jiangbei Zhanchen, cannot be left alone, and this is not only a formality, if the defense is not good, maybe even Kinoshita Hideyoshi's future will be ruined.Because as long as there is any small commotion at this time or the people rise up to make trouble, the reward that is about to be seen will be ruined.
There are still many members of Asai's remnant party hiding in the nearby mountains or villages.There are not a few temples and villagers who have been favored by the Asai family. They must have resentment towards Kinoshita Hideyoshi, the main force who attacked Asai, and hope that Hideyoshi will lose power in the Oda family.
Even if some of them hold the idea that "it is enough to get rid of the Kinoshita family", it is very possible to make trouble when everyone is negligent.The main mission of the people in charge of staying behind is to maintain law and order and prevent this from happening.
It is precisely because Koichiro is his own younger brother that his older brother Hideyoshi chose him to take on this thankless task.
Someone in the family also said sympathetically:
"Master Koichiro always plays such a thankless role."
The implication is actually implying that thanks to Koichiro, this kind of task did not fall on them.Koichiro was very satisfied with this, because it convinced him that as his brother's assistant, he had indeed played a very important role.
Koichiro not only fulfilled the task of staying behind, but also found many talented people to hire. On the one hand, he appeased those who were dissatisfied, and on the other hand, he added a lot of talents to the Kinoshita family.
Koichiro's proactive approach was not in vain.Oda Nobunaga awarded Kinoshita Hideyoshi for his first victory in attacking Asai, and rewarded him with Asai's original territory - 120,000 stones in the three counties of Kita Omi and Otani Castle.
This time, four people became daimyos because of Nobunaga's award.The one who won the largest territory was Shibata Katsuya, who got the old leader of the Asakura family-Echizen eight counties, followed by Niwa Changhide who got the Wakasa Ichikuni.They surpassed those hereditary family elders and became the two generals of the Oda family in a veritable name.
Next is Mitsuhide Akechi who won the four southern Omi counties and Sakamoto Castle, and Kinoshita Fujiyoshiro Hideyoshi who won the three northern Omi counties.
Kinoshita Fujiyoshiro Hideyoshi finally became a daimyo.He decided to change his surname to celebrate this event, so he abandoned Kinoshita, got a character from each of the surnames of Shibata and Niwa, the two elders of the Oda family, and changed his surname to Hashiba.
Promoted to a daimyo with a territory of 120,000 koku, Kinoshita Hideyoshi did not need to take the surname of a senior general.Perhaps he thought that if he wanted to change his surname anyway, it would be better to make the best use of everything he had, and to please his powerful boss by the way, wouldn't it be more cost-effective?Hideyoshi is such a person who believes in realism, never letting go of anything that can be used.
Hideyoshi's younger brother, Koichiro, of course changed his surname to Hashiba after him, and has since become Hashiba Koichiro Hidecho.
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