Chapter 177 20. The Situation in Kyoto Is Changing
Looking at the teenage boy who was summoned in, this boy with a round face, no beard, and a little flesh is Ashikaga Chitosemaru. His hair has not been shaved off, and his face is very young. Xiao Pingtai couldn't help but think that if anyone had some ideas of the public, this person must be an excellent candidate for Xiaoxing.
Of course, everyone present would not have thought that this person would end up with the name of "poor ghost shogun", stirring up the world and making Oda Nobunaga exhausted. Then he experienced the exile and escape that most generals experienced, almost died of old age in the Sanbi area, and was allowed to return to Kyoto when he was very old, and finally died of old age.
Of course, now Ashikaga Chitosemaru, at the suggestion of Xiao Pingtai, will soon have his head shaved, wear monk's clothes, and live a beautiful temple life. This arrangement is not a disgrace to his identity as the general's son, and it can even be considered a high branch that his brother helped him climb. 【Note 1】
Whether the relationship between Ashikaga Yoshiaki and Ashikaga Yoshiteru was good or not, Kobayata was not sure, but he could roughly guess it by looking at the respectful look Chitosemaru gave his brother.
Their father, Ashikaga Yoshiharu, who was lying in the coffin outside, spent his whole life on the run. Ashikaga Yoshiharu's position as shogun was because Ashikaga Yoshioki lost the support of Ouchi Yoshioki and fled directly during the Emperor's enthronement ceremony, and then he was lucky enough to "pick up" it. 【Note 2】 The ups and downs of life made the two of them spend a period of not-so-leisurely youth together when they were young.
Although they were not starved and cold or treated inhumanely because of their status as the shogun of the Muromachi shogunate, they lacked that kind of identity recognition. It was like I was the son of the president, but everyone didn't treat me as the son of the president at all, and actually looked down on me. The awkward feeling in my heart made me feel uncomfortable.
If you look at Matsunaga Hisahide's attitude towards the shogun, you will know that it was just a little respect on the surface. Even Rokkaku Sadanori and Rokkaku Yoshitaka, the father and son who had once accepted the Ashikaga family, had little respect for this shogunate.
Now that the shogunate finally had a wise ruler, the magnificent, heroic and extraordinary Ashikaga Yoshiteru had already shown a hint of reviving the shogunate. Shimazu Takahisa in the far south sent iron cannons, Mori Motonari in Aki in the west sent cucumbers, and Ashina Moriuji in Hitsu in the north sent beeswax.
Uesugi Terutora, the Kanto governor of Echigo, always raised the banner of the shogunate, and the declining shogunate gradually expanded. Even if it was just a superficial recognition, it is undeniable that Ashikaga Yoshiteru was recognized by most of the shoguns across the country and became a pillar of the world's military families.
Under the protection of such a resolute, heroic and generous brother, his brothers and sisters had a very comfortable life. Daimyo from all directions came to the capital from the local areas to pay homage to the shogun year after year, with a sense of four directions and nine lands coming to the king. Fruits such as mandarin oranges, grapes, pears, apricots, peaches, and daily necessities such as paper, pens, silk, couches, quilts, and so on were presented in season by local daimyo who admired the shogunate. Chitosemaru felt the power of the Ashikaga family as the common ruler of the world, and strengthened his respect for his brother.
Chitosemaru would definitely not be a shogun. [Note 3] According to convention, the extra males would be sent to become monks. He was originally going to become a monk, and if he could be arranged to inherit the gate of Kofuku-ji this time, he would be overjoyed.
The plan was made. As one of the seven great temples in the southern capital that also managed Kasuga Taisha, Kofuku-ji was unparalleled in its power during the Muromachi shogunate period, and it was also the family temple of the Fujiwara clan, which made it even more amazing. If Ashikaga Chitosemaru was first promoted to the gate of Ichijo-in, and then with the help of the shogun in Kyoto, Chitosemaru could be appointed as the vassal of Kofuku-ji. Kofuku-ji Temple had hundreds of thousands of koku of manor land, thousands of monk soldiers and tens of thousands of devout believers that could be mobilized, which could immediately become a strong backing for Ashikaga Yoshiteru who was planning in Kyoto.
Kobayata only opened a door and provided them with an alternative idea. The shogunate retainers who had been playing politics in the power center of Kyoto for a long time immediately made plans. First, they sent people to check on the health of Ichijoin Kakuyo at Kofuku-ji Temple in Yamato Province. Yamato Province was not far from Kyoto, and it only took two days for a fast horse to go back and forth. Then they quickly tried to ask the monk Kakuyo to shave Chitosemaru, and even thought of a Buddhist name for him, Kakukei. Then they secretly contacted several influential nobles in Kyoto, asking them to accept Chitosemaru's succession to Ichijoin and further serve as the betō of Kofuku-ji Temple.
The emperor and the court also worked quickly to confer Ashikaga Chitosemaru as a monk official of the junior monk capital. Ashikaga Yoshiteru, as a shogun, still had some face, and soon all the above matters were done. When monk Kakuyo heard that the shogun's closest brother was going to be sent to him as a disciple, he was so happy that his illness was cured by three points, and he was ready to get up and shave his head for him personally.
Soon, all the big and small forces in Kyoto knew that the shogun's brother Ashikaga Chitosemaru had been recognized by the shogunate, the court, temples and shrines, and they were just waiting for Ichijoin Kakuyo to die, and the thousands of monks led by Kofuku-ji Temple would be used by the shogun.
This was not over yet. Kawachi Kuniyasu saw Naomasa and Yusa Shinkyo originally joined forces with Miyoshi Nagayoshi to attack Hatakeyama Takamasa, but now Hatakeyama Takamasa was defeated. Their honeymoon period with Miyoshi Nagayoshi was over, and they immediately launched a large-scale rebellion, and Kawachi Province was almost overturned. Miyoshi Nagayoshi's money bag - Sakaimachi was under great threat.
The 5,000 troops promised by Rokkaku Yoshitaka finally arrived at Yamashiro. Rokkaku's troops were deployed along Kichijoji, Umekoji, Nanajo Senjoji, and Rokujo Chudoji, occupying the advantageous terrain of Shirakawaguchi. Matsunaga Hisahide's 5,000 troops were completely isolated in Kyoto, and the situation was completely in favor of Ashikaga Yoshiteru.
[Note 1]: It was a common practice for the extra sons of the shogun's family to become monks. After all, there was only one title of Shogun, and there could only be one head of the Genji family. At the same time, in order to prevent the remaining sons from having too much power, even if they became monks, these sons of the shogun might not be able to enter the temples with huge estates and monk soldiers. For example, Ashikaga Yoshitsugu, the younger brother of the eighth shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa, did not come from a large temple. Therefore, it can be said that Ashikaga Yoshiaki was able to go to Ichijoin of Kofukuji, which was a very good arrangement and he climbed a high branch.
[Note 2]: Ashikaga Yoshiue was a shogun who was pushed to Kyoto by Ouchi Yoshioki, and he certainly did not get the support of the Hosokawa clan, the then overlord of Kinai. Finally, Ouchi Yoshioki returned to Japan, and he certainly couldn't continue his work, so Ashikaga Yoshiharu was favored by Hosokawa Takakuni and brought to the capital to become a puppet shogun.
[Note 3]: According to records, Ashikaga Yoshiteru had biological sons, and it seems that he had more than one. If Matsunaga Hisahide had not attacked and killed the shogun, one of Ashikaga Yoshiaki's nephews would have been the next shogun, and he would not have been able to take the throne.