Chapter 184 27. Use Good Motivation to Become a Strong Support

Kobayata said "wait a minute", and everyone, including Oda Nobuhiro who was kneeling on the ground, looked at Kobayata.

Everyone was wondering if Kobayata was really an invincible goody-goody? Last time, Shibata Katsuie and his group raised an army to attack and kill Nobunaga. Kobayata was the first to stand up and plead for mercy for such a heinous crime. This time, Oda Nobuhiro colluded with foreign countries and wanted to kill Oda Nobunaga, which was an even greater crime. Kobayata was able to put down his face and plead for mercy to Nobunaga.

He dared to plead for mercy even though he knew that he could not be forgiven. What a goody-goody! A perfect goody-goody! However, most of the Oda warriors were still grateful to Kobayata. After all, the more goody-goodies who were willing to plead for mercy, the better. Who could not make mistakes?

"Danzheng, it's Oda's family affairs, don't bother." Oda Nobunaga was also surprised and seemed a little angry. He even changed the name from Kobayata to Danzheng. After all, the fight between Nobukatsu and the brothers was an internal conflict. No matter how hard the two brothers fought, it was just a mess. In the end, it was all the fault of the Oda family.

But this time, the nature was very different. Oda Nobuhiro, a fool, actually colluded with Saito Yoshitatsu of Mino Province. This had a very bad impact. To use a phrase that everyone is familiar with, it was equivalent to colluding with reactionary forces at home and abroad and being a running dog of foreigners. No daimyo would tolerate it, even if it was a father and son or a brother.

"After all, we are both of the same bloodline of the first defense and the second defense. Moreover, the Oda family of Oshu is prosperous and has a relationship with each other. If we can drive it, it will be better than strong support."

Kobayata's words were evasive, and the rough guys didn't understand. But Nobunaga obviously understood.

The Oda family in Owari was not a family. It was divided into the Oda Yamato family, the Oda Danmasatada family, and the Oda Ise family, which were further divided into several families. Now it is Oda Nobunaga of the Oda Danmasatada family who is the leader and the only one in power.

But Oda Nobuhide was also a weak person. He was one of the three magistrates of Kiyosu under Oda Nobutomo, the guardian of the four counties under Owari. He was originally just a small lord of Katsubata Castle, and it took more than ten years to completely deal with the other Odas in the four counties under Owari.

In other words, from the time when Nobuhide's father Nobumasa began to take power, to when Nobuhide stood out, to when Nobunaga began to unify Owari. The power of their Oda family has only been passed down for less than 30 years, and there is no problem at all to say that they are nouveau riche. It can even be said that the word nouveau riche is completely tailor-made for Oda Nobunaga's family, but the law that wealth cannot last for more than three generations did not appear in their family.

Of course, Nobuhide's era began to tamper with his ancestors and directly rely on the banner of the Kanmu Taira clan. But no one believes this thing at all. Everyone knows the details of the Oda family. It's just a small priest. It's really that their family is too low. More than 30 years ago, they were still the magistrate of the guardian of Owari. Although he later obtained Ashikaga Yoshiteru's consent to inherit the post of Owari guardian, his roots were not strong enough.

This also led to the frequent uprisings and collusion with outsiders by other samurai of the Owari Oda clan to try to overthrow Oda Nobunaga's rule. The reason is simple. You, Oda Nobunaga, were also a peasant three generations ago. You have become the lord of Owari. Why can't I do it? I also have the surname Oda. Am I not qualified enough?

People's hearts are like this. Everyone works for the Sasaki family. Although I follow you as a guardian, I am still a worker and a social animal in the end. The Sasaki family is a high-ranking family among the high-ranking families of the shogunate. So working for him at least makes a living, so everyone doesn't care. But the Sasaki family is finished now, and the shogunate is in its twilight years. Owari is such a large family business, and everyone is fighting for territory based on their abilities. If you don't accept it, just fight!

Oda Nobunaga obviously understood what Kobayata meant. After Oda Nobuhiro's rebellion, there would definitely be other members of the Oda clan who would rise up and rebel. If Oda Nobuhiro could be forgiven on the surface, it would be much easier to crack down on and divide these people in the future.

And what Kobayata said was not just to forgive Oda Nobuhiro for convenience in the future. The deeper meaning was that in the future, when fighting a fierce battle, Oda Nobuhiro would be sent to where it was dangerous, and to where it was difficult to fight and where many people were killed. This is the so-called "strong support"! The so-called "driving"! [Note 1]

Nobunaga was obviously considering the meaning of Kobayata's words, but he seemed to be still hesitating about the follow-up arrangements in this regard. Not long after, Niwa Nagahide, who had taken action, seemed to understand something.

"Your Highness! After all, it is a request from the official, so we should be flexible." Everyone was surprised. Niwa Nagahide was considered half of Oda Nobunaga's son-in-law [Note 2], and he suddenly came out to plead for mercy.

Kobayata was surprised to see that Niwa Nagahide, who had always been good at domestic affairs but not famous for his wisdom, was the first to come forward. It was quite a bit of a tasteless thing. Such a subtle word, Niwa Nagahide almost reacted with Nobunaga.

Nobunaga did not answer, Koyata simply did not look at Nobunaga, and looked at the Kinoshita brothers with interest. The two of them sat at the lowest seat in the shogunate, and no one else noticed them. But Koyata found that the two of them whispered in each other's ears, and they had guessed something.

I wonder if the Kinoshita brothers will speak up for mercy, Koyata thought to himself.

But before they waited for the two of them, Nobunaga's milk brother (really lucky, because he drank milk from Nobunaga, closer than his own brothers) Ikeda Kan'ei soon came out to plead for mercy.

This was a big shock, after all, Oda Nobunaga and Oda Nobukatsu were born from the same mother and did not drink milk, but Ikeda Kan'ei had such a close relationship with Nobunaga. This is not about status, but about closeness and trust.

When everyone saw this situation, Ikeda Kanxing had come out, and the original suspicion became even heavier. It stands to reason that Ikeda Kanxing would not appear in this situation unless he was sure that Oda Nobunaga would forgive Oda Nobuhiro.

"Koheita, I will listen to you again." Nobunaga suddenly spoke.

Most people, including Oda Nobuhiro, were surprised. It turned out that Oda Nobunaga actually forgave Oda Nobuhiro.

Oda Nobuhiro himself couldn't believe that he would be forgiven by Oda Nobunaga. He glanced at Nobunaga, whose solemn expression had turned into an incomprehensible smile.

"Brother, you can still serve as the lord of the Shuyama Castle." Nobunaga waved his hand and had Nobuhiro sent out, which was considered to be a complete end to the matter.

[Note 1]: In history, Oda Nobuhiro did die in the Nagashima Ikko Ikki. Although the author does not know the specific way he died, the author's personal inference is that he "went to his death"!

[Note 2]: Coincidentally, Niwa Nagahide’s wife was Oda Nobunaga’s adopted daughter. So it’s correct to say that he was a son-in-law, and it’s also correct to say that he was half a son-in-law.