Chapter 26: The Butterfly's Wings

  "Good job, Masamune. The clan has appointed you as the leader of the investigation team. You are allowed to rest for three days before resuming your duties." Kiryū Manzōmaru was very satisfied with Masamune's efficiency, and his ability to quietly bring back Murage Maru was truly impressive. In terms of this skill, not even a hundred skilled warriors could match him.

  "I have another matter to report, Your Honor." Fujiwara no Maretaka looked up and glanced at the low-ranking samurai standing outside the door, and Kira Yoshinaka immediately dismissed him. "What is it? Speak!"

  "My lord... there has been a great disaster in Kanto, and Lord Furukawa is dead."

  "What? Kogawa no Tsubone is dead?" Kiryū Mantsumaru jumped up and shouted: "You're saying Ashikaga Yoshiteru is dead? How did he die? Was it you who killed him? What exactly have you done? Tell me clearly!"

  "No! I, your subject, would never have such a treacherous and disloyal thought." Hattori Masahide also became urgent, directly knocking his head on the ground and kneeling down without getting up, his mouth explaining non-stop: "I followed the orders of the lord of the mansion to launch a night raid on the Kogane Imperial Palace, first setting fire to the south side of the curved wheel, then causing chaos on the west side of the curved wheel, taking advantage of the opportunity to drive away Lord Kogane and escape from the Tenjukyu Pavilion. I took advantage of the chaos to sneak into the Tenjukyu Pavilion and obtain the Murasame Maru, this was all done smoothly without any mistakes, until the next day when I learned that Lord Kogane had accidentally fallen into a well and drowned."

  Kiriyama Manzoumaru's expression was indescribable at this moment, wanting to laugh but unable to, wanting to cry yet unable to shed tears. He sat down on the tatami mat, staring at Hattori Masahide and said, "You're saying that Furukawa Kouhou's death has nothing to do with you? That he himself carelessly walked into a well and drowned?"

  "A thousand truths! I, your subject, swear to the gods! Every word I speak, every letter is true!" Minamoto no Yoshitsune said. "On the second day, a great disturbance broke out at the Kogō Palace, and it was announced that Kogō Sadayuki had passed away. The old retainer of the Kogō family, Udaijin Takahashi no Mitsunaka, declared that someone had killed Kogō Sadayuki on that night."

  "From now on, don't gasp for air when speaking, can you finish what you have to say in one breath?" Kira's tense nerves suddenly relaxed. "How could such an unexpected thing happen? Did that unlucky Kogawa Hiro just drown like that? Isn't this a bit too coincidental?"

  "I didn't know either, because that night was a moonless night, and I only vaguely heard the sound of crying and shouting. Because the task was urgent, I didn't go to investigate and retreated immediately. It was probably around that time that Guhe Gong fell into the well!" Although I don't understand what "big gasp" means, the latter half of the sentence is still understandable.

  "The Koga Kubo family determined that the death of Kubo was the doing of the Hojo family. The veteran retainer, Chigusa Takasuke, led the Koga vassals and captured and strangled Hoshun-in, the daughter of the late Hojo Saikai, and her son, Ume no Chiyomaru. Then, Chigusa Takasuke recommended Ashikaga Fujin as the new Koga Kubo, and on that day, he presented the heads of Hoshun-in and Ume no Chiyomaru to the flag, issuing a proclamation to conquer the Hojo family in the Kanto region, calling on the samurai of the Kanto region to attack the Hojo family."

  "What's going on? Is there really no question about your involvement in the death of Uesugi Kenshin? How did it come to pass that the Hōjō clan was implicated in the death of the Northern House? And what's more, Furukawa Tadafusa killed the daughter and grandson of the Hōjō clan, what is going on?! Kira Yoshitsune felt himself becoming flustered again, hastily trying to clarify the situation: "Continue, what happened next?"

  "Yes! The reaction of the Hojo family was a bit strange, they issued a mobilization order on the second day after the death of Lady O-Hime and her son, but it seems that they were still arguing about something and had not yet taken action. The people of Kanto also seemed to be intimidated, in any case, there was no movement before I returned. Then, on the seventh night after the death of Lord Ashikaga Yoshimasa, a great earthquake occurred, countless houses collapsed, and many civilians were killed or injured. Some said that it was the vengeful spirit of the Ashikaga Yoshimasa's temple that was at work, then rumors from the great earthquake of Meio 7 also spread." Hattori Masahide spoke while carefully observing the movements of Kira Utsunomaru.

  "Go on! What rumors?"

  "The demon is born, the earth shakes!"

  "What...what is this rumor? Is there such a thing? Why have I never heard of it before?" Kirishima Mantarou wondered, having read many books but never hearing about such a thing. He didn't know much about the supernatural rumors that circulated among the common people. Yamamoto Kanbei was not interested in anything outside of military strategy, tactics, and politics, while Okawa no Kagechika was an enthusiast of Kyoto culture. Neither of his teachers paid attention to folk tales, so naturally he knew nothing about it either.

  Because of the legend of the Tengu's appearance in the eastern provinces in 1390, it is said that the Tengu ate up an entire village, and it seems that the vengeful spirit of Furukawa Hangan put a curse on the Kanto region. Minamoto no Yoshitsune finally managed to explain the details of this legend after much deliberation. The Tengu was a famous monster from ancient Japan, and in "The Tale of the Heike", it is depicted as a fearsome creature that even made the Emperor nervous, leading to the legend of Minamoto no Yorimitsu's defeat of the Tengu.

  It's a different story if the Tengu is indeed appearing in the eastern provinces. More than sixty years have passed since the Meiō Nankai earthquake, and now rumors are suddenly circulating among the people of the eastern provinces that "monsters are born and the earth shakes". It's clear that someone is secretly stirring up trouble, and this rumor is closely related to the Kogō Fūjin's edict, with its target directly aimed at the Hōjō family.

  "The Odawara Castle, known as the strongest castle in the eastern country, also suffered greatly from this earthquake. Many houses inside Odawara Castle were damaged, and many of the Hojo family's residences collapsed, which was rumored to be the vengeful spirit of Fuma Kotaro."

  "Ah! So ruthless?! This is going to be the death of Uesugi Kenshin!" Kiryū Mantsumaru sucked in a breath, for vengeful spirits were notorious, and even in the Heian period there had been many famous ones, such as Sugawara no Michizane, the god of learning, who was originally a vengeful spirit that ravaged the Heian court for over a hundred years.

  Another famous vengeful spirit is Taira no Masakado, who was known as the first ancestor of Japan's samurai and laid down the roots for the warrior class' rebellion against the imperial court. It is said that at the time, the imperial court was extremely resentful towards this openly rebellious and self-proclaimed "emperor", and after Taira no Masakado's head was sent to Kyoto, the imperial court issued its first "exposure of the head" order.

  "Exposing the head" had already become a routine intimidation tactic after annihilating rebels in the Warring States period, but it was never done in the Heian period. Exposing the severed head of the deceased to the public was considered desecration of the dead. However, for someone like Taira no Masakado who harbored great treachery, the imperial court could use this method to kill one and warn a hundred, intimidating those with malicious intentions.

  When the imperial court announced that Ping Jiangmen's head would be hung on the gate of the Great Prison in Qiutao, everyone in the court was relieved. However, after Ping Jiangmen's head began to rot, many rumors spread among the people, such as hearing Ping Jiangmen's maniacal laughter and roars at midnight.

  A man named Tō no Sokuyūmu came running and turned the head of Taira no Masakado towards the east, then made a waka poem saying: "The mortal wound on Masakado's forehead was given by Fujiwara no Hidesato." Fujiwara no Hidesato was the original name of Taira no Masakado, so Masakado's head suddenly roared: "I will reunite with my body and come back to settle the score with you!"

  Then this rotten head shouted "My body!", flew into the sky and flew to Kanto, because this matter stirred up a storm in Kyoto, everyone was worried that this vengeful spirit would revive again and stir up another great turmoil. Later, no new news came from Kanto, which allowed the court to settle down.

  With these two major vengeful spirits as a prelude, the vengeful spirit of Furukawa Tadakatsu will not be much smaller. The seventh day after his death triggered the Great Kanto Earthquake, and "Yao Mo Sheng" is going to force the Hojo family to death! Who would still stand on the side of Hojo Ujiyasu? That's absolutely crazy! There's no need to say more about what happens next. The Kanto region will definitely be in chaos again.

  However, there was another question that Kiryu Kanetsugu found very interesting: "You brought the Hattori ninja and didn't do anything, just watching Kanto in turmoil?"

  "My vassals, along with the ninjas, also contributed to the spread of rumors. From Hitachi in the east to Kozuke in the west, my vassals' ninjas were all working hard to disseminate the rumors..." Hattori Masahide brought up one by one the rumors he had fabricated, such as that Hojo Ujiyasu was planning to kill Ashikaga Yoshiteru and that he himself would become the shogun of Kanto.

  Of course, there are also some rumors of a certain level, such as the Northern Family's Ise no Kami wanting to follow the example of the previous Northern Family and wipe out all the Minamoto samurai families in Kanto, and establish Ume no Chikai King Maru as the Shogun of Kanto, and he himself would take over the power and unify the ten countries of Kanto. This is not just a rumor, as the Northern Family married their daughter to Ashikaga Yoshizumi, and after the Battle of Kawagoe, they forced Ashikaga Yoshizumi's clan to abandon the late Horiguchi no Tsubone's son Ashikaga Fujinori, with the intention of thoroughly controlling the Koga Kubo.

  Moreover, the Hōjō family had been actively working in Kyoto since Hōjō Ujiyasu changed his surname from Ise to Hōjō, hoping to obtain a better position to rule Kantō from the shogunate. By the time of Hōjō Ujiyasu's son, Hōjō Ujikuni, due to the victory in the Battle of Kawagoe, he had ambitions to become the Kantō Kanrei. For several years, he presented gifts to the Kyoto Imperial Court, seeking to obtain this position, but the shogunate was not foolish and did not agree to the Hōjō family's plans.

  The plan to take over the Kantō region was widely spread, and at first, Hōjō Tokiyori didn't think it was a bad idea, thinking it was a good opportunity to intimidate the Kantō samurai families. Who would have thought that the Kantō daimyō would die in such an unfortunate way? Moreover, coincidentally, there was a large earthquake in the Kantō region, and combined with these half-true, half-false rumors, it hit the weak point of the Hōjō family. The two labels "national traitor" and "demon" stuck to the Hōjō family's head, and for the time being, they couldn't be removed.