In the ninth year of Tenshō (1580), Oda Nobunaga abruptly ordered the exile of two of his vassals, Sakuma Nobumori and Hayashi Hideyoshi. The exile of Sakuma Nobumori and Hayashi Hideyoshi caused a great shock inside the Oda family, and many later believed that this incident indirectly led to the "Honnōji Rebellion" that indirectly led to the death of Oda Nobunaga. So what does Sakuma Nobumori and Hayashi Hideyoshi have to do with the "Honnoji Change"?
Both Sakuma Nobumori and Hayashi Hidesada were the genealogical vassals of the Oda family, who had been out of the Oda family during the time of Oda Nobunaga's father, Oda Nobunaga, and Hayashi Hideyoshi became the head of the Oda family (chief courtier) during the Oda Nobunaga period. By the time of Oda Nobunaga, Hayashi was already the oldest and most senior vassal of the Oda family, and could even sign orders with Oda Nobunaga.
Although Sakuma Nobumori's seniority is not as good as Hayashi's, he comes from Oda Nobuhide's small surname and has won Oda Nobuhide's trust. While most of the Oda clan, including Hayashi Hideyoshi and Shibata Katsuya, supported the Oda Nobuyuki rebellion, Sakuma Nobumori resolutely sided with Oda Nobunaga. After Oda Nobuyuki's rebellion was put down, the future of Sakuma Nobumori's family was bright.
Sakuma Nobumori then fought in almost all the important wars commanded by Oda Nobunaga, and gradually became the first general of the Oda family. For example, in the Battle of Sister River with asakai Asakura, the strength of Sakuma Nobunaga's army was second only to Oda Nobunaga's headquarters. After Oda Nobunaga established the legion system, Sakuma Nobumori became one of the first legion chiefs to be responsible for the war against the Honganji Ichishinō.
However, with the advancement of Oda Nobunaga's "Tenjin Bubu", the problems of Hayashi Hideyoshi and Sakuma Nobumori were gradually exposed. The problem with Hayashi is that he was a core henchman of Oda Nobunaga in his early years, and coupled with the fact that his literary and martial abilities were not very prominent, it was difficult for Hayashi to get the real value and trust of Oda Nobunaga. Therefore, Lin Xiuzhen gradually became a "mascot" with empty status and seniority, but little actual impact.
Sakuma Nobumori's problem was that since his defeat at the Battle of Mikatahara, Sakuma Nobumori's record had declined all the way, becoming the worst-scoring Oda commander. In particular, Sakuma Nobuhisa's attack on Honganji Temple led to a strategic passivity on the Oda family's western front, which indirectly triggered a rebellion in Arakimura and almost killed Hideyoshi Hashiba. It can be said that it is normal for Oda Nobunaga to be dissatisfied with the two.
Dissatisfaction returned to dissatisfaction, Sakuma Nobumori and Hayashi Xiuzhen really did not have enough sin to be exiled. Moreover, the problems between the two are not entirely personal responsibility, such as the kusai Honganji Bukaku is also related to Oda Nobunaga's strategic mistakes. With the seniority and merits of Sakuma Nobumori and Hayashi Hideyoshi, Oda Nobunaga could have allowed the two to retire to power gracefully instead of being exiled to a distant country like a donkey.
Worse still, Oda Nobunaga confiscated the territory of Sakuma Nobunaga and Hayashi Hideyoshi while exiled them, and divided them among Oda Nobunaga, Oda Nobunaga, and his own direct administration. He directly administered and assigned it to the titular governor Oda Nobunaga, who was famous and crippled, and the people were extremely low-profile. Oda Nobunaga, however, increased the domain of such a son at the cost of the exile of two important courtiers.
The exile of Sakuma Nobumori and Hayashi Hideyoshi shows that no matter how senior they are and how high their status is, as long as Oda Nobunaga wants to strengthen his son's power, any courtier will become a victim. Moreover, Oda Nobunaga has always balanced Oda Nobunaga and Oda Nobutaka. Since Oda Nobuo's domain had increased, many of his courtiers naturally believed that Oda Nobunaga would increase Oda Nobunaga's domain next.
In the 1581 year of Tenshō (1581), Oda Nobunaga appointed Oda Nobunaga as the nominal commander of the army against Shikoku Island, kicking away Mitsuhide, who had previously been in charge of Shikoku Island affairs. With the precedents of Sakuma Nobumori and Hayashi Hideyoshi, Mitsuhide would naturally suspect that Oda Nobunaga's move was to confiscate his own territory to increase Oda Nobuta's territory, and rather than sit back and wait, it would be better to rebel.
Taken together, the exile of Sakuma Nobumori and Hayashi Hideyoshi led to the Oda family's retainers being at their own peril, and they were all worried about their future. Mitsuhide's worries worsened by the Shikoku Island issue, which eventually evolved into a rebellious desire to initiate the "Honnoji Rebellion". Therefore, some people believe that the exile of Sakuma Nobumori and Hayashi Hideyoshi indirectly led to the "Honnoji Rebellion".