Japan's Warring States Period: The Rise of the Wakasa Tiger

Chapter 1: The Wind Rises and the Beauty Rises
The seventh year of Tianwen, 1538 AD, it was midwinter.

"The wind is blowing." In Kasumi Castle, a small mountain castle located in Toshiki County, Wakasa Province, Hokuriku Road, a seventeen-year-old boy was standing on the watchtower, looking into the distance towards the southwest.

The young man wore a soba-style helmet with teeth planted in front made of bear fur, and a black lacquered vest. On his slightly immature face, his eyes were piercing and his furrowed brows contained tension and anxiety that was inconsistent with his age.

The "four-cut diamond" family crest engraved on the shields on his legs and the "Yoshioka Ichimonji" around his waist indicate the family and identity he represents.

"My lord, I still don't understand why you are so sure that Miyagawa-dono will rebel." Behind the young man, a young warrior dressed in black contemporary armor asked respectfully.

The Miyagawa Palace he mentioned was Takeda Nobutaka, the head of the Miyagawa Takeda family, the most important branch of the Wakasa Takeda family.

As the cousin of Takeda Nobutoyo, the current head of the Wakasa Takeda clan, the "Miyagawa Party" under his command was one of the few forces that the precarious Wakasa Takeda clan could rely on.

The young man in front of the samurai is Takeda Nobutoyo's half-brother, the current lord of Kasumi Castle, Takeda Nobushige, commonly known as "Hikogoro".

Just a month ago, he had just completed his coming of age ceremony and officially became a member of the Takeda family. You know, for more than ten years before that, he had been in Kenninji Temple in Kyoto, accompanied by the remaining lights and Buddha shadows.

But who could have imagined that this young man in military uniform had been possessed by a man named Zhou Liangchuan on the night he set out from Kyoto to return to Wakasa.

In his previous life, as a historical game enthusiast, Zhou Liangchuan's only pleasure was to stay at home and play "Nobunaga's Ambition", "Taiko Risshiden" and "Tianxia Unification". While working as a trainee in Japan, he suffered from cancer due to long-term irregular work and rest and diet. After fighting the disease for half a year, a white light brought him to this era.

As soon as Zhou Liangchuan woke up, he found a number of young men with shaved heads and wearing colorful robes sitting in front of him. Behind them, a group of maids with hanging hair and wearing Japanese-style kosode were busy running around. This familiar scene made him realize that he might have traveled through time, and to the most familiar Japanese Warring States period.

"Where am I?" Zhou Liangchuan asked weakly while coughing.

When everyone saw him wake up, they were all overjoyed and came forward to ask about his well-being. Among them, a middle-aged man wearing a folded black hat and a beard was the most excited. His excitement was beyond words: "Yan Golang, you finally woke up. I was really scared to death!"

"Shiwari-ryo?" Looking at the family crest on the man's clothes, the weak man was both surprised and happy, thinking: "Did I travel to the Takeda family of Kai... I wonder if it is Lord Shingen or Lord Katsurai who is the head of the Takeda family now. Seeing how much they care about this person, he must have a high status in the family."

"Don't worry, this is Gozeyama Castle, you are safe." The middle-aged man comforted.

"Hoseyama Castle?" Zhou Liangchuan's mind was suddenly confused: "Isn't this Kai?"

The middle-aged man touched Zhou Liangchuan's head with his hand and said, "Strange, your fever has gone down? Why are you still talking nonsense? You went back to Wakasa from Kyoto, but why did you go to Kai?"

"Wakasa?!" Zhou Liangchuan later found out that this middle-aged man was the head of the Wakasa Takeda clan and his half-brother, Takeda Izunomori Nobutoyo.

I learned from him that the Takeda Nobushige whose body I possessed was attacked by bandits on the way back to Wakasa, and lost too much blood and was in a coma for three days and three nights. I guess this is the reason I have the chance to be reborn with the help of his body.

As for the historical Wakasa Takeda clan, Zhou Liangchuan knows a thing or two:
As one of the many branches of the Kai Takeda clan, its ancestor Takeda Nobuyoshi followed the sixth shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori to defeat Isshiki Dokan, and was awarded the position of Wakasa guardian for his merits. The position was passed down to the seventh generation, Takeda Nobutoyo.

In the seventh year of Tenbun, earlier this year, Takeda Motomitsu, who had been defeated repeatedly and led the Wakasa Takeda clan from prosperity to weakness, became disheartened and decided to become a monk. His eldest son, Takeda Nobutoyo, succeeded him as the head of the clan, which caused concern and dissatisfaction among the family's important officials, especially Awaya Mototaka, the lord of Omura Castle, who ranked first among the "Four Heavenly Kings of Takeda". This dissatisfaction was just used by the ambitious "Miyagawa Party" leader Takeda Nobutaka, who joined Awaya Mototaka to launch a rebellion, intending to depose Takeda Nobutoyo through "overthrowing the superior" and ascend to the throne of the main clan.

However, what they did not expect was that Takeda Nobushige, who had just returned to secular life, actually joined forces with his father-in-law, Kumagai Katsunao, who was also one of the "Four Heavenly Kings of Takeda", to openly support Takeda Nobutoyo. Seeing this, other important ministers and people also turned against him, and the "Miyagawa Rebellion" ultimately ended in failure.

Although the rebellion was quelled, it not only severely damaged the Wakasa Takeda family, but also marked the beginning of another tragedy.

The mediocre and incompetent Takeda Nobutoyo did not recognize the declining status of his family. He continued to frequently wage war against foreign enemies and impose heavy taxes on the people. This eventually led to the separation of the emperor and his subjects, and uprisings among the people. The Wakasa Takeda clan has been in constant strife and has completely declined since then. Only seven years after being forced to retire by his son, Wakasa was annexed by the Echizen Asakura clan, and the Wakasa Takeda clan existed in name only.

From this we can see that the dissatisfaction of the retainers towards Takeda Nobutoyo was indeed understandable. Takeda Motomitsu entrusted his services to the wrong person, which indirectly caused the demise of the Wakasa Takeda clan.

If Takeda Nobushige, who died in a foreign land shortly after the "Miyagawa Rebellion", had known that this would be the outcome, would he regret his decision?

"Of course I regret it!" Zhou Liangchuan couldn't help but have an idea in his mind: Since God has given him a chance to be reborn, he must live well in this era and make a name for himself!
"Let me, as Takeda Nobushige, create a different landscape for this era!"

……

After recovering from his injury, Takeda Nobushige, who was "reborn", began to implement his plan.

He understood that for the Takeda family, which still operated under the "system of collegial consultation among important ministers," the key was to win the support of its retainers and local warlords.

Therefore, the support of his wife's family, the Kumagai clan, is particularly important. If he can convince the Itsumi clan and the Naito clan, who are wavering, to support him, even if they are just watching from the other side, it will be a great help. After all, with his God's perspective, Takeda Nobushige has a natural advantage over Takeda Nobutoyo and Takeda Nobutaka.

Kasumi Castle is located at the junction of Mikata County and Toshiki County. To the east is Okurami Castle of the Kumagai clan, and to the west is Amanose Castle of the Naito clan. Surrounding it are important ministers and local forces such as Shirai, Yamagata, and Kagawa. It is not only full of dangers, but also extremely dangerous.

The reason why Takeda Nobutoyo handed over Kasumi Castle to Takeda Nobushige was, on the one hand, that he hoped that he could serve as a member of his family and keep an eye on the surrounding forces for him; on the other hand, he also hoped that the various parties would check and balance each other and would not pose a threat to his rule.

Ideals are full of hope, but reality is very cruel. Takeda Nobutoyo would never have thought that this small mountain town would become the beginning of Takeda Nobushige's career.

Accompanying Takeda Nobushige to Kasumi Castle were the 120 miscellaneous soldiers assigned by Takeda Nobutoyo, as well as a few close friends such as Matsumiya Kiyonaga and Kagawa Morihisa who had accompanied him to become a monk, and the ten samurai and eighty miscellaneous soldiers given by his father-in-law Kumagai Katsunao.

At most, there were about 200 people, which was all Takeda Nobushige had. With such a small number of troops, it was not easy to defend Kasumi Castle, let alone achieve his first small goal - to capture Wakasa.

Fortunately, with the help of the Kumagai clan, in less than a month, Nobushige visited and recruited surrounding forces such as the Kumagawa Matsumiya clan, the Asono Kagawa clan, and the Iwaya Onshin clan. He gained a better understanding of the current situation and won the favor of these powerful clans.

Time flies, and in November of the seventh year of Tenbun, Hokuriku was covered with snow, and the "Miyagawa Rebellion" that Nobushige had been looking forward to was just around the corner.

(End of this chapter)