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

Chapter 100 Forming a Ninja Army
Koga County is located in the southern part of Omi, close to Kyoto. Since most of the goods entering and leaving Ise pass through Suzuka Pass in Koga, it can be said that this is an important military and economic base in Kinki. Based on the idea of ​​self-preservation and self-defense, an autonomous system called "gunchu-so" was created here, and the county's major and minor affairs were decided by the principle of minority obeying the majority.

Koga-ryu, a ninjutsu school as famous as Iga-ryu, originated in Koga County. These ninjas worked as farmers or merchants in various places to collect intelligence in peacetime, and were active on the battlefield or in the rear during war. The difference between Koga-ryu and Iga-ryu is that Koga-ryu ninjas are loyal to their masters, but Iga-ryu ninjas only have an employment relationship with their employers based on a monetary contract.

The Koga clan first flourished when the Rokkaku clan was attacked by Ashikaga Yoshinori. At that time, Rokkaku Takayasu abandoned his home castle, Kannonji Castle, and fled to Koka. He relied on the Koga clan to repeatedly surprise the Ashikaga army in the Hook Formation, and used guerrilla warfare to create a stalemate, ultimately saving the Rokkaku clan.

Afterwards, the fifty-three samurai families in the Koga clan were named the "Koga Fifty-three Families" by the Rokkaku clan for their meritorious service in the war, and those who were specially rewarded by the Rokkaku clan were also called the "Koga Twenty-one Families". These twenty-one families were divided into four regions: the "Kashiwagi Three Families", the "Kitayama Nine Families", the "Nanyama Six Families" and the "Shonai Three Families", each of which controlled the other fifty-three families in their respective regions and decided the affairs in their respective regions.

Among the thirty-eight ninjas that Rokkaku Sadanari gave to Yoshishige this time, in addition to Taroko Mitsugu, there was also Ukai Magoroku from the "Shonai Three Families". Although both of them were only in their twenties, they had already made some fame under the training of their fathers.

In particular, Taroko Mitsuna was eager to leave the protection of his family and go far away to prove his ability, so as soon as Rokkaku Sadanari opened his mouth, he agreed to follow Yoshishige back to Wakasa.

When I returned to Wakasa, the snow in Hokuriku had already melted, and flowers were blooming everywhere, seagulls were crying, and the place was full of vitality.

"After being busy outside for so long, it's time to take care of things at home." As soon as Yoshishige returned to the Takeda clan, he decided to rectify the chaotic internal affairs of the territory. However, before that, he thought he should use these Koga ninjas to establish an intelligence network, in order to quickly understand the situation of the powerful families in the territory and lay a solid foundation for his next plan.

In fact, the Wakasa Takeda clan did raise a group of ninjas. During the time of Takeda Motonobu, the hereditary retainer Tanabe clan organized a ninja army of more than 40 people by recruiting them with a large sum of money and training them locally.

However, in the Battle of Katsuragawahara 20 years ago, this ninja army suffered heavy losses on the battlefield. In addition, Wakasa was in financial difficulties after the war, so many ninjas chose to leave. As of now, there are only six local ninjas left. Under the leadership of Tanabe Rokusuke Hikomitsu, the sixth generation head of the Tanabe clan, they barely support the body of Wakasa ninjas. As for the ability to collect intelligence and execute missions, it can only be said that it is better than nothing.

However, now with the addition of more than thirty Koga ninjas, the Wakasa Ninja Army has hope of regaining its former glory.

According to Yoshishige's plan, Taro Mitsugu and Ukai Magoroku went to Tango, Wakasa and Tsuruga respectively to select young people for ninjutsu training. After the training, they were mixed with the existing Koga and local ninjas and eventually divided into three ninja groups, responsible for intelligence work in Wakasa, Tsuruga and Tango respectively.

Each ninja group has one jonin, four chuunins, and several genins. The jonin of the Wakasa group is Tanabe Hikomitsu, the jonin of the Tango group is Taroo Mitsugu, and the jonin of the Tsuruga (Echizen) group is Ukai Magoroku.

In terms of work flow, the Genin scattered across the country are responsible for collecting intelligence, carrying out assassinations and creating riots. They pass the intelligence they obtain to the Chunin, who then strictly verifies the information. Only after confirming that it is correct will they convey the most accurate intelligence to the Jonin, who will eventually report it to Yoshishige personally.

Time flies, and three months passed in a flash. Thanks to the efforts of Taroko Mitsugu, Ukai Magoroku, and Tanabe Hikomitsu, a list of 87 ninja soldiers finally appeared in front of Yoshishige.

In order to avoid cliques and hypocrisy, Yoshishige decided to shuffle the eighty-plus people and divide them into groups. Including the jonin and chunin, the Wakasa group was assigned twenty-five people; Tango was more complicated, with many forces dissatisfied with the Takeda clan's rule, so forty-two people were assigned; Tsuruga was only one county, but it was on the front line of the confrontation with the Asakura clan, and the situation was more serious, so twenty people were assigned.

Among the three jonin, except for Tanabe Hikomitsu who was a hereditary retainer and enjoyed 800 koku of land, Taroko Mitsuna and Ukai Magoroku were recruited with an annual salary of 200 kan. The annual salary of this level is higher than that of an ordinary foot soldier general, which shows the importance Yoshishige attached to these ninjas and the construction of the intelligence network.

This arrangement of Yoshishige was recognized and supported by most of the retainers and ninjas, but Tanabe Hikomitsu, the hereditary head, was somewhat worried.

On August 18, the day after Yoshishige announced the three group assignments, Tanabe Hikomitsu came to the Takeda clan's mansion to ask for an audience with Yoshishige, and Yoshishige met him in Hiroshige as soon as possible. To be honest, although he was also a hereditary successor of the Takeda clan, Yoshishige didn't know much about him.

Previously, I had only heard a few words about him from Yamagata Hidemasa and Takeda Motomitsu. The reason was that during the Battle of Katsura Gawahara, Tanabe Hikomitsu's father Tanabe Kunimitsu and his brother Tanabe Nobumitsu died in the battle, leaving only the five-year-old Tanabe Hikomitsu in the family. The Tanabe clan declined because of this. Although he was a hereditary successor, he was already on the edge of the Takeda clan's power center. After he came of age, Takeda Motomitsu, mindful of Tanabe's achievements, gave him a sinecure to manage the ninja army.

In Hiroma, Yoshishige met Tanabe Hikomitsu, who was squatting opposite Yoshishige with a serious face, his hands clenched into fists and sweat on his cheeks, obviously he was extremely nervous.

This was the first time that Yoshishige observed this retainer up close. He discovered that he was not only tall, but also sturdy and strong. His dark cheeks had a pair of bright eyes, and it was obvious that he must have trained a lot.

"Rokusuke, how tall are you?" Yoshishige asked first, intending to ease Tanabe Hikomitsu's nervousness through casual chatting.

"My lord, I am five feet tall." Tanabe Hikomitsu answered seriously.

"That's about 1.6 meters tall," Yizhong thought, "but a 'giant' is rare in this era."

"I heard from the people in Faxin Temple that you are strong and powerful, and have once gone up the mountain alone to hunt mountain whales (wild boars)?" Yi Zhong said with a smile.

Tanabe Hikomitsu nodded and replied, "That was two years ago. I did kill two mountain whales on Mt. Iimori."

"That's amazing," Yoshishige nodded slightly to express his appreciation, and then said, "How's your training with the Ninja Army recently? I see your skin is darker and brighter than before, it seems you've been training a lot."

"I am responsible for protecting the peace of the Takeda clan. I train every day and dare not delay for a single day." Tanabe Hikomitsu was still serious.

"He seems to be a loyal and honest person." Yoshishige inferred this conclusion from his words, actions and behavior.

"Then what are you here for today?" Since that was the case, Yi Zhong didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point.

Tanabe Hikomitsu didn't waste any time and directly stated his purpose: "I beg you to revoke the appointments of Taroo Shirobei and Ukai Magoroku."

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(End of this chapter)