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

Chapter 112 Parting on bad terms
"I think this war was wrong from the beginning. After all, we are retainers of the Takeda clan. If we do this, there will be no turning back." Yijian Changhu also sighed.

"Genji, if we can take Tango, our Itsumi clan will no longer have to follow the Takeda clan's orders. Not only that, we will be able to stand on equal footing with the Takeda clan as the head of a country. By then, you will be grateful that I made such a risky decision."

After hearing what Yi Jian Chang Jing said, Yi Jian Chang Hu shook his head helplessly, and turned to his brother Yi Jian Chang Qing and asked: "Brother, do you think so too?"

"Everything is up to my father." Yi Jian Changqing answered straightforwardly. As the eldest son in the family, he always kept in step with Yi Jian Changjing. This was one of the important reasons why the latter was confident in leaving the family affairs to him.

"In that case, what else can I say?" After saying that, Yi Jianchanghu walked towards the palace door in a huff.

"Where are you going, kid?" Yi Jianchangjing asked vigilantly.

"Let's go back to Atago Mountain." Yi Jianchanghu replied without even turning his head. "Since I can't persuade you, why don't I just hide away?"

This Atagoyama is the location of Atagoyama Castle, the residence of Itsumi Masatora. It is located at the junction of Wakasa Oi County and Tango Kasa County, and has a relatively important geographical location.

"Genta, be careful recently and don't let this kid tell anyone what happened today, so as to avoid a big disaster." Yijian Changjing ordered.

Yi Jian Changqing nodded: "Don't worry, father, I will keep a close eye on him. But I think that after all, we are a family, even if we disagree, he will not do anything to betray the Yi Jian family, please rest assured."

"I hope he won't." Yi Jianchang said solemnly, "Your brother is stubborn. He is afraid of the worst. If he really can't figure it out, he might do something we can't imagine."

"Suruga-no-Kami, you should trust your own people more." Naito Katsutaka advised, "Even if Lord Changhu doesn't want to participate, we can't force him. Our current strength should be enough. When the time comes, we will attack from the east and west with the Yamana Army. We will attack Shirai Tamebu, and they will seize the Wue-den Zhiling. If everything goes well, we will be able to pacify the entire Tango within a month."

"Takeiden is not a fool. If we raise an army, he will definitely lead his troops to attack. The best way is for us to pacify Tango before he completes his mobilization, form a coalition force to confront the Takeda army in Oi County, and finally follow the peace agreement between Takeda and Asakura Atsugaya at the beginning of the year. The Takeda family will recognize the main family's rule over Tango, and the main family will appropriately cede the territory of Oi County in exchange. After that, both sides will stop fighting and restore peace." Itomi Masaki analyzed optimistically.

"Then don't forget what you promised me, Your Highness." Naito Katsutaka reminded with a smile.

"Of course I won't forget it." Itsumi Masaki answered readily, "As long as I become the guardian of Tango, I will definitely hand over the northern part of Zhongjun to you. I will also make proper arrangements for those old retainers of the Awaya family. You don't have to worry about that."

"Then I'll leave it to you, Your Highness." Naito Katsutaka was very satisfied with what he heard, and thought to himself: "God will not destroy my Naito family!"

Shortly after the internal meeting of the Itomi clan, Yoshishige, with the help of Yamamoto Shigeyuki and Unmine Ryuoki, formally drafted and issued the "Castle Gathering Order" and officially announced it to the public on October 20th.

This order required that within one month from the date of its issuance, family elders, horse-waist officials, designated powerful families, local people, and servants must move with their families to the castle town of the Takeda clan's mansion and live there. They were not allowed to return to their territories without permission. The affairs of the territories would be handled by their respective retainers, and the Takeda clan would bear half of the costs of moving and purchasing houses.

As soon as this order was issued, it aroused some doubts. Some retainers applied to Yoshishige for exemption on the grounds of illness and instability in the territory. However, except for Kumagai Katsunao who was indeed seriously ill and unable to travel long distances, all other retainers' exemption applications were rejected, including Itomi Masatsugu. Itomi Masatsugu was worried about this "Castle Gathering Order" all day long. He was guilty and always suspected that Yoshishige was targeting him. The more he thought about it, the more he dared not go to the Takeda clan's mansion.

But Naito Katsutaka didn't think so. He felt that this was just a way for Yoshishige to strengthen his rule and was aimed at all powerful retainers. Itomi Masatsune didn't need to be so nervous and scare himself.

Besides, even if the Itsumi clan moved to the vicinity of the Takeda clan's mansion, wouldn't Naito Katsutaka still stay in Oi County? If there was anything, they could still share what they had, so there was no need to worry too much. On the contrary, if he kept delaying at this time, it would arouse Yoshishige's vigilance, which would backfire.

After hearing what Naito Katsutaka said, Yijian Changjing finally felt relieved.

On November 15th, with only five days left before the stipulated deadline, Itsumi Masatsune led his eldest son Itsumi Masaki and their family members from Suidoyama Castle and slowly moved to the Takeda clan's mansion.

When Yizhong heard that Yijian Changjing had actually moved here with his family, he couldn't help but laugh. He asked Yunfeng Longxing, "Master, how long do you think he can endure this?"

"It's hard to say. Maybe they are also waiting for the right opportunity. After all, after this order was issued, it did not cause much waves, so they have no chance to fish in troubled waters and start a rebellion." Yunfeng Longxing replied.

Yizhong nodded: "Indeed, they should also know that it is difficult to accomplish it alone. Shigeyuki, the next land inspection depends on you. I don't think it will be as easy to proceed this time as the castle gathering."

On November 25, under the strong leadership of Yoshishige, the land inspection was first carried out in Wakasa. As the land inspection commissioner, Yamamoto Shigeyuki first carried out the land inspection in Toshiki County, where Yoshishige had more direct jurisdiction, and at the same time specifically informed the Itsumi, Hongo, and Muto families in Oi County to prepare the relevant materials and accounts in advance and wait for the next round of land inspections.

The land inspection in Toshiki County progressed relatively smoothly. After all, the Matsumiya, Kagawa, and Yamagata families were all on good terms with Yoshishige, and the young men in their families had been promoted by Yoshishige to become important officials. Even if they were not very perceptive, they would not cause trouble for Yoshishige at this time.

But the more submissive they were, the more nervous Itsumi Masatsugu became. After all, the Itsumi clan had occupied Oi County for more than a hundred years, occupying most of the farmland there, and had been lying to the Takeda clan for years. This time, when the land was inspected, I'm afraid Yoshishige would take the opportunity to punish them.

"Father, when will the Yamana family start?" After learning about the upcoming land inspection, Yi Jian Changqing immediately came to Yi Jian Changjing's study and asked worriedly, "If we start a rebellion before the land inspection, then everything will be fine; if the results of the land inspection are announced, I'm afraid that the Wuwei Palace will accuse us of 'deceiving the superiors and hiding the truth from the subordinates' because of the land that our family has concealed. Even if we start a rebellion, we will be in a passive position morally."

"Of course I know what you are worried about," Itsumi Masaki was also very anxious, "Uchizoku went to Kozumiyama Castle yesterday. I believe there should be news in the next few days."

However, what Yi Jianchangjing never expected was that at this time in the Momoyama Castle, Yamana Youfeng and the "Yamana Four Heavenly Kings" were still arguing fiercely about whether to send troops to Tango.

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(End of this chapter)