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

Chapter 113 Seeking common ground while reserving differences
The so-called "Four Heavenly Kings of the Yamana" refers to the lord of Tsurumine Castle, Kakiya Tsuneshige, the lord of Tsuruga Castle, Tazuchi Shoyoshi, the lord of Yagi Castle, Yagi Toyonobu, and the lord of Takeda Castle, Otagaki Asanobu.

As mentioned before, Kakiya Tsunesari, Yagi Toyonobu, and Otagaki Asanobu were worried that the Amago clan would use Inaba as a springboard to invade Tajima and then spread the war to their own territories. So they had already secretly communicated with the Amago clan through Yamana Masimichi of the Inaba Yamana clan and Akihisa Amago. Here we will tentatively call them the "Kakiya faction."

Tanyu Sho Yoshiyoshi, who was in the eastern part of Tajima Province, stood on the side of Yamana Yufeng and supported him in taking Inaba by force and unifying Yamana. The two factions had been confronting each other for a long time, especially the failed assassination attempt on Kakiya Tsunari in early October, which almost triggered a real war between the two factions.

Against this background, when the Kakiya faction heard that Yamana Yutoyo and Tadashi Shoyoshi were preparing to start a war on the eastern front of Tajima, they were worried about getting into trouble and naturally strongly opposed it.

Kakiya Tsunesari was the chief retainer of the Yamana clan and the leader of the Kakiya faction. He was always mature, prudent, and sought stability and perfection. Although he maintained contact with the Amago clan, he did not want them to interfere in Tajima and affect his independence.

He believed that if he rashly sent troops to Tango, the Inaba Yamana clan and the Amago clan to the west would take advantage of the situation and invade. By then, even if Tango was not taken, the horses would still be taken by the Amago clan, and in this case, the Yamana clan would be finished.

Therefore, he did not agree with the idea of ​​sending troops to Tango. Not only did he not agree, he also suggested to establish good relations with the Takeda family to create a stable environment for Tajima. To put it bluntly, he hoped that Yamana Yutoyo would not offend the Amago family or the Takeda family, and would be the nominal guardian of Tajima Province in peace and not cause trouble for their retainers.

"My lord, I think that although the Takeda family was too cold to the envoys of the main family, they did not do anything offensive to the main family. Sending troops to Tango at this time will give the Takeda family an excuse. Comparing the strength of the main family and the Takeda family, and the fact that Takeda Wueden has just completed his journey to Kyoto and has the support of the shogun and the kanrei, we are likely to be the loser in the end. Please think twice, my lord."

Before Yamana Yufeng could say anything about Kakiya Tsunesaki's remarks, Tajie Shoyoshi raised doubts:

"You may not know what the current situation in Tango is. On the surface, the four families of Takeda, Tango people, Shirai, and Itsumi are dividing Tango, but in fact, the Takeda family has a relative advantage and has obtained the support of Shirai people and most of the Tango people. Itsumi Suruga-no-kami has been isolated.

In this situation, if the main family does not take measures, Wuweidian will soon eliminate the Itami clan and complete the unification and integration of Tango. At that time, whether to fight or make peace will not be decided by the main family.

Moreover, when I was sent to Wakasa as an envoy of the Yamana family, I was coldly received, which was enough to show that Wu Weidian was unwilling to develop relations with the main family. In this situation, if the main family still hesitates and is restrained, it will only miss the opportunity and fall into a passive position. "

"Missed an opportunity? How ridiculous." Yagi Toyonobu sneered disdainfully:
"Just because the Takeda family didn't entertain you warmly, you incited the lord to send troops to Tango. Isn't this abusing public power for personal gain?!

My Lord, I think it is better not to provoke the Takeda family in this situation. That Takeden is a tough guy who defeated Asakura and Isshiki in a row. Even if he covets Tajima, he has no excuse to start a war now. But if our family sends troops to Tango, wouldn’t it be exactly what he wants? Please forgive me for being frank, but with our family’s current strength, we cannot compete with the Takeda family. "

"It is precisely because of our limited strength that we have to strike first." Seeing the Kakiya faction's badmouthing of Yamana Yufeng, Tanjie Shoji immediately retorted, "If we send out troops now, we still have the support of the Isshiki and Itsumi families. If we wait until the Takeda family completely integrates Tango, our main family will have to fight alone. Is this what you gentlemen want to see?"

"The Isshiki family, Isshiki Yoshiyuki can't even protect himself, and they still want to drive out the Takeda clan? Although the Itsumi family's fiefdom spans Tango and Wakasa, the stone height of the territory is far less than that of the direct territory of the Takeda family, not to mention the mobilization power. Can the main family really take over Tango by cooperating with these two families?

Sakon, don't think I don't know what you're thinking. You just want to stabilize the east so that you can invade Inaba in the west. I tell you the truth, let alone Inaba, even in Tango, I, Otagaki, won't send a single soldier!" The one who said this was Otagaki Asanobu, who was the first person in the Kakiya faction to establish contact with the Amago clan, and was the one who was most in favor of being on good terms with the Amago clan and maintaining peace with the Inaba Yamana. He married his daughter to Honda Iekichi, a senior retainer of the Amago clan, which was enough to illustrate his position.

Therefore, he was naturally unwilling for Yamana Yutoyo to send troops to Inaba, and he was extremely disgusted with Tanjie Shoyoshi who supported Yamana Yutoyo.

"My Lords, please allow me to speak a few words."

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and found that it was Naito Katsutaka who was asked by Itsumi Masaki to come and persuade the Japanese to send troops.

"You may not know that not long ago, Lord Takee ordered all family elders and their families to move to the castle town of Takeda Clan Mansion and live together. Then, he first carried out land surveys in Wakasa. Unlike the previous surveys, this time he sent people to actually measure the land on the spot.

These measures were something that none of the Takeda clan's successive heads had ever taken. You should all know what the gathering of people under the castle and the land inspection meant. If things were allowed to continue, the Itsumi clan would certainly be the first to be suppressed, and then the entire Tango Province, which had a large number of local people, would be the next.

After that, will the Takeda family tear up the peace agreement and attack the huge Echizen, or go south to Omi to fight the powerful Rokkaku family, or attack Tamba to anger Hosokawa Kyojo? I think neither of them will happen. In comparison, Tajima is the best choice for him to test the effectiveness of his policies.

I am an outsider, I do not understand, nor do I want to understand, the feud between the two mountain families. I only know that if the Takeda clan is allowed to completely integrate Tango, the risks faced by the eastern front of Ma are no less than those of the western front. Instead of being attacked from both sides and being frightened, can we go all out and solve one side first?

After all, Itsumi and Isshiki Kan are the vanguards, and Oi County in Wakasa and Kasa County in Tango can be used as battlegrounds. In this way, the enemy can be blocked from entering the country. Isn't this the best outcome?"

As one of the "Four Heavenly Kings of Takeda", Naito Katsutaka's words did have a certain effect, especially the sentence "stop the enemy from entering the country", which touched the hearts of the Kakiya faction. What was the reason for them to try their best to stop it? Wasn't it to prevent their own land from being caught in the flames of war? If the war spread to Tajima from the east, what would be the point of befriending the Amago family?

After weighing the pros and cons, Kakiya Tsunari was the first to speak out: "My Kakiya clan also needs to guard against the Inaba Yamana in the west, so we can't spare too many soldiers. How about this, if the lord must send troops to Tango, I am willing to allocate 400 people to join the battle."

"I am also willing to transfer 400 people." Yagi Toyonobu also said.

"My ability is limited, and I can only allocate 300 people." Seeing that other members of the Kakiya faction had agreed, Otagaki Asanobu had no choice but to follow suit reluctantly.

"Although the number is limited, it is enough to show that our Yamana family is united as one." Seeing that the situation has become clear, Yamana Youfeng, who had been silent all this time, nodded heavily and said with great satisfaction: "Including my horse guards and the 600 troops promised by Sakon before, our family can mobilize more than 2,400 troops this time."

(End of this chapter)