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

Chapter 14 Father and son talk at night
"Congratulations to my lord on inheriting the position of family head. I wish my lord great military fortune and may our Takeda clan prosper again!" Inside the palace of the Takeda clan's mansion, from powerful retainers like Yamagata Morinobu and Kumagai Motonao to lowly retainers like Hirai Toshimasa, all bowed deeply to the ground and paid the highest respects to Nobushige.

This day was the twentieth day of the twelfth lunar month in the seventh year of Tenbun. Takeda Hikogoro Nobushige, a 17-year-old boy, officially succeeded as the eighth head of the Wakasa Takeda clan, and a new era officially began.

After the short celebration ceremony, it was already late at night. Everyone was drunk and went back to their rooms to rest. Only Takeda Motomitsu, who remained silent and did not drink a drop of wine at the banquet, remained sober enough. When everyone left, he still sat there. Seeing this, Nobushige thought that he must have something to say to him, so he sent his attendants out, leaving the two of them alone in the hall.

As a "wise ruler" of the Takeda clan that "went from prosperity to weakness", Takeda Motomitsu, who inherited the family business at the age of 27, also had his own difficulties.

At first, he also wanted to be a wise ruler. In the second year after he ascended the throne, he moved his residence to Gozeyama Castle and then adjusted the knowledge and behavior of his retainers, which to a certain extent reversed the situation of "weak ruler and strong retainers" in his family.

But before he could realize his ambitions, a storm brought all his efforts to naught.

In 1526, Kanrei Hosokawa Takakuni was unable to resist the attack of Hosokawa Harumoto and Miyoshi Motonaga, so he invited Takeda Motomitsu to Kyoto for support.

As he still stubbornly pursued a policy of friendship with the imperial court and maintained close relations with the shogunate, Takeda Motomitsu rashly led his army to Kyoto despite his own weak strength and the turbulent situation in his territory. The following year, the Battle of Katsuragawahara broke out between the two countries, and Takakuni and Motomitsu were defeated. Hundreds of people, including important ministers Awaya and Kumagai clan, were killed.

This battle not only cost the Wakasa Takeda clan the reputation they had built up since Takeda Nobukana, but also caused all of Motomitsu's early efforts to consolidate the Takeda clan's authority to go down the drain. Rebellions by retainers in Wakasa have never stopped since then, including this time's rebellion by the Awaya clan, which was also a huge outburst of long-accumulated dissatisfaction since then.

Not long after, in 1531, Hosokawa Takakuni was defeated in the Daimonobong and committed suicide. The Takeda clan, as his supporter, was severely damaged. Not only did they fade out of the political stage in Kinai, but the situation in their surrounding areas continued to deteriorate: pirates invading from Tango continued to harass their coastal areas, and the Echizen Asakura clan's covetousness and attempts to subjugate their retainers became more and more intense. During the Tenbun period, Wakasa bandits and uprisings swarmed up on a scale "unprecedented in previous dynasties."

It was also under such circumstances that Takeda Motomitsu became disheartened and eventually chose to become a monk and live in seclusion, completely immersing himself in the study of Buddhist culture in an attempt to numb himself.

Facing such a former Takeda clan leader who had experienced many hardships and lost his will, Nobushige thought of the old saying: There must be something hateful about pitiful people. But after all, he was his "father", so Nobushige still wanted to hear what good advice he had to pass on to him.

"Hikogoro, I didn't expect that the position of this family head would eventually return to you." Takeda Motomitsu said with a smile.

"What do you mean?" Xinzhong was confused.

"Although I passed the throne to Hikojiro (Takeda Nobutoyo's childhood name), I actually always wanted you, my youngest son. But Hikojiro was the eldest son, and I couldn't get the family elders to do it, so I had to... Alas, all this is God's will."

"Father, did you stay here just to tell me this?" Nobushige obviously didn't want to hear such "hindsight" remarks, so he urged Takeda Motomitsu to get back to the point.

"Although I have left home, I still want to hear your thoughts on the future development of our family. After all, governing a country cannot rely solely on fighting and killing. The problems we, the Takeda clan, face are even greater than those faced by other daimyo..."

"After all this, father still thinks that I am only good at fighting and killing?" Nobushige tried his best to maintain his respect for the former head of the family, but his words were indeed a little unpleasant to the ears.

"Father has no other intentions..." Takeda Motomitsu sensed the unhappiness in Nobushige's words and hurriedly explained, "Father just hopes that you don't make the same mistakes as me and your brother."

"Father, you were here just now. Were the three sins I listed of my brother nonsense?"

Takeda Motomitsu was silent for a moment and shook his head: "Everything is reasonable and well-founded, but Hikojiro also has his own difficulties in doing so. This is what your father wants to tell you. There are several 'bottom lines', and I hope you can stick to them."

"Bottom line? Please enlighten me, father." Nobushige felt that the Wakasa Takeda clan had become so corrupt that there was no "bottom line" to talk about.

"First, the relationship with the imperial court and the shogunate must be maintained. This is the policy passed down by successive rulers and cannot be neglected.

Second, although the rule of the Wakasa Takeda clan over Aki is in name only, I am still the "lord" of the four western counties of Aki. With this noble title, I will fight for it whenever I have the chance.

Third, and most importantly, the main family adheres to the "diplomatic system of important officials". This is a move to adapt to the situation and should not be easily changed, especially for the Awaya and Naito families. You should be merciful when you can and not take this opportunity to kill them all. I didn't understand it before, but now I know that when the old forces go down, new forces will surely rise up. You can't control them one after another. It's better to use them to check and balance each other to maintain the status of the main family."

"Are these the three bottom lines my father believes in?" At this moment, Nobushige lowered his evaluation of Takeda Motomitsu by another level.

"Whatever you think, feel free to speak up without worrying about your father's reputation." Takeda Motomitsu could tell from Nobushige's tone that he disagreed with his suggestion, so he wanted to hear what he really thought. This was also the main reason why he stayed.

"First of all, I promise you that I will do my best to maintain the relationship with the imperial court and the shogunate, but I will never provide support and help without any bottom line like before. After all, the main family is already in this situation. If it continues like that, it will be backfired sooner or later. Secondly, you must be aware of the current situation in Aki. The three wolves of Niwa, Ouchi, and Mori are eyeing it covetously. The Takeda clan of Aki is isolated in China. Not to mention that they are powerless now, even when Lord Motonobu was alive, they could only sigh in despair. The righteousness and reputation cannot be abandoned, but with the current strength of the main family, it is absolutely a foolish dream to want to get involved in Aki. This matter can only be considered in the long run and is not a top priority for the main family.

As for the third bottom line, I'm sorry, I really can't agree with it. The 'consensus system of important ministers' is no longer suitable for this era. If the Takeda clan wants to revive, it must suppress the power of important ministers and powerful people and enhance the prestige of the main family. The current situation of 'weak master and strong ministers' and 'strong branches and weak trunks' must end. This is what I will do next."

It can be said that for the three bottom lines proposed by Takeda Motomitsu, Nobushige gave new interpretations to each of them from his own perspective, especially the third one, which he directly denied in its entirety, which also surprised Takeda Motomitsu.

"Are you going to act so risky right after you ascended the throne? Hikogoro, be careful not to follow in your brother's footsteps. After all, important officials like Kumagata and Yamagata may support you today and support someone else tomorrow. As long as you infringe on their interests, there is nothing they can't do." Takeda Motomitsu kindly reminded.

However, Nobushige believed that the shugo daimyo in various places had begun to transform into Warring States daimyo, and that Takeda Motomitsu's idea of ​​relying on important ministers to maintain his rule was out of touch with the current situation.

"Father, you also know that in the past, shugo daimyo from various places stayed in Kyoto for a long time to serve the shogun, and the management of the territory was the responsibility of the important ministers of the family. Over time, a 'consultation system of important ministers' was formed; but now it is different. The shogunate has declined, and the shugo daimyo have returned to their territories to protect themselves, which has caused conflicts with the important ministers who have long held the right to manage the territory.

This contradiction is irreconcilable, and there are only two possible outcomes. Either the Takeda clan will survive under the constraints of important ministers and maintain its status as the leader of the alliance, or the Takeda clan will completely gain control over the security, military command, and decision-making power of the family, bring all important ministers, powerful families, and people under control, realize unified rule, and become a true ruler.

Father, which outcome do you think will be more beneficial to the Takeda clan?"

"But... the risk is too great, Hikogoro, the risk is really too great." Takeda Motomitsu suffered from the rebellion of his retainers during his reign. The Awaya clan rebelled twice, and the Itsumi clan rebelled three times. In the end, he was forced to compromise and temporarily quelled the turmoil. He sincerely hoped that Nobushige would slow down a bit, after all, the Takeda clan had just experienced civil strife and was no match for those powerful retainers.

"Don't worry, I know my limits." Although he was very disdainful of Takeda Motomitsu's ability to govern the country, Xinzhong's tone softened considering that he was reminding him with good intentions.

"In that case, I won't say much. Since we are family, I will support you in whatever you do in the future. I have some connections in the court and the shogunate. If you need me, just ask. Oh, there is one more thing... I want to discuss a marriage with you."

"Marriage, whose marriage?" Xinzhong was confused.

"It's a long story. Originally, it was Hosokawa Kyoshi (Hosokawa Harumoto, Kyoshi is the Tang name of 'Ukyo Doctor') who acted as a matchmaker, wanting Hikojiro to marry the princess of the Rokkaku family as his principal wife, and your father agreed at the time. But as you know, Hikojiro is no longer the head of the family, so the Rokkaku family will naturally not be willing to marry their daughter to him. But this marriage is a great opportunity to make friends with the Rokkaku family, and your father really doesn't want to put it aside, you see..."

"I understand. Father wants me to marry the princess of the Rokkaku family?"

"Exactly."

"But, would the Rokkaku family be willing for their princess to become a concubine?"

"Nonsense." Takeda Motomitsu thought Nobushige was joking: "How could she be a concubine? She must be the principal wife in our Takeda family."

"Then what about Nagisa?" The "Nagisa" that Nobushige mentioned was his current wife, Nagisahime, the daughter of Katsunao Kumagai.

"We can only let her become a concubine. After all, this is for the sake of the Takeda clan and Wakasa. I believe that Mikata-dono will understand. If it really doesn't work, I am willing to go to Mikata Castle myself."

"No need for that," Xinzhong shook his head. "Although Ah Zhu and I have been married for less than a month, she is virtuous and intelligent, and has done nothing wrong. She should not be treated like this."

"But……"

"Father, please don't worry. If the Rokkaku family values ​​their relationship with the main family and values ​​me, they will be willing to accept me as a concubine. If anyone comes to ask, please tell them that if they are willing to marry the princess to Nobushige, Nobushige will never let them down."

On the first day of the recommendation, many friends came to support us, and Xiong Zai is very grateful!

Here, I would like to thank Yulong and Guying Wunian for their rewards; thank Yinglang, Jiantianwu, watergun, Zheqian, We Are Not Playing a Game, Book Friend 20180107114200740, Qingkongxiafeiwudefengye, HLWHYZ, Tianyulongyin for their monthly tickets; thank Xu Ziqi, Mi Xin, Jiliang, Bofengqian and other friends for their recommendations; and Jueshitiansha, Miludeyuyi, Dalonggegeaijiemei, Mizunotsukichengshi and other friends for their wonderful book reviews!

I hope friends will continue to support Xiongzai, collect, read and vote more!


(End of this chapter)