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

Yoshishige originally wanted to refuse Kagawa Mitsukage's request.

After all, he, who traveled through time, should be the person in the Wakasa Takeda family who knows the situation in Aki best.

Although the current Aki Takeda clan nominally occupies the three counties of Sadoh, Sadani, and Anboku, in fact, since the Battle of Tanaka Ide and the Battle of Yokogawa Omote, it has long been deserted and fallen apart.

Even veterans like Kagawa Mitsukage were secretly colluding with Ouchi and Mori, hoping that the Takeda clan in Aki could survive and not be annexed by them. War advocates like Shinagawa Nobumasa were limited in their abilities, and apart from clamoring for resolute resistance, they could not come up with any useful methods, and were already marginalized.

In terms of the external environment, the Takeda clan of Aki, which faced the sea, was basically surrounded by the Ouchi and Mori clans. Especially after the fall of Takeda Motoshige, the navy of Yashiro Island turned to submit to the Ouchi clan, which made the side of the Takeda territory facing the sea also under blockade by the Ouchi clan.

Under such internal and external troubles, let alone the Wakasa Takeda clan sending someone to inherit the position of family head, even if Takeda Shingen of the Kai Takeda clan personally came forward, it would probably be of no avail.

Why would you rush to board a sinking ship?

However, Takeda Motomitsu obviously did not think so.

It has been mentioned before that the former head of the Wakasa Takeda clan attached great importance to Aki, otherwise he would not have strongly demanded to retain the positions of guardian of the two counties when he went to Kyoto.

In his opinion, Aki is the place where the Wakasa Takeda clan made its fortune, and the ancestors of the Takeda clan once served as the guardian of Aki. Protecting Aki is the righteousness of the Takeda clan.

The Kai Takeda clan is located in the mountains and has a long journey, so it is fine if they have the will but not the power. However, the Wakasa Takeda clan is now bordering the Amago clan (the Inaba Yamana clan is just a puppet), and there are many good ports in the territory. At this critical moment concerning the survival of the Aki Takeda clan, they can provide support by water and land. At the very least, they can send a small number of elite troops to strengthen their momentum.

Therefore, after learning about the purpose of Kagawa Mitsuki's visit, Takeda Motomitsu's old problem came back - he seemed to have forgotten the night talk that Yoshishige had with him, ignored the bottom line that Yoshishige set on this matter, and actually agreed to it on his own.

"Hikogoro, either let your brother return to secular life. He has been in Qiyun Temple for almost ten years." Takeda Motomitsu asked Yoshishige for advice.

"Didn't you, father, send him in? If you're willing, I have no objection." Yi Zhong had no feelings for his adopted brother, whom he had never met and who had always stayed in the temple.

Historically, his younger brother, who was three years younger than him, was cowardly and mediocre in ability. In history books, he only left a shallow identity mark such as "the last head of the Takeda clan in Aki" and "the servant of Ashikaga Yoshiteru", and did not make any contribution to the Takeda clan in Aki and Wakasa.

Takeda Motomitsu wanted to send him to Aki, and Yoshishige had no objection to this. After all, there was no point in keeping such a weak group of people in Wakasa, so it would be better to do them a favor and allow Kagawa Mitsuki to return and report.

However, what surprised Yoshishige was that Takeda Motomitsu was not satisfied with just sending his younger brother to Aki, and also made a request that he had not expected.

"Hikogoro, how many people do you think we should send to escort Hikorokuro to Aki this time?" asked Takeda Motomitsu.

"Send someone? Just let Lord Guangjing escort him. There are more than ten people in their group, so there is no need to worry about their safety." Yi Zhong knew what he meant, but still answered as if he didn't understand.

"How can that be possible?" Takeda Motomitsu's face suddenly turned serious. "Hikorokuro is from our Wakasa Takeda family, and he is also the future head of the Aki Takeda family. If we only send him back with a dozen people, people will think we don't take him seriously. Besides, Aki is in danger right now, shouldn't the main family send an army to strengthen its momentum?"

"But our family has just pacified East Tajima, and the situation is unstable. We need to use troops now, but we don't have any extra troops to escort Hikorokuro to Aki." Yoshishige declined Takeda Motomitsu's suggestion, and then said, "If it doesn't work, please ask Master Guangjing to go to Kai and try. Our family is really powerless."

"You!" Takeda Motomitsu was irritated by Yoshishige's words, but when he thought about how he had already retired, he didn't lose his temper. In order not to embarrass himself in front of others, he decided to put the matter aside for the time being, "Let's take a long-term view on this matter."

"Please don't let this hurt the relationship between the two of you." Seeing that Takeda Motomitsu was speechless, and also aware of Yoshishige's authority in the family, Kagawa Mitsuki hurriedly stepped forward to act as a peacemaker and persuaded with a smile:
"You are also aware that Muei-dono recently conquered Higashi-Tajima. This is cause for celebration. It has always been the territory of the Yamana clan, and a large army is indeed needed to garrison there. We understand this. Please calm down, Hoshinji-dono. We came here just to welcome the new head of the family. We passed through the territory of the Amago clan along the way. There is no need to worry about safety. There is really no need to send troops to escort us."

"Lord Mitsuki, I am really sorry about this matter, and thank you very much for your understanding." Yoshishige bowed to Kagawa Mitsuki.

At this moment, Yoshishige was thinking that the demise of the Takeda clan in Aki was a foregone conclusion. Facing the powerful strength and geographical advantages of the Ouchi and Mori clans, no matter how many troops he sent, it would be useless. Even if he sent troops to assist the Takeda clan in Aki to stop the attacks of the Ouchi and Mori clans, what tangible benefits could he gain? He was afraid that he would gain nothing except a good reputation.

"Then we will take our leave first." After receiving a satisfactory answer, Kagawa Mitsuki and others said goodbye to Yoshishige and Takeda Motomitsu. After watching them go away, Takeda Motomitsu turned around and left without saying a word, leaving Yoshishige sitting alone.

Was it right or wrong for him to do this? Did he not consider Takeda Motomitsu's feelings by refusing his face in front of everyone? As a modern person who traveled back in time, Yoshishige might have been too realistic, so much so that he ignored the importance of justice in this era and underestimated the importance of Aki to Takeda Motomitsu and the entire Takeda clan.

As he was thinking, he actually began to hesitate. At this moment, Xiao Xing came to report that Yamamoto Shigeyuki and Kagawa Morihisa wanted to see him.

Upon hearing that the two men had returned from Tango, Yoshishige was overjoyed and quickly ordered his men to lead the two men to "Matsuno-no-Ma" and he would arrive later.

Although Yamamoto Shigeyuki and Kagawa Morihisa visited Yoshishige together, they had not made any prior appointment. The former came to report on the progress of the new castle, and the latter came to report on the implementation of the land inspection. The two just happened to meet at the door.

When we arrived at "Matsuno-no-Ma", Yamamoto Shigeyuki first reported on the construction progress of the new main castle of the Takeda clan in Wakasa.

According to the previous field survey, Yoshishige and Yamamoto Shigeyuki selected Mt. Atago, located on the bank of Maizuru Bay, as the site of the new castle. This mountain is about 210 zhang (190 meters) high, with cliffs on the south and west sides, and a ridge with a gentle slope in the northeast, which connects to another mountain about zhang ( meters) high (temporarily called Atago Kitayama), forming a typical "two-mountain" system.

The northeast corner of the mountain range extends to the vicinity of Maizuru Port, adjacent to Tango Kaido. The plain at the foot of the mountain is vast, suitable for the development of a castle town. Tanabe Castle is nearby, making it convenient to control the remnants of the Isshiki clan, such as Isshiki Yoshinobu, in the city.

Shigeyuki Yamamoto suggested building the main castle on Atago Main Mountain and the secondary castle on Atago Kitayama to construct a "two-castle defense system", and to build multiple curved ramps along the mountain ridge connecting the two castles, with earthen moats on the outside to enhance the overall defense performance.

This suggestion was recognized by Yoshishige. With his full support, Yamamoto Shigeyuki completed the construction of the rope and the general request in more than half a year. When he was about to start the work, he came to report to Yoshishige on the current work. Many people think that the construction of the city is the "general request", which is actually inaccurate.

The entire castle-building process is actually divided into site selection (survey), rope arrangement, general recruitment, construction and castle town construction.

Among them, site selection, needless to say, is to consider factors such as defense, transportation, and trade to survey and select a location for building a city.

The rope stretching is the design stage, which tests the ability of the city builder. He needs to draw the configuration of the curved wheel on the blueprint and design the positions of the moats, ramparts, pass and roads. It is the prerequisite for building a city with strong defense.

The general construction is the civil engineering part of building a city, including digging and piling up earth, tamping the foundation, and building the castle tower and turrets. For a city with stone walls, the cutting, transportation, and stacking of stones are also required to lay a solid foundation for the city.

Sakuji refers to the construction phase of a castle, including the building of the castle tower, the palace, and the turrets. Even wood carving and inviting painters to paint on the sliding doors belong to this phase.

Since this link is directly related to the daily life and personal safety of the city lord, it requires more care and detail than general invitations.

Historically, at the beginning of the establishment of the Edo Shogunate, Tokugawa Ieyasu launched a "universal petition" and summoned daimyos from all over the world to build many cities.

However, few people pay attention to the fact that the division of labor among the daimyo is also based on the closeness of the relationship. The "hard work" such as general recruitment is usually given to the outside daimyo; while the work related to the safety and living comfort of the castle lord is given to the close vassal and hereditary successors, which shows the importance of this link of work.

The last step is the construction of the castle town. Ordinary people and powerful families may not have this link, but given the current size of the Wakasa Takeda clan and the emphasis they place on industry and commerce, the construction of the castle town is indispensable.

Not only is it necessary to build houses for the retainers to "live in the castle town", but it is also necessary to provide places for the townspeople (merchants, craftsmen, and ordinary people) to do business and live. The quality of the construction of these facilities determines whether the castle town can attract more merchants to gather in the early stage.

After listening to Yamamoto Shigeyuki's report, Yoshishige was very satisfied, but he still put forward a different opinion on the construction of the castle tower.

"I think a five-story, five-step castle is a bit too ostentatious. A three-story, three-step castle or a three-story, four-step castle would be enough. As for the connected castle tower, it does look magnificent, but our family does not have a practical need for it, so we should just build it as an independent castle tower." Yoshishige said.

"I understand," Yamamoto Shigeyuki replied with a bow.

Then, Kagawa Morihisa reported on the land inspection. According to him, the whole process went relatively smoothly, especially the people in Wakasa and Tsuruga, who did not overreact.

But the situation in Tango is a bit complicated. The rate of reduction from "five officials and five civilians" to "one official and two civilians" was more than 30%. Although it did not cause a big uproar, many people still hope that Yoshishige can consider it carefully, even if it is just a gradual process to give them a buffer time.

"Morihisa, what do you think?" Yoshishige wanted to hear Kagawa Morihisa's opinion first. After all, he was the one standing on the front line of the land inspection and had the most say.

"Forgive me for being frank, but if my lord still wants to carry out land inspection in Tajima, the opinions of the people of Tango must be seriously considered." Kagawa Morihisa's answer seemed to be within Yoshishige's expectations and did not surprise him.

"Tango and Tajima are both newly annexed regions, especially Tajima. In order to quickly take over the three counties, the lord agreed to some conditions for the local people who were willing to surrender. One of them was to ensure that their existing tax and annual tribute system would remain basically unchanged for a certain period of time.

This means that even if the land survey is carried out in Tajima, the tax and annual tribute reform cannot be carried out based on the land survey. As a result, Tajima still implements the "five officials and five civilians" or even "six officials and four civilians", while the neighboring Tango is "one official and two civilians". Both are Takeda territory, but there is such a huge difference. Do you think the people in Tango can accept this?"

"That's not the most important thing," Kagawa Morihisa paused, as if he was struggling over whether to say, "My lord, when I was inspecting the land in Tango, I found that many farmers in Tajima moved their families to Tango to farm after hearing that the annual tribute in Tango was low. This is not a good sign."

"Are you worried that this will reduce Tajima's annual tribute?" Yoshishige asked back.

Kagawa Morihisa nodded and said, "Not only that, the population decline will lead to problems in many areas, including military service, annual tribute, and general service. When these problems accumulate to a certain extent, they will inevitably cause dissatisfaction among the powerful families and the people of the country. By then, the impact caused will be much more difficult than land inspection."

"What you said makes sense." Yoshishige nodded slightly. His original intention was to reduce the burden on the people and weaken the strength of the powerful families in order to strengthen his authority in the territory.

But reality made him understand that such drastic reforms can only be carried out under the premise that he has full control over the situation. In areas where the situation is not yet clear or stable, it is still necessary to proceed step by step and adapt to local conditions to avoid causing unnecessary trouble.

"In this case, Kasa County in Tango near Wakasa will continue to implement 'one public and two private citizens', and the remaining areas of Tango will implement 'four public and six private citizens'. The transition period is three years, and after three years, 'one public and two private citizens' will also be implemented. As for Tajima, the land inspection will not be implemented for the time being, and the follow-up will be promoted depending on the situation."

"My lord is wise!" Yoshishige's decision made Kagawa Morihisa breathe a sigh of relief. In this way, he could give an explanation to the people of Tango, and the problem of farmers fleeing from Tajima could be alleviated to a great extent.

"Now that you have finished talking about your affairs, it's time to talk about my affairs." At this point, Yoshishige was about to get to the point.

Afterwards, he informed Yamamoto Shigeyuki and Kagawa Morihisa that the Aki Takeda clan wished to welcome someone from their family as the head of the clan, and also told them the truth about his conflict with Takeda Motomitsu over whether to send troops or not.

After hearing Yoshishige's words, Yamamoto Shigeyuki and Kagawa Morihisa both frowned and fell silent.

"Why, do you think what I did was wrong?" Yi Zhong asked.

"My lord, please forgive me for speaking frankly." Yamamoto Shigeyuki was the first to break the silence, "I think it is not a bad idea to send troops to escort Hikorokuro to Aki." (End of this chapter)