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

The so-called "Tokugawa Sixteen Godly Generals" is a collective name for the sixteen military commanders who served Tokugawa Ieyasu in history and made great contributions to the establishment of the Edo Shogunate. During the Edo period, the portraits of Tokugawa Ieyasu and the sixteen godly generals were kept in the Toshogu Shrine and revered by people, which shows their lofty status.

Among these sixteen people, Sakai Tadatsugu, Honda Tadakatsu, Sakakibara Yasumasa, and Ii Naomasa were known as the "Four Heavenly Kings of Tokugawa", and the other twelve, such as Okubo Tadayo, Torii Mototada, and Hattori Masashige, were known as the "Twelve Divine Generals".

At this time, Takagi Kiyohide and Yonezu Tsuneharu, who appeared in front of Yoshishige, were two of the relatively high-ranking "Twelve Generals".

Historically, these two men had been through many battles and participated in important battles such as the Mikawa Ikko Ikki, the Battle of Komaki and Nagakute, and the Odawara Campaign. They were deeply appreciated and trusted by Tokugawa Ieyasu, and because of their loyalty and bravery, they became objects of admiration and respect by later generations of samurai.

However, the two are only fourteen years old now. Although they are brave enough, they still need to hone their spear skills, sword skills, military tactics and character. Otherwise, such good seedlings will be wasted in Yishige's hands.

After thinking for a long time, Yoshishige sent the two men to Tango Atagoyama Castle, where they received systematic training from Yamamoto Shigeyuki and also learned more about castle-building techniques from him, hoping that they could become independent generals in the future.

Upon hearing that they were about to receive systematic training from the military advisor of the Wakasa Takeda clan, Yonezu Tsujiharu and Takagi Kiyohide were overjoyed and quickly kowtowed to Yoshishige to express their gratitude.

Sakakibara Nagamasa and Nagasaka Nobumasa also did not expect that Yoshishige would value these two young boys so much. They were surprised and happy, and kowtowed to Yoshishige to express their gratitude, thanking him for his trust in them, the Mikawa samurai who had come from afar.

"Don't thank me yet," Yoshishige motioned for everyone to stand up, and cast his eyes on Sakakibara Nagamasa and Nagasaka Nobumasa:
"Sun Julang and Jiulang, I'm afraid you don't have much time to rest. Come with me to Tajima tomorrow. As for the details, I will tell you on the way. Please take the time to settle your family and have a good sleep. The next few days will not be too comfortable."

"Ha! I obey your command." Sakakibara Nagamasa and Nagasaka Nobumasa answered in unison.

"My lord, please rest assured. Since we have come to Wakasa, we have made up our minds to serve you without fear of difficulties. If you have any questions, just tell us. We will do our best and will never let you and your family down." Sakakibara Nagamasa's tone was firm, showing his extreme respect for Yoshishige, extreme loyalty to the Wakasa Takeda clan, and extreme confidence in his own abilities.

"Yes, lord. We are warriors. Living too comfortably is a taboo. If you have any problems, just arrange them directly. I will do my best to solve your 'troubles'."

Nagasaka Nobumasa was a straight-forward person who never smiled. His only hobby was to compete with others in swordsmanship, and his greatest pleasure was to kill the enemy on the battlefield. With his approval and support, Yoshishige's confidence level went up a notch.

"It is a blessing for our Takeda clan that you two have such an attitude and determination." Yoshishige praised excitedly.

But at this moment, Yoshishige knew clearly in his heart that although these four samurai from Mikawa had made many outstanding performances in history, at this moment they were either greenhorns or emerging talents, and none of them met the standard of talent in his mind.

Therefore, the top priority is to subject them to high-intensity training so that they can grow and mature as quickly as possible, and participate in the upcoming battles in the best condition and with the most mature combat qualities.

The next morning, Yoshishige led a group of people including the "Mikawa Four Generals" from the Takeda clan's mansion and headed west, successively inspecting Atagoyama Castle, Konosumiyama Castle and Takeda Castle. Finally, on November 30th, they crossed the Enyama River and arrived at Tsurumine Castle in Keta County, Tajima.

Along the way, Yoshishige briefly informed Sakakibara Nagamasa and Nagasaka Nobumasa of the current situation facing the Takeda clan and some recent plans, hoping that the two of them could support the Yamana main family as representatives of the Wakasa Takeda clan to guard against an attack from the Inaba Yamana clan.

As for Yoshishige's request, the two men who had just joined the Takeda family had no reason to refuse, and they nodded their heads to agree. Especially Nagasaka Nobumasa, when he heard that he would participate in a national war right after arriving, "Blood Spear Kuro" immediately possessed him and begged Yoshishige to let him serve as the vanguard and have a good fight with the Inaba Yamada army.

The reason why Yoshishige asked the two men to support Yamana Yufeng was, on the one hand, considering that the two men came from far away and were unknown, they would not cause Yamana Makotochi to be overly alert, which would facilitate his actions in the later stage; on the other hand, Yoshishige also wanted to take this opportunity to test the true level of the two men to see if they were really as brave as Yunfeng Longxing said, and to set a tone for how to arrange the two men in the future.

When the group arrived at Tsurumine Castle, the appearance of the castle had changed greatly compared to when Takeda Motomitsu visited five months ago. With Yoshishige's strong support, not only were the defensive fortifications of the twin castles basically repaired, but even the castle town at the foot of the mountain had also been repaired. The entire city was thriving, which made Yoshishige very pleased.

In the castle town, Yamana Yufeng met with Yoshishige and his party in the castle lord's residence. As soon as the two sides met, before they exchanged a few words, Yamana Yufeng started complaining.

"Your Highness, you asked me to hold back the Inaba Yama clan and not agree to cede the territory to them for the time being. I did so and delayed for more than four months. Now, Samasuke is about to lose his temper and has issued an ultimatum, demanding that the 22 villages in the southern part of his foster father's county be ceded to him within the next half month, otherwise he will launch a violent attack."

Yamana Yutoyo spoke with a look of grievance, which really made Sakakibara Nagamasa and others behind Yoshishige couldn't help laughing. They could not imagine that the Yamana family, which was once prominent and powerful, would end up in such a situation. Not only did the territory shrink seriously, but even the main family was reduced to being bullied by the branch family.

"Twenty-two villages?" Yizhong frowned. "I remember, they said there were more than a dozen villages before, right?"

Yamana Youfeng nodded and replied, "It was indeed said that he wanted fifteen villages before, but a few days ago he made a huge request and directly increased the number to twenty-two. I think if we don't agree, he might take most of Yangfu County in a few days."

"It seems that he can't wait any longer and wants to use this step-by-step extreme pressure to force you to compromise as soon as possible." Yoshishige analyzed, "Based on the information I have received so far, the offensive of the Amago family in Aki is not going smoothly. Then Samasuke must want to use this time difference to force you to compromise before the Amago and Mori families decide the outcome, or in other words, before the Amago army is defeated."

"You said that the Amago army's attack in Aki was not going well?" Yamana Yufeng was very surprised: "With 33,000 troops, they couldn't even take down Yoshida-gunyama Castle?"

"Indeed, they failed to take the city. Not only that, Ouchisuke's 10,000 reinforcements have already passed through the territory of the Aki Takeda family and are approaching Yoshida-gunyama Castle. Judging from the current situation, the Amago army will either retreat on their own initiative or retreat after being defeated. There is no possibility of victory."

After hearing what Yoshishige said, Yamana Yufeng couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief: "It seems that the Inaba sasuke wants to cheat me, taking advantage of the Niwa family to bully others and get something for nothing."

"It's already December. According to the recent information from Ginzan Castle, the decisive battle between Amago and Ouchi should take place in the next few days. I'm afraid Samasuke can't help but take action." Yoshishige speculated.

"You mean, if the main family doesn't compromise with their demands, they will just send troops to take it by force?" Yamana Yu was a little surprised. "If they don't take it now, when will they take it?" Yoshishige agreed with Yamana Yufeng's speculation, "They will definitely take advantage of the big tree of the Amago family to grab as much rights as possible. Once the big tree falls, there will be no chance anymore."

"So what should we do now?" Yamana Yufeng asked anxiously, "Just wait for them to take action?"

"If we wait, who knows how long we will have to wait? Now it seems that he is being aggressive, but in fact, the initiative is in our hands." Yizhong patiently instructed: "In the next two days, you should send an envoy to Tianshen Mountain City to directly reject their request. The stronger the tone, the better."

"Are you doing this to force them to take action first?" asked Yamana Yufeng.

Yizhong nodded and said, "Whether it's for face or for practical reasons, after receiving your negative answer, it is highly likely that Samasuke will not drag it out, but use this as an excuse to send troops to Yafu County before the outcome of the battle in Aki is decided."

"Once he sends troops, we will have a reason to fight back." Yamana Yufeng understood what he meant.

"That's right. I haven't torn my relationship with the Niwa family yet, so I can't take the initiative." Yoshishige told Yamana Yufeng his plan in detail:
"First, let Sasuke have a taste of success and capture a few cities and villages. Then, you can ask for help from the main family. In this way, the main family's army can naturally participate in this battle."

"Your Highness is wise!" Yamana Yufeng hurriedly flattered after hearing this, "The repairs of our family's Tsurumine Castle have been basically completed, and Yagi Castle is also ready for battle. This time, we will never allow the Inaba Yamana army to act recklessly in Tajima like we did at the beginning of the year. I must let them see clearly who is the head of the Yamana family!"

Afterwards, Yoshishige introduced Sakakibara Nagamasa and Nagasaka Nobumasa to Yamana Yutoyo, explaining that the next counterattack against the Inaba Yamana army would be led by these two men. As for the subsequent invasion of Inaba, Yoshishige would personally fight in the battle.

At the same time, Yoshishige would also let Kumagai Takanao serve as the commander-in-chief and lead the army from Ikuno Castle into Harima to contain the Amago army stationed there.

Yamana Yufeng accepted Yoshishige's arrangement in its entirety. After all, with his current strength, it was basically a delusion to defeat or even destroy the Inaba Yamana clan. When you are under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. As long as Yoshishige still remembers the promise he made to the Inzai Four Counties, he will cooperate with him to win this battle.

Things turned out just as Yoshishige had expected. On the third day of the twelfth month, Yamana Yoshitoyo sent an envoy to Tenjinyama Castle to formally reject Yamana Masamichi's request to cede territory.

Eight days later, that is, on December 10th, Yamana Masimichi completed the mobilization of the territory. Takeda Kuninobu was still the commander, leading 2,500 troops to attack Yabu County in a mighty manner. By the end of that year, the Inaba Yamana army had captured four cities, seized 18 villages, and was about to reach the gates of Yagi Castle.

On the same day that the Inaba Yamana army set out, the Takeda army far away in Aki was also forced to move.

On the third day of December, unable to bear the repeated urging of Tao Longfang, and also in order to paralyze Niwa Akihisa, Takeda Motomitsu finally recommended Kagawa Mitsukage as the commander-in-chief and mobilized two thousand troops to follow the Ouchi army eastward to support Mori Motonari.

Three days later, under the command of Tao Takafusa, after two days of fierce fighting, reinforcements including the Takeda army finally broke through the defense line of the fierce general Yoshikawa Okiyomi, forcing the latter to flee back to the main camp of Amago Akihisa in Koyama Castle, and the encirclement leading to Yoshida-gunyama Castle was thus torn open.

On December 10, the Ouchi army arrived at the southeast of Yoshida-gunyama Castle, and Tao Takafusa set up his main camp on Sumiyoshi Mountain, where he could overlook the entire battlefield situation.

After the Ouchi army set up camp, they planted the flags of the Ouchi and Takeda clans on the hillside, and beat drums loudly in the direction where the Mori and Amago armies were facing each other to show the power of the Ouchi army, which boosted the morale of the Mori army in the besieged city.

As for the Amago army, they had set out from Izumo in the summer and were still wintering in the wild. Such a long expedition, coupled with continuous defeats, had already caused their morale to be very low. The arrival of reinforcements, especially the news that the Takeda army had turned against them, was like adding insult to injury, and some of them began to escape from the battlefield.

"Damn Takeda family, they actually betrayed our main family!" Akihisa Niwa said angrily with his teeth bared.

But no matter how angry they were, the war had to go on. Niwa Akihisa concluded that Mori Motonari and Tao Takafusa would launch a major counterattack in the next few days, so he moved the main camp from Koyama Castle to the area of ​​Aoyama and Mitsuiyama, and built three solid defense lines in front of the main camp.

The first line of defense was guarded by Takao Hisatomo and his 2,000 troops, the second line of defense was guarded by Kuro Masahisa and his 1,500 troops, and the third line of defense was guarded by Yoshikawa Oki, who had just suffered a defeat a few days ago, and his 1,000 troops.

On January 1541, , in order to better command the army, Tao Takafusa moved the main camp to Tenjinyama, which was closer to Yoshida-gunyama Castle.

On the 12th, Mori Motonari sent someone to deliver a letter to Tao Takafusa, stating that all his troops would rush out of the city the next day to attack the three lines of defense of the Amago army. He hoped that the Ouchi army would provide cover from the near side of Koriyama Castle and launch a surprise attack from behind the Amago army at an appropriate time.

Tao Takafusa readily agreed to Mori Motonari's request, and immediately prepared his troops and came to the vicinity of Yoshida-koriyama Castle to prepare to cover the Mori army.

The next morning, Mori Motonari led all his soldiers and some strong subjects, a total of about 3,000 people, and rushed out of the city under the cover of Tao Longfang. They first launched a surprise attack on the positions of the Amago army under Miyazaki Nagao, and then attacked the three lines of defense set up by Amago Akihisa.

The first and second lines of defense were quickly broken down by the fierce attack of the Mori army, but before the third line of defense, the Mori army encountered the stubborn resistance of Yoshikawa Oki. Under the brave fighting of the latter, the Mori army's forward momentum was curbed, and the soldiers were very tired after continuous fighting, so Mori Motonari had to retreat back to the city.

At this moment, taking advantage of the gap between the battle between Mori and Yoshikawa, Tao Takafusa led his army to detour behind the main camp of the Amago army.

At this time, the Nishikawa army was in a tight situation on all fronts, so a large number of reinforcements were sent from the main camp, which made its own defense weak. This created a good opportunity for Tao Longfang to attack, and the decisive battle between Ouchi and Nishikawa was about to begin. (End of this chapter)