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

Chapter 17 Tango Joins in the Fun
Asakura Takakage felt that Asakura Munetoki was too cautious. With the strength of the Asakura family, it would not be a problem to capture a small Kuniyoshi Castle. However, out of respect for his great uncle, he agreed to his conditions. If the city was not captured within a month, the army would withdraw to Echizen.

"Master, this is the first step for our family to move into a new era. Please don't let me down." Asakura Takakage bowed to Asakura Soteki solemnly.

Asakura Sotsuki said calmly: "I will do my best. Regardless of success or failure, everything is destined by fate."

Compared with Asakura Takakage's confidence and high spirits, Tango, a neighboring country of Wakasa, had a fierce dispute internally over how to treat the Takeda clan next.

Tango Province is located in the Sanin Road. It is named Tango because it is behind Tamba. To its southwest is Tajima Province, to its southeast is Tamba Province, to its east is Wakasa Province, and to the north is the Sea of ​​Japan. It has five counties under its jurisdiction: Kasa, Yosa, Naka, Takeno, and Kumano. The country is mainly mountainous, but the sea transportation is convenient and the products are relatively abundant.

At this time, the daimyo who nominally controlled Tango was the famous Isse clan.

The ancestor of the Isshiki clan was Isshiki Munemiya, the son of Ashikaga Yasushi. Because the Isshiki area of ​​Kirarasho in Mikawa Province was his home province, he used Isshiki as his surname. He was initially appointed as the Kyushu Tandai, and later returned to the surrounding areas of Kinai, where he obtained the governorship of Wakasa, Tango, Ise, Shima, Mikawa Province, and two counties of Owari Province, becoming the most powerful at the time.

At the same time, the Isshiki clan served as the Samurai-sho-shoshi of the Muromachi shogunate, and was the head of the "four positions", and was highly valued by the shogunate. When Ashikaga Yoshimitsu followed the example of the five regents and seven seika families of the nobility and established the "three positions" and "seven heads" of the samurai, the Isshiki clan, as a branch of the Ashikaga clan, also joined them and enjoyed a respected status.

During the reign of Isshiki Yoshitsugu, he was killed by Takeda Nobuyoshi on the orders of Ashikaga Yoshinori because of his opposition to the shogun. This greatly weakened the ruling power of the Isshiki clan, and the feud between the Isshiki clan and the Wakasa Takeda clan began.
Later, the Isshiki clan fought several wars with the Takeda clan, and Takeda Motonobu even served as the guardian of Tango for a time. In the end, the Isshiki clan's territory was divided up by the Hosokawa clan and the Takeda clan, and they could only barely control Tango.

After the 14th head of the Isshiki clan, Yoshikiyo, passed away, the main bloodline of the Isshiki clan was cut off. The guardian Nobunaga clan supported Isshiki Yoshiyuki, who was from a common family, to inherit the family business. In fact, they used him as a puppet and made him a tool for Nobunaga clan to gain real power in Tango.

The situation at that time was that the shugo daimyo Nobunaga clan controlled the area around Tango Fuchu Castle, while the Kaetsu Ishikawa clan, the Miyazu Ogura clan, the Kumihama Iga clan and other local people divided up Tango and ruled it. The nominal shugo daimyo Isshiki Yoshiyuki only controlled part of the western part of Kasa County and could only take care of himself in his own castle, Kenbeyama Castle, and sigh as he watched the fragmented Tango Kingdom.

After the efforts of three generations, Takeda Motonobu, Takeda Motomitsu, and Takeda Nobutoyo, the Takeda clan's strategy of conquering Tango made some success. The area in the eastern part of Kasa County centered on Kurahashi Castle was occupied by the Takeda clan, and the important retainer Shirai Mitsutane was appointed as the governor of Kasa County.

Upon hearing that Nobushige had become the new head of the Wakasa Takeda clan, Isshiki Yoshiyuki felt that it was time to recover the territories occupied by the Takeda clan. However, he was short of food, fodder, and soldiers, so on the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month of the seventh year of Tenbun, he summoned powerful figures such as the shugodai, powerful clans, and local people to the Takebeyama Castle to discuss the matter of sending troops.

Unexpectedly, as soon as Isshiki Yoshiyuki made this proposal, it was strongly opposed by everyone.

The first person to jump out and oppose was Ishikawa Naomasa, the lord of Kayetsu Castle. This man's ancestors also followed the ancestors of the Isshiki clan in the south and north, and finally settled in Tango. As an important minister of the hereditary generation, he should have followed the lead of Isshiki Yoshiyuki, but in the context of "the lord is weak and the minister is strong", he did not give him any face and directly said:

"The Takeda clan has been in turmoil for more than once. The lord has also taken the opportunity to send troops to Wakasa, but they have not gained anything. On several occasions, they suffered heavy casualties and were counterattacked by the Takeda army into Tango. This time, I think the Takeda clan has not been damaged, so it is not appropriate to send troops rashly."

Although his analysis sounded logical, Ishikawa Naomasa had other plans in mind: the Ishikawa clan's sphere of influence was located in the heart of Tango Province. Even if he sent troops to help Isshiki Yoshiyuki retake Kasa County, there were still several forces between this part of the land and his main castle, so it was impossible for him to own it. In this case, why should he mobilize so many troops and make wedding clothes for others?

Ishikawa Naomune was not the only one who held this idea. Local forces such as Iga Bichu-no-kami, the lord of Sanfen Castle, and Ogura Genbanyoshi, the lord of Miyazu Castle, also opposed the dispatch of troops for various reasons.

After all the discussions, only the shugodai Nobue Harunobu supported Isshiki Yoshiyuki, which greatly moved the latter.

"The Takeda clan has never given up its ambition to seize Tango. In the past twenty years that the Takeda clan has held East Kasa County, whenever they have sent troops, they have always used this place as an outpost to gather troops and store food and grass. For a long time, the flames of war have been raging in our Tango territory, causing our country, especially the eastern part, to suffer from commercial decline, farmland to be abandoned, and the people to suffer.

This time, the reason why I agreed to send troops is that I hope to recover Tango, rescue the people of Kasa County, and at the same time spread the flames of war to Wakasa, so that the Takeda clan will know that the people of Tango are not easy to mess with, and they should not have any unreasonable thoughts about Tango in the future. "

"I am very pleased that you are so wise and work so hard for the country." When Nobunaga Harunobu was speaking, Isshiki Yoshiyuki nodded to him repeatedly to show his approval. His mood could be described as overjoyed. After all, he had always been a puppet, but he could get the support of the most powerful local force in Tango in this major event. There was still great hope for him to recover the lost territory.

"I am the Tango Shugodai. I do this for the people and the Isshiki family. It is my duty and obligation." Yan Yongchun Nobuyuki was so righteous that it really confused the others present.

"However, I hope that you gentlemen can also share the lord's worries and not let the Takeda clan look down on us Tango people." After saying this, Nobunaga Harunobu looked at Isshiki Yoshiyuki who was sitting at the top of the hall. The latter was stunned for a moment, and then he understood:

"Since Lord Yanyong has taken the lead in responding, won't you all follow suit?"

"This……"

Ishikawa Naoki and others looked at each other, embarrassed but unable to refuse. After all, Nobunaga Harunobu's sphere of influence was in the western part of Tango, and he had volunteered to go into battle. So those of them in the central part had no reason to refuse.

"What is this guy Harunobu up to? Even if he takes over Higashigasa County, it will be the neighboring Isshiki Yoshiyuki who will get the benefit. He is far away in Fuchu Castle, what benefit can he get?" Everyone had this question in their minds.

Of course, Nobunaga Harunobu is not a fool. How could he do a losing business and let Isshiki Yoshiyuki, a puppet, reap the benefits?

He agreed to send troops for three reasons:

First, he wanted to test the strength of Nobushige, the new head of the Takeda clan. If he was a good-for-nothing, he would naturally have to take back Higashikasa County and make great contributions to consolidate his position and reputation as the Tango Shugodai; if he really had some strategies and talents, then this battle would be considered as a way to find out the Takeda clan's bottom line, which was not a loss, and it could be regarded as a direction for subsequent actions.

Secondly, it consumed the power of other local forces. Although Nobunaga Harunobu was a shugodai, he was not a hereditary shugodai of the Isshiki clan, but an "outsider" who was supported by Takeda Motonobu when he invaded Tango many years ago. Although he later betrayed the Takeda clan and gained the trust of the Isshiki clan to continue serving as shugodai, he did not fully gain the respect and recognition of those hereditary shugodai, local powerful families, and people from the country.

Especially the Ishikawa, Kokura, and Iga families, they were all hereditary retainers who followed the Isshiki clan to Kyushu in the west and Mikawa in the east. They had long looked down on Nobunaga Harunobu. In order to consolidate their prestige, they had to teach them a lesson. But the reality was that although Nobunaga Harunobu was ahead in strength, he could not defeat the combined strength of the three families, so he did not dare to take action.

This expedition gave Nobunaga Harunobu a great opportunity to weaken the three families. By standing on the side of Isshiki Yoshiyuki, he took the lead in grasping the righteous cause. After all, the three families were retainers of Isshiki, so they could only agree to send troops together. In this way, the expedition would greatly weaken the strength of the army regardless of victory or defeat, and the initiative would be firmly in the hands of Nobunaga Harunobu.

Finally, there is the actual issue of territory. Higashigaza County is where Nobunaga Harunobu made his fortune, and he has a special feeling for this land. The Tango Peninsula where Fuchu Castle is located is across the sea from Higashigaza County. If he takes this place back, he can completely control this land through sea transportation, and there will be no "enclave" problem that other local forces are worried about.

Therefore, Isshiki Yoshiyuki's good wish, that is, to gain the right to rule the entire Kasa County, was doomed to fail. In the eyes of Nobunaga Harunobu, a puppet should have the awareness of a puppet, and any unrealistic fantasy is ridiculous and dangerous.

With the above three reasons, Nobunaga Harunobu decided to respond to Isshiki Yoshiyuki's call to go to the battle. Poor Isshiki Yoshiyuki thought it was his own personal charm that worked.

"Since the shugo and shugo deputie have agreed to send troops, how dare we, the retainers, disobey?" Ishikawa and others said with a wry smile.

"That's great!" Isshiki Yoshiyuki slapped his thigh heavily, stood up excitedly, and said loudly: "Then I will be the general commander of this battle, and Lord Nobunaga will be the military commissioner. The other lords will perform their duties and prepare the troops and food supplies as soon as possible. This time we must teach the Takeda clan a lesson!"

The Isse clan was not united, and the news of the expedition to East Kasa County soon reached Shirai Mitsutane. This veteran general, who had been leading the attack on Tango since the time of Takeda Motonobu, realized the seriousness of the matter and immediately sent people back to Wakasa to ask Nobushige for help.

On the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, with only three days left until the New Year, two letters asking for help lay on the heavy desk.

"Call for an assessment. A storm is coming."

Some friends hope that Xiong Zai can update twice a day, but Xiong Zai really doesn't have the energy, and I'm really sorry for everyone. But Xiong Zai has written as much as possible, and I hope everyone can read more. At the current stage of the new book, please try not to save a few chapters before reading, as this will affect the recommendation, please forgive me.

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(End of this chapter)