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

On the 26th day of the first lunar month, Kamei Hidatsuna, who had finished his trip to Kamego Castle, went south to Yodoyama Castle and was warmly received by Kusakari Takatsugu.

"Noto no Kami, what was the response from Muei-den?" Kusakari Hirotsugu asked anxiously as soon as he sat down, because just a day ago, the Takeda army led by Yamagata Morinobu had captured Yoho Castle in the western part of Chito County and killed more than a hundred Kusakari defenders.

Nayuhu City is only more than 30 miles away from Dianshan City and is the last sizable city on the road leading to Dianshan City. The capture of this city means that the Takeda army will be able to reach Dianshan City in at most one day.

However, after all, Yoshishige had promised in advance to give Kusakari Hiratsugu three days to consider, so Yamagata Morinobu was not in a hurry to lead his troops to Yodoyama Castle, but instead rested for a while in Yoho Castle, waiting for Yoshishige's next instructions.

In Yodoyama Castle, when Kusakari Hirotsugu learned from Kamei Hidetsuna that Yoshishige required him to surrender, cede land and pay tribute, the already hot-tempered head of the Kusakari clan became furious. He ignored the dissuasion of his retainers and Kamei Hidetsuna and was determined to fight with Yoshishige to let him know that the Kusakari clan was not to be trifled with.

"That Takeda Hikogoro, I gave him face and called him 'Buei-den', but I didn't expect him to go even further and actually wanted me to quit Inaba?! Ridiculous! Very ridiculous!"

The more Kusakari Hengji thought about it, the angrier he became. A guy who had nothing to do with him suddenly appeared in Inaba and asked him to hand over the land that his ancestors had guarded for more than two hundred years without saying a word. How could such a thing be possible in the world?

"Your Highness, you are right to be angry. But to be honest, if you had not ignored Yamana Kingo's advice and insisted on attacking the villages and cities in Badong County, giving them an excuse, how could we have reached the stalemate we are in today?"

Kamei Hidatsuna's words immediately angered Kusakari Kōtsugu. This middle-aged military commander with a scruffy beard and a face full of flesh obviously did not think that there was anything wrong with what he did at the time:

"The Yamana family has been driven away, so the Badong County is an ownerless land. Naturally, whoever grabs it first will own it. Why should I give it to them? To put it bluntly, that Yamana Jinwu, whose territory is not as big as mine, and whose knowledge and behavior are not as good as mine, why should he give me orders?

As for that Wakasa Wuwei, he was just a small lord of Kasumi Castle at first. Now that he has finally conquered a territory of more than 200,000 koku, does he think he can be arrogant and boss me around? I, the Kusakari family, am really not afraid of him!

"The Takeda army has been on a long expedition, while our main clan is waiting for us to tire out. Their 2,000-plus men may not be able to defeat my 1,500 men. Besides, I will give the order to transfer all the remaining 800 men of Mimasaka over here. I want to see what they can do to me!"

After hearing Kusakari Hirotsugu's explosive speech, Kamei Hidatsuna could not help but feel deeply worried about the future of the Kusakari clan:

Although he had never fought against Yoshishige, through Yamana Makoto's description and the analysis of the intelligence he had collected, he firmly believed that the Takeda army was not an ordinary peasant soldier. A large part of them were veterans who had experienced the baptism of war, or regular soldiers stationed in various places who only practiced martial arts and did not farm. Their combat power should not be underestimated.
Especially the nearly 2,000 horsemen and the Red Cavalry under Yoshishige, who were unstoppable in battle. Asakura, Isshiki, and the two Yamana were all defeated.

It was really too optimistic for Kusakari Hiratsugu to rely on the existing peasant soldiers in his hands to compete with the more than 7,000 Takeda and Yamana coalition forces.

Kamei Hidetsuna did not want to see the Kusakari clan being defeated by the Takeda army and thus losing an important partner who cooperated with the Amago clan to contain the Takeda clan. Therefore, he still hoped that Kusakari Tsunetsugu could bend down a little and lower his head to Yoshishige. As long as he could go to Kamego Castle in person, the two sides might still have something to talk about.

"As the saying goes, 'a little impatience can ruin a great plan.' The morale of the Takeda army is high right now, Your Highness, there is no need to bring bad luck upon yourself. If you are willing to show some weakness to Takeshi, I believe there is still room for maneuver."

"Showing weakness? Isn't my concession enough?" Hearing Kamei Hidatsuna urging him to bow to Yoshishige, Kusakari Kotsugu became even more angry:

"I have already agreed to give him some of the villages and cities in Chito and Hatto. What else do you want me to do? In other words, Noto no Mori, what do you think I should do to turn this around?"

"Your Highness, calm down," Kamei Hidatsuna patiently advised, "If you just go to Kamehou Castle in person, I think everything will be easy to negotiate."

"Go to Guihou Castle? Submit to him?" Kusakari Hengji snorted coldly and said disapprovingly: "Who knows if I can come back after this trip? Besides, it's not that easy to make me surrender. Unless you can defeat me on the battlefield, don't even think about making me submit!"

"Your Highness, please don't act on impulse!" Seeing Kusakari Hengtsugu being so arrogant, Kamei Hidetsuna recalled the determination revealed in Yoshishige's earlier conversation with him and couldn't help but sigh pessimistically: "It seems that this battle is inevitable."

"Noto no Kami, you don't have to worry," Kusakari Hiraoka said calmly when he saw Kamei Hidatsuna sighing.

"I have been through a lot. Among the seven counties of Insaku that our family has now, four were conquered by me after I became the head. In terms of military luck, I am no worse than the Takeda family. Let me tell you something you may not like to hear. Even the Amago family did not make me submit. Are the Takeda family more powerful than the Amago family?!"

"This..." Kamei Hidatsuna couldn't help but blush when he heard it, and thought: If it were two years ago, the Wakasa Takeda family would indeed not be in the eyes of the Amago family, but now is different from the past. After the failure of the expedition to Aki, the strength of the two families has increased and decreased. Now it is really uncertain whether the Amago army can defeat the Takeda army led by Yoshishige.

"If Your Highness is determined to fight with Wuweidian, then I will not say much." Seeing that Kusakari Hengji had made up his mind, Kamei Hidatsuna said that he had important matters to attend to and had to return to Tsukiyama Tomita Castle, so he got up and said goodbye.

After descending the mountain, he looked back at Yodoyama Castle, which had protected the Kusakari clan for more than two hundred years, and then embarked on the journey back to Izumo with deep worry and uneasiness.

On the 30th day of the first lunar month, Kamei Hidatsuna arrived at Tsukiyama Tomita Castle and immediately reported the results of the meeting to the grandfather and grandson, Amago Nobunaga and Amago Akihisa.

After learning about the conditions proposed by Yoshishige and Yamana Suketoyo, Amako Akihisa was shocked and furious, saying that Yoshishige had gone too far and that he would never swallow this humiliation and allow him and Yamana Suketoyo to divide Inaba.

However, lying on the sickbed, seriously ill and skinny, Nizi Nagakuni struggled to sit up, coughing and scolding his grandson:
"What do you want to do? Are you going to send troops to retake Inaba? Given the current situation of the main family, how many troops can be mobilized? Don't we need to guard against Ouchi in the west and Mori in the south? Do we have to create an enemy in the east?"

Faced with the barrage of questioning from Niwa Nagakuni, Niwa Akihisa, who had been furious just now, suddenly fell silent. He was extremely annoyed at the moment. If he had not insisted on attacking Yoshida-gunyama Castle, he would not have ended up in this situation today.

Now that the Takeda and Yamana armies were stationed at the Inaba-Hoki border, Akihisa Niwa was unsure whether he would really break up with the two families for the Inaba-Yamana clan. The fierce words he spoke just now were just angry words. If they were really attacked from three sides, the Niwa family might not survive this year. "Grandfather, are we just going to watch them take Inaba away?" Although he recognized the current situation, Akihisa Niwa was still unwilling to give up.

"Inaba was never ours, how can we take it away?" Niko Nobuhisa asked, "Yamana Samasuke was too arrogant and gave others an opportunity to take advantage of him. Now he has lost his ability and comes to beg the main family to intervene. Let me ask you, do you think it is worth it to go out and fight against the aggressive Takeda and Yamana coalition forces for such a guy?"

"But Inaba is adjacent to Hoki after all. If we give up just like that, it will be unsettling for us to sleep and eat." Akihisa Niwa still frowned.

"So what?" Nizi smiled bitterly and helplessly:
"Aki is adjacent to Iwami, Bingo is adjacent to Izumo, and Bitchu is adjacent to Hoki. According to what you said, does our family have to conquer all these places before we can feel at ease?

I have told you before that it is better to make plans first. You cannot guarantee long-term peace by force alone. Now that you can use other people's land to exchange for peace with the Takeda and Yamana families, shouldn't you feel lucky?"

"Grandfather is right." Hearing this, Akihisa Niwa felt a little relieved, and then turned to Kamei Hidatsuna who was sitting next to him and said, "Noto no Kami, you heard it all. I have decided to agree to the conditions set by Wueden. I will no longer interfere in the affairs of Inaba, and the restoration of harmony between the two families must be put on the agenda as soon as possible."

"Ha, I obey your command. I will draft the oath and send it to Kamego Castle in the next few days." Thinking that Akihisa Niwa did not act on impulse like Kusakari Kōtsugu, Kamei Hidatsuna breathed a sigh of relief.

"What should we say to Yamana Samasuke?" Kamei Hidatsuna asked again out of concern.

"Explain? Ahem, this is a matter between the main family and the Takeda family. What is there to explain to him?" Niko Nobuyuki coughed twice and said breathlessly:

"You, go tell him that if he is willing, he can stay in Tsukiyama Tomita Castle, and the family will treat him with courtesy. If he still wants to retake Inaba, then let him go. I want to see if this Inaba guardian has the courage and ability to snatch back this piece of fat meat from the mouth of the Takeda family."

At this point, Niwa Nobunaga recalled what he had told Niwa Akihisa before: "Have the troops in Harima, Bizen, and Mimasaka been withdrawn?"

"This..." Niko Akihisa stammered, "Not yet."

"What on earth are you thinking?" Niwa Nobunaga said with displeasure, "If we don't withdraw the troops there, how can we resist the attack of Ouchi and Mori with the current garrison of Izumo Hoki?"

"But grandfather, those three states were conquered by me after all... I really can't bear to let them go." Akihisa Niwa responded with embarrassment.

"After all the hard work, you think I don't know how much of the land in these three states actually belongs to our family? Less than 20%, right? Most of the land and cities are still in the hands of those fence-sitters, right?

When you were approaching with a large army, they had no choice but to submit to you. Now that our family has suffered such a great defeat, do you expect them to still support you?
Rather than leaving the army there, wasting food and supplies and living in fear all day long, it is better to withdraw them to the base area to ensure that Izumo and Hoki are not lost.

Remember, as long as these two states are still in our hands, you will have a chance to make a comeback. The more critical the moment, the more you need to see the situation clearly. Don't put the cart before the horse, and don't give up the immediate interests and lose the foundation of the country. "

"I understand. I'll order them to withdraw their troops now." Under repeated persuasion from Amago Nagahisa, Amago Akihisa finally made up his mind to give up the three countries of Harima, Bizen and Mimasaka which he had held for only three years, and withdraw the Amago troops stationed there back to Izumo as soon as possible.

Immediately afterwards, Kamei Hidatsuna reported to the grandfather and grandson, Amago Nobuhisa, about the process and final outcome of the mission to the Kusakari clan.

When he learned that Kusakari Hirotsugu had rejected the conditions proposed by the Takeda and Yamana families, Amago Akihisa could not help but praise him: "As expected of a powerful countryman who owns the seven counties of Insaku, he has such confidence and courage."

"Do you think that Kusakari Kaga-no-kami's decision to confront the Takeda-Yamana coalition is a manifestation of his confidence and courage?" Like Kamei Hidatsuna, Amago Nobunaga was not optimistic about Kusakari Kotsugu's decision. "A true man is one who can bend and stretch. Kaga-no-kami is probably risking the Kusakari family name by doing this."

"I think grandfather can rest assured about this. I have seen the fighting power of the Kusakari clan. Besides, the Takeda army has gone on a long expedition, and it is hard to say who will win or lose." Perhaps because he suffered losses during the Eastern Expedition, Akihisa Niwa had a very high opinion of the Kusakari clan led by Kusakari Tsunetsugu.

"The winner and loser will soon be revealed." Having said that, Nizi Nagakuni lay down again, ending the secret conversation between the three people on the pretext that he needed to rest.

Two days later, on the first day of February, Kamei Hidatsuna set out from Tsukiyama Tomita Castle with an oath with the seal of Amago Akihisa and headed for Inaba Kamego Castle again, planning to exchange an oath with Yoshishige in order to formally achieve reconciliation between the Amago and Takeda families.

At the same time, the order to withdraw troops back to Izumo was quickly transmitted to the three countries of Mimasaka, Bizen and Harima. The Amago armies of the three countries began to pack up and set off to return. The surrounding forces followed closely and began to scramble to fill the "power vacuum" that appeared in the local area after the Amago army retreated.

Kumagai Takanao and Shirai Mitsutane, who were in Ikuno Castle, also led their troops along the Ichikawa River Valley (Tajima Road) into northern Harima according to the previously agreed plan, and successively captured the castles of Teramae and Kashiwayama in Kansai County, and Kusaki and Haga in Shishia County.

The army then continued to move south, defeating the local Nagara clan and Rise clan at Inariyama Castle and Nabeshima Castle respectively, forcing the Nagara clan to surrender, thus basically gaining a foothold in the Banboku region.

On the eighth day of the first lunar month, the Rise clan, whose castle was seized, asked for help from the powerful Uno clan in western Harima. The head of the Uno clan and lord of Nagamizu Castle, Unomura Yori, led a thousand troops to fight the Takeda army at Yamazaki. The battle lasted until the afternoon of the next day, when the Uno army was the first to be defeated and retreated to Nagamizu Castle in a hurry after losing several generals.

The Uno clan originated from the Akamatsu clan, and once served as the guardian of Harima West and East together with the Bessho clan. Unfortunately, their status declined day by day. Unlike the powerful Bessho clan, the Uno clan only controlled the area around Shishia Nagamizu Castle. When Amago Akihisa invaded Harima, Unomura Yoshitsugu knew that he was no match for him, so he surrendered to him.

However, as the Amago army withdrew from Harima, Unomura Yoshi's restless heart began to stir again. He began to seek control over the entire Shishiso County. Who would have thought that he would run into the Takeda army led by Kumagai Takashige who came all the way from Tajima. (End of this chapter)