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

After sending Takeda Nobuharu away, Yoshishige turned around and looked at Takeda Motomitsu, curiously asking, "Shimono-no-kami is in such a hurry to go back, there must be something wrong, right?"

Takeda Motomitsu sighed helplessly and replied: "I thought that after repelling the attack of the Amago army, peace would return to Aki, but this is not the case."

"Didn't you tell me a few days ago that after this battle, the Takeda family in Aki gained many cities and territories, and its power increased significantly?" Yoshishige asked curiously.

"Yes, we have indeed gained a lot of territory," Takeda Motomitsu nodded and confirmed:

"With the support of Ouchisuke, the Takeda family gained control over the three counties of Sadō, Annan, and Anboku, and seized Hinoyama Castle from Yoshikawa Osamu, who supported the Amago family, and drove him to Ogurayama Castle, gaining control over most of Yamagata County. In addition, Ouchisuke also gave up Kagamiyama Castle, allowing the Takeda family's power to re-enter Kamo County."

Kagamiyama Castle was originally an important stronghold for the Ouchi clan to control Aki. In 1523, the Amago and Ouchi families fought fiercely over the ownership of Kagamiyama Castle. Due to the participation of Mori Motonari, Kagamiyama Castle was once seized by Amago. Later, due to the conflict between Amago and Mori, Mori Motonari once again submitted to the Ouchi clan and helped Ouchi Yoshioki to recapture Kagamiyama Castle.

After that, in order to compete for the control of Aki and Bingo, Ouchi Yoshitaka and Niwa Nobuhisa and Akihisa often fought fiercely over Kagamiyama Castle until Tozaki Castle was conquered by the Ouchi and Mori coalition forces. Kagamiyama Castle has always been the center of Ouchi's rule over Aki.

Upon learning that Ouchi Yoshitaka had given up Kagamiyama Castle, Yoshishige was quite surprised: "Although I am not very familiar with Amaki, the importance of Kagamiyama Castle is, as far as I know, very important. Handing over this castle to the Takeda family should be considered a gesture of favor from Ouchi, right?"

"That's what I thought at first," Takeda Motomitsu replied.

“But when I learned that Ouchisuke had built Tsuchiyama Castle in central Kamo, I realized that the so-called goodwill was just a facade.

"I went to Kagamiyama Castle to see it in person. It's not very high, and it's surrounded by the Mori clan's territory. Compared to Tsuchiyama Castle, which has a high fortress and a deep moat, it's easier to attack than to defend. Ouchisuke gave up this castle, not so much to show goodwill, but to let the Takeda family keep an eye on the gate for him to prevent the Mori Umato's power from extending further south."

"Not only that, you should know the Kumagai family in Takamatsu Castle, right?" asked Takeda Motomitsu.

Yoshika nodded: "He is the former Takeda retainer who was the first to betray the Takeda family and make peace with Mori Ubato, right?"

"That's right. Their leader, Kumagai Izu-no-kami, defeated the Takeda expeditionary army in the Battle of Yokogawa Omote and completely separated from the Takeda family. He also joined the Kokumin Alliance led by the Mori family and became enemies with the Takeda family.

But even knowing this situation, Ouchisuke still handed over the control of Anbei County where Takamatsu Castle is located to the Takeda family, and asked Kumagai Izu-no-kami to submit to the Takeda family again. Do you think this is also a gesture of goodwill to the Takeda family?"

Hearing this, Yoshishige did become alert: "What Ouchisuke is doing will not make the Kumagai family sincerely obey the Takeda family. Instead, it will arouse the displeasure of the Mori family and intensify the conflict between the Mori and Takeda families."

"That's right." Takeda Motomitsu affirmed:

"Let the main family occupy Kagamiyama Castle and block the way for the Mori family to move south; let Kumagai Izu no Kami-sama, who is friendly with the Mori family, succumb to the Takeda clan to intensify the conflict between the two families. How long do you think the peace in Aki can last under such circumstances?"

"According to what you said, the Mori clan should be even more angry. After all, in the battle at the beginning of the year, Mori Ubato made the greatest contribution, but he did not get the due reward." Yoshishige speculated, "I think that Ouchisuke did this not to target the Takeda clan, but to guard against the Mori clan."

"My father thinks so too. In the battle of Yoshida-gunyama Castle, although Mori Ubato's military talent was fully demonstrated, it also aroused Ouchisuke's vigilance.

After all, under the leadership of Umato, the Mori family was wavering between the Ouchi and Amago families. If he really became powerful, there would still be great risks. In this case, the main family must be used as a rein to tie the wild horse of Umato firmly to Takata County, so that he could not move easily. "

"Yes, no one wants a wild horse to run away from their side." Yoshishige nodded confidently, "But there is another possibility, that is, Ouchisuke wants to take advantage of the intensified conflict between the Takeda and Mori families to prevent the local forces in Aki from uniting and confronting the outside world, so as to consolidate the Ouchi family's rule in Aki."

"This is also very possible." Takeda Motomitsu smiled helplessly:
"The Takeda family was the guardian of the Aki branch county and had a long-standing reputation in the local area, especially in Western Aki. Under the leadership of Ubato, the Mori family successively conquered the Shishido family of Goryū Castle, the Kumagai family of Takamatsu Castle, and the Amano family of Yoneyama Castle, and eliminated the Takahashi family of Takahashi Castle, and became the only powerful family in Eastern Aki.

In this case, Ouchisuke definitely does not want the two families to reach peace, and then unite to exclude the pro-Ouchi family forces and completely separate Aki from the Ouchi family. Therefore, he deliberately adds some obstacles to both families so that the situation of Aki unification will never occur. "

Yoshishige believed it and said, "Ever since Lord Motoshige was defeated by the Mori Izu-no-kami in the battle of Arita Nakaide more than 20 years ago, the two families have been at loggerheads, and it is basically impossible for them to unite against the enemy. But Ouchisuke was still worried and took multiple measures to prevent the problem. It can be seen that the growth of Takeda and Mori has become a problem that the Ouchi family cannot ignore."

"Then could it be that Shimotsuke's hasty return to Ginzan Castle this time is also related to the Mori family?" Yoshishige continued to ask curiously.

"This time it doesn't have much to do with the Mori family. It's mainly because the long-standing maritime conflicts between the Noma family of Yano Castle and the Shirai family of Ninho Castle are irreconcilable, which triggered a large-scale maritime conflict and seriously disrupted the order of the western waters of Aki. That's why Shimono-no-machi hurried back to Aki to coordinate and deal with the matter." Takeda Motomitsu replied.

The Shirai family of Niho Castle and the Noma family of Yano Castle were both active naval forces in western Aki and around Miyajima. The difference is that the former was the Keigoshu of the Takeda clan of Aki, or more commonly known as the "imperial navy", and the current head was Shirai Fusatane.

The latter are the Keigoshu, who are relatively independent and nominally subordinate to the Ouchi clan. The close relationship between this clan and the Ouchi clan can be seen from the names of their two most recent heads, Noma Okikatsu and Noma Takashige.

As a reward to the Takeda clan of Aki, Ouchi Yoshitaka confirmed their control over Annan County, so the Noma clan became a vassal of the Takeda clan of Aki. However, the current head, Noma Takashi, believed that the Takeda clan of Aki often favored the Shirai clan in maritime disputes, so he was unwilling to be dominated by them. In addition, Noma Takashi's wife was the daughter of Kumagai Nobunao, who often persuaded him.

Therefore, Noma Takazane pretended to obey Takeda Nobumasa's orders and turned a blind eye to them. He refused to recognize the sphere of influence of Shirai and Noma on the sea as demarcated by the Takeda clan of Aki. He often entered the Shirai clan's waters to collect "jinggu rai" (tolls) from passing ships, and the two sides often fought over this.

Not long ago, the two sides once again went to war over a dispute at sea. Noma Takashige even sent troops to burn down the Shirai clan's important stronghold, Debari Castle, which greatly intensified the scale of the conflict. Shirai Fusatoshi led his army to besiege Yano Castle. After suffering several defeats outside the city, Noma Takashige was forced to besiege the city. At the same time, he sent people to Ouchi-kan to ask Ouchi Yoshitaka for help.

However, Ouchi Yoshitaka was not stupid. He knew that the Noma clan was at fault in this matter, so he did not send troops to rescue.

But after all, he had served the Ouchi clan, so Ouchi Yoshitaka still wrote a letter to Takeda Nobumasa, telling him that Shirai and Noma were now retainers of the Aki Takeda clan, and that he had to show the courage of a lord to reconcile the conflict between the two families. If this could not be done, the Ouchi clan would consider taking back the Takeda clan's control over Annan County.

However, Takeda Nobumasa was an "airborne" leader after all, and his ability and prestige were very limited. He tried to coordinate many times, but both the Shirai and Noma families refused to give in, which made the situation very unfavorable for the Takeda family.

Under this circumstance, Takeda Nobumasa had no choice but to send someone to invite Takeda Shigekiyo to return to Aki, hoping that he could use his prestige within the Takeda clan and his connections in the Shirai and Noma families to resolve the dispute and prevent the Annan County, which he had just acquired, from being taken away by Ouchi Yoshitaka on some pretext.

After listening to Takeda Motomitsu's introduction, Yoshishige felt that the life of the Takeda clan in Aki was not much more comfortable now than before the invasion of the Amago clan.

"The Takeda family is now sandwiched between the Ouchi and Mori clans, with the Yoshikawa clan to the northeast, the remnants of the Amago clan in Iwami to the north, and the waters to the south are not peaceful either. It seems that the situation around the Takeda family has not improved."

"It's really not optimistic." Takeda Yuanguang nodded slightly, but then smiled bitterly:

"We should always think positively. Although we have to be cautious on all sides, our territory has more than doubled compared to before the attack by the Amago army, and we have gained control over an additional county. Isn't this something to be thankful for?

Of course, the most important thing is that the Takeda family has now occupied a place in Ouchisuke's heart and has become an important force to check the expansion of the Mori family in Aki. It can be said that as long as the Mori family is still there, the Takeda family will not be in danger. This kind of "security guarantee" can be said to be very solid. "

"Father is right." Yoshishige agreed with Takeda Motomitsu's analysis. "I'll trouble you to take care of Aki. Since Shimono-no-machi has gone back first, you can stay in Atagoyama for a while. It's a good opportunity to take a good look at Gentaro. The little guy has grown strong now."

"Haha, of course." When talking about his eldest grandson, Takeda Motomitsu's eyebrows suddenly lit up, and his eyes narrowed into slits: "If it weren't for seeing Gentaro, I wouldn't bother to come back. The journey was really bumpy."

"Then you can go there by yourself later. I won't accompany you." Yoshishige bowed to Takeda Motomitsu and said, "His Highness the stablemaster of Kai is going to see Amanohashidate today and visit Wakasa to enjoy the night view of Obama. Before he leaves, I think it is necessary to give him a farewell party."

"Why, from what you said, he doesn't seem to be in a hurry to return to Kai?" asked Takeda Motomitsu.

Yizhong nodded: "You should have heard it at the banquet that day. He really wants to stay in our family for a while. Now that he has proposed it, I can't refuse it."

"It's really hard to refuse, but..." Takeda Motomitsu paused halfway through his speech:
"I always feel like something is wrong. As far as I know, the Kai Takeda family doesn't seem to be at peace right now. Jingzhao particularly likes his youngest son, Dianju. There are rumors that he even plans to depose the eldest son and enthronize the youngest son, and pass the position of family head to Dianju. For this reason, the retainers have split into two factions... It's really strange that he is not in a hurry to go back now, but wants to stay in the main family instead."

"Do you think there is a hidden reason for him to stay in the family?" In fact, as early as after the banquet that day, Yoshishige had already had the answer in his mind for Takeda Nobuyuki's unusual behavior. Seeing that Takeda Motomitsu also noticed something strange, he wanted to hear his opinion and see if the father and son were "in tune with each other".

"I heard that the two stablemen brothers have a good relationship. Considering the undercurrents in Kai now, I think that he seems to be deliberately avoiding something by doing this... Or maybe something big will happen in Kai soon..."

After hearing what Takeda Motomitsu said, Yoshishige remained calm on the surface, but was actually very surprised: even though he had a "God's perspective", it still took him a long time to think before he could come up with the answer, but he could deduce to this extent from just a few clues, which was truly admirable.

"Hikogoro," Takeda Motomitsu suddenly called out Yoshishige's childhood name with a sad look on his face, not knowing what he was thinking of, "Please take some time to go see your brother. You haven't seen each other for more than two years."

"Why did you suddenly mention him?" Yi Zhong was stunned.

"Nothing. I was originally talking about the Kai Takeda family, but somehow I thought of your brother." Takeda Motomitsu pursed his lips and sighed.
"Born in troubled times, it's not uncommon for brothers to fight and fathers and sons to kill each other. There was the Aburagawa Rebellion in Kai and the Miyagawa Rebellion in the main family. I always feel that there is a kind of bad luck that repeats itself in the Takeda family... Fortunately, you didn't do anything cruel to your brother. For this reason, your father is still very grateful to you."

"You said that..." Yoshishige finally understood why Takeda Motomitsu said that, and then said to him: "Brother is not a bad person, at most his ambition does not match his ability. Don't worry, as long as he stays in the temple, I will not make things difficult for him. After Hikojiro (Takeda Nobutoyo's legitimate son) comes of age, I will also entrust him with important tasks according to the situation."

"Hearing you say that, I feel much better." Takeda Motomitsu smiled again, "Hikojiro is fifteen years old this year, right? It's time for him to have his coming of age ceremony."

"Yes, but the guy doesn't seem to be willing to fight with swords and guns. Instead, he is very interested in business. Some time ago, he was clamoring to go to Sakai Port with Hikohachiro (Imai Hisahide) to sell seafood." Yoshishige replied.

"Is that so... This might not be a bad thing for him." Takeda Motomitsu responded. (End of this chapter)