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

Chapter 2: Anticipate the enemy first
On the eighteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, late at night, the lights inside and outside Xiamei Castle were brightly lit. Some of the soldiers guarding the city were alert with naginatas in their hands, while others stood solemnly with spears in their hands. Although they were feeling sleepy, they did not dare to slack off.

As usual, Nobushige was leading more than a dozen horsemen to inspect the city defenses. As a small lord, Kasumi Castle implemented "flat management", and the so-called family elders, evaluation people, and horsemen were all shouldered by these dozen people. The relationship between Nobushige and them was both that of a monarch and a subject, and also that of a brother.

Some of the stable boys around him were childhood friends, some were warriors selected from the Takeda and Kumagai armies, and some were the best who had been selected from the jisaeng (lower-level samurai). Although they came from different backgrounds, they all had one thing in common: loyalty.

Among them, Matsumiya Kiyonaga and Kagawa Morihisa were the most trusted and respected.

Matsumiya Kiyonaga, two years older than Nobushige, was the illegitimate son of Kumakawa Matsumiya; Kagawa Morihisa, the same age as Nobushige, was the second legitimate son of Asono Kagawa. The two accompanied Nobushige to Kenninji to practice since childhood, and could be considered childhood friends and close friends.

Xinzhong knew that in this chaotic world, emotions were unreliable, and only interests could win people's hearts to the greatest extent. It was precisely because of this that he trusted these two people more. After all, they were in the same situation as himself: normally they could not inherit the family business, and could only serve as their brother's retainers for the rest of their lives.

However, in the turbulent times when "the lower class rebelled against the upper class", how could anyone with a little ambition suppress his wild ambitions and be willing to serve as a minister? Therefore, rather than saying that it was Xinzhong's personal charm that brought them together, it was better to say that they gathered together for warmth, achieved each other, and sought a little hope for their future.

Walking on the small road outside the city, Matsumiya Kiyonaga and Kagawa Morihisa followed closely behind Nobushige. When they reached a secluded place, Kagawa Morihisa nudged Matsumiya Kiyonaga with his elbow and winked at him. The latter understood and after hesitating for a while, he quickly walked to Nobushige's side and whispered, "My lord, since you came to Kasumi Castle, you have been on high alert every day, and the soldiers are also ready to fight at any time. If this continues, I'm afraid..."

"I know that, but please hold on." Although Nobushige knew that there would be a great turmoil in the Takeda family in the seventh year of Tenbun, he was not a historian after all, and he did not know exactly when Takeda Nobutaka started his rebellion. The only way to deal with the upcoming changes was to maintain a state of readiness to attack at any time.

"I really don't understand why the lord asked us to keep a close eye on Gongchuandian. He is an important official of the family, with extensive power and a large number of troops. Even if he has ill intentions, he is not something the family can contend with."

On the lookout that day, Kagawa Morihisa had raised a similar question, but was brushed off by Nobushige with a "secret cannot be revealed". Now he raised it again, he really couldn't hold it in. You know, if the news of maintaining combat readiness in a non-wartime state spread to Gozeyama Castle, he would be accused of having ulterior motives. By then, it would not be Takeda Nobutaka but Nobushige who would be criticized.

"This..." Xinzhong was speechless for a moment when being questioned to this point. Of course, he could not tell everyone the truth, but in order to calm them down, he really had to find a suitable reason.

At this moment, a burst of rapid horse hoof sounds came from far away, like a muffled thunder, breaking the silence of the night and making everyone nervous. The horsemen gripped the hilts of their swords with their right hands and instantly assumed a fighting stance.

"It looks like Shigegoro!" The sharp-eyed Makai recognized that the person was Kumagai Katsunao's fifth son, Kumagai Takanao, and hurriedly shouted loudly, fearing that he might hurt his own people by mistake.

In a blink of an eye, a black-armored warrior tightened the reins with a "whoosh", dismounted swiftly, took two steps at a time and knelt in front of Xinzhong: "My lord, just as you expected, half an hour ago, Gongchuan led his troops out of the city!"

"The lord is truly a god, Miyagawa-dono has indeed taken action!" At this moment, everyone admired Nobushige's ability to foresee the future, but the surprise on their faces was replaced by astonishment in an instant: although Nobushige had already given them a shot of prevention, they were still a little at a loss when they learned that Takeda Nobutaka had indeed raised an army.

"How many troops did you find out will follow him out of the city?" Ignoring the flattery of the crowd, Nobushige was eager to know how many people would follow Takeda Nobutaka out of the city this time.

"Based on the number of torches, I estimate that there are about 500 people!"

“Five hundred men!” Kagawa Morihisa gasped, “Miyagawa-dono has gone all out! My lord, should we gather the troops now…” “No hurry,” Nobushige became calm at this moment. He shook his head and said, “We still have to wait for news from the direction of Komura Castle. We must not act rashly without knowing the movements of Ukyo Ryo (Awaya Mototaka). By the way, Shigegoro, you must rush back to Okura now and bring me the two hundred troops promised by your father-in-law as agreed!”

"Ha, as you command!" After saying that, Kumagai Takashige bid farewell to Xinzhong, turned his horse around and disappeared into the night.

Earlier, Nobushige had a secret talk with Kumagai Katsunao, who promised to lend him the 200 troops from Okurami Castle if Nobushige needed them. Of course, this was not all the troops of the Kumagai clan, they still had nearly 300 troops in Mikata Castle, which was also the confidence of Kumagai Katsunao to sit firmly on the throne of the "Four Heavenly Kings of Takeda".

Miyagawa Castle is located between Gozeyama Castle and Kasumi Castle, and is only a dozen miles away from both. Information can be transmitted more quickly. On the other hand, Omura Castle is located at the western edge of Toshiki County, and is blocked by high mountains. It takes more time for the flying kick to deliver the message. But Nobushige believes that since Takeda Nobutaka has already sent troops because they are close, Awaya Mototaka must have already reached Gozeyama Castle. Now all that is left is the final confirmation from the flying kick.

In the morning, there were scattered snowflakes in the sky. The three-day heavy snow finally stopped. The mountains, forests, and stream banks were all covered in white. A string of horse hoof prints stretched from the foot of the mountain to the outside of Xiamei City.

In the imperial palace, Nobushige sat in the center, with more than a dozen retainers sitting on both sides. Kneeling in the palace were the flying hawks who were sent to the small village castle.

"The Terai family of Tanishako and the Daiyan family of Daiyan Castle have all surrendered to Ukyo Ryo?!" Matsumiya Kiyonaga and others were shocked. Once these two castles were lost, the route from Komura Castle to Gozeyama Castle was unobstructed. According to time estimation, Takeda Nobutaka might have already joined forces with Awaya Mototaka at the foot of the castle.

"That's right. On my way back, I met an envoy from the master's family who came to ask for help. He said that Ukyo Ryo had absorbed the military forces of many powerful families in Oi and Toshiki counties along the way. According to investigation, the total number of troops is at least 800!"

"Where are the envoys?" Xinzhong asked.

"That man was seriously injured while breaking out. He told me to deliver the letter for help to the lord and then passed away." After saying that, he flew out a blood-stained letter from his arms and handed it to Xin Zhong. Xin Zhong looked at the contents of the letter, frowned and sighed repeatedly.

"Eight hundred people! If you include Miyakawa-dono, that's 1,300 people. This doesn't even include the troops that Miyakawa-dono recruited along the way. A conservative estimate is that the rebels had at least 1,500 people under their command when they arrived at Gozeyama Castle!"

As soon as Kagawa Morihisa said this, the hall suddenly became noisy and noisy. Nobushige frowned, thinking that with the current strength he had, even if he doubled it, he would still not be a match for the rebels. Should he really give it a try? If he failed, neither Takeda Nobutoyo nor Takeda Nobutaka would forgive him.

Xinzhong was thinking about it when suddenly, a Zen monk sitting in the corner coughed lightly and said in a low voice, "Everyone, please be patient. I believe His Highness has already made a plan in mind."

Everyone followed the sound and saw a middle-aged monk in a dark five-stripe robe sipping tea by himself. He looked calm and composed, as if isolated from the noise in the hall.

"Master Longxing, I was just looking for your opinion." Xinzhong then realized that the great think tank he brought from Kennin-ji Temple had not spoken yet.

(End of this chapter)