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

Chapter 27 The battle front moves forward
The Kumagai clan followed the first head of the Takeda clan, Takeda Nobuyoshi, to move to Wakasa nearly a hundred years ago. More importantly, he was the only one of the "Four Heavenly Kings of Takeda" who had never rebelled. It was a great blessing for Nobushige to marry him.

It has to be admitted that Kumagai Katsunao does have some of the domineering and selfish qualities of local warlords, which can be seen in the way he handles his relationship with Awaya Katsuhisa.

But he was different from Awaya Mototaka and other four kings, that is, he always put the overall situation first and stood on the side of Takeda clan. This was also the reason why he was unwilling to use force to remove Kuniyoshi Castle even though he could not stand it.

At first, Nobushige thought that Kumagai Katsunao was more or less using and trying to win him over in the matter of marrying him, but the performance of the head of the Kumagai clan during the "Miyagawa Rebellion" made Nobushige have a different view of him:

At that time, Kumagai Katsunao was the weakest of the Four Heavenly Kings. He could have followed the example of Itsumi Masahiro, watching the situation from the other side and protecting his own territory in Mikata County. However, he was willing to take a gamble for Nobushige and gave most of his troops to him to help him fight against Awaya Mototaka, who ranked first among the Four Heavenly Kings, and Naito Moritaka, who ranked third.

This obviously went beyond the relationship between father-in-law and son-in-law. In Nobushige's view, this should be a gamble made by Kumagai Katsunao for the stability of Wakasa and the Takeda clan.

Nobushige was very grateful to Katsunao Kumagai for suppressing the rebellion, and the latter was very glad that he won the bet: Nobushige did not disappoint him, and after several generations, the Takeda clan finally had a family head who could make a difference.

But just as he was looking forward to Wakasa regaining its former prosperity under the leadership of Nobushige, a serious illness came unexpectedly and instantly defeated this military commander who had fought on the battlefield for half his life.

Looking at Katsunao Kumagai's sickly face, Nobushige felt that his sharp eyes were becoming blurred and empty.

"Heijiro, quickly help Mikado back to his room to rest. I can't let him work any longer." Nobushige said reluctantly.

But Kumagai Katsunao had no intention of leaving. He reached out and grabbed Nobushige's wrist, seemingly with force but actually soft, and then said breathlessly: "My lord, I have tried my best this time. Seven hundred troops, I have tried my best to gather seven hundred troops."

"Seven hundred?! How could it be so many?" Nobushige was stunned. You know, with the knowledge and practice of the Kumagai clan, they were already doing their best to recruit five hundred soldiers, let alone seven hundred.

"My father took out all his savings and said that our Kumagai family must not hold back the Takeda family." Kumagai Motonao frowned. He knew that Kumagai Katsunao did this not only for the Takeda family, but also to pave the way for his future.

"No wonder there are so many more people than I expected. It seems that my father-in-law has invested a lot of money." Xinzhong said silently in his heart.

"Sanfangdian is loyal and dedicated, and we really admire him."

"Yes, Sanfangden is indeed the Wakasa pillar."

"I am ashamed of myself! I am ashamed of myself! We must also recruit more soldiers and horses, and we cannot let the Three Palaces look down on us."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll go back and think of a solution too!"

……

Everyone present praised Kumagai Katsunao's loyalty. Nobushige knew that he came to Jin Castle despite his serious illness and said these words in front of everyone in order to force everyone to recruit more troops, which was like doing something that Nobushige wanted to do but was not convenient for him to do.

"Heijiro, take His Highness back." Nobushige couldn't bear to see his old father-in-law continue to worry about him here, so he asked Kumagai Motonao to take him back to Mikata Castle.

"My lord, please take care of yourself. I wish you good luck in military affairs and victory." Katsunao Kumagai slowly released Nobushige's wrist and left the city with the help of Motonao Kumagai and Takashi Kumagai.

In the afternoon, Nobushige convened the first pre-battle assessment in the battle city.

Yamagata Hidemasa (Nobushige's uncle and Yamagata Morinaga's adoptive father), the Kumagaya brothers, Kagawa Eikyu (Kagawa Morinaga's father), Matsumiya Kiyohiro (Matsumiya Kiyonaga's father), Hisamura Mitsuaki (Himura Mitsuyasu's father) and other famous powerful families in Toshiki and Mikata counties gathered together, waiting for orders under Nobushige's "Marunouchi Hishi" flag.

"I have decided to move the battlefield forward and fully support the siege of Kuniyoshi Castle. I will then set up my main camp on Tenno Mountain."

When Nobushige said this, everyone in the room was shocked. Yamagata Hidemasa was the first to express his opposition: "My lord, Tenno Mountain is too close to the front line. I ask you to stay in Mikata Castle and appoint an important minister to lead the army to support Kuniyoshi Castle."

"I will go!" Kumagai Motonao immediately stepped forward. Soon after, Matsumiya Kiyohiro, Kagawa Eikyu and others also volunteered to serve as the deputy commander or military commissioner to replace Nobushige. "I have made up my mind," Nobushige refused everyone's request to fight, and explained: "Tenno Mountain is across the Tsubaki Pass from Kuniyoshi Castle. I want to let the soldiers in Kuniyoshi Castle see clearly that I, Takeda Nobushige, will defend the gate of Wakasa Province with them and will never retreat even if I die."

"My lord, if Kuniyoshi City is captured, Tianwang Mountain will most likely be quickly surrounded, and it will be difficult to escape." Yamagata Hidemasa analyzed, "In my opinion, it is more appropriate for my lord to stay in Sanfang City to coordinate the overall situation. If you are worried, I am willing to go with Sheng Xin to guard Tianwang Mountain. If the support for Kuniyoshi City is not good, I am willing to be punished by military law."

"To be honest, before coming to Mikata Castle, I went to Kuniyoshi Castle first and promised Awaya Genbei in person that I would personally lead the troops to support him. I will never be a person who goes back on my word."

As soon as Nobushige said this, Yamagata Hidemasa was surprised and said, "My lord, the situation around Kuniyoshi Castle is very dangerous. You really shouldn't risk your life. If something goes wrong, how can we, the old ministers, explain to the ancestors of the Takeda clan?"

"It's a good thing I went to see it, otherwise I wouldn't have made such a decision." Nobushige took out a rope map of Kuniyoshi Castle (similar to a city structure layout map) from his side. He specifically asked Awaya Katsuhisa for this before leaving.

Xinzhong unfolded the map and motioned for everyone to come forward and take a look. After everyone saw it, they were all amazed. Some old officials who were good at building cities felt inferior to him: "To be able to build such a sophisticated defense of this mountain city with limited time and resources, it seems that this Genbei has some talent."

"Yes, you see, this curved castle is built along the mountain ridge. It is inspired by the Gozeyama Castle, but it is not a complete imitation. The earthworks and branch castles are also built precisely according to the terrain. This castle-building skill is really amazing."

Everyone was talking at once, and even Yamagata Hidemasa, who had made great achievements in the field of castle building, had to admit that the castle built by Awaya Katsuhisa was extremely ingenious.

"Everyone, tell me the truth, how are the city defenses of Sanfang City compared to Guoji City?" Xinzhong asked.

Perhaps out of consideration for the Kumagai clan's reputation, everyone remained silent for a long time. It was Kumagai Motonao who took the initiative to speak:

"My lord, although Mikata Castle is the home of my Kumagai clan, to be fair, its defenses are not as comprehensive and detailed as Kuniyoshi Castle. Moreover, Mikata Castle is located on a plateau at the foot of the mountain, only about a hundred meters high, and its terrain advantage is even less than Kuniyoshi Castle."

"Not only that, although Mikata Castle is in the rear, it has unimpeded access to Kuniyoshi Castle. Once the latter is lost, the Asakura army can quickly rush to the city along the Tango Street. Just imagine, if they can't even defend Kuniyoshi Castle, how can they defend Mikata Castle?"

Nobushige's words left everyone speechless for a moment. In the end, it was Yamagata Hidemasa who broke the awkward atmosphere and tried to persuade them for the last time: "Even if the battlefield moves forward and Kuniyoshi Castle is defended, I still suggest that you stay in Mikata Castle. The traffic between the two places is smooth and communication is very convenient. There is really no need to rush to the front. Forgive me for being blunt... You are the ruler of a country, you really shouldn't act on impulse."

"This is not an impulsive act," Xinzhong said, having made up his mind, but he tried to be as kind and sincere as possible:
"Speed ​​is of the essence in war. This trip back and forth takes time. I am really worried. Besides, I am not Asakura Danjo, who would let Mr. Zong go to the battlefield at such an old age. Please believe me, I will never hold you back."

"We have absolutely no such intention. We will obey the military orders of our lord!" Upon hearing Nobushige's sincere attitude, Yamagata Hidemasa and others tactfully found a way out and agreed to Nobushige's plan to set up the main camp at Tianwang Mountain.

After the assessment, Nobushige ordered Matsumiya Kiyonaga to lead 200 people to Tennozan to build the main camp.

The next morning, the Takeda army officially set out and arrived at the valley west of Tsubaki Pass in the evening, where they built a battle formation and set up camp.

Late at night, the entire Kuniyoshi Castle was brightly lit and bustling with people. Noble families and people from all over Wakasa gathered together. Even Yamagata Hidemasa had never seen such a scene.

"Sir, do you think we can win this battle?" During the patrol, a samurai asked Yamagata Hidemasa cautiously.

"As long as we work together, the Asakura clan can be shaken." Yamagata Hidemasa replied.

"To be frank, I think the lord is still too young and impetuous. It's not very practical for him to go head-to-head with the Asakura family just a few days after taking over as the head of the family."

"During yesterday's military meeting, the Lord's behavior was indeed a bit impulsive, but today I thought about it carefully, and I think what he said makes a lot of sense, and his tactical arrangements are also very appropriate. For a moment, I saw the shadow of Lord Motonobu in him... I hope that he can inherit the will of my Takeda ancestors and become the lord of the revival who restores the glory of the Takeda clan."

As he spoke, Hidemasa Yamagata raised his head and looked up at Mount Tenno not far away. He saw stars in the night sky and bonfires on the top of the mountain. He could imagine the busy scene of the soldiers working overtime to build fortifications.

Meanwhile, in the lord's mansion of Kuniyoshi Castle, Nobushige Masaru, Awaya Katsuhisa, Kumagaya Motonao, Yamagata Morinobu and others were having a fierce dispute over whether to take the initiative.

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(End of this chapter)