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

Chapter 57: Kanezaki Assessment (Please read on!)
In the afternoon after the Battle of Kurino, the Takeda army split into two groups and quickly marched towards the key passes of Tsuruga County, successively capturing strategic locations such as Kanezaki Castle, Hidan Castle, Hachifushiyama Castle, Momotoge Castle, and Doyama Castle. By the 23rd day of the first lunar month, the Takeda army had basically completed control of the entire Tsuruga County.

On the morning of the 24th day of the first lunar month, Nobushige, accompanied by a group of important ministers, arrived at Kanezaki Castle, the seat of Tsuruga County established by the Asakura clan, to prepare for the post-war assessment.

Inside the palace, Nobushige looked at the ministers of the Takeda clan sitting under the prince, tears welling up in his eyes and a mixture of emotions in his heart.

Even if he was a modern person who traveled through time, he could not imagine that he could defeat and annihilate the Asakura army, which was six times larger than his own army, with just over 2,000 people. Not only that, but he could also seize the most advantageous port in Hokuriku - Tsuruga Port, and tear the fat piece of Tsuruga County off the Asakura clan.

The people sitting there, whether they were old ministers like Yamagata Hidemasa or the younger generation like Yamagata Morinobu, were extremely excited. For decades, they had not dared to set foot in Echizen Province, but now the gates were wide open, and even Tsuruga County was firmly in the hands of the Takeda clan.

"This is the most prosperous era the Takeda clan has ever seen." Yamagata Hidemasa is Nobushige's uncle. In his early years, he followed Takeda Motonobu and Takeda Motomitsu, father and son, to fight against the Tango Isshiki clan, but they still found it difficult to win. Now, Nobushige has achieved such fruitful results in less than a month since he succeeded to the throne. He was so excited that he trembled and was speechless several times.

As for arable land, most of Tsuruga County is mountainous, so the koku is not high, and it is even the lowest among the eight counties in Echizen, with only 21,000 koku. However, due to the existence of Tsuruga Port and the development of industry and commerce, this county has become one of the top three rich counties in Echizen. Roughly converting the kanko system with the koku system, the equivalent koku of Tsuruga County is more than 100,000 koku!
This number even exceeds that of Ishidaka in Ono County, which is why the Asakura clan attached so much importance to this area and set up a county governor here.

If not, just imagine how Asakura Kageki could have recruited a huge army of more than 2,000 people with just 20,000 stone takas in Tsuruga? And how could he have the same status as Asakura Kageki in the Asakura family?

Now that Tsuruga County has been pacified, some retainers have advised Nobushige to conduct a post-war assessment as soon as possible, which will both boost morale and stabilize the military's mind.

But Nobushige thought it was too early: although they had already taken the mountains of Yamanaka Pass, Kimei Pass, and Tochigi Pass, which bordered Echizen Nanjo County, and basically consolidated their defense against the Asakura Army, Nobushige knew that neither Asakura Kagetaka nor Asakura Munetoki would watch Tsuruga County fall into the hands of the Takeda family. It was a bit too hasty to conduct a battle assessment at this time.

However, Yamamoto Shigeyuki has a different view:
“Forgive me for speaking frankly. When you took over the position of head of the family not long ago, you should have conducted an evaluation to reward your retainers, nobles, and countrymen who supported you. Unfortunately, the Asakura army attacked at that time, so the matter had to be put on hold.
Now, we have defeated the Asakura Army with fewer troops and the strong with weaker ones, and have captured the Tsuruga County. There are many retainers who have made great contributions. If the lord does not make an evaluation, it will not only chill the hearts of the soldiers, but also allow those with ulterior motives to instigate and disrupt the morale of the army."

Up to this point, the reasons why Yamamoto Shigeyuki persuaded Nobushige to conduct the evaluation were no different from those of other retainers, and he still could not dispel Nobushige's doubts. However, his next words made Nobushige suddenly enlightened.

"My lord, didn't you often tell me that Wakasa is now torn apart, the lord is weak and the ministers are strong, and I am powerless. Now that such an opportunity to integrate Wakasa and expand the power of the lord is in front of us, why is my lord still hesitating?"

"What do you mean?" Nobushige was confused. He had indeed confided in Yamamoto Shigeyuki that he hoped to end the divided situation in Wakasa, where each clan was independent and the trunk was weak and the branches were strong, as soon as possible, so as to lay the foundation for the revival and prosperity of Wakasa and the Takeda clan. However, he could not figure out what this had to do with the post-war assessment.

"Think about it. If those important officials and powerful families in Wakasa are transferred to Tsuruga, wouldn't the vacant territories in Wakasa go into the lord's pocket? Moreover, once they are transferred to Tsuruga, they will definitely defend the territory to the death, which will also be a great help for the main family to prevent the counterattack of the Asakura clan."

"Shigeyuki, that's brilliant!" Nobushige couldn't help but slap his thigh, and suddenly his mind was enlightened. This is how the post-war evaluation of Kanezaki Castle came about.

At the meeting, Nobushige first announced that all the lands of Kuriya, Naito, Terai, Oshio, Tsuchiya and other forces who participated in the "Miyagawa Rebellion" would be confiscated and incorporated into the direct territory of the Takeda clan. A rough estimate showed that there were 38,000 stones.

In fact, before this great victory over the Asakura clan, Nobushige did not dare to rashly confiscate the fiefs of these important ministers and people. After all, his foundation was unstable, and the slightest mistake might trigger a second round of rebellion. But now is different from the past. His wings are full and his prestige has been established. Naturally, he can severely punish those rebels without worrying about threats to his rule.

Afterwards, Xinzhong officially began to reward meritorious officials.

First of all, there are the brothers Kuriya Katsuhisa and Kuriya Katsuie. As distant branches of the Kuriya clan, they had no other known places except the areas around Kuniyoshi Castle and the castle town.

As the main contributor to the siege of Kuniyoshi Castle, Nobushige announced that Kuniyoshi Castle would be incorporated into his direct territory, and at the same time, he gave Kuriya Katsuhisa 3,000 koku of Tsuruga Hachifushiyama Castle and Kuriya Katsuie 2,800 koku of Tsuruga Kitsugae Castle, allowing the two to continue to play a role on the front line against the Asakura clan.

Next were Yamagata Morinobu and Kumagai Takanao, who led the Yamagata cavalry and the horsemen and led the charge, achieving many major victories. Nobushige decided to give Yamagata Morinobu 2,300 koku of Tsuruga-hidan Castle, and was responsible for guarding the southeastern part of Tsuruga County;
Kumagai Takanao was transferred from Daiyan Castle to Tentsuzan Castle, a branch castle of Kanezaki Castle, and his salary was promoted from 1,000 koku to 2,200 koku, making him responsible for guarding Tsuruga Port and protecting Kanezaki Castle.

Then came Yamamoto Shigeyuki and Muto Mitsuyuki. As a new retainer of the Takeda clan, Nobushige solemnly introduced him to everyone and formally appointed him as the family's military advisor on the spot. He was awarded the 2,000-koku rank of Tsuruga Kanayama Castle for his achievements in the surprise attack on Kanayama Castle and the Battle of Kurino.
The latter served the Takeda family for the second time. Because of his bravery in defending the Honmaru of Kuniyoshi Castle and his loyalty in following Nobushige to Inuiyama Castle, he was promoted from the original 800 koku to 2,000 koku of Tsuruga Sugitsu Castle. This castle was located behind Hachifushiyama Castle and was considered the second line of defense against the attack of the Asakura army.

In addition, there are Matsumiya Kiyonaga and Kagawa Morihisa, both of whom have followed Nobushige since the Kenninji Temple and can be considered Nobushige's most trusted retainers.

Since they were not the eldest sons in the family and could not inherit the family business, the two stayed by Nobushige's side, assisting him wholeheartedly and working hard without complaint. Nobushige also took this opportunity to let the two of them be independent from the family, and they were given 1,800 koku of Tsuruga Torigoe Castle and 1,600 koku of Tsuruga Hanajiroyama Castle respectively.

As for other retainers, powerful families, and local people, they all received rewards to varying degrees, but any discerning person could see that Nobushige was mainly promoting his own confidants with the intention of further extending and expanding the authority of the Takeda clan.

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(End of this chapter)