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

Chapter 58: The Storm Rises Again (Please Read Again!)

The total koku of Tsuruga was 21,800 koku, of which 17,000 koku were occupied by meritorious ministers rewarded by Nobushige. The Tsuruga people who surrendered to Nobushige, such as Miyaho Nagamasutra, lord of Doyama Castle, and Toba Nobuniwa, lord of Goanyama Castle, retained 3,000 koku. The remaining nearly 2,000 koku and Tsuruga Port were incorporated into Nobushige's direct territory and managed by Hirai Toshimasa as Tsuruga's deputy.

Due to the confiscation of the territories of rebellious retainers such as Kuriya Mototaka and Naito Katsutaka, as well as the direct fiefdoms of the main family of the Takeda clan, the territories of the Miyagawa Takeda clan, and the territories around Kasumi Castle, the actual amount of territory held by Nobushige reached 58,000 koku, accounting for about 70% of the total koku of Wakasa, and he had already gained an absolute advantage.

The remaining 27,000 koku of territory in Wakasa was mainly controlled by Itomi Masatsune of Ōi County, Kumagai Katsunao of Mikata County, as well as the retainers such as Hongo and Ōkusa, and a few local people such as Matsumiya and Kagawa.

In addition, during this evaluation, Nobushige also announced a certain degree of reform to the family's evaluation system.

The original "diplomatic system" was the product of the daimyo living in Kyoto for a long time and having no time to manage the affairs of the territory. The impact it caused was also obvious:

A daimyo who has been away from the country for a long time has no prestige in the country, while the important ministers who have been handling national affairs on behalf of the daimyo for a long time have increasing prestige and power. Therefore, once the daimyo shifts his focus back to the country, it will inevitably affect the interests of the important ministers, and conflicts will be triggered.

Among them, some daimyo were able to successfully suppress their retainers and maintain stability in their territories, such as the Ouchi clan and the Imagawa clan; but more of them were defeated in the wave of "downfall", such as the Sasaki clan, the Uesugi clan, the Toki clan, etc.; and the Wakasa Takeda clan was in a situation of being neither high nor low. They maintained the title of guardian but did not have enough ability to command their retainers. They watched their retainers grow powerful and rebel, but were unable to use tough measures to suppress them. Over time, their prestige was completely lost.

Before Nobushige succeeded as family head, the situation in Wakasa was controlled by the "Collaborative System of Important Ministers" headed by the "Four Heavenly Kings of Takeda". The three generations of Takeda Motonobu, Takeda Motomitsu, and Takeda Nobutoyo were unable to reverse this situation due to their limited ability and strength.

Now, Nobushige controls 70% of the land in Wakasa, and the retainers he personally promoted control the entire Tsuruga County. At this time, the Wakasa Takeda clan is no longer what it used to be. Its strength and prestige are enough to crush its retainers and the people. It is natural to carry out reforms at this time.

However, Xinzhong knew that although the current situation was very good for him, he still had a long way to go to achieve the "one-nation system":
Katsunao Kumagai and Masatsune Itsumi, two of the "Four Heavenly Kings of Takeda", are still there, especially Masatsune Itsumi. Although he is quite dedicated in participating in the defense of Tango at this time, it is just a stopgap measure to ensure that his own interests are not harmed. Thinking about the many rebellions before, no one can guarantee that he will be able to "retire from the underworld" and enjoy his old age in the future.

His father-in-law, Kumagai Katsunao, was seriously ill and might not live long. If nothing unexpected happened, his legitimate son, Kumagai Motonao, would inherit the family business. After these days of contact, Nobushige knew that Kumagai Motonao, his brother-in-law, was indeed a fierce general, but he valued the interests of the Kumagai family more than his loyalty to himself, which was very different from Kumagai Takanao.

Therefore, Nobushige felt that he should be used but not overused, and that he should gradually dilute the influence of the Kumagai clan of Mikata County in Wakasa by promoting other young retainers.

After careful consideration and listening to the advice of Yamamoto Shigeyuki, Kagawa Morihisa and others, on that day, Nobushige finally came up with a system that was more suitable for the current actual situation in Wakasa - the "retainer rotation deliberation system."

Simply put, the traditional "senior ministers' deliberation system" headed by the "Four Heavenly Kings of Takeda" was abolished, and replaced by a system in which prestigious senior ministers served as the chief retainers, and the other retainers took turns to participate in the deliberations.

Specifically, Nobuyuki's uncle, Yamagata Hidemasa, served as the chief family elder, which was mainly an honorary position. He only participated in the decision-making of major family affairs, and the daily management was left to the family elder.
In addition, three "First Family Elders" were appointed, namely Kumagai Katsunao, Shirai Mitsutane, and Itsumi Masatsune, who coordinated and handled family affairs under the coordination of Nobushige.
In addition, there are a number of "rotating family elders", the specific number of which is determined by Nobushige. Their main role is to assist Nobushige and the first family elder, and take turns to participate in and discuss specific family affairs. They are directly responsible to Nobushige and are the real power holders under this system.

In this evaluation, Nobushige appointed five people, including Yamagata Morinobu, Yamamoto Shigeyuki, Kagawa Morihisa, Kumagaya Takanao, and Kuriya Katsuhisa, as rotating family elders to actually manage all matters of the family. This "retainer rotation and consultation system" was ostensibly a compromise with the old "important retainer consultation system", and still retained the positions of the two "kings" Kumagaya Katsunao and Itsumi Masatsune; in fact, it was restricting them with "pen-name family elders" and "rotating family elders", gradually weakening and hollowing out their power, thereby further strengthening the Takeda clan's authority in Wakasa.

The Kanezaki Assessment was both a celebration and a major reshuffle of power. It not only laid a solid foundation for the future development of the Takeda clan, but also made everyone realize that the eighteen-year-old head of the family not only possessed the decisiveness and courage that a samurai should have, but also had the keen political acumen and unique political skills of someone in power.

Just as everyone was immersed in the joy of the great victory over the Asakura army and the excitement of receiving rewards, the arrival of an envoy interrupted the cheerful atmosphere in the hall.

"My lord, a report from Kimeitoge says that the Asakura army is gathering at Yuji Castle in the north of the mountain range, and they seem to be planning to launch an attack on our clan."

"Why are they preparing for a counterattack so soon?" The atmosphere in the hall suddenly became depressing. No one would have thought that after just losing more than 10,000 people, the Asakura army was still able to launch a counterattack.

"How many troops are there?" Xin Zhong asked hurriedly.

"The exact number is still unknown, but according to the report from the Hikage, there are at least 4,000 people, and the number is still increasing."

“Four thousand people?!” Nobushige gasped and couldn’t help but sigh, “As expected of the Asakura family, they are so wealthy that they were able to gather an army of four thousand people so quickly.”

"My lord, what should we do next?" The retainers in the hall hurriedly asked Xinzhong for instructions.

"How about we retreat back to Wakasa?" Some retainers began to back off: "Tsuruga is the Asakura clan's exclusive possession. They won't give it up so easily. We should withdraw our troops early and give them a way out. Maybe both sides will stop fighting."

As soon as these words were spoken, they immediately aroused the dissatisfaction of the Kuriya brothers, Kumagai Takanao and others. How could they give up the Zhixingdi that they had just obtained so easily?
"My lord, we have wiped out an army of 13,000. What can these 4,000 people who were hastily assembled do to me?" Kuriya Katsuie rolled his eyes at the retainers who suggested withdrawing the troops and said disapprovingly.

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(End of this chapter)