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

Chapter 74 Kumagai Nagisa

Indeed, according to Takeda Motomitsu's estimation, the total land tax (listed land tax) of Wakasa, Tango, and Tsuruga counties was 230,000 koku, of which the kankō of ports such as Tsuruga and Obama was converted into land tax of about 120,000 koku. By this calculation, the actual land tax of the Wakasa Takeda clan had exceeded 350,000 koku.

Back then, Takeda Motomitsu, who only had Wakasa Province, could mobilize an army of 2,000. Now, with the trust of 350,000 people, he could afford to recruit 4,000 men, even 6,000 men would be within his capabilities.

But this is only theoretical data. Nobushige knew clearly that with the new annexation of Tsuruga and Tango, there were undercurrents in the territory. Especially in Tango, there was a large-scale transfer of fiefdoms, which was bound to affect the interests of some lower-class people. In this case, not only could a large-scale mobilization not be allowed, but some troops had to be retained to stabilize the situation and avoid riots such as the Ikki Uprising.

As for Tsuruga, although he had reached peace with the Asakura clan, no one could guarantee how long this temporary peace would last, and it would take time to integrate and deal with the local tyrants in the county, so mobilization was obviously inappropriate at this time. In order to guard against internal and external troubles, the elite troops under the Awaya brothers (Kuniyoshi) must also be stationed at Muling and cannot be mobilized at will.

After much thought, Xin Zhong felt that being able to mobilize a thousand troops to go to Luoyang was already the limit, and these thousand people could not be the elite troops at home, so as to avoid attracting attention.

Takeda Motomitsu was obviously unhappy with the answer given by Nobushige. After more than ten years, he was invited to Kyoto again. How could he not take the opportunity to show off the style of the Takeda family?

"Hikogoro, at least, we need to form an army of 3,000 people. If it's too few, not only my Takeda clan, but you and I will all lose face." Takeda Motomitsu insisted.

"Father, I am the head of the family now, please respect my ideas." Seeing Takeda Motomitsu's sad look, Nobushige decided to let him face reality.

"You..." Takeda Motomitsu hesitated, "You've also seen that this time when we made peace with the Asakura clan, the imperial court and the shogun sent three junior ministers, which was a great honor. Now that the shogun and the kanrei need our help, we, the Takeda clan, can't just burn bridges after crossing the river."

"It is precisely because I remember the kindness of the Duke that I decided to lead a thousand men to Kyoto. Otherwise, I would not even pay attention to this 'imperial instruction'."

Nobushige's words made Takeda Motomitsu choke up again. He had never expected that his son would not take the shogunate seriously, which was contrary to the policy of the Wakasa Takeda clan. However, he was now in seclusion, while Nobushige had accumulated enough prestige after two major battles. With the increase and decrease of one, he was afraid that he would not be able to influence his decision.

"My dear father, let's just leave it at that. If there is anything wrong, I will take full responsibility." Nobushige might have felt that his tone just now was a bit harsh. After all, Takeda Motomitsu had just helped him a lot, and he was also his father, so he should still maintain peace.

"Allow it as you say. Alas, I'm old and useless." Takeda Motomitsu sighed deeply.

"Please come with me to Luoyang this time." Xinzhong used both the carrot and the stick, giving him a stick and then giving him some sweet treats.

Sure enough, when he heard Nobushige invite him to go to Kyoto together, Takeda Motomitsu's head immediately stood up, his eyes sparkling, "Really? You want your father to go to Kyoto with you to meet His Majesty and the Kubo?"

"Do you think these 1,000 troops are too few and don't want to go with me?" Xin Zhong asked.

"No, hehe." Takeda Motomitsu said with a smile: "As long as we can go to Kyoto, I will be satisfied. However, there is still one thing I can't figure out." "Please tell me."

"Now that various forces in Luozhong are in confrontation, and it is very dangerous, you want to take Azhu with you. Aren't you worried that something might go wrong? If something goes wrong, your father won't be able to explain to Sanfangdian." Takeda Motomitsu said worriedly.

In response to his concerns, Nobushige gave the reason that they seldom met each other and wanted to take this opportunity to deepen their feelings. However, the deeper reason was known only to Nobushige, which was that he hoped to create an image of an unruly man who indulged in wine and sex and lingered in the palace, so as not to arouse the vigilance and suspicion of the daimyo in Kinki.

Hearing Nobushige's explanation, Takeda Motomitsu was happy to accept it: "Indeed, you have been married for some time, but your family has been in trouble one after another, and you have been apart for a long time. Now that things have settled down a little, it's time to bring Nagisa to your side and love her well. It will be a big deal for the family if I can hold my grandson sooner."

During the "Miyagawa Rebellion", for the safety of Kumagai Nagisa, Nobushige sent her back to Mikata Castle of her mother's family, the Kumagai clan. Later, battles with Asakura and Isshiki followed, so she has stayed there until now.

All in all, Nobushige only spent a month with her. How much affection could they develop in such a short time, not to mention completing the "great cause" of continuing the family line? No wonder Takeda Motomitsu asked him to quickly bring Kumagai Nagisa to his side.

In fact, Xinzhong's feelings towards his wife are very complicated.

At the beginning, he simply wanted to use the power of the Kumagai clan behind her to quell the "Miyagawa Rebellion" and inherit the family business. Later, in order to stabilize the Kumagai clan, he politely rejected Takeda Motomitsu's idea of ​​marrying Rokkaku Sadanari's daughter as his principal wife.

But as time passed, especially during the siege of Kuniyoshi Castle, Kumagai Nagisa actually led the women of the Kumagai clan to prepare food, and ventured to Tennozan and Kuniyoshi Castle many times to reward the soldiers and bandage the wounds of the wounded soldiers. This not only moved Nobushige, but also the retainers of the Takeda clan, and the morale of the Takeda army was boosted.

After this battle, Xinzhong began to pay attention to his wife. In terms of personality, she inherited the Wu family's perseverance while retaining the gentleness of a traditional woman. In terms of appearance, although she was not as beautiful as a beauty, she was still pretty.

I remember meeting Nagisa Kumagai, whom I hadn't seen for a long time, on my way back to Takeda's mansion from Tsuruga a few days ago. At that moment, Nobushige was really attracted by her appearance and dress:

Under her thick black hair, her delicate face has eyes like autumn water, eyebrows like willow leaves, and a graceful smile on her slightly upturned lips. She is wearing a pair of overlapping sleeves tied with colorful thin ribbons, and a orange-red sleeve on the outside. This traditional jacket cannot hide her graceful and charming figure.

"Maybe it's time to think about the big things in life." Nobushige said with emotion, "This time I'll take Azhu to Kyoto and try to complete the 'mission' assigned by my father."

"But there is one thing you still need to think about. Will the governor bring up the marriage again during this trip to Luoyang? If so, what will you do?"

Takeda Motomitsu's worries were not without reason. A few days ago, Sanjo Konori had tentatively asked Nobushige if he had any intention of marrying Princess Rin of the Rokkaku family, but Nobushige politely declined. If Hosokawa Harumoto brought up the old matter again during his visit to Kyoto, Nobushige really had to think about how to respond.

(End of this chapter)