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

Chapter 97: Frank Meeting
Simply put, Kawachi Jujukasho is the general name for 17 estates located on the left bank of the middle and lower reaches of the Yodo River. They served as the shogunate's imperial residence, and their specific location was in the western part of Ibarada County, Kawachi Province.

Twelve villages including Oba, Okubo, and Kadoma were called "Kamigo", and five villages including Shimoninnaji, Kodakase, and Terakata were called "Shimogo". This area controlled the water transportation of the Yodo River and was connected to the land transportation line from Kawachi to Kyoto, so its strategic position was self-evident.

Therefore, Miyoshi Toshinaga's desire to take back Miyoshi Motonaga's former territory was just an excuse. His real purpose was to occupy this strategic location and pose a threat to Miyoshi Masanaga's residence, Enokina Castle, which was not far away.

Miyoshi Masanaga was no ordinary man, so how could he hand over such a vital place to Miyoshi Toshinaga? Therefore, the two forces confronted each other over the ownership of this area. Even if the nominal lord Hosokawa Harumoto came out to mediate, the matter could not be resolved, and eventually it led to the current stalemate.

Upon hearing that Ashikaga Yoshiharu had taken back the 17 Kawachi sites, Miyoshi Toshinaga instantly wilted: since they had already been taken back by the Shogunate, it would be disrespectful for him to make further demands, which would not only cause a strong backlash from the shogunate and the kanrei, but would also give Miyoshi Masanaga an opportunity to frame him.

"If that's the case, then..."

Miyoshi Toshinaga was very unwilling, but he had to accept this reality. However, just when he was about to agree to withdraw his troops, Matsunaga Hisahide stopped him.

Matsunaga Hisahide leaned close to Miyoshi Toshinaga's ear and whispered, "My lord, I think this is a trick played by Hosokawa Kyōjo. You must not compromise because of this."

"A trick? What do you mean?" Miyoshi Toshinaga glanced at Nobushige out of the corner of his eye and asked anxiously.

"Think about it, with the prestige of the shogunate now, can it persuade Miyoshi Sozo to hand over the 17 sites? Also, Hosokawa Kyōjo has never been able to persuade Miyoshi Sozo, so why did he suddenly succeed today, and the shogunate took over the area so quickly? Isn't all this a little too smooth?"

"That makes sense." Sanhao Lichang nodded in agreement, "Then what do you think is the reason?"

"I think this is just a stopgap measure by Hosokawa Kyojo. He knows that Akutagawa Castle is easy to defend but difficult to attack. In order to avoid casualties, he pretends to give in and deceives the main family into returning the land to the shogun in exchange for the main family's withdrawal. When the main family evacuates Akutagawa Castle, he will occupy the city and pursue our army as soon as possible. When our army is defeated, he will return the 17 items to Miyoshi Sozo. By then, no one will dare to say anything."

"You mean, these seventeen places are only temporarily in the hands of the government?" Miyoshi Toshinaga suddenly realized.

Matsunaga Hisahide nodded and said, "That's right. After all, the shogun is a puppet in the hands of Hosokawa Kyojo. He can't say anything whether he is given the money or not. If the main family is fooled by this trick and withdraws the troops on their own, I'm afraid they won't be able to leave Kinki so smoothly."

"I understand," Miyoshi Toshinaga thought he knew the "trick" and changed his attitude, directly rejecting Nobushige's proposal: "Your Highness, please go back and tell the governor that I don't want to play games with him. I must take these 17 prefectures in Kawachi, otherwise I will never withdraw my troops!"

"Oh, so, Your Highness has decided to lead these 2,500 men under your command to fight against the 9,000-strong army?" Nobushige had expected that things would not go so smoothly, so he was not too surprised by his answer. Instead, he compared the military strength, hoping that Miyoshi Toshinaga would give up.

"Your Highness, you are joking. Where did the nine thousand troops come from?" Of course, Miyoshi Toshinaga could not say that he knew that the three thousand hexagonal troops were about to arrive at the front line, so he asked in a pretentious manner.

"Your Highness, don't you know that the Rokkaku family will soon send 3,000 troops to Yamazaki Castle and participate in the attack on your side just like our Takeda army?" Nobushige replied.

"So what?" Miyoshi Toshinaga knew that the Rokkaku family was probably just here for fun, so he was fearless.

His behavior was noticed by Nobushige. Thinking of the secret collusion between Rokkaku and Miyoshi in history, Nobushige felt something was wrong: "I'm afraid the Rokkaku family has already informed the Miyoshi family in advance."

Just when he didn't know what to do, Yamamoto Shigeyuki suddenly interrupted: "Iga no Kami may not know that the Rokkaku Army that came this time will be under the command of my lord together with our Takeda Army." "That's not right, why isn't the young master of the Rokkaku family commanding personally?" Shinohara Nagafusa said subconsciously, but as soon as he finished speaking, he realized he was exposed - from beginning to end, Nobushige never mentioned Rokkaku Yoshitaka at all.

Shinohara Nagafusa's words and behavior further confirmed Nobushige's speculation. Not only that, he also deduced that Rokkaku Iesada was prepared to work without putting in any effort, which was why Miyoshi Toshinaga was so fearless.

Miyoshi Toshinaga obviously saw that Shinohara Nagafusa had let slip a flaw, but since things had come to this point, he felt that there was no need to hide it, so he said bluntly: "Do you think I would trust you, a daimyo who came from afar and has no connection with me, to lead the Rokkaku Army?"

"No connection?" Yamamoto Shigeyuki snorted coldly, pretending to be complacent and said: "Your Highness may not know that not long ago, Rokkaku Dansho had promised to marry Princess Rin to my master. Now the relationship between Takeda and Rokkaku is closer than ever."

"Princess Rin, isn't that Rokukaku Dansei's favorite daughter?"

"Yes, I heard that many daimyo came to ask for marriage but were rejected. Now she is betrothed to the Takeda family."

"It seems that Hexagonal Bullet really values ​​this Wuweidian."

The prince and the others were talking one after another, causing Miyoshi Toshinaga to doubt his initial judgment: "If he is really Rokukaku Tanjō's son-in-law, then which one is true, his words or the letter Tanjō gave me?"

Seeing that Miyoshi Toshinaga was still hesitating, Nobushige decided to strike while the iron was hot: "Your Highness, I didn't want to make this public, but Your Highness couldn't see the situation clearly and insisted on competing with Hosokawa Kyojo. I am also a straightforward retainer, and I was afraid that Your Highness would make the same mistake again, so I blurted it out. Please forgive me, Your Highness."

"Did Hexagonal Bomb really hand over the military forces to you to command?" Miyoshi Toshinaga asked unwillingly.

Nobushige nodded slightly: "Not only that, I also promised Hosokawa Gyojo that if His Highness refuses to withdraw his troops, I will lead the troops as the vanguard and attack Akutagawa Castle first."

"I have no grudge against the Takeda family. Why does Your Highness want to kill our family?" Miyoshi Toshinaga asked indignantly. Most of Your Highness's Miyoshi retainers were also unable to hold back and were ready to call the samurai outside the palace to come in and detain Nobushige and his group first.

"Your Highness, if I really wanted to be an enemy of the Miyoshi clan, I would not have taken this risk alone." Nobushige explained, "With the 9,000 troops in Yamazaki Castle, they would be able to trap your army to death. Why would I risk coming here?"

"Then why did Your Highness come here this time?" Miyoshi Toshinaga felt that what Nobushige said made sense, so he signaled his retainers to stay calm.

"I came here with a heart of respect and compassion for the Miyoshi family, and I don't want Your Highness and the others to perish in this Akutagawa Castle, far from their homeland." Nobushige answered earnestly, "Your Highness may not know that I was a monk in Kenninji Temple in Kyoto before, and I heard many stories about what happened in Kyoto from the elders of the temple, especially the experience of Chikuzen no Kami (Miyoshi Motonaga, the father of Miyoshi Toshinaga) during the 'Tenmon Rebellion', which was a great pity.

A few days ago, I learned that Iga no Kami led his troops to Kyoto. I really didn't want to watch His Highness die at the hands of the enemy, so I accepted Hosokawa Kyojo's invitation to go to Kyoto. If for no other reason, I just hope to have a chance to advise His Highness not to make a big mistake because of a momentary impulse. "

Hearing what Nobushige said, both His Highness's Miyoshi family retainers and His Highness's Miyoshi Toshinaga were moved.

"If what you said is sincere, I will be grateful to you." Sanhao Lishang bowed and said, "But you said that I would make a big mistake. How can this be true?"

(End of this chapter)