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

Chapter 98: Betrothal
"It's very simple. Your Highness has occupied Akutagawa Castle for some time. Have you thought about how to forcibly take back the Kawachi Jujusho if Miyoshi Sozo does not agree?" Nobushige asked.

"This..." Miyoshi Toshinaga had never thought about it. He thought that he could intimidate Hosokawa Harumoto and Miyoshi Masanaga by leading his troops to Kyoto, and make the latter hand over the 17 Kawachi koto. Unexpectedly, Hosokawa Harumoto was not intimidated, but invited the Wakasa Takeda clan and the Rokkaku clan to attack him together. For a while, it seemed that he was at a loss and could not do anything.

"With more than 2,000 troops under my command, not to mention whether we can recapture the 17 prefectures, it is a big problem to break through the defense line of Yamazaki Castle, right?"

Xinzhong continued to ask, "Besides, with so many soldiers, the consumption of military rations is also a problem that needs to be solved. It is difficult to solve the urgent problem by relying on Your Highness to transport food from Shikoku or rob food from the surrounding villages. In a few days, when the military rations are exhausted, it will be impossible to advance, and it will be unwilling to retreat. If there is a mutiny inside, won't it be too late to regret it?"

"Your Highness, I think what Wue-dono said makes some sense." Matsunaga Hisahide on the side reminded: "The people of Awa and Sanuki have already had complaints about Shangluo. If the confrontation continues like this, it will be disadvantageous to the main family. We should make a decision as soon as possible."

Sanhao Lichang was silent for a long time, and then he slowly squeezed out a sentence: "Your Highness, I understand what you said, but I just don't want to accept it."

"It's right to be unwilling." Xinzhong changed the subject and began to "train" Sanhao Lichang:
"If I were Your Highness, I would never forget the revenge for my father's murder and the hatred for the seizure of land. But now that we have the strength, what can we do? Your Highness needs to win the trust of Hosokawa Kyojo, slowly accumulate strength under his wings, and steadily and firmly achieve your goals step by step."

"Wu Weidian, why do you want to help me and the Miyoshi family so much? Isn't it just because you heard about my father's deeds?"

Although Miyoshi Toshinaga was young, he was not a simple-minded person and did not completely believe what Nobushige said. He felt that in troubled times, there were very few people who acted on emotion, and Nobushige was the guardian of two countries and two counties, so he could not be a person who was easily overwhelmed by emotion.

"To be honest, I do have selfish motives." In order to allay the doubts of the two Miyoshi, Nobushige explained, "I always feel that your personal experience with the Miyoshi family is very similar to mine and the Takeda family. Both inherited the family business at a young age, and the family was in chaos and faced frequent external crises. I don't think I can empathize with them."

"If I remember correctly, Your Highness is only one year older than me?" Miyoshi Toshinaga couldn't help but sigh, "But Your Highness's insight is many times greater than mine. I will definitely learn a lot from Your Highness and the Takeda family in the future."

"Iga no Kami is too modest," Nobushige replied, "The Miyoshi family now controls the three provinces of Sanuki, Awa, and Awaji. Although they don't have the name of guardian, they are a powerful force in reality. Moreover, they are across the sea from Kinki, and their geographical location is far better than that of the Takeda family. Their family also has many capable ministers and generals. Your highness's future achievements will surely be far greater than mine, and your highness's ambitions will surely come true!"

"Thank you for your kind words, Your Highness. However, our family cannot control the three countries of Sanuki, Awa, and Awaji at present." Miyoshi Toshinaga replied with a smile: "Alas, it is still unknown what will happen in the future, but for now we have to retreat to Shikoku. This trip to Kyoto will end here."

"Your Highness means... that you have decided to withdraw the troops?" Xinzhong suppressed the joy in his heart and pretended to be surprised.

"How about waiting for a few days and meeting your Highness on the battlefield?" Miyoshi sighed deeply, "Your Highness is right. Our family is indeed unable to compete with Hosokawa Kyojo right now. We can only show weakness for the time being and conserve our energy in order to make progress later."

"If Your Highness decides to withdraw his troops, I can tell you a good news." Nobushige felt that it was time to give the "carrot" he had obtained from Hosokawa Harumoto to Miyoshi Toshinaga.

"Good news?" Miyoshi Toshinaga asked puzzled.

"Before coming down, I argued with Hosokawa Kyojo and won some benefits for Your Highness. Let's consider it as compensation for your loss of the 17 Kawachi sites." Nobushige replied.

"Compensation? What does Your Highness mean?" Miyoshi Toshinaga suddenly became alert.

"Hosokawa Kyojo has decided to give Koshimizu Castle in Settsu to Your Highness." As soon as Nobushige said this, Miyoshi Toshinaga was overjoyed. He held Nobushige's hand tightly and confirmed again and again: "Is it true? Did the Kanrei really agree to hand over Koshimizu Castle to my Miyoshi family?"

Koshimizu Castle was a castle built by Hosokawa Takakuni in 1515. It is located on a hill in the western part of Settsu Province. The south of the castle is connected to an important road called "Hachimachi Nawate", which leads to many important places in Settsu Province including Nishinomiya.

Nobushige knew that in history, in order to persuade Miyoshi Toshinaga to withdraw his troops, Hosokawa Harumoto offered Koshimizu Castle as compensation, which allowed the Miyoshi clan to gain a firm foothold in Settsu. This castle also marked the beginning of Miyoshi Toshinaga's strategy to govern Kinki.

However, in that period of history, it was Rokkaku Sadanori who acted as the intermediary to mediate the conflict between Hosokawa and Miyoshi. Now, the mediator has become Nobushige himself, and he will certainly make good use of the fat piece of meat of Koshimizu Castle to gain the favor of Miyoshi Toshinaga.

Although it was Hosokawa Harumoto who offered to give Koshimizu Castle to Miyoshi Toshinaga, in Nobushige's mouth, it became his credit. Seeing Miyoshi Toshinaga's excitement, Nobushige felt that his skill of "getting something for nothing" had reached a new level.

"Your Highness, please rest assured that I will not joke about such a thing. As long as Your Highness agrees to withdraw the troops, Yueshui City will be yours." Xinzhong replied.

"Wuweidian, if you had told me earlier, I would have agreed to withdraw the troops." Sanhao Lichang smiled happily.

"What I hope is not just that Your Highness agrees to withdraw troops just because of a small Yueshui City, but that you understand the future strategy and development direction. This is the most important thing, and it is also the reason why I mentioned the Yueshui City incident after everything was settled."

Nobushige's words made Miyoshi Toshinaga feel ashamed and moved at the same time: "Your Highness's kindness, I and the Miyoshi family appreciate it. We are grateful for your kindness. If the Takeda family needs help in the future, I will never refuse!"

"Your Highness is too polite. In these troubled times, we are also people who share the same suffering. If Your Highness does not mind, please treat me as a friend. From now on, if you need anything, I will do my best to help you."

"What you have done is not something that an ordinary friend can do." Miyoshi Toshinaga was deeply moved by Nobushige's words and actions.

Seeing this, Xinzhong decided to strike while the iron was hot and said, "If Your Highness does not abandon me, I would like to become your sworn brother. Are you willing?"

Hearing that Nobuyuki wanted to become his sworn brother, Miyoshi Toshinaga was extremely excited. His lips trembled for a long time before he responded: "Your Highness is willing to become my brother at this critical moment. How dare I refuse such deep friendship!"

Seeing this, Xinzhong said with satisfaction: "Since Your Highness is willing, I will call you my sworn brother from now on."

"My dear brother, please accept my respect!" As he said this, Miyoshi Toshinaga knelt down and kowtowed to Nobushige.

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(End of this chapter)