Japan's Sengoku Period: The Sanada Clan's Ambition

Chapter 145 Hideyoshi: What to do if you can't beat Ieyasu?

The main reason for my trip to Osaka is for my wedding.

With the matter resolved, Nobuyuki Sanada saw no need to stay any longer.

After staying at Yamate-dono's place for a few days, Sanada Nobuyuki returned to Mino. Before leaving, Sanada Nobuyuki, led by Yamate-dono, visited Kyogoku Ryuko's residence. Although he did not meet Asai E, he still left some gifts.

It was already late June when they returned to Mino, by which time the struggle between Hideyoshi Hashiba and Nobuo Oda had reached its peak.

Chosokabe Motochika has already unified Shikoku and could land in Settsu or Harima at any time.

On the Izumi side, upon learning that Toyotomi Hideyoshi's army had returned to Osaka, the Kii soldiers who had surrounded Kishiwada Castle immediately withdrew.

At this time, Takigawa Kazumasu of Kanie Castle was under fierce attack by Oda Nobuo and Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Unable to defend himself, Takigawa Kazumasu quickly sought help from Hashiba Hideyoshi.

Kanie Castle is strategically located; occupying it would sever the connection between Owari and Ise, and both sides knew it was a strategic stronghold.

However, it would take time for Hideyoshi Hashiba to regroup his army, so he had no choice but to let Kazumasu Takigawa hold them off.

Takigawa Kazumasu stared dumbfounded as he looked at the tens of thousands of enemy troops outside Kanie Castle, then at the two thousand or so foot soldiers behind him.

I'm "stealing the dragon" here, so you, Hideyoshi Hashiba, should at least "push the tower" too, why are you "AFK in the fountain"?

Kazumasa Takigawa was so angry he laughed.

"Father, Lord Kuki's navy has been defeated in Ise Bay, and now Kanie Castle is isolated and helpless." Behind Takikawa Kazumasu, his eldest son Takikawa Kazutada brought another piece of bad news.

"If Lord Hashiba's reinforcements don't arrive soon, Kanie Castle may not be able to be saved."

To persuade Takigawa Kazumasu to come out of seclusion, Hashiba Hideyoshi promised him a fief of over 10,000 koku, of which 3,000 koku would go to Takigawa Kazumasu himself and 12000 koku to his second son, Takigawa Kazuchi.

Because he had chosen the wrong side in the Battle of Shizugatake, Takigawa Kazumasu was forced to become a monk and his territory was confiscated, so he was very eager for this comeback.

"How about we try to break out?" Takikawa Kazutada suggested. "If we can break out before the enemy completely surrounds Kanie Castle, it would be better than being surrounded here."

Takigawa Kazumasu did not answer immediately; his eyes were fixed on the flags outside the city.

Oda Nobuo, Tokugawa Ieyasu, Mizuno Tadashige, Sakuma Nobuei, Ishikawa Sumasa, Ii Naomasa, Honda Tadakatsu, Kanbara Yasumasa.
What you, Hideyoshi Hashiba, couldn't accomplish with nearly 100,000 men, how the hell do you expect me, with just over 2000 men, to do?
"Break through! Head west towards Ise!"

"Understood!" Takikawa Kazutada's eyes narrowed, and he immediately ordered the castle to be opened.

Soon, Takikawa Kazutada led several hundred men out of the city.

However, Tokugawa Ieyasu seemed to have been prepared for this, as his Mizuno Tadashige unit had been waiting for a long time.

In the crowd, Mizuno Katsunari stared at the Takikawa army charging out of Kanie Castle with bloodshot eyes. The defeat at Uehara Castle last year had tarnished his reputation at home, and this time he had to prove himself again.

"kill!"

Mizuno Katsunari took the lead, charging into the enemy ranks with his spear in hand.

Takigawa Kazutada was startled by Mizuno Katsunari's sudden appearance, but he quickly ordered his foot soldiers to rush forward to buy time for Takigawa Kazumasu inside the castle.

The sudden outbreak of battle attracted the attention of the Tokugawa-Oda alliance from other directions, and the two armies that were nearby rushed to this side.

Soon, Takigawa Kazutada was surrounded.

Just as Takigawa Kazumasu was about to leave the city, he saw that his eldest son was surrounded, and he panicked. Without having time to gather all his troops, Takigawa Kazumasu led his own force out.

In the midst of the melee, Mizuno Katsunari spotted Takikawa Kazutada surrounded by Takikawa samurai and realized that this man must be an enemy general, so he immediately rushed over.

"I am Mizuno Rokuzaemon, enemy general, prepare to die!"

Mizuno Katsunari channeled his rage into power, and with a sweep of his spear, several enemy soldiers fell instantly.

Takigawa Kazutada shoved aside the samurai guarding him. He was Takigawa Kazumasu's son, not someone to be trifled with.

"You've got guts, take a shot from me too!"

Clang.

The two spears collided, and a tremendous force was transmitted from the spear shafts to the hands, causing Takikawa Kazutada to feel a tingling sensation in his tiger's mouth.

Mizuno Katsunari also took a step back; this guy has some skill.

Seeing an opportunity, Mizuno Katsunari disregarded everything else and once again charged forward to fight Takigawa Kazutada.

Soon, Takigawa Kazutada had several wounds on his body, while Mizuno Katsunari also suffered minor injuries. The two took a few steps back and looked at each other warily.

By this time, the Tokugawa-Oda allied forces had completely surrounded the city gate. After Takigawa Kazumasu fought off the enemy troops on both sides of the gate, he quickly called Takigawa Kazutada to enter the city.

There's no way to break out now; there are just too many enemy troops outside the city.

Takigawa Kazutada knew the situation was hopeless. He glared at Mizuno Katsunari with resentment before turning and disappearing into Takigawa's army.

Katsushige Mizuno quit.

"Don't even think about running!" Mizuno Katsunari gave chase.

Woohoo! Woohoo!
Two conch shells rang out, signaling Mizuno Tadashige's order to retreat and cease pursuit. But Mizuno Katsunari paid no heed; his only thought was to kill the enemy.

After shooting down a foot soldier of the Takigawa clan with two spear thrusts, a samurai from the Mizuno clan quickly stepped forward and pulled Mizuno Katsunari back from his charge.

"Lord Rokuzaemon, the lord has ordered that you not pursue them."

"Let go! The enemy has been defeated. It's the perfect time to hunt down the fleeing enemy and earn military merit. If not now, when?"

"My lord, let's go!" Another samurai ran over, and the two of them pulled Mizuno Katsunari from either side and walked backward.

Mizuno Katsunari was now in a bloodthirsty frenzy and wouldn't listen to any advice.

Seeing that the two men were holding him tightly, Mizuno Katsuhiro was enraged and drew his katana from his waist, cutting down both of his own samurai with a single stroke.

"Don't retreat! Follow me into the city!" Mizuno Katsunari was still calling on his foot soldiers to continue the pursuit.

Back at the rear, the military attaché was stunned by the sight and rushed back to find Mizuno Tadashige. Enraged, Mizuno Tadashige strode to the front lines and shouted, "Rokuzaemon, what are you doing?"

"Looking for Father?" Before Mizuno Katsunari could utter the words "looking for death," he saw that the person who came was his father, Mizuno Tadashige, and quickly shut his mouth.

Mizuno Tadashige gritted his teeth in exasperation, "Why did you disobey military orders!"

"You even wantonly slaughter your own samurai! A madman like you is no son of Mizuno Tadashige!"

"Get back here!"

After being thoroughly scolded by Mizuno Tadashige, Mizuno Katsunari calmed down and realized what he had just done. He could only slink back to the main camp with Mizuno Tadashige.

The Takigawa Kazumasu and his son, who had fled back to Kanie Castle, were now utterly despondent.

"Sankuro, is your injury serious?" Looking at his son covered in blood, Takigawa Kazumasu felt a wave of fear.

He almost lost his beloved son because of the 10,000 koku of reward promised by Hideyoshi.

"It's nothing, Father. It's just a minor injury. I also managed to stab the enemy samurai who was fighting me a few times," Takikawa Kazutada quickly assured him that he was alright.

Takigawa Kazumasu nodded, then turned to look outside the city. The Tokugawa-Oda alliance's encirclement was complete; there was no escape now.

June 20th, the twelfth year of the Tianzheng era.

The combined forces of Tokugawa Ieyasu and Oda Nobukatsu, numbering 30,000, besieged Kanie Castle in Takigawa Kazumasu.

On the 21st, Hideyoshi Hashiba issued an order to Terumasa Ikeda, Tadamasa Mori, and Nobuyuki Sanada of Mino to send troops, requesting the three families to join forces and garrison in western Mino in preparation for an attack on Owari.

At the same time, Hideyoshi Hashiba also personally rushed to Omi to assemble his troops.

However, the Tokugawa-Oda alliance's offensive was too swift. In just two days, they captured Maeda Castle and cleared the outer defenses of Kanie Castle, leaving only the main keep of Kanie Castle still putting up a stubborn resistance.

The situation is critical.

On June 26, Toyotomi Hideyoshi assembled a force of 60,000 men from the Niwa and Hori clans and other Hokuriku daimyo and began his march toward Ise.

Because Niwa Nagahide suffered from a serious illness due to parasites caused by eating too much sashimi, Niwa Nagashige took command of the troops.

On June 29th, Terumasa Ikeda, Nobuyuki Sanada, and others from Mino arrived with their troops, bringing the Hashiba army to a massive force of 70,000 men.

But at that moment, Kanie Castle was breached, and Takigawa Kazumasu and his son barely escaped to Ise.

"Why not hold on for two more days!"

"My army will arrive in just two days!"

Having missed again, Hideyoshi Hashiba broke down.

They finally saw an opportunity to defeat the Tokugawa-Oda alliance head-on, but their Kanie Castle fell before they even got there.

With the loss of Kanie Castle, the Tokugawa-Oda alliance began to rely on castles for defense again, and the opportunity for open-field battles was gone once more.

Takigawa Kazumasu's face was flushed, and his chest was heaving.

It’s so irritating!

All you do is criticize me for not being able to defend Xiejiang City. I had 2000 men hold off 30,000 enemy troops for more than ten days. Why couldn't you have come sooner?

"Lord Hashiba, Lord Takikawa has done his best."

"This matter cannot be entirely blamed on Lord Takikawa." In an instant, the other Oda clan generals in the main camp all pleaded for Takikawa Kazumasu.

Back then, we all shared the same pot of food. Even though you, Hideyoshi Hashiba, are in power now, we still need to show some consideration for each other.

Where is Ieyasu now?

"We are heading towards Sangming City."

Hideyoshi Hashiba plopped down on his seat.

Is it really that difficult to defeat Tokugawa Ieyasu on the battlefield?
Suddenly, a name popped into Hideyoshi Hashiba's mind.

"Summon Sanada Genzaburo to see me!"

After Takeda Shingen's death, the only family to defeat the Tokugawa clan on the battlefield was the Sanada clan of Shinano.

The story of the Battle of Uehara Castle, where a smaller force defeated a larger one, has become widely known, if not universally, after two years of dissemination.

Upon hearing the name Sanada Genzaburo again, Takigawa Kazumasu, who was standing next to him, also sighed with emotion.

Those kokujin who were just scraping by under my command back then have now become daimyo of Shinano.

If I hadn't considered the impossibility of staying, I would have died even faster. Kawajiri Hidetaka of Kai is a prime example.

"Lord Hashiba, you are unaware of the conduct and reputation of the Takikawa family."

“Knowledge and Action?” Hideyoshi Hashiba laughed. “The Takigawa family has not completed the task I set for them and must bear the responsibility for their defeat.”

"But considering that you have played a role in the Takikawa family, I will give you 3000 koku and let you live in seclusion."

After saying this, Hideyoshi Hashiba got up and left the main camp, leaving Kazumasu Takigawa and his son looking at each other in bewilderment.

With the fall of Kanie Castle, Takigawa Kazumasu and his son were no longer of any use, and Hideyoshi Hashiba simply abandoned them.

Seeing this, the Oda clan generals present also had different and complicated expressions.

As for Takigawa Kazumasu, he seemed to age ten years in an instant and could barely stand.

His family fought desperately to capture Kanie Castle, creating an excellent opportunity for Hideyoshi Hashiba to attack. His son even almost died in battle, but all he got in return was 3000 koku of land.
Kazumasa Takigawa was completely disheartened.

The next day, Hideyoshi Hashiba issued another order, exiling Kazutada Takigawa on the grounds of military defeat. Takigawa was then sent to serve under Hidenaga Hashiba.

From then on, Takigawa Kazumasu, the renowned "Four Heavenly Kings of Oda" and commander of the Kanto Army, officially withdrew from the Sengoku period.

(End of this chapter)