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

Chapter 157 Unexpected Person
August of the twelfth year of Tianzheng.

Hideyoshi Hashiba and Nobukatsu Oda in the Kinki region formally ceased hostilities. Hideyoshi Hashiba guaranteed Nobukatsu Oda's status as head of the Oda clan, and Nobukatsu Oda acknowledged Hideyoshi Hashiba's position, leading to peace between the two sides.

From this moment on, Hideyoshi Hashiba officially became independent from the Oda clan and surpassed his former master, the Oda clan, in status.

Oda Nobuo's sudden move inadvertently harmed everyone.

A month ago, Sasa Narimasa of Echigo responded to Oda Nobuo's call and began attacking Maeda Toshiie, who was on Hashiba Hideyoshi's side.

However, Sasa Narimasa was stunned when he heard the news of Oda Nobukatsu's peace negotiations as soon as the fighting began.

Tokugawa Ieyasu of Mikawa was also furious. He had even risked his life to fight for Oda Nobukatsu, and Oda Nobukatsu wanted to negotiate peace without even informing him.

The people of Kii were even more dumbfounded.

With the ceasefire in the east, wouldn't Toyotomi Hideyoshi be able to deal with them without worry?

Chōsokabe Motochika of Shikoku was so frightened that he dared not mention landing again and focused on attacking the Kono family of Iyo to the west.

As for the gross profit, it's still idle.

Although Toyotomi Hideyoshi had made peace with Oda Nobukatsu, he did not stop mobilizing for war. Large quantities of supplies were being transported to Osaka Castle. It was clear to everyone that Hideyoshi was about to launch an even larger-scale war.

Fearing that Tokugawa Ieyasu would take action against him, he amassed troops in Mikawa while sending his son, Yoshimaru, to Hideyoshi as a hostage, and the two sides made peace.

Thus, the massive anti-Hideyoshi encirclement campaign came to an end.

Kanto region.

The Hojo clan and the Satake alliance negotiated a peace treaty, restoring the pre-war status quo and maintaining a semblance of peace.

Yokose Kunishige and Nagao Akinaga, who had betrayed the Hojo clan, returned to the Hojo clan, and the southeastern part of Ueno returned to the Hojo clan's rule.

Meanwhile, the local people of the Nishi-Ueno region jointly submitted a petition to Sanada Masayuki, pledging allegiance.

The Ueno Kunihito Uprising was thus disbanded, leaving only Hojo Takahiro injured. In the blink of an eye, he went from being the "leader" of the Ueno Kunihito Uprising to a commander without any troops.

At this point, Ueno was divided into three factions.

The Sanada family controlled the northern and western parts of Ueno, while Hojo Takahiro continued to be based at Masahashi Castle in central Ueno, and the Hojo family dominated the southeastern part of Ueno.

The three parties ceased hostilities and temporarily achieved peace.

Sanada Masayuki and Sanada Nobuyuki then returned to Shinano, and the Sanada family suffered great losses that year.

The successive battles have depleted both military rations and supplies. The Sanada family's resources are too limited, and they can no longer afford to continue fighting.

Shinano, inside Ueda Castle.

Nobuyuki Sanada returned to his residence, which had its own courtyard within Ueda Castle.

Upon hearing that Nobuyuki Sanada had returned, Chika Ikeda and Koyuki quickly came out to greet him.

"How are you doing, Qian? Are you settling in well in Shinano?"

“The conditions here are a bit simpler than in Mino,” Sanada Nobuyuki asked with a smile after sitting down.

Chika quickly replied, "Shinano has beautiful scenery. My friend and I went to Lake Suwa a couple of days ago, and the scenery along the way was quite nice."

“We even saw Mount Fuji!” Xiaoxing chimed in from the side.

Seeing that the two got along well, Nobuyuki Sanada couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Ikeda Chi and Koyuki are both concubines, so there's not much to argue about. It's just that we don't know what will happen when Asai E arrives.
"I originally thought that Sister Qian was a princess from the Oda family. I tried to please her at first, but I found out that she wasn't," Xiaoxing said, covering her mouth with an embarrassed expression.

Chiya Ikeda smiled and said, "We don't know when that princess will arrive yet. I heard she's still very young."

Nobuyuki Sanada's lips twitched; that was indeed true.

Asai E heard that
"Where is Genban?" Sanada Nobuyuki looked around but did not find his godson.

Chika pointed outside, "He's playing ball with Samanosuke-dono."

Samasuke was Kogoro, the illegitimate son of Sanada Masayuki, who was adopted into the Kiso family by Kiso Yoshinobu.

"I want to play ball too." Nobuyuki Sanada looked at Chihiro Ikeda with longing.

Chika Ikeda was taken aback at first, but after she realized what was happening, she rolled her eyes at Nobuyuki Sanada.

Xiaoxing stared at Ikeda Chi's chest, then looked down at herself, a hint of loneliness flashing in her eyes.

"Has anything interesting happened in Ueda Castle lately?" Sanada Nobuyuki, finally able to relax, decided to have a good chat with the two ladies.

Xiaoxing thought for a moment and replied, "Many new temples have been built outside Ueda Castle, does that count?"

"What's so new about this? Let's talk about something else." Nobuyuki Sanada was completely uninterested.

If you want to develop a castle town, building temples is the easiest thing to do.

Because in that era, temples often controlled enormous wealth. The Sanada family only needed to provide a temple with a piece of land, and the monks would use their own money to build the temple.

After the temple is built, a large number of people will come, which will bring in a large flow of people.

Then, all sorts of people who do business based on the temple will appear, and the temple town will develop, and commerce will naturally flourish.

"Oh, right!" Xiaoxing seemed to remember something, "Some time ago, Lord Oyamada brought back some female relatives."

"Women?" Sanada Nobuyuki immediately looked gossipy. "My brother-in-law actually dared to do that?"

Although the Sanada family has a good family tradition, the elder sister, Lady Muramatsu, has always been domineering, so Oyamada Shigemasa dares not take a concubine for fear of upsetting Lady Muramatsu.

"What are you thinking, my lord?" Seeing that Sanada Nobuyuki had misunderstood, Koyuki quickly explained, "They are members of the Takeda family, and I heard that one of them is the daughter of Lord Shingen."

Was Takeda Shingen's daughter?
Sanada Nobuyuki immediately realized that this must be the Matsuhime that Oyamada Shigemasa had mentioned before, the one who was engaged to Oda Nobutada.

"Aren't they at the Hojo residence?" Sanada Nobuyuki then asked.

"Because the Hojo clan attacked Ueno, the defenses of Hachioji Castle were lax, which is why they were able to escape," Koyuki continued.

Sanada Nobuyuki suddenly realized.

To be honest, Sanada Nobuyuki wasn't very interested in the Takeda family members.

The Sanada clan controlled Shinano with the permission of Hideyoshi Hashiba and the influence they had built themselves; they did not need to use the banner of the Takeda clan.

However, considering that leaving Matsuhime and the others in Kai would be neither beneficial nor harmful, Sanada Nobuyuki continued to ask, "Is there anything else?"

Xiaoxing shook her head; she didn't usually pay much attention to matters within the district at home.

As a concubine, this was not something she should worry about.

Ikeda Chi hesitated for a moment, then said softly, "There is something I want to say, but I don't know if I should."

“Don’t be afraid, you are my concubine, speak freely,” Sanada Nobuyuki encouraged.

Ikeda Chi was delighted to hear this, smiled sweetly, and then asked, "Does my lord know Lord Sasa Narimasa of Echigo?"

“I know.” Sanada Nobuyuki nodded quickly. “He was once a general under Lord Nobunaga. He previously served under Shibata Shuri and was stationed in Etchu. He was recently defeated by Lord Maeda in Noto.”

"Why did you suddenly bring him up?" Sanada Nobuyuki had never even met Sasa Narimasa, let alone had any relationship with him.

Unexpectedly, Ikeda Chiyo's next words left Sanada Nobuyuki completely stunned.

"I saw him yesterday."

"What?" Nobuyuki Sanada looked shocked. "Are you sure?"

"Although Lord Sasa is disguised as a merchant, I can see very clearly and I will not mistake him for someone else."

As if afraid that Sanada Nobuyuki would not believe it, Ikeda Chiyo continued, "Lord Sasa has several retainers accompanying him, one of whom is Hanawa Hachiemon."

“Hanahachiemon’s father was a member of Nobunaga’s inner circle. He himself was extremely skilled in medicine and had even treated Genban before. I cannot be mistaken.” Ikeda Chi said with certainty.

After listening to Ikeda Sen's words, Sanada Nobuyuki's expression turned solemn.

If what Ikeda Sen said is true, and Sasa Narimasa appeared in Shinano, then he certainly wasn't there to see the Sanada family, since the two families have no connection.

That leaves only one possibility: he went to Mikawa to find Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Although Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Oda Nobuo have made peace, it doesn't mean that Sassa Narimasa or even Tokugawa Ieyasu would easily admit defeat; they are certainly still in contact.

Traveling from Etchu to Mikawa via the Hokuriku route would have passed entirely within Toyotomi Hideyoshi's sphere of influence. Sasa Narimasa must have been worried about being recognized, which is why he decided to take the Shinano route.

When did you see it yesterday?

"Yesterday afternoon, there were about thirty of them, disguised as a caravan, traveling on the main road." Ikeda Chi quickly recounted all the information she thought was useful.

Nobuyuki Sanada said gratefully, "Thank goodness, Sen. Luckily you found out in time. What you said is very useful."

If news of Sasa Narimasa's journey from Shinano to Mikawa reached Hashiba Hideyoshi's ears, even if the matter had nothing to do with the Sanada family, it was hard to guarantee that Hideyoshi wouldn't have some reservations.

Once the seeds of doubt are sown, all the good impression the Sanada family had left on Hideyoshi will be wasted.

Sanada Nobuyuki immediately got up and left the residence. After searching around Ueda Castle, he finally found Kana Saizo, who was sparring with Sanada Nobushige, next to the stables.

"Cai Zang!"

"My lord!" Seeing Sanada Nobuyuki approaching, Kazusa immediately stopped.

"You know Sasa Narimasa from Etchu, right?"

"We both served under Lord Shibata back then, so I naturally recognize him," Kana Saizo replied affirmatively.

"That's good!" Sanada Nobuyuki was overjoyed. "Sasa Narimasa is in Shinano right now. Take 50 riders and go there quickly to capture him."

"Understood!" Ke'er immediately grabbed the cross-shaped gun and headed outside.

She had only taken two steps when Ke'er turned back and asked innocently, "My lord, which way should I chase after him?"

"Southward."

“Sasa Narimasa is disguised as a merchant caravan, probably heading to the Tokugawa clan. They're traveling on the main road, so they're not going very fast; we should be able to catch them.”

"Leave it to me!" Ke'er Cai Cang nodded quickly.

Sanada Nobushige, who was standing nearby, chimed in, "Big brother, I'll go too."

Sanada Nobuyuki thought about it and agreed. Compared to Kazusa, Sanada Nobushige was more familiar with the roads of Shinano.

After the two left, Nobuyuki Sanada also returned to his residence.

In the courtyard, Genban and Kiso Yoshinobu were playing happily together with a ball.

Although Yoshinobu Kiso is only a few years old, he has already come of age ahead of schedule because he has inherited the headship of the Kiso clan.

"Father!"

"Big Brother."

Upon meeting Sanada Nobuyuki, Genban readily addressed him as "Father," while Kiso Yoshinobu was somewhat hesitant, mainly because he wasn't very familiar with Sanada Nobuyuki.

Nobuyuki Sanada nodded to the two of them, indicating that they should continue playing, and then turned and went into the house.

"Xuanfan, why do you call my elder brother 'father'?" Kiso Yoshinobu turned his head and asked curiously.

Xuan Fan stepped on the ball, saying, "My mother told me to call it that."

"My father was very good to my mother. Every night when my mother had nightmares, my father would stay with her in her room."

"You'll see, Mother is sure to have another nightmare soon."

"how do you know?"

"Because my mother would scream every time she had a nightmare."

"Don't we only dream at night? It's daytime now!" Yoshinobu Kiso pointed to the sun overhead.

Xuanfan gave him a look that said, "You wouldn't understand," and said, "Sometimes my mother has nightmares during the day too."

"Let's not talk about this anymore, let's continue playing ball."

"then!"

　Among the retainers of the Oda clan were two men: Hanawa Naomasa and Hori Naomasa.

　　Their names are very similar, but their surname characters are completely different.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)