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

Chapter 35 The Sanada family truly lives up to their word!

Jia Fei, Xin Fucheng.

Tokugawa Ieyasu held a letter in his hand, his brow furrowed.

After confirming the contents of the letter several times, Tokugawa Ieyasu put a hand in his mouth and bit it.

"My lord, what does the letter say?" Honda Masanobu was already used to this; Tokugawa Ieyasu always did something inexplicable when he was deep in thought.

Tokugawa Ieyasu casually handed the letter to Honda Masanobu.

Honda Masanobu's face lit up with joy after reading it. "Sanada attacked Uehara Castle. That's a good thing."

"In that case, the Hojo clan's rear is unstable, and they will probably have to withdraw their troops soon, right?"

Tokugawa Ieyasu frowned and said, "I am somewhat uneasy about Sanada now."

"Sanada?"

“Look, after the Sanada clan captured Uehara Castle, they also sent troops to blockade the area around Komoro Castle.”

"Although it seems like the retreat of the Hojo clan has been cut off, this also blocks the road from Kai into Shinano."

"What is Sanada trying to do?" Tokugawa Ieyasu was completely baffled.

Suddenly, an idea popped into Tokugawa Ieyasu's mind, and he hurriedly moved the various letters on the table to reveal the bottommost map of the Jiaxin.

After staring for a long time, Tokugawa Ieyasu suddenly said, "Could it be that Sanada wants to control Shinano?"

Honda Masanobu was somewhat skeptical. "That's Shinano. Does Sanada really have the guts and the strength to do that?"

“Sanada might not be included, but what if we add Uesugi?” Tokugawa Ieyasu looked up at Honda Masanobu.

Honda Masanobu also realized the problem at this point, but after careful consideration, he continued, "If the Uesugi family wanted to take over Shinano, why did they remain inactive at Kaizu Castle?"

"The Uesugi family is waiting, waiting for the main family and the Hojo family to settle their differences." Tokugawa Ieyasu's face was gloomy.

“The Hojo clan’s military strength far surpasses that of the main clan. Even if the main clan wins, it will only be a Pyrrhic victory.”

"If our main clan is defeated, then the Hojo clan can head south to Kai and temporarily stop focusing on Shinano."

“In this way, regardless of whether the main clan or the Hojo clan wins or loses, the Uesugi clan can take over Shinano.” Tokugawa Ieyasu became more and more convinced of this idea as he spoke.

Honda Masanobu remained silent, clearly agreeing with Tokugawa Ieyasu's plan.

Tokugawa Ieyasu stood up and put his fingers in his mouth again. "In any case, before we understand the intentions of Sanada and Uesugi, our main clan must not go to war with the Hojo clan."

"In addition, we need to send people into Shinano immediately to investigate the situation of Sanada and Uesugi and confirm whether the two families have joined forces."

"Sado no Kami, I'll leave this matter to you."

Honda Masanobu nodded quickly.

Shinano, Kaijin Castle.

Uesugi Kagekatsu also learned of the Sanada clan's military campaign and immediately summoned Naoe Kanetsugu.

"Haha, Yamashiro no Kami, the Sanada family is indeed a family of trustworthy people. Hojo is in trouble this time!" Uesugi Kagekatsu said with a sense of relief.

The Sanada clan's attack on the Hojo clan undoubtedly demonstrated their stance towards the Uesugi clan.

“Gensaburo was right, our family did not misjudge you!” Uesugi Kagekatsu was very glad that he had not trusted the wrong person. The Sanada family had really given him a pleasant surprise this time.

Naoe Kanetsugu was somewhat helpless. Admittedly, the Sanada family's attack on the Hojo family was very inspiring, but he was still a little worried about the Sanada family.

"In this way, the threat from Shinano is temporarily eliminated."

“We can finally free up our resources to return to Echigo. We can’t delay any longer with Shinbata,” Uesugi Kagekatsu continued.

Echigo Province is a strange place; it is known for its traitors.

From the time of Uesugi Kenshin onwards, the Echigo province, controlled by the Uesugi clan, was frequently plagued by internal strife.

In particular, a group of local militia led by the Yangbei garrison gave Uesugi Kenshin and his son Uesugi Kagekatsu a real ordeal.

The Yahoku-shu were local lords who ruled the northern Echigo region from the Kamakura period onwards. Because their territory was north of the Agano River, they were also known as the "Agano-shu." Although Uesugi Kenshin brought the Yahoku-shu under his control, the individual local lords within the Yahoku-shu still retained a considerable degree of autonomy. The Yahoku-shu commanded approximately one-third of the Uesugi clan's military strength.

The Yangbei faction is further divided into four factions, and each faction dislikes the others.

In short, they would fight at the slightest conflict, and Uesugi Kenshin, in order to stabilize the territory, could only try his best to mediate the conflicts between the parties, but with little success.

The internal conflicts within Yangbei Zhong remain very sharp.

At the beginning of Uesugi Kagekatsu's reign, the Ashina clan, the daimyo of Aizu, a region next to Echigo, launched an attack during the change of head of the Uesugi family.

However, the attack was repelled by the Uesugi clan, with Shigeie Shigeaki, the lord of Shigeaki Castle, making a significant contribution during the battle.

However, after the war, Uesugi Kagekatsu did not reward Niibata Shigeie handsomely, which aroused Niibata Shigeie's dissatisfaction.

Soon, the Ashina clan and the Date clan joined forces to turn Shigeie Niibata against the Otate clan, and together with the retainers who supported Kagetora Uesugi during the Otate Rebellion, they launched an internal strife (the Shigeie Niibata Rebellion).

At that time, Shibata Katsuie was launching a major offensive against Etchu. Uesugi Kagekatsu was too busy to quell the rebellion, so he had to entrust Honjo Shigenaga (one of the Yangbei clan, who was on the opposing side to the Shinbada clan) with the task of suppressing the rebellion.

After the Honnoji Incident, the threat from the west was temporarily relieved. However, the Hojo clan soon invaded Shinano again, forcing Uesugi Kagekatsu to send troops to Shinano once more.

Now that the Sanada clan is keeping the Uesugi clan in check in Shinano, Uesugi Kagekatsu must begin to consider returning to Echigo to quell the rebellion.

"My lord, Sanada Awa-no-kami has arrived."

Just then, the young man pushed open the door, and Sanada Masayuki walked in from outside.

"Oh, Awa no Kami, the battle of Uehara Castle was truly spectacular!" Uesugi Kagekatsu couldn't help but praise as he saw Sanada Masayuki enter.

After taking his seat, Sanada Masayuki quickly replied, "Ever since Genzaburo met with Lord Uesugi, he has been ready to launch a fatal attack on the Hojo clan. Finally, he has found an opportunity."

"In that case, Lord Uesugi can finally entrust the defense of Shinano to the Sanada clan with peace of mind, right?"

Uesugi Kagekatsu said with a smile, "The Sanada family is indeed trustworthy. I was just talking about this with Yamashiro no Kami."

"I have decided to depart for Echigo in five days."

"However, the Tokugawa and Hojo factions in Kai have not yet decided a victor, and our main family is worried that if we withdraw our troops now, Shinano will be attacked."

Uesugi Kagekatsu also had concerns, namely that if he withdrew his troops voluntarily, it would be tantamount to showing weakness to Tokugawa and Hojo.

Once the two factions decide the victor, Shinano will still be attacked. Uesugi Kagekatsu really doesn't want to waste any more time in Shinano; he's waiting for him to quell the rebellion in Echigo-Nippada.

Sanada Masayuki pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "It would be unreasonable to withdraw the troops without even fighting. How about Lord Uesugi cooperate with our clan to put on a show?"

"acting?"

“Indeed.” Sanada Masayuki nodded. “Tomorrow, I will personally lead the army to attack Kaizu Castle. At that time, I request that the Uesugi clan mobilize its entire army to crush the main clan in one fell swoop.”

"By returning to Echigo with the prestige of this great victory, we can not only intimidate the Tokugawa and Hojo clans, but also make Niihatsu of Echigo feel uneasy, right?"

Uesugi Kagekatsu's eyes lit up immediately; Sanada Masayuki's suggestion could be described as killing two birds with one stone.

"As expected of Awa no Kami!"

"There's no time to lose, Yamashiro no Kami, go and prepare immediately." Uesugi Kagekatsu looked at Naoe Kanetsugu beside him.

Naoe Kanetsugu carefully considered Sanada Masayuki's plan, but found nothing that would be detrimental to the Uesugi family. His gaze towards Sanada Masayuki softened considerably.

　The Yangbei Clique: Located on the north bank of the Agano River, this group of local lords was divided into four factions: the Sasaki Party, the Chichibu Party, the Miura Party, and the Omi Party, and was plagued by internal conflicts.

　　Chichibu Party: Honjo Clan, Irobe Clan, Ayukawa Clan.

　　Sasaki Party: Kachi clan, Shinbada clan, Takemata clan, Igōkono clan.

　　Omi Party: Yasuda clan, Mizuhara clan, Shimojo clan.

　　Miura Party: Kurokawa clan, Nakajo clan.

　　The four factions mentioned above frequently fought amongst themselves, and each conflict triggered large-scale internal strife in Echigo, which greatly delayed the Uesugi clan's expansion.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)