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

Chapter 53: Lead brother Masayuki Sanada!

Kasuga Nobutatsu, Muroga Masatake, and Yashiro Katsunaga happily tucked the peace certificate into their pockets and then returned to their respective seats.

The surrounding crowd cast envious glances at him.

Many of the local lords present did not follow the Sanada clan in "protecting Oda," and after Honnoji, they chose to attack the Oda clan, naturally feeling envious of the three.

Following that, Sanada Nobuyuki continued, "The Naganuma village of the Mizuchi district still belongs to the Shimazu clan, and the Shimazu clan's territory remains secure!"

Although Shimazu Tadanao was sitting in the far corner, he heard it very clearly.

When Sanada Nobuyuki finished speaking the last word, Shimazu Tadanao, in his excitement, scrambled to the center of the main hall.

"The great kindness of the Sanada family will be forever remembered by the Shimazu clan!"

"Please allow me to express my gratitude to Lord Sanada as a retainer." After saying this, Shimazu Tadanao prostrated himself on the ground, his hands outstretched in front of him.

Sanada Nobuyuki looked at Shimazu Tadanao with satisfaction. He was so sensible!

Shimazu Tadanao was a local lord from Mizuchi District, but he had previously served under the Uesugi family and was not among the retainers of the Oda and Takeda clans.

After the Uesugi clan withdrew from Shinano, they gave the Minouchi District and Takai District to the Sanada clan.

At this point, Shimazu Tadanao could choose to leave his homeland and follow the Uesugi family to Echigo, just like the Takanashi clan and other nobles. Uesugi Kagekatsu would then grant the Shimazu family a new territory as compensation, depending on the circumstances.

However, Shimazu Tadanao chose to return to Shinano to serve the Sanada family.

At this point, the Sanada family also had two choices.

To accept Shimazu Tadanao's allegiance, one must either take him as a retainer and grant him new authority or a stipend, or return the former territory of the Shimazu family to Shimazu Tadanao.

The former denies the Shimazu family's former territory in the Mizuchi District, while the latter chooses to acknowledge it.

The two approaches represent the Sanada family's different attitudes toward Shimazu Tadanao.

It is clear that the Sanada family chose the latter.

Shimazu Tadanao, being quite perceptive, immediately expressed his loyalty.

Sanada Masayuki slowly got up, walked to Shimazu Tadanao, and helped him up.

“Awaji no Kami, since you chose to leave the Uesugi family and serve our family, our family will certainly not treat you unfairly.”

"From now on, I'll leave the village of Naganuma to you."

Shimazu Tadanao also extended his hand and shook hands tightly with Sanada Masayuki. Both of them had tears in their eyes at the same time, like old friends who had been separated for many years and were reunited.

This wasn't pre-arranged; it just goes to show that these days, you really can't get by without some acting skills.

Shimazu Tadanao returned to his seat with great joy, and Sanada Masayuki gestured for Sanada Nobuyuki to continue before sitting down again.

Sanada Nobuyuki then pointed to the lower left corner of the map, "Ina District was originally under the jurisdiction of Mori Kawachi-no-kami, a retainer of the Oda clan. Because he abandoned his territory without authorization, the Oda clan took back the Ina District territory."

"Given the outstanding performance of the Hoshina and Fujisawa clans in the pacification of Ina County, their territories are secure."

"Ha!" Fujisawa Yorichika and Hoshina Masamitsu already knew the result, so they were not surprised.

Then, Sanada Nobuyuki continued, "Matsuoka clan, your possessions have been confiscated."

"Ms. Matsuda, Andu."

"Iijima, Andu."

"Zhijiushi, Andu."

After the long list of safe and sound individuals was read out, all the people of Ina County present breathed a sigh of relief. Except for the Matsuoka clan, the other people of Ina County were satisfied with the result.

As for the Matsuoka clan?
The opinions of the dead are not important.

Following that, Nobuyuki Sanada announced the list of security personnel for Chikuma and Azumi districts.

Among them, Kiso Yoshimasa had his territory in Chikuma County and the territory of Koshiki County and Azumi County reduced due to his attack on Mori Nagayoshi and Takikawa Kazumasu, who were returning from Shinano.

These two territories were originally given to them by the Oda clan, who were collaborators with Kiso Yoshimasa, and now they are essentially being given back.

The portion of the territory that Kiso Yoshimasa had reduced was given to Ogasawara Sadakashi, and the prestigious Ogasawara family of Shinano finally revived its name thirty years later.

Finally, there was Saku District. Since most of the local lords in Saku District had sided with the Hojo clan and were fighting for them, no one from Saku District participated this time.

The Oda clan did not issue any notices regarding the safety of these people, which essentially gave the Sanada clan a relatively flexible space to maneuver.

"Hitachi no Suke." Finally, Sanada Nobuyuki turned his gaze to Ashida Nobuhan, who was sitting at the very back.

When his name was called, Ashida Nobuban quickly stepped forward.

"In view of Ashida Hitachisuke's merit in defending Komoro Castle against the Hojo clan, our family has decided to make Komoro Castle and the surrounding areas of Misato and Oi villages the domain of the Ashida clan."

"This is a certificate of appreciation, please accept it, Lord Ashida." Takanashi Naiki, who was standing nearby, quickly found the prepared certificate of appreciation.

Now it's Ashida Nobuhan's turn to make a choice.

Unlike other vassals, Ashida Nobuban was left behind by Takigawa Kazumasu as a "retainer" to guard Komoro Castle.

In terms of status, he could only be considered as a "supporter" left by the Oda family to the Sanada family, or a loan from Takigawa Kazumasu to the Sanada family. He was neither an independent local lord nor a Sanada retainer.

Once you accept the Sanada family's reward, you become a retainer of the Sanada family.

Does Ashida Nobuban have any options?

He had no choice.

Takigawa Kazumasu had already fled and lost power within the Oda clan because he missed the Kiyosu Conference.

Continuing to follow Takigawa Kazumasu is definitely a dead end. His hometown and family are all in Shinano, and he can't possibly go to Ise alone to seek refuge with Takigawa Kazumasu.

Now the Sanada family has extended an olive branch, and has even directly granted two villages as their administrative bases. This offer is undeniably generous.

Saku District is a great place in Shinano. Most of the district's territory is located in the Saku Basin, one of the few large-scale concentrated areas of farmland in the Shinano mountains.

The Chikuma River flows north from Saku District, passing through Ogi District, Takai District, and Hanishina District, where it meets the Sai River. After the two rivers meet, the Shinano River begins. The Shinano River continues north through Echigo Province and flows into the Sea of ​​Japan.

The land on both sides of the Chikuma River was all fertile farmland with abundant water resources. Ashida Nobuhan was naturally very satisfied with the appointment of the governor of Saku District.

Ashida Nobuhan didn't hesitate at all. He stepped forward, knelt down, and took the seal from Sanada Nobuyuki's hands.

"Lord Ashida, please guide me from now on." Sanada Nobuyuki had a good impression of Ashida Nobuhan. After all, Ashida Nobuhan had remained steadfast in guarding Komoro Castle after Takigawa Kazumasu left, which was enough to prove that he was very loyal.

The Sanada clan today may not necessarily need any outstanding retainers; rather, it is these loyal samurai who are indispensable to the Sanada clan's control of Shinano.

"what!"

With that, the issue of the territories of most of the people in Shinano Province had been read out, and Sanada Nobuyuki returned to his seat.

Most of the public were satisfied with the final outcome of this "anti-Hojo uprising." After all, in such a chaotic situation, being able to preserve one's family and reputation was already the best result.

Most people also admire Masayuki Sanada, the "leading figure in investment."

To gain the support of the people, it's not about what the Sanada family says, but what they do. Most importantly, it's about whether following the Sanada will bring them any benefits.

Of course, some members of the public showed resentment and dissatisfaction in their eyes, but the lively atmosphere at the scene did not attract the attention of others.

The seemingly peaceful and harmonious palace also harbors hidden dangers that are not easily detected.

Finally, only one question remained: what to do with Suwa County.

Suwa District has always been the territory of the Suwa family, who are also the head priests (shrine priests, the head priest being the chief steward) of Suwa Shrine.

The Suwa Daimyojin, located at Suwa Shrine, is the spiritual home of the people of Shinano, and they swear an oath to Suwa Daimyojin when writing prayers.

Therefore, the Suwa family was a very special existence in the whole of Shinano. When Takeda Shingen attacked and destroyed the Suwa family, he also used marriage and adoption to control Suwa County (taking Suwa-hime as a concubine, and Takeda Katsuyori adopting Suwa).

Suwa Yoritada had previously served the Hojo clan, but the Sanada clan later captured Suwa-Uehara Castle and drove Suwa Yoritada away.

Unfortunately, Suwa Yoritada did not come today.

　Ina-shu: A samurai group located in Ina District, Shinano Province, mainly composed of the Chiku clan, the Ogasawara (Mineka Ogasawara) clan, and the Zakoji clan.

　　The area around Takato Castle was divided into Upper Ina District, while the area around Oshima Castle was divided into Lower Ina District.

　　Among them, the Chiku clan in the Ashima region controlled a population of about 3,000 koku.

　　Matsuo Ogasawara Ichiyuki of the Izuki region was worth about 1,000 koku.

　　The official salary of the Zakoji family in the Yamabuki region is 1,200 koku.

　　The three families together controlled a territory of 5,000 koku (meaning they could collect that much tax from these territories, not that the total koku was 5,000), making them a very powerful samurai group in Ina District.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)