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

Chapter 78 I choose Hideyoshi Hashiba, he is the one everyone wants!
Jilun City.

People from Ueno gathered together.

The lords of Masahashi Castle are Hojo Tango no Kami Takahiro, Naba Suruga no Kami Akimune, Kuragano Castle no Kami Hidekage, Obata no Uesugi no Nobusada, Minowa Castle no Kami Ryouki, Wada Castle no Nobuyuki, Yasunari no Naito, Yasunari no Nobuyuki, Yasunari no Nobuyuki, Yasunari no Nobuyuki, Yasunari no Nobuyuki, Yasunari no Nobuyuki, Yasunari no Nobuyuki, and Nagao no Saemon no Terukage, representing the Sanada family.

All nine people were present.

Hojo Takahiro, as the initiator of this uprising, naturally sat in the first seat.

"Gentlemen, the Hojo clan has withdrawn from Ueno. From now on, we, the people of Ueno, will no longer have to act according to the Hojo clan's wishes."

As soon as Hojo Takahiro spoke, the crowd below nodded in agreement.

Most of the people present were previously retainers of the Yamauchi Uesugi family, and while they weren't exactly blood enemies with the Hojo family, they were certainly not on good terms with them.

Previously, their surrender to the Hojo clan was only due to the Hojo clan's power. Now, Satake Yoshishige of Kanto has begun to unite with other Kanto daimyo to prepare to attack the Hojo clan. This is the best time for the Kozuke lords to break away from the Hojo clan.

Because the Hojo family doesn't have time to deal with them right now.

However, in order to resist possible retaliation from the Hojo family in the future, they must quickly find a new powerful ally while banding together.

This is also the core issue of today's assessment.

"Almost all the people of Ueno participated in this uprising. Although I was the initiator of the uprising, I dare not be arrogant."

"Therefore, I believe that the joint petition should be submitted to Kasugayama Castle in Echigo Province, and Uesugi Danjo Shōsuke should take charge of the overall situation in Ueno."

"I wonder what you guys think?"

Hojo Takahiro was the first to state his position, expressing his hope that Ueno Kunizu would return to the Uesugi family with him.

Upon hearing this, Nagao Terukage and Naba Kensuke, who were sitting below, immediately responded.

Nagao Terukage's clan, the Shirai Nagao clan, was originally the Nagao family, and was of the same lineage as the Fuchu Nagao clan, the predecessor of the Uesugi family. He also had a certain sense of belonging to the Uesugi family.

As Hojo Takahiro's son-in-law, Naba Akimune naturally stood firmly on his father-in-law's side.

However, Kanai Hidekage immediately stood up and expressed a different opinion.

“The Uesugi clan has been out of Ueno for many years, and we, the people of the country, are no longer Uesugi vassals.”

"When Lord Takikawa was in Ueno, he was very kind to us."

“Now that Hojo has been driven out of Ueno, I believe we should invite Lord Takikawa back,” Kanai Hidekage said earnestly.

It's clear that although Kanai Hidekage and Takikawa Kazumasu didn't spend much time together, their bond was very strong.

Even at a time like this, he's still thinking about Takigawa Kazumasu.

"fart!"

Obata Nobusada was a hot-tempered man, and he immediately started cursing, "When the Hojo attacked, we, the people of Ueno, fully supported Takigawa Kazumasu, but Takigawa Kazumasu didn't care about our lives and just ran away."

"In the Battle of Kamirukawa, didn't Awaji no Kami himself have two sons who died? Have you forgotten?"

When the Hojo clan attacked Ueno, the local lords of Ueno did indeed send troops to support Takigawa Kazumasu.

However, Takigawa Kazumasu was focused on withdrawing his forces from Ise to attack Akechi Mitsuhide as soon as possible, so he was eager to escape and did not stand firmly with the Ueno garrison to resist the Hojo.

The Battle of Kannarukawa was a major defeat, resulting in heavy casualties among many of the Ueno soldiers who participated in the battle.

Hojo Takahiro echoed, "That's right, people like Takikawa have lost the trust of us people of Koshu."

"Correct!"

"What merit or ability does Takikawa possess? We in Ueno have already suffered a loss once; are we going to fall for it a second time?"

Seeing that he had incurred the wrath of the crowd, Kanai Hidekage quickly sat down and dared not speak again.

Seeing this, Hojo Takahiro seized the opportunity to say, "In that case, the Uesugi family seems to be our only option."

Everyone present fell into deep thought, seemingly considering the feasibility of the matter.

Looking around Ueno, it seems that only the Uesugi family can win the hearts and minds of these patriots who each have their own agendas.

Nobuyuki Sanada sat to the side, having remained silent until now.

It wasn't that he agreed with Hojo Takahiro's opinion, but rather that he was waiting for the right opportunity. As for suggestions from Uesugi and Takikawa, Sanada Nobuyuki certainly wouldn't accept them. Otherwise, wouldn't all his efforts have been for nothing?

They're just doing all the work for someone else; the Sanada family won't get any benefit from it.

Why hasn't Lord Sanada said anything?

"I would like to hear what the Sanada family thinks about this."

At this moment, Naito Masayuki, the lord of Minowa Castle, suddenly spoke, drawing the attention of the crowd.

“Yes, the Sanada family was able to preserve Shinano from the Hojo family, so why not listen to Lord Sanada’s opinion?” Wada Nobuyoshi chimed in from the side.

It's obvious that these two were mouth doubles that Nobuyuki Sanada had found in advance.

Hojo Takahiro felt a tightness in his chest, fearing that something unexpected might happen.

Seeing that everyone's eyes were on him, Sanada Nobuyuki cleared his throat and said, "Before that, please allow me to state the position of the Sanada family."

"Although our family is from Shinano, we also consider matters in Ueno to be our family's responsibility."

"What I am about to say is entirely from the heart of the Sanada family, without any selfish motives." After saying this, Sanada Nobuyuki glanced at everyone present.

The people of Ueno held their breath, ready to hear what insightful opinions Sanada Nobuyuki might have.

"I cannot agree with what Tango-no-kami previously said about the Uesugi family and Awaji-no-kami's suggestion regarding Lord Takikawa."

Hojo Takahiro frowned. "Then does the Sanada family have any other more suitable candidates?"

"Of course, that is the Oda family!"

Sanada Nobuyuki's words caused a huge stir, and the expressions of the assembled patriots all changed.

Kanai Hidekage went even further, saying, "If that's the case, why not just invite Lord Takikawa back?"

"Everyone!"

"Gentlemen!" Sanada Nobuyuki raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet before continuing, "I was referring to Oda, not any particular person."

"As is well known, after the death of Lord Oda, the Oda clan failed to achieve true unity for a long time."

"A great battle to decide who will rule the Oda clan is inevitable, and we must choose the ultimate victor of this great battle."

Upon hearing this, those present finally realized what was going on.

It turns out the Sanada family had already pledged allegiance to a powerful figure within the Oda family. No wonder they've been sitting on the sidelines for so long; they've managed to curry favor with that powerful figure all along.

Considering the recent rumors surrounding the Sanada family, the name of this person is immediately obvious—Hideyoshi Hashiba, the governor of Chikuzen Province.

Hojo Takahiro panicked.

This is different from what we agreed on before.

Wasn't the plan to have me organize an uprising and then have everyone defect to Uesugi as a gift for my return to the Uesugi family?

How did it suddenly become Hideyoshi Hashiba? Are version updates happening this fast?

"Lord Genzaburo, even if Hashiba Chikuzen-no-kami can successfully take control of the household, what good will it do for us, the people of Ueno, to choose him?" Hojo Takahiro was very anxious, and he even felt that he had been deceived.

He simply couldn't understand what the significance was for the people of Ueno to go all the way to seek refuge with Hideyoshi Hashiba.

Besides, Hideyoshi Hashiba hasn't won yet, has he?
Moreover, who knows when Toyotomi Hideyoshi will be able to unify the opposition of the Oda clan? The threat from the Hojo clan is very close at hand, and they might attack at any time.

"Lord Tango no Kami, esteemed lords," Sanada Nobuyuki addressed the crowd, "the lessons of the Takeda clan are still fresh in our minds."

Do you want to go through this again?

　Wada Nobuyoshi: His biological father was Atobe Katsuyuki, a senior retainer of Takeda Katsuyori. He married the daughter of Wada Narishige, a member of the Kozuke Kunishi clan, and became his adopted son-in-law.

　　After Wada Narishige died in the Battle of Nagashino, he succeeded as head of the Takeda clan. After the fall of the Takeda clan, he served Takigawa Kazumasu and the Hojo clan. He supported the Hojo clan in the Battle of Odawara and became a ronin after the war.

　　He wandered around and eventually died in Omi. His son later served Hoshina Masamitsu and became a retainer of the Aizu-Wakamatsu Domain.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)