Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

Even the five hundred cavalrymen of Mikawa became models of loyalty and bravery throughout the land, which shows how much effort the Tokugawa family put into the historical record after seizing power.

"If Princess Tokuhime of Okazaki sends another letter, remember to send someone to inform me." Although Shichibei was unsure whether the murder of Nobuyasu and his mother would happen again in this life, it was always better to be on the safe side.

"Okay." Seeing that Shichibei had finished wiping the baby's bottom, Ichihime wiped the child's face and helped him put on his undergarments.

"These are troublesome times." Shichibei rubbed his back, feeling that it was smooth after being wiped, and then got up to pour water on it to finish.

Once he was lying on the tatami mat, Shichibei asked the young general if he knew about the matter. The young general, of course, knew, and asked what was wrong with it. There were plenty of rude samurai out there; it was just a normal thing.

The wives of so many samurai at Gifu Castle were either abducted or remarried after their husbands died; there was no real affection involved. The samurai and foot soldiers would take a woman home to continue their lineage, and in this chaotic world, the women relied on strong men for survival—it was all a matter of mutual benefit.

Expecting men to love or be fond of such a pairing is pure nonsense. Besides, what kind of gentlemen are these roughnecks who spend their days following Oda Nobunaga out to kill tens of thousands at a time?

Sigh, it's one thing to call others rude, but let's not talk about Tokugawa Nobuyasu's affairs.

Like Princess Ichi, the young general didn't ask any further questions after hearing Shichibei's words, indicating that she would speak less about the matter. However, she would still attend the gatherings of these ladies as usual, maintaining her relationships with everyone and listening to the gossip along the way.

Gifu Castle was quite lively during the New Year, mainly because there was no fighting during the holiday. Furthermore, there weren't any major defeats this year, and few people died, which made it even more lively.

After resting for two days, Nobunaga in Kyoto had apparently received news of Takeda Yoshiyori's acquisition of the Rikuri Chitose-maru. His response was rather calm, merely instructing Nobutada to keep his 30,000 men under his command in check. Takeda Yoshiyori would certainly come to test the waters after the spring snow melted; whether it would succeed or not, only time would tell.

Due to the fluctuations of the butterfly's wings, the Takeda clan still believes that they are invincible in open field battles and can seek to annihilate the main force of the Oda army in order to advance on Luoyang.

Who told them to win at Mikatagahara? Because of that victory, they thought the Oda army was nothing special in open field battles. Of course, they were less effective at sieges, but who isn't exhausted these days?

I heard that Nobunaga and Tsuda Sansei are practicing that big gun technique every day in Kyoto, which basically involves using a large cannon to fire projectiles into the castle. It's similar to the Tango Inatomi school's fire arrow technique, both aiming to deliver indirect fire.

If we can master the art of curved shots, even those nasty mountain cities can be put to the test.

He took a break for now and spent the rest of the year at Gifu Castle until the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, marking the end of the New Year holiday. Only then did Shichibei pack up and resume work. He mainly had two tasks: one was to oversee the logistics for Miyoshi Nobutaka and Kagawa Nobusumi, and the other was the Ryotekiya shop, which should be almost fully operational by now. Both were in Sakai, so the two tasks could be combined into one.

Logically, the logistics for Nobutaka and Nobusumi should have been handled by Niwa Nagahide. However, Niwa Nagahide had also crossed the sea to Awa at this time, and Nobutaka Miyoshi and Nobusumi Kagawa had almost no experience in besieging the large castle, so they needed Niwa Nagahide to assist them.

Katsuzui Castle was the economic, cultural, and administrative center of Awa, Sanuki, and Awaji provinces. Located on the plains south of the Yoshino River, Katsuzui Castle was developed and constructed over a total of 240 years by nine generations of Hosokawa and three generations of Miyoshi, forming a massive and magnificent internal and external defensive fortification. It was surrounded by branch castles and fortresses such as Itagaki, Saijo, and Himeda, and a moat more than 14 meters wide was constructed using the waters and marshes of the Yoshino River.

Let alone a young man like Miyoshi Nobutaka, even Niwa Nagahide found the city incredibly difficult to conquer. Therefore, the Oda army is currently focused on eliminating the branch castles surrounding Katsuzui Castle, and is also using the connections between Ashikaga Yoshisuke and Miyoshi Yasutoshi to solicit surrenders from various places.

It's likely that Nobunaga and Tsuda, who were working on that large iron cannon capable of curved fire, were also trying to give their own son a helping hand. According to Shichibei's understanding, Miyoshi Nobutaka gradually began to besiege Katsuzui Castle around the same time that Nobunaga retreated from Kii Province.

While besieging Katsuzui Castle, they also tried to persuade the people of Awa Province to surrender. Sogawa Masayasu and others from Sanuki, although united with Miyoshi Nagaharu to resist Oda, did not choose to enter Katsuzui Castle, but instead resisted as a mobile force within their own territory. Kagawa Nobusumi's troops were then dispatched to intercept Sogawa Masayasu, which is one of the reasons why Niwa Nagahide led the Gozume across the sea to Awa.

Upon arriving in Sakai, Shichibei inquired with Mizoguchi Sadakatsu, a retainer of Niwa Nagahide who remained in Sakai. He learned that Nagahide had instructed that supplies be delivered every ten days, or every fifteen days if that was inconvenient.

Since they had already established a foothold in Miyoshi Yasutoshi's territory, the main shortage was in supplies such as weapons and ammunition. Food could be obtained by requisitioning it locally or by purchasing it from the Chosokabe family in the neighboring Tosa.

Last year, Chosokabe Motochika did fight Ichijo Kanesada, who barely escaped with his life. It is said that Akechi Mitsuhide, who mediated the conflict between Ichijo and Chosokabe Motochika, even invited Ichijo Kanesada to live in Sakamoto or Otsu. Ichijo Kanesada first fled to Usuki-kan in Bungo, and it is unclear whether he came to the Kinai region.

It was precisely because of the conflict with Ichijo Kanesada and the generals of Nan-Iyo that Chosokabe Motochika was unable to participate in the Siege of Awa and could only provide some military rations as assistance to the alliance with the Oda clan.

That's good, but we still have to send food. Japan is in a chaotic Warring States period, so any so-called alliances are questionable.

It wasn't that I didn't trust Chosokabe Motochika, but rather that I didn't trust the average moral level of people in this chaotic Warring States period. Murder and arson were commonplace; it couldn't be taken too seriously.

Mizoguchi Sadakatsu noted everything down and also mentioned the need for raincoats to Shichibei. There wasn't much snow in Shikoku, but there was a lot of drizzle. He hoped that Shichibei could raise at least two thousand raincoats from the mainland to support the siege camp of Katsuyuki Castle.

No problem, no problem. It's a small matter. Shichibei is very familiar with Nobunaga. Do you want some straw sandals? Anyway, it's all Oda Nobunaga's responsibility to reimburse his good son. Let's overstate it and we can cover some of the losses.

We all do this kind of thing, so why pretend to be innocent?

If it were anyone else, Mizoguchi Sadakatsu would definitely have thought this was a test, but Shichibei was also from the core samurai group of Owari, a true ally, so naturally he could only smile knowingly.

The two then discussed the amount, and Shichibei said he would treat everyone tonight, promising Mizoguchi a great deal. Mizoguchi, understanding the implication, repeatedly said he wouldn't dare, adding that he absolutely had to attend the banquet that night.

There wasn't anything particularly important after that. Anyway, Shin-taka's advance in Shikoku was relatively steady. Although he didn't achieve any great victories, it was good to proceed steadily. He only had a few thousand men, which were mainly given to him by his father, so he couldn't afford to squander them easily.

In the afternoon, as usual, I returned to Ashikaga Princess's residence to stay, and told her that Mizoguchi Sadakatsu would be coming that evening, so I should prepare in advance. I should find two decent courtesans, who could play musical instruments and sing.

Given the current efficiency of Japanese sieges of castles, the siege of Shengrui Castle will likely last at least another six months. During those six months, there will be plenty of dealings and battles with Mizoguchi Sadakatsu, and he will need to be treated well.

As for money? Let's just use gold coins. The logistics for 15,000 people will bring huge benefits. We must satisfy Goukou Dingsheng.

Princess Ashikaga was clearly very familiar with this set of Japanese samurai "etiquette." Her family had been accepting bribes from various countries for over a century, and they even kept detailed records of bribe prices as a reference. Now, she could handle things as smoothly as she wanted.

As soon as it got dark, Goukou Dingsheng came to visit. He's alright; he can hold back, at least he knows the importance of waiting until dark to visit.

The courtesans from the tavern, whom he had called over, played the stringed instrument and sang songs. Mizoguchi Sadakatsu had one on his left and one on his right, laughing heartily. As a senior retainer of Niwa Nagahide, he only needed to respect Shichibei, but he certainly didn't miss out on any of the pleasures he deserved.

Seeing that he was eating and drinking well, Shichibei naturally invited him to stay overnight. Although Mizoguchi Sadakatsu declined verbally, he didn't let go of his hands at all, as if to say, "Isn't that just like taking a big bath at our house?"

Shichibei quickly washed up and prepared to lie down for bed when he heard a commotion outside the patrol. He immediately stood up and sent someone outside to inquire. He learned that a group of defeated soldiers, about three or four hundred in number, had fled to Sakai and were begging the town to take them in.

Because it was already late at night and they couldn't distinguish friend from foe, the members of the guild dared not let anyone in, and demanded that the defeated soldiers wait outside the ditch until the next day. They also mobilized the soldiers and townspeople to the streets to prevent any unrest.

A rout?

Where did these defeated soldiers come from?

Although Shichibei's main store isn't in Sakai, he is the Sakai daikan, theoretically the highest ruler of Sakai. This incident cannot be ignored. Immediately send people to find Tsuda Munekichi and Takeno Munekata to determine which group of defeated soldiers it was, and to ascertain their origins and background.

After waiting at home for a while, about half an hour, Takeno Munekata was the first to arrive. Although he had regained his status as a member of the Huiheshu, he had not yet established any businesses, only receiving some storehouses from Imai Munehisa, so he was relatively free and came as soon as Shichibei called him.

They are defeated soldiers from the Oda clan!

Specifically, it refers to the defeated soldiers of Harada Saemon-suke.

"What!" Upon hearing that it was Naomasa Hanawa's defeated soldiers, Shichibei's heart pounded.

"There are about two or three hundred people who have stopped outside the town, but their exact situation is unknown." Takeno Munekazu also rushed over but did not go out to meet with the defeated soldiers.

"Hiss..." The matter could be big or small, and there might even be a possibility of impersonation.

Hanawa Naomasa was originally just a Umakai-shu under Oda Nobunaga, but he gradually rose through the ranks and within a few years became the so-called Yamashiro Shugodai (Deputy Governor of Yamashiro), in charge of most of the territory of Yamashiro Province. His army was mixed with many random old forces, and who knows if they were imposters.

"I've already sent someone to Etsuke Town to confirm, and we'll have further news soon," Takeno Munekazu quickly added.

"As soon as possible! The sooner the better." Shichibei knew that there was no need to rush at this moment, so he simply ordered a servant to follow Takeno Munekazu's men to where the defeated soldiers were.

If it really was Hanawa Naomasa's troops, then there must have been a problem with the siege of Ishiyama Hongan-ji Temple. But that shouldn't be the case; Hanawa Naomasa's own 12,000 men, along with several thousand from Nobunaga's main force, were all within the long siege. With so many men and fortifications to rely on, how could something have gone wrong?

Chapter 353 The Han Army Suffers a Defeat but Holds the Line

Last year, Shichibei wondered if Naomasa Hanawa's fierce attack on Kizu Fortress at Kizugawa would be thwarted by Shimoma Yorihiro's "all-tactical switching" tactics, which would kill him.

But Naomasa Hanawa was very confident, mainly because many archer and arquebusiers from Nobunaga's main force were guarding his main camp at Tennoji Fortress. Even at its weakest, Tennoji Fortress was still defended by over a thousand regular foot soldiers.

It's not that I look down on the Japanese siege skills, but at this point, everyone was utterly incompetent at sieges. Oda Nobunaga was incompetent, Takeda Shingen was incompetent, Uesugi Kenshin was incompetent—they were all at the same level. Tennoji Fortress, guarded by over a thousand standing foot soldiers, only needed to hold out for two days before the surrounding Oda army commanders attacked.

How many soldiers did Ishiyama Honganji have? At most 20,000.

Knowing that this was all the strength he possessed, Nobunaga appointed Hanawa Naomasa as the commander of the Ishiyama campaign army. After sending several thousand regular troops to reinforce Hanawa Naomasa, the Oda army theoretically had the upper hand.

Even if 20,000 men were to attack the Tennoji Fortress, which was defended by only 1,000 or 2,000 men, once the legion commanders arrived, the Koichiku would be doomed.

So how did they lose? Where did they go wrong? Naomasa Hanawa was a veteran general; he wouldn't make any stupid mistakes, would he? He wouldn't have caused any infighting on the battlefield, or failed to set up defenses, allowing the Ikko-ikki to launch a surprise attack at will.

Shichibei was completely baffled.

The actual situation was quite complicated, and Honganji Temple was not certain of success. The two sides fought over the Kizu Fortress and Rogan Fortress at the mouth of the Kizu River, with Hanawa Naomasa attempting to completely block Honganji Temple's waterways.

Both sides took a short break during the New Year. Once the New Year was over, Naomasa Hanawa led a large army to attack Kizu Fortress. Just as the two sides were fiercely fighting, news suddenly came that several thousand cavalrymen of the Ikko-ikki had turned towards the Yodo River, preparing to force a crossing and open up communication with Araki Murashige in the Settsu-Ikeda and Arioka areas.

Once this connection is established, the Hongan-ji Temple's food shortage crisis will be resolved immediately. After all, Settsu is a well-developed agricultural area, and Araki Village has enough food to support Ishiyama Hongan-ji Temple.

Upon hearing this news, Hanawa Naomasa did not move, because he knew that there were also people defending the Yodogawa side, and besides, this might be a diversionary tactic. It has been said that he was no fool, but a seasoned and experienced general.

Immediately, Naomasa Hanawa launched a fierce attack on Kizu Fortress, while simultaneously sending scouts to the Yodogawa River to gather intelligence. This is understandable; the Honganji Temple only had 20,000 men, and sending several thousand cavalry to force a crossing of the Yodogawa River and break the encirclement meant that their forces in other directions were inevitably weak.

As expected, Naomasa Hanawa discovered that the firepower of Kizu Fortress had decreased and was not as strong as it had been the previous year.

good good!

Therefore, Hanawa Naomasa ordered the division of troops. He commanded Hanawa Yasuhiro to lead 5,000 men to strengthen the defense of Yodogawa in order to ensure that the Yodogawa defense line would not be breached by the Ikko-ikki.

He himself led an army of 5,000 to launch a fierce attack on Kizu Fortress, intending to take down this strategic military location in one fell swoop and completely trap Honganji Temple.

As soon as Hanawa Yasuhiro left, Shimoma Yoriren, standing atop the temple's high tower, saw everything clearly. The attack that had broken through the encirclement of Hongan-ji Temple finally appeared before Shimoma Yoriren.

Was the military strength inside Kizu Fortress really weak? Of course not.

During the New Year's holiday when both sides were at a standstill, Saiga Magoichi, who outwardly surrendered to Nobunaga but in reality maintained his independence, led 3,000 arquebusiers to garrison Rogan Fortress.

The three thousand Saiga soldiers, having endured half a year of fighting, were quite exhausted even with the advantage of rest. Now that they had been barely mobilized, Shimoma Yorihiro knew that he could not arrange for them to engage in any more intense mobile warfare.

So the two of them decided that Saiga Magoichi's task was to defend the Rogan Fortress until Shimoma Yorihiro gave the signal, then launch a major offensive and advance together with the other members of the Tokyo Rebellion.

The 3,000-strong garrison at Lou'an Fortress, along with some weak followers of the Jodo Shinshu sect, disguised themselves as an army of 7,000 to 8,000 and moved to the Yodo River, making the appearance of a forced crossing of the river to re-establish contact with Araki Village.

After Hanawa Yasuhiro split up his forces and left, the opportunity to strike arrived!

The Kizu Fortress garrison, feigning weakness, and the long-awaited Saiga rebellion of the Rogishi Fortress, with a combined force of 5,000 arquebusiers and 8,000 men, launched a fierce counterattack against Hanawa Naomasa's troops, whose ranks were already scattered during the attack.

The Saiga navy, sailing small boats on all sides, along with the Ikko-ikki, leaping out from the mudflats, bushes, and ditches, unleashed a hail of bullets that crushed the vanguard of Hanawa Naomasa's army in a mere instant.

The Hanawa army was thrown into chaos. Suddenly, shouts rang out from within the ranks that Harada had been captured. The shouts, rising and falling, along with the firing of five thousand arquebuses, terrified the Hanawa army.

The advantage gained moments before vanished instantly, and the army crumbled and scattered. Hanawa Naomasa, attempting to regroup, had barely mounted his horse and waved his banner when a hundred or so arquebuses rained down on him. Several of his personal guards were instantly killed by bullets. Realizing he could not stop the attack, Hanawa Naomasa had no choice but to retreat to Tennoji Fortress.

No problem, not a big problem at all. Hana An-hiro's five thousand men are still intact.

Although the 5,000 men at Kizu Fortress have been scattered, at most 1,000 or 2,000 have died. Once they return to Tennoji Fortress and are reorganized, they will be able to quickly regain their fighting strength.

So Hanawa Naomasa fled to Tennoji Fortress, while some of the defeated soldiers sought refuge in Sakai. As a result, the news that reached Shichibei was that Hanawa Naomasa's banner had been shot down by arquebuses, and that rumors were spreading throughout the camp that Hanawa Naomasa had been defeated.

"*!" Shichibei cursed upon hearing this.

Hanawa Naomasa really died just like that? A veteran general, what a waste of the Yamashiro province Nobunaga gave him. But now is not the time for complaining or cursing; the real priority is to immediately send someone to Tennoji Fortress to find out the details.

Given the suddenness of the incident, Shichibei, as a senior retainer of the Oda clan, had a duty to investigate. It was entirely possible that Oda Nobunaga would come to inquire later, and Nobunaga himself was currently in Kyoto.

As dawn broke, the Sakai clan and Shichibei's men all ran out. The two or three hundred defeated soldiers were temporarily housed at Sakai South Village by Shichibei; the wounded received treatment, and the uninjured were fed. Once they were full, they would return to Tennoji Fortress.

"My lord, news has arrived from Tianwangsi Fortress!" The daylight had barely broken and the defeated soldiers had just settled down when a servant came running up.

"pass."

"Lord Kawamura, Tennoji Fortress is in grave danger. Please come to our aid immediately."

"What is the situation with Harada Saemon-suke?" Shichibei asked immediately upon hearing this.

"My lord is facing the enemy at Tianwangji Fortress. The enemy outnumbers us and we are surrounded ten times over." Hana Naomasa's attendant looked anxious and was trembling all over (exaggerating the enemy situation).

"Understood!" Shichibei breathed a sigh of relief. Tennoji Fortress was guarded by one or two thousand regular foot soldiers, so the sky wouldn't fall down.

After dismissing Hanawa Naomasa's attendants, Shichibei didn't linger. Hanawa Naomasa had sent men primarily to secure two forces. One was the Sakai Yoshinbang, a unit that, by rights, never left Sakai. However, given Shichibei's influence, securing several hundred Sakai Yoshinbang soldiers armed with arquebuses for battle would be no difficult task.

The other group consisted of Shichibei's two or three hundred personal guards, as well as several hundred support personnel left in Sakai, including Niwa Nagahide, Miyoshi Nobutaka, and Kagawa Nobusumi.

If they could gather men from both sides, they could probably muster several hundred to a thousand. Changing the course of the battle was impossible, but strengthening the defenses of Tennoji Fortress with hundreds of arquebuses was entirely possible.