Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

As for how treacherous you are? If you survive, you're called a "hypocrite" (someone who is outwardly cunning but inwardly cunning). If you don't survive, or if your efforts are ineffective, like those of Oyamada Nobushige or Kiso Yoshimasa, then you can only be considered a treacherous minister.

"This time, the entire armored army was wiped out, and our army beheaded 20,000. I wonder how Iyo no Kami plans to deal with this?" Yamagata Masamitsu was his brother-in-law, and Shichibei at least spoke with some kindness, but Kiso Yoshimasa was not a familiar face.

"There will only be death." Kiso Yoshimasa probably thought that Shichibei was just bluffing him. The Takeda army had a total of 25,000 men, and beheading 20,000 was beyond common sense.

"It seems that Iyo no Mori doesn't believe it."

"Hmph." Kiso Yoshimasa turned his head away, but did not answer.

His son, Kiso Sentarō, and daughter, Kiso Iwahime, were both held hostage at Tsutsuzaki Mansion. Crucially, he only had one son, Kiso Sentarō. Historically, Kiso Yoshitoshi wouldn't be born until next year, so Kiso Yoshimasa would absolutely not betray the Takeda clan until the situation became clear.

"Alright, someone come and take Kiso Iyo no Kami out to have a look." Shichibei clapped his hands and ordered someone to tie up Kiso Yoshimasa and take him outside to see the countless severed heads.

"Lord Kawamura, there's one more person." Kiso Yoshimasa was led out, and Oda samurai brought in another one.

Upon inquiry, it was learned that the man was Asari Masatane, one of the senior retainers of the Takeda clan. His father, Asari Nobutane, died defending the rear during the Battle of Mimasaka Pass between the Takeda and Hojo clans, thus allowing him to inherit the family business.

Historically, he surrendered to Tokugawa Ieyasu, and it was a proactive and positive surrender, to the point that Honda Tadakatsu repeatedly expressed his deepest condolences, saying that he respected Asari-dono, the current Honda Tadakatsu, and that he was the son of the Matsushita-do faction and the Mukosaka-do faction.

What does that mean? It means that the Asari family, who were once so renowned and powerful, have now been exiled to Honda Tadakatsu's command and are now fawning over obsequious samurai like Matsushita and Mukosaka, who were previously unknown but had long since pledged allegiance to the Tokugawa. It's truly a sad state of affairs.

Upon seeing Shichibei, Asari Masatane didn't utter any curses or humbly beg for mercy; he simply remained silent.

"What about Hikojiro?" Shichibei wasn't trying to persuade them to surrender; he was mainly testing their intentions.

Nobunaga's intention was certainly to send the Takeda clan to their deaths, but he hadn't fully made a decision regarding the specifics of the individuals involved. Historically, the Oda clan already had ample manpower, but was running out of land for rewards. Coupled with Takeda Shingen's betrayal, Nobunaga harbored deep resentment. Therefore, he launched a massive campaign of conquest and slaughter.

Nobunaga now needs a batch of cannon fodder to be transferred to western provinces to kill the Mori. Some of the Takeda retainers can survive, provided they assist Nobunaga in conquering Kai.

By paying the price of loyalty, the territory can be preserved and the family name can be passed down.

"..." Asari Masatane did not answer. Although he knew that the Takeda army had been defeated, he did not know how badly they had been defeated.

To reiterate, even if Takeda Yoshiyori lost ten thousand men, it would only be a minor setback, not a fatal one. If he didn't care about his life, Asari Masatane and his entire family would still be lingering in Tsuzaki-no-kan, and they certainly wouldn't surrender.

During their question-and-answer session, Kiso Yoshimasa was brought back because there happened to be a mound of heads nearby. Kiso Yoshimasa saw firsthand thousands of heads, as well as a large number of armored soldiers' corpses rising and falling in the Kiso River.

"The eldest sons of the Kiso clan are all in Kofu." After seeing so many dead heads, Kiso Yoshimasa's mind became clear and his thinking became sharp.

"I promise you a peaceful and prosperous Chikuma district, for a thousand taels of gold." Shichibei had already learned the basic price from Nobunaga.

(Historically, it was the peace and stability of the Chikuma and Azumi districts, and one hundred gold pieces and one katana from the Rikoji region.)

"..." Kiso Yoshimasa did not answer, but just looked at Shichibei.

"Peace and tranquility remain unchanged, and five thousand taels of gold will be awarded!"

"I am willing to lead the horse for the Hall of Supreme Authority."

Chapter 368 Half the Country Submitted

Kiso Yoshimasa, with his younger brother Kamimatsu Yoshitoyo as a hostage, led two hundred elite Oda soldiers to the upper reaches of the Kiso Valley. His intention was to serve as the vanguard for the Oda army, paving the way for Nobunaga's campaign to capture Shinano.

Leaving aside the situation at Kaneyama Castle in Higashimino, Saito Tatsuoki's Meiji Castle was completely undefended. Iwamura Castle, defended by Akiyama Nobuyuki, also crumbled after hearing news of the major defeat at the front. It wasn't that Akiyama Nobuyuki didn't want to defend the castle, but rather that the morale of his army had completely collapsed. Even Takeda Yoshiyori didn't stay overnight at Iwamura Castle and fled immediately, which speaks volumes.

Nobunaga appointed Kawajiri Hidetaka as the deputy commander of Iwamura Castle to temporarily remain there. After receiving the message from Shichibei, Nobunaga and Oda Nobutada split into two groups, Nobutada leading 15,000 troops as the vanguard, Nobunaga leading 8,000 troops as the central army, and Shichibei leading 10,000 troops as the rearguard. Each group traveled half a day or a day's distance apart, and they rode towards Shinano.

Hayashi Hideaki, Ikeda Tsuneoki, Sato Toshiharu, and others then began a large-scale mobilization of peasant soldiers in Noo, which not only strengthened Oda Nobunaga's forces but also assigned each soldier to carry a tael of rice as a grain transport army, continuously transporting military rations and necessary supplies through the Kiso River Valley to Kiso Fukushima Castle.

Shichibei had stockpiled 40,000 koku of grain in the granary of the farmhouse below Gifu Castle, which was more than enough to supply Oda's army to venture into Shinano. The peasant soldiers conscripted from Noo only needed to gather in Gifu to transport grain to Kiso and Fukushima Castle.

You asked about Yamagata Masakazu?

They're still standing there, dumbfounded.

It was only because of Shichibei's influence that he was allowed to join the fight. If it had been any other Takeda samurai general, Nobunaga would have already chopped him down. He won't surrender, he won't die, what a mess.

In truth, Shichibei could probably guess that Yamagata Masamitsu, after all, had the father of Yamagata Masakage, one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Takeda clan. If he led the surrender, his reputation in Kai would be ruined. For established local strongmen like them, their local reputation was quite important. They feared that by surrendering to the Oda clan, they would offend the people of Kai and be forced to cling to the Oda clan forever.

Anyway, with his brother-in-law taking the lead, he can step in to clean up the mess after the wave of surrenders from Kai and Shinano provinces, which will also be effective.

Sigh, this guy, if he weren't Shichibei's brother-in-law, Shichibei wouldn't have bothered with him at all, just for this little scheme of his. Why would Nobunaga give you 200,000 koku of Kai Province if he didn't step in and persuade a few of the Takeda clan's castles or the major vassal states on the ground to surrender?

You have to be useful to Nobunaga for him to treat you like a human being. If you can't be of any use, you're nothing. Even if you reluctantly accept it now, you won't escape being banished in the future. Or he might force you to attack fortified castles and venture into dangerous places, showing you absolutely no kindness.

Shichibei really wanted to slap Yamashita Masamitsu twice that very night, but his father had just died and one of his brothers seemed to have died as well, which was quite tragic, so Shichibei had to feel some sympathy for him.

otherwise……

No, I still need to make things clear with this little brat. You can't have it all. You get all the good things, and you don't even get to take the blame for betraying us. In the end, you're "forced" to surrender to the Oda clan, claiming you were "unyielding to the death" but only did so to "pacify the people."

Pooh!

A large army surrounded Kiso Fukushima Castle, with countless camps. Kiso Yoshimasa, inside the castle, sent messengers everywhere to persuade the people of Shinano Province to surrender on behalf of Oda Nobunaga. Look at Kiso Yoshimasa's attitude, his actions, his speed—truly proactive!

Looking at the Kiso Mountains, Shichibei sighed repeatedly. Such a strategically important border, if firmly defended, would be difficult to breach even with an army of 100,000, let alone 30,000. It was even possible that they would return empty-handed, unable to make any progress.

So, Yamagata Masamitsu, have you figured things out yet? If you have, hurry up and go to Takashima Castle in Suwa District to persuade Itagaki Nobukata's good nephew, Murozumi Masakami (Murozumi Toratoko), to surrender. The current leadership of the Takeda clan in Suwa District consists of Suwa Yoritada, Murozumi Masakami, and Nagasaka Chōkansai; it's not yet time for Nishina Morinobu to step up and take charge.

Suwa Yoritada and Nagasaka Chōkansai were sent by Takeda Yoshiyori to attack the Oda army, and their fates are unknown. Now, the only one left in Takashima Castle is the garrison commander, Murozumi Masakami.

Yamagata Masamitsu, who was almost slapped eight times across the face by Shichibei, saw how hard Kiso Yoshimasa was trying to win the top position among the Shinano people in the Oda clan. He was finally able to understand the situation.

The saying goes, "One can never teach another person to learn. But one can learn from experience; one can learn immediately after being taught."

Shichibei and Yamagata Masamitsu tried everything to persuade him, even slapping him, but this brother-in-law was shameless and pretended to be dead. When he saw Kiso Yoshimasa actively persuading the powerful clans of Shinano Province to surrender, and had already convinced some clans from Azumi, Kurokawa, and Suwa counties to come and guide Oda Nobutada, he realized he couldn't delay any longer.

It is not too late to mend the dead.

The captured Yamagata samurai were released, and Shichibei sent men to escort Yamagata Masamitsu to Oda Nobutada's camp, which was besieging Takashima Castle.

With his position as a chief retainer within the Takeda clan, Yamagata Masamitsu's open surrender was a devastating blow to the Takeda generals stationed in Shinano from Kai Province. Following the surrender of Takashima Castle's Murozumi Masakami and the subsequent pacification of his territory, many Kai samurai without a foothold in Shinano abandoned their castle and fled to Kai.

For example, Baba Masafusa, the heir of Baba Nobuharu, and Hara Shigetane, the son of Hara Toratane, both led their troops away, not daring to linger. Only Kosaka Masanobu, the lord of Kaizu Castle who did not participate in the Battle of Kamo, chose to continue to hold Kaizu Castle, preparing to resist the Oda army's attack.

In addition, Akiyama Nobutomo, the chief of the Takeda clan in Ina district of Shinano, who had fled from Iwamura Castle back to Shinano, also chose to hold Takato Castle, buying time for Takeda Yoshiyori to return to Kofu and reorganize his troops.

When Shichibei led no fewer than 30,000 men (including 20,000 peasant soldiers) from Kiso-Fukushima Castle to Nobunaga's main camp at Suwa-Takashima Castle, large numbers of Shinano's local people had already paid homage to Nobunaga and his son Nobutada. Some even handed over hostages to the Oda army and cobbled together an army of 8,000 men, with Kiso Yoshimasa as the vanguard, to attack Kaizu Castle from the north.

It is unclear what Nobunaga was thinking, but he also ordered Oda Nobuhiro to lead 5,000 men from Sawayama in Kohoku to Shinano immediately to participate in the siege of Kaizu Castle.

As for Shichibei himself, he led these so-called 30,000 men to capture Takato Castle, which was only guarded by 2,000 men, and seize the entire Ina District.

Nobunaga's own personal bodyguard, Mori Hideyori, was assigned to Shichibei. This means that Mori Hideyori personally charged forward, while Shichibei cheered him on from behind.

If Mōri Hideyori can capture Takato Castle, he can, like Maeda Toshiie or Tsuda Hiromasa before him, rule a district with 50,000 or 80,000 koku. If he can't, he might as well die and give up on being human.

Mōri Hideyori was also quite shrewd. He led a thousand men south, recruiting people from Ina Province who had joined the Oda clan along the way. By the time he reached Takato Castle, he had about two thousand men. However, on the surface, he appeared to be an army of thirty thousand men, led by the "capable and renowned general" Kawamura Shichibei Nagayoshi, who came to attack the castle.

Akiyama Nobutomo, known as the "Bull of Takeda," genuinely wanted to defend Takato Castle to the death. However, the Hoshina, Fujisawa, Takato, and Ogasawara clans were terrified at the sight of the Oda army's 30,000-strong force. Before they could even decide how to defend it, the Fujisawa and Ogasawara clans betrayed them. Mori Hideyori immediately responded, personally donning armor and attacking the castle, launching a pincer attack on Akiyama Nobutomo.

Unable to withstand the fierce fighting, Akiyama Nobutomo ultimately committed seppuku at the main keep of the castle, and his head was sent to Oda Nobunaga's main camp at Suwa Takashima Castle. After reviewing the head, Nobunaga indeed granted Mori Hideyori all 50,000 koku of Ina district.

Unlike in history, where Takato Castle was attacked by tens of thousands of Oda Nobutada troops and was completely destroyed, this time, although fierce fighting also occurred, the battle ended much faster, lasting only a day and a half. In the first half of the day, some people in the castle rebelled, in the second half of the day, Mori Hideyori joined in, and in the last half of the day, they entered the castle to suppress the rebellion.

"Why hasn't my brother arrived yet?" Nobunaga asked as soon as he saw Shichibei returning with his troops.

"The streets of Kiso are incredibly crowded, so it's normal for it to be a little late." Shichibei thought to himself, "Oh dear, I just came from the battlefield of Takato Castle, how would I know?"

"We must hurry." Nobunaga looked at the map of Shinano, Kai, Tōtōmi and other places in front of him.

Chikuma County was the first to be circled by Nobunaga with ink, followed by Suwa County, and now Ina County has been added. Of the at least 400,000 koku of land in Shinano Province, about half has now fallen into the hands of the Oda clan.

In other words, the Sanada clan of Toishi Castle in the small prefecture and the Kousaka Masanobu of Kaizu Castle in Hanishina County have not yet declared their allegiance to the Oda clan. As for the Minouchi and Takai counties, also known as Oku Shinano, the Takeda and Uesugi forces are intertwined, so we will not discuss them for now.

If we don't seize this opportunity, riding high on our victory, it will be difficult for them to regroup and invade the strategically important provinces of Shinano and Kai.

Amidst the current unrest, with everyone on edge and seeing threats everywhere, the prestige of the Takeda clan's rule collapsed in a short time. However, it is not without the possibility of rebuilding, provided there is a stable internal environment.

"A messenger heading to Uesugi?" Shichibei sat down in front of Nobunaga, slightly changing the subject.

"The Unknown Hermitage?" Nobunaga did have some insights into this matter.

Takeda Yoshiyori attacked Oda Nobunaga not only because the previous nominal peace treaty had expired, but also because he possessed Ashikaga Chitosemaru, the son of a former shogun. Therefore, Takeda Yoshiyori used the names of Ashikaga Yoshiaki and Ashikaga Chitosemaru to call on Uesugi Kenshin to fight alongside him in the invasion of Hokuriku.

To put it simply, he wanted to maintain peace with the Hokuriku Ikkyu clan and fight against Hiromasa of Kaga's Enuma district and Nagamasa of Echizen province. However, Uesugi Kenshin did not give a clear response to Takeda Yoshiyori; he seemed to be still considering it.

As for the Chugoku region, it had essentially been captured by Uesugi Kenshin. At this time, Uesugi Kenshin was attacking Noto and could not participate in the offensive against Shinano. This was both a good thing and a bad thing. The good thing was that no one had the strength to take Shinano, but the bad thing was that Kosaka Masanobu's back was no longer a major threat.

As for the Sanada clan?

The mighty general Sanada Nobutsuna, who was unparalleled in strength, died in the Battle of Kamo while covering the rear, but his brothers Sanada Masaki, Muto Kihei, and Sanada Nobuyoshi all escaped back to Shinano.

It is said that Sanada Nobuoki, the eldest son of Sanada Nobutsuna, has inherited the title of head of the Sanada clan, but a dispute seems to have arisen within the family over whether to continue following the Takeda clan or side with the Oda clan.

Sanada Nobutsuna was dead, and Sanada Yukitaka had long since passed away, but he had a large group of brothers and cousins. Otherwise, how could he have become the head of the Takeda clan in a small prefecture, and thus possess a territory of tens of thousands of koku?

It should be noted that Kosaka Masanobu had 500 cavalrymen under his command, and Sanada Nobutsuna also had 200 cavalrymen under his command; practically the entire small prefecture was under their control. Both were important strongholds.

I heard that Yoshimasa Kiso also sent people to Toishi Castle to persuade him, but it is still unknown whether he succeeded.

"What about Kai?" Shichibei asked again about the one who was chasing Takeda Yoshiyori.

"Your good brother-in-law has already led Fujikichiro to chase after him." Nobunaga certainly wouldn't forget to hunt down Takeda Yoshiyori, and the pursuit was a very high priority.

In addition, Takigawa Kazumasu also went along. Kazumasu and Hideyoshi together had a total of 6,000 men. With the cooperation of Yamagata Masamitsu, they were unlikely to encounter much difficulty when they entered Kai Province.

The key question is whether Takeda Yoshiyori will flee to join Hojo Ujimasa or hide somewhere else. If that happens, it will take a lot of effort for Kai to completely pacify the region.

I've heard that Tokugawa Ieyasu of Mikawa in the south has also raised a large army to sweep through Totomi. Takeda Yoshiyori's defeat at Kamo was truly devastating; roughly speaking, he lost nearly 20,000 men, his very backbone broken. The core officer corps that could organize troops in the region has been completely lost, and only a handful of soldiers can be cobbled together to fight under the command of Oda's samurai.

"Urgent report!"

The two were chatting when a servant rushed in. He looked travel-worn, as if he had come from afar to deliver the message.

"explain."

"Ashikaga Chitose-maru has been located inside Kai Eirin-ji Temple." The attendant provided a rather important piece of information.

"Erin-ji Temple?" Shichibei recognized the name immediately.

Because this Erin-ji Temple was actually the exclusive temple of Takeda Shingen. It was built specifically to commemorate the deceased Takeda Shingen, and the national teacher Kaikawa Shōki was invited to preside over it. It was an important temple in Kai Province.

Twenty years earlier, Date Masamune's teacher, Toraya Souichi, was a disciple of Kaikawa Shōki. His title of National Preceptor was not self-proclaimed, but conferred by the Emperor of Japan, and he held a high position and reputation in the Japanese religious world.

But he ran into Oda Nobunaga? Heh.

Do you know Enryaku-ji Temple on Mount Hiei? It burned down.

What kind of imperial advisor is he? It's all bullshit!

How dare they hide Ashikaga Chitose-maru? Nobunaga immediately ordered his servants to return and report to Kaikawa Shōki, demanding that he hand over Ashikaga Chitose-maru. Otherwise, he would burn down the mountain gate and destroy everything.

Surprisingly, no one within the shogunate voiced any objections. Using arson as leverage against Buddhist temples had always been a key element of Japan's struggle against Buddhism. Temples and pagodas were extremely difficult to build, costing enormous sums, and to protect their temples, monks were often willing to yield.

For this reason, everyone assumed Nobunaga was threatening Kaikawa Shokichi, and no one took it seriously. Similarly, no one thought Kaikawa Shokichi would be unreasonable.

So, what a clever old monk he is, isn't he?