Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

The purpose was to prevent Sakai from being harassed by war, and also to ensure that Kishiwada Castle, an important military port, would no longer be controlled by anti-Nobunaga forces.

【注1】：橘川真一著；西川卓男校訂『別所一族の興亡「播州太平記」と三木合戦』神戸新聞総合出版センター〈のじぎく文庫〉、2004年ISBN4-343-00303-5。

[Note 2]: Besshoden Uemon was protected by his wet nurse and escaped the city. He later became a retainer of Kato Yoshiaki.

424. Nobusumi enters the territory of Sanuki.

Shichibei can't leave yet; he needs to check on his brother-in-law, Hashiba Hidenaga. Some of his soldiers contracted dysentery during the siege of Shikata Castle, and he doesn't know how they are now.

Fortunately, Hidenaga himself wasn't infected. That made no difference; Shichibei didn't have time to care about the deaths of others. In the Sengoku period, people died every day; thousands died in Miki Castle alone, and hundreds committed suicide by self-immolation.

Kushihashi Masaie, who was stationed in Shikata Castle, also surrendered with two or three hundred remaining soldiers. Since the main castle, Miki, had surrendered, the branch castle, Shikata, naturally followed suit. Because the soldiers in this castle all suffered from infectious diseases, Hideyoshi and Hidenaga refused to take them, sending them all to Kuroda Yoshitaka for care.

Because of this, the Kuroda family, which was originally just a powerful clan with a few thousand koku of land, gradually began to have a group of retainers who ruled over a territory of tens of thousands of koku.

With Hideyoshi and Nagaharu safe, Shichibei had nothing to worry about. He said goodbye to Hideyoshi and Bessho Nagaharu, then prepared to return to the main store in Azuchi. The Kawamura-ya main store, along with the construction of Azuchi Castle, had been moved from Gifu. Wherever Nobunaga was, Shichibei had to move Kawamura-ya there. After all, they were Nobunaga's biggest wallet.

Hideyoshi, having defeated the siege of Miki Castle, was unharmed and signed the agreement with Shichibei.

He took the bill from him and returned to Himeji with the Otsugozen no Kamakura (cauldron for Otsugozen), and suppressed the rebellious Kodera Masatsugu and Miki Michiaki.

Although Miki Castle in Bessho Nagaharu was completely destroyed, with thousands of corpses piled up inside, resembling a ruined city, the money from selling the annual tribute rice amounted to over 20,000 kan. This was more than enough to restore Miki. However, judging from Bessho Nagaharu's intentions, it seemed he wasn't planning to continue operating in Miki.

This time, Hideyoshi and Shichibei's earth attack on Miki Castle, which was known as the most impregnable castle in the land, has exposed its true invincibility. From now on, anyone else attacking will only need to replicate the earth attack tactics, bombarding the castle with sticks and fire arrows. Miki Castle has lost its most prized defensive capabilities.

Therefore, Bessho Nagaharu wanted to move the main castle to a seaside port. He believed that the country's security was not in the danger of mountains and streams, and that the future of the country would belong to Lord Nobunaga. A majestic castle in a mountain valley was of little use; it would be better to develop the castle town, gather the townspeople, acquire wealth, and support the soldiers.

Hmm? That's a good idea. Where should we move to?

Akashi.

Yes, it is possible to build a castle tower using the terrain of Mount Hitomaru, construct a vast castle town and port on the plains at the foot of the mountain and at the river mouth, and artificially dig canals. Then, windbreak forests and shipyards would be built, making it the gateway from the Seto Inland Sea to Osaka Bay.

Go ahead, demolish all those dilapidated outposts; they're practically all ruins anyway. While outposts do protect the main city, they also represent the powerful clans and noble families of the lands below. Now, those nobles are either being slaughtered or promoted, and Higashiharima has become a one-man show in Bessho-chōjū. What's the point of having so many outposts?

As a newly formed rebellion, the other factions shouldn't consider building any branch cities in the short term. Relocating their main city, which has been completely destroyed, is the most reasonable course of action.

Not only that, Bessho Nagaharu also needed to quickly raise an army of at least four or five thousand men to respond to Hideyoshi's or Nobunaga's military campaigns at any time. The territory of over 100,000 to 200,000 koku in the eight districts of Higashi-Harima was not something to be easily held onto. Once Nagaharu entered the province, he would have to serve Nobunaga. Nobunaga wouldn't be satisfied unless he served continuously for two or three years.

Nagaharu came to talk to Shichibei about this matter, hoping that Shichibei could cooperate in the construction of the castle. It wasn't that he wanted to borrow money, but rather that he hoped Shichibei could help him gather timber, stone, and craftsmen.

I heard that Shichibei is going to conquer Izumi, and maybe even Awaji.

In the future, we might become brothers who help each other, both operating within Osaka Bay. Shichibei's arrival to restore his country is a great favor, saving his life and preventing its extinction; we should befriend him more.

Alright, alright, Shichibei is safe in Harima Province now. He took his last two or three thousand cavalry and retreated back to his camp. When he passed through Settsu, he saw Kawajiri Hidetaka, Ikeda Tsuneoki, Hayashi Hidesada (who participated in the Battle of Kamiya Castle in history) and others besieging Hanakuma Castle.

The Mori army inside Hanakuma Castle was in a state of constant panic. Most of the Mori navy's ships had retreated to Murakami Mishima and Bingo Takehara, and after the crushing defeat, no renowned generals came to reorganize the forces. If the Oda army hadn't lacked naval superiority, they would have already attacked the castle.

Mitsuhide, who was besieging Arioka Castle, was still urging Araki Murashige to commit seppuku and open the castle, saying that dying alone was better than sending thousands or tens of thousands of people inside Arioka Castle away.

What about Xinzhong?

Nobutada has been promoted to Major General of the Left Imperial Guard in Kyoto.

That's right. Nobutada made a great contribution in the Battle of Arioka-Amagasaki by killing 4,000 soldiers of the Mori-Araki alliance. With his father helping him, he's bound to get promoted.

Oh dear, we didn't prepare a congratulatory gift for Nobutada! Although Nobutada and Shichibei are theoretically Oda Nobunaga's "retainers," he is, after all, the head of the Oda clan and will succeed him in the future. We should at least give him something for promoting four junior generals, to lay the foundation for his future.

He urgently borrowed a gold-lacquered saddle from the owner of a teahouse in Kyoto, along with some gold dust and silk, and prepared the gifts before going to visit Nobutada, who was temporarily resting at Myokaku-ji Temple.

However, Nobutada didn't have time to entertain Shichibei, and they only chatted briefly because Ōtomo Yoshitomo from Kyushu had sent someone to Kyoto. There were two matters. The first was quite simple: Ōtomo Sōrin had relinquished the headship of the clan to Ōtomo Yoshitomo because of his Christian faith and inability to contain the growth of other powers in Kyushu, which had caused internal strife within the clan.

Ōtomo Yoshitaka sent someone to Kyoto specifically to purchase the position of Junior Fifth Rank, Left Guard Commander. The Kyushu Tandai (expert in Kyushu) was granted by Ashikaga Yoshiteru, so we'll leave that aside for now.

With the establishment of the new system of government, from then on, samurai families had to be recommended by the Oda clan to apply for official positions. In order to pave the way for Nobutada, this matter was entrusted to Nobutada.

The second matter is more troublesome. The Battle of Mimikawa, a crucial battle in history that determined the ownership of Kyushu, is about to break out.

Of course, there's no official name for the Battle of Mimikawa yet. The Shimazu and Ōtomo clans only had a fierce clash in Hyuga Province, with both sides eager for a fight and the atmosphere thick with tension. The Ōtomo clan hoped to use Oda Nobunaga's power to suppress the four Shimazu brothers.

To put it bluntly, Ōtomo Yoshitomo wanted the Shimazu to slow down and buy some time.

Let him recall troops from northern Kyushu, and then launch another major attack.

This also reflects the will of Ōtomo Sōrin himself, whose struggle with the Mōri clan for control of northern Kyushu had never yielded a result. It was one thing that the Mōri clan, with their 100,000 troops, couldn't win, but what were the Shimazu clans anyway? They only had 30,000 cavalry at most, yet they dared to ride roughshod over Ōtomo, the number one man in Kyushu?

To quell external threats, internal stability must come first. The Otomo clan is prepared to resolve the Shimazu clan's invasion of Hyuga once and for all, and maintain the Otomo clan's influence in Hyuga.

It is said that the Shimazu and Mori had already formed an alliance and agreed to jointly attack Ōtomo. Ōtomo, caught in the middle, might not have been able to withstand the attack if it weren't for its large size.

Mediation? Mediation at this point won't bring any good results.

The Shimazu were preparing to conquer all of Kyushu, while the Otomo, due to internal strife, needed a decisive victory to seize enough territory and prestige to mend the rifts within his family. Both sides were ready to fight, but neither was fully prepared and needed time to deploy their troops.

The people of Hyuga have all taken sides. Lords of Kadokawa Castle, including Yoriya Mirashiro, Uemon-no-jo, Uematsu-no-jo, and San'in Castle, including Yoriya Kichiuchi, have sided with the Ōtomo clan through Saeki Koreyuki, a senior retainer of the Ōtomo clan. Lord of the prefectural castle, Tsuchimochi Chikashige, has sided with Shimazu Yoshihisa and received a letter of guarantee.

"It seems that the battle in Kyushu is about to be decided..." Shichibei sighed as he left Myokaku-ji Temple.

"The general trend of the world has become clear." Todo Takatora clearly thought so too.

"Good news! Good news! Good news!"

An envoy whizzed past the two like a whirlwind, clearly heading towards the residence of the Right General of the Upper Capital. It was unclear whose victory report it was, but it was meant to be delivered to Nobunaga.

"Send someone to ask," Shichibei instructed Todo Takatora.

"Alright." Tōdō Takatora turned his horse around, looked back, pointed to two young men, and told them to run to the Right General's residence.

News soon spread that Sanuki in Shikoku had achieved a great victory. Miyoshi Nobutaka and Kagawa Nobusumi launched a fierce attack on the Sanuki forces led by Sogawa Masayasu. Initially, the two sides were locked in a stalemate, with no clear victor. After all, Niwa Nagahide's troops had already withdrawn, and Awa, having been through many battles, could not provide much manpower.

But at this moment, the two received a divine intervention: Kobayakawa Takakage persuaded Kagawa Minbu Shōsuke, the lord of Nishitora Castle in western Japan, to defect. This also incited the Mori army to attack the Nagao and Hatoko clans in the rear, throwing the Sogawa army into chaos.

Seizing this opportunity, Nobutaka and Nobusumi launched a fierce attack, inflicting a major defeat on the forces of Sanshu at Tenpuku-ji in Koto-gun. Kosai Naganobu and Kanekura Akita were killed in battle, and Sogawa Masayasu suffered a crushing defeat, with countless troops scattered. Eight and a half counties in eastern and central Sanshu fell entirely into the hands of the Oda clan.

Kagawa Nobusumi entered the province as the esteemed Governor of Sanuki, gaining the allegiance of the various tribes of Sanuki. The reason why western Sanuki had not yet sided with Oda was mainly because the three thousand cavalry sent by Kobayakawa Takakage had not yet withdrawn. The local lords of western Sanuki were still unsure who would ultimately prevail in the conflict between the Mori and Oda clans.

“Lord Katsurui and Lord Kagawa are also the Lord’s sons.” Shichibei nodded repeatedly after hearing this.

"That's absolutely right."

"Once Zan Province is pacified, Yu Province will be under the command of our army. At that time, I'm afraid even the village of Mishima will be shaken." Shichibei thought a little further ahead.

The Mori army in western Sanuki was unlikely to hold out for long. Kobayakawa Takakage launched attacks in five directions—Settsu, Izumi, Harima, Awaji, and Sanuki—but failed in all of them. Once the main force in Harima was unable to besiege Himeji Castle, the Mori army's strongest offensive effectively ended.

It seems the Mori clan still has a presence in various places, but that's just the aftermath of this powerful offensive. If Kobayakawa Takakage can't...

If a second offensive is launched, the aftermath will become stagnant.

Once the Oda army invades Iyo, their stronghold in Mishima Village will be threatened. They will not only have to withdraw their reach from Osaka Bay, but also strengthen their defenses.

It's even possible that they would completely side with the Oda clan, becoming vassal forces on its periphery. They wouldn't directly submit to Nobunaga or Nobutada, but would instead be subordinate to Kagawa Nobusumi.

According to Nobunaga's original plan, Awa Province would belong to Miyoshi Nobutaka, and Sanuki Province to Kagawa Nobusumi. In addition, Chosokabe Motochika of Tosa would receive the entire Tosa Province and half of Minami Iyo Province.

Finally, the two sides joined forces to attack Iyo. After Kagawa Nobusumi obtained half of northern Iyo, he handed over eastern Sanuki to Miyoshi Nobutaka.

That is, Nobutaka owns one and a half provinces, Chōsokabe Motochika owns one and a half provinces, and Nobusuke owns half of Sanuki and half of Iyo.

This is roughly the final situation of the four provinces that Nobunaga divided: a son, a nephew, and Chosokabe Nobuchika, who would most likely marry Nobunaga's daughter.

After the pacification of Shikoku, Nobunaga would definitely ask the three of them to send troops to land in Kyushu or western Japan and work together to pacify the entire western part of Japan.

"If Mishima Murakami were to side with the main family, then the main family would again be in the Seto Inland Sea."

"No hindrance at all." Todo Takatora thought about it and agreed.

The mere sight of Oda Nobunaga's quince crest in Iyo would surely shake the entire village of Mishima. Nobunaga's power was so immense that simply uttering his name could intimidate and terrify people.

"By the way, where's Togo Sonrokuro?" With all this commotion, where's Togo Tsutomu?

"Oh right, where is he?" Only after being reminded one by one did Takatora Todo realize that Tsutomu Sogawa had not been mentioned.

After their defeat, they would either be sent to Kyoto like Hosokawa Saneyuki, to serve as Nobunaga's retainers. Nobunaga was now the ruler of the land and needed these disorganized former governors and their successors to maintain appearances. As long as they surrendered, they would certainly receive a stipend of 500 or 1000 koku.

Then look at the two servants who were sent to inquire; they stared at each other blankly. Blind and dim-witted! Todo Takatora had sent them to inquire at the Right General's residence, but how come they only got halfway through their inquiry?

After waiting for a while, news finally arrived, and the result was not complicated. Sogawa Masayasu had led the remnants of the Sogawa clan into exile, neither seeking refuge with the Mori clan nor the Oda clan.

After all, Miyoshi Nagaharu had already died of illness during the siege of Katsuzuki, Ataka Nobuyasu had died in the Battle of Kizugawaguchi, and Miyoshi Yasutoshi had been transferred to the north.

In Ise-Kobe, Togawa Moriyasu had no relatives or friends to rely on.

The tyrannical and domineering will eventually perish, like dust rising in the wind.

However, just two or three decades ago, the Miyoshi clan, which was still the most powerful clan in the Kinai region, had completely fallen after the downfall of Sogawa Masayasu, the last powerful daimyo. Even with Miyoshi Nobutaka ruling Awa Province, he was merely a retainer of Oda Nobunaga, no longer an independent lord of the Miyoshi clan.

So where did Togawa Tsutomu go at this time? Actually, not very far.

Because he both hated Kobayakawa Takakage, who had attacked him from behind, and needed to fight against Oda Nobunaga, he chose to flee to Kii. However, he did not join the Saiga clan, who had been fighting alongside Ishiyama Hongan-ji for many years and were exhausted. Divergent voices gradually emerged within their ranks.

Therefore, Sogo Moriyasu chose to seek refuge with the Yasuda clan, a powerful local lord from Kishu and originally a retainer of the Toyama family. The current head of the Yasuda clan was named Yasuda Tomomune. Why did he choose to join him?

There are two reasons. First, the Yasuda clan has some strength and can gather about a thousand men. Second, Yasuda Tomomune's son died in battle at Ishiyama Hongan-ji Temple, which might be an opportunity.

425. Jici only knows that times have changed.

Well, if I don't know, then so be it. Sogo Tsuneyasu suffered repeated defeats, and the little capital left to him by his adoptive father, Sogo Kazutsu, and his biological father, Miyoshi Yoshikata, has been almost entirely lost.

Even if they sought refuge with relatives and friends, they would inevitably be unable to muster many men to stir up trouble. Even if they joined a powerful lord like Mori or Uesugi, they would merely serve as a vanguard, leading a hundred or so men to clear the way for them.

"My lord..."

The two were sitting and discussing when Awaga Sadanori called softly from the veranda inside. Seeing it was him, Shichibei beckoned him in. After all, they weren't talking about anything secretive, so there was no need to hide it from this newly appointed retainer.

It's hard to say, but Awakawa Sadanori probably harbored some resentment towards Shichibei. After all, it was he who defeated Shichibei before Shichibei submitted. Unlike Hideyoshi's recruitment of Kasuya Masao, where both sides readily agreed to join him.

By the way, Kasuya Masao has decided to change his name. He returned the Kakogawa family home to Bessho Nagaharu, and he doesn't want any connection with the Bessho family. He'll be called Kasuya Takenori, the name recorded in the Seven Spears of Shizugatake.

Hideyoshi granted him a fief of 3,000 koku, which was not much worse than that of Fukushima Masanori and Kato Kiyomasa, who each had 5,000 koku.

"What is it?" Shichibei asked as the man approached.

"When Miki opened the castle earlier..." Awaga Sadanori knew that Todo Takatora was one of Shichibei's confidants, so he didn't hide it.

After the Battle of Mori, Bessho Yoshichika and his generals, including Miyake Harutada and Goto Motokuni, retreated to Miki. After the relatively brutal siege, most of Bessho Yoshichika's senior retainers and chief advisors were either killed in battle or committed suicide.

This included Goto Motokuni, who fought valiantly and was killed when he and Bessho Yoshichika led an attack on the Hashiba army's stronghold. It's normal for samurai to die in battle; there's not much to say about it.

The eldest son, Goto Motohide, who succeeded as head of the Goto family, fought alongside Bessho Yoshichika during the subsequent siege, sustaining multiple wounds before choosing to commit suicide by throwing himself into the fire.

Thus, the Goto family was destroyed. Goto Mototsugu, the second son who remained at the Goto family's main estate, Yamada Estate in Shinto County (who had been adopted by his uncle Fujioka Kyubei), was forced to flee after the fall of Miki Castle.

He had to flee. Bessho Nagaharu hunted down and killed those traitors who had sought refuge with his uncle Bessho Yoshichika and murdered his younger brother Bessho Harusada. Goto Mototsugu made it clear...

He was among the traitors; his father and brother were wielding knives in the battle against the army of the restoration of the country in the Motherland.

So?