Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

"Ah, no, no, no, I didn't mean that. I just overheard it by chance," Shichibei quickly explained.

The girl in front of him, Kaihime, was most likely a girl of thirteen or fourteen, which was considered an age for marriage by people at the time. Shichibei had absolutely no interest in her.

"Oh..." This time everyone responded again. Sure enough, you still like your sister-in-law, the kind of sister-in-law who is still charming even though her husband has died.

"Then bring her up to meet us." Oda Nobuo thought to himself, it's a pity that this daughter of Narita Ujō isn't a widow.

If she were a widow, that would be wonderful. If she were also somewhat attractive, I could use her to win over Kawamura Nagayoshi.

Soon, Narita Kaihime was taken to the main tent. There was no deep-seated hatred between the two sides; it was just a normal battle, so there was no torture involved.

As soon as she entered the camp, everyone around her secretly praised her, saying, "She is indeed a beauty."

599. The feudal lords of Oshu gathered together.

Men are like that; sometimes, the grass is always greener on the other side. Especially when you can finally get your hands on one, back when we were all just country bumpkins in Owari, seeing a pretty girl from a respectable family was a cause for immense joy. Like Hideyoshi meeting Nene, Toshiie meeting Matsu, and Ichitoyo meeting Chiyo.

She was incredibly alluring, like a celestial being. Maeda Toshiie and Yamauchi Kazutoyo, in particular, both went to her door to propose marriage when she was only eleven or twelve years old.

However, once they entered Kyoto, they started assigning wives to daughters of court nobles. Each of them preferred the type who were noble and elegant, spoke slowly and deliberately, wore fine makeup, and had graceful manners. Almost everyone present had a concubine from a court noble family; perhaps Tokugawa Ieyasu was an exception.

Now, Kaihime is a valiant and capable woman who is no less than any man.

Do you understand? It's another change in type. While it may not be everyone's favorite type, this type is very rare. You generally rarely see a woman with a heroic and dashing demeanor.

Kaihime's family may have some of this gene; her maternal grandmother, Myoinichi (wife of Yura Narishige), was also this type of person. Historically...

At the advanced age of seventy-one, he commanded the castle troops to resist the attacking Hojo army, which prevented the Hojo army from conquering Kanazan Castle and saved the Yura family.

Such a rare beauty naturally attracted a lot of admiration within the shogunate.

Even Oda Nobuo, who had tasted and seen countless beauties, exclaimed, "She truly is an unparalleled beauty of the East!" Kawamura Nagayoshi, however, had no taste.

According to the custom of the Sengoku period in Japan, the captured wives of enemy generals were all taken by the victors. This is beyond doubt and has been mentioned many times. The better ones became wives of daimyo or high-ranking samurai, the less fortunate ones became concubines, and the worst were assigned to bear children for lower-ranking samurai.

As for the worst option? Well, then you can only become a courtesan in a brothel.

Although not particularly shrewd, Nobuyuki could still tell that everyone really wanted Narita Kaihime. Even Tokugawa Ieyasu smacked his lips in surprise.

Tokugawa Ieyasu probably didn't like women from noble families, but why wouldn't he want such a beautiful woman who had been captured and was now a prisoner of the enemy, having lost all her status?

"In my opinion, we should give it to the Prime Minister's father." In the end, Oda Nobuo reluctantly offered this solution.

"Ah..." A soft gasp came from inside the tent as soon as the words were spoken.

However, giving such a beauty to Oda Nobunaga would certainly be a very acceptable choice. Everyone present wanted such a beauty, and giving her to anyone else would displease the others. So, the only option was to shift the blame to Nobunaga; if it was given to Nobunaga, no one would object. Nobunaga was everyone's lord, and he would definitely enjoy such a beauty first.

"Very well." Tokugawa Ieyasu swallowed and nodded slightly.

"Yes, yes, that's how it should be." Since Shichibei started this, it's best to resolve it as soon as possible.

"The entire Narita clan will be placed under the care of the servants at the Stable Bridge for now, and we will discuss the matter later." At least, the Narita clan members, who were originally going to be killed by Oda Nobukatsu, will not have to be killed now.

After all, if Kaihime became Nobukatsu's stepmother, there was no guarantee that Narita Ujō could rise again, receive a pension of three to five thousand koku, and live a peaceful life.

"Furthermore, grant the manor house attendant five hundred large gold pieces." Takikawa Kazumasu has already conquered Tatebayashi Castle and Oshi Castle, and is heading south to join his main army, expanding his territory...

There was no increase, but gold was plentiful.

Occasionally, I find Xinxiong somewhat pleasing to the eye. Men, it seems, only need one redeeming quality to be considered decent. And he was quite generous with the money, wasn't he?

"General, Lord Date Kyōjō has come to join the battle!" The order had barely been given when the messenger rushed in to report.

"Oh!" Date Keicho-dono was referring to Date Terumune, who had already made contact with Oda Nobunaga and expressed goodwill.

Now that Oda Nobukatsu has issued the order to join the Kanto campaign, he naturally rushed here day and night. Moreover, because of Nobukatsu's order, Date Somada, who had been at odds with Oda after the Great Conflict of Tenmon, made peace with him.

The day before the order was delivered, Date Terumune launched a fierce attack on Marumori Castle, breaching its walls and seizing Date Tanemune's secluded territory, Igu District. He then made peace with the rival Soma family, confirming that Uda District belonged to the Soma.

Thus, the former territories of the eleven Date districts, centered around Date district, which had been scattered after the Great Astronomical Chaos, were finally restored through the valiant efforts of Date Terumune.

Upon hearing the news, Date Terumune, along with his beloved nephew Iwaki Tsunetaka, rushed over with only a mere three hundred horsemen.

But three hundred cavalrymen are still soldiers. What Oda Nobuo wanted was just an attitude, not how many tens of thousands of men you sent.

Nobukatsu himself stood up at the entrance of the shogunate's main tent, while Shichibei and Tokugawa Ieyasu stepped forward a hundred paces to greet him. This time, there was no scene of Date Masamune coming in white robes to pay homage, preparing to commit seppuku. He didn't need to be born twenty years earlier, or even have inherited the headship of the clan, before the decree of general peace was issued.

It is clear that Date Masamune will live a life without ever fighting a war.

With one head bowed to the ground by Oda Nobukatsu, the prestigious Date clan of Oshu became Oda's vassals. Besides his nephew Iwaki Tsunetaka, his eldest son, Date Masamune, was also present. If nothing unexpected happened, according to the customs of the Sengoku period, such a surrender would require sending the eldest son as a hostage for a few days.

If there's no legitimate son, then it's either a brother, or a legitimate son of a high-ranking official or elder in the family. In short, the man must be useful and influential enough to affect the family. Later, there might be a marriage alliance involving a daughter, offering her as a concubine. For example, Mogami Yoshimitsu gave his daughter to Toyotomi Hidetsugu as a concubine, precisely to strengthen ties with the Toyotomi family.

With the arrival of Date Terumune, the remaining feudal lords of Ōu either joined Takigawa Kazumasu's Northern Kanto coalition and participated in the attack.

Either fight, or travel light and quickly to the front lines to pay homage to Oda Nobukatsu.

Two well-known feudal lords did not attend. One was Ashina Moritaka, who needs no introduction. He had already been severely reprimanded by Nobunaga and was expected to suffer a beating.

Another was Ando Aki, because Oda Nobunaga took Tozawa Moriyasu as his grandson-in-law, granting him a legitimate reason to attack the surrounding feudal lords. This led to another war between Ando Aki and Tozawa Moriyasu, and Ando Aki effectively became an enemy of the Oda clan.

Tozawa Moriyasu was no pushover either. After receiving a large sum of military supplies and weapons from Shichibei's daughter and Oda Nobunaga, he went back and hooked up with Ando Michiki of the Minato Ando family, and began to fight against Ando Aiki of the Hiyama Ando family.

The outcome remains to be seen, but neither Aiki Anto nor her representative came. Instead, Moriyasu Tozawa sent his younger brother, Mitsumori Tozawa, explaining that he was engaged in a fierce offensive and unable to attend, and asked for forgiveness.

Nobukatsu wouldn't blame Tozawa Moriyasu, who was already Oda Nobukatsu's son-in-law. Besides, his attitude was very good; he even sent his younger brother. Not only did Nobukatsu not ask any questions, but he also ordered Tozawa Mitsumori to take 3,000 reinforcements and go back to support Tozawa Moriyasu.

Three thousand men were drawn from Nobuo's main force of over twenty thousand, as a way to give him a chance to earn merit. In any case, there was no large-scale conflict at Odawara Castle; it was essentially a war of attrition.

After expressing his deepest gratitude, Tozawa Morimitsu led his men back to Ushu. Where was Mogami Yoshimitsu? Why couldn't I see Mogami Yoshimitsu?

When asked why, Mogami Yoshimitsu hadn't come, he was also at home fighting a war. He wanted to take advantage of this last moment before the General Peace Edict was issued to expand the Mogami clan's territory, so he sent Ujiie Morimune, the head of the clan and a senior retainer who had done him a great favor and had directly persuaded Mogami Yoshimori to resign, to kowtow to Oda Nobukatsu.

So, where did Mogami Yoshimitsu attack? It turns out he attacked Shonai Daihoji Yoshiuji, who had previously supported Uesugi Kagetora. There's nothing more to say about that; it was simply responding to Oda Nobunaga's call, and he can't be blamed.

To express his respect, Mogami Yoshimitsu sent thirty fine horses, five hundred taels of gold dust, and two eagles. He also left Ujiie Morimune in Odawara, as his eldest son, who would later become Mogami Yoshiyasu, was only six years old, and he feared the journey would be too arduous. Therefore, he hoped to send him to Kyoto after the war ended and the roads would be clear.

That's somewhat understandable; at least the attitude was respectful, and they did indeed send over the writing brush. This aligns with common practices during the Warring States period.

To hold a banquet.

Oda Nobukatsu showed no interest in war whatsoever, instead holding a grand banquet to entertain the lords and nobles who had rushed from Oshu and Ushu. These people would soon be his retainers, so it was natural for him to get to know them and cultivate relationships.

The only thing that Oda Nobukatsu regretted was that both Kawamura Nagayoshi and Niwa Nagahide had already squandered their daughters on him and his father Nobunaga, and there were no more daughters left to marry into the lords of Oshu and Ushu.

The Mogami Yoshiyasu we just mentioned is only six years old. If there were a ready-made six-year-old daughter, they could just arrange a marriage, and the next head of the Mogami family would be Nobuo's son-in-law.

Only daughters of the so-called "Four Heavenly Kings of Oda" were qualified to be Nobukatsu's adopted daughters. Or daughters of members of the Oda Nobuhiro or Nagano Nobukatsu families. Privately, Oda Nobukatsu was kicking himself, thinking, "Why are my uncles so useless? I only had thirty or forty sons, and now I have no daughters left."

In a natural environment, it's already quite an achievement for everyone to work together to gather thirty or forty of them.

It's not like we have technology from later generations. There's a story about a wealthy Chinese man who reportedly had over a hundred children conceived through surrogacy in the US, mostly daughters, and plans to continue. It's even been made public. If we had that technology today, we could weave...

Tian Xinxiong will definitely be put to great use.

In contrast to the relaxed and comfortable atmosphere outside the castle, where even lavish banquets were held, the situation inside Odawara Castle gradually became unstable. First and foremost, after a two-month siege, grain within the castle could no longer be freely traded or stored. The grain of the townspeople and merchants in the castle town was all collected and managed under a unified system.

With 100,000 soldiers and civilians trapped inside the city, the problem of food was immense, and it would have been difficult to guarantee without thorough prior preparation. Zu Dashou, who defended Dalinghe City, ate the laborers; Zhang Xun, who defended Suiyang City, ate the common people; and the Qing army, when defending the city, even selectively ate people. How can one explain this? In Yougang City and Sanmu City, cannibalism ultimately followed.

Beforehand, Shichibei had stockpiled all the annual tribute rice available in the Tokaido market, and although the Hojo clan also harvested a large amount of tribute rice, they still had to prepare for war. Historically, it is even said that Hojo Ujimasa melted down the large Buddha statue and bronze bell of a temple to cast cannons.

Regardless of whether it's 82,000 or 100,000 people, the weapons and armor needed are astronomical. If not through annual tribute rice, what else could they exchange for?

The original plan was to stockpile enough rice to feed 100,000 people for at least six months, but even with all their efforts, they only managed a little over four months' worth. They figured the 200,000 to 300,000 Oda troops outside the city would eat even more than they did. Even if...

Even with supplies from half of Japan, it would be difficult. Yet, more than two months have passed, and the Oda clan is advancing triumphantly, showing no signs of poverty whatsoever.

They even deliberately threw lavish banquets, rewarded the army with wine, and provided rice balls every day, allowing the soldiers to eat to their hearts' content. It was as if the Oda clan's logistics were inexhaustible, and they could spend money as they pleased.

The sounds of lively dancing and music could be heard from time to time in the army camp; it wasn't just the officers who were making merry, but the soldiers as well. Some might say, isn't this the perfect opportunity for a surprise attack? Shouldn't we seize this chance to launch a night raid immediately, emulating the miraculous victory of our predecessors, Hojo Ujiyasu and Hojo Tsunashige, at Kawagoe Castle?

However, there were two problems. First, all of the Hojo army's outlying castles had been captured, including Oshi Castle. Therefore, there was no large army to launch a pincer attack on the Oda army from within and without.

Secondly, the morale within the castle was extremely low. The local lords and samurai who had come from all over Kanto to aid Odawara Castle, along with their hometowns, fellow villagers, and clansmen, had all been captured or taken prisoner by the Oda army.

Just like when Takigawa Kazumasu sent the Narita clan's retainers, the families of Ota, Ashikaga, Nagao, Kira, Chiba, Ueda, Tominaga, and so on, were all captured or killed by the Oda army. Below the castle, all that could be heard were the wails and screams of family members, even though no one had explicitly stated that those who did not surrender would be killed.

But according to the customs of Japan's Sengoku period, if you're determined to fight to the death, then...

Killing your entire family is only to be expected. The reason we're not killing them now is simply because we haven't started yet. But when General Nobuyuki gets angry, he could fill the moat outside the city with your heads.

What to do?

Even if you were to recover from Hojo's illness, it would still be very difficult to cure.

Additionally, Hojo Ujinori surrendered and was released back to Odawara Castle. This wasn't a peace treaty; there's no possibility of a peace treaty now, only surrender is the only option.

They stripped the Hojo clan of everything, leaving nothing behind. All their direct and vassal territories were stripped away, and Odawara Castle was abandoned. The only concession was that ordinary castle soldiers would not be killed upon surrendering the castle, but the masterminds behind the Hojo clan's resistance against the imperial army were all to commit seppuku.

The Odawara Assessment was embroiled in endless arguments, rendering the assessment pointless. Neither Hojo Ujimasa nor Hojo Ujinao could stop it, as those who attended were all connected to the mastermind. According to Hojo Ujinori, one was not a true samurai without committing seppuku.

If everyone here were to die, wouldn't that just lead to chaos?

Author's Note 10 Comments

happy New Year!

600. Money is great, it's like scattering coins into mountains.

With all the branch castles of Odawara Castle being captured and subjugated, Odawara Castle, once known as the most impregnable castle in the land, is now a plucked phoenix, not even as good as a pheasant.

Defending a city isn't just about protecting the city itself, but also about holding onto hope—that is, having reinforcements from outside and provisions from within. They didn't have much in reserve to begin with, and now all external support has been lost. Hoping someone in Oda's army would betray them? That's even more impossible.

Historically, it's said that both Hojo clan members Masakazu and Ujinao were hoping that Date Masamune of Oshu would march south, and Date Masamune did indeed observe the situation for a while. Now, where is Date Masamune? Date Terumune and Oda Nobukatsu are practically sworn brothers, drinking and exchanging toasts.

Because Hojo Ujinori surrendered to Oda Nobukatsu and Tokugawa Ieyasu, he received a promise that if he insisted on surrendering the castle, he would not be forced to commit seppuku, thus preserving the honor of a samurai. It's possible that the Hojo clan could continue to exist through Hojo Ujinori afterward; however, the latter is left unsaid, only implied.

Since we're all riddle tellers, we can't possibly lay out all our cards so that everyone can see them clearly.

So Hojo Ujinori went to Matsuda Norihide, the chief retainer guarding the castle, to inquire...

Ask him his opinion on defending the castle. Matsuda Norihide, of course, knew that Hojo Ujinori had come as an envoy, so he wanted to find out whether Hojo would commit seppuku.

The first-ranked member in the "Odawara Shūsho-ryū Gungyō" (List of Military Servants Under the Commanders of the Odawara Clan) was Matsuda Samasuke, also known as Matsuda Morihide, the father of Matsuda Norihide. He was the most senior samurai in the family, whose stipend exceeded three thousand kan. He was a hereditary retainer of the Hojo Sōun clan, serving them generation after generation and holding a high position of power.

The second-ranking officer in the military service was named Matsuda Chikuzen-no-kami, the third-ranking officer was Matsuda Inaba, the fourth-ranking officer was Matsuda Hyobu-jo, and the fifth-ranking officer was O-juku Hayato-suke.

This demonstrates the Matsuda clan's high standing among the Hojo clan's direct retainers; the entire family's combined wealth far exceeded three thousand kan. If the conditions proposed by the Hojo clan rules were truly applied, they would have been stripped of all their wealth.

Since we're going to go all the way, why would I advise Hojo Ujimasa and Ujinao to do anything? Do you think I'm just bored? Just kidding.

That's true, but Hojo Ujinori, a defeated general, had no right to set conditions for Matsuda Norihide. He could only hint to Matsuda Norihide that he could act as an intermediary and send someone to contact Oda Nobuo. Hopefully, they could negotiate some favorable terms to avoid the mastermind committing seppuku with his entire family.

Do you have a channel?

There is one.

The two hit it off immediately. Matsuda Norihide, who had just argued so fiercely about the Odawara assessment that his face turned red, sent his son Kasahara Masaharu out to find out Oda Nobuo's conditions, and of course, also with the idea of ​​protecting his own family.