Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

Based on his blood relation, Shichibei comforted the Kizuki father and son while sending someone to give Takeda Nobufusa a final message.

I know you're incredibly audacious, but we're outnumbered and the outcome is already decided. Heaven's grace is boundless; surrender and you'll be spared.

After waiting briefly in Hamamatsu, Iseji's forces arrived by boat from Anotsu to join them. Both Miyoshi Yasutoshi and Harada Nobumasa chose to surrender, leaving them no choice but to change course. Tsuda Nobuhisa, the lord of the Owari-ohashi Domain, committed seppuku, proving himself to be a true man.

His successor was Tokugawa Nagamaru, but it's certain he won't inherit the throne now. However, thanks to Tsuda Nobuyuki's intervention, the members of the Ōhashi family's faction were all spared. There might be a chance for them to rise again, or they might choose an heir and be demoted to other places.

Although he supported Oda Nobushige, he fought to the very end and later committed seppuku to preserve his honor. It's still a pity; what a good brother, gone just like that.

After joining forces with Kagawa Nobusumi, Takeda Nobufusa still hadn't replied, so Shichibei immediately ordered Yamagata Masamitsu to launch an attack on Kakegawa Castle.

Although Kakegawa Castle was fortified, unfortunately, the Takeda clan suffered heavy losses. Asahina Nobuki, who had retreated from the Kiso River battlefield, fought valiantly for only one day before the castle fell. Asahina Nobuki ultimately chose to commit seppuku in the main keep and then set himself on fire.

The surrender of Ogasawara Nobutane, the commander of Takatenjin Castle, took only a day. With the Eastern Army defeated, morale plummeted, especially since Oda Nobushige was dead. They had lost even their moral standing, so how could they resist?

The defenses at the Oi River did indeed hold off the Eastern Army for two or three days, but the Takeda clan, who had established defenses there, soon collapsed. Amago Katsuhisa, who had taken the Kiso route from Shinano to Kai and then into Suruga, crossed Mount Fuji and invaded Suruga.

Kiso Yoshimasa, the lord of the Kiso-Fukushima Domain, was hit by a cannon and died the very next day. Kiso was without a ruler, and his legitimate son was not the historical Kiso Yoshitoshi, but rather Kiso Sentarō, who was beheaded by Takeda Katsuyori and whose coming-of-age ceremony was called Kiso Yoshinari.

He led the remaining Kiso troops and Fukushima Castle to surrender to the Western Army. He and his family were also placed under the care of Tsuda Nobuuji, and the Kiso family changed hands.

When Mouri Hideyori and Sanada Nobuoki appeared at Tonoganeyama Castle, they expressed their surrender. Having suffered defeat, they accepted the fate of the victor as king and the vanquished as outcasts.

However, Mori Tadamasa, the lord of Kinzan and Iwamura, hesitated for a moment and expressed his wish to pay a visit to Shichibei. This was because his father, Mori Yoshinari, had a life-or-death bond with Shichibei. During the Battle of Ishiyama Tennoji, Mori Yoshinari was shot while covering the rear and fought desperately in the chaos, allowing Shichibei and Oda Nobunaga to escape.

Given this friendship, Shichibei should at least take care of Mori Tadamasa.

His thinking wasn't wrong; Shichibei was indeed willing to see him. However, the surrender of Kinzan-Iwamura Castle was inevitable, and he could forget about staying within the former territory of the Kinzan Mori clan.

As for Oda Nobushige's Matsushiro Castle, it was completely destroyed and left unattended. His two younger brothers, as well as his mother, Takeda Matsuhime, were captured alive and sent to Kano Tsuda Nobushi for safekeeping.

The advance from the flanks was indeed much faster than the advance from the center. After the two armies met at Sunpu Castle, Takeda Nobufusa finally gave up the fight and asked to see Shichibei.

They would meet, and the agreement would be the same few words: no killing of city guards, no indiscriminate arrests or harm to civilians, and no burning or attacking of temples or cities. As for Takeda Nobufusa himself, he was willing to accept the outcome of the bet; whether to kill or release him was entirely up to Shichibei.

Whether or not to execute the capital is secondary; let's send him to Tsuda Nobufusa's jail first. Shichibei personally escorted Takeda Nobufusa to Tsutsuzaki Castle back then; he was practically a child he'd watched grow up. It's truly unexpected that things have come to this point of turning against each other.

At this point, the army successfully entered Guandong.

Kanamori Nagachika, who had become a monk, also came out to pay his respects to Shichibei. It was his adopted son, Kanamori Nagashige, who had raised an army, and his heart was with Osaka. Yamauchi Kazutoyo, on the other hand, was finished. He and his entire family had surrendered to Oda Nobushige, and he remained silent when he paid his respects to Shichibei.

They are all brothers from Owari; we'll talk about that later. The army hastily besieged Edo, without lingering in Izu or Sagami.

So where was Ieyasu? Despite running day and night, Ieyasu still returned to Kanto earlier than Shichibei. After arriving at the castle, Ieyasu took two steps: first, he transferred the old, weak, sick, and disabled, as well as the more than 10,000 cavalry he had left with Yuki Hideyasu, to Edo for garrison.

On one hand, he urgently dispatched envoys to Shichibei and Osaka in the name of Lady Oichi. He was also instigated by Oda Nobushige to join him in raising an army.

The ringleader was Oda Nobushige; he was merely an accomplice. He hoped for leniency, and was willing to surrender the castle to avoid offending the heavens.

You're dreaming!

He was already firmly established as the ringleader, and Shichibei would definitely try to eliminate him. The only thing troubling Shichibei was his food and salary.

Shichibei wasn't particularly afraid of Edo Castle, which had only been renovated at the beginning of the year. The castle was indeed a renowned fortified city, but its garrison was no longer considered elite. Honda Tadakatsu had been beheaded, Sakakibara Yasumasa had been captured, and many loyal and valiant samurai generals had died at the Kiso River; what was the point of defending it?

In any case, Shichibei himself knew in his heart that supplies were running low, but Tokugawa Ieyasu might not have known. Shichibei openly made it clear that he would besiege Edo, whether it was for three months or six months, he would just besiege the city first.

Just as the Hojo clan's Odawara fell, I will make Edo fall just as easily.

Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was inside the castle, clearly did not expect Shichibei to be so ruthless, but he lowered his stance completely and offered to send Lady Oichi and her eldest son, Tokugawa Takechiyo, out of the castle first.

It was indeed a low-profile approach, because if Lady Oichi were inside the castle, Tokugawa Ieyasu would at least have a "hostage." Sending her out would embolden the attacking side.

Historically, the Toyotomi family never sent Tokugawa Senhime out of the castle. In the end, it was Sakazaki Naomori who rushed into the castle and rescued Tokugawa Senhime.

This tactic works on others. But it won't work on Shichibei. Shichibei isn't Shibata Katsuie or Hashiba Hideyoshi; he has other ideas, doesn't he?

Anyway, when Lady Oichi appeared before Shichibei, he simply treated her with courtesy. Lady Oichi, already in her forties, remained calm upon seeing Shichibei. She said quite frankly that she never imagined she would encounter such a horrific tragedy of family destruction and annihilation twice in her life.

Wow, that sentence really hits the nail on the head more than a hundred or a thousand sentences from Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Her ex-husband, Asai Nagamasa, was utterly dead; Kita-jo Castle was destroyed in flames. Her current husband, Tokugawa Ieyasu, is surrounded by a large army and is clearly doomed. Indeed, she married twice, and both times her entire family was wiped out.

"In times of chaos and turmoil, one has no choice but to act." Shichibei and Lady Oichi were old friends.

"I never imagined that you would be the one to ultimately seize power." Lady Oichi said this without any expression on her face.

"What?" Shichibei paused. There was no one else in the tent except for his attendant, Hiratsuka Tamehiro.

"It's nothing, just congratulations, Shichibei." Lady Oichi remained dignified and composed, her tone carrying a subtle hint.

"For more than twenty years since Owari Island, I have followed the Tenchō Myōjin in battles, and I have received his kindness. I would never dare to betray him." Shichibei explained subconsciously for some reason.

In truth, Shichibei never imagined he would one day seize power. Until last month, he was still doing his utmost to maintain unity and harmony within the Oda Nobunaga regime. In doing so, he even went so far as to disregard his reputation and effectively imprisoned Maeda Toshiie.

There was no psychological or military preparation for managing the entire country of Japan.

The regime of Oda Nobunaga, Nobukatsu, and Katsuhoshi was a legitimate government recognized by more than half of the feudal lords of Japan and the Yamato court. All the noble families, samurai families, temples, and shrines in the country knelt before Nobunaga and his son, Nobukatsu, and accepted their rule.

If Shichibei were to take action, he would absolutely be guilty of usurpation!

After all, Oda Katsuhoshi was personally supported by Shichibei as his successor, and he openly inherited Oda Nobukatsu's rule. If Shichibei were to do anything, he would surely be infamous for eternity.

"This matter may not be decided by you alone." Lady Oichi carefully observed Shichibei, trying to glean something from his expression.

"Please don't say any more." Shichibei had no such thoughts, at least not at the moment.

"Hmph." Mrs. Oichi didn't say anything more, just chuckled twice.

Having experienced the destruction of families and the extermination of entire clans before, she saw things very clearly. Even if he knelt at the gates of Azuchi Castle for a whole day and night, it wouldn't make Oda Nobunaga spare Asai Terumasa's life. Once an attack was launched, there would be no turning back.

Life and death were in the hands of the victors. Even the fate of Tokugawa Ieyasu was, in fact, in the hands of Shichibei at this time.

After all, the Eastern Army of over 100,000 men was completely annihilated, while the Western Army of over 100,000 men was brought under the control of Shichibei. Although Oda Katsuhoshi remained the supreme ruler of the land, true power had likely fallen into the hands of Shichibei.

"Make sure they are settled properly and there are no shortages." Shichibei ignored Lady Oichi and only instructed Hiratsuka Tamehiro.

She's right. After Shichibei led his army to victory at the Kiso River, he effectively seized control of Japan. Although Shichibei was only Oda Katsuhoshi's chief retainer at this time, and not even a formally announced one, it didn't prevent most of the Oda family's power from silently transferring into Shichibei's hands.

If you were to ask the generals besieging Edo now, given that the orders from Osaka and Shichibei were contradictory, which side would they listen to? The answer is definitely yes, they would listen to Shichibei.

As long as Shichibei doesn't order them to attack and kill Oda Katsufumi right now, all other orders will be strictly obeyed according to Shichibei's word. Forget Nobuo's widow, Komatsuhime, and the retainers Mori Terumoto and Nagano Nobukatsu—they can all step aside.

Unless Oda Nobuo comes back to life at this point and personally comes to the front lines in Edo to seize military power from Shichibei, this trend is irreversible.

He was even accelerating, because the lords of Kanto and Oshu had already sent envoys to pay their respects to Shichibei. Although they hadn't come to formally establish a lord-vassal relationship, they were there to strengthen ties and ensure continued communication.

Who knows what will happen next? It can't hurt to make contact with Shichibei for now. Externally, Shichibei is the Supreme Commander of the Western Army and a senior retainer of the Oda clan. Internally, however, it's hard to say what his actual status is.

Chapter 662 Conflict Arises Before the Osaka Army

Kiyoyasu Ataka traveled swiftly by fast ship to Edo to convey the opinions of the retainers of the Osaka garrison to Shichibei. These opinions represented not only Terumoto Mori but also Toshiie Maeda, and even Nobukatsu Nagano had signed the petition.

Forgive the Tokugawa family!

It wasn't that Tokugawa Ieyasu was being forgiven, but rather the Tokugawa family. Tokugawa Ieyasu wasn't sentenced to beheading or seppuku; he was simply required to become a monk. The Tokugawa family was handed over to Tokugawa Takechiyo, the eldest son born to Lady Oichi. In this way, the Tokugawa family was effectively half taken over by the Oda clan.

Of course, the Tokugawa clan's total koku of 890,000 koku was severely reduced. The Yuki family, originally inherited by Yuki Hideyasu, was dealt with separately, and Yuki Hideyasu returned to the main family. Tokugawa Nagamaru returned to the Tsuda family of the Ōhashi Domain, and the Tokugawa main family's koku of 690,000 koku in Musashi-Edo was reduced to 300,000 koku.

Instead of completely destroying them, they were only given a few minor injuries. In any case, the core retainers of the Tokugawa clan suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Kiso River, so it was a good opportunity to reduce the size of the retainer group.

Shichibei found this decision somewhat unacceptable. He felt that this would essentially sow the seeds of future chaos in the Kanto region.

Even if he were the son of Lady Oichi, his family name would still be Tokugawa. Even if he were granted the Tsuda family name, just as Hideyoshi distributed the Hashiba family name and Tokugawa Ieyasu distributed the Matsudaira family name, what loyalty could that maintain?

It's completely useless if something happens.

Wasn't the Shimazu the governor of Satsuma? Wasn't the Nabeshima governor of Hizen? Wasn't the Yamauchi governor of Tosa? What's the use? If they really rebelled, they would have rebelled anyway.

"This matter is not difficult to resolve. With your great victory, you have become the most important minister in the family." Kiyoyasu Ataka had arrived by boat and was in excellent spirits.

He was still used to life on the water, and once he was on the boat, he was in his comfort zone. Luckily, he wasn't crammed into that Japanese palanquin and carried over; if he had been carried, his body would have fallen apart.

“Sigh…” As soon as the words left his mouth, how could Shichibei not understand?

Isn't that what Lady Oichi said the other day? Shichibei has come to this point, he's bound to usurp the throne. It's just a pity that her brother Oda Nobunaga worked so hard to build his empire, only to have it end up in the hands of a mere stable boy.

After the Battle of Kiso River between the eastern and western armies, Shichibei effectively became the most important retainer in the family, far surpassing everyone else.

Under such circumstances, even Terumoto Mori and Toshiie Maeda, who were originally completely opposed to each other, quickly reached an agreement to cooperate.

Previously, the struggle was between Oda Katsuhoshi and Oda Nobushige for the right of succession. After Oda Nobushige was defeated, the situation quickly evolved into whether to do everything possible to preserve Oda's power as the Grand Chancellor, or to support Kawamura Nagayoshi.

What was Mori Terumoto after leaving Oda Nobunaga's government? He was nothing. Maeda Toshiie, with only 200,000 koku of land and his son, had no chance of contending for the throne. Moreover, he was deeply indebted to Oda Nobunaga; by preserving the Oda clan, he could still wield considerable power within the system.

After receiving news of the Western Army's great victory, the people in Osaka quickly connected within a few days.

At least they still hold the prestige of upholding justice for the world—Oda Katsuhoshi.

Regardless, Shichibei was still a retainer of Oda Katsufushi. The generals of the Western Army were also retainers of Oda Katsufushi.

"In addition, the Matsushiro Oda family, the Sunpu Takeda family, and the Okawachi Harada family were all utterly defeated. The Hakata Hashiba family is no longer a close vassal, and there's also the Katsuzui Miyoshi family..." Kiyoyasu Ataka's personal delivery of Osaka's "imperial decree" was naturally for a reason.

After a series of misfortunes befell Oda Nobunaga's older sons and nephews, only Kobayakawa Nobuhira, who had almost no influence, and Kagawa Nobusumi, who was indeed just a nephew, remained in the public eye.

The previously stable division, where all factions revolved around the moon, was quickly shattered by the confrontation between the eastern and western armies. Takeda Nobufusa and Harada Nobumasa changed sides and were placed under the care of Tsuda Nobuuji. Miyoshi Nobutaka was also to be punished; the royal family was truly in a state of decline.

Meanwhile, powerful lords who could have counterbalanced the Kawamura family suffered successive defeats. The Takigawa family not only faced a young and unstable ruler, but also faced severe reprimands for Takigawa Masashige's participation in the Eastern Army.

Whether they can fully preserve their 468,000 koku of property remains to be seen. As for the Niwa family, let's not even talk about them; they probably won't even have time to deal with the Aizu vassal uprising this year.

The Hashiba family was originally a royal clan, but now that Hashiba Hideyasu has succeeded him, he is essentially Shichibei's nephew. His guardian, Hashiba Hidenaga, is Shichibei's brother-in-law; the two are very close.

With the protection of powerful domains gone and the support of close relatives gone, anyone in Osaka would have reservations.

"He refused to be the commander-in-chief when we asked him to, and now he's holding us back!" Shichibei practically slammed his fist on the table and stood up.

Previously, when Mori Terumoto, the "otaku god," was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Western Army, he backed out and became an otaku in Osaka. If he wins this battle, wouldn't he be on par with Shichibei, or even surpass him?

Mori Terumoto has truly lost his mind, engaging in this balancing act that will cause endless trouble. Maeda Toshiie and Nagano Nobukatsu are also joining him in this mess; do they really think the Oda clan is too stable and want a second East-West war?

“Calamity is in the future, but balance is in the present.” Kiyoyasu Ataka understood this clearly.

At this juncture, preventing Shichibei from advancing further is a consensus among everyone in Osaka. If Shichibei were to seize power, they would all be sidelined, and could very well face annihilation and destruction. Therefore, the best solution is to address the immediate problem rather than resorting to violence.

I don't care if there's a great flood in the future.

Conversely, if we can't achieve a balance now, the political landscape will drastically change in the next three to five years. So we should try to save the situation as much as possible, even if it means letting Tokugawa Ieyasu go free.

"Hahahaha, hahahahaha..." Shichibei was truly amused.

Having never considered that he had ever harbored any intention of usurping the throne, Shichibei could only laugh, laugh loudly, at the sudden realization that he had been put on guard like this.

"Please be patient for now." Kiyoyasu and his son Ataka had also received much kindness from Oda Nobunaga and Nobukatsu, and they hoped that the Oda clan's rule could be maintained.

Previously, when Oda Nobushige launched his rebellion to seize the throne, he was fully willing to support Shichibei. However, now that Shichibei had become a potential threat to a powerful retainer within his household, he could only try to negotiate with him in a polite and amicable manner.

What else can be done? Oda Nobukatsu's reign was too short; the Atake family, father and son combined, doesn't even have 100,000 koku of rice. They lack the military and political power of a chess player; they can only mediate.