Great name!

Chapter 297: Conquering Iga
Tsuda Nobutora and his son Tsuda Nagatobu walked into the Honganji Temple, where many rooms had become ruins.

He looked for a while, then turned to look at another place. He pointed in the direction of Osaka and said, "We can build a bigger city here."

After resolving the issue of Honganji Temple, Nobutora accompanied Honganji Temple's entire family, Kenshin, to Kyoto.

After arriving in Kyoto, Oda Nobunaga divided two areas for Honganji and then built the East and West Honganji.

Honganji was split by the Oda clan, and all the monk soldiers were disbanded. The surviving monks of Honganji returned to Buddhism and strictly observed the precepts and rules.

Now that Honganji has been destroyed, Oda Nobunaga has no longer had a major threat in his mind.

He held Tsuda Nobutora's hand and said, "It has to be you, Nobutora. If it weren't for you, I'm afraid the battle for Honganji would have been a long one."

Tsuda Shintora smiled and said, "It will only take one or two more years at most. After all, Honganji Temple is no match for Nobunaga-dono."

Oda Nobunaga laughed loudly when he heard this. After a while, he stopped and his eyes changed, revealing his ambition.

He looked at the elders in Hiroma and said in a suppressed voice: "Everyone, Honganji is gone, the Takeda family and the Uesugi family are no longer a concern, and Hojo Ujimasa in Kanto is just a dog guarding the house.

As for Mori, he is already a dead body in a grave. Who in this world can be a rival to my Oda clan?
Nobutora, resolve the Iga issue as soon as possible!"

Nobutora had already anticipated that since he had embarrassed Oda Nobuo, Oda Nobunaga would not give up easily.

This was no big deal for Tsuda Shintora.

He smiled and replied, "It's a small matter. Nobunaga-dono will wait for good news."

After the meeting, Nobutora took his men back to his residence in Kyoto.

As soon as he sat down, Tsuda Naganobu said indignantly, "What do you mean by this, Nobunaga-dono! It was clearly Oda Nobuo who caused the trouble. What's wrong with you saying a few words, father?"

Tsuda Shintora raised his hand and said, "Okay, just complain a few words, don't say too much, we still have to do this."

Tsuda Naganobu lowered his head and said, "I am just a little unhappy. Lord Nobunaga is testing my Tsuda family. This makes me feel a little uncomfortable and uncomfortable."

Shintora Tsuda smiled, his son had made great progress and at least had the ability to stand on his own.

He also saw that Oda Nobunaga seemed to be suppressing Tsuda Nobutora for Oda Nobuo, but in fact, the incident with Oda Nobuo was just an excuse. Oda Nobunaga wanted to use this incident to see how loyal Tsuda Nobutora was.

Therefore, Tsuda Nobutora agreed without hesitation, which means that my Tsuda family is still a younger brother of the Oda family, and I, Tsuda Nobutora, am still a retainer of you, Oda Nobunaga.

Nobutora immediately called Taro Mitsutoshi and asked, "Are there any families you know among the Iga Ninja?"

Taro Mitsutoshi thought for a moment and said, "My Lord, I know a man named Fujibayashi Masayoshi, the head of the Fujibayashi clan, one of the three great ninja families in Iga.

It is said that the Fujibayashi clan was originally the Hattori clan, which gradually became independent and eventually formed a branch of the Fujibayashi clan.

They live in Yufu Village in the northern part of Iga, which borders Koga. They have many Koga ninjas under their command and have influence on both Iga and Koga.

Upon hearing this, Tsuda Shintora nodded and said, "Okay, since you have a history with him, then you should go find him and persuade him to join our Oda family as soon as possible."

Tsuda Naganobu then said: "If the other party is hesitant, Guangjun, you should tell him that if Iga is stubborn, the 40,000 troops of the Oda family will surround Iga.

Although the Iga ninjas can use the terrain to attack our Oda clan, our army can advance slowly, build castles in various places, and block and clear them one by one.

Although it takes a lot of time, it will definitely be effective in eliminating the ninjas in every location.

Tell Fujibayashi Masayoshi that if he doesn't want his clan to be exterminated, he should submit to the Tsuda family as soon as possible!"

Taroko Mitsutoshi clasped his fists in response and then retreated.

This matter was ordered by Tsuda Shingen himself, and Taroko Mitsutoshi took it very seriously.

He personally led his men to sneak into Iga.

Yufu Township, the base of the Fujibayashi family. As soon as Taro Mitsutoshi stepped into this territory, he was surrounded by the Fujibayashi family's ninjas.

Taro Mitsutoshi was not panicked. He immediately introduced himself and said, "I am Koga Taro, and I am here to visit Fujibayashi Nagato-no-kami."

The leader had naturally heard of the name of Taroko Mitsutoshi, so he immediately sent his men back to report the news. After a while, a Chunin came up and saluted Taroko Mitsutoshi and said, "Master Taroko, please come in."

Mitsutoshi Taro followed the Chunin into the castle, while Masayoshi Fujibayashi was waiting inside the castle.

After the two met, they exchanged a few brief greetings. Fujibayashi Masayoshi asked directly, "Master Taro, please tell me why you are here."

Taro Mitsutoshi did not hide anything and said directly: "Sir Nagato, you should know what kind of situation Iga will face next?
The powerful Honganji Temple has now been destroyed by the attack of my master. I wonder if Iga, a small country with a small population, can hold out. "

Mitsutoshi Tarohito did not give Masayoshi Fujibayashi a chance to refute. He directly repeated the tactical arrangements that Naganobu Tsuda had mentioned.

Finally, he said, "The moves of the ninjas are similar. I, Koga Ninja, know them all. Do you think there is still a chance of winning, Lord Nagato-sama?"

Fujibayashi Masayoshi opened his mouth, but no words came out. He wanted to argue, but when he saw the look on Tara's face, he couldn't say anything.

According to Mitsutoshi Tarao, Iga is now in a dilemma, with wolves in front and tigers behind.

He bowed his head and said, "Lord Taro, let's not beat around the bush. In this war, Iga Province has no chance of winning against the huge Oda Clan.

So I will not take my people to die, I will surrender, but I hope my people will be treated well. "

Tarowei Mitsutoshi was delighted and said, "Okay, okay, this is not a condition."

The overjoyed Tara Mitsutoshi immediately returned to Kyoto and reported the situation to Nobutora. Nobutora did not want Fujibayashi Masayoshi to defect to the enemy now, and he needed someone to keep an eye on these ninjas in Iga.

Now the army has conquered Honganji Temple. Although not much fighting has taken place, the months of siege and confrontation were still very exhausting, so the army has long since disbanded and started to rest.

Soon, it was February of the seventh year of Tensho, and Oda Nobunaga was already eager to destroy Iga.

The reason why they did not attack Iga at the beginning was because Iga posed no threat to the Oda family. Now they are sending troops to tell the world that no one can ignore the Oda family.

Tens of thousands of troops from the Oda clan came to attack. Except for Fujibayashi Masayoshi, the other ninjas, led by Momochi Santaio, intended to fight against the Oda clan.

Momochi Sandayu still used his familiar ninja tactics, but Oda Nobunaga was well prepared for the ninja tactics and strengthened his vigilance. In addition, with the assistance of Fujibayashi Masayasu and Taroko Mitsutoshi, and the huge military advantage of the Oda family, the ninja families in various parts of Iga were defeated one after another, and ninja castles and villages were burned down.

In order to completely eliminate this ninja country, Oda Nobunaga once again issued an order for a massacre.

Regardless of gender, age or status, anyone who participated in the war must be killed.

At this moment, Iga turned into a purgatory with killing everywhere.

Baidi Santaifu put up a desperate resistance in his own base, but was eventually killed by cannon fire. The Baidi clan was also massacred, with corpses piled all over the ground.

After the Oda army moved the bodies of their companions, they burned down the castle of the Momochi family.

After the death of Momochi Sandayu, the remaining ninjas all fled to Kashiwahara Castle, and the lord of Kashiwahara Castle, Takino Yoshimasa, persuaded the remaining ninjas to surrender.

The Battle of Iga ended here.

After this battle, the original population of Iga Province was reduced by nearly half to more than 20,000. Without so many people, Iga's land was enough to feed the current population.

The emergence of the Ninja Kingdom was due to troubled times, and now it has ended with the changes of the times. There will no longer be a Ninja Kingdom in this world.

Now, there are good news coming from the battlefields all over the Oda family. Oda Nobunaga defeated the famous family of Tajima Mountain in Sanin and is now attacking Inaba Tottori Castle.

Hashiba Hideyoshi suppressed Kodera Masanori and Bessho Nagaharu in Harima.

Akechi Mitsuhide was reminded by Saito Kicho and made progress in Tamba Province.

Oda Nobunaga decided to focus on the west first and suppress the momentum of the Mori family.

He then ordered Oda Nobutada to lead his army into Harima to help Hashiba Hideyoshi.

The war in Harima was mainly caused by the dissatisfaction of Kodera Masatoki and Bessho Nagaharu with Hashiba Hideyoshi, who was appointed by Oda Nobunaga to be in charge of the conquest of China. In addition, the Oda family attacked the Hatano clan of Tamba Province, the family of Bessho Nagaharu's wife. Therefore, Bessho Nagaharu accepted the rebellion of Mori Terumoto.

Kodera Masatoshi and his retainer Kushihashi Masayoshi were in Gojo Castle and Shikata Castle and rebelled by occupying the castle.

Bessho Nagaharu rebelled against the Oda clan while defending Miki Castle. Harima nobles such as Miki Michiaki also joined the rebellion and transported military supplies into Miki Castle by sea.

In order to prevent the situation from getting worse, Hashiba Hideyoshi accepted Kuroda Kotaka's advice and sent troops to counterattack. Bessho Shigemitsu, a close official of the Bessho family who was pro-Oda, also fled to join Hashiba Hideyoshi.

When Hashiba Hideyoshi first surrounded Miki Castle, he set fire to the castle and observed the terrain. After confirming that he could not capture it quickly, he left his brother Hashiba Hidenaga to monitor it and moved the main camp to Shoshayama. The soldiers of Miki Castle once attempted to leave the city to attack Hidenaga's army, but were stopped by Bessho Kasho.

Bessho Nagaharu then attacked Ureshino Castle where Reizei Tamejun and his son, both nobles of the Oda faction, were living, and killed Reizei Tamejun and his son.

Hashiba Hideyoshi was furious, and he also sent troops to attack Noguchi Castle in Bessho Nagaharu's area. Although he failed at one point, Hideyoshi continued to attack for three days, and the castle lord Nagai Shirozaemon finally surrendered.

However, at this time, Mori Terumoto led a large army to attack Kamitsuki Castle where Niwa Katsuhisa was located. Hashiba Hideyoshi was forced to move his main force to join Oda Nobutada and confront the Mori army.

After the battle at Kamitsuki Castle became stalemate, Hashiba Hideyoshi moved his position to Mt. Shosha.

Oda Nobutada, who came to reinforce, led Oda Nobumitaka, Oda Nobutaka, Niwa Nagahide, Hayashi Hidetada, and Hosokawa Fujitaka, a total of 30,000 troops, to attack Kamyoshi Castle, while Oda Nobuo turned to besiege Shikata Castle.

Oda Nobunaga had successfully taken over Takeda Castle. In order to monitor the sea route from Akashi to Takasago, Oda Nobunaga also deployed Oda Nobusumi and Manmi Shigemoto to conduct surveillance.

Afterwards, Takigawa Ieyasu and Niwa Nagahide attacked Dongguo with the Kanehori tribe and large iron cannons, and destroyed the city's walls. The god of the walls and turrets, Yoshito no Nagafu, asked for surrender, and the Oda army captured Kamyoshi Castle. Kamyoshi's retainer, Kamyoshi no Nagafu, killed the castle lord, Kamyoshi Tamune, and then surrendered the city. Kamyoshi Castle was handed over to Hashiba Hideyoshi to guard.

After the fall of Kamyoshi Castle, the lord of Shikata Castle, Kushibashi Masai, who was surrounded by Oda Nobuo and Hosokawa Fujitaka, also expressed his surrender. Hashiba Hideyoshi built many castles around Miki Castle to strengthen the siege of Miki Castle. Seeing that the situation was almost over, Oda Nobutada withdrew his troops, leaving only Hashiba Hideyoshi's troops to continue to besiege Miki Castle.

Bessho Nagaharu noticed that Hideyoshi's troops were decreasing, so he ordered Bessho Kasho and Bessho Harusada to leave the city to attack the position of Nakamura Ichiuji in Hideyoshi's army. Hideyoshi sent troops to support them in time, and Bessho Kasho and Bessho Harusada turned to attack Hideyoshi's main camp, but were defeated by Hashiba Hidenaga. Bessho retainers Kume Hisakatsu and Shimizu Naochika were killed in the battle, and Bessho Kasho fled back to Miki Castle.

In order to rescue Miki Castle, Mori Terumoto sent hundreds of military ships to provide support from Akashi and Uozumi. After Hashiba Hideyoshi discovered this, he built more than 30 small forts and turrets from Miki Castle to Uozumi to block the supply of Mori's army.

Later, Hashiba Hideyoshi also sent the remaining retainer of Amago, Fukuyama Soumasa, to help the brothers Nanjo Mototsugu and Koga Motokiyo in Hoki Province rebel against the Mori family and defect to the Oda family. Yamada Shigenao, a retainer of the Nanjo family, who noticed this and was still loyal to the Mori family, lured and killed Fukuyama Soumasa's family in the Yamada House in Hagoromo Ishi Castle. Therefore, Nanjo Mototsugu also sent troops to attack Yamada Shigenao's Tsutsumi Castle, and Yamada Shigenao was defeated and fled back to Aki.

Seeing that he was isolated and helpless, Bessho Nagaharu had to organize elite troops to go out of the city to attack Hashiba Hideyoshi's army. As a result, he was defeated by Hideyoshi's army in the Battle of Hirayama, and more than 30 generals and nearly 800 soldiers were killed. Even his younger brother Bessho Harusada was killed in the battle.

The situation became increasingly unfavorable for the Bessho family, and soon the lord of Takasago Castle in Bessho, Kajiwara Keiyuki, was persuaded by Kuroda Kotaka to surrender to Hashiba Hideyoshi.

At this time, Takenaka Hanbei, who was in the Hashiba army, finally died of tuberculosis. When the news reached Settsu, Nobutora was very sad.

Seeing that the Oda clan was gradually blockading Miki Castle, Bessho Nagaharu hurriedly contacted the Mori army and transported food and supplies into the city while Hideyoshi's army was small in number. Therefore, the Mori side used general Ishii Nakatsugu to attack the Hirata position on the west side of Miki Castle by water, and Oda retainer Yamoyoshi died fighting.

Bessho retainer Bessho Nosho also led an army of 3,000 people out of the city to respond and attack Omura, the position of Hideyoshi's army. Hashiba Hideyoshi also led his troops to counterattack and successfully defeated the joint forces of Mori and Bessho. Generals such as Bessho Shindaifu, Bessho Sanadafu, Bessho Sakone, Saegusa Kotaro, and Awagawa Sadanori were killed in the battle, and more than 80 people of the Mori army were killed.

The war between Hashiba Hideyoshi and the Bessho clan continued until the first month of the eighth year of Tensho. He continued to attack and captured Miyagami Fort guarded by Bessho Nagaharu's younger brother Bessho Tomo, and then attacked Takaoyama Castle guarded by Bessho Yoshichika, a senior official, and successfully closed the siege of Miki Castle.

Due to the shortage of food, a large number of people starved to death in Miki Castle. Hideyoshi then sent Bessho Shigetoshi to contact the castle. Bessho Nagaharu decided to surrender, and then Bessho Nagaharu and his clansmen including Bessho Tomoyuki and Bessho Yoshichika committed suicide in exchange for the safety of the soldiers in the castle.

The Battle of Miki Castle ended here.

(End of this chapter)