Japan's Warring States Period: The Rise of the Wakasa Tiger

Chapter 11 Half-Day Family Supervisor
Takeda Nobutaka's main camp had less than 400 men left, all of whom were foot soldiers, and were slow to move. In addition, Yamagata Morinobu and Kumagai Motonao had ended their siege of Awaya Mototaka, freeing up their hands to launch another two-pronged attack, and soon cut off the Tango Street leading to Takeda's mansion.

Seeing this, many rebels threw away their weapons and fled in panic. It was already impossible for Takeda Nobutaka to escape.

At around 6:00, with only 30 or so remnants left, Takeda Nobutaka and Naito Moritaka fled to an abandoned shrine. Soon after, Yamagata Morinobu arrived with his troops and ordered his men to surround the shrine.

"Miyagawa-dono, surrender!" Yamagata Morinobu dismounted from his horse, strode into the broken temple gate, and said to the locked inner hall.

At this moment, Takeda Nobutaka had taken off his armor, untied his belt, and was kneeling on the ground trembling all over. The wakizashi placed in front of him shone coldly.

"Your Highness, are you ready?" Behind Takeda Nobutaka, Naito Katsutaka held a katana in his hand, waiting for his final decision.

"Twenty years of glory have passed in a day, and from now on there is no me and no other years. So, I will follow my father. It's a pity that I can't fulfill his last wish, what a pity..."

After that, Takeda Nobutaka took the wakizashi and stabbed it into his abdomen. He should have cut from left to right and then from bottom to top into a "cross shape", but it was too painful. After the first cut, he was in so much pain that he could not continue, so he had to beg Naito Katsutaka to free him quickly.

Naito Katsutaka hurriedly performed the "head-hugging" move, which was to swing his sword towards Takeda Nobutaka's neck. Although the speed was fast, he stopped at the right time - the neck was not completely cut off, but the head and neck were still slightly connected, which was a manifestation of the precision of the kaishaku swordsmanship.

Looking at the nominal eighth head of the Takeda family lying in a pool of blood, Naito Katsutaka bowed deeply. After all, he had more samurai spirit than the cowardly Takeda Nobutoyo.

Morinobu Yamagata outside the door was already impatient at this moment, and was about to order people to break down the door, but the door suddenly opened, and Katsutaka Naito led the remaining samurai, dressed in plain clothes, and walked out of the hall.

Even after everyone came out, there was still no sign of Takeda Nobutaka. Yamagata Morinori almost understood the reason. He straightened his clothes and walked into the palace. Although the scene in front of him was within his expectations, he still felt a little regretful and admired it when it really appeared in front of him: "As expected, he is a descendant of the Takeda family."

"Send someone to report that Miyakawa-dono committed suicide." Yamagata Morinobu slowly walked out of the hall and sighed deeply, feeling that the civil war of the Takeda clan was finally over.

At this time, he looked at Naito Katsutaka who was standing beside him with his head down, and teased, "Why, isn't Uchizoku going with Miyagawadono?"

"I am the elder of the Takeda clan. Whether to go or stay is decided by the head of the family." Naito Katsutaka replied with a blushing face.

He still hoped that the Takeda clan's "system of consultation among important ministers" could save his life. Moreover, although Takeda Nobutaka committed suicide, who was the head of the Takeda clan now, Takeda Nobutoyo or Takeda Nobushige?

Although he participated in the rebellion, his strength was still there. Castles such as Amagase and Hakogatake in the eastern part of Toshiki County were still under the control of the Naito clan. As long as he was willing to use this as a bargaining chip, it would be difficult for both Nobutoyo and Nobushige not to be tempted.

Although Yamagata Morinobu was a military man, he also knew what he was planning. After all, under the "system of joint consultation among important ministers", the various forces in Wakasa always maintained a delicate balance. This was a bit similar to the State of Jin before the "Three Families Divided Jin". Zhao, Wei and Han checked and balanced each other to maintain the nominal stability of Jin. At that time, the king of Jin was just a puppet, and his power was almost completely hollowed out.

Of course, as the guardian of Wakasa, the Takeda clan had much more power than a puppet, but compared with the entire group of retainers and the people of the country, they were still at a disadvantage. This is why the "retainers' joint decision system" has continued to this day: the retainers used this system to balance their own interests, while at the same time being able to restrain the Takeda clan, forming a situation of "weak lord and strong retainers".

In other words, including the Yamagata clan, Kumagai clan, Matsumiya clan, and Kagawa clan that supported Nobushige, which local forces were not beneficiaries of this system? Therefore, Yamagata Morinobu was not in a position to say much, but threw the question to Nobushige who came later. At about seven o'clock, the sky had already darkened, and Nobushige arrived late under the protection of a group of horse guards. When he learned of Takeda Nobutaka's death, he was also very sorry. He could have been an important branch of the main family, helping the main family to pacify the internal forces and unify Wakasa, but now he ended up with his head and body separated. It was really not worth it.

On the contrary, Naito Katsutaka, one of the "Four Heavenly Kings of Takeda", survived. Didn't he know that he would still die even if he didn't commit suicide?

Indeed, he had this confidence and was sure that Nobushige would not dare to kill him. Before Nobushige learned of Takeda Nobutaka's death, he did want to spare his life. But now, the branch family of Takeda has been destroyed. In order to balance the forces of all parties and enhance the strength of the main family, it is necessary to take ruthless actions against these important officials who participated in the rebellion.

"I served as the head of the family for half a day, but now I'm dead. Is it worth it?" Nobushige ordered people to collect the body properly. Turning around, regardless of Naito Katsutaka's stunned expression, he ordered him and his samurai to be escorted back to the Takeda clan's mansion.

As early as when the news of the defeat at Honjoji Temple came, dozens of rebels who remained in the Takeda clan's mansion fled in all directions, and Takeda Motomitsu and Takeda Nobutoyo also regained their freedom.

"Father, you really underestimated Hikogoro. This kid has made a great contribution." Takeda Nobutoyo was completely unaware of his situation and was still thinking about what kind of reward he should give Nobushige.

Compared to his "stupid" son, Takeda Motomitsu, who has served as the head of the family for more than 20 years, can see the current situation clearly: "What kind of reward do you think can match Hikogoro's achievements?"

"I plan to give him Miyagawa Castle as a reward."

"enough?"

"Yes, otherwise we can also give Ukyo Ryo's small village to him to govern. In this way, he should also have a territorial reserve of 10,000 koku." Takeda Nobutoyo was very satisfied with his plan. He even felt that Nobushige would be grateful. After all, the territorial reserve of the Takeda clan at that time was only 12,000 koku.

"Is that so?" Takeda Motomitsu did not intend to say anything more. After all, they were both his sons, and whoever became the head of the family would not affect his status in the family.

Moreover, Takeda Motomitsu had indeed favored Nobushige earlier, but Takeda Nobutoyo was the eldest son, so he thought for a long time before making this regretful decision. Especially Takeda Nobutoyo's performance during the rebellion made him feel that he, as the eldest son, should indeed "abdicate and let the wise man take over."

But he cannot say this alone. Whether the power transfer can be properly handled depends on Xin Zhong.

When Nobushige arrived at the gate of Takeda's residence and just got off the "Jomono" (a kind of sedan chair in Japan, the one used by commoners is called "Karo", and the one used by samurai and nobles is called "Jomono"), he was hugged tightly by Takeda Nobutoyo who had been waiting at the gate.

"Yan Wulang, you did a great job this time. Thank you for your hard work. I will reward you handsomely!"

Takeda Nobutoyo's behavior and words made everyone present, including Nobushige, blush and feel extremely embarrassed.

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(End of this chapter)