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

Chapter 12 Logic Genius
Takeda Nobutoyo grabbed Nobushige's hand and strode into the large hall of the palace.

Matsumiya Kiyonaga and Kagawa Morihisa followed closely behind him, fearing that he had other intentions. Fortunately, everything was normal in the palace, so everyone relaxed their vigilance a little.

Takeda Nobutoyo sat down at the top seat and motioned Nobushige to sit next to him - just that morning, that was the seat that belonged to Takeda Nobutaka.

After everyone sat down along both sides of the room, Takeda Nobutoyo immediately ordered people to serve wine and food, saying that he wanted to reward Nobushige and his party well.

"This..." Seeing Takeda Nobutoyo's performance, Kagawa Morihisa couldn't help but wonder if he was really stupid or just pretending to be stupid: In the current situation, is it his turn to host a banquet to reward him?
Xinzhong knew what he wanted to say, but he stretched out his hand and made a pressing gesture, signaling him to be patient.

At this moment, Nobushige didn't know what Takeda Nobutoyo was up to, so he wanted to observe first.

"Hikogoro, this time it's really thanks to you, and all the gentlemen present here. Let's drink to our heart's content tonight, and not go home until we are drunk!" After saying this, Takeda Nobutoyo raised his glass high, signaling everyone to raise their glasses and drink.

But the embarrassing thing was that everyone present, except for a few of his close associates such as Heihachiro, remained indifferent. Matsumiya Kiyonaga, Kagawa Morihisa and even Yamagata Morinobu all stared at Nobushige, who was also motionless, to see how he would respond.

When Takeda Nobutoyo saw this, the smile on his face froze instantly. He coughed lightly, trying to break the awkward atmosphere, but it only made the scene more weird and depressing.

"Hahaha, what do you guys mean?" Takeda Nobutoyo's face turned red and white, he was extremely embarrassed.

"My lords, the lord is congratulating you for your victory. Please do not break the rules." Heihachiro said in a sissy and sarcastic tone.

"How can a little boy like you have the right to speak here?" Yamagata Morinobu shouted harshly. He was the younger brother of Takeda Nobutoyo and the older brother of Nobushige. Moreover, he inherited the family name of the important minister Yamagata family. Therefore, he had a voice within the Takeda clan that could not be underestimated, so much so that even Takeda Nobutoyo had to give him some face.

"Heihachiro, shut up!" Since Yamagata Morinobu had spoken, Takeda Nobutoyo had to give him face and vent his anger on this young man who usually favored him.

Heihachiro was frustrated and had to retreat behind Takeda Nobutoyo in shame.

"As for this wine, you can drink it anytime. I'm sure you're all tired after working all day. Let's have a happy chat." Nobutoyo Takeda could guess what the people sitting below meant. He glanced at Nobushige beside him meaningfully and continued, "Since Ukyo Ryo was defeated and died, and Miyagawa-dono committed seppuku, I decided to take out all their knowledge and land and give them to everyone present."

As soon as these words were spoken, the scene, which had been somewhat dull just now, did begin to fluctuate.

"I didn't expect that my brother could come up with such a vicious plan. It seems that I underestimated him before." Nobushige could see that Takeda Nobutoyo wanted to use this reward to sow discord between him and everyone else.

Takeda Nobutoyo was still the nominal head of the family, so it was reasonable for him to conduct the post-war assessment, but in this way, the initiative was in his hands.

Imagine if the majority of the money was given to important officials, and if Nobuyoshi agreed, it would damage the interests of him and the Takeda clan. If he refused, he would offend these forces who had risked their lives to support him, which was exactly what Takeda Nobutoyo wanted to see. He could also take the opportunity to win them over and secure his throne.
If only a small part of Zhixing is given to important ministers, and most of it is given to Nobushige, then Nobushige will obviously become the target of public criticism. Takeda Nobutoyo can also provoke the relationship between the two sides and once again achieve mutual checks and balances. He can still sit firmly on the Diaoyutai in this delicate balance.

Therefore, as long as he could seize the initiative first, Takeda Nobutoyo would be invincible. However, doing so would either sacrifice the interests of the Takeda clan or allow Wakasa to continue to fall into chaos and division.

Of course, Nobushige knew that Takeda Nobutoyo could ignore all these in order to secure his position as lord, but he could not do that. In order to change the situation of "weak lord and strong minister", for the revival of the Takeda clan, and for the unification of Wakasa, he had to let Takeda Nobutoyo return to the position he should belong to.

"Well, first of all, Hikogoro, you have made great contributions. The Miyagawa River and the surrounding areas that originally belonged to Nobutaka are now awarded to you..."

Before Takeda Nobutoyo could finish his words, a young warrior in armor walked into the hall excitedly with swift and powerful steps.

"My lord!" The man didn't even look at Takeda Nobutoyo, but knelt down and said to Nobushige, "Taniko Castle has been captured, and I took advantage of the defense to capture Komura Castle and Daiyan Castle!"

Everyone was surprised and then they saw the identity of the visitor. It turned out to be the fifth son of the Kumagai family, Shigegoro Takanao, who had been sent by Nobushige to capture Awayaya Castle and block Away Mototaka's retreat.

"In just one day, Mao Goro has captured three important towns. He is truly worthy of being the son of Sanfangdian!"

"That small village was built by Ukyo Ryo with his entire life's energy, and it was conquered just like that. In my opinion, this is a case of the disciple surpassing the master!"

"Yes, the young are to be feared, the young are to be feared!"

From the praises of the crowd, Takeda Nobutoyo also knew that this man was the son of Kumagai Katsunao. As the saying goes, a good deed should be returned, so he planned to reward Kumagai Takanao handsomely and take the opportunity to win over the Kumagai clan.

"Well done, Mogoro!" Takeda Nobutoyo said to Kumagai Takashi with a flattering smile, "In that case, I will give you the small village castle as a reward. From now on, you will guard Nishi-Enshiki County for our family!"

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness." To everyone's surprise, Kumagai Takanao did not show gratitude to him as Takeda Nobutoyo had expected. Instead, his next words surprised everyone present.

"Your Highness, I was ordered by the Lord to block the enemy's retreat. If there is any reward, it should be given to the Lord. Besides, Your Highness has already retired, so why do you still regard yourself as the Lord?

"Which of the battles to capture Guxiaowu City, Xiaocun City, Dayan City, and Faxin Temple and Bencheng Temple has anything to do with Your Highness? I really don't understand how Your Highness can sit in the palace and reward us openly?"

This series of questions not only made the person involved, Takeda Nobutoyo, blush and sweat profusely, but also shocked everyone present. They did not expect that the youngest son of the Kumagai family could say such words. They didn't know whether to say that he was "a newborn calf who is not afraid of a tiger" or just young and frivolous.

Kumagai Motonao also looked at his younger brother in front of him with a look of astonishment. When did this brat, who had always followed him quietly, have the courage and boldness to confront Takeda Nobutoyo in public?

In fact, Kumagai Takashige was also afraid of saying such things in his heart, but he did not regret it. He said the truth and what was in his heart. The reason why he questioned Takeda Nobutoyo in public was not only an outburst of his dissatisfaction with him, but also a letter of loyalty to Nobushige.

The former is easy to understand. He had long been dissatisfied with Takeda Nobutoyo, the incompetent and dark ruler, and today was a good opportunity to release his emotions.

The latter is more complicated: the reason why such a great achievement was made was mostly because the main forces of the three cities were transferred to the front line, leaving the rear empty. In the final analysis, this was due to Xinzhong's planning and proper deployment. Although what I said just now was the truth, it was able to win Xinzhong's favor;
Moreover, Nobushige had already made his intention clear during the military meeting before the war - he intended to replace Takeda Nobutoyo. Now that he was saying things on Nobushige's behalf that he was reluctant to say and could not say in person, he was demonstrating his position and his firm support for Nobushige. It also meant that he was willing to entrust himself to Nobushige. Isn't this a letter of allegiance?
As for why Kumagai Takanao would rather give up the small village castle than show his goodwill and trust, it is actually easy to understand: as the youngest son of the Kumagai family, even if he gets the small village castle, he can only exist as a member of the Kumagai family, still below his brothers, and his status will not be improved.

In contrast, if he could become a direct vassal of Nobushige, he would be able to get rid of the influence of the Kumagai clan and grow stronger under the wings of Nobushige. Because after the "Miyagawa Rebellion", he absolutely believed that Nobushige was not an ordinary person, but a man who could change the Wakasa Takeda clan and even the world.

Later events proved that he had indeed bet on the right thing.

"How dare you speak to your lord like that!" Heihachiro jumped out again and screamed at the top of his voice.

"Everyone, please be patient." At this time, Yunfeng Longxing, who had a very low sense of presence, spoke slowly.

"Who is this eminent monk?" Takeda Nobutoyo looked at the robes on Yunfeng Longxing and guessed that he was not an ordinary monk, so his tone was relatively soft.

"I am from Kenninji Temple, Longxing."

"It turns out to be the famous Master Yunfeng Longxing. I have heard of you for a long time!"

"Your Highness is too polite. I have something to say, but I don't know whether I should say it or not." Yunfeng Longxing said slowly.

"Master, please speak." Takeda Nobutoyo thought that the monk in front of him wanted to resolve the current awkward situation, so he nodded and let him speak freely.

"I think what these gentlemen said makes sense. Since Your Highness has retired, it would be inappropriate for him to preside over the evaluation here."

When Takeda Nobutoyo heard this, his face darkened and his tone became stern: "Master, what you said is not right. The reason why I retired was because I was forced by the traitor Nobutaka. Now that the traitor has been eliminated, I will naturally remain the head of the Takeda clan."

"Your Highness, do you know 'The winner is the king, the loser is the bandit'?" Yunfeng Longxing asked calmly.

"So what if you know?" Takeda Nobutoyo replied unhappily.

"Then whether it was coerced or voluntary, after today's handover ceremony, Mikado-dono will be the head of the Takeda clan. This makes sense, right?"

"This..." Takeda Nobutoyo didn't know the deep meaning of Yunfeng Longxing's question, and didn't know how to answer for a moment.

"If His Highness Xinzhong had not sent troops to quell the rebellion, would the Sanfang Palace have been able to maintain its position as head of the family?"

"..."

"Your Highness, if you don't say anything, I will take it as your acquiescence. In other words, it is because of Your Highness Xinzhong that Sanfangdian did not become the head of the family. Therefore, whether Your Highness can become the head of the family depends on Your Highness Xinzhong?"

At this moment, Takeda Nobutoyo was completely confused by Yunfeng Longxing's sophistry. He had a frown on his face and a dull expression.

"Master, what you mean is that whether I can continue to be the head of the family depends on Hikogoro?"

“Isn’t it?” Yunfeng Longxing replied with a smile, thinking: “You are trustworthy. I can only help you up to this point.”

My dear friends, this book will be recommended tomorrow. This is all because of your support. Xiong Zai would like to thank you all here. Please vote, read and collect it during this period.

Some friends hope that Xiong Zai can update twice a day. Xiong Zai can understand, but Xiong Zai is usually busy with work and life, so it is really impossible. These days, I try to update 3000 words a day. I hope everyone can understand. Thank you!


(End of this chapter)