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

Chapter 18 Trust
Nobushige's original intention was to wait until after the New Year before dealing with the numerous troublesome matters at hand, such as post-war assessments, changes that needed to be made, security that needed to be secured, and titles that needed to be conferred, as well as reforming the existing system of consultation among important ministers, restructuring the increasingly declining commerce and handicrafts, and so on, in order to restore Wakasa's vitality as soon as possible.

Now it seemed that all this would have to be put on hold. Faced with difficulties on both the eastern and western fronts, hastily carrying out reforms would inevitably exacerbate internal chaos, so we had to take a long-term view.

After Gozeyama Castle was destroyed by war, Matsumiya Kiyonaga and others suggested that Nobushige conduct a general renovation, but considering the current financial difficulties in Wakasa, Nobushige decided not to move for the time being and move back to the Takeda clan's mansion to handle government affairs. This also made everyone see the new head of the family's determination to change the current situation in Wakasa.

In the large hall of the Takeda Clan's mansion, the elders and important officials of the family and the powerful families from all over Wakasa gathered together. The room, which was not big to begin with, was packed with people. Some local people could only sit in the corridor outside the palace. Before Nobushige explained the reason, everyone thought that this was the first evaluation after the new head of the family took over, and they were eager to get started.

"The lord is here!" Just as everyone was discussing excitedly, a sidekick suddenly shouted solemnly.

Upon hearing the voice, everyone bowed down. Xinzhong slowly walked out from behind the screen and then sat down at the top.

"Please don't be polite, everyone." Xinzhong said.

At this time, everyone slowly stood up, and many of them looked at Xinzhong expectantly, waiting for him to reward them according to their merits.

"Thank you all for your help these days." Xinzhong bowed slightly to everyone.

"It is our duty to serve the public wholeheartedly," everyone responded.

"Since this is an emergency, I will get straight to the point. I called you all here today because I received news that the Isshiki family in the west and the Asakura family in the east will send troops to invade Wakasa soon. The war will start soon, so I am here to discuss countermeasures with you all."

"The Isshiki family? The Asakura family!"

The group of people who were laughing and joking just now suddenly froze in laughter, and then a thunderous noise resounded throughout the hall. Some looked surprised, some were at a loss, some argued fiercely, and some sighed.

"Are you kidding me, the Asakura family?! If old man Souji comes, I'm afraid no one can stand it."

"Damn it! How come even the Isshiki family is taking advantage of the situation?"

“Didn’t we agree to attack from both sides? Are you planning to destroy Wakasa in one fell swoop?!”

Everyone was talking to each other, Xinzhong sat there with a solemn expression, looking at the people in the hall, and couldn't help but sigh.

"My lord, may I ask where this news comes from and is it accurate?"

Nobushige followed the sound and found out that it was his brother-in-law Kumagai Motonao. Kumagai Katsunao was in poor health, so he sent him to participate in the evaluation.

"It shouldn't be wrong. The movements of the Isshiki family were reported by someone sent by Shirai Tamebe, and as for the Asakura family, it was someone sent by Awaya Genbei who informed us." After saying that, Nobushige handed the letter to everyone for circulation.

When he heard Nobushige say that it was Awaya Katsuhisa who sent the letter, Kumagai Motonao's face turned ashen: "My lord, Shirai Tamebe is a veteran general of our family. He has guarded Kasa County for more than ten years and is loyal. Since he sent someone to deliver the letter, he must be at least 90% sure. But Awaya Genbei... he is a member of the Awaya family. I really cannot trust him."

It is indeed understandable that Kumagai Motonao had opinions and even prejudices against Awaya Katsuhisa.

First, as he said, as a member of the Awaya clan, upon learning that the main family was destroyed, shouldn't the first thing he should do be revenge? As for the way to take revenge, it could be to gather the remaining members of the Awaya clan to start an army, or to join the surrounding forces as a guide to counterattack Wakasa, or at the very least, to defend the city and wait for the situation to change.

But what did Awaya Katsuhisa do? He neither gathered people to rebel, nor defended the city, nor did he surrender to hostile forces. Instead, he immediately sent someone to bring the news that the Asakura clan was preparing to attack Wakasa. This was really too abnormal, and one could not help but wonder if there was some other hidden secret behind this.

Secondly, as mentioned before, Awaya Katsuhisa was placed in Mikata County by Awaya Mototaka as a nail and a sentinel. Therefore, his relationship with the Kumagai clan was always very delicate. When Awaya Mototaka was alive, the two sides could still maintain superficial harmony, but with Awaya Mototaka's defeat and death, the Awaya clan completely lost power, and Kumagai Katsunao finally tore off this disguise.

He sent someone to inform Awaya Katsuhisa, hoping that he would voluntarily evacuate Kuniyoshi Castle and hand over the city to the Kumagai clan, but he was rejected, and the relationship between the two families immediately became tense. The key point is that soon after that, Nobushige received news from Awaya Katsuhisa that the Asakura clan had risen up, which was too coincidental.

Kumagai Motonao thought that it was most likely that Awaya Katsuhisa was taking advantage of the enemy's strength and exaggerating the Asakura clan's invasion to highlight the importance of himself and Kuniyoshi Castle, so that the Kumagai clan would have no suitable reason to drive him away for a while.

Third, the Kumagai clan's home castle, Mikata Castle, was less than ten miles away from Kuniyoshi Castle. Once Kuniyoshi Castle fell, Mikata Castle would immediately be attacked by the Asakura army. However, Mikata Castle was strong and well-fortified. Before Kuniyoshi Castle was built, it had successfully resisted the Asakura clan's attacks many times, making them return empty-handed. Therefore, compared to Kuniyoshi Castle, Kumagai Motonao was still very confident about Mikata Castle. He and the Kumagai clan were inclined to abandon Kuniyoshi Castle and the field battle, and instead engage in a siege battle with the Asakura army in Mikata Castle, forcing them to withdraw by wearing down their morale.

But the strange thing is that from the news that came back, Awaya Katsuhisa was determined to defend Kuniyoshi Castle to the death, which seemed to be an intentional move of the battlefield from Mikata Castle to Kuniyoshi Castle. Abandoning the strong castle to save the endangered castle made people wonder if this was a trap designed by Awaya Katsuhisa and the Asakura clan, in order to lure the Takeda clan's reinforcements out of Mikata Castle and then use the advantage of numbers and terrain to destroy them in a field battle.

The above three reasons made Kumagai Motonao strongly doubt the authenticity of the news sent by Awaya Katsuhisa. Therefore, he suggested to Nobushige: "My lord, you can send a letter of divorce, let the general Minamotobei withdraw his troops to Mikata Castle and burn down Kuniyoshi Castle. I, the Kumagai clan, am willing to be the vanguard and have a good fight with the Asakura army in Mikata Castle. If he is unwilling to withdraw his troops, I have reason to suspect that the Asakura army's attack is a trick."

"What if he is willing to withdraw his troops?" Xinzhong asked back.

"If he is willing, then I have nothing to say. The Kumagai clan is willing to take responsibility for this." Kumagai Motonao said solemnly: "It's not like we haven't fought against the Asakura army before. My Kumagai clan can handle it."

"I have no doubt about the loyalty of the Kumagai family." Nobushige nodded slightly to Kumagai Motonao to express his approval and trust, but then changed the subject:
"But I also believe in Genbei."

"My lord!" Kumagai Motonao immediately showed displeasure upon hearing this: "How can that boy Genbei deserve your trust? I really can't understand it, and he is from the Awaya family..."

"It is precisely because his name is Awaya Katsuhisa that I trust him."

Nobushige spoke with certainty because he knew very well that this young samurai, who was unknown at the time, had relied on Kuniyoshi Castle to resist the Asakura army for six years in that parallel history. Even when the last head of the Takeda clan finally surrendered to the Asakura clan, he still defended Kuniyoshi Castle until the arrival of Oda Nobunaga.

However, due to historical fluctuations, the Asakura clan's attack was brought forward by twenty-five years from 1563, and the old warriors defending the city have "degenerated" into young warriors who are less than eighteen years old.

Nobushige had no doubts about Awaya Katsuhisa's loyalty, but he was not sure of winning this battle - Kuniyoshi Castle had just been built at that time, and its defense system was far less complex and complete than it was in history. Awaya Katsuhisa was just a young man with no achievements, not the experienced veteran in history. If he was left facing the Asakura clan's army alone, the situation would most likely develop in a direction unfavorable to the Takeda clan.

"Heijiro." Nobushige stared at Kumagai Motonao and asked very seriously, "If I insist on believing in Genbei and insist on going to save Kuniyoshi, what will you do?"

Kumagai Motonao pondered for a moment, turned his head to one side, and replied angrily but respectfully: "My lord, if you want to believe me, then I am willing to believe you too. But... if he really does something to let down the Takeda clan and my lord, I and the Kumagai clan will never forgive him."

"Haha! Heijiro, I feel relieved when you say that!" Nobushige's face turned from gloomy to bright, and he consoled Kumagai Motonao with a smile: "Don't worry, I won't be wrong about Genbei, just like I haven't been wrong about you."

After that, Nobushige got back to the point: "My Lords, this battle concerns the survival of the Takeda clan and Wakasa. Please speak freely. Nobushige is all ears."

"My lord, I don't have any ideas. No matter what you arrange, the Kagawa family will obey." Kagawa Morihisa was the first to stand up and express his opinion.

Soon after, Matsumiya Kiyonaga, Hirai Toshimasa and other trusted and close retainers also expressed their support. Seeing this, many powerful families and people also echoed their voices.

But this was not what Nobushige wanted to see. He sincerely hoped that someone would stand up and give him advice. After all, he did not expect that the Asakura family would take action against him so soon.

"My lord, I think that even though the attacks are coming from both the east and west, we still need to distinguish the primary from the secondary and defeat them one by one."

At this moment, Yamagata Morinobu spoke, and this adopted brother really did not disappoint Nobushige.

I only heard him analyze it carefully: "If it is true as Shirai Tamebu said, Tango's expedition this time was to force the local powerful families and people to submit. The people's hearts are certainly not united, and the fighting power is naturally questionable. It is not the focus of the main family's defense this time;
As for Kuniyoshi Castle, Genbei said that the Asakura clan first sent envoys to persuade them to surrender, but when that failed, they threatened to attack. This shows that they were also worried about the heavy casualties of the attack and were not completely sure. If our army mobilized a large number of troops to support them at this time, and put on a determined attitude of fighting to the death, would it be possible to deter the Asakura army without fighting? "

"Absolutely impossible!" At this time, a familiar voice came from the corridor.

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(End of this chapter)