Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

"Oh..." I understand.

Ōkōchi Castle, defended by Kitabatake Tomokyo, still stands, despite Nobunaga's forces outnumbering the castle's defenders several times over and the availability of fire arrows to burn it down. It simply hasn't fallen. Therefore, this negotiation will certainly not be a quick affair; the two sides will likely engage in back-and-forth talks for several days.

If a general of sufficient caliber is sent from the city, then sending hostages into the city in order to gain the trust of Kitabatake Tomonori is also quite reasonable.

There's a saying that after Mitsuhide sent his mother to Yagami Castle, Hatano Hideharu felt safe enough to leave Yagami Castle and go to Azuchi to apologize to Nobunaga and express his surrender. However, Nobunaga had no intention of forgiving Hatano Hideharu and had him executed in Azuchi.

As a result, Mitsuhide's mother was taken hostage and killed by the soldiers of Yagami Castle. This led Mitsuhide to harbor resentment towards Nobunaga, and he turned around and had Nobunaga roasted at Honno-ji Temple.

This story is more plausible and logical, and it shows that sending important hostages into the city before surrendering was one of the tacit understandings between the attacking and defending sides during the Warring States period.

"Understood? If you understand, then let's set off." Nobunaga stood up abruptly and looked towards Ōkawachi Castle on the hill.

The Ōkōchi Castle appeared somewhat gloomy in the rain, all sounds drowned out by the misty rain. One wonders what the Kitabatake Tomokyo father and son were thinking at that moment inside the castle.

Upon leaving the shogunate, Shichibei immediately summoned Takenaka Hanbei and Itō Sojūrō, instructing them to oversee the small cargo convoy. If a peace treaty was reached, Shichibei would withdraw within three to five days. If the treaty failed and the fighting continued, Shichibei would be released once the Kitabatake envoy returned safely to the castle.

As for not being able to come back...

It's highly unlikely; Oda and Kitabatake don't have any deep-seated hatred between them. However, my brother-in-law, Inase Yoshinari, is skilled in business, and besides, he already has a son. Do you understand?

Both Takenaka Hanbei and Itō Sojuro expressed their understanding, stating that Inase Yoshinari was already a mature and skilled merchant, and with someone capable of carrying on the Kawamura family business, the family name could be preserved. As long as the family name remained, the samurai corps and the yakitori unit would not be disbanded and could continue to serve Nobunaga.

They immediately split up, with Akechi Mitsuhide and Shichibei walking alone to the front of Ōkōchi Castle. They shouted that they were acting on the orders of Yoshiaki, the Shogun of the Muromachi Shogunate, to mediate a peace negotiation and request Kitabatake Chūnagon to open the castle for a meeting.

Surprisingly, Ashikaga Yoshiaki's influence was still effective at this point. Upon hearing Akechi Mitsuhide's shout, the samurai guarding the castle immediately lowered a long ladder and brought the two into the castle. Before long, the two were led to Kitabatake Tomonori and his son Kitabatake Tomofusa.

Although Kitabatake Tomofusa was seated in the center, both men knew very well that Kitabatake Tomofusa was the one truly in charge of the castle. Only if he nodded and opened the gates could Okawachi Castle possibly fall into Oda Nobunaga's hands.

Let's talk.

Mitsuhide Akechi was in charge of the negotiations, while Shichibei was only responsible for being the "headman." On the way into the city, Shichibei clearly saw that the situation inside the city was indeed not good.

The main problem was the sheer number of people. There were over 8,000 soldiers and nearly 30,000 family members and civilians. The small city of Okawachi was packed to the brim, with people huddled together for warmth under the eaves of the walls. Many looked hungry and cold, their faces pale. Adding to the woes, the autumn rain brought a chill, and the elderly, women, and children shivered with cold.

Fuel supplies within the city seemed scarce, with most of the firewood piles used for heating the soldiers guarding the city. Ordinary civilians simply didn't have the means; they either endured the heat or perished.

It's unclear how much food is left in the city. Nobunaga could barely feed his 75,000-strong army for a month and a half, but that wouldn't be enough. The city's food reserves are likely running low, unless they really slaughter and eat all the civilians who live everywhere, from the gates to the eaves, from the horse paths to the wells.

Shichibei also wanted to see the burning castle walls and buildings caused by the fire arrows released by Niwa Nagahide, but he didn't take that route and wasn't sure about the extent of the damage. When he first saw it, the castle was indeed on fire, but it didn't burn for long before heavy rain poured down.

Just as Shichibei was pondering this, he suddenly heard Akechi Mitsuhide spouting nonsense.

What nonsense! Before coming here, Nobunaga intended for the Kitabatake clan to surrender to the Oda clan, becoming vassal daimyo under the Oda clan's umbrella, and to submit hostages to Nobunaga. These included Kitabatake Tomofusa's children and brothers, and the sons of several of his chief retainers.

For now, let's keep them under control and train them slowly. Eventually, we'll mold the Kitabatake family into the Oda clan. Then we'll see if we can find a way to get Oda Chasenmaru into the Kitabatake family.

But what did Mitsuhide say?

Oda Chasenmaru married the daughter of Tomonori and became the heir of Kitabatake Tomofusa, succeeding him as head of the Kitabatake clan. The Kitabatake clan withdrew from Ōkōchi Castle, handing the castle over to Oda Chasenmaru to reside in, and demolished the Kiriyama Palace. The Kitabatake father and son moved to Tamaru Castle.

The Oda clan acknowledged the return of Kuki Yoshitaka to Shima Province, as well as parts of Kumano in Kishu. The elders and members of the Kitabatake clan handed over hostages to the Oda clan and signed an oath promising never to betray them.

It's just a matter of taking advantage and then leaving!

While negotiations are always about asking for the moon and settling for less, Mitsuhide's asking price was just too outrageous. With this outcome, what's left of the Kitabatake clan? Nothing at all; everything has been plundered by the Oda clan.

Aside from the Kitabatake family name being preserved, the Kitabatake father and son weren't even allowed to be puppets; they were moved directly to a separate residence. To put it nicely, it was seclusion; to put it bluntly, it was imprisonment.

Not to mention Shichibei, even the Kitabatake father and son couldn't believe it. They even began to doubt whether Mitsuhide was truly a public servant of the shogunate and whether he had received permission from Ashikaga Yoshiaki.

Did Ashikaga Yoshiaki send Mitsuhide to mediate? Or did he send Mitsuhide to take a life?

Fortunately, Kitabatake Tomonori was well-mannered. As the middle co-chair of the three, he was experienced and didn't lose his temper on the spot and kill Akechi Mitsuhide and Shichibei. He only said that since the shogun was willing to mediate the peace talks, they demanded that someone be sent to Kyoto immediately to inquire whether Ashikaga Yoshiaki had indeed sent someone to Ōkawachi Castle.

Yes.

Don't be afraid to ask.

Mitsuhide was full of confidence; he had indeed been sent by Yoshiaki. Yoshiaki was even willing to help Nobunaga bring in another 20,000 reinforcements. The only thing that wasn't Yoshiaki's instruction was this outrageous peace terms.

Seeing Mitsuhide's actions, Kitabatake Tomonori's heart was filled with turmoil. Nobunaga's forces outside were indeed formidable, and they had essentially razed the branch castles of Ōkōchi Castle, such as Asaka Castle, which was known as an impregnable fortress.

Because Asaka Castle is also known as "White Rice Castle," there is a story in history that the castle general poured white rice on his horses to make it appear as if the castle had an abundant water supply, which led the enemy to abandon the siege and leave.

The main problem is that Okawachi Castle is about to run out of food, and they might have to resort to cannibalism one day.

and many more!

A chill ran through Kitabatake Tomonori as he scrutinized each of his retainers in the palace. Because Kizuki Tomomasa had been the first to betray the Oda clan and defect, many of Kitabatake's samurai had become Oda's collaborators.

Outsiders know that the Kitabatake family has no traitors, but Kitabatake Tomonori doesn't. His own brother has rebelled; who knows if there are any traitors within the family?

Was there a traitor who informed Oda Nobunaga that the castle was about to run out of food, which is why Akechi Mitsuhide dared to enter the castle and propose such shocking peace terms?

He told Akechi Mitsuhide and Shichibei to leave first, while Kitabatake Tomonori grew increasingly frightened and felt that it was a real possibility.

"Such conditions are unlikely to be agreed to by Kitabatake Chūnagon." Shichibei and Akechi Mitsuhide were led to a house, and Shichibei quickly pulled them aside and asked anxiously.

“But that’s not necessarily true…” Mitsuhide Akechi smiled and sat down with great ease.

Why?

"There were no neighing horses inside the city."

"what!"

Shichibei suddenly understood. He actually knew a little about things like watching cooking smoke. Even if he hadn't eaten pork, he'd seen pigs run. Having fought alongside Oda's army every day, Shichibei was familiar with this basic military knowledge.

During the siege, smoke did indeed rise from the city walls, so Shichibei only predicted that the city would run out of food, without any concrete evidence.

As soon as Akechi Mitsuhide entered the city, he listened carefully to the sounds within. Apart from the wails and footsteps of the people, he heard almost no other unusual noises.

Kitabatake's army had a full 8,000 cavalrymen who entered the city to defend it to the death; they must have had at least several hundred, if not a thousand, horses. Horses were needed for communicating with other branch cities, launching surprise attacks, or even for their final escape.

But now there's hardly any horse neighing in the city. What does that mean? It means that most of the horses have already been killed and eaten.

They've even eaten the horses, how much grain is left in the city? Definitely not much.

Since the city is about to run out of food, while the Oda army can hold out for more than a month and a half, why not set a higher price? They should set a high price and make a killing in one go.

“So you just wait and see,” Mitsuhide Akechi said with great certainty.

"..." Shichibei didn't answer, but just stared at Mitsuhide.

Although he's an older handsome man, I used to think Shichibei was nothing special. But now, seeing him radiating confidence, Mitsuhide definitely has a unique charm.

Looking at it this way, it's not hard to understand why some women in later generations prefer older men. If a man in his thirties or forties is well-maintained, wealthy, and has status, he'll have plenty of younger women willing to throw themselves at him.

"We await good news," Mitsuhide added.

Shichibei was simply waiting for good news. The strength of the Oda army was well known, and the Kitabatake clan was surrounded by Oda territory. They couldn't possibly call for any outside help unless they crossed the sea to find the Miyoshi Triumvirate for an expedition.

That's unrealistic; the Three Good Men don't have that ability.

Given the fundamental premise of food shortages, Kitabatake Tomonori truly had no choice but to surrender the castle and pay tribute. Mitsuhide's conditions even included a clause to preserve the Kitabatake clan's name, which was already an extraordinary act of mercy for the Kitabatake family.

180. Peace agreement reached, recruiting people.

After nightfall, soldiers from the Kitabatake clan delivered rice balls and sake. There was no scene of servants drooling as they brought the food; the killing of horses for sustenance within the castle was likely intended for the common people. The samurai corps, who were the main force defending the castle, should still have had salted rice balls to eat.

A later screen depicting a Korean battle formation shows Kato Kiyomasa, who, having nothing to eat, killed a horse and drank its blood.

Mitsuhide Akechi calmly picked up the rice ball and ate it without hesitation. Poisoning was impossible; if he really wanted to kill Mitsuhide and Shichibei, he could have just drawn his sword and cut them down—no big deal.

It was Shichibei's first time hosting a hostage, and he was a little scared at first, but he calmed down now. He picked up a rice ball and started eating, chatting with the servant who brought the food.

Asking about the number of soldiers in the castle and who the generals are were all common knowledge. Everyone who had lived through the Sengoku period in Japan knew how many soldiers they could muster. As for the generals and samurai? They were even more familiar with them; otherwise, why would they announce their names during battle, letting the enemy know, "Hey, I'm here!"

The attendant didn't hide anything, answering all of Shichibei's questions. He even boasted that someone in the castle was a renowned archer, whose arrows never missed. The implication was that if the Oda army dared to swarm the castle, they would surely suffer a devastating defeat at the hands of the Kitabatake army.

tsk...

Hideyoshi, oh Hideyoshi, my Hideyoshi…

Did they temporarily arm the civilians who were driven into the city? That way, they could raise a few thousand weaklings, and when it came to a desperate fight, they could be encouraged to lead the way and charge at Oda's army, followed by the elite Kitabatake samurai, right?

In "The Castle of Puppets", because Narita Uchinaga brought 500 regular soldiers into Odawara Castle for defense, the castle's defenses were weak. Narita Uchinaga then rallied more than 3,000 farmers to help defend the castle.

The peasants of Japan's Sengoku period were quite militant. When it came to actual combat, they did possess some fighting ability. However, they lacked organization, and their morale fluctuated wildly.

When the Tokugei uprising was launched, they could fight the monks and soldiers of temples and shrines, as well as the imperial guards, to a standstill. After all, at that time they were fighting for their own vital interests. But when they were actually forced to go to the battlefield, they lacked the tenacity to fight.

When this was brought up, the Kitabatake family's retainer shook his head, explaining that the castle was short of supplies and there was no large-scale recruitment of civilians into the army. Moreover, Kitabatake Tomonori's plan was to hold Ōkōchi Castle until Oda Nobunaga ran out of supplies and retreat.

Oda's army of 75,000 men managed to intimidate Kitabatake Tomonori, preventing him from venturing out of the castle for open battle. Refusal to engage in open battle ultimately put them at a disadvantage, leaving them on the defensive.

It's impossible for Oda's troops outside the castle to fight amongst themselves, but they're just going through the motions, aren't they...?

Since we've come this far, Shichibei asked the servant, "Judging from your appearance, you're also from a samurai family. Once the Kitabatake clan is subdued and the young lord of the Oda clan arrives, are you prepared to serve the Oda clan?"

The servant, who had been so talkative just moments before, suddenly deflated and hesitated. He stammered, unsure how to answer. After all, if they surrendered, although this was common in Japan's Warring States period, it was still a difficult situation to accept that they would be kneeling and kowtowing to the Oda clan tomorrow, especially since they were fighting each other with swords drawn today.

Mitsuhide Akechi, standing nearby, chuckled. "There's no need to kowtow to Nobunaga. It's possible that we'll both be beheaded and hung on the city gate to show our determination to fight to the end."

As he spoke, Akechi Mitsuhide laughed. He laughed quite loudly, completely unlike his usual refined manner. Kitabatake, the retainer who had suddenly received an answer, immediately nodded in agreement.

Yes, yes, maybe I'll be ordered to come and chop you two up soon. Let's talk about today's matters today and tomorrow's matters tomorrow.

Shichibei chuckled at this remark. Finding the attendant rather unassuming, he asked his name. The attendant introduced himself as Mori Jirozaemon, explaining that his family was originally from Kuwabe-sho, Kabe-gun, Kita-Ise Province, and that they had been sent to the Kitabatake family as hostages in their youth. Later, after their family was driven out by the Oda clan, they settled permanently with the Kitabatake family.

Speaking of which, the fighting in his hometown back then was really funny. Kuwabe was a local producer of a type of bamboo with very smooth bamboo shoots. So when the Oda army attacked, they mobilized manpower to wrap a ring of bamboo shoot skin around the walls outside the castle.

Indeed, the Oda army couldn't climb up the bamboo shoots because the skin was too slippery. However, once the bamboo shoot skins dehydrated, they quickly shrank. When the Oda army saw this, they immediately set fire to the city and attacked. Good heavens, the fire burned the entire city to the ground.

Seeing that the young man was honest and simple, Shichibei stood up and asked if he could take a walk around the neighborhood.

Logically, this is definitely not going to work. The two sides are still in a hostile relationship, and it is still unknown whether a peace agreement will be reached. If Shichibei finds out what is going on inside the castle and reports everything to Nobunaga after leaving the castle, wouldn't the Kitabatake clan be at a disadvantage?

But Mori Jirozaemon didn't refuse, because he told Shichibei that he could only walk around the inner creek area, and that he would follow him. Anyway, Shichibei had already seen many places in the inner creek, so it wouldn't matter if he looked around again now.

Even just looking at the inner walls would be fine; Shichibei mainly doesn't want to be cooped up inside. Akechi Mitsuhide is a handsome old man, but even if he's handsome, I'm not gay, so just sitting there is really boring.

Once outside, Shichibei saw that there were indeed still several foot soldiers stationed along the way. However, because of the heavy autumn chill, these foot soldiers huddled together around a fire. In addition, being inside the city walls, there was little chance of being attacked, so as long as Shichibei remained within their sight, they didn't ask any questions.

"Jirozaemon, the firewood in the castle is starting to run out, isn't it?" Shichibei pointed to the horse path, where there should be a campfire every few steps.

But only the outer wall was equipped with firewood, and it was crowded with people; the inner wall had very few. Isn't this a shortage of firewood? What is a shortage of firewood?

"Ah, this..." Mori Jirozaemon didn't know how to answer.

"It's nothing, I was just asking." True, it's their job, and it's indeed difficult to answer that kind of question.

“If we didn’t need to keep warm, we wouldn’t actually lack anything,” Mori Jirozaemon replied softly.

The reason for all this was the influx of nearly 30,000 people. Without these civilians, Ōkōchi Castle would have been perfectly fine. Despite all his calculations, Kitabatake Tomonori hadn't anticipated Nobunaga's elaborate scheme. First, he had Shichibei buy up vast quantities of grain in the southern region, leaving nothing surplus, even forcing the Kitabatake clan to sell some extra.