Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

Perhaps this was the effect Nobunaga wanted. Since he could control them, there was nothing wrong with letting his subordinates engage in healthy competition.

Just then, Shibata Katsuie's brother-in-law, Yoshida Jibei, also led his men up the mountain. This Yoshida Jibei was also a figure with a legendary story in Japan, though not as famous as the other one.

Shibata Katsuie had joined the rebellion against Nobunaga in his early years. Although Nobunaga pardoned Shibata Katsuie after the war, Shibata Katsuie only had a small territory of a few thousand koku and was sidelined for a long time.

During this time, Yoshida Tsubei remained loyal to Shibata Katsuie, serving him faithfully. Therefore, Shibata Katsuie betrothed his sister to him and granted him one-tenth of his own territory.

The two made a pact that even if Shibata Katsuie became the lord of a province and a castle, and received a stipend of one million koku, one-tenth of it would belong to Yoshida Tsuhei.

After Katsuie transferred 750,000 koku to Kitasho, he kept his promise and granted Yoshida Tsuhei one-tenth of his fiefdom, 75,000 koku. He also adopted Yoshida Tsuhei's son, Shibata Katsutoyo, as his own.

If Shibata Katsuie had remained active until the late Azuchi-Momoyama period, or if the Shibata family had had some capable members who could have revived the Shibata family in the Edo period.

The story of the division of wealth between ruler and subject must include the pair of Shibata Katsuie and Yoshida Tsuhei.

Having received such a profound favor, Yoshida Tsubei could not help but exert himself. He rushed up the city wall like a whirlwind, even overtaking Yamauchi Kazutoyo, shouting his own name, and followed the foot soldiers to ram the city gate.

Tsk, Shichibei, who was watching the battle from below the city, glanced at the Ha people.

As for why Shichibei was below the castle, it was because Nobunaga had made a last-minute change to the military system and was short of manpower. So he decided to send 200 servants from Kawamuraya to serve as arquebusiers to provide fire support for Shibata Katsuie.

Nobunaga's main force of arquebusiers had to be broken up into several parts, some to support Tokugawa Ieyasu, and others to deal with Wakasa. Shichibei, being from the old Owari region, would definitely be assigned to Shibata Katsuie, who commanded the Owari troops.

Shichibei himself had to pick up a musket and fire at the enemy. Every soldier was precious at this moment. There were 1,300 men inside the city and only 4,000 or 5,000 outside. "If you have ten times the number of men, surround them; if you have five, attack them; if you have twice, divide them." Sun Tzu's Art of War says that you need five times the number of men to attack a city, but now you only have three times the number, so you have to bring in all sorts of people.

The resistance within the castle was fierce, and they also had a considerable number of arquebusiers and arrows. The Oda army surged forward like waves, crashing against the sturdy banks only to shatter and tumble down the mountain. The dead were practically worthless, falling haphazardly down the slope; those who fell like that, without timely medical attention, were almost certainly going to die.

The drumbeats below grew more and more intense. The Asakura family had a territory of 750,000 koku. As long as they made contributions, they could be granted land and become famous lords with thousands or tens of thousands of koku.

When a person dies, the bird flies to the sky; if they don't die, they live for ten thousand years. As long as you charge forward fiercely today and make contributions, you will have gold and knowledge.

In the blink of an eye, the city gate was smashed open, and Yoshida Jibei was the first to rush into the city, with casualties almost one for one with those inside, as he squeezed into the city.

The castle lord, Terada Ume, was also going crazy. How long had the fighting lasted? At most an hour, and the castle gates had been breached. It meant he had only bought Asakura Kagehira an hour of time; if word got out, his reputation would be ruined for life.

However, facing the superior and more elite Oda army, the Asakura army was still defeated. Even Terada Ume, the castle general, was taken away, and upon inquiring, it was learned that it was Yamauchi Kazutoyo who had taken it. As a result, Yamauchi Kazutoyo's thigh armor was pierced through, and a spear was embedded in his leg, leaving him unable to stand up.

Immediately, someone used a spear to carry Terada Ume's head towards Kanesaki Castle. At this time, the siege and defense of Kanesaki Castle reached a fever pitch, with the Tokugawa army, under the command of the Hatamoto generals, launching a desperate attack. The castle's lord, Asakura Kagetsune, was apprehensive after enduring such a fierce assault.

If things continue like this, Kanesaki Castle can only hold out for three to five days. Not only will the castle fall, but the main force of the Tsuruga clan will also be completely wiped out. At that point, the Tsuruga-Asakura clan will be utterly finished, losing even the chance to establish itself and rise again in the Sengoku period of Japan.

Just then, someone delivered the head of Terada Ume, the lord of Tentsutsuyama Castle. Asakura Kagetsune seized the opportunity to agree to a temporary ceasefire and peace talks.

Tokugawa Ieyasu, who had been shouting so loudly beneath Odani Castle, was actually trembling with fear. The attack on Kanegasaki Castle had already claimed approximately four hundred lives, with the same number wounded. In truth, the Tokugawa army was already on the verge of collapse, and it would be difficult for them to launch another siege like today's tomorrow.

Fearing that Asakura Kagetsune would perish first, he proposed to Ieyasu that all the castle soldiers, from the lord down, withdraw from the castle and hand it over to the Tokugawa army, with the Tokugawa family guaranteeing the safety of the Asakura army.

Ieyasu initially refused, but after they promised not to take any of the gold or grain from the granaries, he reluctantly agreed, and Asakura Kagetsune immediately left the castle.

In a single day, he broke through the Asakura army's defenses in western Echizen. Overjoyed, Nobunaga danced at the main camp of Myokenji Temple and even sang a song with court nobles Hino Terusuke and Asukai Masaharu as a memento.

It's certainly something to celebrate. Tsuruga County was captured in just one day. If this trend continues, Wakasa Province and Echizen Province will fall into Nobunaga's hands within this month.

In high spirits, Nobunaga ordered Shichibei to complete the organization and registration of Kanesaki Port Town as soon as possible. The magistrate would definitely assign the task to Shichibei, but Shichibei would have to help Nobunaga collect some extra money in the local area, as was the usual practice.

Nobunaga still owes Shichibei 50,000 kan. Last time, he sold junk to pay off the interest. Now, if he wants to pay off the debt, he has to find a way to do so from the dan sen, tōbetsu sen, and yagami sen of Echizen and Wakasa.

Shichibei then left Nobunaga's main force and entered Kanegasaki Port to begin restoring order, and summoned many of the major merchants and ship captains engaged in the northward trade within the port.

Nobunaga, leaving behind only a small force for guard duty, led the main army through the mountain path between Tsuruga-Kohirano and Echizen-Fuchu-Hirano, preparing to attack Ichijodani.

"Master, master, something terrible has happened! Something terrible has happened!"

Shichibei, who was registering people in Kanesaki Town, was startled when he saw Noda Sanbei rushing in, and dropped his pen.

"What!" Shichibei stopped abruptly, his heart inexplicably racing.

“No one in Jiangnan bought salt; the salt flowed into Jiangbei, into Jiangbei’s Sickle City!” Noda Sanbei’s answer was awe-inspiring.

193. Treason and rebellion were not committed by a single person.

Hori Hidemura!

What makes Hori Hidemura so special?

Shichibei didn't even pick up the pen that had fallen to the ground. He tossed aside his notebook and wondered where Hori Hidemura was right now. Was he following Azai Nagamasa behind Nobunaga?

"Not good!" Following behind Shichibei, Takenaka Hanbei, who had come to join the campaign, also thought of the location of Horihide Village as the "chief secretary" of the rear guard in a certain sense.

Nobunaga's original intention was that Azai Nagamasa was now close to him, and many of Nobunaga's troops had been assigned to the command of Sakuma Nobumori, Shibata Katsuie, and others, while the arquebusiers had also been sent out to reinforce various units. Therefore, he wanted Nagamasa to guard his rear to prevent any unforeseen events.

But the unexpected happened to Nagamasa Asai!

"Who is the current castle magistrate of Kamajima Castle?" Shichibei immediately pulled Noda Sanbei up. Since they had stockpiled salt and grain, they were prepared to besiege the castle and hold it to the death.

Hori Hidemura himself was in Asai Nagamasa's unit, and he had no son.

"Higuchi Saburobei." After Noda Sanbei found no problems during his investigation in southern Omi, he moved on to the north bank of the river.

After some investigation, it was quickly learned that Kamajima Castle was making various defensive preparations. Because Nobunaga's order to send troops had spread throughout the Kinai region, the market response to large-scale purchases of military supplies was rather muted. At that time, Shichibei in Kyoto was making large-scale purchases of saltpeter and sulfur, which was truly eye-catching.

After obtaining clues in Imahama, Noda Sanbei rushed to Kamajima Castle. Kamajima Castle, a strategic point in Sakata District north of the Kohoku region, had a small stable at Kawamura-ya. This was convenient for changing horses or feeding them if needed. Therefore, Noda Sanbei, under the pretext of being ordered by Shichibei to check the number of horses and the amount of feed in the stable, readily checked into the castle.

Last year, Hori Hidemura and Higuchi Naofabu led troops to fight for Nobunaga at Ōkōchi Castle. Naturally, there was no strong anti-Oda atmosphere at the castle. The news that salt had been transported into the castle was confirmed with just a hundred or so coins and a big drinking party for the Hori samurai in the town.

"You scoundrel!" Shichibei never expected that this man would be the cause of all the trouble.

It was actually predicted long ago that once Asai Nagamasa had a legitimate cause, he would begin to reorganize the internal affairs of Jiangbei, attempting to achieve unification, which would lead to an uprising throughout Jiangbei.

Seeing that no uprising had occurred, Shichibei was puzzled as to why these locals from Kohoku were so easy to talk to, willingly becoming henchmen for Azai Nagamasa.

Surprisingly, this whole thing exploded in the end because of Nobunaga's Echizen campaign.

"Hanbei, Katsubei, please reorganize the troops in Kanesaki, discard all baggage, and only carry cattle and horses. If you encounter the lord's army, hand over all the healthy horses." Shichibei immediately gave the orders to Takenaka Shigeharu and Aoji Shigetsuna.

"And you?" Aochi Shigetsuna, who had already arrived, immediately nodded in agreement.

"I will go and report this news to the lord. The mission has failed..." At this hour, sending a lowly soldier to the main camp is risky; who knows if it's a false report?

Only if Shichibei, a senior retainer of the Imperial Guard, personally went to the headquarters to inform Oda Nobunaga of the matter would Nobunaga immediately believe it and make arrangements.

For those who may not know, let me reiterate: Tsuruga District is a small flatland by the sea. To enter the Ohiran Plain of Echizen Prefecture, one needs to pass through the mountain pass between Tsuruga District and Nanjo District.

The highest point of the Pofro Mountains is 762 meters, with peaks of six or seven hundred meters standing tall. After leaving Kanesaki Castle and crossing Koshino-zaka, there are still the formidable obstacles of Mokuya Pass and Yamanaka-no-kyo behind.

Once trapped in such a passage, there would be absolutely no one to turn to for help. Forget about a direct assault; even sending a large army to block both entrances and exits and trapping them for three to five days would likely lead to the Oda army dying of thirst and starvation. And if they were to set the mountain on fire, the entire Oda clan would be wiped out.

Incidentally, it would also bring down all the daimyo such as Tokugawa, Asai, Matsunaga, and Ikeda, and even the imperial court's officials would be wiped out as a result.

Until 1925, Japan had not completed the railway that crossed the Yamanaka Pass and connected to Tsuruga.

This issue later became a major headache, to the point that the Hokuriku Shinkansen and the Kinai Shinkansen were constantly competing for dominance. This was because the project was not completed when the National Railways was initially a unified entity, and was later broken up and disbanded, leaving behind a host of historical problems.

Since they had been given orders, Takenaka Hanbei and Aoji Shigetsuna didn't say anything more and immediately turned around to gather the small pack animal team at the rear. Meanwhile, Tsuchida Chikakiyo and Ota Gyuichi led their horses, took Noda Sanbei along, and with three horses each, they rode towards Oda Nobunaga's main force, which was advancing through the Bofu Mountains.

Looking at the sky, it was already two or three in the afternoon. Nobunaga had probably already halted his troops and set up camp, right there among the mountains. If he had stayed between the Kōya Pass, that would have been a real problem.

He kept whipping the horse, wishing it were faster.

At this point, Nobunaga had indeed already set up camp. Because the army was unable to cross the mountain pass and break into the Fuchu Plain before nightfall to attack Fuchu Castle, Nobunaga decided to set up camp on a few slopes.

The Oda army conquered Tsuruga County in a single day. At this point, the Asakura family must have been terrified, and Asakura Yoshikage probably wouldn't even have the will to resist.

Perhaps even Fuchu Castle wouldn't need to be attacked; a large army could simply besiege Ichijodani Castle. Ichijodani Castle was indeed a large castle. According to the nobles who accompanied the army, the entire castle surrounded the mountain from top to bottom, with a grand scale of architecture. It had been managed by the Asakura clan for five generations, and the castle town had a population of tens of thousands. With full mobilization, 20,000 people could defend the castle, and Nobunaga's forces wouldn't even be able to completely besiege it.

oh……

Nobunaga had known about this beforehand, but he wasn't afraid of attacking the castle. The plan was to promise whoever conquered Ichijo-dani would receive the castle and 100,000 koku of land; let's see if anyone would put up a desperate attack.

Territories were meant to be used as rewards for the samurai under his command. Only with proper rewards could the chief retainers and generals of the Oda clan continuously expand their samurai ranks, strengthen their fighting power, and pave the way for Nobunaga's conquest of the land.

However, despite the excitement and the fighting, the normal procedures still had to be followed. Nobunaga summoned the generals of each unit to the main camp shogunate before nightfall to discuss the plans for the next battle.

Tokugawa Ieyasu fought with all his might at Kanesaki Castle, suffering 900 casualties. For a reserve force of 5,000 men, 900 casualties would essentially extinguish their will to fight.

However, this battle also gave Tokugawa Ieyasu a chance to shine in the Oda clan. Mikawa's younger brother was indeed brave and strong, and dared to fight.

Having captured Kanegasaki Castle, Tokugawa Ieyasu had thus repaid Nobunaga for the great kindness of securing him an official position and bestowing upon him the title of Yagata. In this battle, Tokugawa Ieyasu no longer needed to exert himself fully; he could postpone the effort.

More importantly, we need to give the Owari people some room to prove themselves. Shibata Katsuie had previously emphasized that you must fight for castles and kill people, leaving a trail of heads, in order to achieve great merit and be rewarded by Nobunaga.

Whether it's attacking Fuchu Castle or Ichijodani Castle, the main force will undoubtedly be samurai from Owari. The first rank of spear, the first rank of carriage, and the first rank of capital must all be won by samurai from Owari.

They were all quick-witted people, so no one argued anymore. Ikeda Katsumasa and Matsunaga Hisahide, who came to support Nobunaga, seemed more like there to bolster his morale than to actually charge forward. Everyone clasped their hands in a gesture of respect, inviting Shibata Katsuie to go first, or Niwa Nagahide to go first, and the rest of you old Owari folks could go first.

"My lord, Kawamura Shichibei of the small pack animal corps requests an audience!"

The meeting was almost over, and it had been decided that the Owari forces would lead the attack. Seeing that it was getting dark, everyone dispersed. Nobunaga's words of disbanding had been clearly heard even by Shichibei outside the shogunate tent.

"Shichibei?" Nobunaga wondered why Shichibei, instead of looting Kanegasaki Castle for him, had come to the front lines.

"My lord, my lord, something terrible has happened! Hori Hidemura, the lord of Kamajima Castle in Jiangbei, has rebelled!" Shichibei threw back the curtain and rushed in, almost sliding to his knees in front of Nobunaga.

"Treason!" Nobunaga's expression suddenly changed drastically.

The generals on either side were also extremely surprised. Some looked directly at Azai Nagamasa, and two of Nobunaga's pagemen even brought out Nobunaga's katana.

"Indeed, Sickle City has secretly stockpiled salt and military provisions." Treason doesn't require absolute certainty; even 50% evidence is sufficient to classify it as a genuine rebellion.

"Shin-Kuro..." The one who came to report was Shichibei, but the one reporting the treason was a local under his brother-in-law's command. Nobunaga was still suspicious and not entirely certain.

"..." The news was so shocking that Nagamasa Asai didn't know how to respond for a moment.

In that short moment, everyone, including Tokugawa Ieyasu, Matsunaga Hisahide, and Ikeda Katsumasa, instinctively moved closer to Nobunaga, leaving a large empty space around Asai Nagamasa.

"Shin-Kuro, what do you have to say?" Nobunaga had encountered too many betrayals and rebellions in his life, and he had seen all kinds of rebellions, so he quickly calmed down.

"This matter, this matter..." In the end, Asai Nagamasa was a step behind, his level was not as good as Nobunaga's.

The news came so suddenly and was so explosive that Asai Nagamasa, who was inexperienced, was momentarily stunned and couldn't even organize his thoughts.

"Not good!" At this moment, the entire shogunate was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, it was eerily quiet, while outside the shogunate came sounds of commotion and chaos.

As a garrison commander who could supervise the entire army in place of Nobunaga when necessary, Sakuma Nobumori was also extra cautious. Upon hearing the commotion, he immediately pulled Nobunaga aside.

"Where is this?" Nobunaga's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately looked around.

When the troops ceased fighting and disembarked in the afternoon, each unit's camp was clearly marked. The camp locations assigned to the generals by Sakuma Nobumori, the garrison commander, were still visible, though it was dark, with campfires burning everywhere.

"There are two places! No, three places!" Sakuma Nobumori immediately went to check and was greatly alarmed.

It wasn't just Hori Hidemura who rebelled; others did too!

“There’s one in Kotani’s team, and another outside the pass, with Kiyosu Nagai Hayato…” Sakuma Nobumori’s voice trembled slightly as he said this.

Who the hell would have thought that Saito Tatsuoki would rebel too!