Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

Hideyoshi and Sugaya Nagayori were ordered to assist Ashikaga Yoshiaki in suppressing the Uji uprising. Upon arriving, they found that the uprising had been largely suppressed by Mibuchi Fujihide, so they withdrew their troops and returned. Hideyoshi seized the opportunity to rush back to Gifu to pledge his loyalty to Nobunaga, as he would later return to Yokoyama Castle to oversee the situation.

"Perhaps the lawsuit against Takino-sho hasn't been resolved yet," Shichibei said as he took the official document regarding the exemption of Katada Minatoya and Tomonbetsu.

"Has Nobukiyama sent a message?" Nobunaga found it strange, especially since Sakuma Nobumori was his trusted retainer, and it was rare for him to go so long without any news.

"No!" This time, it was Shibata Nagakatsu who was guarding the gate. Now that he was married and had become an "adult," he had to come out and serve the public.

"Tsk." Nobunaga didn't quite understand.

How could something like that in the Kinai region possibly take this long? Unless there's some kind of unexpected turn of events. But if there really is a major unexpected turn of events, Akechi Mitsuhide in Kyoto has already sent word back.

"My lord, an urgent report from the capital!" A servant rushed to the door.

A commotion broke out in the room. They had just been discussing whether Sakuma Nobumori had encountered any trouble in Kyoto when an urgent report suddenly arrived from Kyoto. It seemed ominous no matter how you looked at it.

Nobunaga jumped up and rushed to the door to receive the urgent report delivered by Akechi Mitsuhide. He unfolded it and was greatly shocked.

Upon further inquiry, it was learned that two hundred men under Sakuma Nobumori and three hundred men under Yasami Nobukuni were besieged in Takino Castle by five or six thousand men under Matsunaga Hisahide and Yusa Nobutori, and the castle was in imminent danger. Ashikaga Yoshiaki had already dispatched Wada Koremasa to rescue them, but whether he could succeed was still unknown.

Assuming it takes Mitsuhide a day to learn of this letter, and two days for the letter to travel by horse from Kyoto to Gifu, that means Sakuma Nobumori and his few hundred men have been besieged by Matsunaga Hisahide and his forces for more than three days.

By now, they've probably all died on the battlefield!

For at least fifteen seconds, perhaps half a minute, Nobunaga was completely stunned. The news was so sudden and explosive that even someone as wise and decisive as Nobunaga needed time to process it.

"Shichibei, take your men and set off immediately!" Nobunaga threw down the letter and shouted, instructing his servants and pagemen to pack their belongings.

Of course, only the female retainers and pageboys with horses are included; everyone else is left behind. If they run on foot to Kawachi-no-Yagi Castle, there's a high probability that Nobumori and Nobukuni's heads will already be stuck in the roadside trees.

Bringing Shichibei along serves two purposes: first, it allows them to leverage Shichibei's influence along the way and directly requisition all the post horses at Kawamuraya; second, the fact that Shichibei has gained the allegiance of the Rokkaku family's samurai is not a secret.

More than four hundred samurai with families were openly building houses around Gifu Castle, a sight Nobunaga witnessed every day while riding his horse. However, he didn't express envy about the expansion of his retainers' household; on the contrary, he was pleased with it.

As long as his own direct combat power can overpower his family, then all the important officials in his family who can afford to support them should recruit soldiers for me.

Those who slack off and refuse to expand their retainers and strengthen their fighting power will be reprimanded by Nobunaga. Their reputation in Nobunaga's eyes will also be greatly reduced, and they will be seen as useless and incompetent.

They were rushing out to war and could only bring their cavalry. And the largest cavalry force around Gifu Castle was actually Shichibei. Whether they were trusted samurai or visiting generals, they were now simply following Shichibei's orders.

"Understood!" Shichibei wrapped up all the documents under his jurisdiction and immediately left the residence.

The documents can be distributed one by one after Ota Gyuichi's instructions, while the men need to be gathered together by Shichibei. These men were originally supposed to be sent to the horse farm to select and train warhorses for Shichibei. Since they have only recently joined Shichibei's command, they are temporarily waiting for their assignment at Gifu Castle.

Perfect, let's stop distributing them and just gather them together and charge forward.

Having received Shichibei's Yongle Tongbao coins and gold dust, along with a free large house to live in, one must be prepared to fight and risk one's life for Shichibei at any time.

As soon as the conch shell rang, Nagie Sadaharu donned his armor. He was quite professional; since Shichibei had paid him handsomely and they hadn't found another job, they had to serve Shichibei, carrying guns and shooting arrows for him. They would leave when they found a better job.

If there is a war, immediately don your armor and go to war.

The thousand or so riders directly under Nobunaga charged out like the wind, followed closely by the five hundred or so riders under Shichibei. As he ran, Nobunaga silently prayed that Sakuma Nobumori could hold on and not die so easily.

The Oda clan still needs him, and Oda Nobunaga also needs him.

Chapter 219 Everyone was completely confused

Matsunaga Hisahide was so angry he wanted to bury his head in the sand. Everything was arranged perfectly, so why did he have to involve Sakuma Nobumori, the chief retainer of the Oda clan?

"First published on 705u.com - Book Club"

In his mind, Nobunaga was now surrounded by enemies. Even if he attacked and killed Yasunori Nobukuni and annexed the territory of Takino Castle, Nobunaga would reluctantly accept the fait accompli first. Even if he wanted to deal with him, he would first eliminate the two major forces of Asakura Yoshikage and the Miyoshi Triumvirate.

At worst, he could offer some famous tea set as an apology. As long as he took over the military service of Yasunaga, Nobunaga wouldn't resort to violence.

Why is there a Sakuma Nobumori in Kono Castle?

Killing Yasunori will only anger Nobunaga. Killing Sakuma Nobumori will surely enrage Nobunaga, who will then launch an attack.

Unfortunately, Yusa Shinkyo and Matsunaga Hisamichi had already launched their campaigns. Matsunaga Hisamichi led a thousand troops from Tamonyama Castle to join Yusa's army and besieged Takino Castle.

When Matsunaga Hisahide chased them from Nishi-Shinya to the gates of Takino Castle and told them that Sakuma Nobumori was also inside the castle, Yusa Nobutori and Matsunaga Hisahide, who were originally preparing to reap the rewards of their battle, were dumbfounded.

You said you'd only kill a minor character, so why bring in Nobunaga's chief retainer, Jin-gyo?

Yusa Nobutaka and Matsunaga Hisamichi, who had come eagerly to kill, hesitated. Yusa Nobutaka only wanted to eliminate Yasami Nobukuni and then assassinate Hatakeyama Akitaka so that he could smoothly take over the Hatakeyama family. He did not want to immediately face Oda Nobunaga's wrath; he wanted to cause some minor trouble and have some internal strife within his own family.

Referring to the infighting between the brothers Ikeda Tomomasa and Ikeda Katsumasa, Nobunaga, aside from accepting Ikeda Katsumasa into his household as a senior retainer, can almost be said to have tacitly approved of the turmoil within the Ikeda family.

So the group hesitated and did not dare to launch a full-scale attack on Takino Castle immediately. Meanwhile, Sakuma Nobumori and Yasami Nobukuni, who had fled into the castle, sought help from nearby pro-Oda forces while organizing the castle's defenses.

The attack was sudden, and the castle only had about three hundred men, the usual retinue of the Yasami family, and about two hundred foot soldiers guarding Sakuma Nobumori. It was extremely difficult for more than five hundred people to hold off an enemy ten times their size outside.

Fortunately, Sakuma Nobumori had seen many big scenes and remained calm under pressure. He quickly regained his composure and began to defend the city to the death.

When the news reached Ashikaga Yoshiaki, he was shocked. What kind of trick was Yuza Shinkyo up to? It was one thing to kill Hatakeyama Akitaka, but weakening Nobunaga's faction and reducing his supporters would allow Nobunaga to fight a protracted war with Asakura Yoshikage and the Miyoshi Triumvirate. This was Ashikaga Yoshiaki's plan all along.

Is Sakuma Nobumori a branch of Nobunaga? He's the main trunk!

Even if it's not the main trunk, it's still a root, and a main root at that!

He killed Sakuma Nobumori. How could his ten-year-old son become the commander of an army of tens of thousands of men, to intimidate the central government for Nobunaga, or to conquer the local areas?

"What a waste! What a waste! What a waste!" Ashikaga Yoshiaki cursed, then immediately ordered Wada Koremasa to go and rescue Takino Castle. Whether Yasami Nobukuni lived or died was irrelevant, but Sakuma Nobumori could not die.

It doesn't matter if the castle falls, what's important is to obtain Ashikaga Yoshiaki's imperial edict, release Sakuma Nobumori from the castle, and ensure that Nobumori can safely return to Kyoto.

"This is really strange." Shichibei held his back, unable to sit up for a moment.

"Hmm?" If he hadn't reached Sawayama and had to change horses, Nobunaga wouldn't have been willing to stop.

"Why did Matsunaga Yamato rebel?" Shichibei knew, of course, that Matsunaga Hisahide was a traitor, but his rebellion was always well-documented and not something he did on a whim, like shouting "I want to rebel for fun."

Like Bessho Nagaharu, who rebelled with his wife's brothers from the Hatano family. Their forces numbered eight or nine thousand, directly causing Hideyoshi to retreat from the front lines at Harima Castle, and there was indeed a possibility of cutting off Hideyoshi's retreat.

For example, Araki Murashige was a suspicious person by nature. On the other hand, Nobunaga discovered that his family was profiting from supplying grain to the Hongan-ji Temple, which enraged Nobunaga. Due to a combination of factors, Araki Murashige raised the banner of rebellion against Nobunaga for the second time and began to cooperate with the Hongan-ji Temple, the Mori clan, and other forces to fight against Nobunaga.

"Is this the time to be concerned about this?" Nobunaga was clearly also wondering why Matsunaga Hisahide would rebel for no reason when he was asked this question.

Earlier, Nobumori also felt that Matsunaga Hisahide should have rebelled when Nobunaga was deeply embroiled in the Settsu standoff. Now, at this juncture, in this awkward position, what would be the point of rebelling?

The Miyoshi Triumvirate, Ishiyama Honganji Temple, and the Kii and Saiga tribes all received an imperial edict to make peace. They should at least cease fire for three to five months to give the Emperor some face.

Moreover, the main force of the Miyoshi Army in Hatsunohara has gone to Bizen to engage in a protracted conflict with the Mori clan. Who will support Matsunaga Hisahide and his protracted campaign?

However, no matter how much doubt Shichibei and Nobunaga had, they didn't have time to think about it deeply, because Nobunaga was really afraid that Nobumori would be beaten to death by a flurry of punches and die in a tiny castle called Kono.

"Of course! What if this is a scheme to lure our lord into an encirclement?" Shichibei patted the saddle, his voice quite loud.

The women in their uniforms, who had been unsaddled, harnessed, fed, and watered the horses, all stopped. Shichibei hadn't kept his words hidden from them, and as Nobunaga's mid- to high-ranking officers' training unit, it was essential for them to learn, listen, and observe more.

All the forces in the Kinai region knew that Nobunaga was a man who came and went like the wind. No matter where he was, if something happened, he would lead a small number of elite troops to charge forward in a short time.

Whether it was the forced march from Gifu on a snowy night to relieve Shogun's castle, or the swift arrival of his troops within five days and nights upon learning of the Miyoshi Triumvirate's landing, nearly driving the Miyoshi army into the sea, these are clear examples demonstrating that Nobunaga was very accustomed to such tactics.

that……

Right? Surround Sakuma Nobumori, whom Nobunaga desperately wants to save, but don't completely block him; let him request reinforcements. Use the request for reinforcements to lure Nobunaga's main force, which only carries a small number of elite troops, to come here. Then, form an impenetrable encirclement and launch a fierce attack on Nobunaga's main force with 20,000 to 30,000 troops.

Certain death!

"That's true..." Nobunaga, who was about to mount his horse and set off, suddenly hesitated.

Was Shichibei wrong? Matsunaga Hisahide's sudden rebellion was already somewhat strange. Right now, Matsunaga Hisahide has no reason to rebel; it can't be that the Miyoshi Triumvirate offered him the entire country of Kawachi, can it?

The Miyoshi Triumvirate only had a tiny territory on Settsu-Nakajima Island; who could they possibly grant it to? So they could only exploit the existing conflicts within each family and sow discord.

"There are many suspicious points in this matter, so we must be careful. After arriving in Kyoto, it would be best to observe for half a day or a day," Shichibei continued.

We can continue our charge towards Kyoto, where we can further assess the situation and determine our next course of action. Moreover, we can also recruit one or two thousand of Akechi Mitsuhide's men in Kyoto; the more troops we have, the safer we'll be.

"Uemon went to Yamato. The incident happened suddenly, and not many people know about it." Nobunaga changed his horse and finally calmed down from his previous impetuous state of saving people.

“Once we reach Kyoto, the whole world will know.” Shichibei agreed with Nobunaga’s words.

Not many people knew that Nobumori had left Gifu, but many knew that he had arrived in Kyoto; who in the entire shogunate didn't know? Ashikaga Yoshiaki was specifically tasked with drafting an imperial edict, which was then sent to Nagasaka Nihonsuke. If this were Obi-no-Mae next door, wouldn't that be equivalent to the emperor issuing an imperial decree to his minister?

Once the imperial edict was issued, the whole world knew about it.

"Even so, can an ambush be arranged within five or seven days?" Nobunaga agreed with Shichibei's words.

This is not to look down on the Japanese army at that time. Apart from the standing army, ordinary peasant soldiers could be conscripted in one or two days if the territory was small. However, for those with large territories, such as the peasant soldiers of the Takeda clan who marched from Okumikawa to Kawanakajima, or the peasant soldiers of the Uesugi clan who marched from Honjo Castle to Ueno Numata Castle, it would take a week to walk, making it impossible to mobilize them quickly.

The mobilization of peasant soldiers was even less likely to be kept secret. The recruitment of able-bodied men from entire villages and hamlets caused chaos and commotion. Akechi Mitsuhide in Kyoto would certainly send a letter to report this.

"If the number of Miyoshi bandits were several thousand, the number of monks and disciples of Honganji Temple were several thousand, and the number of Matsunaga and Yusa bandits were several thousand, could they be wiped out in one or two days?" Shichibei immediately retorted.

Not to mention Matsunaga and Yusa's army, they have already openly raised an army and besieged Takino Castle. The Miyoshi Triumvirate has at least three thousand standing troops, and Honganji has gathered several thousand combat-ready monks and disciples in Ishiyama Castle.

In a single day, they were able to mobilize 10,000 men to surround Nobunaga.

Once we've surrounded Nobunaga, we can mobilize all our forces—at least 30,000 to 50,000—in just five days. With only a thousand or so cavalrymen and a few hundred men from Kono Castle, if we're surrounded by 50,000 men, they could drown us with a single spit from each of them.

"Hoo..." Nobunaga didn't answer, but just let out a long breath.

"I will gather the younger generation of Jiangzhou," Shichibei said, still wary of any possible trap.

"Alright! Immediately gather the troops of Jiangzhou and organize them at Mount Usa." After thinking for a moment, Nobunaga finally agreed to Shichibei's request.

Gathering at Usayama Castle has one advantage: if there is no fighting ahead, Shichibei can lead the Jiangzhou troops. Since there is no war, Shichibei has managed small pack animals of 13,000 men before, and he has more than 500 samurai readily available to maintain the force.

If Nobunaga advances to Kyoto and confirms the start of the war, then Shichibei will garrison Usayama Castle for defense, while Mori Yoshinari will lead the troops of Eshu to reinforce Nobunaga. Mori Yoshinari, known as one of the "Three Left Generals of Attack" or "Three Left Generals of Spear," is a brave and fierce general on par with Oda and Shibata Katsuie, and Nobunaga greatly admires him in battle.

With the order in place, everything became much easier. Shichibei immediately commanded Kondo Kensei, Gamo Kensuke, Goto Takaji, Yamaoka Kagetaka, Ikeda Kaede, Aochi Shigetsuna, Inokai Nobusada, and others to lead two-fifths of the military force to assemble at Usayama Castle.

To put it simply, bring your regular army, gather the peasant soldiers from the villages along the route to Usayama Castle, and don't bother mobilizing the other peasant soldiers; aim for them to arrive within a day.

Upon arriving at Usayama Castle, Mori Yoshinari, who was inside the castle, saw Nobunaga change horses and flee to Kyoto, and asked what had happened.

What's going on? Given the current situation, if Sakuma Nobumori also dies in battle, the head of the Oda clan will sooner or later become Mori Yoshinari.

Of course, Shichibei would never say that; he would only say that Yusa Nobutori and Matsunaga and his son might have rebelled, and Nobunaga was rushing off to quell the rebellion.

For the first time, truly the first time, Shichibei heard such a long string of profanities from a Japanese person, with no two phrases repeating themselves. And it was heavily accented with the Mino and Owari regions, making it particularly offensive, lasting at least a minute.

Perhaps due to excessive psychological pressure recently, Mori Yoshinari was looking for an outlet, and then the traitors jumped out again, so he had to vent his frustrations.

After finishing his tirade, Mori Yoshinari began mobilizing the troops near Usayama Castle. Meanwhile, Nakagawa Shigemasa, stationed at Nagakoji Temple, was ordered to lead 300 regular troops to Usayama Castle for roll call. With heavy snow in Echizen, the defensive pressure on the main general stationed in Jiangnan had greatly decreased, allowing him to spare some men.

By the afternoon of the following day, almost all the Jiangzhou soldiers who could be summoned had arrived at Usayama Castle. Shichibei had also arranged for the necessary rice balls, miso packets, and salt.

After a brief discussion with Mori Nagayoshi, Shichibei, together with Nakagawa Shigemasa, led over 5,000 troops to Kyoto.

At this time, Nobunaga in Kyoto had already requested Ashikaga Yoshiaki to mobilize 2,000 men from the royal household, along with 1,200 men from Akechi Mitsuhide, to station north of the Yodo River and observe the situation.

In addition, Nobunaga sent a message to Hatakeyama Akitaka, instructing him to quickly ascertain the situation within his clan and send someone to submit a report. As for sending troops, that was out of the question. After all, the Hatakeyama clan's left and right elders had already begun their war, greatly reducing the clan's mobilization capacity. It would be fortunate if Hatakeyama Akitaka could defend Takaya Castle.

To Nobunaga's surprise, when Wada Koremasa's reinforcements arrived at Takino Castle, they found that the castle's soldiers were not engaged in battle.