Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

Lord Toyama Kagetoshi, the lord of Tominowa Village Castle, has passed away due to illness!

Isn't that awkward? Just when it seemed like Takeda Shingen and Oda Nobunaga were about to clash, Toyama Kageto, the lord of Iwamura Castle, a highly respected and trustworthy general and lord, suddenly passed away.

The key issue is that there wasn't a single heir who was already an adult and capable of commanding the generals of eastern Mino. Although Nobunaga had adopted his son, Bōmaru, to Tōyama Kagetoshi, Bōmaru was only a few years old. He was too young to lead troops; he might even trip and fall while running.

However, in the dead of winter, and given that Iwamura Castle is located in a mountainous area with large temperature differences between day and night and severe cold, there was nothing that could be done about the aging scenery of the distant mountains.

However, a corner of Zhongshan Road, which was not originally a cause for excessive concern, has suddenly developed a vulnerability.

Chapter 250 You only realize how little you have when you need it most

Nobunaga did not ring the bell to summon people to his residence for a meeting, even though this was a good opportunity to completely turn the Toyama clan of Higashiminowa Village into retainers, but the timing was too bad.

If it weren't for external influences, Nobunaga would have undoubtedly ridden to Iwamura Castle to support his son in inheriting the title of lord. He would have also purged the opposing Toyama clan retainers and installed several retainers for his son to rule Iwamura together.

But war could break out at any time...

If Nobunaga had rashly gone to Iwamura Castle and forcefully oppressed the Toyama family, the Toyama family wouldn't have been completely wiped out. Although the three brothers Toyama Kagetoshi, Toyama Takekage, and Toyama Naokane were all dead and had no heirs, the "Seven Toyama Heads" of the Toyama branch were all fine. For example, Toyama Tomokatsu and his son Tomotada belonged to the faction that supported Nobunaga.

Some supported Nobunaga, while others supported Shingen. Toyama Naokane followed the Takeda clan into battle, was seriously wounded, and died upon his return. The Toyama clan, like the Oyamada clan in the neighboring Kai province, were typical powerful local clans that controlled two provinces on the border.

I understand. In order to perpetuate their family line and preserve their name, they would switch allegiances and serve different factions tirelessly. This was the predicament of smaller powers during the Warring States period, and there's no need to condemn them harshly.

One citizen, belonging to two powerful states; if war breaks out, the country will inevitably split apart.

The neighboring Yama-ke Sankaku-shu Okudaira family now has two branches belonging to the Tokugawa and Takeda families. After the two families went to war, the grandfather took his grandson to join the Takeda, while the son stayed behind to help the Tokugawa. There was nothing he could do.

So what do we do now?

Toyamaboru is only seven years old, though he could be considered nine by the traditional Chinese age reckoning, but he should be at least twelve to help with his coming-of-age ceremony. He can barely lead a large army into battle with the assistance of his retainers and the assistants.

At this age, I'm really afraid that a strong wind on Zhongshan Road will catch a cold, which will then turn into pneumonia, and a high fever for three or five days will kill me instantly.

Alright, let's put everything else aside for now. At the very least, a messenger to offer condolences must be sent to Iwamura Castle. After all, Toyama Kagetoshi was Nobunaga's uncle, and he was quite loyal to Nobunaga, serving him faithfully on numerous occasions. Now that he's passed away, even if we don't expect a grand funeral, we should at least get him a Buddhist name and have three to five hundred monks chant sutras for him.

Who were the mourners? A question was asked around, and it was Sakuma Nobumori and Oda Nobunari.

This Oda Nobunari was the eldest son of Oda Nobumitsu, and thus Nobunaga's cousin. When Oda Nobumitsu suddenly passed away, Nobunari was still young and unable to control Kiyosu Castle, so it fell into the hands of Oda Nobunaga. Logically, Nobunari should be the lord of Kiyosu Castle now, but well, nobody mentions it anyway.

Accompanied by dozens of attendants, the two braved the snow and headed towards Iwamura Castle. Their purpose was not only to attend Toyama Kagetoshi's funeral, but also to ascertain the true state of affairs within Iwamura Castle.

Let's understand the situation first before deciding whether to interfere in the Toyama family's affairs. Anyway, with the mountains blocked by heavy snow, neither Takeda Shingen nor Asakura Yoshikage can move. They're both staying home to hibernate, so at least we have some time to maneuver.

Only then did Nobunaga summon Shichibei into the castle to discuss the matter in secret.

What to do? We can't just sit idly by. Boumaru is definitely incompetent. Sending Toyama Tomokatsu into the castle to assist him might be possible, but it wouldn't be legitimate.

You're asking me? Who should I ask? The best solution is definitely for you to go directly into the city and intervene. Iwamura Castle is situated right on the main road of the Nakasendo. With this castle, along with branch castles like Naegi Castle, we can completely block the Takeda army outside Mino.

tsk...

Seeing Nobunaga's dissatisfaction, Shichibei simply spoke up: "The former lord of Kinzan Castle in Mino, Mori Yoshinari, went to Tamonyama Castle in Yamato, didn't he? Hand over Kinzan Castle to Takigawa Kazumasu. Anyway, you're not going to make a move on Kita Ise for the time being; you're going to deal with Asakura Yoshikage."

Let Takigawa Kazumasu, with his existing army, serve as the rearguard of Iwamura Castle. Give him some more troops to strengthen the defenses of Kanayama Castle. In case of trouble, immediately rush to Iwamura's aid.

The cost of defending Iwamura Castle was far less than the cost of defending Gifu Castle. Once the Takeda army broke into the bustling world of the Nobi Plain, wouldn't they become more and more excited and stronger with each battle?

"Near?" Nobunaga did not answer.

After all, northern Ise is also very important, and someone needs to coordinate efforts to ensure the smooth progress of the subsequent Nagashima campaign. Back when they first attacked Echizen, no coordination work was done at all; the Asakura clan didn't even have a single traitor. If they had recruited a group of traitors beforehand, the Asakura army might have collapsed before Hori Hidemura even had a chance to rebel.

“Or with Saemon.” Shichibei brought up Sasa Narimasa again.

Sassa Narimasa captured Rokkaku Yoshikata, which greatly impressed Nobunaga, but the reward was still undecided. Rokkaku Yoshikata, on the other hand, was now a full-fledged retainer of the shogunate, relegated to performing archery and horsemanship for Ashikaga Yoshiaki in Kyoto. He was under constant house arrest, with absolutely no chance of escape.

"Isn't it okay if it's an inu?" Nobunaga asked in return.

"Yazaemon..." Maeda Toshiie wasn't bad either; he had a decent following, and if Nobunaga were to intervene, he could muster a force of about a thousand men.

"uh-huh?"

"Perhaps Yazaemon is a bit too hasty; he needs to calm down." Shichibei wasn't that he didn't trust Maeda Toshiie; after all, it was just a support mission.

However, the future Kaga Dainagon was still undergoing training and certainly hadn't yet developed into the fully intelligent person he would become. At this time, Maeda Toshiie was still somewhat reckless, killing someone and fleeing after a quarrel with Nobunaga's page. Although he distinguished himself at Okehazama and returned to the Oda clan.

Because of this experience, his previous service records were wiped clean, and until the first Asakura campaign, Maeda Toshiie was still only responsible for Nobunaga's daily guard duties.

Maeda Toshiie was actually allowed to lead troops independently until the Battle of Nagashino, when he led several hundred arquebusiers as the arquebusier magistrate to support the battle.

In the third year of Tensho, Shibata Yoriki was granted a fief of 33,300 koku, which made him a standard reserve general, capable of overseeing operations in one direction on the battlefield.

This shows that Nobunaga had been working on Maeda Toshiie's temperament, fearing that he might act rashly again. The current task of supporting Iwamura required a cautious and experienced general; either Takigawa Kazumasu or Sasa Narimasa would be sent.

As for Kanamori Nagachika and Fuwa Mitsuharu, Shichibei mainly lacked close communication with them and was not very certain about the personalities of the other members of the Mother Cloth.

Mōri Hideyori seems alright; he's reliable in his work. But he's the son of Shiba Yoshitō, the former governor of Owari Province. I wonder if Nobunaga would be willing to release him at this time.

"A-quan is indeed a bit too impulsive." Nobunaga agreed after Shichibei pointed it out.

"Assuming Saito's bandits come in force, we must also guard against unrest among the people of Mino," Shichibei reminded him again.

The Zhongshan Road is such a terrible road, normally only a few thousand people can walk on it. Ryūshō has received support from the Takeda clan, let's say five or six thousand people. Using them as the core, if they can recruit the support of the Mino clan, they could expand to tens of thousands in no time.

If he were to break through the valleys of the Kiso Mountains and reach the plains at the foot of the mountains, tens of thousands of men would be enough to threaten Gifu Castle. It's true that Gifu Castle is easy to defend and difficult to attack, but it's also true that Nobunaga is surrounded by enemies on all sides. Unless Nobunaga abandons everything else and gathers tens of thousands of men to firmly defend Gifu Castle, even with Shingen's main force of 25,000 men, plus other recruited troops, it would be difficult to conquer Gifu.

"Hmm..." Before we kill Long Xing, we need to strengthen the construction of this community of shared destiny.

Historically, around this time, Hiroshi Hineno and Michitoshi Nagai, with the assistance of forces such as Nagashima, the Jodo Shinshu sect of Hokuriku, and Asakura, attempted to retake Mino. There is no doubt that there were supporters in Mino, but they did not overwhelmingly side with Saito.

This shows that Nobunaga's efforts to win over the Mino people were actually quite effective. Objectively, he elevated the Mino people to a position on par with the Owari people. For example, Hachiya Yoritaka was given important positions at this time and gradually rose to the position of lord of a province and a castle. Historically, he was to be appointed lord of Omi Province's Hida Castle within two years.

In contrast, the Mori clan next door, after eliminating the Ōuchi clan, saw widespread rebellions within Ōuchi territory, with the people enthusiastically supporting Ōuchi Teruhiro's return. The Amago clan of Izumo was even more formidable; even Amago Yoshihisa had surrendered, but Yamanaka Shikanosuke returned with Amago Katsuhisa, rallying eight to ten thousand men with a single call – truly a case of overwhelming support.

Nobunaga was quite capable in the work of assimilating, winning over, and appeasing the occupied territories. He wasn't just limited to physical extermination; besides, the fact that the Mori clan had massacred Yakushima into a no-man's-land couldn't be concealed. Everyone had their own mess to clean up; it was just a matter of whether future generations would wipe it clean.

“At this time, Jinshan must be secured.” Shichibei moved a little closer to Nobunaga.

During the reign of Dosan, Kinzan Castle was known as Tobi-kachi Castle. It was only after Nobunaga seized the castle that it was renamed Kinzan Castle. After being granted to Mori Yoshinari, it was basically passed down through the Mori family for generations.

Later, Mori Nagayoshi couldn't hold onto the more than 200,000 koku of rice he had earned in Kawanakajima, Shinano, and fled back to Mino, returning to Kanayama Castle. As for why it was called Kanayama Castle? That's something Shichibei and Nobunaga insisted on making clear.

This is where the Kiso River flows from the mountains to the plains, and where the water bends to a gentler point, forming the "Kinzan-chū" (Golden Mountain Pass). Large quantities of timber, released directly from upstream, are reassembled into rafts or undergo preliminary processing here before being released further downstream.

This place used to be a small, prosperous town. It remained as "Kaneyama-cho" until the Meiji era. However, it gradually fell into disrepair because it was neither connected by railway nor national highway.

This is currently the first distribution and logistics center for Kiso River Timber Industry, and it is extremely important. As a member of Noo's family, Shichibei certainly has to consider the interests of the merchants under his jurisdiction.

Since Mori was not in Kinzan Castle, he suggested sending a general to "assist in the defense," but in reality, he was in charge of dealing with a possible military crisis in Higashimino.

how is it?

"Can you go?" Nobunaga suddenly asked this question, which I never expected.

Before the new year, Nobunaga had privately expressed to several senior retainers his hope to take advantage of the current situation, when Ishiyama Honganji Temple had not yet risen to power and Awa Shinohara Nagafusa had not yet landed, to completely kill the weakened Asakura Yoshikage.

Echizen is a strategically important region, with its natural defenses. The Asakura clan ruled for five generations, and Nobunaga learned his lesson the hard way, understanding that even a lion must exert its full strength to hunt a rabbit. He did not want two of his key generals left behind in the Echizen region.

In any case, the Takeda army's attack on Iwamura Castle was merely a predicted event, and had not yet occurred. However, the attack on the Echizen Asakura clan was a plan that had been in place for a long time. It should have even been carried out last year, but the complex situation in the Kinai region prevented the allocation of troops.

Now that we have a little spare capacity, if we don't take advantage of Asakura's illness and seize his life, when will we?

"Me? No, no, no..." Shichibei waved his hands, thinking, "You actually want me to fight this kind of battle?"

One can imagine that when the Takeda army, along with several thousand men led by Saito Tatsuoki, stormed into Mino, could Shichibei possibly stop them? It is said that in another dimension, Akechi Mitsuhide, Takigawa Kazumasu, and Hideyoshi all went, but they still couldn't stop the Takeda's raging bull.

"I'll still leave Yozaemon to you, and send an additional two hundred cavalry." Nobunaga actually started bargaining with Shichibei.

"How can you entrust such an important town to your servant?" Shichibei couldn't understand Nobunaga's mind at all; what was going on in his head?

"I feel at ease because it's you. How could I be at ease conquering Echizen if it were anyone else?" Nobunaga's thinking was simple.

In the current situation, what reassured Nobunaga most about the Oda clan were the "Three Elders Who Loved Oda" from the old Owari, old Oda, and old Shimo-ji districts. Those who were capable of achieving anything were now generals and renowned retainers. Even a village headman would probably have become the head of a hundred foot soldiers by now.

They have to go with Nobunaga to deal with Asakura Yoshikage, lest someone else rebel along the way. If they all go, then all that's left is Shichibei.

"If all else fails, I will go to Kiyosu, and Father will go to Jinshan," Shichibei offered a compromise.

The Nagashima Ganshoji Temple is internally divided over spoils and won't raise an army anytime soon. Therefore, Oda Nobuhiro won't need to fight. Sending him to Jinshan to assist in defense and block any potential openings for the Takeda army is more practical than having Shichibei personally confront the Takeda clan.

Although Nobuhiro suffered a defeat in his debut, after so many years of defeats, did he die?

He didn't die, did he? Not only did he survive, but he also had several daughters, all lively and energetic. This shows that while he might not be considered incredibly powerful, he was still a competent general. He's definitely better than those generals who got beaten up and died instantly.

Sending him to hold off the Takeda army would at least prevent a major defeat, even if they lost. It would at least buy time until Nobunaga's main force returned to reinforce Mino.

After Nobunaga's main force returned to Mino, the two thousand arquebusiers had just given Asakura Yoshikage a hard time; if all else failed, he could just give the Takeda army a hard time too.

"Tsk tsk tsk..." Nobunaga did not immediately agree, but pondered for a moment.

After all, as we mentioned before, the Jodo Shinshu sect has connections, and Ganshoji Temple is establishing branches in farmers' homes. This is something that not only Nobunaga, but all the daimyo in Japan are wary of. The situation on Nagashima Island is also unsettling.

Chapter 251 Believe in God or Nobunaga

"My lord! My lord!"

The two were in the middle of their private discussion when Mori Nagayoshi's voice suddenly came from outside. Something terrible must have happened again, otherwise Nobunaga had instructed them not to disturb him during their private meeting unless it was something important.

"What is it!" Nobunaga replied, and Mori Nagayoshi opened the gate.

"The Wada clan of Settsu Takatsuki is in turmoil! Wada Den'emon has been defeated and killed! Wada Shinnosuke has been defeated and killed! Takayama... Takayama Hida-no-kami is seriously wounded, and Takayama Ukon has been beheaded more than half of his head; his fate is unknown!"

Nobunaga, who had been listening patiently, suddenly stood up, his feet slamming heavily on the floor with a jarring thud. Wada Den'emon is Wada Korechika, Wada Shinnosuke is Wada Koremasa, Takayama Hida no Kami is Takayama Tomoteru, and Takayama Ukon is the new Sengoku period's son-in-law, Takayama Shigetomo.

But how did this commotion in the Wada family's main branch lead to this situation?

Total wipeout?

Mori Nagayoshi obviously only knew this much, after all, he came to deliver a message, and when he brought up the Takayama retainer who came to deliver the message, he didn't understand much of what he had to say.

But in reality, the whole incident was nothing more than a common drama of mutual distrust between ruler and subject during Japan's Sengoku period, followed by internal strife. After Wada Koremasa died fighting valiantly in the Battle of Shirai-Kawahara last year, Wada Korenaga's prestige within the Wada clan plummeted to negative levels because he failed to come to his father's aid in battle and even fled.

If that were all, the conflict might not have erupted so quickly. After all, as the only remaining pro-Oda faction in Settsu Province, Nobunaga had to support them no matter what.

Sometimes, Nobunaga's temper was quite eccentric; he could get angry quickly, but his anger would subside just as quickly. It might just be a momentary outburst of anger, and afterwards he might not hold a grudge. He might scold you a couple of times, but that's it. Generally, he didn't hold grudges.

With the situation in the Kinai region turbulent before the new year, Nobunaga naturally summoned Wada Korechika and angrily rebuked him for abandoning his father. After the scolding, he still promised him the safety of his former territory and that he would continue to possess Takatsuki Castle. Moreover, Nobunaga also forgave the funds that Wada Korechika had borrowed from him for the construction of the castle.

Logically speaking, it should have been a case of giving a sweet treat after a harsh punishment. But Wada Korechika didn't hear it that way. Especially when he saw Takayama Shigetomo kneeling beside Nobunaga, he felt even worse.

Everyone thought that the matter was over and that Wada Korechika would take over the position of Settsu Governor, which his father had held, and continue to live in Takatsuki Castle, carrying the gun for Nobunaga.

When Takayama Shigetomo returned to Takatsuki Castle with his wife to wish Takayama Tomoteru a Happy New Year this year, things suddenly broke out.

Initially, it was Wada Korechika who said he was going to hold a New Year's banquet. The Takayama father and son were not planning to go, but when they heard that Wada Korechika, who was close to Oda, was also going, they were relieved and said they would definitely attend.

When we arrived at the banquet in the afternoon, we saw quite a few people, about twenty or thirty in total. Some were close friends, some were casual acquaintances, and the Wada clan's retainers had only been assembled in recent years, with few members of their ancestral lineage. Having worked together for so long, we had developed a fairly good relationship.

After they sat down to drink and eat, the fifteen or sixteen servants of the Gao family were arranged to eat in the next room. This was quite reasonable, as those present were all "senior officers," and their attendants would naturally have to go to the outer room.