Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

"Master! Master, something terrible has happened!" A waiter rushed in from behind the curtain during an argument.

Why is he called "waiter"? Because he's called "master." Shichibei's retainers all call him "lord," and Yoriki calls him "Kawamura-dono" or "Okata-dono." Only the servants and waiters of the Kawamura-ya are called "Shichibei-master."

"How is it!" Shichibei immediately stood up. We haven't even entered Mikawa yet.

Well then, our in-laws, Yamagata Masakage, won't go so far as to bypass Yoshida Castle and Okazaki Castle to come and beat us up.

"The Takeda pirates landed on Enshu Beach and robbed our ship of military rations," the crew member who ran over said quickly.

"Tsk." Upon hearing about this, Shichibei clicked his tongue.

It wasn't that they had forgotten about this, but rather that they hadn't expected that Takeda Shingen's men were still at Futamata Castle and hadn't yet come to besiege Hamamatsu Castle, yet the Takeda family's navy had already come knocking on their door.

However, the Takeda clan's attack was merely a normal engagement, without any intention to indiscriminately kill innocent people. Therefore, they only seized the large ships transporting military supplies and the food on board, while the shipwrights, sailors, and crew were given a small boat and released.

It's good that everyone is alright; carrying guns and fighting is the duty of samurai foot soldiers.

Upon hearing this news, the samurai around Kawamura's army all turned to look at the map sketch, where a small figure had been added to the sea south of Hamamatsu Castle.

The Takeda clan's navy is not strong enough to contend with the Kuki navy. However, the Kuki navy is busy besieging Nagashima and cannot be spared anytime soon.

Once the two naval forces surrounding Nagashima are withdrawn, Nagashima, which already has ships, will frantically buy food everywhere. The siege will then be rendered in vain, and the ordinary men and women who were driven to Nagashima can easily escape to other places, such as Kii Province or Iga Province, for refuge.

Some might suggest bringing in the Chita navy of Saji Nobukata and his son Saji Kazushige separately? That wouldn't be enough, because the Takeda clan's navy consisted of at least fifty-two ships, comparable to the capital ships like Yumiko Hayashi in later games.

Hojo Ujimasa suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Takeda navy and meticulously recorded the data. Furthermore, the Takeda navy was later incorporated into Tokugawa Ieyasu's forces, becoming part of the shogunate's naval fleet, resulting in even more detailed data.

Fifty-two archers, Kobayashi, it would probably take him two or three hours to beat them all in a video game. But this isn't a video game, this is serious fighting at sea, and we'll have to get Kuki Yoshitaka involved to make it work.

We should inform Oda Nobunaga as soon as possible. The difficulty of transporting our supplies by water to Hamamatsu has suddenly increased. Perhaps we can only transport the supplies by land to Yoshida, and then find a way to transport them with our troops.

The message quickly reached Nobunaga of Yoshida Castle. Nobunaga was not in a hurry, but instead ordered Shichibei to bring a month's worth of provisions to Yoshida Castle.

In recent days, Nobunaga has also carefully inspected the road between Yoshida Castle and Hamamatsu Castle. In a sense, there is no smooth road connecting Yoshida Castle and Hamamatsu Castle, as the two places are separated by the huge Lake Hamana.

North of Lake Hamana lies Ii Valley. The land route involves starting from Yoshida, heading north, passing through Ii Valley, and then south—a rather inconvenient route. For a rapid advance, it's necessary to use water transport to cross Lake Hamana directly. Hamamatsu Castle is located on the opposite shore of the lake, connected by waterways.

In addition, Oda's scouts discovered that Takeda's scouts were exploring the area around Hamamatsu Castle and the terrain around Lake Hamana.

At this point, Shichibei finally understood another important reason why Oda Nobunaga halted his troops at Yoshida. Nobunaga was worried that once his army reached Hamamatsu Castle, the Takeda clan would cut off his supply lines.

Oda's navy was tied down, while Takeda's navy controlled the Enshu Beach. Once Nobunaga entered Hamamatsu Castle, the Lake Hamana waterway would be controlled by Takeda's navy, and the Ii Valley land route would inevitably be attacked by Takeda Shingen.

The Oda and Tokugawa armies numbered 38,000 cavalry, and including their families, they had at least 40,000 mouths to feed. The reserves of Hamamatsu Castle alone wouldn't be enough to feed them for even a month. Nobunaga would then have to attack Takeda Shingen, and the attacking side would undoubtedly suffer greater losses than the defending side.

The key point is that this is exactly what Takeda Shingen planned.

When a war breaks out, we should try every means to maneuver the enemy, instead of letting the enemy run us around like dogs.

So Nobunaga was still hesitating whether to advance on Hamamatsu. If Takeda Shingen had already begun besieging Hamamatsu Castle at this point, Nobunaga could have marched there without any burden and confronted the Takeda army.

However, by halting his troops at Futamata Castle, Takeda Shingen gained the upper hand. It was now a test of endurance, seeing who would be the first to give in and enter the fray.

It was truly a strategic battle between the two powerful figures, Takeda Shingen and Oda Nobunaga, over who would attack first and who would defend, while Tokugawa Ieyasu, trapped in Hamamatsu Castle, trembled with fear. If this dragged on, the 8,000 hatamoto soldiers in Hamamatsu Castle who were tasked with launching the first attack would likely face a large-scale exodus.

When the eldest and second eldest brothers fought, the third eldest brother died first.

After leading his troops to Yoshida, Nobunaga did not order Shichibei to halt his troops within the castle. Aside from the fact that Yoshida Castle simply couldn't accommodate so many people, Nobunaga still needed Shichibei as a pawn.

A pawn used to lure Masakage Yamagata!

At this time, Yamagata Masakage was near Nagashino Castle, threatening Yoshida Castle, a major town in eastern Mikawa. With Nobunaga's main force of 30,000 men at Yoshida Castle, Yamagata Masakage would absolutely not dare to cause trouble.

But what if we send Shichibei's four thousand men forward to the middle reaches of Toyokawa as the vanguard of Yoshida Castle?

If Yamagata Masakage doesn't come, Yoshida Castle will have an additional barrier formed by the Kawamura clan, thus securing the Oda army's retreat route. If Yamagata Masakage does come, based on Nobunaga's understanding of the Kawamura army, the four thousand Kawamura soldiers should be able to hold out until Nobunaga's main force arrives, allowing them to join forces.

Then we can wipe out Yamagata Masakage's five thousand cavalry in one go, severely damaging the Takeda army. Even Takeda Shingen would be heartbroken for a year or two after losing those five thousand men.

Who knows, Shingen might get so angry that he dies on the spot?

If Shingen were to die right now, it would be an absolute stroke of good fortune; there could be no more delightful thing. Without Takeda Shingen, this veteran commander, the Takeda clan's fighting strength would surely be reduced by at least 20%.

But, brother, are you really that careless? Using Shichibei as bait is giving him too much credit. Aren't you afraid that Shichibei will collapse in the face of defeat and simply run back to Owari?

With Shichibei's command skills? No, Shichibei has no command skills whatsoever; he can't fight a single battle. He's entirely carried by his older brothers. What if Hideyoshi were here? If Hideyoshi were here, Shichibei would have followed him into battle. How could Shichibei dare to do it alone?

Or you could bring in Sassa Narimasa. Sassa Narimasa is quite capable. Although he has never independently commanded an army of four or five thousand men, he has seen and eaten them.

Chapter 268 Mutual Transfers Never Stop

Oda Nobuhiro immediately objected, pointing out that Shichibei was a small merchant, a fact known not only to those present but also to the generals of the Takeda clan. Even if Shichibei were stationed in the middle reaches of the Toyokawa River, with Oda Nobunaga stationed at Yoshida Castle downstream, the two armies would likely only be half a day's journey apart.

The key question is, can Shichibei hold out for even half a day?

While releasing these four thousand men might indeed draw out Yamagata Masakage's five thousand, we mustn't risk losing more than we gain. Even if these are the four thousand men of the rear guard and the small pack animal unit, they are still a genuine force of four thousand. If they are lost, the Oda clan will be in deep trouble.

It's one thing if you, Oda Nobunaga, have a gambling addiction, but everyone still depends on Shichibei for their livelihood. If you really lose Shichibei, the first one to scream in despair will be you, Oda Nobunaga.

After Nobuhiro's retort, Nobunaga was met with opposition from Hayashi Michimasa, Tada Hiromasa, Nakajo Ietada, Shimada Hidemitsu, and others. This was quite rare in the Oda clan, especially during Nobunaga's period of rising power.

However, firstly, Shichibei was indeed well-liked, and secondly, it wasn't yet at the point where such a gamble was necessary. Even if Shingen's main force and Yamagata Masakage joined together, the Takeda army would only number 27,000. Nobunaga's main force and Tokugawa Ieyasu's combined force would number a full 38,000.

The Oda-Tokugawa alliance had a significant advantage, and Nobunaga also had two thousand arquebuses at his disposal, giving him considerable confidence in both offense and defense.

If you're really worried about something happening to Yoshida Castle's rear, then transfer the generals defending Okazaki Castle to Yoshida. Okazaki Castle has five thousand men under Tokugawa Nobuyasu; even if they're not good at field battles, they're more than enough to defend the castle.

The Takeda army only has one head and two arms; no matter how powerful they are, they'll die from a single bullet. It's just a war, so let's hold off Shingen for now. He's on his way to rescue Ashikaga Yoshiaki; let's see who loses patience first.

Not bad. Oda Nobuhiro hasn't been wasting his years; at least he can see the situation quite clearly. Actually, Nobunaga can see it clearly too, but he's probably a little nervous. He's thinking of taking down Yamagata Masakage first to expand his advantage.

So how do we fight now?

The main idea was to lure Takeda Shingen into attacking Oda's army. Inaba Ittetsu, who was standing nearby, suggested that Nobunaga's main force advance to Ii-dani, and then order Tokugawa Ieyasu to come and join them, making it appear as if they were heading to attack Futamata Castle.

Upon hearing the news, Shingen, having learned that Nobunaga had left Yoshida Castle and Ieyasu had left Hamamatsu Castle, and that they had not yet reunited, would most likely come out and eliminate Ieyasu first.

Tokugawa Ieyasu's abilities are decent; he should be able to hold out against the Takeda army's attack for half a day. Within that time, the main force of the Oda army will arrive on the battlefield. At that point, Oda Nobunaga will be like a divine intervention, able to deliver a crushing blow to the Takeda army that has been fighting for half a day.

The whole plan was actually similar to Nobunaga sending Shichibei to mobilize Yamagata Masakage, except that now the bait was Nobunaga himself plus Ieyasu, and the person being lured was Takeda Shingen.

Let's talk about getting Ieyasu to risk his life...

The generals, including Oda Nobuhiro, remained silent. After all, Tokugawa Ieyasu was from Mikawa, not Owari. One Ieyasu could easily defeat three Shichibei, or even five with a bit of luck. Such a formidable man would certainly have a higher probability of succeeding in luring Shingen than Shichibei.

When it came to matters of war, Shichibei tried to remain silent, letting everyone discuss it. Everyone glanced at Shichibei, who, true to form, was willing to sacrifice his own life rather than risk the lives of others. Hearing that Ieyasu was to go, he finally looked up and continued listening.

So cowardly!

If he weren't so pretentious, it would be one thing for Shichibei to mess with those small fry, but why bother going after the Takeda army, one of the most powerful in the Sengoku period? If he truly had the courage, insight, and military strategy, he should have earned 80,000 koku in Sakata, north of the river, or 56,000 koku in Sakamoto, south of the river.

After fighting alongside Nobunaga for so many years, why is he still only receiving 7,200 kan? It's simply because he's a coward and doesn't dare to go into battle and kill people.

While the Oda army was making pre-battle plans, the Takeda army was naturally doing the same. After learning that Nobunaga's main force and a large amount of supplies were stuck in Yoshida, Takeda Shingen devised a new plan.

He believed that the 8,000 men under Tokugawa Ieyasu in Hamamatsu Castle were insignificant and would most likely disintegrate and collapse soon. His only enemy was Oda Nobunaga; Tokugawa Ieyasu was merely an afterthought.

Oda Nobunaga isn't coming? What should we do? We have to get Oda Nobunaga to come.

The art of war says, "Attack where the enemy is not inclined to, and strike where they must defend." Where was Nobunaga's likely target? It was Hamamatsu Castle.

Hamamatsu Castle was both the main castle of Tokugawa Ieyasu, a subordinate of Oda Nobunaga, and the seat of the provincial government of Tōtōmi Province. If Hamamatsu Castle were captured, the people of Tōtōmi Province would completely side with the Takeda clan, and the Tokugawa clan would lose all fear.

However, directly besieging Hamamatsu Castle would be unwise. As the art of war says, "If you have ten times the strength of the enemy, surround them; if you have five times the strength, attack them; if you have twice the strength, divide them; if you are equal in strength, fight them; if you are fewer in strength, escape them; if you are weaker, avoid them."

Hamamatsu Castle was defended by 8,000 men, while Shingen only had 22,000, less than three times that number, making a direct assault impossible. If they advanced to Hamamatsu Castle, Nobunaga would surely come to its aid, and then the Oda and Tokugawa armies would attack the Takeda army from both sides, leaving Shingen with no chance of survival.

So, after much deliberation, Takeda Shingen decided not to halt his troops at Futamata Castle, but to advance. Where to? Lake Hamana.

Lake Hamana is not a regular round or square lake. Its surface is actually very rugged. In the eastern half of the lake, there is a Shonai Peninsula, which is like a sharp knife, almost dividing the entire Lake Hamana in two.

After much deliberation, Shingen advanced directly, leading his troops to take control of Horie Castle on the Shonai Peninsula (present-day Tateyama-dera-cho, Chuo-ku, Hamamatsu City; during the Edo period, it was the Ōsawa clan's main lord). The castle's lords, Ōsawa Mototane and his son Ōsawa Motosuke, had only a mere three hundred soldiers, and had just been brutally defeated by Tokugawa Ieyasu in 1865.

Tokugawa Ieyasu seized the Nii-gase (present-day Kirie-gase), a pass at the mouth of Lake Hamana that had been controlled by the Ōsawa family for generations. This actually made the Ōsawa father and son extremely dissatisfied. They originally had such a small territory, and with the Nii-gase pass being an important pass on the Tokaido, they could have made a fortune. Now they couldn't make a penny.

Later, during the Meiji era in Japan, the construction of the National Railway began, and the two major stations on both sides of Lake Hamana were Hamamatsu Station and Nii Station. Capturing Nii Gate was equivalent to controlling the outlet of Lake Hamana to the sea.

Shingen was gambling that once he attacked Horie Castle on the Shonai Peninsula, the castle lords, Osawa and his son, would waver under his offensive, and Tokugawa Ieyasu would immediately come to their rescue.

After all, if Horie Castle and the Shonai Peninsula fell into the hands of the Takeda clan, the two key strongholds of Kosei Utsuyama Castle and Koguchi Shin-i Pass, which Hamamatsu Castle relied on for aid from the Mikawa direction, would be instantly exposed to the Takeda army's advance. At that point, Tokugawa Ieyasu would even have trouble getting food at Hamamatsu Castle and would no longer be able to receive supply aid from Mikawa.

It's like a nested doll: attack Hamamatsu, Nobunaga comes to the rescue; attack Horie, Ieyasu comes to the rescue; if Ieyasu comes, Nobunaga will most likely come, and then Shingen can wait in comfort and meet the Oda-Tokugawa allied forces on the pre-arranged Shonai Peninsula battlefield.

Horie Castle is negligible; its garrison numbers only three hundred, most of whom are hastily mobilized peasant soldiers who had previously suffered a brutal beating and have no strength to launch a full-scale attack.

Plans are in place!

Shingen did not overestimate himself, but instead sent a messenger to Yamagata Masakage, who was at Nagashino Castle, ordering him to quickly lead 5,000 cavalry to Totomi to join his main force.

With 29,000 cavalry against 38,000 cavalry, the advantage is in my hands!

Why 29,000 cavalry? Because Shingen's recruitment efforts in Tōtōmi over the past few days have been extremely successful, having already gathered over 2,000 Tōtōmi Sengoku (a type of Japanese military force). They are led by Iio Yoshinori, a former member of the Tōtōmi Daikō (a powerful and influential family in Tōtōmi), whose direct line has now been extinguished. Iio Yoshinori is clearly preparing for another struggle, to see if he can revive the Iio clan.

In addition, Takeda Shingen sent a letter to the Hojo army commander, Kazuki, who was stationed in Ina District of Shinano Province as a support and garrison force, requesting him to immediately lead two thousand Hojo soldiers into battle and join the attack on the Oda-Tokugawa coalition.

To be fair, the Hojo clan did give Takeda Shingen face. The alliance between Kai and Sōmon had only lasted a few days, and upon learning of the Takeda clan's uprising and march on Kyoto, they agreed to their request for reinforcements. They probably thought they could send some men to participate; if they won, it would be a meritorious act of supporting the new emperor. If they lost? Losing wouldn't matter much; a mere two thousand men were nothing.

Thus, tens of thousands of Takeda troops appeared outside Horie Castle on the Shonai Peninsula. Meanwhile, Takeda naval forces also appeared on the lake and sea where Shin-i Pass is located on the opposite side of the peninsula. Takeda Shingen was blatantly telling Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu, "I'm about to cut off Hamamatsu Castle's supply lines and reinforcements; take it or leave it."

Hamamatsu Castle has tens of thousands of mouths to feed; if an attack on its food supplies were launched, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Clearly, Takeda Shingen wasn't in a hurry. He could wait, wait until Tokugawa Ieyasu's forces were all starved to death, and then easily take over the entire Totomi Province.

The news quickly reached Yoshida Castle and Hamamatsu Castle. Oda Nobunaga, who had been somewhat calm, finally couldn't sit still anymore and even suggested that Tokugawa Ieyasu come to join them. However, Takeda Shingen proved to be one step ahead.

At this moment, Sakai Tadatsugu and Honda Hirotaka, who were left to guard Yoshida Castle, were greatly alarmed. They immediately led 3,000 troops and, after only informing Oda Nobunaga, rushed to the aid of Utsuyama Castle and Horie Castle.

This movement also affected Nobunaga.

Sakai Tadatsugu's eagerness to save his lord is entirely understandable. Seeing him lead his troops into Tōtōmi, the Oda army became restless. Many Oda soldiers, though unaware of the danger, felt that Tōtōmi was on the verge of collapse. Otherwise, why would the Tokugawa army, which was guarding its home province of Mikawa, have been mobilized?

How much strategic vision could ordinary foot soldiers possibly possess? Or rather, not even most lower-ranking samurai. This is partly because they are inherently not intelligent enough to think that far ahead, and partly because the high-ranking lords and generals simply don't communicate these matters to their subordinates.

After all, a unit that knows nothing and only knows how to execute orders is a top-notch unit these days.

Left with no other option, Oda Nobunaga decided to advance to Ii Valley to observe the situation. Concerned about his rear, Nobunaga also brought along a month's worth of food supplies for Shichibei and the entire army. In Tōtōmi, where enemy and friendly forces were intertwined and difficult to distinguish, having provisions for one's own army was clearly the best way to maintain peace of mind.

"Are you sending troops without receiving a letter from Tokugawa Mikawa-no-kami requesting reinforcements?" Shichibei asked, following behind Nobunaga's main force, naturally acting alongside Nobunaga.

"The arrow is on the string, and it must be released." Nobunaga was still racking his brains for a way to deal with the enemy. That's how the battlefield is—it changes in an instant.

It's not that if you formulate a strategy, the enemy must follow it. Now, Nobunaga's strategy has been abandoned, and adjustments must be made in response to the new movements of the Takeda army.

"Although I am not knowledgeable about military affairs, I know that we are heading to the battlefield set up by Takeda Shingen." Shichibei thought to himself, "We've been lured out by Takeda Shingen."

"That may not be the case. You must know that until the very last moment before the battle begins, everything is uncertain." Nobunaga looked at the winding army and still had some confidence.

"Yes." Shichibei could only nod.