Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

Not long after landing, they rushed into Asaka Village. Apart from a few old men and women, some of whom had lost half their teeth, the other villagers had already dragged their families and carried their belongings into the mountains.

"Oh no, oh no!" Shichibei was at a loss for what to do. It was Takenaka Hanbei who said, "Forget everything else, let's go straight to Ōkōchi Castle. Even Nobunaga's tens of thousands of troops couldn't take it. We have five hundred men plus the young lord, that's a thousand men. We should be able to hold out for three to five days."

When reinforcements arrive, Lord Nobunaga will be able to kill any enemy.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Shichibei quickly told everyone to tighten their leg bindings and run as fast as they could south towards Ōkōchi Castle. It wasn't far, just a few kilometers, and after running for a while, they soon heard shouts of battle coming from the direction of Ōkōchi Castle.

"My lord, the situation in the city is unclear," the veteran general Watanabe immediately reported, indicating that fighting had clearly broken out in Ōkōchi.

"The enemy's situation is unclear, so we should send out supplies first." Takenaka Hanbei shared this view.

"Who's going?" Shichibei shouted as he turned around.

"I'll go!" Mori Jiro immediately stepped forward and called to two acquaintances who had participated in the defense of Ōkōchi Castle.

"Let's halt our troops for now, at least five chō (towns) from the city, and observe for a while." Tōdō Takatora also stepped forward.

First, move to a point about 500 or 600 meters from Ōkōchi Castle and wait for Mori Jirōza, who went to scout, to return. If the enemy force numbers in the thousands or tens of thousands, then Shichibei's 500 men will have no chance of entering the castle, and will find it difficult to engage the enemy. Unless they can immediately scout out the enemy's main camp, launch a strong attack, and kill the enemy's commander-in-chief.

Of course, if the enemy force only numbered one or two thousand, then none of us here would be afraid. We're all tough samurai, trained with real money by Shichibei. The few dozen arquebusiers might be a little less skilled, but at least they know how to fire cannons.

We'll split into three teams, flanking from the left and right, while the central force will charge straight into the enemy lines, showing them what it means for five hundred men to surround a thousand.

There were even bolder ones, like Shimazu Yoshihiro, who took on three thousand men with only three hundred. With a high proportion of samurai, the tactics they employed were incredibly daring.

The group stopped, already able to see two plumes of smoke rising from Ōkōchi Castle. Memories of the siege were still faintly lingering; it seemed to be the location of the Nüshou Gate and some other place called Tiger's Mouth.

There might be an inside agent in the city who opened the city gates or something.

Just then, Mori Jiro ran back and reported that the enemy force numbered at most two thousand cavalry, with about a thousand outside the castle and several hundred pouring into it. Because Japanese castles are densely built with curved ramps, each ramp being an independent space, experienced samurai could calculate how many people they could accommodate.

When Mori Jiroza participated in the defense of the castle, he knew the distribution of the siege towers. By listening to the sounds of battle coming from which towers, he could estimate how many people had poured in.

That's awesome, I wouldn't do that.

That's good. Shichibei put on a big show, which means what you said is about what I estimated. Actually, Shichibei doesn't know anything; he's just relying on everyone's support.

Since there are only a thousand cavalrymen at most outside the city, and those who have poured into the city are fighting with the defenders, it's unlikely they can easily withdraw. If not now, when?

Anyway, we'd rested for a bit, and the three kilometers we'd run had given us some energy. Let's get started! Who's going to the left flank? Takenaka Hanbei immediately flashed his sword, indicating that he'd take the job.

Right wing? Watanabe Tomoya stepped forward, leading a hundred men to the right wing. The central army was naturally led by Shichibei, so Todo Takatora charged ahead of Shichibei instead of leading the troops.

Dozens of arquebusiers were handed over to Mori Jiroza, who was familiar with the terrain, so that he could use his skills to disrupt the enemy.

"Young Master, you must not retreat lightly. If you retreat to the main castle, the reinforcements from the Great Palace will arrive in two days at most." Sawai Yoshinaga, the servant Nobunaga assigned to Kitabatake Nobuo, repeatedly advised Kitabatake Nobuo.

If we were to escape the city now via the mountain trails, then Ōkōchi Castle would surely fall without its commander.

You're the emperor's son, so at most I'll get a couple of slaps across the face. But as a servant, I'm definitely going to have my whole family killed by Nobunaga.

"I'm going to fetch reinforcements from the wooden armory. You just hold this place!" Kitabatake Nobuo dared to say that he was going north to the wooden castle to find the wooden armory commander to launch a counterattack.

Chapter 283 Xin Xiong's Great Excess Orders Him to Retreat

Two sharp "smacks" rang out, the blows landing squarely, so loud that even Shichibei, kneeling below, felt a jolt in his heart. Oda Nobunaga was really hitting him; he showed no mercy whatsoever.

Kitabatake Nobuo, who had been slapped twice by his father, initially tried to cover his face and play the victim in front of his father. But as soon as he looked up and saw Oda Nobunaga's angry face, he forgot about playing the victim and almost buried his head in the ground, not daring to utter a single word.

None of the retainers dared to offer any advice. This was a family matter between father and son; it was only natural for a father to discipline his son, and no one could argue with that. Besides, there's a saying, "Accept a light beating, but run away from a heavy one." Nobunaga had only given Kitabatake Nobukatsu two slaps; who would try to stop him?

Actually, this matter could have been resolved by finding a way to smooth things over, but alas, this Nobuo is utterly useless.

Shichibei launched a fierce attack on Kitabatake Tomochika's mutinous troops from below the castle, clashing from both sides and fighting extremely hard. The implication is roughly that back in the day, my son Liu Shan and my uncle Zilong fought seven times in and out of Changban Slope; I was responsible for the killing, and my uncle Zilong was responsible for the indiscriminate slaughter.

At the foot of Ōkōchi Castle, Shichibei was in charge of the gunpowder, while Tōdō Takatora was in charge of the indiscriminate killing. The 1.92-meter-tall giant wielded his long spear, with Shichibei following behind like a little chick. The enemy generals couldn't even touch Shichibei; Shichibei hadn't even seen him before Tōdō Takatora stabbed him to death.

The fighting raged outside the castle, but Kitabatake Nobuo, inside the castle, was completely unaware. He abandoned Sawai Yoshinaga like a whirlwind and fled along the valley path towards Mokuzuki Castle. No, he didn't even enter Mokuzuki Castle; he went straight to Anotsu.

If he had entered the wooden castle and asked the wooden castle lord to bring back reinforcements, at least there would have been some explanation. He had forcibly obtained a boat in Anozaki and then came to find his father.

The logic is quite clear: the son beat the younger one, which angered the older one; the son got beaten, and now he's begging his father to intervene.

But when he reached Okazaki, he cried and shouted to Nobunaga that he had defended Okawachi to the death but was no match for the enemy general, and that his retainers had fought their way out.

kindness?

When Nobunaga first heard this, he was shocked and alarmed. "You've lost my big wallet and your Uncle Kawamura at Okawachi Castle!"

At that time, Nobunaga almost lost his footing. If he had lost both Ōkōchi Castle and Kawamura Shichibei, it would have been almost like taking half of his life.

But Kitabatake Nobukatsu, kneeling at his feet, looked dumbfounded and asked in return, "What Kawamura Corps?" Nobunaga then realized his foolish son was lying and immediately ordered Kitabatake Nobukatsu to be imprisoned and his entourage, who had escaped with him, interrogated separately. He also ordered Takigawa Kazumasu to quickly dispatch troops to Ōkōchi Castle to investigate.

And that's how it happened. Shichibei's 500 elite cavalrymen barely lost a few men, and they stormed into the city gates like cutting vegetables, shouting for reinforcements from Kawamura Shichibei Nagayoshi. Sawai Yoshinaga, who was indeed holding out in the city, immediately rallied and led his remaining 200-300 men to join forces with Kawamura's army to quell the mutinous soldiers.

At this moment, Kitabatake Tomochika's head was placed in front of Oda Nobunaga.

After they entered the city, Shichibei asked Sawai Yoshinaga, "Where is the young master? Why haven't we seen the young master?" Sawai Yoshinaga burst into tears.

He even covered for Kitabatake Nobukatsu, saying that the young lord had gone to Kizuki Castle to seek reinforcements. At this time, Kizuki Tomomasa also discovered that there was a battle going on in Ōkōchi, and brought two hundred men to observe the situation. The two assumed that Nobukatsu had summoned them, and thought that Nobukatsu was still a decent man, not abandoning his retainers and castle to run away.

When asked, Muzoguchi said he hadn't seen Nobuo; he had come on his own initiative.

In just half a day, Nobuo had already run more than 20 kilometers, boarded a boat in Anonozu, and was on his way to Okazaki Castle.

That's hopeless. There's no chance to coordinate their statements anymore; they can only report everything to Nobunaga based on the facts. This is something thousands of people have witnessed; there's no excuse they can fabricate.

Shichibei ordered Takenaka Hanbei and Mori Jiroza to lead two hundred men, along with several dozen arquebusiers, to assist in the defense of Ōkawachi Castle. Sawai Yoshinaga was temporarily appointed as the castle magistrate, and after repairing the castle gates, he rushed back to find Nobunaga.

The cause and effect are clear. Kitabatake Tomochikame's head is here, and witnesses Kizuki Tomochikame and Sawai Yoshinobu's father, Sawai Motomasa, are kneeling beside him.

Nobunaga seemed a little unsatisfied and kicked Kitabatake Nobuo again, which finally made Shichibei and Ikeda Tsuneoki stand up.

Stop hitting him, stop hitting him, he's just a child.

Never mind, it's Chinese New Year.

"Give him two hard slaps, that'll teach him a lesson, though I don't know if he'll do it again." Kitabatake Nobuo was kicked by his father and almost rolled backward. He quickly regained his balance and kowtowed to his father repeatedly.

He clearly knew what the loss of Ōkōchi Castle would mean. First, it meant the Kitabatake clan would become independent from the Oda clan and adopt a hostile attitude.

If Kitabatake Tomochika were to lead four or five thousand men to attack Shima Province, Kuki Yoshitaka would have no choice but to return to defend his homeland. Thus, the siege of Nagashima Ganshoji Temple would be lifted, and Nagashima's twenty or thirty thousand followers could immediately launch a fierce attack on Owari.

Once Owari falls into chaos, Nobunaga will be unable to remain in Okazaki and will have no choice but to retreat to Kiyosu. Takeda Shingen will immediately attack Okazaki, seize Mikawa, and then, with the help of the 20,000 to 30,000 followers of the Ganshoji Temple on Nagashima, utterly destroy Owari.

In short, the consequences would be unimaginable, enough to cost Nobunaga half his life.

If another Kawamura tycoon were to die, it would be even worse; Nobunaga might as well just find a crooked tree to die under. Given Nobunaga's personality, he'd either die in battle or commit seppuku; he would never surrender. Even when he negotiated peace with the guys in the first round of Nobunaga's encirclement, he did so under the guise of an imperial edict, so he didn't lose face.

So what do we do now?

"Get back to Gifu! Don't leave the house without my orders!" Nobunaga, who was being helped back to his seat by Shichibei and Ikeda Tsuneoki, gave the order in a stern voice.

Having committed such a grave error, being confined to his quarters is truly deserved. If it were any other retainer, they would have been ordered to commit seppuku by now.

Like Harada Naomasa in history, who was defeated in attacking Honganji Temple, many people were held accountable and committed seppuku, and the rest were all exiled. They really didn't get away with it.

No one tried to dissuade him; Xinxiong truly deserved to be punished. It was Xinxiong himself who was oblivious, still calling him "father."

Who's your father? Your father's name is Kitabatake Tomofa. I'm not your father. Get out of here.

"Get out, get out, get out!" Nobunaga almost stood up again and slapped his son twice more.

Lin Xiuzhen, who was standing nearby, quickly stood up and pulled Kitabatake Nobuo away. This fool has no sense of propriety at all. Even if he wanted to beg for mercy, he should do it privately, or after Nobunaga's anger subsided. Right now, Nobunaga is furious, and he's still begging here—it's just asking for trouble.

“Young Master is still young and may be timid.” Ikeda Tsuneoki and Nobunaga grew up together, so he was practically Nobuo's uncle and had the right to say this.

"Yes, yes, just make him repent." Once someone started, Shichibei was easier to persuade, otherwise, it was someone else's family matter, right?

"Tell Kankuro (Nobutada) to keep a close eye on him." Nobunaga turned and gave the order to his attendants Mori Nagayoshi and Shibata Nagakatsu. The two glanced at each other and had no choice but to obey and rush back to Gifu to "warn" Nobutada.

Forget about brotherly affection for now. Punish him as he should be. Find a room and lock him up properly. When Nobunaga returns victorious and is in a good mood, he'll forgive Nobunaga when he sees Nobunaga's miserable state.

Alright, thankfully nothing happened at Ōkōchi Castle, and Kitabatake Tomochika was killed. Takigawa Kazumasu confirmed that this was indeed Kitabatake Tomochika, so let's move on.

No, we can't turn the page!

Nobunaga's forces have now been mobilized to their maximum capacity, and no further major setbacks can be tolerated. First, there is Sawai Yoshinaga, who defended Ōkōchi Castle. For his meritorious service in defending the castle, he and his father, Sawai Motomasa, were promoted to a fief of 4,500 kan and appointed as the Ōkōchi Castle magistrates.

Nobuo is a complete waste; it would have been better to hand the castle over to Sawai Yoshinaga, who at least genuinely intended to defend it to the death, and deserves a reward.

Secondly, there's the matter of Kitabatake Tomokyo and his son Kitabatake Tomofusa. Keeping them in Minami-Ise is a glaringly obvious threat, a major one at that. It could surface at any moment and cost someone half their life.

While they have the opportunity, they killed and captured hundreds more of the forces loyal to the Kitabatake clan. They wiped out a large number of Kitabatake Tokukyo's confidants, didn't they?

The sound of Shichibei swallowing his saliva seemed unusually loud.

Clearly, Nobunaga's intention was clear: he wanted Kitabatake Tomofusa, a man of great renown in southern Ise, to die an accident. Then, he wanted Kitabatake Tomofusa to be moved to Gifu Castle or somewhere in southern Japan and imprisoned, ensuring he could never remain in southern Ise.

If Nobunaga weren't currently facing Takeda Shingen head-on, leading 30,000 men to storm into southern Ise and crush all the vermin there.

The reason we didn't crush him before was out of respect for Ashikaga Yoshiaki, the mediator between Oda Nobuoka and Kitabatake. Theoretically, it was Ashikaga Yoshiaki who helped Kitabatake Nobuo enter into the Kitabatake clan after his coming-of-age ceremony. Now that Yoshiaki has openly betrayed us, what's the point of caring?

Just kill them!

This task cannot be done by Oda Nobunaga or Kitabatake Nobuo himself. Instead, Takigawa Kazumasu, who is used to doing dirty work, should take charge and hire a hundred or so men from Koga to launch a night attack on Misegaya.

Alternatively, they could bribe former retainers of the Kitabatake clan to attack Mitsugaya, thus achieving a direct overthrow of their superiors. This would give Nobunaga a reason to defend himself to the Kyoto court.

After all, maintaining harmony with the court is still necessary, and the imperial edict to make peace can still play a role.

Takigawa Kazumasu, who hadn't moved an inch, turned to look at Nobunaga, who in turn looked back at him. It seemed as if they were communicating via telepathy; Shichibei could roughly guess what they were saying.

That's good. The less nonsense you talk and the simpler the plan is when doing this kind of thing, the higher the success rate of execution.

Then Takigawa Kazumasu stood up to make the arrangements. There were probably quite a few people in Takigawa's faction who did this kind of dirty work; it was mainly a matter of price. The price was negotiable; it depended on how much Kitabatake Tomonori's head would cost.

Is it five hundred strings of cash? Or eight hundred strings?

It's definitely in cash, and it's unlikely to be that expensive. I've heard that historically, someone paid to save Nobunaga's life, hiring an assassin worth only fifty taels of gold; I wonder if that's true.

It might be related to the fact that the assassin operates alone, while the current attack requires hundreds of people to carry out the kill; it's all about market demand. I've never hired anyone to kill; this job is exclusively for Takigawa Kazumasu, it's his value to Nobunaga, and Shichibei can't inquire about it.

That concludes the meeting.

Everyone walked out, and Nobunaga followed. Just as he reached the door, he called out, "Shichibei, stay a moment." He then turned and said, "Let's go a few steps together; I have something to tell you."

"You were originally the rearguard of the three regions, and went to the aid of Hanoi. In principle, you should be granted a higher title. However, I do not have any new titles to bestow upon you at the moment, but I will not forget it."

Wow, Nobunaga's emotional control is really impressive. He was furious just a moment ago, and now he's already dangling a carrot in front of Shichibei. How did he manage that? Is there some kind of secret method?

"I dare not take credit." That's what Shichibei thought to himself, but he remained calm on the surface.

Nobunaga's words make sense. In Japan's Sengoku period, the prevailing principle was to serve the emperor with benevolence. If I worked hard for him, he had to give me favors in return. Being stingy and calculating would never lead to great achievements.

So Nobunaga had to make empty promises to Shichibei. Didn't Takeda Shingen next door also make empty promises to Shichibei? They both made promises, since they wouldn't lose anything if they won the battle. They could have whatever they wanted.

"Go back to Kiyosu again and check on your brother's condition," Nobunaga instructed, nodding slightly as he watched Shichibei eat a mochi.