Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

"Hmm..." Nobunaga, seated at the head of the table, was clearly pondering for a moment.

"Let's first congratulate the governor on suppressing the rebellion in Nono Province, in accordance with the order of the Imperial Palace." Shichibei wasn't trying to argue with Sakuma Nobumori, but he knew that Uesugi Kenshin was definitely going to start planning his march on Kyoto.

Or rather, even if it wasn't a trip to Kyoto, it was an attempt to unify the Hokuriku region, establish power, and observe how the situation would develop. The conflict between the Uesugi and Oda clans was inevitable, and sending Kennyo to Kanazawa in Kaga felt almost like a free gift.

Finally, Kōjō Shōnin went to Kaga, and with the support of Uesugi Kenshin, rallied the Ikkō-ikki (Muslim Rebellion) forces in the Kinai region to rise up again. He then joined Kenshin in invading the Kinai region.

So let's send someone first to test Uesugi Kenshin, and see...

Look, isn't Uesugi Kenshin stockpiling provisions and recruiting and training soldiers?

If he's actively preparing for war, then we shouldn't have any illusions and should prepare to go to war with Uesugi Kenshin.

“If chaos breaks out in the Hokuriku region, Asai Shusuke alone may not be able to handle it.” Sakuma Nobumori was not trying to argue with Shichibei, but rather that the current tactics employed in the Kinai region were siege warfare.

Oda Nobuhiro and Takigawa Kazumasu are both on guard against Uesugi and cannot be withdrawn. The only mobile force left is Tokugawa Ieyasu's.

If something happens in Hokuriku, where will Nobunaga draw reinforcements from?

Negotiating with Honganji would at least free up all of Honganji's military forces. Then, blocking the Hokuriku region would be no problem, and they could even launch a direct counterattack against Uesugi.

Both sides have their own reasons, making it truly impossible to explain.

With the evaluation meeting in this state, everyone is obviously going to wait and see what Nobunaga thinks. Nobunaga hasn't expressed his opinion yet, probably because he's also struggling with the decision. After all, even Nobutada and Nobukatsu's troops have been drawn; if they draw any more, they'll have to draw Ieyasu and Nobuhiro's troops.

With the scale of the war so large, a single misstep could result in Mori stabbing him in the back, so Nobunaga certainly had to be cautious.

410. First, make peace with Matsunaga to withdraw troops.

The world situation is so complex, it's really not easy being a person in the world.

The evaluation concluded, and everyone dispersed. Although Sakuma Nobumori and Shichibei had seemed to be arguing for a long time during the evaluation, their friendship prevented them from feeling it was just pointless arguing; they were simply discussing the issues at hand. At most, it was a disagreement, but it didn't affect their personal relationship.

Nobumori even invited everyone to his residence in Kyoto for drinks. In any case, the siege of Kawachi was basically completed, and Sakuma Nobuege was keeping an eye on things at Wakae Castle, so nothing would happen anytime soon. Everyone naturally had to give face to Nobunaga's chief retainer, and they all agreed.

The Uesugi clan, starting with Nagao Tamekage, has been conquering Etchu and Noto provinces, finally achieving de facto rule over them. In Etchu, they installed Shiina Kagenao as emperor, and in Noto, they installed Toyama Yoshiharu. Now, with the Uesugi clan's rise to power, the situation in Hokuriku has drastically changed. What should be done?

Even at the banquet, everyone was still talking about this. Uesugi Kenshin was considered a hero of the previous era, having fought against the deceased Hojo Ujiyasu and Takeda Shingen for many years. He was praised as the "Dragon of Echigo," hailed as a war god, and had both won and lost battles.

They have extensive military experience.

Secondly, Uesugi Kenshin could easily muster 50,000 to 60,000 men. Historically, when Nagatsugu defended Nanao Castle, he mobilized a maximum of 15,000 men in Noto. Etchu was an even more prosperous region, and when Jinbo Nagatomo and Shiina Yasutane fought each other, they could each muster tens of thousands of men to fight.

Now all these people have come under Uesugi Kenshin's command, and through more than ten years of continuous shaving, they have been basically shaved clean, with very few opponents.

With the addition of the remnants of the Ikko-ikki who retreated from Kanazawa Gobō, Uesugi Kenshin could easily mobilize 30,000 men to attack Kaga and Echizen. He could even leave his 20,000 men in Echigo untouched, using them to guard against potential attacks from Oda Nobuhiro and Takigawa Kazumasu, thus ensuring the safety of his territory in Echigo.

That's a difficult task.

Unable to reach a satisfactory conclusion, the group could only leave with a belly full of troubles. Because fighting was taking place everywhere, after the meeting, everyone returned to their respective posts to continue fighting.

By the way, what about that messy battle in Tanba?

Shichibei rode out and saw Mitsuhide and Akechi Hidemitsu ahead, so he spurred his horse over to inquire. Mitsuhide didn't have any good ideas either, Tanba...

The situation has become volatile, and he himself is tied up in the Kinai region, so he can only let Hatano Hideji be arrogant for two more days.

However, the situation in Tanba is not about to collapse. Yagi Castle has been handed over to Saito Toshimitsu. With this wise and brave general, the passageway to Yagi Castle will be safe. If nothing goes wrong, Mitsuhide can take Tanba back at any time.

Furthermore, the powerful clans within Tanba have been fighting amongst themselves for decades, and there is absolutely no political trust between them. They are now only rising up against Oda Nobunaga's rule because they have been misled by Mori Terumoto.

If the Mori army cannot quickly enter the Kinai region and directly attack, then Tanba will eventually return to a state of fragmentation. These local nobles are narrow-minded, only able to see their own small territory. Mori Terumoto doesn't have the prestige to expect them to jump to the outer front and wage war.

Look at Bessho Yoshichika of Miki; he neither sent troops to attack Hideyoshi's rear end nor to rescue Hanakuma, who was under siege. Apart from mobilizing his troops to defend Miki Castle to the death, he didn't even bother to form alliances or engage in other battles.

Not only are they inferior to the Honganji Temple and the Saiga Party, but they're even inferior to Araki Murashige. At least Araki Murashige was willing to fight for the unification of the entire Settsu region, while Bessho Yoshichika didn't even have the ambition to unify Harima.

Are we just going to leave Hideharu Hatano like this? Shichibei thought Mitsuhide had some profound insights, but given the reality, there's nothing to criticize.

After all, we didn't expect that Mitsuhide's main intention was to annex the Araki clan's retainers. For a daimyo of Mitsuhide's stature, territory and retainers, especially a capable retainer group, were equally important. Only with a sufficient retainer group could one suppress territories, maintain rule, collect taxes, and wage wars abroad.

Absorbing a retainer every three to five days is too slow. Directly absorbing a well-organized group of retainers like Araki Murashige's is the most convenient way.

In his early years, Nobunaga would personally provide resources and manpower for his many retainers, even granting them titles and privileges to his young sons, thus establishing a complete samurai order. However, in the last two years, Nobunaga's sons and nephews have grown up and begun to be distributed among the provinces. He's too busy helping his eldest sons to spare any resources for assisting his retainers.

So if everyone wants to expand, they'll have to rely on themselves.

As an aside, due to the life changes of Azai Nagamasa, the three Azai sisters have now become four. And, barring unforeseen circumstances, there's a possibility they'll become five, six, seven, or eight sisters. Nagamasa and Lady Oichi had a very harmonious marital relationship, and Lady Oichi was also...

A woman who is easy to conceive and has an easy time giving birth.

As long as they have the ability, the two of them will probably keep having children until the end of time. The other day, when Shichibei saw Azai Nagamasa, he suddenly heard some news: the historical Lady Yodo-hime, also known as Azai Chacha, had been betrothed to a person who was still somewhat famous at the time, but was completely unknown to later generations.

Tomisakaki Totoshi.

Have you heard of him? Even though Shichibei played "Nobunaga's Ambition" for over ten years in his previous life, he had never heard of such a person. But he is the grandson of Kaga governor Tomisakaki Ueyasu, the third son of Tomisakaki Yasutoshi, and is only twelve years old this year.

The Kaga governor, the Tomisakaki clan, had long since fallen, a point that need not be repeated; otherwise, Kaga would not have become the so-called "land of the common people." After his defeat, Tomisakaki Yasutoshi sought refuge with Mizoe Nagayasu, a senior retainer of the Echizen Asakura clan.

Echizen had suffered repeated turmoil in recent years, and Mizoe Nagayasu was also attacked and killed by the Kaga Ikko-ikki. Tomisakaki Yasutoshi and his eldest son Tomisak Ueharu died in battle, while Tomisak Ietoshi escaped with the protection of his retainers.

Afterwards, Azai Nagamasa and others invaded Echizen and Kaga, restored order, and established their rule. Thus, Tomisakaki Ietoshi was discovered by Azai Nagamasa. This might not mean much to others, but to Azai Nagamasa, who already considered the one million koku of Hokuriku as his territory, it was a treasure.

Almost without hesitation, Azai Nagamasa betrothed his eldest daughter, Azai Chacha, to Toyō Ietoshi. Nine-year-old Azai Chacha and twelve-year-old Toyō Ietoshi were a perfect match. Thus, Toyō Ietoshi became Azai Nagamasa's son-in-law, and Azai Nagamasa gained legitimacy over the entire Kaga province.

Dissatisfied? The eldest son-in-law is the current head of the Kaga-gami Tomioka clan.

Look at that, Azai Nagamasa risked one of his daughters, gaining not only legitimacy in Kaga Province but also a respectable samurai corps of about a hundred men. Azai Nagamasa considered this a very worthwhile deal, and the other lords also thought it was excellent.

For example, the direct trigger for the great turmoil between Date Uemune and Date Harumune was Date Uemune's plan to send Date Sanemoto to the Uesugi family, the governor of Echigo Province, as an adopted son. Because he would also have to send one hundred samurai as part of the marriage, Date Harumune felt that the power he would inherit would be diminished. This ultimately led to the conflict.

More than a hundred respectable samurai is already a considerable fortune.

Unsure of Akechi Mitsuhide's intentions, Shichibei could only shrug and return to Kawamuraya. After all, Shichibei was truly lucky; he had fought...

In Kita-fu, he gained dozens of samurai, including Mori Jiroza, without any effort; later, when fighting Takeda, he gained six hundred cavalrymen, including Yonekura Nobutsugu, without any effort.

Because of Sanada Genjiro's request, he helped Sanada Masaaki, and also gained Takeda Katsuyori's main force and over a hundred Sanada Red Guards.

He even gained over six hundred riders, including Namazue Sadaharu, because he was rich, and there was no one richer than Shichibei around.

These were all literate and skilled warriors, a far cry from the Edo period when foot soldiers were also incorporated into the samurai class.

Be happy secretly; others wouldn't even have the chance to encounter such a good thing.

The next day, perhaps inspired by something, Nobunaga woke everyone up again. Sending Honganji to Hokuriku didn't seem like a good idea, but leaving Matsunaga Hisahide in Yamato didn't seem like such a bad thing either.

This time, the Mori clan recruited generals from the Kinai region, and those near the sea generally received support from the Mori family. Only Matsunaga Hisahide of Yamato gained nothing. Immediately after his rebellion, let alone attacking Tamonyama Castle or Tsutsui Castle, he was overwhelmed by Oda Nobutada and Kita-Tomi Nobukatsu's more than 20,000 troops.

Given Matsunaga Hisahide and Matsunaga Michiko's fighting strength, why not try to win them over again?

In this way, Oda Nobutada's troops were freed up, so what was there to fear? They could attack whoever came, and still win battles with a significant numerical advantage.

Well, that does count as a method.

"But Matsunaga is a rebellious and wicked man, and he has been recruited..." Shichibei didn't have any subjective malice towards Matsunaga Hisahide, but he just felt that there was no point in recruiting such a person.

"It's only a temporary measure; there will always be a way to deal with it in the future." Nobunaga tapped his folding fan, making it very clear that this was a stopgap measure.

"In that case, it's really too good for him." Mitsuhide and Matsunaga Hisahide had no grudge against each other, but Matsunaga's repeated betrayals made him quite unpopular.

"How about we make them hand over the Hiragumo-gama?" Nobunaga said with a half-smile.

"call……"

Everyone was immediately amazed. The Gu Tianming Pingzhu Yu (平蛛釜) was a renowned tea-making item, famous throughout the land. Forget that it was actually just an iron pot for boiling water; you had to look at its reputation. While owning a Pingzhu Yu wasn't exactly a symbol of status, it was clearly something truly befitting a person of exceptional talent.

The servant Nobunaga came to possess it.

By surrendering the Hiragumo-no-mae (a type of ancient Chinese cooking vessel), it's tantamount to acknowledging Nobunaga as the ruler of the land once again. As for Matsunaga Hisahide potentially rebelling later, that would be a perfect excuse to kill his entire family. Right now, it's merely a temporary measure to free up troops to guard against unpredictable situations in the Hokuriku region.

(There are two interpretations of the meaning of "Kotenmei". One is that it originated from the Tenmei region of Shimotsuke Province, hence the name Tenmei cauldron. The other refers to the period before Astronomy, with the period after Astronomy being called "Gotenmei".)

"Perhaps we can order Prince Gifu to attack the city first, and then make a decision." Shichibei thought to himself, "You've been eyeing this for a while, why didn't you say so earlier?"

First, give Matsunaga Hisahide a good beating, leaving him half-dead. That would greatly increase the likelihood of Matsunaga Hisahide surrendering the Hiragumo-gama. Furthermore, weaken the Matsunaga clan's strength further, and smash Nobukiyama Castle to pieces. If Matsunaga Hisahide wanted to rebel again, he would have to consider whether he could withstand the next attack.

“Shichibei is right,” Nobumori Sakuma agreed.

“Absolutely.” The other bigwigs shared the same thought.

Although the purpose of appeasing Matsunaga was to release Nobutada's troops, Matsunaga Hisahide couldn't be allowed to have an easy time either; he needed to be thoroughly beaten. If Matsunaga Hisahide could be beaten senseless and forced to resign, that would be perfect.

Learn from Saito Tatsuoki back then, and transfer him to Kiyosu Castle in Owari Province. Let's see if this bombshell can still rebel in Kiyosu Castle.

"Then let's do it that way."

Let's offer a moment of silence for Matsunaga Hisahide; I wonder if he'll be another bomber this time. The Mori clan is still maintaining a large-scale offensive in Harima, constantly teetering on the edge with Hideyoshi. While the anti-Nobunaga situation in the Kinai region has eased somewhat, at least none of the anti-Nobunaga strongholds have been eliminated.

In theory, everything would immediately improve once Kobayakawa Takakage broke through. Matsunaga Hisahide shouldn't be in despair, nor should he be without any help.

The assessment concluded once again, and the generals, following Nobunaga's instructions, began to quell the rebellions in various locations. Niwa Nagahide led over 15,000 men into Higashiharima, preparing to attack Miki Castle.

To capture Higashiharima, they first had to attack Awa Castle on the border. Awa Castle's garrison commander, Awa Sadanobu, had already gathered over a thousand men to hold the castle. Niwa Nagahide's plan was to concentrate his main force and launch a fierce attack to break through Awa.

If the branch castle is destroyed, the main castle, Miki Castle, will completely lose any possibility of external support, as well as the grain fields between the main castle and the branch castle, cutting off all access.

The autumn grain supply.

Besides, 15,000 men attacking a mere 1,000 isn't entirely impossible, even if the enemy has a city. Let's try one attack first, and then worry about the rest later.

To Niwa Nagahide's utter surprise, Awakawa Sadanobu, who numbered only a little over a thousand, actually chose to go out of the city for open battle after observing Niwa Nagahide's formation.

A formidable opponent!

Seeing this, the generals of the Niwa army all shouted in admiration. A little over a thousand men dared to leave the city and fight against fifteen thousand; weren't they truly brave generals?

How to fight? Of course, we'll fight head-on, what's the problem? With 15,000 troops, even if we encounter Bessho Yoshichika's main force, we can defeat them head-on.

The drums of battle thundered, and the two armies faced each other. Awakawa Sadahiro released dozens of rutting mares, instantly throwing the previously orderly Oda army into turmoil. Hundreds of stallions, completely out of control, charged towards the Awakawa army.

Some threw their warriors off their horses, while others led their warriors directly towards the Tamagawa army.

The once well-organized Oda army was thrown into chaos, with men and horses neighing and unable to be controlled for a time. Taking advantage of the situation, the Awaga army launched a fierce attack. Without the command of cavalry officers and samurai, as well as the communication of cavalry messengers, the Oda army was almost instantly scattered.

(This is a historical fact, except that the commander-in-chief was named Oda Nobutada. Also, Niwa Nagahide is not wrong, because he also served in the army in history.)

411. Izumi Awaji Take it as You Like

"Ugh……"

All the words he wanted to say in the end amounted to a sigh. Looking at the disorganized, panicked crowd, with many injured from being trampled and pushed, Shichibei was at a loss for words.

After the Oda army's formation was disrupted by their own chaotically charging warhorses, they encountered a fierce attack from the Awagawa brothers. Unable to regroup their army, Niwa Nagahide had no choice but to order a retreat.

Do you think you're Oda Nobunaga?

Nobunaga commanded his trusted and loyal army of Noo, so his orders were always obeyed without question; they could advance or retreat at will. Niwa Nagahide's army, on the other hand, came from seven or eight different lords, and even the soldiers spoke different accents. If he were to retreat, it would collapse.