Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

The two arrived at the gate of Okazaki Castle. It was not dark yet, but the castle gate was closed, leaving only a small door in one corner of the side gate open.

What does this mean? Now is the time to mobilize a large army to Izu and attack the Hojo. Lord Nobunaga's military orders could be delivered to Okazaki at any moment and then forwarded to the front lines. Even at night, the castle gates should be opened to ensure that messengers arriving day and night can deliver military orders.

Will there be a problem? No, because Okazaki is in the heart of Oda's territory, flanked by Owari and Tōtōmi, and bordered by Shinano and Mino to the north. These are all territories under the Oda clan's control, unless someone plots a rebellion.

Seeing this, Ishikawa Kazumasa was somewhat puzzled and pulled Hiraiwa Chikayoshi back. The military situation was urgent and the circumstances were unpredictable, so just in case, one of them would go in while the other stayed outside.

Hiraiwa Chikayoshi agreed and watched Ishikawa Kazumasa enter Okazaki Castle. Seeing that he didn't come in, those observing from inside the castle gates thought they had alerted him.

The moment Ishikawa Kazumasa stepped through the door, the demon-headed sword came crashing down. Giving Ishikawa Kazumasa no time to react, this commander-in-chief of Tokugawa Ieyasu's forces in Mikawa lost his life without even uttering a scream.

Then, a group of more than ten men emerged from the small gate and charged towards Hiraiwa Chikayoshi, who hadn't even reacted yet. They even called upon the dozen or so guards at the gate; thirty-odd men against a few should be easy.

Aside from the unfavorable factor that Hiraiwa Chikakichi and several others were on horseback.

Seeing the crowd surging out, Hiraiwa Chikakichi sensed something was wrong. He immediately turned his horse around, and in the blink of an eye, a long spear thrust forward. Unfortunately, it missed its mark, failing to pierce Hiraiwa Chikakichi and instead striking the horse's rump.

The horse, in pain, dragged Hiraiwa Chikayoshi along. At this point, Hiraiwa Chikayoshi understood perfectly well that even if Matsudaira Nobuyasu hadn't rebelled, it was still...

It's because someone below has arbitrarily rebelled and started a new round of trouble.

We must immediately ride to Hamamatsu and inform Tokugawa Ieyasu of the unusual activity in Okazaki. At this moment, Tokugawa Ieyasu at least holds the moral high ground as the head of the clan. While the people of Mikawa are undoubtedly staunch rebels, this is, after all, an open rebellion, which will be morally condemned, and the common people may not fully support it.

The Mikawa troops behind him cried out in alarm, hurriedly ordering the city gates to be opened and leading their horses out to pursue Hiraiwa Chikayoshi. Hiraiwa Chikayoshi knew he needed to report to Hamamatsu and Ieyasu, and the troops had naturally guessed this as well. They simply followed the road, confident they would eventually catch up.

Meanwhile, Matsudaira Nobuyasu, inside the castle, learned that Ishikawa Kazumasa had been killed and knew there was no turning back. He immediately assembled a large army, pretending to welcome Gamo Tomohide, but in reality, he planned to kill Gamo Tomohide and defeat his army while he was off guard.

The troops that had already assembled at Okazaki Castle immediately dispatched four or five thousand men to accompany Matsudaira Nobuyasu. Meanwhile, Gamo Fuehide, who had retreated from Kiyosu, was completely unaware that Okazaki Castle, the destination of his journey, had already laid a trap to ensnare him.

495. The people of the Right Prefecture are at peace.

Like the end of the world, Oda Nobunaga's small lords in Yamato, Kawachi, Yamashiro, Jiangnan, Settsu and other places collapsed one after another because the road to Nobi was cut off and they were attacked by rebels and Ikki.

Unable to retreat and having learned that Kyoto and Azuchi had been captured by the rebel army, the generals had no choice but to retreat to Kishiwada Castle, Oda Nobunaga's only main castle in the Kinai region that was not a legion commander but was more like one.

Compared to Kitasho Castle, built for the Hokuriku campaign and capable of accommodating 50,000 troops, and Himeji Castle, expanded for the Western campaign and capable of accommodating 40,000 troops, Kishiwada Castle, initially intended to accommodate only 20,000 people and even having a courtyard built in the Ninomaru area, could hardly be considered a formidable castle.

In the vast Kinki region, apart from Azuchi, are there any other large castles that can rival Kishiwada Castle?

No more.

Ishiyama Osaka Castle was just burned down and demolished. Takatsuki Castle, built by Takayama Shigetomo, and Ibaraki Castle, built by Nakagawa Kiyoshi, were both small castles that could only accommodate a few thousand people.

If they retreat to Anwada Castle, they'll at least have a place to hold their ground. If they don't retreat, they'll likely be beheaded on the spot by the rogue hunters who emerge from all directions.

The crowd retreated into Kishiwada Castle in an endless stream. Kuwayama Shigeharu, Ota Gyuichi, and Tsuchida Chikakiyo, who remained in Kishiwada, were quite shrewd and did not immediately settle the people into the castle, but instead placed them in the town below the castle. The castle was still garrisoned by more than a thousand troops from Kawamura's army for security.

Since Shichibei had neither a legal wife nor a legitimate son within the castle, Kuwayama Shigeharu had no one to support him. After much deliberation, he pushed Tomiyama Jiroshiro to the forefront.

Your mother and Kawamura Nagayoshi have both played the water games, so they're practically half a son. They're just being brought out temporarily to reassure people.

But after all, he wasn't their biological son, or an adopted son who had gone through the proper channels, sworn an oath to heaven and the gods, and completed the adoption process. The people of Kishiwada Castle, including those in Sakai, were filled with unease.

Some even considered fleeing to Awaji Island, since it was also Kawamura's territory. Currently, all the naval forces in the Seto Inland Sea are under the Kawamura family's control; whether it's the Mori Navy of Awa or the Ataka Navy of Awaji, they all serve Kawamura Nagayoshi as their lord.

At worst, we can counterattack the mainland later. Once Kawamura Kyōjō-dono returns, we can gather tens of thousands of our brothers from Shikoku and emulate the great work of Miyoshi Shigeaki.

It's not a difficult task.

After all, Kuwayama Shigeharu and his men were all seasoned veterans. Although their skills weren't exceptional, they had seen a lot. They knew that once they lost a landing port like Kishiwada Castle, it would be no easy task to retake the land.

Moreover, with chaos reigning in all directions, if Kishiwada Castle is handed over to the rebels, and they seize control of this important town, the religious and local forces in Kishu will surely rise to prominence.

Nobunaga ruthlessly defeated the more than 30,000 troops at Mount Koya. Although they lost most of their weapons, can you say they didn't have anything left? Besides, in those days, people used wood as weapons and rose up in rebellion; there wasn't a fundamental difference in weaponry between the government troops and the rebels.

We cannot flee; if we do, we risk death and the destruction of our country.

Moreover, before Shichibei left, he entrusted them with the perfectly good Kishiwada Castle, which they failed to defend. According to the customs of this era, they should have committed seppuku.

The best course of action now is to inform our lord, Kawamura Nagayoshi. Tell Shichibei that a great upheaval has occurred in the Kinai region; Nobunaga Nobutada has died in Kyoto. Rebels such as Akechi Mitsuhide and Azai Nagamasa have risen up and swept across the Kinai region, causing the Oda clan's rule there to crumble.

Kawamura Nagayoshi and Hashiba Hidenaga are urged to immediately halt their campaign in western Japan.

He led his naval forces back to the capital region and stabilized the overall situation.

A small boat was dispatched, traveling day and night towards Okayama in Bizen. Shichibei Tozen also sent someone back to inform Oda Nobutada that the Kawamura family was temporarily stationed at Okayama.

In such a short time, Shichibei also had to deal with 60,000 koku of unhulled military rations in Okayama, so it was impossible for him to have already been dispatched to the front lines.

If Kawamura Nagayoshi and Hashiba Hideyoshi don't return right now, the situation at Kishiwada Castle will inevitably collapse sooner or later. Fear is contagious, especially as things crumble and disintegrate, and more and more people will flock to Kishiwada to seek refuge.

Many of Nobunaga's local officials, along with staff from the attacked post stations and stables, rushed to the scene. With Nobunaga Nobutada dead and Shichibei absent, panic gripped the people. The old system, shattered by military attacks, was now completely disintegrating, leaving no one in charge.

Fortunately, Kishiwada Castle, like Sakai Town, was a logistical supply base set up by Shichibei, with ample food and weaponry. Even if 50,000 or 80,000 people came, they could eat their fill.

It was originally prepared for an army of 120,000 to destroy a country, and even the money was in the tens of thousands, intended to be used to bribe the country's leaders or reward meritorious personnel.

Looking at the chaos below the city, with tens of thousands of troops, anyone would feel the urgency. But what good is urgency? Right now, there's no one who can make a decision.

Some people thought of Sakuma Nobumori, who was far away in Mount Koya in Ki Province, but the situation in Ki Province was unclear and the roads were cut off. At least they would have to wait until Oda Nobuharu, the lord of Wakayama Castle, made contact before they could send people to the Sano Fortress-Takako Pass line.

So what about Nobunaga?

Nobunaga was at the Anju Tenmangu Shrine, located on the border of Settsu and Izumi. His original retinue of dozens of servants and pageboys had dwindled to just over ten. The search party dispatched by Saito Toshimitsu had significantly hampered their escape.

Almost all of Mori Ranmaru's retainers and pageboys were killed, leaving only a few in front of him. But at least they helped Oda Nobunaga escape, so their sacrifice was not in vain.

In the courtyard, Nobunaga was poking at something with a twig on the muddy, snow-covered ground. Snow does fall in Settsu and Izumi areas in winter, but it doesn't accumulate for long; it usually melts away the next day under the sun, turning into dirty mud.

At this moment, Nobunaga didn't even have a pair of straw sandals. He just stood quietly in the snow, his figure exceptionally thin.

"My lord, please lift your foot." Sanada Genjiro and his brother Sanada Genzaburo came over with a pair of straw sandals.

There was no response, but Nobunaga slightly lifted his foot. The two quickly helped Nobunaga put on his straw sandals. Given the current conditions, there was no point in talking about washing his feet. So be it if they were dirty; it was better than walking on the cold ground.

Another servant took a steamed bun from the offering table before the shrine, tucked it into his clothes, and brought it to Nobunaga to eat. Not a single priest was to be seen in the Anju Tenmangu Shrine; clearly, upon hearing of the great turmoil, some had gone into the mountains, others into the water.

"You want to go to Kishiwada?" Nobunaga didn't take the steamed bun, but continued to draw something on the ground with a twig.

"Yes, the situation in the Kinai region is unclear, and only Kishiwada Castle is the safest place." Sanada Genjiro was twelve years old after the New Year, a big kid now.

“Shichibei is an honest man…” Nobunaga stretched out his foot and wiped away the numbers and patterns on the ground.

"Genjiro, you're twelve years old now. I also came of age at twelve. You should come of age too." Nobunaga looked at the Sanada brothers, Genjiro and Sanada, and realized that they really had no one to rely on at the moment.

"Yes!" The Sanada brothers rushed over and knelt before Nobunaga.

"Genzaburo took the name Nobuyuki, and Genjiro took the name Nobushige, you understand?" Nobunaga directly bestowed his own character "Nobu" upon the Sanada brothers, which was an immense honor.

After all, Nobunaga was the Right Minister, the de facto ruler of the court, and the current ruler of the land; he was just temporarily in trouble.

"We will never forget Your Majesty's grace!" the two replied loudly, a surge of pride rising within them.

Without laughing, Nobunaga took two steamed buns from his servant's pocket and fed them directly to his beloved horse. The horse, which was munching on withered grass, snorted excitedly; after running for so long, it was finally getting some good fodder.

"Let's go to Kishiwada."

Sanada Nobushige and Sanada Nobuyuki felt that their second uncle, Sanada Masateru, was serving in Kishiwada Castle, and that Kawamura Nagayoshi was a good man who had taken in several hundred cavalrymen from the Takeda clan. Nobunaga's thoughts were similar to those of the feudal lords who fled to Kishiwada; Kishiwada was the only major city in the Kinai region that could accommodate more than 20,000 soldiers.

Other cities either fall to the enemy or are captured. To organize a counterattack, a stable base of operations and a logistics center are essential.

No need for Kawamura Nagayoshi and Hashiba Hideyoshi to retreat from the western provinces, nor for Miyoshi Nobutaka and Kagawa Nobusumi to rush to the aid of Shikoku; Nobunaga was confident in his own abilities.

With his own old face, he could pull out ten or twenty thousand people from the chaos in the capital region.

Especially in times like these, it's crucial to remain optimistic and confident.

Proud!

When Oda Nobunaga and his eleven riders appeared at the foot of Kishiwada Castle in a state of extreme exhaustion and distress, they appeared to the crowd as if gods had descended.

Perhaps that's true. Nobunaga was the god of the Oda clan; everyone treated him as a deity. Under such circumstances, even if Nobunaga dressed as a beggar, everyone would only think that their lord had great taste and was truly unique.

The previously agitated crowd suddenly quieted down in an instant. Nobunaga wasn't dead at all, so what was there to fear? The betrayals Nobunaga had faced in his life were so numerous that even his two hands and two feet couldn't count them all.

After Nobukatsu rebelled, Nobuhiro rebelled, his brother-in-law and sister-in-law rebelled in succession, religious forces rebelled, and even local gentry rebelled. But without exception, all the rebellions were met with Nobunaga's iron fist, and he ruthlessly slaughtered them all.

The kind where the whole family ascends to heaven.

Tens of thousands of people lined the roadside, as if Nobunaga had won a great victory. Everyone was watching the triumphant return of the emperor.

The scene at Nobunaga's battle was even more intense than when he won the Battle of Okehazama.

Some people even knelt by the roadside, constantly rubbing their prayer beads together and muttering prayers for Buddha's blessing or for the Bodhisattva's intervention. The more intensely the rumors spread, the more impactful the current debunking is.

Upon hearing the news, the Kawamura retainers who remained inside the castle all came out to greet Nobunaga. Of course, they also wanted to confirm whether it was indeed Nobunaga who had escaped and arrived. If it was Nobunaga, then everything would be fine, and they would only need to run errands for him.

Before Nobunaga even reached the castle gate, Hachiya Yoritaka emerged from the crowd.

As Nobunaga's trusted followers, Hachiya Yoritaka and Nobunaga had been friends for many years. Upon seeing each other, Nobunaga immediately had a sizable force directly under his command. Hachiya Yoritaka, on the other hand, suddenly had a leader. He and Nobunaga, undeterred by hardship, charged into battle together; as long as Nobunaga was the standard-bearer, they would brave any danger.

Hachiya Yoritaka craned his neck, seeing Nobunaga with tears streaming down his face, completely speechless. He had almost thought his life was over; his hard-earned position as a castle lord of 50,000 koku had vanished into thin air. Now, seeing Nobunaga, it wasn't just a matter of feelings; it was a matter of life and death, the preservation of everything he had risked his life to achieve.

The whole city rejoiced; everyone had witnessed Nobunaga's entry into Kishiwada, and the army's morale soared.

The matter is settled.

It was only then that Shigeharu Kuwayama realized the gravity of the situation: he had already informed Shichibei and Hideyoshi Hashiba of the news that Nobunaga and his son Nobutada were seeking death in Kyoto.

So Kuwayama Shigeharu quickly grabbed onto Nobunaga's horse. He was a former captain of Nobunaga's foot soldiers and was quite familiar with Nobunaga. He asked Nobunaga to immediately write a letter, one that required his personal signature and monogram, so that Kuwayama Shigeharu could send it by fast ship to Okayama and Kurashiki, so that Shichibei and Hideyoshi could see it.

This is serious business, truly serious business. Nobunaga wouldn't blame Kuwayama Shigeharu for reporting the news carelessly. The Kinai region is in chaos, rumors are rampant, and many minor lords and daimyo have collapsed and fled. Reporting Nobunaga's death is perfectly normal; it's better than reporting nothing at all.

Official documents drafted by Nobunaga himself were delivered directly to Bizen and Bichu by fast ships.

The men of Hachiya Yoritaka, the followers of Nobunaga, were confiscated, as were all the scribes left behind by Shichibei in Kishiwada. Nobunaga's face and mouth possessed an inexplicable magic.

Yesterday, no one dared to open the Kishu Pass and Settsu Pass, but now everyone is eager and vying to be the first. They are all willing to risk their lives for Lord Nobunaga, regardless of their own safety.

The same people, the same tasks—everyone else was completely unmoved, but when Nobunaga arrived, they all responded before he could even finish speaking.

A person's name is like a tree's shadow; this is truly undeniable.

At this moment, Akechi Mitsuhide was simultaneously tempting Hosokawa Fujitaka to openly commit suicide, maneuvering within the Imperial Court, and searching for Nobunaga and Nobutada. He did not immediately launch a large-scale military attack on Izumi, and even sent envoys to appease Takayama Shigetomo of Settsu.

Asai Nagamasa has all gone to Noo. He and Mitsuhide had agreed to use the Seta River as the boundary, with Mitsuhide going west and him going east.

Tsutsui Junkei first busied himself with building an alliance between Akechi Mitsuhide and Azai Nagamasa, and then actively sought to capture Tamonyama Castle and Shigetaka Castle, in order to realize his dream of unifying the entire Yamato Province with a total 400,000 koku of rice.

The war was going too smoothly, which made him a little complacent. On the one hand, he secured temples and shrines, and on the other hand, he began to send troops into Hanoi, preparing to seize the kingdom.

Because Miyoshi Yasunaga of Takaya Castle in Kawachi had adopted Miyoshi Nobutaka as his heir, he had a close relationship with the Oda clan and was unwilling to easily abandon Takaya Castle and flee.

His steadfast defense of Takaya Castle, ironically, drew the primary attention of Tsutsui Junkei. Tsutsui Junkei had never intended to target Izumi, so naturally…

Therefore, it is believed that Izumi should be the place that Akechi Mitsuhide took care of.

In this place that they didn't care much about, Oda Nobunaga quickly launched political and military work, reorganized his troops, rallied the scattered soldiers, and collected provisions and weapons.