Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

With the support of the local strongmen, Shichibei's food problem could be largely solved; if not, he could always eat Higo's food. Aso Korechika's senior retainers, brothers, and heirs—weren't they all taken by Shichibei? He was in a difficult position...

How dare they not properly supply military rations?

You're talking about persuading them to surrender?

I've already persuaded Shimazu Tadatsumi and promised him the position of Satsuma Guardian. How can the Shimazu soldiers in the castle make demands? There's no way to make demands; the only option is to kill them.

Besides, the fact that we managed to reach the inner castle of Shimazu Main Castle already exceeds our mission expectations. If Hideyoshi Tokugawa Ieyasu and Hashiba on the Hyuga side can't even seize an opportunity like this, they might as well find a block of tofu and kill themselves.

Upon learning that Tofukuji Castle was under siege, Shimazu Yoshihisa couldn't believe he wasn't panicked at all. Although most of the families of the Shimazu retainers under the inner castle had fled to Sakurajima Island, separated by shallow waters, there were still some who hadn't managed to escape.

Shichibei arrived so quickly. Katsura Tadashi had been defending the castle in Heiza for an hour when all the men went to Hyuga with Shimazu Yoshihisa to kill people. There was no one in charge of the household, so it's a testament to the strength and simplicity of the Satsuma women that they weren't all wiped out.

Unable to enter the cramped Tofukuji Castle, and unable to escape to Sakurajima, these families were captured by Shichibei. "That's good! Shimazu Tadatsumi, please immediately send someone to the front lines in Hyuga to inform Shimazu Yoshihisa that the families of your soldiers are in the hands of the Oda army. Only surrender can save them."

One death.

Fight to the death? That would mean mutual destruction.

Those family members who fell into Shichibei's hands, except for the women of childbearing age, were all to die. That's war; it doesn't show you any mercy.

"My lord, there's unusual activity!" Shichibei wasn't patrolling the besieged positions; he was simply checking the hydrographic conditions of Kagoshima Port in the future.

Satsuma actually has very little to offer; aside from Japan's largest gold mine, it's really nothing special. Satsuma did produce brown sugar during the Edo period, but that was all extracted from Ryukyu and Amami Oshima, and had absolutely nothing to do with Satsuma itself.

Satsuma was a producer of horses and camphor during the Edo period, but it doesn't produce them now. Camphor production is almost two hundred years in the future, so let's leave that aside for now.

If you have the chance, visit Bōtsu. As an important port for trade with the Nanban (Southern Barbarians) and Ryukyu, Bōtsu was considered the best port in southern Kyushu. Although it declined somewhat due to the Tokugawa Shogunate's policy of national isolation, it remained very prosperous thanks to its trade with Ryukyu and, in fact, its large-scale smuggling activities.

Even in the 21st century, it still maintains a certain presence due to the fishing and processing of skipjack tuna. It's just that the city name has changed.

It's just Makurazaki, and it happens to be located at the mouth of the Hanado River, making it convenient for inland transport.

"What? Are the city guards going to launch a surprise attack?" Shichibei wasn't worried at all about the city guards going out to fight to the death.

If the castle garrison were to risk their lives and launch a full-scale attack, that would be great. After all, those leading the charge are all Satsuma collaborators, and in between is Shiga Chikaji, who leads over two thousand men.

Kawamura's core troops are all on the outermost layer. If anything happens, they can run away immediately. I doubt they can cut down Shichibei's head. Besides, Shichibei isn't just wasting his time looking around Kagoshima Port. He's already found two small boats and headed towards Bungo Prefecture and Usuki to see if he can open up a direct shipping route.

If it were Morimura Haru or Wakabayashi Shigeaki, they could sail the ship directly into Kagoshima Bay. Shichibei can not only travel on land, but also at sea.

"Judging from their appearance, they are defeated soldiers." Hara no Nagayoshi wasn't entirely sure, but it was probably true.

"Defeated soldiers?" Shichibei was puzzled at first, but soon his expression turned to joy. How could he not be happy to hear the words "defeated soldiers"?

"Seeing our army besieging the city, they retreated again." Seeing Shichibei eager to go and see for himself, Hara Nagayoshi immediately explained.

Shichibei, who had already stood up, paused. Indeed. If it were our own routed soldiers, seeing enemy troops ahead, they would definitely turn around and run for their lives.

"Go and invite Lord Shichibei." Although Shichibei was happy, he remained calm.

Soon, Shimazu Tadatsumi arrived before Shichibei, who made no attempt to conceal his feelings and had Hara Nagayori recount what he had seen and heard that day. Shimazu Tadatsumi looked much like Shichibei, but his joy was genuinely written all over his face.

What does the rout indicate? It means that even Shimazu Yoshihisa's main force in Satsuma has collapsed. There is no other possibility than a major defeat for Shimazu Yoshihisa.

If Shimazu Yoshihisa were to suffer a complete defeat, and Oda's army were to launch a massive attack, Shimazu Tadatsumi's position as the governor of Satsuma would be secure. Not only would his own position be secure, but the succession of his younger brothers to prestigious families would also be guaranteed.

Why did Shichibei summon him? Clearly, it was to leverage his connections in Satsuma to learn about the situation in the countryside. The fact that the Shimazu clan could muster an army of fifty to sixty thousand from a small area was undoubtedly related to their large number of local warriors.

Since there were routed soldiers, there must have been a large number of villagers who fled back home.

The samurai returned home. These half-farmers, half-soldiers, had just suffered a crushing defeat and lost their courage and spirit. If someone of high enough prestige were to rally them, they might still be able to regroup and pose a certain threat to Kawamura's army.

"I heard that Shimazu Shigeobu was defeated?" As the group was chatting, Watanabe Kanbei swaggered in.

"It's still being determined," Hara Nagayoshi replied.

Upon seeing someone inside the tent, Watanabe Kanbei quickly shut his mouth. He could be carefree in front of Shichibei, but there were outsiders here, so he had to be more respectful.

"Everything depends on Lord Izumizu." Shichibei was actually quite anxious to confirm, and since Watanabe Kanbei had interrupted the rambling, he took this opportunity to have Shimazu Tadatsumi confirm it as soon as possible.

"I'll go right away!" In fact, Shimazu Tadatsumi was even more anxious than Shichibei, after all, he was now a collaborator with Satsuma, and his future would only be bright if Shimazu Yoshihisa were to perish.

Now that there were no outsiders around, things were much easier to talk about. Reports kept coming in that scattered remnants of the defeated soldiers were fleeing back to the small coastal plain of Kagoshima. Some even turned and ran when they saw Kawamura's army, while others didn't even run away. You can tie them up if you want.

Since they were already home, according to the rules of Japan's Sengoku period, they could be released after paying their "person in exchange for money." Generally, there wasn't a large-scale mass killing of prisoners after the war; after all, once the war was won, the occupied territory became their own. The land needed people to cultivate it, the streets needed people to level it, and the castles needed people to build them. If they killed everyone, who would pay the annual tribute of rice?

Soon, several samurai were brought before Shichibei, who claimed that the Shimazu army had set up an ambush at Takagi Castle. The vanguard of the Oda army had indeed been caught, but despite a three-day assault by an army several times larger, they had failed to capture the castle.

On the third day, Oda Nobunaga's main force arrived, and on the battlefield, the Yongle Tongbao horse emblem of Oda Nobunaga was seen flying. The Shimazu army, exhausted from the siege, was attacked, and the Tokugawa army, who were guarding Takajo Castle, also came out to fight. Under the attack from both sides, the Shimazu army could not resist and began to retreat towards Satohara Castle.

During the retreat, the Oda army, like a mountain and a sea, surged in from all sides, disrupting the Shimazu army and giving them no chance to regroup. Soon, generals such as Saruwatari Nobumitsu were killed one after another by the Oda army, and the army collapsed.

They fled all the way to Satohara Castle, suffering countless casualties.

However, upon arriving at Satohara Castle, the defender, Shimazu Iehisa, decided not to open the gates, leaving the Shimazu army to be slaughtered by the Oda army outside. It was precisely because of this that they managed to escape with their lives.

If Shimazu Iehisa were to open the gates and accept the defeated soldiers, Satohara Castle would also fall. Now that Shimazu Iehisa has not opened the gates, Satohara Castle and its five thousand soldiers stand firmly on the main road, preventing the Oda army from easily advancing.

They had no choice but to slowly withdraw their troops and head towards Takagi Castle in the rear. Tens of thousands of Shimazu soldiers, unable to find Shimazu Yoshihisa due to the refusal of Satohara Castle, and with many generals killed in battle, were now freed from their control and fled directly back to their hometowns in Ōsumi and Satsuma.

When Shichibei besieged the inner castle, Oda Nobuo and Tokugawa Ieyasu were already engaged in the Battle of Takajo. Not only did they fight, they won, and the Shimazu army was completely defeated.

Apart from Shimazu Iehisa's 5,000 cavalry guarding Satohara Castle, Shimazu Yoshihisa and his men have completely disappeared, just like Shimazu Yoshihiro before them. More than ten days have passed and they have not yet shown up.

good good!

Immediately send someone to Osumi Street to contact the Oda army at Takajo. Now that the Shimazu main castle is besieged, the main forces on both the left and right flanks of the Shimazu army have been defeated and disintegrated, and it is time to persuade them to surrender.

It's advisable to retain a small portion of the Shimazu clan's territory, perhaps 10,000 or 20,000 koku. Historically, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, after destroying the Hojo clan, even gave Hojo Ujinao 10,000 koku. Shimazu Yoshihisa was, after all, a man of considerable influence.

As the former overlord of Southern Kyushu, giving them some retirement provisions is a dignified gesture.

The prerequisite is that Shimazu Yoshihisa appears, personally surrenders to Oda Nobuo's army, and personally appeases the Satsuma, Ōsumi, and Hyuga factions. If they continue to resist, flee, or go into hiding, refusing to surrender, then killing is the only option.

It's not just about killing Shimazu Yoshihisa; a "Shimazu Hunt" must be launched, ordering the killing of everyone connected to the Shimazu family. The entire clan, including senior retainers and their families, must be wiped out.

There was no need to wait for Shimazu Tadatsumi's report any longer; Shichibei immediately dispatched someone to Daido to contact Oda Nobuo and his men. So, how is Oda Nobuo now?

Of course, he received cheers and praise from the generals and troops at Takagi Castle. Even without considering the theory, the Battle of Takagi can be said to have been personally commanded by Oda Nobukatsu. There's no room for doubt; even Tokugawa Ieyasu would have to acknowledge Oda Nobukatsu's swift arrival.

He held the city for three days, estimating that Oda's main force wouldn't arrive until the fourth. But they arrived on the third day, thanks in large part to Oda Nobukatsu's help.

Oda Nobukatsu was truly proud, showing no weakness and making himself clear to the other armies. He personally braved arrows and stones, charging at the forefront of the attack on the Shimazu. He did what his father, Oda Nobunaga, could do.

If history books didn't record his conversation with Ataka Kiyoyasu, and his decision not to wait for Hashiba Hideyoshi's arrival before launching a rapid, light-force advance, it could be considered a stroke of genius. He capitalized on the Shimazu's weakness during their siege, decisively defeating them.

Five hundred years later, he can still be hailed as a military god.

However, after receiving the cheers, Oda Nobukatsu still understood what his mission in Kyushu was. He had to destroy the Ryuzoji and Shimazu families, seize a million koku of land, install Oda clan lords, and establish his own Western Provinces faction.

So Oda Nobukatsu immediately asked Tokugawa Ieyasu, who had returned with his troops, and Ataka Kiyoyasu, who had arrived by palanquin, what he should do now.

In truth, he had already decided to immediately launch a fierce attack on Satohara Castle, kill Shimazu Iehisa, and completely wipe out the Shimazu clan. His face was full of pride; though the question was asked, the answer was already clear.

It was Kiyoyasu Ataka, a retired military officer, who dared to speak up. Seeing that Tokugawa Ieyasu did not dare to speak out of seniority, he suggested that a diplomatic monk be sent to find Shimazu Yoshihisa and subdue him.

With the 35,000-strong army defeated, there's no need to attack the mere Satohara Castle; it can be surrendered easily. Once Shimazu Yoshihisa surrenders, Satohara Castle will naturally open its gates and submit.

Doused with cold water by him, Oda Nobukatsu slightly toned down his arrogant expression. "Atake Kiyoyasu's words are indeed the words of a wise and experienced ruler," he thought. And after Atake Kiyoyasu finished speaking, Tokugawa Ieyasu, seeing someone take the lead, could then chime in, and he shared the same view.

While not entirely irrational, Oda Nobuo felt that the two men were disrespecting him, but he couldn't very well refuse them outright. So he found a way to save face, saying that they would discuss and decide together after Major General Hashiba arrived.

I won't listen to what you're saying, and I'll just move on from what I'm saying. We'll listen to Hideyoshi Hashiba.

To be honest, he wasn't completely out of his mind.

Hearing this, the two said no more. They decided to wait a while; the main army was advancing rapidly, and they could indeed rest for a day. The Tokugawa army, having fought intensely for three days, also needed rest.

The following afternoon, Toyotomi Hideyoshi rode to Takagi Castle and, upon learning of the great victory, agreed to Ataka Tokugawa's suggestion. However, considering that Yoshihisa Shimazu might put up a desperate resistance with his former Satsuma territory, he decided to besiege Satohara Castle and first control Shimazu Iehisa's well-organized force of 5,000 cavalry.

The army then moved forward and surrounded Satohara Castle. When the siege was only halfway complete, Shichibei's messenger arrived, indicating that the inner castle was already under siege.

Everyone has a way out; let's try to persuade Shimazu Yoshihisa to surrender.

577. Two Heroes Break Through at the New Year

Throughout Satsuma, Ōsumi, and Hyuga, people and horses moved about in great numbers. The envoys of the Shimazu and the visitors of the Oda clans were all proclaiming the surrender of the Shimazu and the victory of the Oda.

After fleeing all the way to the castle of Tokugawa, where he had lived for a long time, Shimazu Yoshihisa finally stopped his defeat. After hearing the surrender notices posted on all sides, he finally chose to leave Tokugawa Castle. He first shaved his head and became a monk, taking the name "Ryuhaku". Then, dressed in a monk's robe, he rode alone to Oda Nobukatsu's camp at Satohara Castle and surrendered to Oda Nobukatsu.

Because of his surrender, Shimazu Iehisa was ordered to breach Satohara Castle, and the last organized and large-scale army of the Shimazu clan surrendered to the Oda clan.

You're asking about Shimazu Yoshihiro? He's still nowhere to be found; in any case, his head wasn't obtained in the Battle of Higo-Iidayama-Mifune Castle. All the samurai heads falsely claimed to be Shimazu Yoshihiro's have been repeatedly verified and are not genuine.

With the opening of Satohara Castle, the lords of the outer castles of the Shimazu clan, including Tokihisa of Hokugo Castle, Masachika of Shibushi Castle, and Arinobu of Takayama Castle, Osumi, surrendered to Oda Nobuo by offering hostages one after another.

Ijuin Tadatsugu personally led the troops to Satsuma Inner Castle, which was besieged by Shichibei.

He took the city hostage and rushed to the foot of Satohara Castle to pay his respects to Oda Nobuo.

Some resisted to the death; Niina Tadamachi, the lord of Oguchi Castle in Satsuma, was a prime example. After Shimazu Yoshihisa surrendered, Niina feigned surrender and went to Satohara Castle as a hostage.

Upon seeing the palanquin used by Oda Nobuo, he immediately fired an arrow. Fortunately, Oda Nobuo was currently very powerful and enjoyed riding around on horseback, so he didn't use a palanquin.

Because of this incident, Shinna Tadamamo was captured and hacked to pieces, the fragments of which were thrown at the foot of Satohara Castle. A wooden sign stood nearby, stating that if even one member of the Shimazu family dared to come and collect the hostages, it would be considered that the Shimazu family had no sincerity in surrendering. From Shimazu Yoshihisa down, all hostages who came to Satohara Castle to surrender were beheaded.

Sure enough, some people who didn't care whether Shimazu Yoshihisa lived or died came to collect his body and attacked the guards, only to be killed on the spot. But it was for the best; Shimazu Yoshihisa, who had originally wanted to play the victim and try to preserve some territory, was now completely speechless. Even Shimazu Iehisa, who advocated fighting to the death, had nothing to say, because taking in Tadagata was simply going too far.

Feign surrender, then seize the opportunity to assassinate.

In any part of the world, even in so-called modern civilized societies, this kind of person should be hanged. Right now, he's just been hacked to pieces.

Eight-piece set is already considered good; it hasn't even been chopped into mincemeat to feed the dog yet.

At least the head is still intact.

Shichibei left Hara Nagayori behind and was ordered to take over Satsuma Inner Castle. He also led Shimazu Tadatsumi and others to Satohara to pay their respects to Oda Nobuo.

According to the agreement, once the inner castle was captured, all of Satsuma would belong to Shimazu Tadatsumi. However, the castle was not captured. But it didn't matter. Oda Nobukatsu consulted with his two senior retainers, Hideyoshi and Shichibei, and after listening to the advice of Ito Yuhei, Ataka Kiyoyasu, Tokugawa Ieyasu, and others, he ordered Shimazu Tadatsumi to become the legitimate son of Shimazu Yoshihisa.

As mentioned earlier, Shimazu Tadatsumi's mother was Lady Uhei, the daughter of Shimazu Yoshihisa, so this adoption was not only reasonable, but also met the bloodline needs of the Japanese at that time.

Because Shinna Tadatsunō assassinated Oda Nobukatsu, the entire Shinna clan was to be hunted down and exterminated, as ordered by Nobukatsu.

I understand, no one can say otherwise. Shimazu Tadatsumi's younger brother cannot inherit the Shinna clan, but that's okay, because he himself inherited the Shimazu main family, so the Izumi family will be inherited by his younger brother.

Shimazu Yoshitora wasn't dead yet, and with such chaos at Takagi Castle, he fled even faster than Shimazu Yoshihisa. On the way, he heard that his eldest son had already become the governor of Satsuma, a truly unexpected stroke of good fortune.

But he too had to go into seclusion, because he had followed Shimazu Yoshihisa in resisting the imperial army. The family business of 30,000 koku of water was handed over to the third son, Shimazu Tadakiyo, and Shimazu Yoshitora went to Kyoto as a guest.

The second son, Shimazu Tadahira, was already the adopted son of Shimazu Toshihisa. Now that Shimazu Toshihisa was seeking death, and he was following Shimazu Yoshihisa in resisting the imperial army, the original plan was to strip him of all his property. Because of a previous agreement, he was granted 30,000 koku of land in Sendai Heiza of Satsuma District, but the Hyuga territory was to be confiscated.

It was roughly equivalent to Satsuma Province, and was directly divided up by Shimazu Yoshitora's three sons. No, it was four. The youngest son was adopted by Irakiin Shigetoyo and became known as Irakiin Shigetaka. He received the territory of Irakiin Sakon, which consisted of various towns and villages, worth about 30,000 koku.

Yoshihisa Shimazu was barely satisfied that Satsuma Province would remain under the Shimazu's control. But what about the Shimazu territory of Ōsumi-Hyuga? Oda Nobuo had a different plan in mind, indicating that Ōsumi would temporarily serve as Oda Nobunaga's hideout, and the Shimazu samurai there could stay if they wanted, or return to Satsuma if they didn't.

No matter what happens to the local gentry or powerful clans, of course, the territories of the Shimazu clan, from Yoshihisa downwards, will be confiscated. Oda Nobunaga will have to think it over and then discuss it again.