Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

Indeed, because on the other side, Niwa Nagashige's team was fiercely firing baton arrows, shooting them at the fortress built on a 20-30 meter high earthen platform as if they were free.

Although other forts immediately sent troops to help, they couldn't withstand the fire that had struck the forts with sticks and arrows. It was summer, and the weather was dry. Once the fire started, the defending soldiers had no choice but to abandon their forts and retreat to other locations.

Then they heard shouts of "So-and-so Niwa is the first to ride," or "So-and-so Niwa has taken down the enemy general and established his own fame." Clearly, the burning fortress had been smashed down by Niwa Nagashige.

If you have money and strength, then you should fight in a way that allows you to use them. These days, it's hard to get ahead with just physical strength.

"The Uesugi Kanrei family, a prestigious clan with centuries of history, has been brought to the brink of collapse." Sanada Masayuki, a native of a small country struggling to survive in the mountains of Shinano and Ueno, had witnessed countless rises and falls, but still couldn't help but sigh.

In the previous Battle of Kannagawa and Kuragano, the Hojo and Uesugi allied forces suffered a crushing defeat, and all twenty or thirty prominent families in Ueno fell into ruin, none surviving. Even the once-renowned swordsman, Kamiizumi Nobutsuna, did not survive. As in history, Kamiizumi Yasutsuna chose to join the Uesugi family, and his current whereabouts in Mount Kasuga are unknown.

"There's nothing to feel." After Shichibei left, forty-six of the fifty-two prestigious families were wiped out in one fell swoop.

Some families still had male members, but they hadn't fallen into poverty; others had their entire families wiped out. Everyone has something to lament, too many to recount.

"Lord Jingzhao, the former commander Uesugi has sent an envoy out of the city to negotiate peace. The Grand Chancellor requests your immediate presence." Sanada Nobuyuki saw his father there but didn't even bother to greet him first.

Furthermore, Sanada Nobuyuki fared better than his father, Sanada Masayuki, who was Sanada Nobuoki's senior retainer and held a fief of five or six thousand koku. Both Sanada Nobuyuki and Nobushige held fiefs of eight thousand koku each in northern Ise.

This is the benefit of following the right boss. In a remote and impoverished area, you can struggle your whole life, but it's not as good as Nobunaga lifting a finger.

"Peace talks!" I really didn't expect that. Uesugi Norimasa is quite active. He's sixty, isn't he?

Despite his advanced age, he still has to go out and run errands for his patriarchal grandchildren, but he's still as vigorous as ever. After all, he still has several children crawling around on the floor. Look at his energy! Even though he's no longer in charge, he's still full of energy and can have six or seven children in ten years.

"Let's go, let's go." Let's hurry and listen to it.

Running back to Nobunaga's main camp, he saw a young man sitting in the tent, facing Nobunaga. He asked in a low voice and learned that it was Uesugi Norimasa's son, Uesugi Noritake, and standing to one side was Norimasa's elder, Nagao Yasuie.

What were the conditions? Uesugi Noritake spoke eloquently, and the conditions were simple: the safety of Echigo and Sado provinces. In return, Uesugi Kagetora could send his son, Uesugi Domanmaru, to Kyoto as a hostage, and Kasugayama Castle would be opened to the public.

To reassure Nobunaga, Kasugayama Castle could be abandoned immediately, and the castle relocated to the Takada Plain at the foot of the mountain, where a new castle could be built. They would accept Nobunaga's land survey and reorganize the military service, and even hoped that Uesugi Michimanmaru could marry Nobunaga's or Nobukatsu's daughter.

The gesture of submission has been made, but the conditions for submission are rather ordinary, at least in Shichibei's view, they are not very tempting.

590. Nobuhisa’s first battle against Uesugi

Forget about it. Nobunaga himself is micromanaging things. If you're talking about preserving your family's reputation and receiving 30,000 to 50,000 koku, perhaps just a small territory in Echigo-Kei-jo County, then maybe we could talk. But asking for both Echigo and Sado provinces shows a lack of sincerity.

The warlords of the Hokuriku region are all eagerly waiting to divide up the land and money. How can their desires be satisfied without killing the entire Uesugi family?

Even hereditary newcomers like Maeda Toshinaga and Niwa Nagashige only received 100,000 koku each. For samurai outside the samurai community, this was already quite good. But for them personally? It was far too little, far too little indeed.

"Is it 400,000 or 300,000 in Echigo?" Shichibei sat around the outside of the main tent, turning his head to ask Sanada Masayuki, who had come with him.

"You should know that the Yangbei people have always been dissatisfied with the Guardian and the Inspector, which is a complete mess." Sanada Masayuki is a local, but even he doesn't know much about it.

The three generations of the Nagao family—Nagao Tamekage, Harukage, and Kagetora—were all trying to fight against the local gentry of Joetsu. Historically, Uesugi Kagekatsu also fought against the newly risen...

The Tashige family was embroiled in conflict, with figures like Honjo Shigenaga and Kuroda Hidetada having already instigated rebellions. The Nagao clan, the deputy governor of Echigo, only had relatively strong control over the directly administered Kishiki district; their rule over the other districts was weak.

The most successful act of Uesugi Kenshin's generation was removing Hojo Takahiro from his command and sending him to Ueno-no-Masahashi Castle. By the time of Uesugi Kagetora's generation, he was still relying on the generals of the north to attack the Ueda clan at Sakado Castle, so he was even less likely to take charge.

"Oh dear..." Shichibei wanted to ask how many 10,000 koku there were in the Neck Castle County.

I remember during the Edo period, the rice eaten in Edo was produced in Echigo and transported to Edo. That makes sense; it's Koshihikari rice, after all, and Tohoku rice is an improved version of Koshihikari. The grains are plump and fragrant—good rice.

At that time, Echigo had a production capacity of 800,000 to 1 million koku, otherwise it would have been impossible to feed the hundreds of thousands or even millions of people in Edo.

Echigo has a promising future, and Shichibei was initially quite pleased with Oda Nobuhiro's transfer to Echigo. Now, looking back... sigh...

"The rice yield in Kishiro County is around 70,000 to 80,000 koku." Sanada Masayuki could only say what he knew.

"Seventy or eighty thousand? That's hard to agree to." Shichibei felt that Nobunaga would agree if it were below fifty thousand koku, but if the asking price was seventy or eighty thousand, he definitely wouldn't agree.

For a feudal lord like this, in the end, he can only get 10,000 or 20,000 shi of grain; even 30,000 shi would be considered an exception. If you don't strip him of everything, aren't you planting a time bomb for your descendants?

The Mori clan was different. They were genuinely willing to cede the territories of four or five provinces at once. At that time, the Oda clan needed to kill the Mori, the hegemon of western Japan, as soon as possible in order to consolidate their prestige, gain military merit, be promoted to prime minister, and so on.

Look at how sensible Mori is, while Uesugi Kagetora is far too ungrateful. If he were to kowtow to Nobunaga right now, begging for his life in Kageki County, Nobunaga might hesitate for a moment. Echigo and Sado provinces? Ha!

"Don't you know Echigo?" Sanada Masayuki saw that Shichibei was very interested and guessed that Shichibei might know Echigo's future allegiance.

"Originally, it was certain that Matsushiro would become prime minister, but now it's uncertain." If Oda Nobuhiro were to be sent to govern Echigo, then he would definitely have to shave his head and have his property confiscated. Nobunaga could then entrust Echigo to Nobuhiro with complete peace of mind.

However, Sanada Masayuki saw clearly what Nobuhiro was like, so what was there to say?

"Oh." That's the good thing about smart people; they know when to stop and don't say anything unnecessary.

During their brief, quiet conversation, Nobunaga had clearly rejected Uesugi Noritake's conditions, requesting him to return to Kasugayama Castle and inform Uesugi Kagetora that there was no other way but to surrender.

If the castle is opened now, Nobunaga can guarantee that the prestigious Uesugi clan, which has existed for centuries, will not be exterminated, and all 25,000 Uesugi soldiers inside and outside the castle will be released. Uesugi Kagetora will also not need to commit seppuku; he can simply become a monk.

If you continue to resist the royal army and defy the heavenly soldiers, then just wait for them to come and slaughter your entire family. If Nobunaga doesn't wipe out your entire Uesugi-Nagao clan, he'll have lived in vain.

Seeing Nobunaga's cold face and authoritative tone, Uesugi Noritake and Nagao Yasukuni dared not object. They were quite astute, indicating that since the peace negotiations had failed, they would return to the castle to report to the Kanrei-kun.

Please.

He didn't anger Nobunaga either; in war, envoys are not to be killed, so there's nothing to say. Uesugi Noritake rode back to Otate Castle, presumably to discuss the matter with Uesugi Norimasa before reporting to Uesugi Kagetora.

Kagetora, after all, had survived the Otate Rebellion and fought his way out with his sword and spear.

He became the ruler of Echigo Province. Moreover, he eliminated or weakened most of Kagekatsu's supporters, and his direct rule was even stronger than during Kenshin's time. However, this also resulted in the loss of many unruly civilians from impoverished and remote areas, affecting the army's combat effectiveness.

Now, to ask him to completely relinquish his territory and become a tea ceremony monk or a servant of Nobunaga is something Kagetora would never agree to. After all, his beloved elder brother, Hojo Ujimasa, is already attacking Kozuke; everything will be alright.

It can only be said that he was still lacking, as he did not realize that the Hojo clan was coming to fight. Apart from affecting Takigawa Kazumasu's route, Oda Nobuhiro and Niwa Nagahide's routes were completely unaffected and continued to send troops to encircle them.

After so many years of attrition, the Oda army has developed a comprehensive advantage and no longer cares whether the Hojo army has reinforcements or not.

No sooner had Uesugi Noritake left than news arrived that Oda Nobuhiro had died in the Battle of Takadano in Echigo Province at the age of fifty-six.

Although it was expected, it was still a loss of one of the most important generals of the Oda clan on the eastern front. Nobunaga did not shed tears in public, but he did ride to Niōdō and, very unusually, offered three sticks of incense to Oda Nobuhiro.

Oda Nobuhisa, having already come of age, thus became the daimyo of Shinano Province, a province with a population of 400,000 koku. His brother, Nobunaga Osamu, succeeded him as one of the three chieftains of the Oda clan.

Family.

In addition, Oda Sanboshi also came of age in battle and was named Oda Nobushige. But unfortunately, he was not Oda Saburo Nobushige. This was the common name for the legitimate son of Oda Nobukatsu and Mori Komatsuhime, who was called Saburo Boshi when he was young.

Oda Nobushige's common title could only be inherited from his father Nobutada as Kankuro, and from then on, his lineage would inherit the title of Kankuro generation after generation. This meant that he had shed the label of the direct descendant and completely handed over the mantle to Nobukatsu.

Shichibei didn't think too much about it. Instead, he immediately took his brother-in-law, Oda Nobuhisa, with him and escorted Nobuhiro back to Matsushiro Castle in Shinano. Anyway, Nobunaga was already on Kasugayama, and Shichibei was just helping his brother-in-law lead the troops. It wouldn't make a difference if they had a few more men.

Leading two thousand men, Shichibei escorted Nobuhiro back to Matsushiro. Shichibei immediately gathered eight thousand monks from all around Shinano, men of considerable renown, to chant sutras for Nobuhiro. As father-in-law and son-in-law, practically like father and son, this was an occasion that couldn't be small.

Oda Nobuhisa presided over the funeral, with Shichibei personally handling the arrangements. Fortunately, the Japanese did not require a 49-day mourning period. Normally, it's seven days, followed by cremation. Because Nobunaga had other plans for the Nobuhiro family, the construction of Bodai-ji Temple in Matsushiro, Shinano, was temporarily postponed. Who knows where it might be moved to later? If it's built now, it will be demolished next year.

Oda Nobuhisa, who lost his father at a young age, was quite resilient. Nobuhiro was not spoiling him.

The man who was with the child was a relatively old-fashioned Japanese samurai, and his relationship with the child was even somewhat distant. He had simply hired a scholar-monk and provided samurai servants.

Upon inquiry, it turned out to be Otsu Nagamasa, the head of the Nobuhiro family, and Kansaka Ieyoshi. Quite good; Shichibei had met both of them before. They were both considered upright samurai, not cunning individuals.

Others wanted to die with him, but Shichibei ordered them to be stopped. Rather than die, they should charge Kasugayama Castle. Leading the charge and succeeding would truly bring honor to Oda Nobuhisa.

The dozen or so men who were stopped immediately agreed with Shichibei, as Nobuhiro's own personal guards, including the arquebusiers, gunners, and archers, were all in the camp. After ten days of handling the funeral arrangements, they returned to Kasugayama. Sure enough, seven or eight of the thirty-odd forts had been destroyed, and the remaining two had been persuaded to be abandoned by Sanada Masayuki.

Thus, the castle guarded by Uesugi Norimasa and his son Noritake was exposed to the Oda army's advance. Oda Nobuhisa personally visited his uncle Nobunaga, expressing his willingness to lead the attack on the castle and personally lead the troops. Nobunaga greatly encouraged him, saying that the Prime Minister Matsushiro was truly a worthy successor, and distributed all fifty large iron cannons he had brought with him to Nobuhisa.

The dozen or so retainers of Nobuhiro who had previously intended to commit seppuku waited until the initial barrage of fire subsided before leading the elite troops of Shinano in a fierce assault on the palace.

(Uesugi-kan).

Built on the low-lying, wetland shoreline of the Shinano River, the castle was surrounded by a moat 20 meters wide and 1.5 meters deep. The entire castle consisted of five fortified walls (kawarin), with the main wall being about 100 meters square and housing two to three thousand soldiers, making it a fairly well-defended local outpost.

In the initial attack, a passage has been cleared. Now, what is needed are brave warriors to brave the fire from the city walls and ram the city gate.

Seeing this, Shichibei asked the dozen or so samurai who were about to die, "You're going to be hit by the fire from the castle walls anyway. I'll set up bamboo and wooden shields behind you and start firing at the castle walls too."

Are you scared?

Don't be afraid!

Alright, I'm here to send you all off. Shichibei and Oda Nobuhisa went straight to the castle and ordered the arquebuses and cannons to continue firing, letting these warriors charge the castle.

The Oda army soldiers, carrying logs, let out a shout and charged through the gate. The sounds of cannons and bowstrings clashing from the city walls and below were deafening. This was Oda Nobuhisa's first battle, with Nobunaga watching from behind. Nobunaga's face was tense; he was practically screaming "Aaaaaaah!"

The Shinano soldiers, leading the charge, repeatedly rammed the castle gates, and many were killed by bullets and arrows. Fortunately, the firepower from the castle walls was suppressed from below. Without this suppression, they would likely have been wiped out by the castle's firepower as soon as they reached the gates.

"The city gates have moved!" shouted the vanguard general, Han Jiajia.

The twenty-seven riders led by Nobuhiro Makai immediately mustered their strength, took up their spears, and returned to their ranks behind Kansaka Ieyoshi. With a loud crash, the city gates swung open, and the vanguard of Shinano troops immediately stormed into the palace.

Then, led by Henshi Ieyoshi, the elite warriors stormed into the city. The drums beat loudly, and the samurai foot soldiers, spurred on by the prospect of gaining credit or earning a reward, rushed into the palace.

Oda Nobunaga, who was watching the battle from behind, immediately sent a message to congratulate Shinano no Kami-dono on his victory over Uesugi-no-kami!

Oh dear, this congratulations are a bit heavy. But now that we've broken down the door, there's no reason to give up. Shichibei immediately stood on the haystack and shouted to the more than two hundred Umawari hatamoto who had followed him, "Whoever storms into Uesugi Mansion and beheads the former Kanrei will be rewarded with a thousand koku of rice and twenty daiban."

With a resounding "Oh!", Sanada Masaki and Kawamura Naokichi immediately donned their armor, each leading a hundred cavalrymen, and charged into the city. Logically, Uesugi Norimasa's mind was more than this. But unfortunately, he was already the former...

He's in charge, but he only has a great name and not much territory. A person's worth is determined by their level of authority; we can't mess up the market.

Oda Nobuhisa stood beside his brother-in-law, Kawamura Nagayoshi, watching as Nagayoshi boosted morale, waving his military tactician and urging the troops to launch a fierce attack. He was even more excited than Shichibei, waving his hands and shouting, "Charge! Charge!" His entire face was flushed red.

Oda's army continued its attack on the castle from morning till noon, when suddenly a burst of enthusiastic cheers erupted from the ranks. Someone shouted, "Lord Uesugi Hyobu has been captured!" A great uproar swept through the castle, and the collapse of Otate Castle became irreversible.

Even the two small forts that originally wanted to come to the aid of the palace wavered because of this, and ultimately chose to abandon the forts and retreat to Kasugayamamoto Castle to carry out defensive battles.

Soon, a Matsushiro Domain samurai rushed to Oda Nobuhisa and Shichibei, carrying the old, pale head of Uesugi Norimasa. Nobuhisa kept swallowing, not because he was hungry, but because he was trying to calm himself down and suppress his urge to vomit.

"Saburo and Goro! You're already a general, stay calm!" Shichibei slapped Oda Nobuhisa on the shoulder, telling him to stay as still as a mountain.

"Yes!" Oda Nobuhisa pursed his lips, swallowed hard, and answered loudly.

"Alright, send it to the Prime Minister immediately." Now that Uesugi Norimasa has been executed, it's time to claim credit.

The Matsushiro Domain retainers flanked Oda Nobuhisa as he mounted his horse, while Shichibei remained in place to continue directing the various armies to wipe out the Uesugi army within the palace grounds.

As expected, Nobunaga was greatly impressed and immediately bestowed upon Oda Nobuhisa his tachi, horse, armor, and personal guards. It was quite normal to be awarded one item at a time; Nobunaga was always generous in rewarding those who had rendered meritorious service. But to bestow them all at once, as he did today, was unusual.

Soon, Uesugi Norimasa's head was impaled on a spear and carried to the foot of Kasugayama Castle. This was a warning to Uesugi Kagetora once again: now that your grandfather has been beheaded, think carefully about whether you still want to resist.

After more than ten days of continuous high-intensity offense and defense, the Oda army, with its massive size of over 60,000 men, was still able to employ a strategy of attrition warfare, with everyone getting rest. The Uesugi army, on the other hand, was constantly on the move, challenging the enemy from both sides, and the army was gradually showing signs of fatigue.

How to do?

Surrender? He'd be stripped of his title in white robes, and Kagetora himself might even have to commit seppuku. Don't surrender? They could really drag it out for another month and a half.

Is it snowing heavily?

591. Only one pill remained after the harvest.

With the fall of Uesugi-no-kara and the death of Uesugi Norimasa, Kasugayama Castle once again sent envoys to Oda Nobunaga to request surrender. It certainly couldn't be considered a peace treaty; it was merely a surrender.

The person who arrived was quite a heavyweight: Uesugi Kagenobu, the chief retainer of Uesugi Kagetora. This man was both Kagetora's advisor and the chief retainer who helped him seize the throne; he could even represent Kagetora's will to a certain extent.