Japan's Warring States Period: The Rise of the Wakasa Tiger

Chapter 138 The Way of the First Wife
Upon hearing that Kumagai Nagisa had given birth to Yoshishige's eldest son, the Kumagai clan was overjoyed. Kumagai Katsunao, who was already seriously ill and dying, led the Kumagai clan to visit Takeda's mansion despite the long journey. Kumagai Takanao, who had just been appointed as the deputy governor of the three counties of East Tajima, wanted to go back to Wakasa to visit his sister, but was stopped by Yoshishige on the grounds that Tajima was not yet stable, so he had to give up in disappointment.

Yoshishige certainly attached great importance to the arrival of the old leader Katsunao Kumagai. After all, his ability to quell the "Miyagawa Rebellion" and subsequently win the battle of Kuniyoshi Castle were inseparable from his full support and help.

Yoshishige was a man who knew how to repay favors, which is why he entrusted the brothers Kumagai Motonao and Kumagai Takanao with important positions. Especially Kumagai Takanao, he was first promoted to the lord of the castle and then directly appointed as the deputy governor of Higashitajima. There were no more than five retainers of this level in the Wakasa Takeda clan.

On February 10, the Kumagai clan arrived at the Takeda clan's residence, and Yoshishige gave them a warm welcome. Kumagai Katsunao also reciprocated by preparing a large number of gifts, saying that they were for Gentaro, but in fact they were taking the opportunity to present them to Yoshishige.

The moment he received Gentaro from Nagisa Kumagai, Katsunao Kumagai burst into tears. He looked at his grandson in his arms with joy and said frankly, "My wish has come true and I have no regrets in death." This made Nagisa Kumagai complain, "Dad, don't say such discouraging words on such a happy day. You are in good health and you still have to watch Gentaro grow up."

"Yeah, I also want to watch Gentaro grow up." Katsunao Kumagai's eyes were full of doting, but his body did not allow him to continue hugging.

"Cough, cough," Katsunao Kumagai suddenly frowned and started coughing while speaking. The wet nurse beside him hurriedly took Gentaro from his hands, while Nagisa Kumagai and Motonao Kumagai on the other side came forward to check with great concern.

"Father, how are you?" Kumagai Nagisa asked with concern.

Kumagai Katsunao waved his hands, his expression still painful, but he tried his best to sound relaxed: "It's okay, it's okay. I tend to cough when I'm happy or excited. It's an old problem, hahaha."

In fact, he knew in his heart that he might not live for many more days, so he hurried to the Takeda clan's house to see his long-cherished grandson, the successor of the Wakasa Takeda clan.

"Where is the lord now? I want to see him." asked Katsunai Kumagai.

"He is in Hiroma receiving guests from Kyoto. I heard that they are envoys sent by the Kanrei-sama." Kumagai Nagisa replied.

"That's serious business," Katsunao Kumagai nodded slightly, "I want to meet him before I go back. I have some things I want to talk to him about."

"Then I'll send someone to report it." Kumagai Nagisa said as he was about to call the maid beside him.

"No, I'll just wait here." Kumagai Katsunao said and coughed twice, then said to Kumagai Nagisa: "Ah Zhu, you have to distinguish between official business and family affairs, and don't be too presumptuous just because you are favored by the lord. Especially the affairs of our Kumagai family, you must handle them carefully to avoid gossip and make things difficult for the lord."

"My daughter was just worried about your health, so she acted rashly. I am sorry for what I have done, father." Nagisa Kumagai quickly admitted her mistake to Katsunao Kumagai.

"Do you know how many eyes are on our Kumagai family, and how many people are eyeing your position as the principal wife? Don't be arrogant just because you gave birth to Gentaro. Especially at this time, you must act more cautiously."

Kumagai Katsunao is indeed a shrewd man. In his opinion, Yoshishige is no longer the same as before, and the Kumagai clan is no longer of any use to him. Now the only two ways to consolidate Kumagai Nagisa's position in the Takeda family are to train Gentaro well and to be a sensible and considerate wife. There is no other way.

In fact, Kumagai Katsunao had heard rumors before that when the Takeda family married the Rokkaku clan, many important officials of the Takeda family hoped that Yoshishige would consider the overall situation and make Rokkaku Rin his principal wife. Although this voice weakened a lot after the birth of Gentaro, it is still worth noting. After all, if Gentaro was not careful, the fate of the Kumagai family would change dramatically.

Indeed, many retainers persuaded Yoshishige to make Rokkaku Rin his principal wife, but Yoshishige refused. He thought differently from Kumagai Motonao. He believed that the principal wife should not come from a powerful family, which could effectively avoid the risk of the wife's family interfering in politics in the future. This was also reflected in his marriage to Hatano Yoshino.

At this time, in the Hiroma of the Takeda clan's mansion, Yoshishige had just finished talking with the envoy of the Hosokawa clan, and was sitting there thinking about whether he had agreed to this marriage too casually.

After all, in history, Princess Yoshino eventually married Miyoshi Toshinaga and gave birth to his legitimate son Miyoshi Yoshioki, which was considered an important female role. Taking him as a concubine must have had a significant impact on the Miyoshi clan.

However, given the current situation faced by the Takeda family, as long as Hosokawa Harumoto has not yet declined, he still cannot make any moves in Tamba. Not only can he not covet this place, but he must also maintain good relations with the powerful families and people of this country to avoid the risk of his territory being cut off from the east and west.

It was also based on this starting point that Yoshishige readily agreed to Hosokawa Harumoto's suggestion and took Hatano Yoshino as his concubine.

Of course, Yoshishige knew that this might also be a test for Hosokawa Harumoto himself:

Currently, the Takeda clan has Asakura to the east and Amago to the west, neither of which they can break through in a short period of time. Omi, which is adjacent to the southern end of Wakasa, is the sphere of influence of the Rokkaku clan. The only place they can expand to is Tamba Province, which is surrounded by them on both sides.

If he accepted the marriage proposal, it would mean that he had no ambitions for Tamba and was content with his current territory. In this way, Hosokawa Harumoto would be temporarily relieved.

If he did not agree to this marriage, it would mean that the Takeda family coveted Tamba and had ambitions to continue expanding outward. This would not be a good sign for the Hosokawa family, which dominated Kinki. Hosokawa Harumoto would definitely take measures to restrict and suppress the Takeda family.

Taking all the above considerations into consideration, Yoshishige finally agreed to the marriage and expressed his willingness to go to Yagi Castle in person to propose to Hatano Hidetada.

Now that he had figured things out, he stopped worrying about it. Yoshishige stretched himself and walked out of the hall, only to see Nagisa Kumagai's maid kneeling at the door.

"Why are you running here instead of staying in the courtyard to take care of the Emperor?" Yoshishige blamed her unhappily. After all, it wasn't long since Kumagai Nagisa had given birth and she needed someone to take care of her.

"My lord, it was the Emperor who asked me to come here, saying that there is something in Sanfang Palace that he wants to discuss with you." The maid replied respectfully.

"Then why don't you report outside the door and just kneel like this? What if I don't come out?" Yi Zhong was obviously a little angry.

"It was the Queen. She told me not to disturb the Lord." The maid was obviously frightened by Yoshishige, and she responded tremblingly, "The Queen said that Sanfangdian just wanted to chat with the Lord about family matters, and it was not a serious matter. On the contrary, if the Lord was in the hall, he must be discussing serious matters. So I asked this servant to wait outside the door and report to the Lord when he was free."

Yizhong smiled when he heard this and thought, "This doesn't sound like something Zhu would say. I'm afraid it's the way of speaking that my father-in-law 'taught' her. I haven't seen him for a long time, but he's still so cautious."

(End of this chapter)