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

After hearing what Yoshishige said, Yamana Youfeng seemed to understand but not quite, and said worriedly:

"The Hoki of the Amago clan is adjacent to Inaba. In terms of distance and speed, we have no advantage. Moreover, Yamana Samasuke will definitely ask the Amago clan for help or even submit to them. In this case, the Amago army will take over Inaba Castle much faster than us. No matter how you think about it, I'm afraid we will be one step behind them."

"What you said was not wrong in the past." Yoshishige explained patiently, "But now is different. After the defeat of Niwa Akihisa, the first thing he has to do is to gather troops to guard against the counterattack of the Ouchi coalition. Therefore, before repelling the counterattack or the Ouchi army's voluntary retreat, his main task is to shrink his forces.

In this case, let alone supporting Yamana Samasuke, I think even the garrisons in the newly annexed areas such as Harima and Bizen will withdraw to Izumo. By then, you and I just need to make good use of the time difference and take Inaba before the Amago army recovers, and there will be no need to worry about the future. "

"You have a point," Yamana Yufeng nodded, but still a little hesitant: "You just said that we should not break up with the Niwa family, but if we really take down the entire Inaba family, when the Niwa family recovers, they may attack us. After all, he can't beat Ouchi, so he still has the confidence to fight against forces like you and me, right?"

"I think that as long as we don't break up with him, Niwa Akihisa will not take the initiative to attack us." Yoshishige analyzed:

"You are right. With our strength, we cannot defeat the Amago army. But on the other hand, it is not easy for him to defeat us. Moreover, he has to guard against the counterattack of the Ouchi clan. Instead of wasting energy with us in Inaba, it is better to concentrate his forces in Iwami and Izumo, which is the lifeline of his Amago clan."

"Now that you put it that way, I understand." Yamana Youfeng agreed with Yoshishige's analysis. "In that case, let's hurry up and take as much as we can while the old wolf and the little wolf in Yunzhou are too busy to look east."

After reaching a consensus, Yoshishige and Yamana Yutoyo immediately split their troops into two groups, starting from Odai Castle and advancing quickly towards Gamo Pass and Hiyama Pass.

At this time in Tenjinyama Castle, Yamana Masimichi was sitting in the palace with a sad face. His Highness Takeda Kuninobu did not dare to raise his head and knelt on the ground, waiting for the reprimand from the Inaba guardian and head of the Inaba Yamana clan.

"Yamashiro no Mori, what should we do now?" Yamana Masamichi asked. "There are 2,500 troops, and you only brought back 230 people. So many important officials in my family died in the battle. How can I explain this to their families?"

"I deserve to die. Please punish me, my lord!" Takeda Kuninobu apologized to Yamana Seimichi in a heavy voice.

"What's the point of convicting you now? The entire territory of Tajima has been lost. The enemy has captured the Gamo Pass and Hiyama Pass, and it seems that they are preparing to attack Inaba. Tell me, what should we do next?" Yamana Masamichi was anxious about the upcoming counterattack by Wakasa Takeda and the Yamana clan.

"Excuse me for being frank, but the enemy will break into Inaba from two points. With our current military strength, I'm afraid we won't be able to stop either of these two routes." Takeda Kuninobu replied cautiously.

"You are talking nonsense. With only these two hundred people, plus the Makai people around me, there are only three to five hundred people. How can we defeat the fierce and ferocious Takeda army? Even the Tajima Yamana family has more than a thousand troops, which is not something the main family can resist. Now I want to know what to do!" Yamana Makoto scolded angrily.

"The only option now is to ask for help from the Niwa family."

At this time, Takeda Kuninori felt very upset. Although he lost the battle of Yagi Castle, it was the inevitable result of being outnumbered. He had tried his best, but Yamana Makoto not only did not affirm him, but also treated him like a dog. It seemed that in his eyes, he still did not regard himself, the "Inaba Takeda clan", as his own.

But now, after all, he is living under someone else's roof. All Takeda Kuninobu can do now is to tread on thin ice and be careful with his words and actions, so as not to anger the angry Yamana Makoto, which would lead to more severe reprimands.

However, when Yamana Seimichi heard that Takeda Kuninobu's solution was to ask for help from Akihisa Niwa, he asked back unhappily:
"Don't you know that His Highness Akihisa was defeated in Yoshida-gunyama Castle a few days ago? In order to prevent the counterattack of the Ouchi army, he has ordered the garrisons in Harima, Bizen, Mimasaka and other places to withdraw to Izumo to defend Tsukiyama Tomita Castle. Will it be helpful if I ask for help at this time?"

"So, my lord, what do you mean..." Takeda Kuninobu asked cautiously.

"I think there are two ways to go." Yamana Makoto answered, "First, focus on defending Tottori Castle. After all, it has been expanded a lot, and the fortifications are much stronger than Tenjinyama Castle. We will concentrate all our forces in the castle, and should be able to resist the Takeda army for a while. Then we can buy time for His Highness Akihisa to reinforce us."

"What about the second one?" Takeda Kuninobu asked.

"The second option is to lead the troops to retreat to Hoki and temporarily give Inaba to the Takeda family. Once the Amago family has survived this period, we can use their strength to launch a counterattack. It shouldn't be difficult to retake Inaba."

After listening to Yamana Makoto's two paths, Takeda Kuninobu fell into deep thought, which made the former feel a little unhappy.

"Why, does the Yamashiro no Kami have any different opinions on the two paths I mentioned?"

"I dare not," Takeda Kuninobu finally came to his senses and quickly explained:
"I just think that with our current military strength, we can hold on to Tottori Castle for some time, but the enemy is a large army of 6,000 people after all. No one can guarantee how long we can hold out against them. Even if we can hold out for ten days or half a month, it is still unknown whether the Amago army can come to support us."

"So what do you mean?" Yamana Makoto asked disdainfully.

"I think that defending Tottori Castle is too risky, and my lord should not take the risk. It would be better for me to lead the troops to garrison the castle, and my lord to go to the Amago family to ask for help. This is not only safe for my lord, but also can gain the attention of His Highness Akihisa. It is really the most appropriate plan at present."

Hearing Takeda Kuninobu say this, Yamana Makoto frowned and thought for a moment, then said: "This is also a solution, but it will be hard for you to face so many enemy troops alone. It will surely be a fierce battle."

"This is my duty, my lord, please don't mind it." Takeda Kuninobu responded sincerely. "In that case, I'll leave Inaba to you." Yamana Masamichi also changed his cold and disdainful tone and bowed to Takeda Kuninobu quite solemnly.

Shortly after the meeting, Takeda Kuninobu led 230 remaining soldiers and 150 horsemen of Yamana Makai under Makoto Yamana to defend Tottori Castle.

At the same time, he sent letters for help to the Inaba people, including the Mikami clan of Nikamiyama Castle, the Yoshimi clan of Enkōji Castle, the Hatano clan of Takahira Castle, the Yabe clan of Wakazakura Castle, and the Tamaki clan of Miyayoshi Castle, hoping that they could lead troops to Tottori Castle to participate in the defense.

However, until the 20th day of the first lunar month, only the head of the Shikano clan, Shikano Nyudo, led more than a hundred people into the city for support. Other people either used the excuse of insufficient troops or said that they had suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Yagi Castle. Most of them "read the message but did not reply". Even the lord of Miyayoshi Castle, Tamaki Takaie, who was the guardian of Inaba, declined to come, saying that he was ill. This made Takeda Kuninobu and the soldiers guarding the city deeply angry and disappointed.

At the same time that Takeda Kuninobu's letter for help was flying to various places in Inaba, the Takeda army led by Yoshishige had already begun to capture cities in Inaba, with the first stop being Takahira Castle near Gamo Pass.

This castle was built by the Hatano clan, the local leader of Inaba Yato County, for more than two hundred years. The fortifications were relatively solid, but the head of the clan, Hatano Tamebe, died in battle under Yagi Castle. Therefore, the orphans and widows in the castle decided to open the city and surrender.

As the first stop in entering Inaba, in order to leave a good impression on other people in order to more smoothly subdue them, and taking into account that the Hatano clan was related to Hatano Hidetada of Tamba, the so-called "return a favor", Yoshishige finally decided to accept their surrender and promised to keep their skills safe.

As expected, with the precedent of Gaoping Castle, the people of the surrounding Shichiku Castle, Enkōji Castle, and even the Futakami Castle further north all surrendered without a fight. On the way to Tottori Castle, the only one left was Michitake Castle, the residence of Mikami Tsunezane.

When the news of Mikami Nobumitsu's surrender outside Yagi Castle reached Dotake Castle, the Mikami family retainers in the castle immediately nominated Mikami Fujiro to succeed him as the head of the family.

This Mikami Fujiro is the adopted son of Mikami Tsunezane, and is from the Hino Yamana family of the Hoki Yamana clan, so his original name is Yamana Fujiro. He is only eight years old at the moment and has not yet come of age. All matters in the family are controlled by the retainers.

Upon learning that the Takeda army led by Yoshishige had captured several castles in eastern Inaba without bloodshed, and having received a letter from Takeda Kuninobu of Tottori Castle requesting help, the Mikami clan's retainers split into two factions. One faction demanded that the Hatano clan, like the Hatano clan of Takahira Castle, open the city and surrender in exchange for security; the other faction insisted on avenging Mikami Munezane and gathering the remaining troops to support Tottori Castle.

On the 21st day of the first lunar month, when the two factions were at a stalemate, Yoshishige, accompanied by Yoshimi, Hatano and other locals, led his army to surround Michitake Castle. Yoshimi Noritaka, the lord of Enkoji Castle, volunteered to go into the city and persuade the Mikami family to surrender.

Unexpectedly, that night, the retainers who opposed surrender launched an uprising at the banquet entertaining Yoshimi Noritaka and killed the retainers who were in favor of Kaesong. Yoshimi Noritaka was fortunate to escape from the city under the cover of his retainers, but after this incident, Michitake Castle was controlled by the pro-war faction, and Yoshishige realized that it was impossible to take the city peacefully.

The next morning, Yoshishige ordered Kumagata Motonao and Yamagata Morinobu to lead 2,000 troops each to launch an attack simultaneously from the Ote Gate in the east and the Kante Gate in the south of the castle.

Although more than 150 soldiers in the city fought desperately, at 3 pm that day, Morinobu Yamagata was the first to break through the defense of the Kantomon Gate and rushed into the Honmaru. He then surrounded Fujiro Mikami and his retainers who refused to surrender in the Honmaru Palace.

Under the intimidation and coercion of Yamagata Morinobu, Mikami Fujiro finally chose to commit suicide by seppuku, while those retainers who advocated war rushed out of the palace and attacked the Takeda army, where they were pierced by spears like a hornet's nest, remaining loyal to Mikami Munezane in their own way.

The loss of Mikami Castle meant that Iwai County, one of the four eastern counties, fell into Yoshishige's hands. Together with the Homi Castle where Takahira Castle was located, and most of Hatto County, which had been captured earlier, two and a half counties out of the four counties belonged to the Wakasa Takeda clan. Next, Yoshishige's target of attack was Tottori Castle in Emi County.

Upon hearing that Takahira, Nanaki, Enkōji, and Nikami castles were either breached or surrendered voluntarily, Takeda Kuninobu, who was determined to defend Tottori Castle to the death, also began to worry. He did not expect the Wakasa Takeda army to attack so swiftly, and he did not expect the people of Inaba to be so afraid of death.

For a moment, Takeda Kuninobu regretted his decision to lead an army of more than 6,000 soldiers. When he learned that the famous Tajima army had crossed the Chiyogawa River and arrived outside his home city, Usagi Castle, he felt even more regretful. In addition, the negative atmosphere in the city made Takeda Kuninobu very distressed.

While Yoshishige was expanding the territory in northern Inaba, the famous army of Tajima Mountain in southern Inaba also made many achievements. Not only did they capture Wakazakura Castle, an important place in the southeast of Inaba, they also conquered Yamazaki and Hashimoto Castles as planned, successfully crossed the Chiyogawa River, and arrived south of Ushio Castle before Yoshishige arrived at Tottori Castle.

Yamana Yufeng originally wanted to capture Ushio Castle in one fell swoop, and then head north to Tenjinyama Castle as planned. But at this moment, Kakiya Tsunari reminded him, "Didn't we get news that Wueden has attacked Tottori Castle? The general defending the castle is none other than the Lord of Takedayama Castle. This is his home castle. If we act rashly and anger him, Wueden will have a harder time in this battle."

"You are right," Yamana Youfeng nodded, "It seems that I still need to ask for the opinion of Wuweidian."

On the evening of the 22nd day of the first lunar month, Yoshishige set up his main camp on a hill east of Tottori Castle. Taking advantage of the arrival of Yamana Yutoyo's envoy, he summoned all the generals and the surrendered people of Inaba to attend a military meeting to discuss how to minimize the losses in the attack on Tottori Castle.

"My lord, we should organize a strong attack tomorrow morning. With our current strength, it will be no problem to capture Tottori Castle with only 500 men." Nagasaka Nobumasa, who had fought several battles quite smoothly in the past few days, asked Yoshishige confidently.

Yizhong turned his head and looked at him, he could not help but sighed, and said with a wry smile: "I know you are eager to make achievements, but if you can solve it through negotiation, why do you want to sacrifice the lives of the soldiers?"

"But my lord, Tottori Castle is a fortress, and now we have gathered 500 soldiers. I don't think the defender of Takeda Castle will surrender willingly." Sakakibara Nagamasa reminded in a low voice.

"We should still try our best. After all, these cities will belong to our family from now on. It will not benefit anyone if they are reduced to ruins." Yoshishige pondered for a moment, then walked to the desk, picked up a pen and wrote a letter. He carefully put it into an envelope and handed it to Yamagata Morinobu who was sitting next to him.

"Brother, I would like to trouble you to come into the city and give this letter to the Yamashiro Lord to express my sincerity." Yoshishige said solemnly. (End of this chapter)