Japan's Sengoku Period: The Sanada Clan's Ambition

Chapter 19 Shinano's Loyalty

Takigawa Kazumasu fled back to Masahashi Castle looking disheveled.

We lost, and lost miserably.

In fact, in the battle of Kannagawa, Takigawa Kazumasu initially had the upper hand.

On June 19th, Hojo Ujinao led an army of 20,000 into battle, while Takigawa Kazumasu commanded 3,000 troops to meet him.

Facing an enemy force several times their size, Takigawa Kazumasu launched a direct charge and actually repelled Hojo Ujinao.

Upon seeing this situation, Hojo Ujimasa, who was in the rear, quickly ordered Hojo Ujikiri to lead 10,000 men to flank and surround Takikawa Kazumasu.

Kazumasu Takigawa had hoped that the Ueno Kuni clan's allied forces behind him would come to his aid, but perhaps out of fear of the Hojo clan, the Ueno Kuni clan moved slowly and did not join the battle.

Seeing that the Ueno garrison was unreliable, Takikawa Kazumasu steeled his resolve, shouted "Life and death are preordained, let's fight to the death!" and then charged into the enemy ranks.

Hojo Ujikichi's 10,000 men were completely routed by Takikawa Kazumasu's charge. If it weren't for the 30 samurai who fought desperately to protect him, Hojo Ujikichi would probably have died on the spot.

However, the defeated Hojo clan quickly regrouped and launched another attack on Takigawa Kazumasu.

After a day of bloody fighting, Takikawa Kazumasu's forces, outnumbered and outgunned, suffered heavy casualties and were unable to continue fighting. They had no choice but to withdraw from the battlefield and retreat to Masahashi Castle.

In this battle, in addition to the 500 Takikawa retainers, including Kurita, Tsuda, and Ota, who served as the rearguard, more than a thousand foot soldiers were killed in action, and Kanai Hidekage's two sons also died here.

The Hojo clan suffered losses of over 500 men.

Hojo Ujimasa was deeply impressed by Takigawa Kazumasu's formidable fighting prowess and dared not pursue him too closely. Therefore, he divided his forces to begin attacking other castles in Ueno.

After escaping back to Masahashi Castle, Takigawa Kazumasu realized that he could no longer stay in Ueno.

He then quickly summoned Hojo Takahiro (a retainer of the Uesugi family who later defected). After releasing Hojo Takahiro's son, Takigawa Kazumasu hoped that Hojo Takahiro would hold out at Masahashi Castle to buy time for his retreat.

Apart from Hojo Takahiro's son, all the other hostages from the Kokujō region were released by Takigawa Kazumasu as a gesture of goodwill.

Takikawa Kazumasu didn't expect these local lords to be able to stop the Hojo clan; he just hoped they wouldn't stab him in the back during his retreat.

On June 20, Takigawa Kazumasu, the de facto leader of the Oda clan in the Kanto region, fled in disarray from Masahashi Castle with only about 2000 men.

After crossing the Usui Pass from Nishi-Ueno, Takigawa Kazumasu finally entered Komoro Castle in Shinano Province.

This area was also the territory granted to Takigawa Kazumasu by Oda Nobunaga, and Michiie Masaharu, the castle lord of Komoro Castle, was Takigawa Kazumasu's nephew.

Despite his eagerness to return home after traversing mountains and valleys, Takikawa Kazumasu decided to rest for a day in Koshu City.

Ashida Nobuhan then approached Takikawa Kazumasu and suggested, "Lord Takikawa, there are uprisings everywhere in Shinano right now. Why don't we take the hostages with us? That way, if we encounter the enemy, we can make sure we can get through safely."

Ashida Nobuhan was the son of Ashida Nobukatsu, a retainer of the Takeda clan. After the fall of the Takeda clan, he served under Takigawa Kazumasu.

Now, Takigawa Kazumasu's territory in Shinano has been almost entirely occupied, except for Komoro Castle, making it extremely difficult for him to retreat unscathed.

Takigawa Kazumasu thought for a moment and was just about to agree when Michika Masaharu came in from outside and reported, "My lord, someone claiming to be an envoy of the Sanada family requests an audience."

“Sanada?” Takigawa Kazumasu nodded. “I almost forgot about Sanada. Let him in quickly.”

Soon, Nobuyuki Sanada entered, led by Masaharu Michiya.

"Ah, it's Genzaburo!" Takigawa Kazumasu was also pleased to see that the visitor was Sanada Nobuyuki. "I have already heard about how you escorted Musashi-no-kami back to Mino safely. The Sanada family is indeed a family that can be entrusted with important tasks."

"Lord Takikawa, the situation is urgent, so I will get straight to the point."

"When Lord Musashi left, he entrusted the families of the people of northern Shinano to our clan. I have reached an agreement with the people of northern Shinano, and they have promised not to attack Lord Takikawa." Upon hearing Sanada Nobuyuki's words, Takikawa Kazumasu felt a great sense of relief.

"Thank goodness you were here, you really helped a lot."

"After I return to Kyoto and defeat Akechi Mitsuhide, I will certainly recommend the Sanada family for credit!" Takigawa Kazumasu said with certainty.

After expressing his gratitude, Sanada Nobuyuki continued, "Lord Takikawa, you were personally appointed Kanto Kanrei by Lord Nobunaga. Although I have to leave, my Sanada clan is willing to continue to serve the Oda family and Lord Takikawa."

"I wonder if Lord Takikawa could leave a petition, allowing our clan to summon the people of the land in the name of the Oda clan or Lord Takikawa to fight against the attacks of the Hojo and Uesugi clans?"

After saying that, Nobuyuki Sanada looked at Kazumasu Takigawa with anticipation.

Takigawa Kazumasu had no doubts. During this time, the Sanada family had done so many things, and each and every one of them proved that the Sanada family was a great and loyal retainer!

Kazumasa Takigawa couldn't think of a reason to refuse such a proposal.

If someone is willing to stay and organize defenses to protect the territory, hesitating for even a second longer would be disrespectful to the Sanada family!

Soon, Takikawa Kazumasu wrote the petition in a flurry of strokes, leaving behind the red seal of the Kanto Kanrei and Takikawa Kazumasu's signature.

Nobuyuki Sanada solemnly accepted the invitation, and after confirming its contents, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Why go through all this trouble, even escorting Mori Nagato to ensure Takikawa Kazumasu's safe evacuation, all for this piece of paper?
With him, the Sanada family's military operations in the Shinano and Ueno regions were effectively given official approval.

After all, even if Hideyoshi Hashiba came to power later, he was still nominally a retainer of the Oda clan, and the Oda clan still had a head of the clan.

"Furthermore, Genzaburo, to express our gratitude to the Sanada family, your grandmother and younger brother will be returned to them." After saying this, Takigawa Kazumasu had Takigawa Kazutada bring Kyouun-in and Sanada Nobushige over.

After being separated for many days, the two brothers burst into tears of joy upon seeing each other again.

The next morning, Takigawa Kazumasu specifically summoned Ashida Nobuban as he left the city.

"Hitachi no Suke, from this day forward you will be the magistrate of Omoro Castle. In any case, please do your utmost to assist the Sanada clan in defending the Shinano region. I entrust this to you." Takigawa Kazumasu didn't know whether this former retainer of Takeda could be trusted, but he had no choice but to take the gamble.

After arranging everything, Takigawa Kazumasu led the remaining hostages on a westward march.

This time, Takigawa Kazumasu was not as lucky as Mori Nagayoshi.

Kiso Yoshimasa had made preparations in advance, and arranged the streets of Shinano so tightly that Takigawa Kazumasu had no way to pass through.

Left with no other option, Takigawa Kazumasu could only suggest handing over the families of the Saku district residents he was carrying to Kiso Yoshimasa in order to obtain the right of passage.

Kiso Yoshimasa, who was determined to control Shinano, finally agreed to Takigawa Kazumasu's proposal. After receiving the hostages, Takigawa Kazumasu was finally able to pass through the Kiso clan's territory.

From then on, all of Oda's generals in Shinano, Kai, and Ueno provinces withdrew, and the Kai-Shinano region became a "no man's land".

Standing atop the walls of Komoro Castle, looking at the petition in his hand, Sanada Nobuyuki smiled.

The sky's the limit; the Sanada family's opportunity has finally arrived.

In the near future, the entire Koshin region will be plunged into chaos as various factions fight each other. Whether the Sanada family can rise to power amidst the chaos depends on this opportunity!

They won the gamble, and from then on, the Sanada family rose to prominence in Shinano, taking that crucial first step.

Even if they lose the gamble, the worst outcome would be, as in history, relying on Uesugi to protect their territory in a small prefecture.

Since we're already here, why not give it our all? Wouldn't it be a waste of our time here?
(End of this chapter)