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

Chapter 34: The Capture of Uehara Castle!
During the conquest of Koshu, all the defensive structures of Uehara Castle, except for the Honmaru and Ninomaru located on the mountaintop, were destroyed.

After Suwa Yoritada returned to Uehara Castle, he temporarily built a gate at the foot of the mountain to assert sovereignty and to collect taxes from passing merchants.

Therefore, the areas that were originally defensive fortifications in Yamashita have now become castle town areas.

It was already late at night, and dawn would be breaking soon.

This was the time of day when people were most tired, and many of the foot soldiers on duty had already fallen asleep leaning against the city wall.

Under the cover of night, Sasuke stealthily made his way from the castle town to the foot of Uehara Castle's walls, then threw out a grappling hook that snagged on the wall.

In the blink of an eye, Sasuke had already appeared on the city wall.

Immediately afterwards, thirty Mochizuki clan ninjas under Hota Sakubei's command followed suit and swiftly climbed the top of Uehara Castle.

Sanada Nobuyuki leaned against the door and nodded to Sasuke. "Let's do it!"

Outside Uehara Castle, Oyamada Shigeaki paced anxiously back and forth under a tree, glancing nervously towards the castle every now and then.

Soon, flames were lit on the city gate.

Oyamada Shigeaki was overjoyed and immediately drew his sword, shouting, "Lord Genzaburo has succeeded! Everyone, charge!"

"Oh!"

Behind Oyamada Shigemasa stood five hundred Sanada clan foot soldiers, ready for battle.

At the command, a dark mass of people, holding torches high, rushed towards Uehara Castle.

In the darkness, many people fell to the ground because they couldn't see the road, but they quickly got up and continued on their way.

Sanada Nobuyuki had promised that each person would be rewarded with a koku of rice after the castle was captured.

That's a bushel of rice, enough for a family to eat for a long time if they save every penny.

At this moment, the commotion outside the city also reached the city.

When Suwa Yoritada was woken up by his attendant, he seemed very impatient. "What's the matter?"

"My lord, something terrible has happened! A large number of enemy troops have suddenly appeared outside the city!"

"What?" Suwa Yoritada was no longer sleepy and immediately sat up. "Weren't the Hojo clan's troops blocking Wakakami Castle? How come there are enemy troops here?"

Suwa Yoritada subconsciously assumed that the Tokugawa clan had attacked.

"Quickly, everyone, get up to the city wall immediately!" Suwa Yoritada ordered anxiously.

"My lord, the outer city's gate has been breached by the enemy!"

Suwa Yoritada was stunned, as if he had heard a joke.

While Suwa Yoritada was still in a daze, another samurai ran in from outside with a look of terror on his face. "My lord, something terrible has happened! The enemy army has entered the city!"

Suwa Yoritada was even more bewildered. Uehara Castle Honmaru was located at the summit of Mount Kinpira (978 meters above sea level). Even if it were attacked, it wouldn't be captured so quickly.

"Enemy troops disguised as a caravan have infiltrated the town and outer castle. They launched a night attack on the foot soldiers guarding the castle and opened the gates!"

"Lord Kojima is defending the Ninomaru Tiger's Mouth (Tiger's Mouth: the connecting point between different areas of the castle), fighting to the death with Saburo, Saemon and others. Outside, there are dark masses of people and torches, and the enemy forces number at least several thousand."

Suwa Yoshitada is dead.

"What are the Hojo family doing, allowing such a large army to appear at Uehara Castle?"

"My lord, let's retreat quickly. There are no enemy troops in the direction of Kuwabara Castle (a branch castle of Uehara Castle). The enemy hasn't even reached the mountainside yet. If we delay any longer, it will be too late."

Suwa Yoritada finally realized what was happening and quickly ran out.

After running a few steps, Suwa Yoritada pointed to the side of the house and said, "Kotaro, take Kotaro with you."

At this time, the Sanada family had already taken control of the Otemon gate of Uehara Castle and the Kokuchi leading to the Honmaru, located at the foot of Mount Kinpira.

After entering the city, Shigemasa Oyamada immediately met up with Nobuyuki Sanada.

Sanada Nobuyuki immediately gave the order, "Brother-in-law, take the citadel immediately, and do not let Suwa Yoritada escape."

"Understood, watch me!" Oyamada Shigeaki immediately led his troops forward.

In the dark, Nobuyuki Sanada was afraid that someone might be hiding in the shadows and shooting at him, so he didn't plan to go into battle himself.

The saying "a wise man does not stand under a dangerous wall" is not really about being afraid of death.

The Sanada clan split into three groups: Oyamada Shigemasa led 200 men to charge up the main citadel, Horita Sakubei led more than 100 men to search for the remaining enemy, and Takanashi Naiki led the rest of the men to attack Kuwabara Castle, which was not far away.

After arranging everything, Sanada Nobuyuki seemed to remember something and quickly went up to the gate tower.

Outside the turret, two Sanada family foot soldiers were guarding the entrance.

"Is the person inside awake?" Nobuyuki Sanada asked.

"No, sir."

He must be really drunk; all that noise didn't wake him up.

Nobuyuki Sanada pushed open the door, walked to Sadakisa Ogasawara's side, and then gave him a hard push.

After pushing for quite a while, Ogasawara Sadakichi finally managed to sit up.

Barely opening his eyes, Ogasawara Sadayoshi was startled; the sounds of battle shouting from inside the castle had already reached his ears.

"Lord Ogasawara, you're awake?" Seeing Sanada Nobuyuki's smiling face, Ogasawara Sadakiyoshi seemed to realize something and instinctively reached for his sword.

"Lord Ogasawara, stop looking. This place is now full of my people."

Ogasawara Sadayoshi was now utterly despondent, but completely sober. He lowered his head resignedly and asked, "Who are you people?"

"A samurai of the Tokugawa clan?"

Sanada Nobuyuki shook his head. "I am Sanada Genzaburo, and my father is Sanada Awa no Kami."

"Sanada?"

"You're not against the Hojo, so have you joined the Tokugawa?" Ogasawara Sadayoshi's eyes were filled with shock.

Sanada Nobuyuki sat down and continued, "My Sanada family are vassals of the Oda clan. Isn't it only natural for us to fight alongside the Tokugawa family?"

“Lord Ogasawara, would you like to chat?” Nobuyuki Sanada pointed to the empty seat next to him.

"What do you want to talk about?" Ogasawara Sadayoshi looked like a dead pig that wasn't afraid of boiling water. "If you want to kill me, then do it now. If you want to humiliate me, then you don't need to."

"Look at what you're saying. Just now, Lord Ogasawara was drinking with me. We should be friends."

"What exactly are you trying to say?" Ogasawara Sadakashi was also unsure of Sanada Nobuyuki's true intentions.

Sanada Nobuyuki slowly said, "Didn't Lord Ogasawara want to revitalize the family name?"

"My Sanada family can help you achieve your wish."

“Sanada?” Ogasawara Sadakashi was stunned. “The Sanada family has such power?”

"Lord Ogasawara, let's not worry about whether it's possible or not. What I'm asking is whether you want to."

Of course!
Ogasawara Sadayoshi dreamed of it.

Although he didn't understand why the Sanada family dared to say such things, Ogasawara Sadayoshi had no other choice at this point.

It was easy to die a heroic death, but when he thought of the heavy responsibility of reviving his family name, Ogasawara Sadakashi knew that his life was probably going to be handed over to the Sanada family.

No one will give you anything for no reason; everything comes at a price.

"Tell me, what does the Sanada family intend to do?"

Nobuyuki Sanada smiled. "Lord Ogasawara is a smart man, and I enjoy dealing with smart people the most."

"It's very simple. I hope that Lord Ogasawara can make a trip to Fukashi Castle."

"What are we going to Fukashi Castle for?" Ogasawara Sadakashi was somewhat reluctant. If he wanted to go, he would have gone long ago. Otherwise, how could he have ended up in Sanada Nobuyuki's hands in Uehara Castle?

"how?"

"Does Lord Ogasawara not want to reclaim Fukashi Castle?"

At this moment, Nobuyuki Sanada seemed like the wolf in sheep's clothing trying to coax Little Red Riding Hood to open the door.

"Do you perhaps have a way?"

Under the expectant gaze of Ogasawara Sadayoshi, Sanada Nobuyuki slowly leaned close to Ogasawara Sadayoshi's ear and whispered something.

Ogasawara Sadayoshi's eyes lit up instantly.

If the god is to be the head of the Hojo clan.

"Why is it brown rice again?" Hojo Ujinao looked at the bowl of brown rice in his hand with disdain. Just because his father liked it didn't mean he liked it too.

"Has the follow-up military rations not arrived yet? What's Ueno doing?" Hojo Ujinao said angrily.

Kasahara Yasukatsu quickly replied, "My lord, our small pack animal caravan is already two days late. Shall I take some men to urge them on?"

Just as Hojo Ujinao was about to nod, Hojo Ujifusa walked in from outside, looking at Hojo Ujinao with a solemn expression.

"My lord, something terrible has happened."

"The Sanada family has joined the Tokugawa side!"

Hojo Ujinao stared at Hojo Ujifusa in disbelief for a long time before finally exclaiming, "What did you say?!"

"How dare the Sanada family?"

"The Sanada clan attacked Uehara Castle, and Suwa Yoritada was captured by Sanada clan foot soldiers after fleeing to Kuwabara Castle. Suwa District is now under the control of the Sanada clan."

"In addition, Xiaozhu City has begun to besiege the city, and our small pack animal caravan is blocked at Duibing Pass and cannot get through at all."

"In two more days, the army will run out of food."

After hearing Hojo Ujifusa's report, Hojo Ujinao felt a surge of energy rush to his head.

boom!
Hojo Ujinao kicked over the stool he was sitting on, shouting furiously, "Send troops to Komoro Castle immediately! I want to kill Sanada Awa no Kami and his son!"

"My lord, don't be impulsive." Kasahara Yasukatsu quickly stepped forward and pulled Hojo Ujinao back.

"In Kai, there is also the Tokugawa army, and the Uesugi clan is eyeing Kaizu Castle covetously."

“If our main clan attacks Sanada territory now, we will be caught in a pincer movement between Tokugawa and Uesugi, which would be a huge loss,” Kasahara Yasukatsu quickly advised.

Hojo glared at Kasahara Yasukatsu and said, "Then you tell me, what should we do now?"

(End of this chapter)