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

Chapter 50 Masayuki is very busy!

The next morning, Nobuyuki Sanada got up very early.

Since it was Morinaga's residence, Sanada Nobuyuki dared not wander around, as there were still many women in the castle.

It wouldn't be good to be too forward with the lady.

As for waiting for Mori Nagayoshi to get up, Sanada Nobuyuki quickly took his leave.

"Genzaburo, are you really not going to stay a few more days?"

"After I've finished defeating the enemy, let's have a good drink together," Mori Nagayoshi said, trying to persuade him to stay.

Sanada Nobuyuki quickly replied, "I still have a lot of things to do in Shinano. I am eager to return home. If I have the opportunity in the future, I will definitely come to Kaneyama Castle again to drink and have fun with Musashi-no-kami."

"It's a deal!" Since Sanada Nobuyuki had said so, Morinaga didn't insist.

“In that case, I will send a hundred riders to escort Genzaburo into Ena County.”

“The Toyama family of Naegi Castle doesn’t get along with me, so the rest of the journey is up to you, Genzaburo,” Mori Nagayoshi continued.

Sanada Nobuyuki did not refuse Mori Nagayoshi's kindness, as that would seem too distant.

It was said to be one hundred riders, but it was actually one hundred foot soldiers.

Sanada Nobuyuki and his men could have traveled faster on horseback, but because of the presence of these foot soldiers, they were slowed down.

However, as Morinaga said, Mino is indeed not peaceful now, and there are the figures of warrior hunters in four or five villages along the way.

If it weren't for the protection of these hundred-plus foot soldiers, Sanada Nobuyuki really wouldn't have dared to go any further.

After walking for a short while, the foot soldiers following behind Sanada Nobuyuki stopped.

At this moment, a samurai stepped out from the crowd and said to Sanada Nobuyuki, "Lord Sanada, Naegi Castle is not far ahead. I can only escort you this far."

"Good work."

“Yojuro!” Sanada Nobuyuki winked at Kasuga no Yotada beside him.

The latter immediately understood, then took out a cloth bag from his pocket and handed it to the other person. Judging from the clanging of metal, it should be full of copper coins.

"This is just a small token of my appreciation. Please buy some wine when you return to Jinshan City," Sanada Nobuyuki said with a smile.

Unexpectedly, the other party directly refused, saying, "Does Lord Sanada look down on us?"

"If it weren't for Lord Sanada's escort that day, how could our lord have returned to Mino safely?"

"Compared to Lord Sanada's kindness, what we have done today is but a drop in the ocean."

Sanada Nobuyuki immediately became respectful, dismounted, and walked up to the other man, asking, "I apologize for my intrusion. May I ask your name?"

"My name is Kagami Shinjiro!" Kagami Motomasa bowed to Sanada Nobuyuki, then continued, "I must go and catch up with my lord. Farewell, Lord Sanada."

"Take care." This kind of magnanimous samurai deserves Sanada Nobuyuki's respect.

The 12th day of the 9th month of the 10th year of the Tianzheng era.

Sanada Nobuyuki has been away from Shinano for several days now, and all the affairs of Shinano, big and small, have fallen on Sanada Masayuki's shoulders.

Sanada Masayuki used to dream of becoming the lord of Shinano and reclaiming the former territory of the Takeda clan.

However, when the real responsibility fell on his shoulders, Masayuki Sanada found it somewhat difficult to adapt. Mainly, there were just too many things to handle, and he simply couldn't manage them all.

Previously, the Sanada family only controlled three counties: Oki, Azuma, and Tone, with a total koku (a unit of rice measure) of less than 70,000. Managing them was not a difficult task at all.

However, Sanada Masayuki is currently overwhelmed with work managing the entire Shinano territory, which contains over 300,000 koku (including the local people, not the directly owned ones).

Most importantly, the Hojo and Tokugawa clans were still locked in fierce combat in Kai Province to the south, and Sanada Masayuki also had to devote some of his energy to dealing with the threat posed by the Hojo clan.

I really can't be in both places at once.

"If Genzaburo were here, he could at least share some of the burden with me." Sanada Masayuki inexplicably missed the days when Sanada Nobuyuki was around.

At that moment, Kawahara Tsuna walked in from outside.

"My lord, the families of the people have all moved to Iwato Castle. I have already asked Lord Tsuneta to build houses for them."

Fearing that Toishi Castle might be attacked, Sanada Masayuki moved all the families of the Shinano no Kunihito to Iwato Castle in Ueno in advance.

Iwato Castle is located in the Azuma River Valley, surrounded by mountains on all sides. Only a narrow passage connects Numata Castle and Toishi Castle, making it a truly easy-to-defend and difficult-to-attack place.

Sanada Masayuki suggested that Takeda Katsuyori go to Iwatoku Castle because he considered that the castle would not be easily captured.

These hostages held by the Sanada family are crucial to their rule over Shinano, and Sanada Masayuki must handle them with utmost care.

"Yajiro, inform Ashida Hitachi no Suke in Komoro Castle to closely monitor the movements of the Hojo clan."

"Understood." Kawahara Tsunaie had just left Toishi Castle Honmaru when he ran into Sanada Nobuyuki, who looked travel-worn.

"Lord Genzaburo, you're finally back!" Kawahara Tsunaie said excitedly.

Nobuyuki Sanada nodded. "Where is Father?"

"Our lord is in the main hall."

Sanada Nobuyuki didn't waste any time and ran straight into the palace.

"Father, I'm back!"

Seeing that Sanada Nobuyuki looked exhausted, Sanada Masayuki quickly asked with concern, "Was the journey smooth?"

"Fortunately, although we encountered some fallen warrior hunters, it was all without serious danger."

"How did things go?" Sanada Masayuki's heart was in his throat.

Sanada Nobuyuki deliberately kept everyone in suspense, and only when Sanada Masayuki could no longer contain himself did Sanada Nobuyuki pull out the vermilion-stamped document from his pocket.

Sanada Masayuki eagerly snatched the red seal from Sanada Nobuyuki's hand and read its contents word by word.

When he saw the last seal with the four large characters "天下布武" (meaning "Unify the world by force"), Sanada Masayuki's vermilion seal slowly slipped from his hand, and he was completely stunned.

Nobuyuki Sanada remained silent, simply watching Masayuki Sanada.

After a long while, a tear slid down Sanada Masayuki's cheek. Sanada Masayuki quickly turned away, wiped his eye, and said in a choked voice, trying to sound okay, "I got some sand in my eye, haha."

“Father, stop pretending. If you want to cry, just cry.”

Nobuyuki Sanada crossed his arms, looking like he was watching a show.

“Nonsense, when have I, Sanada Awa no Kami, ever shed a tear?” Sanada Masayuki raised an eyebrow and said, feigning authority.

Sanada Nobuyuki did not expose him, but continued, "With the Oda family's approval, our main family's control over Shinano is secure."

"I just don't know how the battle is going in Kai."

Sanada Masayuki had already adjusted his mindset and sat down again before slowly saying, "The situation remains tense. Although the Hojo clan has the advantage in numbers, they have been unable to break through the Tokugawa army's defenses for a long time."

"I wonder how much longer this will take, sigh."

"Winter is just around the corner," Nobuyuki Sanada suddenly reminded him.

Sanada Masayuki suddenly came to his senses. "Yes, after winter comes, the Usui Pass area will become even more difficult to traverse, and the Hojo clan's logistics will be even more strained."

With an army of tens of thousands, the daily food and supplies for the people and horses were astronomical.

Although the Sanada clan dared not deploy too many troops, the small detachments they sent out every day to harass the Hojo clan's pack animals caused them considerable trouble.

"In that case, unless the Hojo clan can defeat the Tokugawa clan this month, the Hojo will definitely withdraw their troops."

Sanada Nobuyuki shook his head. "It's difficult. If the Tokugawa clan could be defeated so easily, the two sides wouldn't have been locked in a stalemate in Kai for so long."

"Most importantly, the people of Kai have all sided with Tokugawa Mikawa-no-kami, so there is no need for the Hojo clan to continue fighting this battle."

Sanada Masayuki frowned, and after thinking for a long time, his brows gradually relaxed.

"In that case, let's give the Hojo clan another push!"

"What does father mean?"

Sanada Masayuki didn't speak, but instead shouted loudly out the window, "Sasuke!"

A gust of wind blew by, and the window opened with a snap, revealing Sasuke already standing in front of it.

　Kagami Motomasa: Commonly known as Jinjiro or Hyogosuke, his mother was the younger sister of Toki Yoriyoshi, the governor of Mino.

　　He initially served Saito Dosan and later became a retainer of the Mori clan.

　　During the conquest of Koshu, Kagami Motonari was the first to breach Takato Castle, which was defended by Nishina Morinobu. Takeda Nobukatsu was also personally executed by Kagami Motonari.

　　After the war, Mori Nagayoshi was assigned to Shinano, while the former territory of Mino was managed by Mori Nagayoshi's younger brother, Mori Shigetoshi.

　　Therefore, Masayuki returned to Mino to serve as Mori Naritoshi's chief retainer.

　　However, Mori Naritoshi had been handling affairs in Kyoto and died there during the Honnoji Incident.

　　During this period, Jinshan City was under the administration of the Minister of Works until Mori Nagako returned to his territory.

　　After that, Kagami Motomasa served the Mori clan as a senior retainer, holding a fief of 8,000 koku.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)