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

Chapter 74 Hojo Ujinao: I will definitely come back!
"Uesugi has gone into battle?"

Upon hearing the news of the Uesugi clan's deployment at Hojo Ujinao's main camp in Minowa Castle, Hojo Ujinao was so frightened that he almost dropped his chair.

"Does the Uesugi family still have the resources to launch an attack on Kanto today?"

When Uesugi Kenshin succeeded Yamauchi Uesugi as head of the Yamauchi Uesugi clan, he marched south from Echigo under the title of Kanto Kanrei. The Kanto daimyo responded in droves, and the allied forces of 100,000 men marched straight to Odawara Castle.

During that period, it could be said that it was the first time the Hojo clan had been so badly attacked that they didn't even dare to leave their castle.

Since Uesugi Kenshin withdrew from Kanto, the Uesugi clan's influence had not expanded into the Kanto region for a long time, and Hojo Ujinao never thought that the Uesugi clan would be able to send troops.

“If it’s Uesugi, things will get complicated.” Hojo Ujinao said with a sense of dread, a chilling memory washing over the minds of all the Hojo samurai present.

The Echigo Dragon, who once struck fear into the hearts of the Kanto region, left an immense psychological scar on the entire Hojo family.

But Hojo Ujinao quickly realized what was happening and hurriedly asked, "How many troops did the Uesugi clan mobilize?"

Kasahara Yasukatsu quickly replied, "According to reports from the front, the number should be around a thousand."

"Hahahaha!" Hojo Ujinao laughed immediately after hearing this, finding his earlier worries amusing. "If it's just a mere thousand men, what's there to worry about?"

I am the head of the Kanto Hojo clan. What is there to worry about with only a thousand men?
Even if Uesugi Kenshin were to rise from the dead and personally lead the Echigo army, so what? My Hojo clan is no longer what it used to be!

"It's one thousand people per day."

Unexpectedly, Kasahara Yasunari continued with a mournful face, saying, "For three consecutive days, every morning a force of soldiers has entered Numata Castle, ranging from more than a thousand men to as few as seven or eight hundred."

"What?" Hojo Ujinao stared in disbelief, his face visibly changing color.

"Such important information, couldn't you just say it all at once?" Hojo Ujinao glared at Kasahara Yasukatsu with annoyance.

"Stop the attack on Numata Castle for now, and send out more scouts to investigate and confirm the number of Uesugi clan reinforcements."

"Yes."

Soon after Kasahara Yasukatsu returned to Numata Castle, he ordered the castle to remain in its place and sent two reconnaissance units to the Tone River line.

However, the Uesugi clan's reinforcements continued to enter Numata Castle slowly, at a rate of about 1000 men per day, followed by huge cheers from within the castle.

Kasahara Yasukatsu compiled the intelligence from the past few days and discovered that the troops and their cavalry markings entering Numata Castle were different each day.

Yesterday it was Amakasu Omi-no-kami, today it's Naoe-yama-no-kami, and tomorrow a new force under the banner of other Uesugi retainers will enter Numata Castle.

After seven or eight days of this, Kasahara Yasukatsu could no longer sit still.

"My lord, another Uesugi clan reinforcement entered Numata Castle an hour ago. Including the previous ones, there are at least seven thousand men now," Kasahara Yasukatsu said urgently.

Hojo Ujinao was also panicking.

If we attack Sanada and attract Uesugi, then all the efforts of the Hojo clan will have been in vain.
After months of wrestling with the Tokugawa in Kai, if they were to engage in a similar struggle with the Uesugi clan in Ueno, even a powerful clan like the Hojo would find it difficult to cope.

"No, I must go and tell my father about this immediately."

"Pass on my order: the offensive against Numata Castle and Masahashi Castle shall be temporarily halted. We shall make a decision once I return from Hachigata Castle."

"what!"

Hojo Ujinao rode his horse at breakneck speed and entered Hachigata Castle that very night.

After finding Hojo Ujimasa, Hojo Ujinao immediately reported the latest intelligence from the front.

Hojo Ujimasa was worried about the Satake family's movements, and when he heard that the Uesugi family had come again, he immediately lost his appetite.

As he had his page take away his beloved ochazuke (rice with tea), Hojo Ujimasa paced back and forth inside the palace of Hachigata Castle. "The Uesugi family is truly like a centipede that doesn't die easily; even today, they still harbor ill intentions towards Ueno."

"Damn it, the Satake clan is also launching an offensive. If this continues, won't our main clan be forced to fight on three fronts?"

"The third line?" Hojo Ujinao was stunned. "Besides Satake, where else is there?"

"I just received news that Princess Kiku has passed away." Hojo Ujimasa said with a helpless expression.

Kikuhime, whom Hojo Ujimasa mentioned, was his younger sister, the daughter of Hojo Ujiyasu, and the second wife of Satomi Yoshiyori, the head of the Satomi clan of Awa.

Before Kikuhime, Satomi Yoshiyori's principal wife was the daughter of Hojo Ujimasa. In order to eliminate the long-standing threat posed by the Satomi clan to the Hojo family's rear, Hojo Ujimasa began to maintain peace with the Satomi family.

She married off two of her daughters to the Lijian family.

When they attacked Kai before, the Satomi family also sent a force as reinforcements to fight alongside Hojo Ujitada, but they were defeated by Torii Mototada of the Tokugawa family in the Battle of Kurogumo.

Not long after the Satomi family's reinforcements withdrew, Kikuhime died of illness in Awa.

With Kikuhime's death, the alliance between Hojo and Satomi collapsed. Although such alliances based on marriage are relatively stable, they can also dissipate with the end of the marriage.

"The Satomi family is amassing troops, and they probably intend to invade." Hojo Ujimasa was at his wits' end.

Is the Sanada family a hornet's nest? How come they cause so much trouble just by poking at it?

The key figures are Uesugi, Satake, and Satomi—none of them are easy to mess with.

"What should we do next?" Hojo Ujinao was getting impatient. Now they had enemies to the north, east, and south. If it weren't for the recent marriage alliance with the Tokugawa family, the Hojo family would be surrounded by enemies on all sides.

Hojo Ujimasa sighed.

"Ugh."

"The Uesugi clan's reinforcements have entered Numata Castle, making it impossible to capture the castle now."

“After spring arrives, Satake will definitely launch an offensive. We can’t continue to drag this out.”

"Let's make peace with Sanada," Hojo Ujimasa said through gritted teeth, clearly unwilling to accept defeat.

Hojo Ujinao took several deep breaths, clearly struggling to accept the situation.

But this is the situation the Hojo clan is facing now. Even if the two of them are unwilling, they can only admit that Numata Castle is indeed impossible to take.

"What's bothering you?"

"We'll deal with Satomi and Satake next year, then attack Numata Castle. Numata Castle has stood here for decades, are we afraid it will run away?" Hojo Ujimasa couldn't help but say, looking at Hojo Ujinao's worried face.

Hojo Ujina is really angry.

They failed to capture Shinano, failed to seize Kai, and now they are helpless even with Numata Castle in Ueno.

He led an army of 50,000 into battle, but failed to capture a single thing. What will his retainers and the people think of him when he returns?

Despite being the head of the household for so many years, real power has always been in the hands of Hojo Ujimasa.

If things continue like this, when will I ever be able to truly be in charge?
"I will listen to my father."

"I'm leaving, I'm leaving!" The Hojo clan never had the courage to question Hojo Ujimasa's decision.

"Numata Castle! I, Hojo Ujinao, will definitely return!"

Ueno, Mabashi Castle.

Hojo Takahiro has resigned himself to his fate.

Early this morning, Hojo Takahiro ordered all the food in the castle to be taken out so that the foot soldiers guarding the castle could have a good meal.

Generally speaking, the food served to the side facing the siege is not very good.

Because it was unknown how long the siege would last, in order to avoid food shortages, the daily food rations were always supplied in short quantities, and going hungry was the norm.

If food supplies are suddenly increased one day, it can only mean one thing: the city is about to fall.

He munched on the rice ball wrapped with pickled plum in his hand; it was the best rice ball Hojo Takahiro had eaten in the past twenty-odd days.

After wolfing down his rice ball, Hojo Takahiro, who was about to give the order to open the castle, looked up and suddenly noticed that the Hojo army outside the castle was actually retreating.

? ? ? ? ?

what's the situation.

Not only at Masahashi Castle, but also at Numata Castle to the north.

As Yazawa Yoriyasu watched the Hojo clan's troops slowly retreat, he couldn't help but raise his spear and shout excitedly, "The enemy has retreated! Our clan has won!"

"Hey! Hey!" Yazawa Yoriyasu faced the crowd and raised his spear, starting the conversation.

"Oh!"

More than a thousand Sanada clan foot soldiers and a thousand Uesugi clan foot soldiers celebrated together all day long.

Amakasu Kagetsugu was completely baffled, and he couldn't understand why the Hojo clan had actually withdrawn their troops.

He had simply followed Sanada Nobuyuki's advice, leading the Uesugi family into Numata Castle in the early morning, then leaving under cover of night, and re-entering the castle the next day.

Is that why the Hojo clan withdrew their troops?
　The illustrations in this chapter are from the 1990 film "Heaven and Earth," a rare Japanese film with grand war scenes. Interested readers can check it out.

　　Although much of the content is fictional, the scenes are indeed visually appealing.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)