The Self-Cultivation of Warring States Warriors

Page 130

Shioji Kagoshi had already established connections with the Kubo family through Nasa Yamatosuke's relationship, so he naturally agreed to ask the Kubo family for help.

Two years ago, Ōtagaki Terunobu received the title "Teru" by presenting Ikuno silver coins. He considered himself a loyal retainer of the Ashikaga family and believed that inviting "San'in Toriji," who was recognized by the shogunate, to enter the country was not a bad choice.

Yamana Yutaka, who was not a person with much of a sense of the big picture, nodded in agreement.

Then Muto Shunsuke, carrying a personal letter from the governor of Tajima, arrived at Kohama Castle in Wakasa Province, met with Shinzaburo, and recounted the whole story.

This includes his process of gaining the trust of Yamana Yutaka, befriending many local gentry and local figures, and secretly creating conflicts to induce the Tayusho family and the Kakiya family to become sworn enemies.

Shinzaburo was naturally overjoyed.

Now, the vast land of Shanyin truly holds great promise!

At the same time, he did not forget to encourage Mutō Shunshū: "If you can pacify Tajima, I will report to the shogunate and the Miyoshi family and appoint you to oversee the area!"

While feeling triumphant, Muto Shunsuke repeatedly expressed his loyalty: "Even if I gain the appreciation of the nobles above, I will never forget the kindness of Lord Kubo Sado."

247 Heroes from Shanyin and Shanyang arrive

In early 1561, Shinzaburo, as the "San'in Teruji" recognized by the shogunate and the Miyoshi family, mobilized all the troops of the Kubo family and marched westward by land and water, concentrating at Kumihama in western Tango Province. Then, he crossed the Kawarashi Pass and entered Tajima territory in the presence of Yamana Yutaka.

For this mobilization, three-quarters of the seven Wakasa units went into battle, totaling four thousand men, all under the command of the general; the lord of Ōyū Castle in Tanba and Kawakatsuie went into battle with two-thirds of the units, each leading five or six hundred soldiers, under the command of Kubo Shingoro Hiroaki; the 650 men from Kumano District of Tango were led by Matsukura Masanobu, the younger brother of Itsumi Masatsune; and the 900 men from Takeno District of Tango were nominally under the command of Takaya Kumataro Akimasa.

In addition to these conscripted soldiers, Shinzaburo also had dozens of close retainers, over a hundred arquebusiers, and five hundred guards as his direct troops.

Wakasa's governor, Takeda Yoshitomo, used illness as an excuse not to participate in the campaign. However, Tomita Nagashige, whom the Asakura family had placed beside him, came to the camp with great enthusiasm, bringing with him many former retainers of Wakasa who had lost territory.

Logically, with Shinzaburo leaving Obama Castle, it should have been a perfect opportunity for them to secretly plot something. However, Tomita Nagashige clearly had his own plans and did not intend to fight for power in Wakasa.

Isshiki Fujinaga, representing the shogunate and acting as regent in Kenbeyama Castle, claimed that his territory was devastated and he was unable to fight, but he sent 100 kan of cash and 300 koku of grain as a token of his goodwill.

Shinzaburo also invited Naito Munekatsu, the governor of Danzhou, to join the army, but due to the incidents in Taki and Hero counties where remnants of the Hatano clan attacked and killed officials and robbed tax money, he was unable to spare the time.

It's not necessarily that he can't spare a single moment; in any case, he's unwilling to come.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing for the Kubo family.

In total, more than 7,000 people eventually went to Tajima.

Starting from Ohama Castle, it's 110 kilometers from the front lines, and the road conditions are unstable, requiring a full seven days' journey. Sea transport would be much faster, but there aren't enough ships. Therefore, a combination of land and sea transport is necessary.

By the time we arrived at our destination, we were all exhausted and covered in dust.

Fortunately, the Tajima governor, Yamana Yutaka, is currently an ally. He had set up a supply depot near the Konosumi Castle in eastern Tajima, allowing his soldiers to rest and recharge before launching another attack.

It was only right for Yamana Yutaka to do this.

After all, Kubo had traveled a long way to come, theoretically to help him defeat the "traitors".

Yamana Yutaka, as the governor of Tajima, currently only has a force of a little over a thousand men under his command. This is only because Shioji Kagoshi of Nikata District and Otagaki Terunobu of Asagi District are willing to support him out of respect for the "nobleman of the capital".

On the other hand, the "traitor" Mitsunari Kakiya, as the deputy governor, could only muster a little over two thousand men at most, which was no match for the Kubo army. Naturally, he had to seek help from his newly allied ally—the Mori family of Aki.

Thus, this campaign became associated with the dynastic change in the Western Kingdom.

As is widely known, after Amago Haruhisa's death, the main theme among the local people in San'in and San'yo regions was to follow Mori Motonari in eliminating the remnants of Amago's faction and sharing the spoils in the process.

It was during this process that Mitsunari Kakiya sided with the Mori family.

Shinzaburo's entry into Tajima signifies that the Miyoshi clan, the dominant power in the Kinki region, intends to support the Amago clan and curb the Mori clan's power.

Naturally, pro-Mori forces in the vicinity rallied together to support Kakiya and fight against Kubo.

The main ones are Inaba Takeda Takanobu, Mimasaku Miura Sadahisa, and Harima Unomura Yorizo.

In particular, Takeda Takanobu, who is said to have more than 3,000 soldiers and was invincible in Inaba, should not be underestimated.

If they could truly defeat the renowned "Tanba Zhong Kui," they would not only gain fame but also have the opportunity to extend their reach into Tajima, seizing territory or plundering during the chaos. Therefore, they still possess a basic fighting spirit.

Out of consideration for the united front, Shinzaburo even sent a Zen monk to Izumo Province to visit and discuss whether he could help exonerate the Shingu faction, but unfortunately, Amago Yoshihisa resolutely refused.

The situation became somewhat awkward for a moment.

Although Kubo's army entered western Japan to help Amago and contain the Mori, it was met with suspicion from Amago Yoshihisa.

Fortunately, this did not affect Shinzaburo's determination to send troops.

This only broke the hearts of Takemura Hideki and the other survivors of the Shingu Party.

……

However, the stronghold of the Masagosho Daigakiya family, Tsurumine Castle, is located in a narrow basin at the junction of Mount Ōoka, Mount Komyo, and Mount Myōken. Although small in area, it is home to five tributaries of the Maruyama River, making it a fertile and abundant land, a rare treasure in the country.

This is also the foundation upon which they fight against the guardians of the mountain.

Previously, Shinzaburo was surprised by Tajima Ichikuni's extremely low mobilization capacity, but now, after personally investigating for a year and four months, Muto Shunsuke has finally figured out the situation.

According to his explanation, the biggest problem here is that the terrain is too complicated, the transportation is very inconvenient, and there are poor and remote villages everywhere that are difficult to manage. Therefore, it is difficult for the local officials to control the area, and the local officials are also unable to enforce their orders in front of the local tyrants.

Many local tyrants in impoverished and remote areas, despite having seven, eight, or even ten soldiers at their disposal, would only send out two or three when they were called up for military service, completely refusing to cooperate with the actions of their superiors and focusing their main efforts on resisting taxes.

The Kakiya family was able to firmly control twenty or thirty villages in the valley, which meant their level of centralization far surpassed that of their colleagues, making it enough for them to secure their position as governors.

From this perspective, if Shinzaburo were to occupy Tajima in the future, he would also have to worry about issues such as local taxation and public security. At that time, it would be difficult to achieve unification without eliminating a number of households, but if he were to take too drastic measures, it might trigger an uprising and benefit others.

The best we can do is try to place as many of our own people as possible in the system, gradually establish a foothold, and then implement reforms when the time is right.

In any case, these are problems for later; what we need to do right now is win the battle.

Shinzaburo's biggest fear was that Mitsunari Kakiya would retreat to Tsurugamine Castle in the valley, just like the Hatano family had held out in the Shinoyama Basin. Since there were only a few narrow and treacherous paths in and out, it would be very difficult to take on the situation by force.

However, now that Inaba Takeda Takanobu, Mimasaka Miura Sadahisa, and Harima Unomura Yori have gathered their troops, the situation has suddenly become much clearer.

These disorganized rabble lacking a leader are unlikely to withstand the depletion of supplies and will be more inclined to engage in open field battles.

Furthermore, according to Muto Shunshu, "Lord Kubo Sado's name is naturally known to everyone in Tanba, Wakasa, and Tango. However, the samurai in the San'in and San'yo regions have not personally witnessed the power of Kubo's army and will not easily consider themselves inferior. Inaba Takeda, Mimasaka Miura, and Harima Uno are all renowned local warriors, and they must be proud of their own strength!"

At that moment, Kubo Shingoro Hiroaki was standing nearby and couldn't help but ask, "So, just how far have the soldiers of these three powerful clans fared?"

Muto Shunshu looked around and, seeing that there were no other people present, replied: "The military strength of Inaba Takeda is comparable to that of Awaya Ukyo's forces; Mimasaka Miura and Harima Uno are comparable to Itsumi Suruga-no-kami's forces."

"I see." Shingoro stroked his sparsely bearded chin and commented with feigned maturity, "So you could say they are a fighting force even in distant lands, but they are still inferior to my family's elite troops."

Shinzaburo felt that this statement was probably not far off.

Having lived through so many years of the Warring States period, he had his own understanding of the situation among the various states.

If we can't even defeat these local "heroes" from the mountains, how can we talk about building a great cause together? We might as well just cling to a powerful figure and give up.

Speaking of this Muto Shunsuke, he has indeed achieved remarkable results in his work over the past year, effectively orchestrating a change within the Tajimayama family. If his claim of "befriending many wealthy local servants" is true, then the local situation really can only be handled by him.

As for whether it's reliable or not, discussing that question in the Warring States period was too extravagant.

248. Appointing people based solely on their talent, regardless of their background.

In the 16th century, the "irregular time system" was still widely used among the common people in Japan.

This means that sunrise is defined as the exact time of Mao (5-7 AM), and sunset as the exact time of You (5-7 PM). The period between sunrise and sunset is daytime, divided into six two-hour periods; the period from sunset to sunrise the next day is nighttime, also divided into six two-hour periods. In winter, the nights are long and the days are short, so a two-hour period at night will be slightly longer than two hours, and a two-hour period during the day will be slightly shorter than two hours. In summer, the opposite occurs. Only in early spring is the period relatively even.

The advantage of an "irregular timetable" is that it closely reflects actual sunlight and temperature conditions, allowing people to arrange their lives and production activities according to local conditions. However, the disadvantage is that the timetable changes every day, making it difficult to keep accurate time and inconvenient for longitudinal comparisons.

It would be much more convenient to command troops.

Unless you want your soldiers to launch a night raid in complete darkness, regardless of the season, you only need to instruct them to get up at 3 AM and go into battle at 5 AM; there's no need to time it.

To be precise, there is no clock to use. Although European craftsmen have invented portable pocket clocks, they are exorbitantly priced and their performance is questionable, making them very impractical.

Therefore, Shinzaburo still governed the army according to traditional methods and did not attempt to unify the time system or anything like that.

On this day, the spring breeze was still chilly, the grass and trees were newly green, and the first rays of the red sun had already spread across the fields and mountains. A thin mist lingered, and morning dew dripped down, all of which were clearly visible.

The weather was rather chilly for those going out on business or traveling; but for the soldiers, it was just right, so that even when they had to fight in armor later, they wouldn't be too hot to bear.

Shinzaburo's main camp was located in the "Thousand Eyes Temple," a hundred-meter-high building. It was a temple that had been abandoned for several years, with a wide view from east to west, making it suitable for building a battle command post.

This place is called "Shikahara". In the mountainous Tajima Province, it is the only hub connecting all roads, making it a key location for controlling the country's politics and a strategic point of contention for military strategists.

About five kilometers to the east is the mountain castle of Tajima's guardian deity, Yutoyo.

However, Tsurunomine Castle, which protects Mitsunari Daigakiya, is located about 15 or 16 kilometers to the southwest.

This shows that Shinzaburo was forced to accept the challenge today.

A few days ago, after receiving support from Inaba Takeda, Mimasaka Miura, and Harima Uno, the governor of Tajima, Mitsunari Shirogane, gathered more than 8,000 men and launched an attack.

At that time, Kubo's army had just entered Tajima. After learning about the enemy situation, Shinzaburo judged that the area around the mountain castle was too narrow and not conducive to the army's entry and exit. So he led his troops westward to meet the enemy and built a position in the field.

The two sides then faced off for several days in the rainy weather, engaging in several probing attacks and defenses. Finally, today the sky is clear and blue, and it seems that they have reached a tacit understanding to officially begin the war.

Shinzaburo had already made arrangements.

At the northernmost point, on our right flank, were 1,600 men from the Tango, Kumano, and Takeno districts, led by the Ichimonji clan member, Takaya Inotarō Akimasa. From the perspectives of equipment, morale, and command ability, they were the least trustworthy troops. Fortunately, the position was located at the confluence of two small rivers, making it relatively easy to fight using the terrain. At the same time, veteran generals Ōi Shigeie and Inatomi Shigenobu were dispatched with several hundred Wakasa soldiers to assist and serve as advisors.

Four reserve units were dispatched to the central forward position. Awaya and Ichikawa were in the vanguard, while Itsumi and Hongo were in the rear, forming a well-balanced square formation, intending to deal with potential threats with a cautious approach. Due to the long distance of this expedition, only three-quarters of these units were mobilized, but this should be sufficient to deal with the "heroes" of San'in and San'yō. The samurai of Wakasa did not receive official rewards in the previous Tango campaign; however, many of their younger brothers and second sons received governorships in Kumano and Takeno districts, which effectively saved them the expense of arranging for the families' collateral branches, thus still yielding some benefit.

On the southern left flank, Yamana Sukeyo, the governor of Tajima, volunteered to lead the Tajima troops to hold the line. Although he was incapable of suppressing the rebellion alone, he still hoped to regain his reputation through battlefield performance. It seems that while he may be incompetent, his attitude is sincere. The problem is that his troops number only a little over a thousand and their morale is low, so there's not much to expect. Therefore, Shinzaburo ordered the troops of Ōmiya Castle in Tanba and Kawakatsuie to act as a rearguard, ready to provide support at any time. Otherwise, it would be quite troublesome if the actual governor were to die on the battlefield.

Behind the three fronts, naturally, lay Kubo's main force. The true elite troops were hidden within the reserves, intended to be unleashed at a crucial moment to surprise the enemy. In particular, arquebusiers were concentrated in one place.

Based on current intelligence, the people in the mountains opposite are generally poor and rarely see firearms. They would likely be at a loss when faced with a three-digit salvo.

……

After several rounds of symbolic firing, the allied forces supporting the defense of the Daigakiya family launched the first attack.

Accompanied by the deafening roar of drums and conch shells, all three lines on the opposite side started simultaneously.

To the north is Miura from Mimasaka, in the middle is Uno from Harima, and to the south is Mitsunari Kakiya himself.

Even the most renowned Inaba Takeda Takanobu didn't immediately go into battle, indicating that his opponent also had a trump card up his sleeve.

So, it remains to be seen who will be forced to make adjustments first.

As the battle progressed, the right flank and the center quickly reached a stalemate. Kubo's army seemed to have a slight advantage, but it was not enough to turn the advantage into a victory.

Especially in the north, the two sides were locked in a moderate-intensity melee on the shallows across a small river, neither able to achieve a decisive breakthrough. At first, the Tango troops were somewhat unsettled, but fortunately, the detachments led by Oi and Inatomi provided support.

In the open central area, the spearmen formed their ranks and fought methodically. Awaya and Ichikawa had a slight numerical advantage and were steadily advancing, but their progress was slow, and it seemed unlikely they could drive the enemy back before running out of energy.

Miura Misaka and Uno Harima's troops had high morale and a decent armor rate, making them truly combat-ready soldiers.

The situation on the left flank doesn't seem too good.

Yamana Yutaka seemed to be struggling against Kagaya Mitsunari. During the spear confrontation, his formation wavered slightly, and he retreated repeatedly. The commander even had to personally go to the front line to encourage morale.

Shinzaburo hesitated for a moment.

At this moment, Tomita Nagashige, perhaps wanting to show off his insight, bluntly said, "Yana Kingo (Yūyutaka) is in trouble. As the guardian of Tajima Province, he probably shouldn't be in a place where the enemy's swords and spears can reach him."

Tomita Nagashige was lured by Shinzaburo's promises and volunteered to go to the Tajima front to broaden his horizons.

However, he did not have enough private soldiers, so he had to stay at the main camp as a guest retainer. Shinzaburo also deliberately kept him by his side, influencing him through his daily interactions.

Upon hearing Tomita Nagashige's words, Shinzaburo shook his head and said, "While Yamana Kingo may not be considered brave and skilled in battle, he was never afraid of sharp blades and always wanted to achieve something on the battlefield. He was at least a qualified samurai, surpassing the likes of Imagawa and Amago."

This statement clearly implies something left unsaid.

Speaking of daimyo who disliked going to the battlefield, besides Imagawa Ujizane and Amago Yoshihisa, there was Asakura Yoshikage—his former lord who sent Tomita Nagashige to Wakasa to cause trouble.

Therefore, Tomita Nagashige remained silent, feeling awkward and unable to comment on the remarks, only showing a sense of helplessness in his eyes.

Shinzaburo smiled slightly, secretly pleased with himself, knowing that Tomita Nagashige's thoughts were already wavering.

Next, we still need to resolve the immediate battle.

Not long after, on the left flank of the Kubo army, the gun formation of the soldiers under Yamana Yutaka's command became increasingly loose. If the enemy were to launch a samurai squad for a decapitation strike at this moment, the situation would most likely turn bad.

Considering that Inaba Takeda Takanobu's troops on the other side had not yet made their move, Shinzaburo could not send too many reserve troops into battle prematurely. He only planned to give orders to Shingoro and Kawakatsu Tsuguji to get them into the battle as soon as possible.

But at that moment, a dramatic change occurred on the front lines.

Yamana Yutaka retreated repeatedly, while Kakiya Mitsunari pressed forward relentlessly. Suddenly, some armored soldiers emerged from a grove of trees, attacking the Kakiya family's troops from the flank and rear.

"It's Mutou Shunsuke!" Shinzaburo's eyes widened as he stared intently for a moment before recognizing the main character of the scene. Then, a look of surprise and delight flashed across his face. "This thicket can't hold more than a hundred men. Is that really enough?"

“…There is an opportunity.” Tomita Nagashige’s eyes gleamed, and he couldn’t help but speak up. “The Muto-sama you mentioned, and his subordinates, are very swift in their actions and are clearly elite troops.”

As they spoke, they saw Muto Shunshu leading dozens of strong men, nimbly weaving behind Kakiya Mitsunari's troops, like a small boat in a giant wave, seemingly about to capsize but actually moving with ease.

"It seems the situation on the left flank has been turned around." Tomita Nagashige looked at all this, his tone full of admiration. "That Lord Muto is truly well-prepared and ingenious in his planning. And what's most remarkable is his skill in training troops, able to assemble a squad that moves like the wind."

“Well said.” Shinzaburo nodded slightly and said meaningfully, “If we can win this battle by relying on his hard work, I will let him take over the Kakiya family’s territory. The Kubo family’s principle for hiring people is to appoint people based on their talent, regardless of their background.”

Tomita Nagashige lowered his head and remained silent, but a complex and unfathomable light flashed in his eyes.

249 is targeting the elite.

"Whoosh!"