The Self-Cultivation of Warring States Warriors

Page 107

Several months later, nitrate soil is formed. Nitrate soil is then mixed with wood ash and soaked in water to obtain saltpeter. After repeated filtration and boiling at a suitable temperature, it is hoped that saltpeter can be obtained.

Of course, in practice, things wouldn't go so smoothly. With the technology available today, finding a suitable process is about as easy as winning the lottery.

Moreover, they were engaged in a rather sordid industry.

Therefore, Hasegawa Naoki, Kokufu Raito, and Iwamatsu Shigenobu were all somewhat unwilling, and they looked at each other without saying a word.

Shinzaburo understood that doing this kind of thing required initiative, so he made a promise: "Each of the three of us will be responsible for a saltpeter field. If we find enough saltpeter, we will be rewarded with 100 koku; if the cost is lower than the market price, we will be rewarded with another 100 koku; even if we are not very successful, as long as we do our job well, we will be accepted into the family with 40 koku."

Hasegawa, Kokufu, and Iwamatsu finally agreed.

On the contrary, the other eight "Imperial Collection of the People's Hearts" were somewhat envious.

202 Tango's reinforcements

In the autumn and winter of the first year of Eiroku (1558), Shinzaburo, with the idea of ​​recuperation and focusing on domestic affairs, did not launch a large-scale military campaign. Instead, he sent Itsumi Masatsune, Awaya Katsuhisa, and Nasa Yamatosuke with 2,400 men by land and sea to attack the Kumano and Takeno districts of Tango province by taking a detour.

Originally, most of the Tango soldiers were fighting Matsunaga Nagayasu (also known as Naito Munekatsu) on the front lines with Isshiki Yoshimichi, so the Wakasa trio made good progress, occupied a lot of territory, and even captured some "generals" they had never heard of, such as Sano Naizen and Ujiie Sakyo.

However, by mid-November, Naito Munekatsu had made no further progress and returned with 8,000 Tanba soldiers.

Then, Isshiki Gidō's five or six thousand men, without resting, quickly counterattacked Wakasa's flanking force.

Outnumbered and fighting on foreign soil, Itsuki Masatsune and Awaya Katsuhisa suffered a defeat in their engagement with the enemy vanguard. Fortunately, Nasa Yamatosuke maintained control of the naval situation and was able to provide timely support for their retreat.

Overall, they initially won but ultimately lost, with losses roughly equal to kills—considering the possibility of some exaggeration or cover-up, they likely suffered a minor setback.

Katsuhisa Awaya was a very traditional samurai, and Masatsune Itsumi was also quite cautious in his actions.

They were unlikely to rob temples or excessively abuse the people. However, they did manage to capture a few small fortresses and seize some valuables. The surviving soldiers received their share of money and goods, and the dead were not short of compensation, so morale was not low.

Shinzaburo asked about the situation of the Tango army, and Awaya Katsuhisa replied: "Their military preparedness is no less than that of your small force, and they are even more courageous in defending their homeland. They should not be underestimated."

The translated meaning is: average combat power, only strong against defensive warriors.

Another question is, isn't Isshiki Yoshimichi supposed to be a typical hot-blooded samurai, good at fighting but not popular?

Masatsugu Itami explained that initially, some members of the Ishikawa clan, along with their relatives and friends, did join Naito Munekatsu. However, due to the poor discipline of the Tanba occupation forces, which occasionally resulted in bullying and harassment of men and women, the local people of Tango began to feel a sense of shared hatred towards the enemy.

Shinzaburo fully understands this.

These days, the difficulty in conquering cities and seizing territory lies precisely in this.

Feudal lords, when faced with external enemies, would become stubborn holdouts, with their entire families fighting to the death. Without first disrupting the enemy through political means, a direct confrontation would be extremely difficult.

Previously, the people of Tango Province had also been embroiled in internal strife, resulting in some territories in the southeast being first seized by Takeda Nobutoyo and later falling into the hands of Naito Munekatsu. However, now that their infighting has gradually subsided, further expansion is not so easy.

Thus, the Miyoshi faction, or rather, the Miyoshi-Ashikaga faction, came to a standstill in their campaign against Tango.

However, things went relatively smoothly in the Kinki region.

Miyoshi Nagayoshi supported Hatakeyama Takamasa, a descendant of a prominent family, and defeated Yasami Munefusa, who attempted to establish himself as emperor. Then, under the pretext of suppressing the remaining enemy forces, he ordered Miyoshi Yoshikata to lead the Awa army to wipe out the remaining enemies in southern Kawachi Province, Matsunaga Hisahide to lead the Yamashiro army and the Nishi Settsu army to attack the Tsutsui family in Yamato Province, and Togawa Kazumi to lead the Sanuki army to attack the Yukawa family in Kii Province.

The pretext for declaring war was that the Tsutsui and Yukawa families had previously assisted Yasami Munefusa. Ashikaga Yoshiteru also acknowledged this.

Believe it or not, this isn't something Sanhao Changqing made up.

After being expelled from Kawachi Province, Yasami Munefusa did indeed seek help from the Yamato Tsutsui and Kii Yukawa families, and was welcomed.

Sanhao Changqing mobilized tens of thousands of people, launched a three-pronged attack, and quickly achieved victories on all fronts, yielding considerable results and demonstrating tremendous momentum.

Behind the military victory were two powerful forces: the Ashikaga family, the shogunate, and the Hatakeyama family, which held great prestige in Kawachi, Kii, and Yamato.

For a time, they were the most popular.

Of course, following the original "plot" trajectory, the Miyoshi family will soon face an extremely powerful encirclement.

Shinzaburo, a history enthusiast, knew the basics, but he felt he lacked the ability and motivation to change history.

Interestingly, besides Miyoshi, the actions of some other daimyo also had a butterfly effect on Tanba and Wakasa.

A few years ago, when Shinzaburo went on a diplomatic mission to the Mori clan in the western provinces, didn't he witness the Battle of Itsukushima?

After that, the once powerful Ōuchi family quickly collapsed and is now merely a shell of its former self.

Suo and Nagato were given to the Mori clan, Iwami to the Amago clan, and the territory of northern Kyushu to the Ōtomo clan.

This moment was like the partitioning of Poland.

In this way, the Mori clan became a powerful daimyo in Shikoku, not much smaller than the Amago clan. Although the Mori clan's degree of unification was very low, the Amago clan wasn't much better; they were on the same level.

Therefore, Mori Motonari made up his mind to take the Iwami Ginzan from Amago Haruhisa.

As a result, in a series of battles, the Mori army suffered repeated defeats and was driven to flee in disarray by the Amago army.

However, Mori Motonari, as the "God of Schemes in the West," was very clear-headed. If he couldn't win a direct confrontation, he would try to find a way from the side. He set his sights on Inaba Province, the easternmost part of the Amago clan's territory, and incited the local lords, Takeda Takanobu, to rise up in rebellion and attack Yamana Toyonari, Nakamura Toyoshige, and others who were close to the Amago clan.

Speaking of which, Takeda Takanobu was actually a distant relative of the Wakasa Takeda family, five degrees of kinship.

Amago Haruhisa was quite clever. Knowing that it was unwise to fight on multiple fronts rashly, he went to Tajima Province further east and said to Yamana Yuutoyo, the governor of Tajima: "Inaba is the old territory of your Yamana family. I was fortunate enough to take control of it some time ago. Isn't this the perfect opportunity for you to take it back amidst the chaos? Let's turn enemies into friends and fight the Mori together!"

Yamana Yutaka was indeed persuaded and led his Tajima soldiers into Inaba.

The result was disastrous; despite having a numerical advantage, they still suffered a crushing defeat.

The outcome of this proxy war will have a significant impact.

Mori's underling, Takeda Takanobu, established himself in Inaba, triggering a chain reaction that led to trouble in Hōki Province. Nanjō Munekatsu, the local tyrant of Hōki who had previously been driven to Mimasaka and Harima by Amago Haruhisa, returned with the support of the Mori clan.

Amago Haruhisa achieved a major victory in the direct war against Iwami Province, but was short of funds in the rear.

The survivors of the Shingu faction within the Kubo army had mixed feelings. Takemura Hidetoshi, unusually, drank quite a bit of sake and, emboldened by his drunkenness, said, "If there hadn't been fratricide, and our lord had fought the Mori in Iwami, our Shingu faction would have been responsible for Hōki and Inaba. Wouldn't that have been wonderful!"

Unfortunately, no if.

Shinzaburo could do nothing but offer some comfort, as the Amago clan's stronghold was in Izumo Province, beyond his reach.

However, Malaysia is not far away!

Tajima's Yamana Yuutoyo is a rather mediocre, old-fashioned daimyo. His ancestors were one of the "sixths" of the Hosokawa family, vying for supremacy with the Hosokawa family, but in this generation, they have to rely on currying favor with Hosokawa Harumoto to secure their position. Ever since Hosokawa Harumoto was defeated by Miyoshi Nagayoshi, their power has been declining.

Now, having been defeated by Takeda Takanobu of Inaba, his already low reputation has plummeted.

Therefore, the elders of the Yamana family jointly protested, stating that future declarations of war would require the approval of senior retainers, otherwise they would refuse to participate in the battle.

In an instant, Tajima province was torn apart, and Yamana Yutaka was left with only Izushi district. He even lost control of Ikuno Ginzan.

Upon learning of this, Shinzaburo saw an opportunity.

Although Yamana Yutoyo only has one district left, Izushi District borders Kumano District of Tango Province, which is exactly the target of Kubo's conquest.

Is it possible to persuade Yamana Yutaka to join the attack so as to rebuild his prestige through military victory?

The issue of official status is easy to resolve. Now that Ashikaga Yoshiteru has returned to Kyoto, he is in the honeymoon period with the Miyoshi family, so why not take advantage of this prestigious reputation?

The only remaining question is, who has connections in Tajima?

After asking around, I was surprised to find that there were quite a few!

First is the pirate Nezo Yamatosuke. He has a good friend named Shioji Kagoshi, a local tyrant in Nikata District of Tajima Province. He nominally serves the Yamana family, but in reality, he has multiple identities as a local lord, a mountain bandit, and a wandering knight.

Secondly, Master Mingzhou. Since Yamana Yufeng was a follower of the Linji school of Chan Buddhism, and a rather fervent one at that, it was not difficult for the old monk to find a network of connections within the sect.

There's also Imai Munehisa of Sakai. Everyone knows that Tajima has the Ikuno Silver Mine, but the silver mine was only discovered a little over a decade ago, and mining is still very small. Iron ore is much more mature. And the person in charge of buying and selling that iron mine is Watanabe Muneyo, a wealthy merchant from Sakai.

203 The Debate on Social Status

The decision to join forces with the prominent families of Tajima Mountain to attack Tango cannot be made arbitrarily. We must first write to Miyoshi Nagayoshi, Ashikaga Yoshiteru, and Hosokawa Ujitsuna, and also inform Naito Munekatsu, the governor of Tan Province.

As a result, the nobles in the Kinai region were very satisfied and wrote back praising Kubo Yoshiaki for his understanding of the bigger picture and his broad vision.

why?

For the Miyoshi, Ashikaga, and Hosokawa factions, the war in the remote and impoverished San'in region was not important; what truly mattered was the political climate behind the war.

Taking advantage of the succession crisis in the Tango Isshiki family, it was good to have Tanba and Wakasa's forces march under the banner of the shogunate, which demonstrated the new regime's commitment to maintaining "peace and tranquility throughout the land".

That small territory didn't really matter to them; only Naito Munekatsu and Kubo Yoshiaki, two guys from impoverished backgrounds, cared about it.

In this process, it would be even better if prestigious families like the Tajima Yamana could be brought onto the chariot, which would make the Ashikaga-Sanyoshi system seem even more popular!

And there's a little detail here.

That is, for the past two or three decades, Yamana Yutaka of Tajima has been associating with Hosokawa Harumoto and opposing Hosokawa Ujitsuna, neither flattering Ashikaga Yoshiteru nor being close to Miyoshi Nagayoshi.

That's why Amago Haruhisa of Izumo Province was able to snatch the governorships of Inaba, Hōki, and Bingō provinces through flattery.

In the early days, this was all the territory of the Yamana family. At their peak, they owned eleven countries, accounting for one-sixth of the sixty-six countries, and were known as the "One-Sixth Family".

Incidentally, due to turning from enemy to friend with Ashikaga Yoshiteru, the Miyoshi family's western strategy also changed accordingly, becoming pro-Amago and anti-Mori.

Of course, the fundamental reason is that after the Battle of Itsukushima, Mori Motonari expanded rapidly. In addition to controlling the four provinces of Nagato, Suo, Aki, and Bingo, he also supported his subordinates in Bitchu, Hōgi, and Inaba. His momentum was a bit too strong.

Regardless of whether he's overweight or not, he still has a very impressive air about him.

Miyoshi Nagayoshi felt it necessary to take precautions and guard against him.

On the contrary, Ashikaga Yoshiteru gradually grew distant from his old friend Amago Haruhisa, and began to get closer to his new partner Mori Motonari.

Politics is delicate.

In short, Hosokawa Harumoto is no longer the shogunate's deputy and has been imprisoned for life. However, if Yamana Suetoyo, the governor of Butoyama, could show an attitude of "abandoning darkness for light," Ashikaga Yoshiteru, Hosokawa Ujitsuna, and Miyoshi Nagayoshi would certainly be very satisfied.

Only Naito Munekatsu was not so happy. In his reply, he subtly indicated that there was no need for another person to share Tango's cake.

Shinzaburo sent another letter to communicate, assuring that it would not involve land distribution and that he would use something else to win over Yamana Yutaka of Tajima.

Naito Munekatsu reluctantly agreed to the three-way attack.

Shinsaburo sighed inwardly, thinking that his old superior had never seemed clear-headed on political issues since becoming the "Prefect of Danzhou," and that his side might be unstable should anything happen in the future.

However, even his eldest nephew, Matsunaga Sonroku, couldn't dissuade him, so outsiders had no way to say anything.

Mind your own business.

……

Shinzaburo originally thought that after asking someone to make the connection, he would take the initiative to visit Yamana Yutaka, the governor of Tajima, to show his sincerity.

When this plan was revealed, many samurai, led by Katsuhisa Awaya, were shocked and stood up to advise against it.

Their point was that the opposing side was a feudal lord, and so were they; although one was a rising star among the guardians and the other a veteran, there wasn't a significant difference in their ranks. Being overly humble would damage the reputation of the Wakasa Ryō faction.

Moreover, the Kubo family is a branch of the Sasaki Kyogoku family, and they are not simply nouveau riche peasants.

Well, these guys...

Shinzaburo readily accepted advice and asked what should be done.

Without hesitation, Katsuhisa Awaya said, “Let’s agree on a date and place, and both of us will go there at the same time. When we meet, it will be enough for Lord Sado Kubo to step forward first and bow to show his respect for the prestigious families of the ‘Four Offices’.”

Shinzaburo then asked, "What kind of family would be worthy of a personal visit?"

Masatsune Itsuki chimed in, “Aside from the Ashikaga Shogun, it’s nothing more than the Hosokawa, Shiba, and Hatakeyama families of the Kanrei clan, and the Kira, Shibukawa, and Ishibashi families of the Goichi clan. Oh, and perhaps we should be more cautious if we encounter the Kitabatake, Ichijo, and Anekoji families of the Mikuni clan.”

Shinzaburo nodded, finding the explanation rather self-consistent.

Katsuhisa Awaya then added to himself, "Now that the Miyoshi family has also obtained four official ranks and the duties of the Imperial Attendant, their status is naturally no less than that of the 'Seven Heads,' but whether they can be compared with the 'Three Ministers' is still somewhat uncertain."

Shinzaburo thought to himself that the etiquette of the court still contained some genuine knowledge, like that in "The Tale of Genji," while the etiquette of the samurai families of the Muromachi shogunate was really not worth studying, since it was almost outdated anyway.

So without further hesitation, I listened to everyone and arranged a time and place to meet with Yamana Yuutoyo.

While we're at it, we should also do some research on the other side's intelligence and work on our rhetoric to try and win a diplomatic victory.

He had previously assured Naito Munekatsu that he could get the Yamana family to send troops without promising land in Tango.

We have the idea now, but whether we can actually do it is still uncertain.

……

The meeting with Yamana Yutaka finally took place in early December.

Shinzaburo organized a sizable fleet, and after sailing more than 100 kilometers, they arrived at Choyo-ji Temple, a Zen Buddhist temple on the coast of Tajima Province.

This place is under the control of the Yamano family, and it is only twenty or thirty kilometers away from their main base, this mountain town.

So Shinzaburo actually came to visit as a guest.

However, since the location was agreed upon in advance, it was not considered as lowering themselves to visit, so the Wakasa samurai were satisfied.

Since the meeting took place in a Zen temple, it's easy to imagine that Master Mingzhou was of great help.

One of his apprentices, Shitaka, accompanied him as a guide for Kubo's side, while another apprentice, Ryoma, had already gone to Yamana's side to pave the way.

After they met, the two monks acted as introducers.

Then, Shinzaburo took the initiative to bow first, expressing his respect for the prestigious family.