Chapter 18: The Movement of Imagawa

  Just returned to the main circle, I met Yamamoto Kan no Suke, who seemed to be worried and walked over, saying: "The news from Suruga Province is that a few days ago, the Imagawa family issued a mobilization order for both Suruga and Totomi Provinces. The Imagawa family will soon make another appearance in Mikawa Province, which will be their second appearance in Mikawa since early spring this year."

  "Now, the Matsudaira family is in a state of emergency! He must be trying to quell the internal strife within the Matsudaira clan!" Yoshida Mimasaka sighed. This was common knowledge, and as a native of Mikawa Province who supported the Imagawa clan, the role of the Matsudaira family was self-evident. Whether it was the Battle of Azukizaka or the several battles at Anjo Castle, the Matsudaira family had served as the vanguard of the Imagawa army, charging into battle on behalf of the Imagawa clan. At the very least, until the Imagawa clan completely pacified Mikawa Province, the position of the Matsudaira family was guaranteed, and their internal strife had to be eliminated."

  "Yes! The Matsudaira family is in a state of confusion and is not helpful to the Imagawa family's rule. Lord Imagawa Ujizane must be thinking of forcing the Oda family to hand over Matsudaira Takechiyo." Yamamoto Kansuke mentioned, only then did he remember that the Matsudaira family still had that raccoon dog-like Takechiyo, this young man was one year younger than him but had a pretty good luck, his ancestors' foundation built up over several generations, with the support of many relatives and vassals, and also had several loyal and powerful hereditary vassals as backing.

  "The current Matsudaira family doesn't seem to be doing well either. The people of Mikawa still don't take them seriously, and Matsudaira Kiyoyasu, that roughneck who only knows how to fight, has even offended his own kin, let alone the fact that the people of the country dislike him. Indeed, after Matsudaira Kiyoyasu's death, the entire Matsudaira family declined."

  Kira Mansaburōmaru still had the mood to complain about the situation of the Matsudaira family, but his good mood only lasted for a while. Yamamoto Kanbee said with a squint in his one eye: "This time Taigen Suetada will serve as the military commander and lead the Imagawa army into Okazaki Castle. Among the confirmed candidates, Asahina Yasunaga will serve as vice-commander, and Okabe Motonobu will be the first to command the Mikawa main camp of the Matsudaira army without a family head."

  "That is to say, the Imagawa family has already made up their minds, right? No matter how the main house responds, the outcome has already been decided. It's just a matter of whether they'll be drinking celebratory sake or penalty sake." Yoshida Manzaburou let out another sigh, and he realized that he had been sighing quite often lately - was this a sign of premature aging?

  "Please make an early decision, honorable master!"

  "What to decide? Surrender or resist, is there a third way out?" Kiryu Manzoumaru let out a wry smile. This lord's life was truly unfortunate. From young to old, he had never left the western part of Mikawa, never provoked trouble, and on every holiday, he would go to his family's Bodhi Temple, Ankokuzan, to burn incense and pray for blessings, praying for his parents' happiness and peace in heaven, praying for the prosperity of his people, and also for the success of his household and the unity of his vassals. He had done all these things that a lord should do, yet he still encountered this disaster.

  "Master, if the entire army of our house is entrusted to your command, how confident are you of defeating Taiyuan Snow Studio?" Kiryu Manzanmaru looked at him with hope in his eyes.

  Unfortunately, the latter seemed to have little confidence and shook his head, saying: "Simply looking at the combined forces, apart from my Kiryū family's 800 ashigaru and the two hundred cavalry of the master, the military strength of the other families is basically unable to cause trouble for the Imagawa family. Three thousand five against twenty thousand, it's also a hopeless situation!"

  "There is also a clever strategy, the Kikkawa family has always been wealthy, and now their financial power far surpasses that of our own family. As the saying goes: 'Under great rewards, there must be brave men!' Now the Kikkawa family entices them with benefits and coerces them with power, what can our family use to stop them?" It's not just Yoshitaka Kikkawa who is thinking this way, his trusted general and advisor, Yamamoto Kanbee, is also deeply pondering.

  "Imagawa Ujizane has already made peace with Hōjō Sōun, and last year at Zendōji in Tsuruoka they reached a preliminary agreement. We no longer have to worry about the Kai and Sagami provinces, and the southern part of Shinano bordering Suruga is under the control of Takeda Dainagon. My family, the Kira, can only resist Imagawa with the help of the ōtomo family, but does ōtomo Nobushige have the ability and courage to do so?"

  "That Owari daimyo, since last year's defeat at Komaki-Nagakute, has become a toothless tiger. It is said that more than half of his men were killed in that battle, and the four lower districts of Owari are filled with mourning households. In the New Year's battle at Anjo Castle, the Oda clan only sent 2,000 relief troops, which is quite a contrast to last year's proud deployment at Gakuyama-jo Castle."

  Kira Mansaburō looked down on the military strength of Owari, and the name of weak soldiers in the eastern sea road of Owari Province was not a derogatory term. This was due to the influence of the Shiba family, who were the guardians of Owari. For the benefit of Tōkai, the Shiba family joined forces with the Mikawa Kira family and fought several battles against the Imagawa clan.

  Every time Owari's forces were defeated, the Mikawa army of the Kira family also suffered a defeat. The country of Owari was a representative of internal strife and external weakness. In these two years, the wealthy landowners of Owari have fallen one after another at the hands of Imagawa and Shiba, not only has their arrogant attitude disappeared, but even their status is no longer as stable as before, they are almost like a phoenix that has lost its feathers.

  "It's really true that good people are taken advantage of, and it seems like there's no future in honestly managing our territory. But the Kira family doesn't have much military power either. If we don't work hard to recruit soldiers for the war effort, not only will we lose to the Imagawa family, but we'll also lose the goodwill that has been accumulated over generations of ruling Mikawa Province. We can't win in a fight, and surrendering is unbearable... what should I do?" Kira Motoshichirou bid farewell to Yamamoto Kanbee with a troubled heart, and when he returned to the Tenguto Pavilion, the sky had already begun to darken. He sat alone on the veranda, staring blankly at the moon.

  "Looking closely, it seems there's a big halo around the moon! It's said that a lunar halo is an ill omen, I wonder what bad thing will happen again somewhere. Kirishima Mantarou lay on the veranda gazing at the round moon and unknowingly fell asleep, he didn't know how long had passed when he was woken up again, by the gentle voice of Akane beside his ear: "Your Highness shouldn't sleep here, it's easy to catch a chill, Your Highness must take care of your body, for the sake of the Kirishima family and also for the princess."

  "Hmm, I remember now! Was I asleep? I was just looking at the moon!" Kiryū Mantarō rubbed his head and got up with Kikuhime's support, walking into the room. It turned out that Akane had already prepared his bedding and even thoughtfully placed a cup of water on one corner of the tatami mat, because Kiryū Mantarō was prone to thirst at night due to his strong yang energy, so every evening Akane would prepare this cup of cool boiled water.

  Chrysanthemum took off his clothes and covered him with a quilt, then stepped out of the room in small steps. As she knelt down outside the door to pull up the sliding paper door, Yoshirō Kira said softly: "Thank you, Chrysanthemum!"

  "This is what Akane should do!" Akane's gentle and subtle smile evoked his memories, in which his mother also had such a beautiful smile. It seemed that the women of Kyoto were all made of water, his mother was such a gentle yet melancholic woman, and Akane was the same, spending her days busy taking care of him or quietly gazing at the flowers and grasses in the small garden, which were planted by her mother when she was alive in Kiramaru. Unfortunately, she didn't live to see the day to appreciate them.

  The paper door finally closed, and after Akane's light footsteps gradually disappeared, Kirishima Manzamaru suddenly felt a pang in his heart, as if there was something he couldn't help but say. He muttered to the moon: "Akane, I will definitely go to Kyoto! Definitely!"