Volume 2 Chapter 29: The Takeda Corporation

  In 1575, the Battle of Nagashino was a tragic drama that Takeda Katsuyori, the head of the Takeda family at that time, had to perform.

  After Takeda Shingen's death, all the other relatives returned to their respective families and took up their family names. When Katsuchiyo succeeded as head of the Takeda clan, he lacked sufficient prestige to command respect from his retainers, including four senior retainers left by Shingen and a series of meritorious hereditary vassals.

  At that time in Nagashino Castle, facing the 38,000-strong allied forces of Oda and Tokugawa, Takeda Katsuyori had no room for retreat; if he retreated, his prestige would be lost.

  In the third year of Tenroku, on May 21st, the Takeda army of 15,000 men launched an attack on the strong position of the combined forces of Oda and Tokugawa. The battle raged from six o'clock in the morning until two o'clock in the afternoon, but despite their valiant efforts, the Takeda army was defeated. In this battle, the Takeda army suffered over 12,000 casualties, with fewer than 3,000 men returning to Kai Province.

  Apart from the casualties of the soldiers, the elite vassal corps created by Takeda Shingen were also killed or wounded. Three of the four great generals of Takeda died in battle, including ōta Sukemasa and Hara Masatane, as well as two brothers of Sanada Yukitaka, Sanada Nobutsuna and Sanada Masateru.

  The Takeda family was severely weakened from this point on and never regained the strength to compete with the Oda clan for control of Japan.

  So in Li Xiao's eyes, to avoid the tragedy of the Long Xia War being reenacted in the Takeda family, Takeda Katsuyori must have a team of absolutely loyal and reliable vassals, and gradually replace the positions of the four ministers. Otherwise, even if he inherits the position of head of the house, he will not be able to command the powerful ministers left by his father.

  In fact, Takeda Katsuyori also had this idea at first, but later he inherited the family headship and mainly relied on three people: Anayama Nobukimi, Ichijō Noritaka, and Nagasaka Hidenari. In fact, both Ichijō Noritaka and Nagasaka Hidenari were not good candidates, Ichijō Noritaka had enough experience but his reputation and military strategy were not as good as the four senior ministers, let alone Nagasaka Hidenari.

  Before the Battle of Nagashino, at a military council including four senior retainers of Takeda, all the major generals of the Kai clan opposed the decisive battle, only Otani Yoshitsugu and Nagasaka Hikorokuro supported Takeda Katsuyori's decision. The Takeda vassals were divided and eventually clashed with each other, resulting in the defeat of the Takeda army at the Battle of Nagashino.

  It is ironic that in the Battle of Nagashino, those who opposed the decisive battle, such as Baba Nobuharu, Sanada Masayuki and Naito Masasuke, all died on the battlefield. On the other hand, Takeda Katsuchiyo and Nagasaka Hikari, who advocated for a decisive battle, chose to flee, so these two were scolded by Takeda fans as treacherous ministers, which is not unreasonable.

  The establishment of the vassal team is imminent, even if it's still a long way from the Battle of Nagashino, but whether it's the Takeda family's attack on Nishijō in two years or Takeda Yoshinobu's decision to rebel four years later, this force will definitely be useful, and Sanada Yukimura is the first person Li Xiao thinks of.

  Li Xiao's expression turned serious as he said, "Lord of the City, you absolutely cannot treat Sanada Yukimura as an ordinary person. The conditions you offered earlier may be enough to recruit the Hojo brothers, but they will not move Sanada Yukimura."

  "Oh?" Takeda Shōryū asked, "What should we do then? If I tell him that when I was a vassal of the Takeda clan, everyone could play 'Blind Man's Bluff' together every day, how delightful it would be!"

  Li Xiao's mouth twitched slightly, and he had an urge to grab everything within reach and smash it onto Takeda Shingen's head. Takeda Shingen saw Li Xiao's darkened face and burst out laughing, pointing at him and saying: "Sir, you're really serious, I was just joking."

  Taking a deep breath, Takeda Shingen suddenly stood up and walked to the corner of the room, opening the window. The cold wind rushed in, filling every corner of the house, while the moonlight outside poured in like silver frost.

  Takeda Shingen spoke calmly, "Actually, I am not unaware that there is nothing on me that can be worth others' loyalty. Even the family name was changed to Suwa, a seemingly glorious shrine family head, with less than 40,000 stones of territory in hand, and will only become one of the vassals fighting for my father and brother in the future. I have nothing to promise to my retainers, and rather than that, they would have more opportunities to stand out in front of my father and brother."

  Li Xiao nodded slightly, it seems that Takeda Shingen still has some self-awareness, at least he is not a lord of the type who only knows how to rely on others.

  Alright, if we consider the Takeda family as a large conglomerate, Takeda Katsuyori's current situation is equivalent to being the general manager of a subsidiary company of the Takeda Group. No matter how hard you work under Takeda Katsuyori, no matter how much effort you put in, at most you'll only be promoted to vice-general manager.

  Rather than this, if you want to make progress, it's better to go to the group's headquarters and start from the bottom. If you can enter the eyes of President Takeda Shingen or his successor, President Takeda Yoshinobu, your future prospects will be boundless.

  Water flows downward, people strive upward; this is an unchanging principle from ancient times to the present.

  "But this does not mean that I, Shōryū, will give up. Even if the hope is slim, I will strive for it. I, Shōryū, do not know what talent I possess to be worthy of your tutelage, sir, but since you have placed value on me, it means that I must have some ability that surpasses others. Therefore, this cultivation of mine, I will remember for a lifetime. If one day I recover the Takeda family crest and take control of the Takeda household, I will surely repay you heavily, sir."

  Listening to Takeda Shōryai say this, Li Xiao couldn't help but want to applaud with her palms, good job Takeda Shōryai, you drew such a big pie and let me yearn for it, shouldn't I show a grateful and tearful appearance?

  This principle is like chasing girls, you can be unattractive, short, and penniless, but you cannot let the girl see that you don't have an upward spirit. This upward spirit, even if it's just talk, bragging that you'll become Bill Gates in the future, there will always be silly women who think you're a high-potential stock, now suffering a bit, but in the future can enjoy the process of striving together from nothing to something.

  Similarly, Liu Bei was also a master of this way. He had no soldiers, no money, and no place to stand, and he spent half his life drifting around, yet every day he would shout about wanting to restore the Han Dynasty and save the people of the world. It wasn't as if he had deceived Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Zhuge Liang, and that group of people into following him.

  It's embarrassing to say, but Li Xiao is the one who should be ashamed. He only knew the direction of history in advance, so he put pressure on Takeda Shingen's body. Otherwise, at this time, who among the Takeda family would realize that there was such a person as Norifusa? Everyone had already gathered around Takeda Yoshinobu like the four ministers, seeking a place for themselves in the future.

  But life's encounters are not always as expected, sometimes there will be a 180-degree turn, just like who would have thought that the long-tailed fool, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, would unify half of Japan in the end. And who would have thought that Tokugawa Ieyasu, the old turtle who had been enduring humiliation for so long, would be the ultimate victor?

  "Thank you for your trust, Lord. I swear to repay it with my life. Let me take care of recruiting Sanada Yukimura."

  Takeda Shōtai heard Li Xiao say this, slightly stunned, then bowed down sincerely and said: "Then everything is entrusted to you, sir."

  Li Xiao nodded and then left Takeda Shingen's room.