Volume 1: Stormy Weather in Kawajima Chapter 58: Quarrel Over Military Strategy

  In fact, since the fourth battle of Kawanakajima, the Takeda family realized that with the military god Uesugi Kenshin's good fighting skills, it would be difficult to defeat the dragon of Echigo in a field battle, and even with the abilities of either the tiger of Kai, Takeda Shingen or the lion of Sagami, Hojo Ujiyasu, both sides only dared say that victory or defeat was fifty-fifty.

  So the Takeda clan gave up on their plan to thoroughly defeat Uesugi Kenshin in a single battle and then use that momentum to conquer Echigo.

  The Takeda family continued to adhere to its original strategic guidelines, with the goal of attacking Agatsuma and gradually eroding Uesugi Kenshin's power. Because every year, one-third of the time in Echigo was snowy and mountainous, making it difficult for Uesugi Kenshin to deploy troops during this period. In this way, the Takeda and Hojo families could take turns sending troops to Agatsuma, without being greedy, and each time they would attack only one or two castles, and if Uesugi Kenshin led his army to rescue them, they would withdraw their troops.

  Let the military god exhaust himself on the road, but do not give the opponent a chance to decide the battle, and as a result, Uesugi Kenshin's power in Kōzuke will gradually disappear.

  In essence, since the first battle of Kawanakajima, Takeda Shingen has been avoiding a decisive battle with Uesugi Kenshin through strategic tactics and gradually occupying nearly half of northern Shinano.

  At the military council, although it was known that Uesugi Kenshin's forces were not numerous, no one thought of engaging in a battle with him under the command of Takeda Shingen.

  Since they are not prepared for battle, they should withdraw their troops. At present, the Takeda army is arguing over the route of withdrawal.

  The route proposed by Obata Toramori was to borrow a road from the Hōjō clan, starting from Matsuyama Castle and passing through the Hōjō clan's Neyagawa-yakata Castle to enter Kai Province's Tsuru District. The district had territories of Oyamada Muneaki, a hereditary retainer of the Takeda clan, where they could receive support from the Oyamada family, and this route was undoubtedly the safest one.

  Taro Takeya Yoshinobu insisted on returning to the original road, going north from Matsuyama Castle, passing through Kōzuke Province's Kanra District and Tōbu District, taking the Shirane Mountain mountain path, and returning to Shinano.

  This route is risky because Uesugi Kenshin has been rushing from Echigo to Kozuke, and returning to Kozuke from Musashi at this time may lead to an encounter with the large army of Uesugi Kenshin.

  However, Takeda Yoshinobu had his own reasons for insisting on this. Last month, due to heavy rain causing the snow on Mt. Fuji to melt and triggering a massive avalanche, the southern part of Kai Province was severely affected by the disaster, so this road has been partially buried under the snow and is very difficult to walk.

  According to the news just received this morning, there is a rumor that Uesugi Kenshin has again dispatched troops to Kanto. The Saito family of Agatsuma County in Haruna, which was originally affiliated with the Takeda family, has changed its allegiance and now belongs to the Uesugi family.

  The Takeda family had just taken over the Kanra district, and some local clans in the eastern part of the province, who were watching from the sidelines, once again shifted their allegiance to the Uesugi side.

  According to Takeda Yoshinobu's intention, on the way back from Kanra District and Tōtōmi District, it is possible to properly discipline these local clans, force them to write an oath guarantee, and hand over hostages to ensure the solidification of the Takeda family's rule over Kanra District and Tōtōmi District.

  Takeda Yoshinobu's proposal was supported by Tsubai Nobiaki, a hereditary vassal.

  Kobata Toshishige, however, remained firmly opposed. As a native of Kōzuke Province, he had often interacted with Uesugi Kenshin and was well aware of the military god's ferocity, so he refused to take the risk of fighting against Uesugi Kenshin again in Kōzuke Province.

  However, Takeda Yoshinobu was very determined and as the heir of the Takeda family, he felt it necessary to establish his own authority in his father's absence.

  In the eyes of Sanada Yukimura's small clan, the Sanada family was just an outer vassal of the Takeda clan and would eventually become his retainer, so their opinions were not worth considering.

  Takeda Shingen was his own half-brother, although Shingen no longer had the Takeda surname, he still belonged to the Takeda family and held a higher position than the external vassals, and the family status of Shinano Suwa clan was also higher than that of other two families. Therefore, whether Takeda Shingen supported his own opinion at the scene became extremely important.

  Takeda Shingen secretly also yearned to fight Uesugi Kenshin, but he was not a man who didn't consider the consequences. Returning via the Nishijō route was extremely perilous, and if they weren't careful, the 3,000-strong Takeda army would be buried there.

  Moreover, last night, Takeda Shingen and Yamamoto Kansuke and Li Xiao all discussed it, and deeply felt that it was not easy to fight with Uesugi Kenshin at this moment.

  A great lord like Uesugi Kenshin, with a brave general like Takeda Shingen under his command, and with an army of 16,000 men at his side, would rather choose to retreat than engage in battle with Hojo Ujiyasu. While others may see this as a cowardly move on the part of Hojo Ujiyasu, in reality it is a wise and cautious decision.

  Who would dare say that Norimasa Uesugi, who defeated the 80,000-strong Kantō Federation with just 10,000 men in the Battle of Kawagoe, was a timid and fearful man.

  From a military perspective, the conflict between the Hojo and Uesugi Kenshin was unnecessary. The outcome of their mutual battles would only benefit the Takeda family. Moreover, Matsuyama Castle is far away in Musashi Province, distant from Kasuga-yama Castle, but for the Hojo family, it's a piece of meat at their doorstep, which can be recaptured with a large army at any time, so why bother competing with Uesugi Kenshin over this temporary gain or loss.

  Takeda Shingen clearly expressed his opposition to Takeda Yoshinobu. The reason is that although the road from Nezumiyakajō to Kai-Tsuruga-gun is difficult, it is very safe and Uesugi Kenshin will not be able to pursue deep into the Takeda family's territory in Kai Province.

  Takeda Yoshinobu was outraged when he heard that Takeda Katsuyori had dared to defy him.

  Since the fourth battle of Kawanakajima, due to his unauthorized departure from the war, he was blamed for the death of General Tsunashige and suffered more than half of the losses in his unit. Takeda Yoshinobu had already been severely reprimanded by Takeda Shingen for this matter. At this critical moment, it was rumored that Takeda Shingen wanted to abolish the heir and transfer the position of family head to Takeda Katsuyori, who was supposed to inherit the Suwa family.

  Although this rumor was unfounded and likely a fabrication spread by rival daimyos who wished to see the Takeda clan divided, thanks to the efforts of four senior retainers of Shingen, including Toramasa Baba, and a series of oaths sworn by the hereditary vassals of the Takeda house, Yoshinobu was forgiven by Shingen and retained his position as heir.

  However, due to this matter, Takeda Shingen and his son Takeda Yoshinobu had already developed a rift between them. Therefore, Takeda Yoshinobu was eager to establish his own military achievements in the Western Kozuke campaign of the Takeda clan, so that his father would have a better impression of him.

  He was worried that if his father found out, the easily won Kōzuke Province and Tōtōmi Province would be lost again, causing Takeda Shingen to lose faith in him once more.

  At present, facing the opposition of Takeda Katsuyori, coupled with the previous rumors that his father had established Takeda Katsuyori as the heir, Takeda Yoshinobu's attitude became even more resolute. Therefore, at the military council, both sides quarreled loudly. Takeda Yoshinobu had the support of Torii Saneaki, while Takeda Katsuyori had the support of Obata Masamori.

  As for Sanada Yukimura, he chose to remain silent at this time, and in the end, Matsudaira Hirotada's opinion became the key to the military council. Matsudaira Hirotada's wife was Takeda Shingen's third daughter, Tatsuko, who was also the younger sister of Takeda Yoshinobu and Takeda Katsuyori, so she was not considered an outsider, but rather a member of the Takeda family.

  Moreover, the Matsumoto family was a descendant of Minamoto no Yoshinaka, and could be considered a noble family.

  Yokoyama Yoshimasa hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided to agree with Takeda Yoshinobu's opinion. Upon hearing this, Takeda Yoshinobu had an air of self-satisfaction, clearly appreciating Yokoyama Yoshimasa's timely understanding.

  In the vassal group, after discussion, they decided to return to Shinano via the Hakusan mountain road.

  General Totomi nodded in acceptance of this final opinion after hearing Takada Nobukata.

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