Chapter 66

Time moved forward, to the fourth year of Tenshō.

The Kanto region was being managed smoothly under the Tsuda family.

The strong fortress, Edo Castle, was almost completed, and there had been no uprisings or rebellions by resistance forces for some time.

"There are things we need to be cautious about, even though the management of the territory is going well."

"Has the Tsuda family become too large?"

"Yes."

Hori Taiyō, who was in charge of internal affairs for the Tsuda family, nodded in response to Mitsuhiko's question.

Initially, Mitsuhiko and his group were only given a swampy area by Nobunaga, but now they had expanded their territory to cover Tōkai, Kanto, and southern Mutsu.

If the Oda family were to take control of the country, there was a possibility that the Tsuda family, being too powerful as the number two, might be targeted for elimination.

Taiyō was originally a senior retainer of the Iwakura Oda family, which had been defeated by Nobunaga.

After his lord's family was destroyed and he became a rōnin, he was picked up by Nobunaga but remained in a low position. However, thanks to Mitsuhiko, he not only returned to prominence but also achieved great success.

Therefore, he was prepared to fight Nobunaga if necessary.

"Lord, you are the younger brother-in-law of the Great Lord and have been treated as a vassal lord despite being the first meritorious retainer. It should be fine for now, but no one can predict the future."

"That's true. Even though we had to give up Tōtōmi this time, the lord's territory has increased."

Yamauchi Yasuhide, who held the second position in the internal affairs department, had just returned from completing the transfer of Tōtōmi the day before.

To Yasuhide, every time they gained new territory, it was inevitable that the Tsuda family had to give up the well-developed areas of Owari's Nishikōri, Ise, Iga, and Kii, which he found unsatisfactory.

This time, they had to return Tōtōmi to the Oda family after gaining southern Mutsu.

Half of Tōtōmi would go to the Tokugawa family, and the other half would become direct territory of the Oda family, but in the future, it was planned to give everything to Nobunaga's son-in-law, Nobukatsu.

This was also a reward for Nobukatsu, who was fighting hard in the Ishiyama campaign.

Nobunaga had to reassess his relationship with the Tokugawa family after the unexpected death of Ieyasu.

It was impossible to maintain an equal alliance, and he had to treat the Tokugawa family as a vassal lord, just like Mitsuhiko.

However, since the Tokugawa family's retainers were dissatisfied, Nobunaga planned to give Tōtōmi to Nobukatsu to appease them.

"For a while, I hope we can be spared from the transfer of territories."

It would take time to develop Kanto and southern Mutsu, and they had to be cautious about uprisings by the remnants of the Hōjō family and other Kanto daimyō, even though they were currently subdued.

However, Yasuhide believed that time would solve the problem.

The current governance by the Tsuda family was overwhelmingly supported by the people.

Yasuhide, who was learning and practicing a new governance system based on the materials his lord Mitsuhiko brought, was also educating many young bureaucrats, even though he was not yet thirty.

With the experienced and elderly Taiyō as his superior, Yasuhide, unlike his brother Ichiyasu, had been mainly responsible for internal affairs and rarely went to the battlefield.

While he was often looked down upon by other samurai families, the Tsuda family had a meticulous system for evaluating personnel.

Achievements outside of battle were also recognized, and Taiyō and Yasuhide remained the top two officials in the internal affairs department.

"I think it will settle down in a few years..."

"That's true. The second development plan is also complete. By the way, is there no plan to send troops to the Kinai region?"

"No, because the dragon of Echigo is there."

The relationship between the Oda and Uesugi families was delicate.

There was no formal non-aggression pact, and as the Kanto Kanrei, Uesugi Kenshin had a justifiable reason to send troops to Kanto.

Mitsuhiko was trading minerals and hemp from Echigo for food to prevent war.

He was also trying to please Kenshin by sending various gifts.

Mitsuhiko did not think that Kenshin would stop the war with just that, but he skillfully used the situation.

He mercilessly eliminated the Honjō and Shinobu families, who frequently rebelled, and suppressed the rioters and troublemakers in Etchū and Noto, strengthening the Uesugi family's control.

Furthermore, he took advantage of the Tsuda family's attack on southern Mutsu to capture Shōnai in Dewa.

Nobunaga's letter mentioned that the Shōgun Yoshizumi, who was still holding out in Yamashiro, had issued an order to pursue Nobunaga, but Kenshin did not send troops to Kaga or Kanto, believing it was not the right time.

When the old Koga Kubō Ashikaga Yoshiyasu, who had received orders from Yoshizumi, sent a letter of protest, there was no talk of Kenshin sending troops to Kanto.

"Can I ask you something? Yasuhide."

"What is it, Lord?"

"Why is the Koga Kubō involved here?"

The Koga Kubō, appointed by the Shōgun Yoshizumi under Nobunaga's protection, was urging Kenshin to send troops to attack the Tsuda family, who had stabilized Kanto.

Mitsuhiko could not understand the Koga Kubō's thinking.

"Is it because the Tsuda family has taken over the Koga Kubō's territory? They want Kenshin, as the Kanto Kanrei, to restore it."

"I see. But isn't that impossible?"

The legitimacy of the Koga Kubō was guaranteed by Yoshizumi, and Nobunaga, who guaranteed Yoshizumi's position as Shōgun, found it strange to attack the territory of his vassal.

"Thinking too seriously about this will drive you crazy. It seems Kenshin doesn't even care about the Koga Kubō."

Yasuhide's harsh words were understandable, but for Kenshin, the position of Kanto Kanrei might only be a nominal title for expanding his power.

Despite being called a "righteous general" in the public eye, Kenshin had his reasons.

"Because if Kenshin moves, the Tsuda family is exempt from sending troops to the Kinai region."

"That's why the Ishiyama campaign won't end, you mean..."

The Hongan-ji temple in Ishiyama was incredibly strong.

The fronts in Tango, Tamba, and Harima, where they had support, along with Matsunaga Hisahide in Yamato and Miyoshi Yoshinaga in Kawachi, and the Chōsokabe clan in Awa, were in a stalemate.

The Mōri family's navy was supplying Ishiyama, which was one of the reasons it hadn't fallen.

As a result, Mitsuhiko had to protect their territories while they were away, with Hideyoshi and Ieyasu also sending troops.

"For a while, we need to be patient. By the way, Lord, about Lady Ai's marriage..."

"Ah! I can't hear you!"

"Lord, again?"

Not only Taiyō and Yasuhide, but all the retainers were exasperated by Mitsuhiko's treatment of his daughters.

His eldest daughter, Ai, who was fourteen and long past the age of marriage, was still being kept at home and pampered like a kitten.

"It's too early."

"Is that so?"

"Todayko says the same thing."

"Her opinion is understandable, but at least deciding on a fiancé..."

"I can't hear you!"

Todayko was a renowned doctor with remarkable achievements, having cured Nene, Hideyoshi's wife, of infertility and treated Chiyō, the wife of Ichiyasu, Yasuhide's brother.

She was also rumored to have cured the chronic cough of Chūji, a retainer of Hideyoshi, and although she was too busy to see many patients, the doctors she trained were excelling as military doctors in the Tsuda domain and the guard units.

"Pregnancy before the body is fully developed is dangerous."

Upon hearing this, the retainers and people began to delay the age of marriage for their daughters.

Many women who became pregnant and gave birth at twelve or thirteen died due to poor postpartum recovery.

"At least sixteen or seventeen! Women live longer, so it's fine if they're a bit older. I was like that too."

Todayko was a year older than Mitsuhiko and had given birth to two sons and three daughters after turning twenty, and she was in perfect health.

Therefore, many of the retainers and people listened to her advice and readily accepted knowledge about health and hygiene.

"Rubbing horse manure on a wound in battle? Do you want to worsen the injury and die? It will become infected."

She taught the people how to disinfect wounds and illnesses with distilled alcohol, how to use and process wild herbs, and to boil water before giving it to infants and children, which significantly reduced the mortality rate in the Tsuda domain.

She also provided guidance on how to handle epidemics and reduced the number of smallpox patients through the implementation of the cowpox method.

"That's why it's fine for Ai. I'd rather ask Fumatarō to assassinate that foolish Koga Kubō than marry her to him."

"Lord, that's an inappropriate statement. I agree that the current Koga Kubō is foolish, though."

Once again, Yasuhide said something harsh.

Yoshiyasu, who had come down from the Kinai region at Yoshizumi's urging, was given money by Mitsuhiko to take over the Koga Kubō's territory.

The original Koga Kubō, Ashikaga Yoshiuji, had fought alongside the Hōjō family against the Tsuda family, and his clan had been destroyed, making it impossible for him to govern the Koga Kubō's territory.

The retainers Yoshiyasu brought with him, who had good bloodlines, were not useful.

They flattered their lord and used sweet talk, and in the end, they tried to collect taxes from the people without permission and even killed those who refused.

Mitsuhiko was furious and had the retainer arrested and beheaded in front of his family.

"Cutting down a good citizen who follows the laws of the Tsuda family is a serious crime, no matter if he is a retainer of the Koga Kubō! Seppuku is not acceptable!"

Naturally, Yoshiyasu, who had lost his favorite retainer, was furious, and the relationship between the two deteriorated.

One of Yoshiyasu's retainers, who had come with him, thought of a way to reconcile.

Fumihide, the half-brother of Akitada, was sent as a messenger to propose a marriage between Yoshiyasu and Lady Ai.

"Would I be happy to accept that?"

There was no way he would marry his beloved daughter to a nominal Koga Kubō who might break relations at any moment.

Mitsuhiko's face clearly showed his thoughts, and the intelligent Fumihide quickly noticed.

"Fumihide, are you aware of the relationship between the Great Lord and Yoshizumi?"

Fumihide was aware that Yoshizumi was sending letters to various daimyōs to pursue Nobunaga, and Nobunaga was deliberately ignoring them.

"Are you going to destroy the unity of the country just as it is coming together? Yoshizumi only comes up with bad ideas and has never led an army into battle. As the Sei-i Taishōgun, I think this is a matter to consider."

Mitsuhiko, too, had led an army into battle, even if he left everything to his retainers.

"I think the power of the Fujiwara clan, the Kamakura shogunate, and any political system in any country, including China, will eventually decline. Isn't the Ashikaga shogunate at its limit?"

"..."

Fumihide could not refute Mitsuhiko's impolite statement.

Fumihide had been advising Yoshizumi not to send letters to various daimyōs to pursue Nobunaga, but the result was his assignment to Kanto.

In other words, he was a person who was told he was unnecessary by Yoshizumi.

Because of this and the fact that he was a newcomer, he was also avoided by Yoshiyasu.

Therefore, he was looking at the conflict between Yoshiyasu and Mitsuhiko as if it were someone else's problem.

One reason Fumihide was chosen as the messenger to arrange the marriage was to buy time.

In fact, Yoshiyasu was in contact with someone to plan an attack on the Tsuda family.

The person Yoshiyasu was in contact with was Kenshin's adopted son and the younger brother of Hōjō Ujimasa, Uesugi Kagekatsu.

Kagekatsu, seeking revenge for his brothers, was planning to send troops to Kanto without telling his adoptive father Kenshin.

"The Koga Kubō seems to have some plans, but they are too reckless. Fumihide, don't you need to make a decision for your family?"

"But I..."

"Cutting ties with your brother is more important."

Mitsuhiko disliked Akitada, but it was actually he who was reporting Yoshizumi's movements to Nobunaga.

This fact would not have been noticed without Fumatarō.

"Fumihide?"

"He is smart, so he might have realized that the Ashikaga shogunate won't last much longer."

"..."

"Fumihide, rebellion is dangerous. There's no need for someone of your caliber to participate."

"It would be enough if you don't participate in the rebellion when it happens."

"I understand..."

With this, the relationship between the Koga Kubō and Mitsuhiko was completely broken.

"Because we are busy dealing with the rebellion, we'll deal with Ai later."

"Again, you're evading the issue... Well, it would be a shame to have our carefully developed territories ravaged by the rebellion..."

The conversation resumed, with others joining, including Masahide, Takebei, Fumatarō, Yoshiharu, Ichiyasu, and Seikai.

"The plan is on a large scale."

Fumatarō's report began.

Thanks to the intelligence network he had expanded beyond the domain, the rebellion plan had already leaked.

"Uesugi Kagekatsu will send troops from Echigo to the south, and at the same time, the Koga Kubō will rise up, along with the remnants of the Hōjō family and other daimyōs, and Date Terumune will also send troops."

According to Fumatarō, the Date family was aiming to expand their territory, leading the remnants of the southern Mutsu daimyōs who had fled to them.

"Why Kagekatsu? Isn't it Kenshin?"

"Kenshin is aware of Kagekatsu's uprising but is ignoring it."

Kagekatsu's army mainly consisted of rebellious Echigo kokujin, remnants of the destroyed Yōhoku families, and former Hōjō retainers.

"Kenshin is pushing the responsibility of dealing with the troublemakers onto us."

"If we lose, Kenshin will send troops."

"That old man is moving with a refreshing efficiency."

Recently, Kagekatsu and Kenshin had been arguing about why Kenshin, as the Kanto Kanrei, was not attacking the Tsuda family, who had taken over Kanto.

"If we can defeat Kagekatsu and the other troublemakers, our territory will stabilize."

"Kenshin must have noticed Kagekatsu's movements..."

Kenshin also had an adopted son named Kageyasu.

There was no hesitation in disposing of another adopted son who did not listen to him.

With the Hōjō family destroyed and Kagekatsu's usefulness gone, there was no longer a reason for him to exist.

If he were to be openly disposed of, Kenshin's reputation would suffer, but if Kagekatsu were to send troops on his own, he could disown him.

He could then ask Mitsuhiko and Nobunaga