Chapter 72

In the sixth year of Tenshō, the Oda clan, having captured Ishiyama, was engaged in governing and developing their territories, reorganizing their army for new invasions, and reassigning their vassals.

Hideyoshi Hashiba, having almost conquered Harima, was planning invasions into Bizen and Mimasaka.

Nagamasa Azai, having conquered Tango, was planning an invasion into Tajima, which was governed by the Yamana clan, who had allied with the Mōri.

Mitsuhide Akechi, having conquered Tamba and been given control of southern Ōmi and Sakamoto, was preparing for an invasion of Shikoku under Nobunaga’s orders.

Nobuo Oda, the second son of Nobunaga, leading the army of Settsu, was appointed as the general, with Mitsuhide Akechi as his deputy, effectively acting as the general, preparing for an invasion of Awaji.

Nagamasa Azai, along with Katsunari Takeda, was tasked with the construction of a massive castle in Sakai, which would serve as a new base following the capture of Ishiyama, and was working alongside Katsuyori Takeda, who was given the responsibility of stabilizing Yamato and the Kinai region.

Nobutada Oda, the eldest son of Nobunaga, was officially given the headship of the Oda clan, with Gifu as his base, and was tasked with overseeing Mino and Owari.

Along with Katsuie Shibata of Echizen, Masazumi Sassa of Kaga, Toshiie Maeda, and Nagahide Kanamori of Hida, he was to monitor the feared Kenshin Uesugi and provide support to Shikoku and the Chūgoku region as needed.

Kaneshige Mori of northern Shinano, Hidetaka Kawajiri of southern Shinano, and Hidekane Mōri were also given the same role, a testament to how much Kenshin was feared.

Kōki was regularly traveling by ship to Sakai and Kyoto to complete tasks for Nobunaga and was otherwise preoccupied with governing the vast territories he had acquired.

"Recently, the Date clan has been quiet."

"Well, after successive defeats, their territory has significantly shrunk."

Kōki was drinking tea and eating yōkan in the office of Edo Castle while listening to Masanobu Honda’s report.

Masanobu was also drinking genmaicha, which he enjoyed after hearing about its health benefits from Kōki.

"The glory of the prestigious Date clan, huh."

"It was effective at first..."

After being defeated by the Tsuda clan and besieged in Yamagata Castle, the Date clan had no choice but to accept a humiliating peace agreement, reducing their territory to just the Ōshū Chikuzen District, turning them into a minor daimyō.

Terumune Date, attempting to incite uprisings among the local samurai in the former Date territories, was ruthlessly suppressed, and as the Tsuda clan’s rule was seen as excellent by the people, uprisings soon ceased.

The local samurai, having given up, became vassals of the Tsuda clan and, with better income, the former Date territories, as well as the territories of the Ōsaki, Kaki, and Sōma clans, became stable.

Everyone realized that instead of causing uprisings, it was more constructive to participate in development and become prosperous or advance in the Tsuda clan.

To the north of the Date territories lies the territory of the Mogami clan, whose current head, Yoshinaga Mogami, was also at a disadvantage due to the Tsuda clan.

More accurately, it was because Kenshin Uesugi had stopped fighting the Oda clan.

He was developing Echizen, Noto, Echigo, and southern Ōshū and, when he had the opportunity, invaded Ōshū to expand his territory.

Yoshinaga Mogami, also trying to expand his territory in Ōshū, was repeatedly defeated by Kenshin and remained a minor daimyō like the Date clan.

Yoshinaga was an excellent person, but it was difficult for him to defeat Kenshin in battle.

"More importantly, there are many displaced people recently."

"From the Nanbu territories, right?"

"Yes."

Under the rule of the current head, Harumasa Nanbu, the Nanbu clan was at its peak, with the phrase "Until the crescent moon becomes full, the Nanbu territories" being used to describe it. However, in the Tsugaru region, Masahiro Ōura began attacking and destroying Nanbu-aligned powerful families, such as Takahiro Ishikawa, making the region unstable.

Frequent conflicts among powerful families like the Asari, Andō, Tōzawa, Onodera, and Yorii led many to flee to the Tsuda territories.

"It’s like a plague. Take in and protect those who have fled."

The Tsuda clan was still in the process of development.

By resettling them, they could gain favor and, in the long term, increase their national power and tax revenue.

Money was not an issue.

There were likely spies among the displaced people, but they were secretly dealt with by the men under Fumakōta.

Thus, the population and national power of the Tsuda clan increased, while the remaining northeastern daimyōs lost their strength.

The Date and Mogami clans were deliberately left to serve as a magnet for the still rebellious elements in the northeastern regions.

Once the situation stabilized, their roles would end.

Rather than the prestige of prestigious families, the Tsuda clan aimed to rule through prosperity.

Masanobu thought Kōki was ruthless, but it was a ruthlessness that should be welcomed.

None of the Tsuda clan’s vassals wanted to be on the side of the northeastern daimyōs.

"Being from a prestigious family is an advantage, but it doesn’t guarantee victory."

"If victory were guaranteed, prestigious families wouldn’t fall."

"It is an advantage, and if used wisely, they can survive. I like such wise prestigious families."

There were families like the Satake, who served the Tsuda clan loyally and were heavily favored.

Kōki wanted others to learn from them.

Many prestigious families had either perished, declined, or continued to resist due to their aversion to Kōki’s unknown origins, but the more they resisted, the more they suffered.

"Is Masahiro doing well as the lord of Sendai Castle?"

"The construction is progressing smoothly."

Having taken over, Kōki placed Masahiro Satake in charge of the former Ōsaki and Kaki territories to develop them.

Using the Kanagawa database, he renamed the area around Chiyodajō in Miyagi District to Sendai and began large-scale port construction, flood control on the Kitakami River, and new land development.

The Tsuda clan distributed large amounts of money and mobilized farmers to work on these projects during their free time from farming, and soldiers also participated to speed up development.

"I hope things remain peaceful..."

"That’s unlikely. Terumune Date’s eldest son, Bontenmaru, has come of age and taken the name Masamune. The Date clan’s fortunes have declined, so he needs to achieve military success in his first battle to boost morale."

"I wish the war would happen in the north..."

Despite Kōki’s wishes, the target of the Date clan’s eldest son, Masamune, was the Tsuda territories.

Gathering 3,000 soldiers, the Date army invaded the Tsuda territories, which were originally part of the Date domain, burning houses, raiding fields, and looting to boost their morale.

"Are they crazy? This was their own territory before."

"It’s impossible for the current Date clan to gather 3,000 soldiers in the usual way before the harvest."

Kōki, unable to intercept them outside the territory, was furious and asked Masahiro Satake about their intentions.

Masahiro explained that the Date army’s high morale was due to the rewards of looting and raiding.

"Leaving them even one district has backfired. Shunno, Sadatsugu, do you understand?"

"Understood!"

The forces led by Shunno Watanabe and Sadatsugu Hachisuka, who had separated from Kōki’s main army, launched a pincer attack on the Date army.

Outnumbered, outmatched, and lacking in firearms, the Date army was defeated and driven out of the Tsuda territories, and once again, Yamagata Castle was besieged by the Tsuda army.

"Should we let them fall?"

After losing many generals and soldiers, the Date clan submitted to Kōki’s envoy, agreeing to abandon Yamagata Castle and the Ōshū Chikuzen District in exchange for fleeing to the Mogami clan.

The prestigious Date clan entered a period of temporary dormancy.