He could not help marveling secretly at Ieyasu's vigilance. The lord of Mikawa had not simply been content to be a guard dog at the back gate of Owari and Mino while his ally, Nobunaga, marched off to the center of the field. Rather than let the opportunity go by, he had expelled the forces of Imagawa Yoshimoto's successor, Ujizane, from the two provinces of Suruga and Totomi. This, of course, was not through his own strength alone. Connected with the Oda clan on the one hand, he was also in collusion with Takeda Shingen of Kai, and he had a pact with the latter to divide and share the two remaining provinces of the Imagawa. Ujizane had been a fool and had given both the Tokugawa and Takeda clans a number of good excuses to attack him.
Even though the country was in chaos, every military commander understood that he could not start a war without some reason, and that if he did, the battle would be lost in the end. Ujizane was operating an administration against which the enemy could take just such a moral stand, and was weak-minded enough to be unable to see what the future held. Everyone knew he was an unworthy successor to Yoshimoto.
The province of Suruga became the possession of the Takeda clan, while Totomi became the Tokugawa clan's domain. On New Year's Day of the thirteenth year of Eiroku, Ieyasu left his son in charge of the castle at Okazaki, and he himself moved to Hamamatsu in Totomi. In the Second Month, a message of congratulations came from Nobunaga:
Last year, I myself mentioned my long-cherished desire and had some small success, but nothing could be more felicitous than adding the fertile land of Totomi to your own domains. Collectively, we have become all the stronger.
In early spring, Ieyasu went to Kyoto in the company of Nobunaga. Of course the purpose of the trip was to enjoy the capital in the springtime and to relax beneath the cherry blossoms, or so it appeared. From a political perspective, however, the rest of the world looked at the two leaders meeting in Kyoto and wondered what it was really about.
But Nobunaga's trip this time was really just a magnificent and leisurely progress. Alone, the two of them would spend the entire day hawking in the fields. At night Nobunaga held banquets and had the popular songs and dances of the villagers performed at their inn. All in all, it looked like nothing more than an outing. On the day Nobunaga and Ieyasu were to arrive at the capital, Hideyoshi, who was in charge of the defense of Kyoto, had gone out as far as Otsu to greet them. Nobunaga had introduced him to Ieyasu.
"Yes, I've known him for a long time. The first time I met him was when I visited Kiyosu, and he was among the samurai stationed at the entrance to greet me. That was a year after the battle of Okehazama, so it was quite a while ago." Ieyasu looked directly at Hideyoshi and smiled. Hideyoshi was surprised at how good the man's memory was. Ieyasu was now twenty-eight years old. Lord Nobunaga was thirty-six. Hideyoshi was going to be thirty-four. The battle of Okehazama had taken place a good ten years before.
When they had settled down in Kyoto, Nobunaga first went to inspect the repairs being done on the Imperial Palace.
"We anticipate that the Imperial Palace will be finished by next year," the two construction overseers informed him.
"Don't be stingy with the expenses," Nobunaga replied. "The Imperial Palace has lain in ruins for years."
Ieyasu heard Nobunaga's comments and said, "I truly envy your position. You have been able to demonstrate your loyalty to the Emperor in actual fact."
"That's so," Nobunaga answered without modesty, and nodded as though he approved of himself.
Thus, Nobunaga not only rebuilt the Imperial Palace, but he also revised the finances of the court. The Emperor was pleased, of course, and Nobunaga's loyalty impressed the people. Seeing that the nobles were at ease and that the lower classes were at peace and in harmony, Nobunaga truly enjoyed the time spent with Ieyasu during the Second Month, viewing the cherry blossoms, and attending tea ceremonies and concerts.
Who would have known that, during that time, his mind was preparing to strike through the next set of difficulties? Nobunaga initiated his actions as new situations developed, and moved ahead with the outlines of his plans and their execution even as he lay sleeping. Suddenly, on the second day of the Fourth Month, all of his generals received summonses to meet at the residence of the shogun.
The large conference room was full.
“This concerns the Asakura clan of Echizen," Nobunaga began, revealing what he had been planning since the Second Month. "Lord Asakura has ignored the numerous requests of the shogun and has not offered a single piece of lumber for the construction of the Imperial Palace. Lord Asakura was appointed by the shogun and holds the position of retainer to the Emperor, but he thinks of nothing but the luxury and indolence of his own clan. I would like to investigate this crime myself, and assemble a punitive force of soldiers. What are your opinions?"
Among those under direct control of the shogunate, there were a number of men who had old friendships with the Asakura clan and who supported the clan indirectly; but no one disagreed. And as a large number of men voiced frank approval quite readily, no one spoke under the added pressure of the large group.
To attack the Asakura would mean a campaign to the northern provinces. It was a major undertaking, but the plan was approved in a very short time. On the very same day a proclamation went out that an army would be assembled, and by the twentieth day of that month it had already been mustered at Sakamoto. Added to the troops of Owari and Mino, were eight thousand Mikawa warriors under Tokugawa Ieyasu. A force of close to one hundred thousand men now stretched along the lakeshore at Niodori, in the bright Fourth Month of late spring.
Reviewing the troops, Nobunaga pointed toward the mountain range to the north. "Look! The snow covering the mountains of the northern provinces has melted. We'll have the flowering of spring!" Hideyoshi had been included in this army, and led a contingent of troops.
He nodded to himself, thinking, "Well, while Lord Nobunaga was entertaining himself in the capital with Lord Ieyasu this spring, he was also waiting for the snows to melt in the mountain passes leading to the northern provinces."
But more than that, he considered how Nobunaga's real skill had been in inviting Ieyasu to the capital. Indirectly he had displayed his own strength and achievements so that Ieyasu would not begrudge the forces he would be sending. This was Nobunaga's skill. Even with the chaos the world is in, it's going to be united by his ability. Hideyoshi believed this was true, and understood more than anyone else that the significance of this battle was in its absolute necessity.
The army advanced from Takashima, passed Kumagawa in Wakasa, and marched toward Tsuruga in Echizen. On and on it went, burning the enemy's fortresses and border posts, crossing mountain after mountain, and attacking Tsuruga within the month.
The Asakura, who had been making light of the enemy troops, were astonished that they were already there. Just half a month earlier, Nobunaga had been reveling in the spring flowers of the capital. The Asakura could not believe, even in their dreams, that they were looking at his banners here in their own province, even if he had been able to make his military preparations so quickly.
The ancient Asakura clan, descended from the imperial line, had risen to prominence for helping the first shogun, and later had been granted the entire province of Echizen.
The clan was the strongest in all the northern provinces; this was acknowledged by itself and others. The Asakura ranked as participants in the shogunate, they were rich in natural resources, and they could depend on great military strength.
When he heard that Nobunaga had already reached Tsuruga, Yoshikage almost chided the man who had informed him. "Don't lose your head. You're probably mistaken."
The Oda army that fell upon Tsuruga made its base camp there and sent out battalions to attack the castles at Kanegasaki and Tezutsugamine.
"Where's Mitsuhide?" Nobunaga asked.
"General Mitsuhide is in command of the vanguard," a retainer replied.
"Call him back!" Nobunaga ordered.
"What is it, my lord?" Mitsuhide asked, hurrying back from the front lines.
"You lived in Echizen for a long time, so you should be especially familiar with the geography between this area and the Asakura's main castle at Ichijogadani. Why are you fighting out there for some tiny achievement with the vanguard, without devising some greater strategy?" Nobunaga inquired.
"I'm sorry." Mitsuhide bowed as though Nobunaga had somehow struck him deep inside. "If you will give me your order, I will draw you a map and submit it for you observation."
"Well then, I'll give you a formal order. The maps I have at hand are rather crude, and there seem to be places where they might be totally incorrect. Check them with the maps you have, correct them, and give them back to me."
In Mitsuhide's possession were finely detailed maps with which Nobunaga's could not compare. Mitsuhide withdrew and then returned with his own maps, which he presented to Nobunaga.
"I think you should look over the lay of the land. And I think I'd better make you an officer on my field staff." After that, Nobunaga would not let Mitsuhide stray far fron headquarters.
Tezutsugamine, the castle defended by Hitta Ukon, soon surrendered. But the castle at Kanegasaki was not so quick to fall. In this latter castle, Asakura Kagetsune, a twenty-six-year-old general, stood his ground. When he had been a monk in his youth, there were those who said it would be a pity for a warrior of his physique and disposition to enter holy orders. Thus he was forced back into secular life and quickly put in charge of a castle, distinguishing himself even within the Asakura clan. Surrounded by more than forty thousand troops commanded by such veteran generals as Sakuma Nobumori, Ikeda Shonyu, and Mori Yoshinari, Kagetsune looked down from the castle watchtower with an unperturbed expression, and broke into a smile.
"How ostentatious."
Yoshinari, Nobumori, and Shonyu staged a general attack, staining the walls with blood and holding fast like ants for the entire day. When they counted the bodies at the end of the day, the enemy had lost over three hundred men, but the corpses of their own forces exceeded eight hundred. That night, however, the castle at Kanegasaki stood majestic and indomitable under a huge summer moon.
"This castle is not going to fall. And even if it does, it will not be a victory for us,” Hideyoshi told Nobunaga that evening.
Nobunaga looked a bit impatient. "Why won't it be a victory for us if the castle falls?” There was, on such occasions, no reason for Nobunaga to be in a good mood.
"With the fall of this one castle, Echizen will not necessarily be overthrown. With the capture of this one castle, my lord, your military power will not necessarily increase."
Nobunaga interrupted him, asking, "But how can we advance without overcoming Kanegasaki?"
Hideyoshi suddenly turned to the side. Ieyasu had come in and was just standing there. Seeing Ieyasu, Hideyoshi hurriedly withdrew with a bow. He then brought in some matting and offered the lord of Mikawa a seat next to Nobunaga.
“Am I intruding?" Ieyasu asked, and then sat down on the seat Hideyoshi had provided. To Hideyoshi, however, he gave not the slightest recognition. "It seems as though you were in the middle of some discussion."
"No." Motioning toward Hideyoshi with his chin and softening his mood a bit, Nobunaga explained to Ieyasu exactly what they had been discussing.
Ieyasu nodded and stared fixedly at Hideyoshi. Ieyasu was eight years younger than Nobunaga, but to Hideyoshi it seemed the other way around. As Ieyasu looked at him, Hideyoshi could not imagine that his manner and expression were those of a man in his twenties.
"I agree with what Hideyoshi has said. To waste further time and injure more men with this one castle is not a sound policy."
"Do you think we should call off the attack and press on to the enemy's main stronghold?"