As Imagawa Yoshimoto expected, Suwa Yorishige was indeed not a prudent person. That night after returning to the city, he arrested all the members of the Kato faction, including Suwa Mitsuru. With deep hatred for Takeda Harunobu's abuse of him, he asked the Suwa family to resist to the end and never surrender to Kai's invaders.
If peace negotiations fail, war is inevitable. On August 27, the 10th year of Tenmon (1541), the Takeda Army officially began its fierce attack on Uehara Castle, while the Imagawa Army stationed in the northwest of the city to guard against the arrival of reinforcements. Uehara Castle was the stronghold of the Suwa family for generations, and the Suwa family, as the great blessing of the Suwa Shrine, also won the hearts of the people. The entire Uehara Castle united in the fort and fought hard, causing huge casualties to the Takeda family.
The Takeda Army fought hard for two days, and finally relied on Suwa Manrin to suddenly open the city gates with a group of lords and factions in uprising, and then they invaded the city and finally suppressed the resistance of Uehara Castle. Suwa Yorishige's position as governor of the family was also deprived of by Takeda Harunobu and transferred to Suwa Mitsuru, who immediately expressed his surrender to the Takeda family.
After learning that Uehara Castle had finally fallen, Imagawa Yoshimoto, who was stationed a few miles outside the city, rode up with his guards and wanted to congratulate Takeda Harunobu on the victory. However, after arriving at the castle town, he noticed something was wrong with the atmosphere. The streets in the neighborhoods were deserted, and the doors and windows of every house were closed. Only a few Takeda Army soldiers patrolled the streets.
In the silent environment, the sound of horse hoofbeats by Imagawa Yoshimoto and his entourage seemed particularly harsh. After hearing movement on the street, there would be faint sobbing sounds of fear from many homes on both sides of the road, and the voices of parents comforting their children could also be vaguely heard.
"What's going on?" Imagawa Yoshimoto bent down on his horse and asked an Ashigaru of the Takeda family who was standing guard at the corner of the street.
"Reporting to His Majesty Imagawa, he is under martial law and waiting for orders." The Ashigaru of the Takeda family bowed and replied in a neither humble nor condescending manner.
"Wait for the order, what order?" Imagawa Yoshimoto looked around suspiciously. If you listen carefully, you can hear violent crying in another neighborhood to the east. Imagawa Yoshimoto didn't ask any more questions, and rode his horse to the east with his guards.
Along the way, Imagawa Yoshimoto felt inexplicably anxious, and his horse speed became faster and faster. After arriving in that neighborhood, I saw countless people being driven out of their homes by the Takeda family's ashigaru and forced to stand on the street. The Takeda soldiers were armed with spears and whips, and any civilians who disobeyed were beaten severely. They were then dragged out of the house by their hair and clothes and kicked to the street.
When the crowds were almost cleared, these people were driven towards the east, clustered together in a crowded and chaotic group, walking honestly under the sharp sword light of the ashigaru of the Takeda Army who were watching eagerly around them. Occasionally, cries would break out in the queue, but without exception this would result in a severe beating - the Takeda family's ashigaru would drag the cryers out of the queue, punch and kick them, and some of them would die immediately. The rest of the people didn't dare to say anything when they saw this, so they could only grit their teeth and cry quietly. The mother held the children tightly in her arms, covered their mouths, and shed tears. The people in each household did not bring any luggage, but only carried the hoes, shovels and poles at home.
Imagawa Yoshimoto continued to ride his horse in the direction of the queue. Only then did he realize that the dirt road leading to the wasteland east of the city was already lined with people, all of whom were people from the castle town of Uehara Castle who had been driven here. They stepped on the mud one foot deep and the other shallow, and moved forward in a daze.
Imagawa Yoshimoto and his guards galloped on the hills beside the dirt road, raising horse hoof dust two people high along the way, and finally arrived at the end of this long flow of people - the rolling dust there was five people high. On a large wasteland behind the hills, thousands of Takeda soldiers were surrounding thousands of Uehara Castle residents - supervising them to dig holes.
Men, women, old and young, armed with shovels, hoes, poles... all kinds of tools, were digging hundreds of holes, large and small, in the wasteland. They cried while digging, and the dust and tears fell down, making the land appear dark brown as if it had been beaten by raindrops - and then it was covered with the dry soil dug out.
On the way Imagawa Yoshimoto came, more people were being driven in continuously. Under the leadership of the Takeda family soldiers, they walked to a wasteland and began to dig holes. There was dust flying everywhere and it was uncomfortable to choke.
Imagawa Yoshimoto instinctively covered his mouth and nose with a folding fan, realizing that after such a trip, the clothes on his body would be too dirty to wear, and he would have to go back and take a shower. He urged his horse to find Takeda Harunobu on the high ground next to him, got off his horse and asked:
"What are you doing?"
Takeda Harunobu didn't seem to understand Imagawa Yoshimoto's question, and looked at Imagawa Yoshimoto in surprise, "They are digging a hole."
"What are you digging a hole for?" Imagawa Yoshimoto also didn't understand Takeda Harunobu's confusion.
"Otherwise the knife will be blunt." Takeda Harunobu seemed to completely understand Imagawa Yoshimoto, and felt that there was a generation gap between the two people.
Imagawa Yoshimoto and Takeda Harunobu looked at each other for a long time. Only then did Imagawa Yoshimoto understand the misunderstanding between the two people, and he felt a severe pain in his chest.
"Do you really want to massacre the city?" Imagawa Yoshimoto asked in a low voice.
"Of course, it was not agreed before that if Suwa Sakon did not surrender, the city would be massacred." Takeda Harunobu looked at the "construction site" below with his hands behind his back, "I always keep my word."
"Are you serious?" Imagawa Yoshimoto confirmed again.
"Isn't this your first time seeing a massacre, Goro?" Takeda Harunobu gradually understood why Imagawa Yoshimoto was so weird, and said with a smile, "These are troubled times, and massacres are commonplace. Which daimyo hasn't massacred a city these days?" ?”
"This is thousands of human lives." Imagawa Yoshimoto took a deep breath, and finally did not express his strong objection, but left a step aside, "Although I have no intention of interfering with the decision of your Takeda family, killing is not good after all. .”
"It's normal for Buddhists not to see these things." Takeda Harunobu shook his head indifferently, "But our Wu family has seen a lot of blood, so it doesn't matter."
"But after all, there are still thousands of manpower. Isn't it good to keep them? Kai's manpower is poor, so it wouldn't be a bad thing to have more people, right? It would be good to be sent back to be slaves, right?" Imagawa Yoshimoto changed his perspective - he was obviously He couldn't bear to massacre the city, but in order for his advice to be listened to by Takeda Harunobu, he could only use his own interests to speak out - how similar was he to Theodotus when Mitilena was handling the dispute?
In contrast, Takeda Harunobu naturally plays the role of Kryon - indeed there is nothing new under the sun.
"These Suwa people have always looked down on us Kai people, thinking that we are country bumpkins in a barbaric land. When Kai was still weak, they were repeatedly bullied by the Suwa people. There were countless blood feuds between the two sides." Takeda Harunobu laughed twice. Then he waved his hand, "With this deep hatred and arrogance, the Suwa people can never be used by the Takeda family. Since they can't be used, then kill them all to prevent them from causing trouble for us. It's not like I haven't given them anything. Chance, I said that I would surrender to avoid death and not surrender to massacre the city. Since they themselves have chosen to die rather than obey me, they should be prepared to die."
Imagawa Yoshimoto sighed, not knowing what to say.
"Wu Lang, you are kind-hearted, but a good heart will suffer sooner or later. Anyone who is a governor in these troubled times must be cruel. If you are soft-hearted, not only will you not be able to save people, but you will kill more people. I am cruel, Although he committed many evil deeds, in the end he allowed more people to survive." Takeda Harunobu turned around, walked to Imagawa Yoshimoto's side, and patted him on the shoulder:
"If nothing else, let's just consider simple human life accounts." Takeda Harunobu fiddled with his fingers, "Our Takeda Army suffered more than 500 casualties in the attack on Uehara Castle, and the casualties among Uehara Castle soldiers and civilians are estimated to be more than 1,000. Not counting the injured, even if there are dead, there are still 600 people, right?"
"Do you know how many cities there are in Shinano? Not to mention other things, just counting the other branch cities of the Suwa family and the castle of the Takato family, the branch of the Suwa family, there are as many as 15. In the entire Shinano, even if it is only Counting Minami Shinano, there are more than 40 cities. If I capture them one by one, how many people will die?"
"But it's different now. When I slaughter the city in Uehara Castle, the whole Minami Shinano will be shocked. Even the strongest Suwa family is unable to resist. Other wealthy families and people must also know that they are destined to be unable to fight against the Takeda family's soldiers. Keep the territory. They have all seen the consequences of not surrendering - I proved to them that I, Takeda Harunobu, am determined to massacre the city, and I am not just talking about it to scare people. Not only do I have the strength, but I also have the ability to use it. Determination confirmed this to them.”
"In this case, who else dares to despise my threat to massacre the city? Who else dares to resist? Under heavy pressure, I can forcefully surrender them without any blood. Killing one city, surrendering a hundred cities, how many fewer people will die in the end, Wulang himself will not Will it count?"
"It's exactly the same as my teacher's fallacies. Did you demons with blood-stained hands agree on the same rhetoric before you were reincarnated in hell?" Imagawa Yoshimoto sighed again and said sarcastically.
"This is the consensus among heroes. What one person says is wrong, and what everyone realizes without thinking is the truth." Takeda Harunobu opened his arms, as if to devoutly embrace the mass grave in front of him, "I I’m not killing, I’m redeeming.”
