Chapter 108 Oda Nobutada's Love Letter
Chapter 108 Oda Nobutada's Love Letter
June of the first year of Yuangui (1570).
After Oda Nobunaga regained control of the Kinai region, he was appointed Junior Third Rank, Gon Daigon, and the Mino Province was handed over to Oda Nobutada.
He did not forget his brother-in-law's achievements and secured him a position as Junior Assistant to the Chief Administrator.
This inevitably reminded Changqing of the man who challenged Tokugawa Ieyasu to a duel.
Ishida Mitsunari should still be called Sakichi now — he should still be a novice monk in that temple in Omi.
It seems that Takatora Todo was also from Omi Province. Historically, he was said to be 1.9 meters tall and participated in the Battle of Anegawa. He should be easy to find.
Nagayoshi then wrote to Honda Masanobu of Sawayama Castle, asking him to recruit Todo Takatora with 200 koku and Ishida Sakichi with 10 koku.
At the same time, he asked Zhengxin to remind Chun'an not to forget the construction of the temple.
On June 20th of the same year.
Nagayoshi returned to Gifu as Nobutada's tutor, and Maeda Keiji became the castle governor of Iwamura.
June 30th.
When Mori Nagayoshi came out of the Honmaru Palace, he was still holding the reply letter that Honda Masanobu had sent.
It must be said that Zhengxin is very efficient in handling matters.
Tōdō Takatora has been found; this tall man is busy looking for a new master. After Masanobu offered him a high salary of two hundred koku, he nodded without hesitation.
As for Ishida Sakichi, that kid is still chanting sutras in the temple, and 10 koku is enough to make him jump for joy.
Changqing smiled, folded the letter, and put it in his pocket.
As he passed through the middle gate, a maid rushed out of Nobutada's room in a panic and almost bumped into him.
"My lord, please forgive me!"
The maid knelt down, revealing half a letter beneath her sleeve.
Hey, Xinzhong has grown up!
"Whose letter is this? Is it the young master's love letter?"
The maid's face turned pale.
"Young Master is at an age where it's time for him to get married—"
The maid saw that Changqing had misunderstood and was about to explain, but he had already picked up the letter and entered Xinzhong's room.
Xinzhong was sitting by the window, still holding a pen in his hand, the ink in the inkstone still wet.
"You've already finished writing the letter, why are you still holding a pen?" Changqing asked, waving the letter around.
"Is there something you need, Lord Mori?" Nobutada asked hesitantly, looking at the letter.
Changqing sat down opposite him.
"Just tell me if you have any needs, and the Nobunaga Guild will find you a good marriage. It's best not to mess with the maids—"
Lord Nobunaga knew this was bad.
The cicadas outside the window were chirping loudly.
Xinzhong blushed and protested, "This wasn't written for the maid!"
He snatched the letter and spread it out for Changqing to see.
"Spring days linger, the gathering of artemisia is plentiful. My heart is filled with sorrow, and no one knows why."
The letter was written entirely in Chinese characters—it was indeed a love poem.
"To whom was it written?"
Xinzhong pursed his lips and remained silent.
Changqing picked up the paper and examined it against the light. On the back, the words "Matsuhime" were written.
"A daughter of the Takeda family?"
Xinzhong's eyelashes trembled.
Changqing couldn't help but sigh.
After Nobutada and Matsuhime became engaged, they maintained correspondence and occasionally exchanged tokens of affection.
Later, when Takeda and Oda became enemies, the engagement was naturally nullified. Matsuhime was sent to her half-brother, Nishina Morinobu, and remained unmarried.
It is said that after the fall of the Takeda clan, Nobutada planned to marry Matsuhime, but the "Honnoji Incident" occurred, and Matsuhime became a nun after learning of Nobutada's death.
They were a pair of star-crossed lovers.
"Does Lord Nobunaga know about this?"
"My father should have known, but he didn't ask about it. He just arranged a concubine for me."
Nobunaga was strict with his successor, but he also showed a certain favoritism.
Changqing didn't know if the "Honnoji Incident" would happen again, but he couldn't help but feel sorry for the lovers who had never even met.
Xinzhong took out a stack of letters, some of which were already yellowed.
"Has the snow from the summit of Mount Fuji ever fallen on Lake Suwa?"
"I am delighted to hear that you practice martial arts. I also practice archery, and I hope that we can shoot together someday."
"The cherry blossoms in the courtyard bloomed this spring; I plucked a branch to send to you. I wonder if the cherry blossoms in Gifu have already fallen?"
Changqing felt a soreness in his cheeks and mouth.
-
"this one?"
"There are some more—" Xinzhong took out a brocade pouch from the bottom of the book box, untied the rope, and poured out a few dried cherry blossom petals and a broken arrow.
The arrow was finely crafted, with a small character for "pine" engraved on the arrowhead.
"This is her first arrow from her first archery practice. She deliberately broke it into two pieces; she kept the second half and had the merchant bring the first half over."
These unique little gifts—they truly embody a young girl's romance.
Changqing put the broken arrow back into the brocade pouch and looked up at Xinzhong.
"You two—" He stood up and walked over to Xinzhong, "You write poems from so far away, and she replies with poems. You send her a cherry blossom branch, and she sends you a plum blossom branch. What's the point?"
"Lord Mori?"
"I'm asking you, do you want to see her?"
Xinzhong nodded.
"So you write these sentimental poems? If you really want to see her, just lead your troops there and attack!"
"Fight—fight them?" Xinzhong suddenly stammered.
"Yes. Takeda Shingen is in Kai, but his daughter is in Shinano. If you really want to see her, you should conquer Shinano later and bring Matsuhime over!"
Xinzhong's breathing became rapid.
"But—the Takeda clan has not yet attacked—due to the Ikko-shu uprising, our army is currently on the defensive."
Nobutada's words were true. Uesugi Kenshin had already entered Echigo-chu, and Hibiki Province was under attack at any time. Mino could not devote its full strength to attacking Shinano.
"Your father also risked coming to this city to marry Lady Nong! What a man wants, he has to get for himself. Writing a hundred poems is not as good as shooting a hundred arrows with your own hands. Picking a thousand cherry blossoms is not as good as walking into her city yourself."
"I—I understand. But how should I reply this time?"
Changqing laughed and tore the undelivered letter to shreds.
He spread out a piece of paper and handed a pen to Xinzhong.
Write a letter. Write to Takeda Shingen.
"Write—write what?"
Xinzhong never thought of writing a letter to such a famous name.
"Write it down! That old scoundrel's official rank is that of a Grand Steward of the Fourth Rank."
Nobutada then wrote "Takeda Junior Fourth Rank, Lower Grade, Daizen Daibu Harunobu".
"The Oda and Takeda have broken ties, but my feelings for Matsuhime have never changed. Since our engagement, we have corresponded and exchanged tokens over the years. Although we have never met, our hearts are connected. To me, she is already the wife I have chosen. To her, I am the lover she has been waiting for—"
"Though the engagement is null and void, nothing in this world can change my mind. Sooner or later I will lead my troops eastward and crush Jiaxin—"
"I, Oda Nobutada, will certainly marry Matsuhime as my principal wife. For Matsuhime's sake, I will treat the descendants of the Takeda clan well, so that their bloodline will not be extinguished—"
"On the battlefield, life and death are left to fate; off the battlefield, the bond between father-in-law and son-in-law remains, and I, Xinzhong, will also uphold it!"
Xinzhong wrote faster and faster, and his strokes became increasingly resolute.
Before Changqing could remind him, he had already signed the letter.
Oda Nobutada, the fifth rank lower-ranking official of Mino, said, "Not bad, not bad—" Nagayoshi nodded.
"Lord Shingen—won't he force Matsuhime to marry someone else?"
"Don't overthink it, just do it!"