I slowly opened my eyes and realized that there was light out. Did I sleep through the whole night? I remembered I was poisoned by the leader of the Rokkaku clan during the dinner banquet that they prepared for us. I slowly pushed myself to sit up and I looked at my surroundings. I was in an unfamiliar room and no one was around with me. As I was about to stand up, the door slid open and Hideyoshi came in. He saw that I was awake and I could see the concern in his eyes as he moved closer towards me.
We left Omi Province as soon as we could. I was feeling much better now and I told Nobunaga not to worry about me anymore. The journey to Kyoto would be quick especially at the rate that we were going. Hideyoshi and the rest of the soldiers followed swiftly behind us.
After the long journey, we were finally back in Gifu Castle. I felt like my butt was about to fall off from sitting on a horse for nearly 2 days. As soon as we passed the gates, I immediately dismounted the horse and ran inside. I made sure to stretch my legs and my arms. When I walked in, I was greeted by my three boys.
It’s only been a day since Nobunaga left but I still have that bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. If that small incident at Omi caused Nobunaga to start thinking differently and making his own decisions then I’m pretty sure this will invoke a domino effect on everything that’s about to happen. I can’t stop thinking of the consequences in the future because of what I did. My nerves were shot and I couldn’t do anything but pace the room.
Nobunaga didn’t waste any time once he was back in Gifu. He prepared his army and informed them of their march to Echizen. Nobunaga told me about how Asakura Yoshikage wasn’t present at the banquet. He saw this as an act of betrayal by the Asakura Clan and he didn’t want that. I knew of his intentions and I knew this was bound to happen but this battle is different. Nobunaga will not be able to win this time. I made sure to attend the war councils to listen to Nobunaga’s plans and how he was going to approach this.
Nobunaga and the Oda forces arrived in Echizen a few days later. As expected, the Asakura Clan were already prepared for their arrival. AS Nobunaga ordered, the siege was led by none other than Hideyoshi. To prove himself to his lord, Hideyoshi put forth a battle strategy that ended up favorable for the Oda Forces.
It’s been a few days since Nobunaga and the Oda forces left for Echizen. The whole castle was quiet considering there were only a few of us here. I would roam around the castle from time to time and I would often help the maids and servants with thor chores. They would often tell me not to interfere but I insisted.
The Battle of Anegawa was a battle known throughout Japan’s history. This was the first battle that involved the alliance between Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu. The battle will take place in Omi Province near Lake Biwa. But before the actual battle will commence, Nobunaga had a plan beforehand.
The soldiers and troops could see the dynamic between the Oda forces and the Tokugawa forces. Despite their long-time hostility throughout history, both Nobunaga and Ieyasu were able to fight together without getting into an internal conflict. Not many people know of what happened between Ieyasu and Nobunaga and how their alliance came to be, however the people cannot deny how great the both of them work together.