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"Come, rise, let us return to the warmth of the castle walls, and drink until we collapse. Let us wash away the scent of Imagawa with our vomit, and you can tell me the plans you have for the future."
With the silence that had consumed the people, his words were heard by all, and they were met with a cheer.
"A good bit of drink… Aye a good bit of drink will do me." Morojo decided, tears falling from his eyes.
"Don't cry Morojo-san, things are going to be getting even more exciting now." Takeshi assured him.
"Aye, that's why I'm crying lad… We've borne witness to the birth of a new age. What other man can say that? I no longer care whether I live or die – this was indeed a life well lived!"
"Well, if I might offer a suggestion – don't die for now. I have a use for you." Gengyo replied with an amused smile, before beginning back down the road he came, with Matsudaira by his side, and crowd of people in his wake.
"I'll go with that option, then! Let us drink, people! Let us drink!" He roared, a smile forcing all those tears away.
"Haha..." He chuckled in response, before prodding Matsudaira to speak. "Well? What are your intentions – you've sworn that vow, but I will not hold you to it. I want you to return to your people, and deliver the news. After that, I'd like to know your intentions."
"The Takeda…" Came his hesitant response.
"Indeed. Estimation on how long it will take them to mobilise?"
"Not long. Not long at all. They'll want to take advantage of this chaos. Imagawa was not well liked – I'm sure you know. His advisors will have fled long before you breached his inner wall. He will know everything that has gone down this night. A week, Miura, is all it would take. He will anticipate a swift victory, because of your small number. Know this though – he is not fool enough to take you lightly. That man is terrifying. He's lain dormant for the past few years, but that does not change the fact that he is a dragon."
"That seems to be the case." Gengyo admitted with a sigh. "It does sour the celebrations, but we still must drink, and celebrate the hurdle that we have just overcome, no matter what looms in the distance. Stability is a long way off, but we accomplished our goal, and so I say again: we must celebrate."
"You are right. Indeed, you are right. Even if this were to be the end of my clan, I would not die with a sour look on my face. No matter if the Takeda cavalry crushes every last one of us, there are many men who would die contented."
"So, you will join me in this?"
Matsudaira looked back at him in surprise, thinking such a thing to be obvious. "I would not miss it for the world. The Matsudaira clan still has forces of its own, that Imagawa was unable to consolidate. I will join you in this battle, Miura, just as we promised we would, and I will fight to my fullest capacity for the first time since I was a young man."
"We'll cause terror on that field. I look forward to it."
"We must gather all the forces we can. In future, we had need dismantle the other provinces under Imagawa rule, and collect our prize, but I fear we do not have time. All we can do is sweep Mikawa, and announce your victory, and gather whatever forces are left over. But I warn you, they will be far inferior to these men that you have trained, and you will not have the time to correct that problem."
"It will be a hasty scramble for victory, I agree."
"Miura." Matsudaira said with the utmost seriousness, causing his Daimyo to pause as he looked at him.
"Hm?"
"There is a second party who we might implicate the help of."
Something about the way he said it made Gengyo pause to think rather than question, and as he looked back, his eyes widened, realizing what he intended. "Devilish. Devilish indeed. We need not count on him too heavily, but all we need is an appearance – that would turn the tables entirely in our favour. But I wonder how he will react to such an offer?"
"With interest, of course."
"He's a genius, to put it lightly. But we have removed a thorn in his side. A battle where we do not beg that he incur casualties, but offer him opportunity instead. I feel I might be able to catch his attention, but whether or not he truly shows will be a coin flip. Oda Nobunaga… even his name carries intrigue."
"Where are you going, Nii-san? You've already passed the bridge!" Rin called out, as the two of them paused in their footsteps to look back.
"Ah." They exclaimed in unison, sharing a smile. They were so caught up in their scheming, that they had forgotten the purpose for which they were walking in the first place. They both insisted on the need to celebrate, and yet it was so much more exciting for them to discuss strategy. Work dissolved into play, and the result was a delight.
"Perhaps if the Takeda are anything like you two, they will simply walk straight past us, forgetting why they left in the first place." Jikouji jabbed in amus.e.m.e.nt, having listened to their talk in silence from behind. To his mind – though he might have been able to contribute something slight – it was far more rewarding to listen to the two of them going back and forth as they did.
"We can only hope." Matsudaira replied with a grin, following Gengyo up onto the bridge, and towards the castle. "Every time I used to come here, my heart was filled with dread, and now… I'm excited."
"There will be good quality wine inside, that's for sure." Gengyo seconded, walking leisurely with his hands behind his back. It was refreshing for all to see that he had not changed, not in the slightest. Despite his sudden ascension to the rank of Daimyo, he was far from allowing it to rush to his head, and if anything, he was even more casual and laid back than normal.
"No, not merely in regard to wine, but opportunity. Everything that was once solid is now malleable enough to work it. Ideas that have sat gathering dust for long are dancing, knowing that they might soon come to light."
"That too. Possibility gives a man hope."
"No doubt Takeda is feeling much the same though. He has wanted these lands for years, but it would have cost him too much to throw all he had at Imagawa. By his eyes, his patience has paid off."
"We will see. I look forward in experiencing the famous Takeda cavalry – and defeating it, of course. That is likely something we lack, but with our matchlocks, it feels unnecessary."
With their minds being so alike, they could not help but delight in discussing strategy further. Their ideas bounced off one another, and they were able to find solutions to problems even quicker than they would by their lonesome. To them, this was most exciting kind of conversation.
"I feel the same, but in the hands of a good general, cavalry is far more powerful. Their manoeuvrability makes them quite the weapon if used properly, and strategically. With one charge, a mere thousand cavalry can send thousands of foot soldiers running. You taught me that, with your oxen. There is too much chaos to be had when experiencing it, that you can do naught be run."
"Mm… It certainly would be interesting. To beat the Takeda at their own game – that would crush their morale." He murmured, smiling devilishly.
"Mine are forces of old that we've kept hidden, and so naturally, I have cavalry amongst them. Only five hundred though."
"Five hundred can still cause quite the amount of chaos. The borders are heavily forested, are they not? We lure the Takeda towards our front, with a heavy spear line, and we fend off their cavalry flanking attempts with our rifles. And then, when their forces are engaged, we assault their general and his bodyguard. Just one cut to fell the man, and the battle will immediately be in our favour." Gengyo suggested a possible battle strategy, just off the top of his head. It was bare bones, but he hoped, through conversation with Matsudaira it would see refinement.
"Ah, that's right, isn't it? No matter how unskilled the forces we recruit, if they hold one of your rifles in their hands, then they can still kill a man, or even several. If we have skilled men holding the front, we'll be able to hold them for a while. It would be brutal though. Perhaps that is when we might expect Oda to make his appearance, once the general has fallen, and relieve us of our burden by attacking their flanks."
"Excellent… That would work well. We'll beat out the specifics further, but suddenly fending off this invasion does not seem so impossible."