Inuyama Castle fell, and with Saito Ryuko now isolated and alone, Harano's two thousand men were nothing more than the cherry on top for Oda Nobunaga. Nobunaga didn't want to keep feeding them either, so after giving them a share of the spoils, he subtly hinted they could head home.

Yeah, what Harano got from the spoils was mostly a portion of Inuyama Castle's population. The land, castles, and wealth went to Oda Nobunaga, while Harano took away part of the population. Consider it an ally's reward for winning together.

Nakamura Yajiro also saw his dream come true. Thanks to his work in stirring up rebellion and building bridges, he received three villages near the Kisogawa River—Jingye, Jinjo, and Ninglai—as his fief. It's just that the area had been at war for the past two or three years, the villages were almost empty with most people fleeing, and the land was seriously neglected. Even lumped together, the three villages barely produced five hundred koku—a promising future, but not much for now.

Still, this was a big step forward for Nakamura Yajiro. After all, he now had his own territory, enough to support some troops and count as a semi-independent force.

According to history, these three small villages were the foundation for the monkey's rise. Yajiro was generous, divvying up all the village lands for the Kawamata Group families to farm, strictly enforcing the "five to the lord, five to the people," and even emulating Harano by leading the Kawamata Group into the water transport business.

He really ran it like a business, with strict rules, encouraging enthusiastic service, strictly forbidding his men from robbing or extorting traveling merchants—and absolutely banning the practice of just tossing merchants into the river if they refused to pay. He even showed up at Harano's place bearing gifts, cut some deals for Wanjin's special products at a low price, planning to use the Changliang and Kisogawa river network to sell in the Kinki region and chase some big profits.

After following Harano around for a few days, he figured it out: in these times, you can't do without money. He decided to make a killing first, get all the armor and weapons sorted, and then go win glory on the battlefield.

Sharpening the blade and not chopping the firewood—no harm done!

The rest of the Owari nobles and Oda Household Retainers who took part in the battle also received their rewards. The truly accomplished got lordships over lands and manors; the less distinguished at least got several years' exemption from annual tribute. The five hundred men Matsudaira Ieyasu sent (he had now officially broken with the Imagawa family—ditching the "Gen" character Imagawa Yoshimoto had given him and changing his name to Ieyasu) got a huge chunk of loot and happily returned to Sanhe. With Oda Nobuaki's clan crushed, everyone was in for a fat year.

Of course, even after all this division, Oda Nobunaga was still the biggest winner. And he was sharp enough to realize that with his strength, taking Saito Ryuko down wouldn't be a problem. So he made sure to send his allies on their way before they could grab any more of the rewards.

After seizing Inuyama Castle and controlling strategic points along the Kisogawa River, he didn't even take a break. He led his army north, launching attacks on Lozarupeck Castle, Kajita Castle, and other strategic points in Minoh. Most likely, he was following a proven formula—clean out the perimeter around Inaba Castle first, then seize the Saito family's stronghold in one fell swoop.

When it comes to war, Nobunaga is actually quite steady. He loses often, but whenever he loses, it never cuts to the bone; the strong support base quickly makes up for any losses. On the other hand, his opponents get dragged step by step into his attrition game—wearing themselves out until, before they know it, they're done for.

In some sense, Nobunaga and Harano are much alike—each filled with odd ideas, but also extremely cautious. They both like to focus their energy beyond the battlefield itself.

The attack is just a way to grab the final prize; for them, the outcome is already decided long before the battle begins.

They may not be considered legendary generals, but somehow, they're always the ones left standing at the end.

......

Oda Nobunaga crossed the Kisogawa River, storming into Minoh with unstoppable momentum. The Saito family and Minoh's great clans were hardly going to sit and wait for death. After several powerful clan leaders or former patriarchs came calling, berated them and laid out the risks, Ando Shouji grudgingly retreated to the Northern City and handed Inaba Castle back to Saito Ryuko.

But his son-in-law, Takeda Hanbei, was absolutely furious, fiercely opposed any retreat, and ultimately fell out with Ando Shouji. Fearing punishment from Saito Ryuko—who would surely investigate all the killing done inside Inaba Castle—Hanbei simply bolted.

Yep, Takeda Hanbei had spent half a year in charge at Inaba Castle. To prevent any more inside jobs like a late-night gate opening, he'd arrested a massive number of people, killed quite a few, and, to boost troop numbers, went all-out on harsh taxes and forced levies—squeezing tribute out for the next five years. Even the local monks had enough, writing letters to scold him as despicable, shameless, and greedy, and praying for him to get lost.

Now Ando Shouji had only completed half a "Gekokujou," and already wanted to "put the big picture first." Takeda Hanbei couldn't catch a break and might very well have died, so he dusted himself off and left for Omi, seeking refuge with Asai Nagamasa.

According to later generations, Asai Nagamasa greatly admired him, thought he was the world's top wise man, and praised him for his noble act of "returning Inaba Castle." He supposedly gave him an annual salary of 3,000 kan—though Hanbei, eager to retire, didn't stay long in Omi. When he realized Saito Ryuko wasn't after him, he returned to his hometown, Bodhi Mountain City, to live in seclusion. He minded his own business, lay low, and eventually was moved by Kinoshita Fumijiro's "three visits to the thatched cottage," coming out of retirement to become the "Warring States Zhuge of Japan."

If you ask me, the truth is, Asai Nagamasa wasn't crazy—nobody has that much money to burn. Even someone like Harano, working hard on economic development and sailing out to encourage exports by fighting in person, only dared pay his dearest friend, savior, and right-hand man Ah Man a 500-kan salary.

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