In May 1575, at the
Battle of Nagashino and started his career as the supreme commander of the siege of
Iwamura Castle. He repelled the Takeda army that had attacked the Oda army at night and defeated more than 1,100, and defeated Takeda clan commander
Akiyama Nobutomo to open Iwamura Castle. After that, even in a series of battles with Takeda clan, he would make a big name for himself. On November 28, 1576, Nobunaga handed over the Oda clan's lord, eastern Mino, and part of
Owari Province, and was entrusted with its control. In addition, the younger brother of
Nohime, Saito Toshiharu, became an aide (chief vassal) to Nobutada. In the same year, he was placed under the fifth rank, and he was appointed to Dewasuke
(出羽介) and then Akita Josuke, aiming to become a shogun. Since Yoshiaki Ashikaga was still a shogun, which ordinarily means a general in
Bingo Province even under the Oda administration, the Oda clan had no choice but to become a shogun. It is also said that this official position was meaningful in opposition to the Uesugi family, who was also the guardian of
Echigo. In February of the 5th year of Tensho (1577), Nobutada attacked Nakano Castle and captured it, and in March,
Suzuki Shigehide (Sonichi Saika) and others surrendered to him . In August, he became the supreme general of the rebellious subjugation of
Matsunaga Hisahide, and commanded generals such as
Hosokawa Fujitaka and
Akechi Mitsuhide, who lead his army, and captured
Shigisan Castle, where
Matsunaga Hisahide and his son, Matsunaga Hisamichi barricaded themselves. Due to his achievements, he was ordained to the third rank
(従三位) Sakonoefu
(左近衛府中将) on October 15. From around this time, he took command of the generals as a general in place of Nobunaga. On December 28, eight types of tea utensils that Nobunaga had were handed over, and on the following day, three more types were handed over. In 1578,
Mori Terumoto, the head of the Mori clan, mobilized a large army of more than 100,000 to recapture
Kōzuki Castle in
Harima Province. Terumoto himself set up main camp near
Takamatsu castle, and he made his main vassals, such as
Kobayakawa Takakage, Ukita Tadaie, and the Murakami Navy to deploy to Harima Province and
surround Kōzuki Castle with their army of 61,000 people. Nobunaga also sent Nobutada as supreme general, along with
Akechi Mitsuhide,
Niwa Nagahide,
Takigawa Kazumasu and other generals as reinforcements to rescue Kōzuki Castle.
Hideyoshi Hashiba, who is
surrounding Miki castle, also came under Nobutada's command, totaling 70,000. 2,000 Oda troops deployed to Harima. However, due to the stalemate, Nobunaga ordered the withdrawal from Kozuki Castle for strategic reasons and devoted himself to the capture of Miki Castle.
Amago Katsuhisa, the master and servant of the castle, who had been waiting for Oda's reinforcements for three months, surrendered, and Kozuki Castle fell . On October 4, 1578, Saito Toshiharu, Nobutada's uncle-in-law, was dispatched by Nobunaga as the general reinforcement of Jinbo Nagazumi. Nobutada also sent reinforcements with his vassals stationed in Mino and Owari. He also took part in the suppression of
Araki Murashige's rebellion (
Siege of Itami) that broke out in
Settsu province from the same year to the following year, Tensho 9 (1579). In 1580,
Sakuma Nobumori, who was in charge of southern Owari, and
Ando Morinari, one of the three Mino Triumvirate, were banished, expanding the territory of Nobutada's control in the two countries of Mino and Owari. == Conquest of Koshu ==