Pillars of the Wu family

The sudden retreat of the Asakura Army caused the remnants of the Wakasa Takeda Army who were still resisting to lay down their weapons, and handed over the proud Tsuruga County, and forced Kanezaki City Lord Asakura Kagehito to join forces with the third son of the genealogy family, Duanzaki Jicun , coerced Tsuruga County Secretary Asakura Keiji to suddenly seek refuge with Uesugi Kenshin, Asakura Keheng did not premeditate, but was just an act of self-preservation as a last resort.

As the heir of Tsuruga County Secretary, his father Asakura Keiki has long lost power in the Asakura family. In this battle for Tsuruga County, Tsuruga has always been at the forefront. After he dies, God is sorry, there are still more than [-] people left who fought hard in the Dunhe crowd, and all of them are injured and exhausted. Letting him die is like telling him to die immediately.

His elder brother Asakura Jingyu died in a daze in order to fight, which has already made the Tsuruga Asakura family hate the clan very much. This time, fighting against the Uesugi Army for many days to protect their homeland has exhausted their energy, and now they have to fight for this hateful Asakura Yoshikage was sent to die, as long as Asakura Jingheng felt his head would explode just thinking about it, a surge of hatred filled his chest, so it's not surprising that he chose to betray.

There are still many Asakura people who took the opportunity to rebel. Qianba Jingdang was pulled over by his younger brother Qianba Jingding to join him. , Kobayashi Yoshitaka, the famous traitor Choshige Tomita, Sasaki Sasaki, Dansheng County Sasaki Shrine, and the brave Magara Naotaka and Magara Nasumi all betrayed.

The Asakura army's retreat failed to save Asakura Yoshikage. Instead, the army led by Uesugi Kenshin bit his tail and chased after him. He was defeated all the way from Tsuruga County to Ika County and still couldn't get a foothold. The two thousand troops that forced Asakura Yoshikage to leave behind his uncle Asakura Keiron and his son Asakura Keiken were cut off.He did not dare to flee towards the occupied Qianjing County.He took more than [-] remnants and hurriedly led the army to retreat towards Gaodao County.

In the eyes of Uesugi Kenshin.Asakura Keilong's army strength is not enough for a spoonful, not to mention that his own soldiers are full of fine food and morale is high, and the enemy's long-term battle is exhausted and morale is low, and the soldiers are panicked and helpless. This time, Asakura Yoshikage can't win two When Shi Chen was breathing, he was defeated. Asakura Kelong and Asakura Keiken father and son died in battle, accompanied by more than 1000 soldiers who died in battle, and only more than 900 remnants surrendered.

Asakura Yoshikage, who learned of the collapse of the frontline army, shrank in Qingshui Mountain City, not daring to come out, listening to the victory of the main force of the Eastern Army every day.Uesugi Kenshin swept Echizen and captured Wakasa, Nakajo Tokihide invaded Tango Country with his sword Isshiki Yoshimichi, and Tango Isshiki Clan was destroyed. At the end of a frenzied war in the north, Uesugi Kenshin’s North Army Corps had already As many as 7 people.

Tohide Nakajo had 5000 people, and there were many survivors from the Wakasa Takeda clan and the Echizen Asakura clan. Even after several selections, they were still 28 elite, and the total strength of the Eastern Army exceeded [-] at this moment. , This is a desperate number. More than half of the more than two hundred thousand people are warriors from the Eastern Kingdom who are good at fighting.Even if the servants accounted for more than half of them, it would be scary enough.

Sometimes having a large number of people is also a kind of skill, don't care whether it is just a fake or not.At least it can scare the vast majority of people. During the Chengjiu Rebellion and the Jianwu period when Ashikaga Takashi raised troops from Kyushu, they both pulled up more than 50 troops. According to folklore, Ashikaga Takashi had an army of [-]. Various exaggerated descriptions put The shaping of the Ashikaga army as a god and Buddha also shows the whole world's view of a strong army.

There must be a lot of people with great ability, thick arms and strong fists must be justified. It is not that the strong are respected more than others. Since ancient times, it has been the same. This cannot change the eternal law that might is truth.

What's more, Minamoto was the pillar of the Minamoto family at the time, and he was the second right general. This is the official position of the White Banner Daming God Minamoto Yoritomo. The first general of the Minamoto family to conquer barbarians, his reputation has completely surpassed the "evil public" Ashikaga Yoshitomo Above Zhao, just looking at the ratio of troops can also know that the messy big-headed soldiers of the Western Army are not enough.

At least now, Yoshikage Asakura, who only has more than [-] people, is worried every day, so when Kenshin Uesugi went south, he did not hesitate to abandon Shimizu Mountain Castle and flee to Sakamoto for refuge, but soon he found that Sakamoto was not too If it's safe, send someone to contact Oda Nobunaga to find a way to save himself.

It just so happened that Oda Nobunaga's army in Otsu besieged Usayama Castle had stayed there for a long time without embarrassment, so he took advantage of the merger of the Eastern Army and ordered Asakura Yoshikage to retreat to the vicinity of Kyoto to garrison, so there was This said that Yoshikage Asakura withdrew into Shogunyama Castle and gave up Sakamoto. In fact, Yoshikage Asakura had not been around Sakamoto for a long time.

Okochi Kokatsuna held on to Usayama Castle for nearly four months, and the [-]-armed army had raised more than [-] men. He insisted on carrying it down with a sigh of relief. Nongguo's confrontation with the Eastern Army has a lot to do with it. The Western Army who stayed behind in Otsu had little interest in sieging the city. At first, they would send some siege troops to perfunctory. Later, they didn't even bother to send soldiers over, so they just stood at the foot of the mountain and shouted. After a while, the iron cannon was fired a few times and then withdrew.

Until Oda Nobunaga led the army back, this group of Western troops no longer had the intention to attack the city and make meritorious deeds. They only wanted to defend Otsu from being attacked at night. The warriors who didn't believe in evil became the souls of their swords, and these warriors were not allowed to be half-hearted and perfunctory. The Western Army was more frightened than the remnant guards in Usayama Castle every day.

On the other hand, Dakochi Guogang was much easier. For two full months from June to August, there were Western troops in all directions, but there was not even a single battle. They easily survived the cage city battle that was supposed to be fatal. , if the Western Army persists for a few more days, maybe the last remnant in Usayama Castle will be killed and injured. More than half of the more than 800 people are disabled, and they don't even have half of the initial combat power.

Now the Western Army has dropped to 14 troops, and their morale is low. Facing the menacing 28 Eastern Army, the difference in strength alone is doubled, let alone how to win, Oda Nobunaga is distressed Rubbing his forehead, he thought to himself: "Is my ambition really coming to an end? No... I still want to capture Ryukyu, conquer the seven seas and rule this vast world. Floys said this is called the world. I To rule the world. This is my lifelong ambition!

When that ignorant and old-fashioned talk about the origin and meaning of the traditional order.I will never understand Nobunaga's ambition!He is no longer my trusted confidant, but a fool who is obstinately conservative and backward!Back then, Nobunaga swore to rule the world for 30 years, and now my vow has been half-fulfilled. As long as I defeat that idiot from Yuanyi, my ambition will surely come true! "

……

Oda Nobunaga's ambition may never be realized. Minamoto Toki did not give him time to breathe and think. Nakajo Tokihide's troops invaded Shiga County, announcing that Sakamoto Castle had returned to the Eastern Army again.Immediately afterwards, the non-stop onslaught on Nakao Castle forced the defender Shinohara Nagabo to abandon the castle and flee. Half of the defensive barrier to the east of Kyoto was broken, and Kyoto was at stake.

The counterattack direction of the Western Army is placed in the area around Yamashiro Kokatsu Ryuji Castle. As an important point guarding the west bank of the Yodogawa River and monitoring the entry and exit of Kyoto, it attracts the attack of as many as [-] troops from the Eastern Army. Seizing the opportunity of the Eastern Army's rapid advance, the enlarged army crossed the Yodo River, and took the opportunity to launch a half-cross attack and almost collapsed the tens of thousands of Eastern Army trapped on the river beach.

Fortunately, the situation on the other side of the river was found to be wrong, and the half-snake cannon was used as a big killer.The Booming Changzonggabu Yuanqin's Department couldn't stand firm, but was attacked by Hojo Tsunasari in a wave to ask for many generals including Kira Kisada.The end of this wave of fighting also completely exposed the actions of the Eastern Army. The Western Army in Katsuryuji Castle made a massive attack, forcing Hojo Tsunari to lead his army to retreat.

After a failure, both sides were reflecting on the lessons learned. The general of the Western Army did not dare to let the Eastern Army do anything again, so he took advantage of the advantage of the inland water army on the Yodo River to blockade the Yodo River, hoping to take this opportunity to suppress the actions of the Eastern Army. Very good results. A Yodo River connects Uji River, Kizu River and Katsura River. If these rivers cannot be controlled, there is no such thing as controlling Kinai.

The closure of the waterway is a fatal shortcoming. This is like an elite army who dare not cross the river easily, fearing that the back road will be cut off as soon as they cross the river, and the enemy will be attacked from behind. The enemy hiding in the dark is always the last It's difficult to deal with. Yuanyi used these rivers to block Miyoshi's family many times back then, and Miyoshi's family suffered a big loss. Now that the mountains and rivers are taking turns, he should have a headache again.

In desperation, Yoshitoshi Minamoto ordered the foreign navy to come to help. The two foreign naval forces fought fiercely in Osaka Bay for several days. In the end, it was the Eastern Army that relied on the strong firepower of the Galen Galleon to defeat the Western Army. The Awaji Navy and Kono Navy were defeated, but unfortunately, the Eastern Army's outer sea navy had few small boats, and the strength to enter the inland river for support was limited. It was difficult to win against hundreds of inland river warships. The control can't be determined, and the two sides are in such a stalemate that neither can do anything to the other.

This stalemate did not last long. Minamoto Yoshitoki quickly found a solution and ordered the Eastern Army's vanguard general Honjo Shigetsu to lead more than [-] troops to capture Fushimiyama Castle in the east of Kyoto City. This castle was once It was Minamoto who went out to the main position in Kyoto many times. After taking this mountain city, you can overlook the entire Kyoto and see all the movements in the city at a glance. This triggered the last cordon of Oda Nobunaga, and the battle broke out.

Before dawn on the second day, and there was still some time before the sun rose, Oda Nobunaga set off singing his "Atsushi". Thousands of troops marched out from the Honnoji Temple, and then the generals from various branches in Kyoto gathered. When they left Kyoto, they had gathered more than [-] people. At the same time, a long giant dragon came out.

The division strategy of the Military Council has the unique characteristics of the Warring States Period. The 14 troops are divided into several formations to fight each other. More than [-] Mori Terumoto moved to the northeast. After leading more than [-] people to move to the north bank of the Kizugawa River, as the southern wing to confront the Hojo Shizheng, Oda Nobunaga led an army of [-] troops as the main line, crossed the Uji River and set up an army at Kumi Mountain, and the rest were scattered in the east of the Uji River On the vast plains of the coast.

Akechi Mitsuhide looked at the continuous black army in the distance, crossing the Uji River and the Kizu River from south to north. Standing in place and looking around as if extending to the horizon, he could still see the black soldiers and the white flag. He couldn't help sighing. : "The 28 army is more than the army led by the waiting institute! Seeing the aura soaring to the sky and covering the sun makes those who see it feel thrilled. It must be that the Emperor Go Daigo saw this scene before he was born. Desperate!"

"Hush! Silence! Didn't you see that His Royal Highness and Lord's expressions are not very good-looking?" Following the direction guided by Narumasa Sasaka, they saw the ugly expressions of Ashikaga Yoshiaki and Oda Nobunaga. I never thought how terrifying it would be if the 28 troops were in formation.Consciously 14 people are already a very terrifying force.Doubling that is even harder to imagine.

At this time, a burst of army taiko drums suddenly sounded from the Eastern Army.The generals of the Western Army were so nervous that they almost ordered to shoot arrows. Fortunately, they remembered that the Eastern Army was still far away from the effective shooting range. They waited quietly for a while and saw the Eastern Army slowly advancing. Oda Nobunaga immediately ordered the Western Army to return. With color, if you take a step, I will take a step, and the momentum cannot be lost at critical moments.

When the two sides stopped at the same time with a distance of three arrows, I saw a burly and vigorous warrior riding a tall and strong horse, wearing a bright gold and silver armor, slowly walking out of the Eastern Army headquarters. array.Behind him fluttered four white flags, namely Hachiman Taro Minamoto Yoshiya, Namo Hachiman Daibodhisattva, Ashikaga Kamisaburo Yoshitoki, and Genji Sasakudan flag seals.

The warrior of the Western Army exclaimed: "That's the Yubai Banner! That man is Yuan Er, the right general!"

Amid the exclamation of the Western Army, Yuan Yishi rode his horse out of the formation alone, walked slowly to the middle of the battlefield and stopped his horse, shook his head arrogantly, looked around and opened his hands to make a hug, and then shouted: "Kyoto ! I am back at Yuanyishi!"

"Let the arrows! Let the arrows go!" Ashikaga Yoshiaki was mad at him, roaring hysterically, his face was hideous and terrifying like a ghost crawling out of hell.Seeing his terrified expression, Xu Shi, a soldier of the Western Army, hurriedly ordered his bow and arrow to shoot immediately.Rows of arrows rained down on the grass far away from Yuan Yishi's feet, even the luckiest arrow was a few meters away from him.

Yuan Yishi smiled disdainfully, raised his hands and folded his palms together suddenly, when people thought he was paying respects to the Buddha, they suddenly parted and clapped together again, and the warriors of the Eastern Army burst into laughter and applauded following the movements of the general. Ji Oda Nobunaga couldn't bear it anymore, and roared: "Iron Cannon Squad! Shoot! Kill him!"

The iron cannon is lightly and slowly reloading gunpowder, lead bullets, testing the matchlock, aiming, and shooting. Originally, this set of procedures took 50 seconds, but now it took 1 minute to complete when I was nervous. Fortunately, this round of shooting was finally completed. , Ping-ping-pong-pong sounded by the iron cannon. When the smoke cleared, Yuanyi still stood still calmly. The maximum range of the old matchlock iron cannon was less than half of the bow and arrow. The position where he was standing He couldn't even shoot a bow and arrow, and firing the iron cannon was purely seeking self-comfort.

Yuan Yoshiki sneered, slowly pulled out Minamoto Shigemonu mustache, and said loudly: "In the past, there was a general Ashikaga Yoshiki who wandered in Jiangzhou and lived in Sakamoto. Yu Zaisha's rejuvenation of the shogunate was ruined by his younger brother Ashikaga Yoshiaki and the evil party Miyoshi. Ashikaga Yoshiaki was extremely vicious. The emperor controlled the government and set fire to Mt. Hiei and occupied Kinai to bring disaster to Kyoto. The damage was several times that of Kusuki Masamari, and it was for the enemy of the court, the Buddha, the samurai, and the samurai family!"

"You...you bastard! You spout blood! You..." Ashikaga Yoshiaki blushed, and he couldn't even utter a complete sentence when he pointed at Yuanyi standing in the distance, most of the soldiers of the Western Army were from the countryside Farmers and soldiers who have never seen the world and do not know the inside story of the shogunate's grievances. When they first heard that the general they were loyal to was such a person, how could they be willing to sacrifice their lives for him? This battle will end here.

"We, the martial arts family, supported our family business with our backbone and opened up the wilderness with our hands. We have gone through thousands of dangers and passed down from generation to generation to have the respect we have today. We rely on the hard work and struggle of our hands, and we rely on loyalty and filial piety. The eternal righteousness of benevolence and righteousness establishes destiny! If you don’t know loyalty, you will kill the king; if you don’t know filial piety, you will kill your relatives; if you don’t know benevolence, you will kill;

Genyoshi suddenly pointed his halberd with one hand at the main formation of the Western Army under the banner of the Ashikaga Monon and the Oda Family Monument, and shouted: "And this Ashikaga Yoshiaki, murdering the king and relatives is easy to kill and cause chaos. Throughout the ages, there have been few violations of disloyalty, filial piety, and unkindness. The unrighteous person, Oda Nobunaga set fire to the Buddhist sacred mountain Hiei Mountain Enryakuji Temple, mutilated the Buddhist disciples, burned the Kalan, toppled the Buddhist pagoda, destroyed the Buddha statue, and committed the five felonies! He was denounced as the sixth heaven demon king, and so on Evil thief, can you please call me?"

The sound echoed over and over again on the vast land, the generals of the Western Army stood still and didn't know what to do, and let the commotion of the subordinate soldiers become more and more violent. Oda Nobunaga's face was livid and silent. He found that Ashikaga Yoshiaki started hysterical again roared.The demoralization of the army is a foregone conclusion.He somewhat regretted whether he should have attacked with the whole army just now.Even if he rushed to the battle and was beaten and lost, he must not be allowed to make such a declaration that hurt the morale of the Western Army.

But at this moment, it is too late to think about these things, and I saw Genji raised his mustache, and shouted: "The ancestors of the Yuan family are superior, and I, Yuanyi, will fight against evil thieves and sweep away evil spirits. I am willing to raise the white flag of Genji to kill Kamakura has returned to Kyoto, and anyone who blocks my way will be killed without mercy, and anyone who is my enemy will be killed without mercy! Gods and Buddhas bless the ancestors. This is God's will! The righteousness lies in the Eastern Army!"

"The righteousness is in the Eastern Army! The righteousness is in the Eastern Army!" The Eastern Army shouted in unison like a surging tsunami, and it was like the roar of a beast shaking hundreds of miles. When he came back to the battle, he inspired his spirit and high fighting spirit.

Yuan Yishi smiled contemptuously, and regarded the 14 Western Army as nothing, shook his head and swayed his horse back. He was greeted by cheers from the 20 soldiers of the Eastern Army. More than 28 people are as majestic as a mountain.For dozens of miles, the Fenghuo joint camp has long been afraid of anyone, and the general dared to issue a call to action in front of the gaze of hundreds of thousands of eyes.Spread out the righteousness of our own side, and shouted the slogan "righteousness lies in the Eastern Army", which made the morale of the Eastern Army grow infinitely.

Under the reverent eyes of the ministers, Minamoto Yoshitoki slowly walked back to the main formation, and gestured to his son-in-law, Ashikaga Yoshitaka shouted in a childish voice: "The three armies beat the drums, ready to go out!"

Dozens of huge military taiko drums were slowly pushed to the front of the formation by the carriage frame. The rumbling drum sounded like a wind-up alarm clock, urging the warriors to line up and wait to go out. : "Saito Shimono obeys the order! Take you as the leading general, and command [-] troops as the vanguard! Cut through the main formation of the Western Army! I will give you a white flag!"

Saito Asanobu respectfully took over the white flag symbolizing glory, and said excitedly: "Ha! I will live up to my mission!"

"Takigawa Keijiro, Shimazakon obeys orders! You two are ordered to lead [-] troops each to follow Saito Shimono, and make sure to defeat the Western Army's left and right reinforcements!"

"Yes!" The two blushed excitedly, clenched their fists and pounded on the armor, took the white flag and quickly got on their horses and galloped away.

Following the delivery of the general order, dozens of white flags were scattered and separated with the generals, but within half an hour each of the preparations set off one after another. Tens of thousands of warriors led the ashigaru behind them to charge towards the Western Army. The wild horses galloped at a high speed, and the Iron Cannon Team rushed to the front. They raised their flintlock cannons to launch the first round of attack.

"Use the bamboo beams to block it!" Oda Nobunaga gave an order, and thousands of bamboo beams formed a screen in front of the formation, blocking all the threats posed by iron cannons. Today, artillery tactics are becoming more and more mature, and a set of effective tactics against iron cannon bombardment has been developed. The bamboo beams tied into a bamboo row and placed horizontally in front of the formation can be used as arrow shields and cover the advance of the Western Army.

Saito Asanobu led more than [-] cavalry from a distance, and saw the Western Army lift out the bamboo beams as a wall, and immediately changed tactics to make a detour to the left and right. Seeing that the situation was not going well, the generals of the Western Army hurriedly ordered their troops to tilt to the two wings. If the two wings were breached, it would be difficult to save the main formation. They also knew that they had fallen into the trap of the Eastern Army, but the Western Army had no choice. .

At the moment when the two sides were pulling back and forth, the generals of the two wings had already collided first. More than [-] people from the Hojo Shizheng Office and more than [-] people from Miyoshi Yoshitsugu's army fought fiercely. Repelled the advance attack of the Miyoshi Army, seized the small gaps in the improper coordination of the Miyoshi Army and pulled out the space of several backup teams, chased one of the backup teams and fought hard, and successfully captured the enemy's backup team general Shinohara Self escape.

Nagamune's Motokin faced Kamikoyama Hidetsuna and Yuuki Haruto's troops. The strength and strength of the two sides were almost the same, and it was impossible to tell the winner in a short time. The coalition offensive of Urakami Munekei and Akamatsu Yoshisuke went smoothly. Mogami Yoshimitsu and Date Terumune couldn't hold their heads up, but fortunately Ashina Mori and Iwaki Changlong led the army to rescue and turned the situation back.

The generals of the Western Army Yusa Nobuyo, Asakura Yoshikage, Hatano Hideji, Kamo Kenhide, and Ikeda Katsumasa led their troops into the battlefield, and rushed to the battlefield with Takeda Nobushige, Satake Yoshishige, Nagano Yemori, Nasu Ziyin, and Utsunomiya Hiroshi. Tsuna joined the battle, and the plains from Kizugawa to Ujigawa were full of scenes of continuous fighting.

Seeing the urgency of the battle, Lao Xiaoji, the representative of Akamatsu's family tree, was very anxious about his political position, so he recruited his important minister Kuroda Takataka (named Kodera Takataka at this time) to discuss strategies. The resourceful Kuroda Takataka thought for a while, and suddenly said: "I have a plan I don't know if it's feasible or not, but I can collect a few pack horses and cattle, pour firecracker tarpaulin and other fire-igniting materials on the reed leaves and oxtails, and light the firecrackers to make a surprise attack. When cattle and horses break the battle, our army can also turn defeat into victory."

The political officer of the small temple said happily: "Okay! This plan is very good! I don't know what kind of plan it is called?"

"This plan is called the Fire Bull Formation." Kuroda Takataka smiled slightly and looked into the distance, posing as if he was holding a wisdom pearl.

At the moment of fierce fighting on all sides, Mori Terumoto and Honjo Shigecho on the north wing acted like they were playing house. The generals of the two sides confronted each other in front of the formation. Both sides seemed to have concerns and were unwilling to take the lead in attacking. Fan Chang got the decree not to take the lead in fighting. Seeing that there was no movement from the Maoli family, he got off his horse and took off his armor and sat in the tent to rest.

Mori Terumoto made the decision not to move unexpectedly, but his mood was not as relaxed as he imagined. There were only [-] soldiers of the Eastern Army facing him who were lax. To win a big victory, maybe this big victory can reverse the disadvantage of the Western Army, but he dare not gamble with the fate of his family and country, not to mention that he himself is not optimistic about the victory of the Western Army.

Sitting in the formation, patiently waiting for the information before the formation, let the time pass by every minute and every second, until noon, Gui Yuansheng, the confidant who was in charge of inquiring about the news, hurried back, bowed and said: "Battle report ahead, Chi Songyi Yu's surprise attack with the fire bull array failed, and the furious fire bulls rushed around and smashed the Akamatsu family's main formation into pieces. The general of the Eastern Army Yoshinao Oniwa asked for the political position of Kodera, and the family guard Dong asked for Masahide Akamatsu, Yoshisuke Akamatsu, and Bie So Anzhi's army was defeated and captured, and Pushang's army was shaken."

Mori Terumoto frowned and asked, "Fire Bull Formation? What is this?"

Kobayakawa Longjing thought about it for a while, and said: "It is said that it is an ancient method of warfare in the ancient Ming Dynasty. About 700 years ago in the Warring States Period, a general of the Qi State, Tian Dan, tied a weapon to the horn of an ox to defend against invaders. , tied a reed to the tail and poured oil, lit it with fire to drive a surprise attack, and sent five thousand warriors to follow behind the fire ox to cover up and kill. More than ten cities."

"Since this fire ox array is so magical..." Yoshikawa Motoharu said doubtfully, "Then how could it fail?"

Takakage Kobayakawa shook his head in confusion: "Probably because the legends are not credible! Otherwise, the "Seven Books of the Martial Arts" will definitely be a special book." (To be continued..)

ps: The Fire Bull Formation was used in modern domestic civil wars, and its effect is very poor. If you are interested, you can search it.