Takeda Nobushige frowned silently and did not participate in the shouting.
After the Hime Warriors all left the scene to do their work, they spoke to Takeda Harunobu in private.
"Sister, most of our army is suppressing various places in Beixin. Are you too hasty to lead only your own troops to march north?"
Takeda Harunobu replied.
"Murakami Yoshikiyo encountered a sudden change. He had remaining soldiers but no supplies, so there was nothing to worry about.
On the contrary, there was no news from Echigo for a long time, and I was a little worried that something might change later.
I have to attack Zenkoji with light troops and eliminate Murakami Yoshikiyo and Ogasawara Nagatoki before I can feel completely at ease.
Without a leader, the Shinano Samurai family will surrender to me with peace of mind and not want to be troubled."
Takeda Nobushige nodded, his sister was right.
"I feel relieved now that my sister is aware of it. You are an indispensable pillar of the Takeda family. Please be careful."
Takeda Harunobu smiled.
"Fool, what can happen to me?
The Nakano area where Takanashi's family is located has been captured by the vanguard. My only purpose is to wipe out the panicked remnants of Murakami's party.
Maybe, she will surrender as soon as people arrive. Don't worry, I will pay attention to safety."
The sisters had a deep love and said some more words.
Leaving the rear area under the care of Takeda Nobushige, Takeda Harunobu raised his headquarters' military strength and advanced northward along the east bank of the Chikuma River.
———
In the early morning, the sun rises.
Uesugi and Murakami's coalition forces marched eastward from Zenkoji Temple, crossed the Chikuma River, and arrived at the Fu Shi area on the east bank.
The Chikuma River goes all the way north and passes through the Echigo Mountains to become the Shinano River. Together with the Agano River, it divides and nourishes the Kanto Plain, and then flows into the sea.
The Chikuma River here in Shinano merges with the Saikawa River on Kawanaka Island and stretches from Kawanaka Island to the Echigo Mountains. The river is divided into east and west bank areas.
Along the west coast is the alluvial plain of Kawanaka Island, and there are not many plains sandwiched between the east coast and the Takai County mountainous area, starting from Kaijin Castle and counting from south to north.
There are four small plain areas such as Suzaka, Bushi, Nakano and Iiyama, which are suitable for joint military campaigns.
Among them, Suzaka and Nakano plains are larger. There is Fukushima Castle in Suzaka and Takanashi Castle in Nakano.
Iiyama is in the far north, backed by the Echigo Mountains and leading to the Myoko Plateau of Echigo.
The relief area chosen by Uesugi and Murakami's coalition forces was narrow, with the Chikuma River on one side and the Yamada key point on the other.
It is impossible for Takeda Harunobu's army to go through the Takai County mountainous area in a hurry. This is the only way for her to reach Nakano Takanashi Castle.
After crossing the river, Murakami Yoshikiyo asked.
"Your Highness Uesugi, Takanashi City in the north doesn't know that we are crossing the river yet. Should we launch a surprise attack and cut off the enemy troops behind us first?"
Teru Uesugi shook his head and said.
"Striking Takanashi Castle first will alert Takeda Harunobu and cause another incident. Once Takanashi Castle holds firm, we will be attacked from two sides.
It is better to go up the mountain to ambush, let the envoys of both sides pass the interrogation, and paralyze Takeda Harunobu's northward march. Wait until she reaches the bottom of the mountain, then raise the flag to launch the attack.
She didn't know I was coming, so she was caught off guard and was given a head-on blow."
Murakami Yoshikiyo nodded in agreement.
Uesugi Teruhora arrived in a hurry. Echigo's army only had 4,000 troops. Excluding half of the peasant soldiers who were responsible for the logistics, there were only 2,000 soldiers who could carry several days of dry food across the river this time.
Murakami Yoshikiyo still has a thousand troops in his hands, but they are mixed and their combat power is uneven.
The total number of troops on both sides was only 3,000. The Takeda Army was fully mobilized for this northern invasion. There would be no less than 30 troops in reserve. Together with the peasants and soldiers, the military strength would be at least 13,000.
If Takeda Harunobu's troops cannot be stunned in one battle and allowed to retreat cautiously, the outcome of the battle may not be favorable to Uesugi Terutora's side.
After Murakami Yoshikiyo approved, the coalition forces quickly went up the mountain to ambush.
———
At this time, Takeda Harunobu led the army to set off from Yantian City.
After passing Ueda, we walked along the east bank of the Chikuma River, bypassing Mt. Tsumame, passing Kaizu Castle, and arrived at Fukushima Castle in Suzaka at noon.
The four thousand troops she led were the elite bannermen composed of retainers, the standing army directly under the family governor, and the avant-garde composed of Shinano's subordinated samurai family.
Fukushima Castle was small and could not accommodate four thousand troops stationed there. After repairing for a while, Takeda Harunobu ordered the troops to move out.
We have already contacted the Takeda military forces at Nakano Takanashi Castle and everything is normal. We will march for another half day and pass through the Busch area to Takanashi Castle for further repairs.
After crossing the river tomorrow, we can attack the remaining Zenkoji army of Murakami Yoshikiyo.
Thinking of this, even Takeda Harunobu, who is as calm as he is, can't help but get excited. The Takeda family's ambition for many years will finally be realized in his own hands.
When she expelled her cruel mother and took over the Takeda family, which looked strong but was actually crumbling, she was under tremendous pressure.
I finally proved myself right, I am better than you, Nobutora Takeda, my mother.
Look, Shinano Country, which you failed to capture with all your strength, is within my reach.
The army set off again. Takeda Harunobu looked at the rivers and mountains, and suddenly felt a disharmonious feeling in his heart.
A layer of goosebumps appeared on her back, a chill ran up her spine and onto her head and neck, and she broke into a cold sweat.
Something is wrong, something is wrong.
He reined in his horse and waved his hand. The flags around him were already giving orders to stop, waiting for the orders from the family governor.
The army advanced in a long snake formation, with no regard for the beginning or the end. Orders from near and far slowly spread out, and after a long time, the formation gradually stopped.
Takeda Harunobu didn't care about these trivial matters, but thought carefully about what he had overlooked.
The intuition developed through years of war will always unconsciously sense something wrong in the segments that her mind ignores, and subconsciously send out warnings.
Takeda Harunobu planned his actions before he acted. When fighting, he calculated defeat before calculating victory.
She carefully observed the nearby terrain. In spring, everything revives and the mountains are full of vitality. Why are there no birds singing or beasts roaring in the mountains?
It's too quiet, there's something wrong with it.
She suddenly raised her head and looked towards the forest. In the silence, there was a faint murderous intention.
"With the order, the front troops gathered in formation, and the Ji warriors from all units moved closer to the leader.
The Chinese army forms a formation and forms the Crane Wing Formation!"
You must not retreat at this time. The marching formation is long and slender. The soldiers do not know the generals, and the generals do not know the troops.
Once chaos breaks out, a surprise attack will result in a huge defeat. The only option is to gather the troops first and re-arrange their formations.
———
On the mountain, Terutora Uesugi let out a sigh of regret.
Takeda's troops had already entered the ambush circle. In order to cut off the formation and attack the main formation directly, she ordered the troops to stay still.
As a result, Takeda Harunobu seemed to have discovered something was wrong, and the front army retreated into a group and began to organize their formation.
We can't wait any longer, we must launch an attack before the opponent's formation is completed.
Terutora Uesugi ordered.
"Order, Murakami Yoshikiyo's troops will be the first to go down the mountain and rush into the enemy's formation to disrupt the enemy's formation.
After three quarters, listen to my conch's signal and retreat in an orderly manner to the right.
The order was given to Kakizaki Keie's troops to go down the mountain in two moments. They were second-hand and cut in from the left wing to cover the retreat of Murakami Yoshikiyo's troops and continue to disrupt the enemy's situation.
After three moments of contact with the enemy, retreat to the right.
Order, Saito Chonobu's headquarters..."
Terutora Uesugi looked at the foot of the mountain and kept issuing orders. Each envoy bowed his head and ran towards the location of each department to deliver orders.
Letting Murakami Yoshikiyo take the lead was to use their grievances to open up the situation and prevent Takeda Harunobu from forming a smooth formation.
This group of Hokushin warriors were caught off guard by Takeda Harunobu's series of tactics. They lost their territory inexplicably and were suffocating with anger.
After that, there was the first military confrontation between Uesugi Teruhu and Takeda Harunobu.
To be continued...