On June 10, the eleventh year of Tianwen (1542), at three quarters of noon, the Oda army began to take action.
But to everyone's surprise, the vanguard was not Oda Nobumitsu, Shibata Katsuie and other fierce generals, but Oda Nobuhiro's eldest son, Oda Nobuhiro. The structure of his army was also very strange. In addition to 500 soldiers, he also had
There are nearly 2,000 troops without armor—could they be auxiliary soldiers of the Oda family? How can there be soldiers with auxiliary soldiers when a war is about to begin? How can auxiliary soldiers be included in the formation of soldiers?
Imagawa Yoshimoto and others stood on a hill next to Miai Town and watched with great confusion as Oda Nobuhiro's brigade moved awkwardly towards the Shiratori Shrine. The marching speed was very low along the way and the troops stumbled. They were confused.
The puzzled Imagawa Yoshimoto sent Himura Hitoha to go with Tanma to conduct reconnaissance. After a while, Himura Hitoha rushed back to report:
"Your Highness, the more than 2,000 people held by Oda Nobhiro's Anxiang troops are the soldiers of the Matsudaira clan who were captured in the battle of Sakurai Castle, and the Oda clan also caused chaos in Okazaki Castle and the towns they passed during their current march.
The old, weak, women and children from Sanhe who were captured.”
"What is this going to do?" Imagawa Yoshimoto instinctively felt disgusted, and also focused his attention on Oda Nobuhiro's subordinates. I saw the Anxiang people marching swaggeringly to Shiratori Shrine, then stopped, and did not continue.
They set out to ambush the circle. Instead, after adjusting for a moment, they headed straight towards Yichuan River in the east.
All the Imagawa troops who were watching the battle were stunned for a moment.
Do they want to cross the river directly here to relieve the siege of Miki Castle? The problem is that there is no suitable ferry here. They have to wade through the waist-deep river and cross the Oto River, and then attack the positions prepared by Xiushi, who are waiting for work - this is simply
An impossible mission. If Oda Nobhiro wanted to fight like this, even if half of the Anxiang people died, he might not be able to open even a single hole in the defense line of the Shoudunbei.
It wasn't until cries began to be heard in the Anxiang crowd that Imagawa Yoshimoto and others realized what the Oda army was going to do:
They tied the captured prisoners, women and children to hemp ropes, drove them down the river one by one, and made them swim to the other side of Yichuan River with difficulty. These unarmed prisoners and people did not dare to resist, and they honestly
Shishi was pushed down the rushing river and struggled to move forward staggeringly. Whenever one person fell, the entire string of people on the rope would fall into the water and be drowned and swept away by the river. The Oto River was only twenty feet wide.
At this moment, it seemed like it had become an abyss, mercilessly devouring life.
The Oda Army was driving the civilians and prisoners into the formation, hoping to use these cannon fodder to get past the defense line of Shidunbei on the other side of the Oto River.
"Do you want to shoot arrows, my lord?" The archers who were guarding their shields were all stunned at this moment. Facing the Oda family who forced prisoners and people to die, they were at a loss what to do.
"Shoot the arrow, don't hesitate." Although Daze Jiyin is still young and has a green face, his heart is ruthless. "If they rush up and disrupt the formation, when the Anxiang people cross the river again and charge, we will do it again."
There is no line of defense left.”
"Fire the arrows!" Daze Jiyin ordered sternly, and the archers who were guarding their shields no longer hesitated. They fully opened their bows and shot random arrows into Yichuan. The prisoners and the people wailed and fell down after being hit by the arrows, but
The remaining people can only continue to rush forward - if they retreat, they will only be executed by the Oda family supervising team, but if they rush forward, they still have a chance of survival.
In the chaotic crowd, stood a trembling little girl. Her family lived in the castle town of Okazaki Castle and she was forcibly abducted yesterday. Her mother was dragged away by the Oda family samurai and never came back. Her father tried to stop her but failed.
She was beaten so hard that she almost died. At this moment, she was holding her father's shirt with her left hand and her grandma's hand with her right hand. She put it into her mouth and kept crying.
"Dad, dad, what are you doing?" The girl watched groups of people being pushed down Yichuan River and shot down by random arrows. The wailing and shrill cries carried by the wind made the girl unable to stop.
Trembling, "Are we going to die? Where is mother? Where is mother?"
"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid..." The father, who was tied up in front of the girl, turned around with difficulty and touched the girl's head with his bloody hands, "Xiao Kui, don't be afraid. Wait."
Just follow dad if you know how."
"Don't move! You bastard!" The father's action immediately caused the Oda family samurai next to him to roar. He drew his shining katana and walked towards his father. The father was so frightened that he turned around quickly and did not dare to speak any more.
.
At this moment, the queue on Xiaokui's right was forced by the warriors to move forward. Xiaokui's grandmother was also pushed forward. Xiaokui held on to her grandmother's clothes tightly and did not let go, and was almost killed.
The old man fell to the ground. Grandma exclaimed and tried to help Xiaokui up, but was pushed down by the people behind her. How could an old man stand up? But the rope tied around his waist was still dragging the old man to roll and crawl towards the ground.
As I walked toward Otochuan, I seemed to have run out of breath before I even reached the river bank.
"Grandma! Grandma!" Xiaokui wailed and wanted to throw herself in the direction of her grandma, but was held tightly by her father. This man who had just lost his wife and mother was afraid that his daughter's crying would lead to a casual sword attack from the Oda family samurai. But he failed.
After a while, their team was pushed forward, stumbling across the smooth road full of mud, and then stepped into the rushing Yi River, one foot deep and one foot shallow.
Although the river water in the shallows was not deep, it was still up to the waist and abdomen. Xiaokui, who was still small, could not reach the water surface and soon choked several times. The father who was walking in front of him hurriedly turned around and picked up Xiaokui.
Put her on his shoulders.
At this moment, a captured samurai from the Matsudaira clan at the rear of the queue suddenly started making a fuss like crazy. The samurai were treated differently from these old and weak women and children. Their hands were also tied up to prevent them from tearing them off.
But the samurai didn't know how he did it. After twists and turns, he broke free of the rope in the river, jumped into the water and wanted to swim downstream. But all this was blocked by the weavers on the shore.
The Tian family soldiers had a panoramic view, and they greeted him with a hail of arrows. The warrior was also pierced by arrows on the spot. He grunted a few times and was washed away by the current.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! The father who had just mustered up the courage to escape with his children instantly succumbed, as if he had lost all fighting spirit, and followed the team aimlessly.
Go. At this moment, a man walking in front of him was hit by an arrow between the eyebrows, and fell down without saying a word. The whole team also fell into the Yi River and was swept away by the roaring water of the river.
The Oda army seemed to be determined to wait until the defense line was broken before attacking. The Anxiang people waited in the Shiratori Shrine leisurely, forcing the prisoners and civilians to rush into the formation, and they gradually remained motionless.
On the ground, more and more corpses fell into the Yi River, and the blood gradually dyed the river red. The physical strength of the archers who defended the shields was also passing away, the frequency of firing arrows was getting lower and lower, and there were more and more prisoners.
and the common people were able to stand on the east bank of Yichuan River, lying on the tidal flat and not daring to move.
Upon seeing this, the Anxiang people also began to cross the river. The soldiers rolled up their sleeves and rushed from the river quickly. Their conspicuous armor attracted rounds of shooting, but many soldiers still managed to land ashore and used
The bright swords and guns forced the captives and civilians who were slumped on the beach to rush towards the defense position again. These captives and civilians were used as human shields and sandbags by the Oda family's troops, holding them in front of them to block the arrows.
In front of and behind Xiodunbei's defense line, regardless of whether they were dead or alive, they pushed into the ditch and bumped against the horses to fill up Xiodunbei's fortifications.
"Sir, can we rescue them?" Another subordinate suggested to Osawa Motoin, "We will only attack the Oda family and release the prisoners."
"No." Osawa Jiyin decisively rejected the proposal again, "The formation must not be chaotic. Anyone who dares to rush into the formation will be killed without mercy!"
Unlike Osawa Motoin's decisiveness, Imagawa Yoshimoto in the distance was moved by compassion.
"Isn't Oda Tanzai always known as a wise king who cares about the people?" Imagawa Yoshimoto couldn't help complaining to the people around him, "What are you doing? War is the business of the samurai family, why should innocent people be killed?"
The common people are involved in the battlefield, and they are forced to do such a fatal thing? Most of them are women and children!"
At the same time, on Mount Ryumi, in the main formation of the Oda family.
"Tanma and the ninjas have seen it. The surrounding area of Tanada Forest is under martial law. There is a high probability that there is an ambush." After listening to the reports of the watchmen, Lin Xiuzhen turned to Oda Nobuhide and said, "As my lord expected, Imagawa Yoshimoto is indeed a fraud.
Retreat just to lure us into an ambush."
"Then we will not advance. The main force will stay on Mount Ryumi. We will only send a partial division to the Shiratori Shrine and cross the Oto River to relieve the siege of Miki Castle. But we will not go south to Onishi Town." Oda Nobuhide crossed his arms and tilted his head.
The leader said, "If we don't enter Ohnishi Town, your ambush will not be able to hit us. But we can attack Ohira Town on the other side of the Oto River in waves. Sooner or later, we will capture it. Look at that idiot Imagawa Yoshimoto.
Not in a hurry."
"Imagawa Yoshimoto is known as 'the most benevolent man in Tokaido'. When he saw us driving the people, women and children into the battle, he couldn't help but help us. He would definitely come to our rescue." Lin Xiuzhen put her hands behind her back and looked at the battlefield with a meaningful smile, "
There is no need to wait until he becomes anxious because of the war situation, he will soon become unable to sit still because of the casualties among the people and prisoners."
"Stop joking, Sado, then Imagawa Yoshimoto is a benevolent person, not a fool." Oda Nobuhide was amused by Lin Xiuzhen's "humor" and couldn't help laughing, "I am also called the 'Benevolent Person of the Four Owari Lower Counties'
What? Then look at what I am doing in Sanhe territory now? Who cares about the life and death of the enemy's people?"
"My kindness is only for my own people, and the people of other countries cannot be used by me. If they don't perform military service or pay me food, what does it have to do with me? If you die, you will die. Every time one of the people of Mikawa dies, the Matsudaira family
If we are just a little weaker, our Oda family will be weakened, and I can't wait for the people of Mikawa to die."
"Haha, my lord, please speak quickly." Lin Xiuzhen also laughed happily, but then shook her head, "But as far as I know, Imagawa Yoshimoto was a monk who was dedicated to good deeds, not a martial artist like my lord.
thinking."
"Then do you think that Imagawa Yoshimoto, 'the most benevolent person in Tokaido', will send troops to rescue these people and prisoners?" Oda Nobuhide pointed at the tragic scene at the ferry by Shiratori Shrine and laughed, "Only the victors can
He is qualified to be called a benevolent person. Only when he wins can he implement benevolent policies and have a good reputation. The loser gets nothing. How can there be any reason to give up victory for the people? If he loses, won't all the people he saved become the enemy's people?
Yet?"
"We'll see, lord." Lin Xiuzhen said with a confident smile.