(Author's note: I have uploaded the map of this battle in the book review area to facilitate everyone's understanding! It is purely hand-drawn, so you can make do with it. If you need to view maps from previous issues, please select the "Writer Says" column in the book review area.)
On the night of September 24th, the fifth year of Tenmon (1536), outside Shimada Castle, Imagawa Yoshizhin’s trusted ninja, Jounin Momosaburo, was pretending to be a watchman in the village, wandering on the streets, watching the movements on the official road. Shimada Castle is the only way to travel between Suruga and Toe, and troops moving back and forth can only pass through here.
Since the Imagawa clan sent troops to the far river on September 23 in the name of "crushing rebellion and regaining lost territory," the clan has sent almost all of its ninjas to follow the army westward, and has successively investigated every nearby hilltop and high point where the movement of the army could be observed. .At the same time, the Imagawa family's horseback warriors and the knights from the banner team were also wandering on both sides of the official road all day long, driving away all suspicious people. Under these heavy precautions, even if Imagawa Yoshizhin's ninja tried his best, he could not The troops heading west towards Yuanjiang were detected.
However, such high-intensity vigilance during the day also seriously consumed the physical strength of the Imagawa clan ninjas. At night, Momotosaburo and others, who had been lurking for a long time, finally got the opportunity to approach the official road. Since last night, the official road has been non-stop. Some people returned eastward - that is to the east of the river. However, it was too dark to see how many people there were. Although the number of torches was limited, Momotosaburo deduced based on years of intuition that there was a high probability that a large force was passing through. .
Momosaburo silently counted the number of torches that passed through tonight, and he didn't sleep a wink all night. But when he thought that this was to repay Imagawa Ryojin's kindness, he felt no sleepiness at all.
It wasn't until the early morning of the 25th that the torches returning eastward on the official road gradually disappeared. Instead, there was another group of troops heading westward to the Yangtze River, and the ninjas and knights once again began to build an intelligence barrier to prevent others from approaching. They retreated to the official road. Momosaburo, who was in a village far away on the road, was just about to take a nap under a tree when he discovered that his subordinates who had been sent to conduct reconnaissance on the banks of the Fuji River had returned.
"Boss, it's unmistakable, it's Master Yukisai himself. He didn't go west to Toe River, but went east to Fujikawa." The returning chunin vowed to report to Momotosaburo, "I met you at Imagawakan before. But he himself will never admit his mistake. He is currently in the rock village on the banks of the Fuji River and has appeared several times cautiously. It seems that he is afraid of being seen."
"Are you sure you read it correctly?" Momotosaburo confirmed very solemnly, "Is the old monk really there?"
"My little wish is guaranteed by my head on my neck." The chuunin promised categorically, pointing at his subordinates at the same time, "They have all seen it, and they can't be wrong."
Several Chuunin subordinates also nodded after hearing this.
"How many people are there in Yanzhai?" Momosaburo asked again in a lower voice.
"It's too far to see clearly, and martial law is enforced nearby. Those ninjas from the Kamahara family are familiar with the terrain and always squat in the most critical places. We can't penetrate." The chuunin apologized with some shame, but then whispered, "But at night, you can always see groups of troops carrying torches coming from the west towards Yanzhai. It's been two days. I guess there are quite a few people coming."
"Maybe the information given by the Hojo family is true... No wonder we are asked to keep an eye on the troops marching at night." Momotosaburo took a deep breath, and his bloodshot eyes were slightly glowing with excitement at this moment.
"The Imagawa clan marched westward with great fanfare during the day, pretending to go to the far river to quell the rebellion. At night, they transferred the troops back to the east side of the Fuji River in batches at night, intending to rob the east of the river... Even Taiyuan Xuezhai is in the Fuji River.
…”
"I will personally go back and report this information to His Highness." Momosaburo whispered to another chuunin under his command, "You have to continue to keep an eye on us here."
September 25, the fifth year of Tianwen (1536), Xiqi City, Yuanjiang Kingdom.
After listening to Momotosaburo's report, Imagawa Yoshima could not help but be sincerely convinced by Hojo Genan who was sitting in front of him.
"Master Gen'an is really amazing. He just used a little trick to lure Imagawa Yoshimoto's people to the east of the river." Imagawa Yoshima was full of admiration, but he couldn't help but sigh in his heart. In the history he had read, Hojo Gen'an
An is just a monk from the Hojo family. He has no extraordinary achievements and no prominent reputation. The reason why he is known to many people is because he once served as a tutorial commentator in the "Ambition" series of games.
Come on. (Author’s note: In 13th Generation Ambition, Hojo Genan said that the cross talk-like beginner’s guide is really fun)
Unexpectedly, Hojo Genan would be such a powerful counselor in reality. So in these troubled times, how many talented people have failed to leave their own ink in history? It is really not a pity to take a look at the world.
"This is a plan formulated by the lord (Hojo Ujitsuna), how can the poor monk dare to take credit? As for the conspiracy, the poor monk still has some tricks. But if it is an outright conspiracy, the poor monk is far worse than the lord, and can only help from the side.
." Hojo Genan was modest and took all the credit for his own achievements.
"Our ninjas in the Hedong area also sent a report, confirming that a large number of troops from the Imagawa clan are approaching." After thanking him, Hojo Genan continued to talk about business, "The Imagawa clan is heavily guarded, and we can't find out the details.
The number of people is estimated to be around 7,000."
"7000... Then almost all of Suruga's troops are gone..." Imagawa Yoshima took a breath of cold air, "Sure enough, the army that went to Yuanjiang with great fanfare were all suspicious soldiers, and they were secretly transferred back at night. Taiyuan Snow
This old monk Sai is so powerful that he can attack the east with one move. On the one hand, he used it to deter me from advancing, so I dared to stick to Yuanjiang honestly; on the other hand, he paralyzed the Hojo family without defense, and they took advantage of us that Yuanjiang did not dare.
When they had nothing to worry about, they launched a surprise attack on Hedong and took it back in one fell swoop."
"The agency is too clever... But this kind of conspiracy will be a dead end once it is seen through." Hojo Genan stood up slowly and shook his cassock, "Now that the plan has been completed, the poor monk has to return to Sagami.
We are ready to assist His Highness, the Governor, in dealing with the enemy. Please, Your Highness, please send a confidant back with the poor monk to discuss future countermeasures together."
"That's what you should do." Imagawa Yoshima immediately nodded in agreement and told Momotosaburo behind him, "Momotosaburo, go in person."
"Then, Your Highness, you must have an idea of what the Toe Imagawa family should do in the future." Before leaving, Hojo Genan turned around and gave instructions to Imagawa Yoshima.
"That's natural. Please rest assured, Master Gen'an and the Hojo family." Imagawa Yoshima sneered and looked east through the window of the castle tower, "The mantis stalks the cicada, and the oriole is behind. Since Imagawa Yoshimoto doesn't put me there,
In his eyes, he hopes to scare me with suspicious soldiers and transfer all his main forces to Hedong - then don't blame me for swallowing up the Yuanjiang River in the east from behind."
On the night of September 25, the fifth year of Tianwen (1536), the Imagawa Yoshizhin army, which had been assembled for a long time, took advantage of the night to march eastward. The forces of the Imagawa family in Yuanjiang and the reinforcements from Mikawa and other places were added together, and the total military strength reached at least 7,000 people.
.
"The total force that the Imagawa clan can mobilize now is only about 9,000. If there are 7,000 on the banks of the Fuji River, there will only be 2,000 left in Toe and Nishi-Suruga at most." Imagawa Yoshizhin softly calculated the total strength of the enemy.
"Your Highness, even if there are only 2,000 people, we will not be able to make much progress in a hurry." Horikoshi Sadaki has been in Toe for many years and is naturally familiar with the situation in Toe. He advised Imagawa Yoshima:
"The Asahina family's Kakegawa Castle is the strategic point of Toga. If you want to go to Suruga, you must capture Kakegawa first. However, Kakegawa Castle is easy to defend but difficult to attack. It is one of the strongest castles in Toga. The south of the city is close to the Inagawa River and two miles northwest of the city.
Outside is the Kurama River. There is a lake called "Oike" to the west of the castle. To the south of the river is a large forest called "The Forest of Thoughts". The open space for siege and formation is limited. And there is Oyamako Kakuyama in the northeast of Kakegawa Castle.
It is the highest point around the Kakegawa River, and Wakoyama on the north bank of the Kurama River is also conducive to garrisoning troops. Once the Asahina family deploys two armies here, fighting against each other with Kakegawa Castle, and holding on to wait for reinforcements, it will be difficult for us to do anything."
"It's okay, we don't want to capture Kakegawa Castle directly." Imagawa Yoshima is familiar with the history of the Imagawa family, and naturally understands the danger of Kakegawa Castle. In his previous life, a few years after the death of Imagawa Yoshimoto, Takeda Shingen tore up the castle.
The alliance with the Imagawa family and the Tokugawa family agreed to jointly attack the Imagawa family. Under attack from both sides, the resistance of the Imagawa family collapsed. In the end, only Kakegawa Castle was left where the Asahina family was stationed, and the Imagawa clan himself also fled into it. However, this is the castle
The isolated and helpless Kakegawa Castle resisted for half a year, forcing the Tokugawa family to finally choose to negotiate peace with the Imagawa family and let the Imagawa family's retainers flee to Sagami Hojo.
"Then what your highness means..." Horikoshi Sadaki couldn't guess what Imagawa Yoshima was thinking.
"Surround the site and call for reinforcements." Imagawa Yoshima said his plan calmly, "The land is dead, but people are alive. If the land is saved and people are lost, both people and land will be lost; if the people are saved and land is lost, both people and land will be saved."
"After we surrounded Kakegawa Castle, we pretended to attack the city, but in fact sent troops to occupy the key places you just mentioned, His Highness Horikoshi. Kakegawa Castle is besieged, and other retainers of the Imagawa family in Toe will definitely come to support, so we will first
The reinforcements of the Sena family, the Matsui family, the Ogasawara family, and the Shinno family will be defeated one by one, and their effective forces will be killed first. When they no longer have mobile forces available, we will attack each of the cities on the Toe River one by one."
"Your Highness's clever plan." Horikoshi Sadaki couldn't help but nodded in sincerity after hearing this, "On the contrary, we care about the gains and losses of one city and one pool. We are too petty."
In the early morning of September 26, the fifth year of Tenmon (1536), at 7:00 p.m., Imagawa Yoshima's army began to cross the Kurama River. At 6:00 a.m., Imagawa Yoshima's banner unit, Horikoshi Bei, Iio Bei, and Kuno Bei, as the vanguard,
Arriving at the western castle town of Kakegawa Castle. Kakegawa Castle immediately placed the entire city under martial law, and the soldiers guarding the city patrolled the city with torches all night long.
However, Imagawa Yoshima's army had no intention of attacking the city. The 300 soldiers of Imagawa Yoshima's banner and the 900 soldiers of Horikoshi Bei turned north, bypassed Oike Lake, and headed east through the north of Kakegawa Castle; Iio Bei
The 600 people of Kunobi and the 240 people of Kunobei stationed in Nancun Village, southwest of Kakegawa Castle, and began to look for bridges and fords to cross the river in the Inikawa basin, preparing to cross the Inikawa southward, and then continue eastward to bypass Kakegawa Castle.
At the same time, the follow-up troops of Imagawa Yoshima's army also continued to cross the Kurama River, including 500 people from Kirabei, 500 people from Todabei, 500 people from Okuhirabei, 800 people from Iibei and other small wealthy families from the distant river.
More than 1,500 people arrived in the west of Kakegawa Castle. Then Okuhei Bei did not stop, but went directly north, towards Mount Wako on the north bank of the Kurama River. However, Amano Bei and Yuishi Bei did not cross the Kurama River eastward, but
Directly advance along the north bank of the southwest-northeast direction of the Kurama River, and advance toward Wako Mountain in the northwest. It is planned to occupy Wako Mountain together with Okuhebei along two roads.
At eight o'clock in the morning, Iio Bei and Kuno Bei on the southern route crossed the Inikawa River and arrived at Kamiuchida Village across the river from Kakegawa Castle. Iio Bei continued to travel on the south bank of Inikawa and headed east to Sasu Village. Kuno Bei
Then they started looking for the ferry again, trying to go east for a while and then cross the Nikawa north again, and then go around to the Yamaguchi Village east of Kakegawa Castle, and surround Kakegawa Castle from the four directions of east, west, north and south.
Also at Tonshi8, Yuishi Bei and Amano Bei also arrived at the foot of Mount Wako. Okuhei Bei stationed himself at Amazakura Village, which faces Mount Wako across the Kurama River, and was ready to cross the river and go up the mountain at any time.
At the beginning of the morning, Imagawa Yoshima's banner team and Horikoshi Bei also arrived at Nishimura Township, north of Kakegawa Castle. Next, they only need to continue eastward and occupy the high ground Kakugoyama in the northeast of Kakegawa Castle, so that they can achieve a full-scale attack on Kakegawa Castle.
suppress.
The sky was gradually getting brighter, and Imakawa Yoshizhin, who had been traveling all night, couldn't help but feel a little tired, and dozed off slightly on the horse. It wasn't until a gust of cool breeze blew by that jolted him, that he regained his energy.
The dim light looked around the surrounding troops, and the soldiers extinguished their torches one after another, looking expectantly at the white fish belly behind Zijiao Mountain to the east - the sun would rise soon.
Then, I don't know which person stopped first. Anyway, the whole army stopped sooner or later, staring in the direction of Zijiao Mountain with their mouths open.
On Zijiao Mountain, the red bird and horse seal is flying high.