I saw a smoke signal rising from Imagawa Yoshima's main camp on the other side, and then there was a commotion in the Imagawa clan's camp. The Ii family, the Amano family and other wealthy families took the lead in defecting. The Yuiseki family, the Kuno family and other wealthy families immediately responded and gave way one after another. Let Todabe go north on the road, and then pursue him. There are still some wealthy people who may not be aware of it, and they are stunned in the camp and watch the other Yuanjiang people being betrayed. The rebels from Yuanjiang, plus Toda Bei, formed an army of 500 soldiers and 1,000 auxiliary soldiers, marching northward in a mighty manner. In an instant, they were behind Asahina Taisho.
"This is..." Asahina Taicho, who was injured earlier, still had a bandage on his left arm. He was originally commanding from the front line, but suddenly he heard shouts of killing behind him. He originally thought that it was the people from the Toe River clan fighting Toda Bei, but in the end, the shouts of killing were getting closer and closer. When he turned around, he only saw soldiers five times his size attacking his defenseless back.
"Turn around to meet the enemy! The enemy is coming from behind!" Asahina's first samurai shouted to organize the ashigaru to turn back. However, not many people responded on the chaotic battlefield. They could only gather a few people around to follow them. Face the enemy yourself. But how could these sporadic resistances block the Yuanjiang army? The defense line was instantly destroyed. The Asahina Bei soldiers who were fighting fiercely with Horikoshi Bei were suddenly attacked from both sides and were chopped down to the ground. As the wails of "The people of Yuanjiang are rebelling" gradually spread, the morale of the entire reserve team collapsed.
"Ogasawara Bei, escort His Highness back to Kakegawa Castle. Asahina Second Bei, cover Sena Bei's retreat over the mountain. Asahina Third Bei immediately left the battle line and assisted the friendly forces to evacuate. As for Matsui Bei and Shinno Bei on the other side... let them decide for themselves. , Either break out and escape, or surrender." Asahina Taino issued the retreat order with a solemn face, but the defeat was too sudden. The despair that Imagawa Yoshima felt twenty days ago, Imagawa Ujimoto also felt in the battle formation today.
The originally anxious situation became no longer suspense as the 1,500 fresh troops rebelled. Our own troops were attacked from the side and rear and cut into two sections.
"What about you, Bichu Mamoru?" Imagawa Ujimoto saw that Asahina Yasuno had no intention of retreating, but instead gathered the Hatamoto knights around him.
"The Asahina family has an ancestral motto: As long as the master Imagawa is still there, the samurai of the Asahina family will never surrender. This has been the habit of the Asahina family for hundreds of years, and my younger brother will definitely resist until the end." Asahina Yasuto pulled out his sword He came and pointed at the headquarters of Asahina Yasushiro who was besieged from behind at the foot of the mountain, "And the head of the Asahina family has never had the habit of abandoning his subordinates. He went down to rescue the subordinates, and then followed his highness to Kakegawa Castle, asking his highness to go first. step."
"Is it just these twenty-three people?" Imagawa Ujimoto looked at the knights with Zuo Sanba standing next to Asahina Taino.
"Your Highness, please leave as soon as possible. There is no time. After you go back, please apologize to Master Niyudai and Xuesai for me. Just say that I was careless, causing a big defeat, and I will bear the responsibility." Asahina Taineng said simply. After Imagawa Ujimoto said a few words, he rushed down the mountain with his horse under his belly. No matter how many enemies there were in front of him, he headed straight for the horse mark towards Hina Tai. But before he rushed into the enemy formation, he saw a figure flash past on the right. He turned around and saw Imagawa Ujimoto snapping his fingers coolly towards him, pretending to be relaxed and smiling: "There are twenty-four people now."
"Your Highness, what should I do if something goes wrong with you? I'm asking you to leave. How can you..." Asahina Taino was suddenly shocked.
"Growing up, my teacher never taught me how to leave my companions and run away first." Imagawa Ujimoto crossed his hand and signaled Asahina Yasuno not to say any more, "And I won't make any mistakes, let alone risk my life. Dangerous. Life is precious. How can I sacrifice myself on the battlefield for the sake of samurai practice? I still have countless scrolls that I haven’t admired and poems that I haven’t sung. How could I die here? Life should be enjoyed. !”
"Coming into battle to save people is a matter of narrow escape..." Asahina Yasuno wanted to say more, but was directly interrupted by Imagawa Ujimoto.
"Charging the formation is a matter of preparation and defense. I am only responsible for making your 'charging formation' a little weaker." Imagawa Ujimoto said as he pinched the horse's belly and jumped out of the line to strictly guard against the enemy's cavalry charging formation. The former reined in the horse, and the war horse stood tall, while Imagawa Shimoto drew his sword in his hand and shouted: "I am the eleventh generation of the Imagawa clan, Imagawa Goro Shimoto! Anyone who wants to take my head, Sign up!"
"What?"
"Imagawa Ujimoto?"
"Governor House?"
"Is that the Fourth Young Master?"
Imagawa Ujimoto's roar immediately caused a commotion in the military formation, and the golden scabbard of Ryuumaru on his waist and the blade engraved with a flying dragon pattern also proved his identity.
"The Ii family is like a mountain, and I'm here to ask for advice!" With such great achievements in front of them, which of the hot-blooded warriors can bear it? The general in charge of the Ii family, Okayama Ruqi, took the lead in clapped his horse and came out with his sword raised. Imagawa Ujimoto didn't say much. He stepped forward with his horse reins to avoid Okayama Ruqi's chop, and slashed his thigh with his backhand, knocking Okayama Ruqi directly to the ground.
"If you still want my head, follow me!" Imagawa Shimoto rode his horse to the northeast before the opponent's archery team could react. The Yuanjiang rebel army's formation suddenly became chaotic, and many people who were eager to take advantage of it The samurai led his men in pursuit.
"Such courage and heroic spirit...not to mention my old lord, even His Highness Yatsumejibu (Imagawa Yoshitaka) must be willing to be defeated." Asahina Yasuno took advantage of Imagawa Ujimoto's opportunity to distract the pursuers. The army rushed into the formation and rescued Asahina Yasunaga, while sighing with emotion at Imagawa Ujimoto's amazing courage, and then led the army to retreat. But when he looked up again, he found a small group of Horikoshi's cavalry heading straight for Imagawa Clan. Imagawa Ujimoto had been paying attention to the pursuers behind him just now, but did not pay attention to the cavalry team that was detouring and blocking the way. The speed of the horses was already unavoidable.
"Oops!" Asahina Taino almost exclaimed, watching helplessly as Imagawa Ujimoto was overwhelmed by this group of cavalry.
A moment later, the young man with the white horse was seen riding out of the blood flowers, like a butterfly flying through the flowers, without even a leaf touching it. The five knights behind him rolled to the ground.
"This warrior...could it be that Taro Hachiman (Minamoto Yoshie) is still alive? He can be called the best samurai in Tokaido." Asahina Yasuno is also well-informed, and he has always been calm about everything, but this time he was still surprised. The ground opened its mouth. I didn't expect that the seemingly idle and arty young master could be so proud of his martial prowess. No wonder Taiyuan Xuezhai always praised his understanding when he wrote back and wished he could teach him every step of the way.
When Asahina Yasuno led the defeated troops to retreat past the place where Imagawa Ujimoto had just fought, he was so shocked that he could hardly speak - none of the five Horikoshi samurai who were knocked down by Imagawa Ujimoto suffered any injuries. fatally wounded. Either the horses were hit and fell off, or their arms and thighs were injured. In the midst of a life-and-death struggle, there is still room and discretion in taking action.
Such admirable martial prowess...and such a cleansing habit of cherishing feathers, and a compassionate heart that is unwilling to kill even in the battle array...
"Master Xue Zhai, you have taught a good student!"
When he was defeated, Asahina Taino felt endless hope in his heart. He seemed to have seen the day when the Imagawa family would conquer the world.
·
However, no matter how amazing Imagawa clan's martial prowess was, it could not conceal the fact that the Imagawa clan was defeated in the Tenryu River battle. There were less than 1,500 troops who followed Imagawa Yoshimoto back to Kakegawa Castle, and a large number of troops collapsed and fled. Asahina Bei and Sena Bei suffered heavy losses and were able to escape with the help of Ogasawara Bei. Matsui Bei and Niino Bei were forced to surrender after being surrounded. All the wealthy families who had previously surrendered also defected to Imagawa Yoshima's side. The troop strength reached an astonishing 4,500 people. The situation in Yuanjiang can be described as bleak.
As expected by the Imagawa clan, Imagawa Yoshima's side did not pursue them. Instead, they sent an envoy, requesting that the wives of the captured Matsui Bei, Shinno Bei, and Sena Ujisada be used as bargaining chips in exchange for the Imakawa family. The hostage of Yuanjiang Kingdom's wealthy family in the hands of Uji Yuan. In this way, he can completely win over the hearts of the Yuanjiang wealthy family. Imagawaji Yuan had no choice but to agree. But just before he released them, Taiyuan Xue Zhai hurried to Kakegawa City with a group of subordinates including Ohara Zhenmi.
"Teacher, why are you here?" Imagawa Shiyuan was shocked when he saw Taiyuan Xuezhai.
"You failed like this in Yuanjiang, how can you not come as a teacher?" Taiyuan Xuezhai scolded half-jokingly.
"I'm all incompetent, please punish Master Yusei." Asahina Taino was the first to kneel down and excused Imagawa Ujimoto.
"Commitment? How about not drinking alcohol for a month?" Taiyuan Xuezhai also joked with a smile.
When Asahina Taino heard this, his expression changed drastically. He waved his hands in fear and said, "Master, it would be better to kill me directly."
"Your Highness, where are the hostages?" Obara Zhenmin seemed to have no intention of joking and asked directly to Imagawa Ujimoto.
"They are all here. We are going to send someone to bring them over to exchange for our captives." Imagawa Ujimoto pointed at the wealthy children in the hall who were being guarded by warriors.
"The hostages cannot be released!" Obara Zhenji took a step forward and remonstrated categorically, "The laws and rules must not be broken! Since these people and wealthy people dare to rebel, we must execute all their hostages and hang their heads. Go to Kakegawa City to serve as a warning! If the hostages are handed over, won't the Imagawa family's prestige be ruined? Which wealthy family will take the hostages seriously in the future? Don't say the opposite? Even if this execution will cause temporary turmoil in Yuanjiang, The rules must be followed. If the rules are messed up, the family will perish."
Obara Zumi was not just a threat. In the original history, he actually killed all the hostages. After the defeat of Imagawa Yoshimoto at Okehazama, the wealthy families in Mikawa and other places rebelled and followed the Matsudaira family to become independent. They came to the Yoshida Castle where Obara Zhenmi was holding firm, and asked Obara Zhenmi to return all the hostages sent by the Mikawa wealthy family to the Imagawa family. Who would have thought that Ohara Zhenzhen showed no mercy at all and used bayonets to kill all the hostages in the Mikawa area, hanging their heads in clusters. Later, Ohara Zhenmi also remained loyal to the Imagawa family until the last moment, and was tragically killed under the revenge of the angry Mikawa people.
As soon as these words came out, a chill filled the hall. The hostages shuddered with fear when they looked at the murderous Ohara Zhenmi and his blood-red eyes.
"Your Excellency has done such an unconscionable thing, which is against human ethics and justice. It is really shameful!" A young hostage in the hall was not afraid at all. Instead, he stepped forward, pointed at Ohara Zhenmi and cursed, "A trace of human kindness. If you don’t stay, if you fail one day, you will definitely be in doom and death and you will not have a good death!”
"Who is this person?" Obara asked angrily.
"The second son of Amano Keitai, Amano Gonbei Keitoku." Hayasaka Nao, who was in charge of the hostage list, answered truthfully.
"Young man with a yellow mouth, what do you know?" Ohara Zhenmi took a few steps closer and looked condescendingly at Amano Keide and his clear eyes, "For the interests of the family and the lord he follows, someone has to do dirty things. We are even together. If you are not afraid of going to hell, how can you be afraid of not being able to die well? You don’t understand now, but you will understand when you grow up. When you have a master you identify as, when you have a career that you would rather die than to complete - then you The dirty things he did and the people he killed might be several times, dozens or hundreds of times more than mine!"
