On the night of September 24, 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 Toga, 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 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 horsemen 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, it was difficult to detect the troops heading west to Yuanjiang.
However, such high-intensity vigilance during the day also seriously consumed the Imagawa clan ninja's physical strength. At night, Momosaburo and others, who had been lurking for a long time, finally got a chance to get close to the official road. Since last night, people have been returning eastwards on the official road - that is to the east of the river. But 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 would pass through.
Momosaburo silently counted the number of torches passing through tonight, and he didn't sleep a wink all night. But when he thought that this was to repay Imakawa Ryojin's kindness, he didn't feel sleepy at all.
It was not 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 west to the Yangtze River, and the ninjas and knights once again began to build an intelligence barrier to prevent others from approaching. Momotosaburo, who retreated to a village far away from the official 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 Yue River, but went east to Fuji River." The returning chunin vowed to report to Momotosaburo, "I met you at Imagawakan before. He himself will never admit his mistake. He is currently in the rock village on the banks of the Fuji River, and he 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, "Then the old monk is 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 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 a lot of 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, planning 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."
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On 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 Huan'an is really amazing. With just a little trick, he led Imagawa Yoshimoto's people to the east of the river." Imagawa Yoshima was full of admiration, but he couldn't help but sigh secretly in his heart. In the history he had read, Hojo Genan was just a monk from the Hojo family, with no extraordinary achievements or any 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. (Author's note: In 13th Generation Ambition, Hojo Genan said that the crosstalk-like beginner's guide is really fun)
Unexpectedly, Hojo Genan would be such a powerful counselor in reality. So in this troubled world, how many talented people are still unable to leave their own ink in history? You really shouldn’t take a peek at the people in the world.
"This is a plan formulated by the lord (Hojo Utsuna), 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 much 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 The old monk Sai is so powerful that he can strike from the west to the east with one move. On the one hand, he used it to deter me from advancing, so I only dared to stick to Yuanjiang. On the other hand, he paralyzed the Hojo family without defense, and they took advantage of our dare not to attack Yuanjiang. With their actions, they had no worries, raided Hedong, and took back Hedong 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 Family 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 Yoshimoto sneered, looking 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 in 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 the Yuanjiang River in the east from behind."
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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. Combined with the forces of the Imagawa family in Yuanjiang and the reinforcements from Mikawa and other places, the total military strength reached up to 7,000 people.
"Now the total force that the Imakawa clan can mobilize is only about 9,000. If there are 7,000 on the banks of the Fuji River, there will only be 2,000 at most in Toe and Nishi-Suruga." 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 Toge. 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 fortresses in Toe. 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 Inikawa River is a large forest called "The Forest of Thoughts." There is limited open space for easy siege and formation. And the Oyamako Kakuyama mountain 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. Once the Asahina family deploys two armies here, competing 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, so he naturally understands the danger of Kakegawa Castle. In his previous life, a few years after the death of Imagawa Yoshimoto, Takeda Shingen tore up his alliance with the Imagawa family and agreed with the Tokugawa family to jointly attack the Imagawa family. Under attack from both sides, the Imagawa family's resistance collapsed, and in the end only the Asahina family was left stationed at Kakegawa Castle, with the Imagawa clan himself also fleeing into it. However, it was this isolated and helpless Kakegawa Castle that 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." Imakawa Yoshizhin calmly revealed his plan, "The earth is dead, but the 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 the land is lost, both people and land will be saved."
"After we surrounded Kakegawa Castle, we pretended to attack the city, but actually sent troops to occupy the key places you just mentioned, His Highness Horikoshi. Kakegawa Castle is besieged, and other Imagawa family retainers in Toeji 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 were defeated one by one, limiting their effective strength. When they no longer have mobile forces available, we will attack the cities of Toeji one by one."
"Your Highness's wonderful 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, which is too petty."
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In the early morning of September 26, the fifth year of Tianwen (1536), at 7:00 p.m., Imagawa Yoshizhin's army began to cross the Cangzhen River. At six o'clock in the hour, the vanguard of Imagawa Yoshima's banner, Horikoshi Bei, Iio Bei, and Kuno Bei arrived at the Saijo Castle Town of Kakegawa Castle. Kakegawa Castle was immediately put under martial law, and the soldiers guarding the city patrolled the city overnight with torches.
However, Imagawa Yoshizhin'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; the 600 soldiers of Iio Bei and the 240 soldiers of Kuno Bei entered Kakegawa. Nancheng Village in the southwest of the city began to look for bridges and fords to cross the river in the Nichuan River Basin, preparing to cross Nichuan southward and continue eastward to bypass Kakegawa Castle.
At the same time, the subsequent 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 nobles from the distant river. More than 1,500 people arrived in the west of Kakegawa Castle. Then Okuhei Bei didn't stop, and 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. Instead, they advanced directly along the north bank of the southwest-northeast direction Kurama River and advanced toward Mount Wako in the northwest. They planned to occupy it together with Okuhei Bei along two roads. and Guangshan.
At eight o'clock in the morning, Iio Bei and Kuno Bei on the southern route crossed the Nikagawa River and arrived at Kamuchida Village across the river from Kakegawa Castle. Iiobei continued to march on the south bank of Inikawa, heading east to Sasu Village. Kuno Beinori started looking for a ferry again, trying to cross the Nikagawa north again after going some distance east, and went around to the Yamaguchi Village east of Kakegawa Castle, surrounding Kakegawa Castle from the four directions of east, west, north and south.
Also at eight o'clock in the year, Yushi Bei and Amano Bei also arrived at the foot of Mount Wako. Okuhei Bei then stationed himself at Ame Sakura Village, which faces Wakoyama across the Kurama River, and was ready to cross the river and go up the mountain at any time.
At the beginning of the twelfth lunar month, Imagawa Yoshizhin's banner team and Horikoshi Bei also arrived at Nishimura Township in the north of Kakegawa Castle. Next, they only need to continue to advance eastward and occupy Kokoyama, a high ground northeast of Kakegawa Castle, to achieve full suppression of Kakegawa Castle.
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 that he was shaken up, and he regained his energy. He looked around at the surrounding troops in the dim light. The soldiers also extinguished their torches and looked 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.
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(Author's note: I have uploaded a map of this battle in the book review area to facilitate everyone's understanding of the bottom line! It is purely hand-drawn, so you can make do with it.)
