In the early morning of September 28, the 9th year of Tianmo (1540), on the west bank of the Yahachi Sichuan River, in the temporary camp prepared by the Imagination Army.
"Then Your Highness, what should we do now?" After a long discussion with no result, Akai Kuroko said angrily to Imagawa Yoshimoto, "If it really doesn't work, let's cross the river desperately and find a ferry to send Your Highness across. Forget it. Our entire army is too late to cross the river, so it’s okay to let a few people break through, right?”
"No, I have a way." Imagawa Yoshimoto squatted by a water source in the camp, washing his hands, and ordered the subordinates behind him, "Let's do the same thing again."
Tu Yuanjing understood what Imagawa Yoshimoto meant, but the others, such as Monk Zhanger, were confused.
I don't even think twice about betraying the interests of the Imagawa family, so what does the Matsudaira family's interests count?
"Send someone to tell the Oda family that the Matsudaira family is in civil strife. Anxiang City is almost empty. They can take it or not." Imagawa Yoshimoto stood up with a smile and snapped his fingers in the northwest direction. "To muddy the water, let's There is room for maneuver.”
·
On the afternoon of September 29, Tenmo 9 (1540), inside the Sakurai Castle Castle Tower.
Matsudaira Nagauchi looked at the reports sent back by the ninjas, and he had a rough idea of the location of the Imagawa Army - they were escaping toward the lower reaches of the Yahagi River in the southwest, possibly hoping that Kotobi stationed at Tojo Castle could rescue them - -Unfortunately, Kotobi had already received the order from Yutaka Furunoji and headed towards Yoshida Castle.
Matsudaira Nagauchi then waved his hand and arranged for the troops of the Matsudaira clan and the Sakurai Matsudaira family to move parallel southward along both banks of the Yahagi River, using twice the force to block Imagawa Yoshimoto's possible crossing of the river. The troops of the Fukugama Matsudaira family and the Fujii Matsudaira family stayed in the area of Sakurai Castle and Fujii Castle to prevent Imagawa Yoshimoto from trying to counterattack.
In Okazaki Castle, the troops of the Miki Matsudaira family, led by Matsudaira Nobutaka, have taken control of the situation. Although the Tojo Matsudaira family still protested and demanded the release of Matsudaira Hirotada, they have stopped resisting with force and instead sent envoys to start negotiations. The Goi Matsudaira family in the north of Okazaki Castle also sent envoys many times to ensure the safety of Matsudaira Hirotada, but there was no sign of sending troops.
"Catching a turtle in a urn." Matsudaira Nagauchi described the current situation very aptly. Even if Imagawa Yoshimoto had wings, it would be impossible for him to cross the river.
Matsudaira Nagachika even began to think about whether to take advantage of the fact that the Matsudaira family's troops had already assembled to capture the Mizuno family's Kariya Castle before capturing Imagawa Yoshimoto alive and attacking the Imagawa family. The Mizuno family was originally a subordinate of the Matsudaira family during the Matsudaira Kiyoyasu era, but after the Matsudaira family had civil strife, they switched sides and joined the Oda family. Now that the situation has turned and the Matsudaira family is about to be reunited, it is time to take back the lost ground.
However, the Mizuno family seemed to be aware of the danger. During the half month when the Matsudaira family went to war, the Mizuno family also assembled troops in their territory. I don't know if they asked for help from the Oda family headquarters.
While Matsudaira Nagauchi was thinking about the future development, Matsudaira Yasutaka hurriedly broke into the castle tower:
"Grandpa, something is wrong."
"What's wrong?" Matsudaira Nagachichi was a little surprised. He didn't think Imagawa Yoshimoto had any chance to turn defeat into victory. "Where did Imagawa Yoshimoto go?"
"It's not Imagawa Yoshimoto, it's the Oda family!" Matsudaira Yasutaka pointed to the northwest direction and said hurriedly, "Mizuno Tadamasa of Kariya Castle, Yamaguchi Kyoutsugi of Narumi Castle, and Kondo Keiharu of Takake Castle are leading troops to invade the country!"
"Don't panic, how many people are there?" Matsudaira moved his head suspiciously, listening to the soft sound of his old joints.
"About 2,000 people." Matsudaira Yasutaka answered truthfully.
"Only 2,000 people? Don't worry. The Oda army will definitely not dare to go deep. They are just harassing. Just arrange the Fukugama Matsudaira family to defend." Matsudaira Nagachiyun smiled softly, "They don't know that we are in civil strife. , how could 2,000 people dare to invade the hinterland of Mikawa? By the time Oda Nobuhide assembled the main force at Furuno Castle, at least ten days and a half had passed. We had already solved Imagawa Yoshimoto, and there was no rush to fight again by then. .”
"But the enemy is coming straight towards Anxiang City. The vanguard Mizuno Bei has arrived 10 miles away from Anxiang City!" Matsudaira Yasutaka is not as calm as Matsudaira Nagaki. At this moment, there is already chaos. "Grandpa, the troops in Anxiang City are all here." We have been mobilized to besiege Imagawa Yoshimoto. It is almost an empty city, right?"
"Why?" Matsudaira Nagaki couldn't sit still for a while, and suddenly stood up from his seat, "How could the Oda army be so determined to attack the important town of Anxiang City? With only 2,000 people? Are we in the midst of civil strife? Has the news reached their ears?”
"Report! The enemy situation has been discovered in Anxiang City, and Fujii Matsudaira requested to enter the city immediately and return to defense!" At this time, the envoy from the Fujii Matsudaira family also hurried in, "Your Highness, please give an order!"
"Report! There is enemy activity outside Fukuoka Castle, and Fukuoka Matsudairabei is asking for permission to return to aid Jucheng!" The envoys of the Fukuoka Matsudaira family also followed in quickly.
"Grandpa, don't worry about Imagawa Yoshimoto for now. Once Anxiang Castle is lost, we will no longer be able to defend our territory west of the Yahagi River!" Matsudaira Yasutaka was also very anxious at this moment.
"Good guy, it couldn't be the Oda family that that boy Yoshimoto contacted, right?" Matsudaira Nagachichi gradually figured it out, sneered and shook his head repeatedly, "That's really cruel, are you really not afraid of playing with fire and burning yourself?"
·
On the evening of September 29, the 9th year of Tenmon (1540), the lower reaches of the western bank of the Yahachi River.
Imagawa Yoshimoto watched the Matsudaira family who had been wandering around the Yahagi River heading north in a hurry, and realized that his treacherous plot had succeeded.
"They went back to rescue Anxiang City. The Oda family reacted so quickly. It was as if they had expected this day, so they gathered their troops in advance and waited." Imagawa Yoshimoto was very impressed by the Oda family's quick response. Satisfied, he waved his folding fan and led his men to continue downstream, intending to find a suitable place to cross the river. The night was getting darker, and the Imagawa army lit up torches to facilitate movement, but did not notice that a troop was quietly following them in the distance.
·
In the early morning of September 30, the 9th year of Tenmon (1540), on the east bank of the Yahachi River.
"Are everyone here?" Matsudaira Nagakin finally checked with the heads of each branch.
"Everyone except the fifth brother (Matsudaira Toshinaga) is here." Matsudaira Nobusada lowered his voice and reported to Matsudaira himself, "He insisted on taking Fujii Matsudaira back to aid Okazaki Castle, saying that no inch of land should be given to the enemy. "
"Hikoshiro has always had this temperament, let him do whatever he wants. In the past, when there were internal conflicts in the family, he almost didn't help each other?" Matsudaira was familiar with his children, so he didn't try to force him. "There are the Zong family, the Sakurai Matsudaira family and the The strength of the Fukugama Matsudaira family is just enough, more than twice that of the Imagawa army."
In the dark night, the main force of the Matsudaira Army, which was supposed to support Anxiang Castle, quietly crossed the river under the command of Matsudaira Nagachichi and lurked on the east bank of the lower reaches of the Yahagi River, waiting for the Imagawa Army on the other side to cross the river with torches.
"It's just my grandfather, and only Fujii Matsudairabe, Anxiang Castle can definitely not be defended." Matsudaira Yasutaka kept thinking to himself on the sidelines, and even suggested several times that the troops controlled by the Miki Matsudaira family who control Okazaki Castle could be transferred to support. .
"How many times have I told you kid, don't care about the gains and losses of a city or a pond!" Matsudaira Nagauchi frowned angrily and scolded Matsudaira Yasutaka, "If Anxiang City is lost, it will be lost. As long as we capture Imagawa Yoshimoto, If you want land, you have land, if you want money and food, you have money and food, how can you be so short-sighted?"
"Then Imagawa Yoshimoto must think that we are going back to Anxiang City to support, so he will definitely choose to cross the river in a big way tonight. Then we will just wait and wait for them on the other side of the river and annihilate the Imagawa family in one fell swoop." Matsudaira Nagachichi said under the moonlight Looking at the torch-carrying troops on the other side of the river, he said, "I don't want Anxiang City, but I want to capture Imagawa Yoshimoto!"
·
Not long after, the army on the west bank of the Yahagi River began to cross the river. The Matsudaira family's troops lurked in the darkness, motionless like hunting beasts, quietly waiting for their prey to approach. Matsudaira Nagachichi had already told him to wait until the Imagawa family had crossed the river before attacking, giving priority to cutting off the retreat to ensure that Imagawa Yoshimoto could be captured.
However, the army's speed in crossing the river was very slow. Even though there were two bridges and three fords, they still couldn't finish the journey after walking for a long time - maybe it was too strenuous and difficult to maintain order when crossing the river at night. Torch is still a mess too. Matsudaira Jun waited. As soon as the tension and excitement passed, sleepiness arose, and many people even began to doze off. Even the very old Matsudaira Nagaki himself couldn't bear it any longer. He leaned against a tree trunk and took a nap for a while, asking Matsudaira Yasutaka to shake him awake later.
When the white fish belly appeared in the east and the sky became slightly brighter, the Imagawa army finally crossed the Yahagi River. The Matsudaira army, which had been waiting for a long time, swarmed up and launched a fierce attack, but the Imagawa family seemed to have anticipated the situation before them, and took their time to form defenses.
Matsudaira Nagauchi looked at the battle situation in front of him, but he felt something was wrong - the number of Imagawa family should be about 1,200, but the troops in front of him were clearly less than 1,000, and there was no trace of the red bird horse seal... Could this be Did Imagawa Yoshimoto abandon his large army as bait and escape with his cronies? And although the army on the opposite side was flying the flag of the Imagawa family, its flag, formation and tactics were very different from the Imagawa army - on the contrary, it was more like the Oda family?
Matsudaira Nagaki was stunned for a moment. After a while, regardless of the obstruction, he rode his horse to the front of the formation in person, wanting to confirm his doubts. He found that there were many warriors who were as confused as he was, and sooner or later they stopped attacking. The troops opposite him had no intention of counterattack and were waiting there leisurely.
Where the fighting still broke out, you could faintly hear curses from both sides - one side was in Mikawa dialect, and the other side - was obviously Owari's accent.
The one in front of me under the banner of the Imagawa family is the Oda Army...
Although he couldn't figure out why this happened, Matsudaira Nagachichi had already realized a bad result——
There must be another army on the battlefield under the banner of the Oda family. It was actually the Imagawa Army led by Imagawa Yoshimoto.
"Withdraw! Withdraw quickly!" Matsudaira Nagauchi shouted and ordered, "Don't get entangled with the Oda army! Withdraw quickly!"
·
At this time, at the ferry of the Yahagi River east of Sakurai Castle, a unit carrying the flag of the Oda Army was hurriedly crossing the Yahagi River. Look at the flag, it's the Yamaguchi family's troops. Matsudaira Toshinaga at the head of Anxiang Castle discovered this "Oda Army" trying to invade the hinterland of Mikawa, and frantically lit beacon smoke to warn the rear. What made him even more stunned was that as soon as this "Oda Army" crossed the Yahagi River, they hurriedly pulled out the flags on their backs.
At the bridge of the ferry, Imagawa Yoshimoto stayed at the end and handed the removed Yamaguchi family horse seal back to Yamaguchi Kentsugi who came to see him off.
"Thank you, Yamaguchi Sasumasuke." Imagawa Yoshimoto smiled and pointed at his head with the folding fan, "It was a big help."
"Businessman, what are you talking about 'thank you'?" Yamaguchi Kotsugi showed a professional "hospitable smile" like a businessman, and extended his hand to Imagawa Yoshimoto, "Don't forget my conditions, Your Highness Imagawa."
"That's natural." Imagawa Yoshimoto held the hand extended by Yamaguchi Kotsugi.
"Happy cooperation." Yamaguchi Kotsugi laughed.
