After seeing a few forests in the southeast, an army of more than 3,000 people suddenly appeared, under the banner of Imagawa Eryinryo. They ignored it and headed straight for the back of the Matsudaira family's front line. The leader was none other than Hatamoto Gomabei of the Imagawa family. Under the leadership of Matsui Sonobu, they were advancing rapidly in a marching column and arrived at the battlefield in an instant. Behind him were Mitsu Tobei, a high-ranking member of the Umeyama family, as well as Osawa Bei and Matsui Bei.
"It was the main force that Yutaka Furuno brought to Yoshida Castle to put down the rebellion..." After Yasutaka Matsudaira saw this, he almost fell off his horse in panic, and hurriedly came to Matsudaira Nagato's side, "Grandpa, what should we do? ?”
"Isn't that Furunoji Yutaka... maybe there's something wrong with his brain?" Matsudaira Nagachichi was filled with resentment. He gripped the horse's rein tightly, almost bleeding from his old hand, and cursed angrily, "He just wants to do nothing and just wait." In Yoshida Castle, there are people who serve as the Imagawa family's aide and even the family governor... Why do you come back to rescue Imagawa Yoshimoto? What good is it to him? Is he a young child? If you don't care for yourself, you will be destroyed by heaven and earth!"
·
At the same time, Yutaka Nakonoji in the military formation was urging his men to move behind the main force of the Matsudaira family, intending to catch them all in one fell swoop.
"You have drawn them out. The Matsudaira family has indeed been fooled." Furunoji Yutaka sneered and shook his head repeatedly, "You thought I wouldn't come? So you just sent all the troops out in a big way, so no one was guarding your back. Wipe them all out. , don’t let anyone go!”
"Don't underestimate the blood relationship between brothers..." Furunoji Yutaka rode his horse forward while looking at the horse seal of the Matsudaira family, guessing how the Matsudaira eldest relative under the horse mark would be gnashing his teeth at this moment, "You can't do anything for people. I will be punished by heaven and earth...but there will always be some people who will make others willing to be 'executed by heaven and earth' and want to help them."
·
The appearance of the main force of the Imagawa family instantly made the entire battle meaningless. The Matsudaira family had already pressed forward with their entire army and spread out their horse seals to besiege Imagawa Yoshimoto. There was not a single soldier in the formation. Even a hundred-man fighting force is enough to destroy the Matsudaira family's command post - let alone a thousand-man fighting force - which is almost as many as the Matsudaira family's entire army.
There is no room for improvement in the war situation.
After all, Matsudaira Nagauchi was a veteran who had been on the battlefield for half his life. His choice to escape was unambiguous. He took Matsudaira Yasutaka, Matsudaira Nobusada and other cronies to abandon the army and abscond, and headed northwest without saying a word. They planned to bypass the battlefield, cross the Oto River, and run back to Okazaki Castle.
The soldiers of the Matsudaira family were not so lucky. When they were fighting on the front line, they discovered sooner or later that the roaring army appeared behind them. Everyone was frightened and at a loss - if they could not If the formation is adjusted in time, the Matsudaira army behind the attack will collapse instantly. Every samurai and every ashigaru turned their attention to the location of the horse seals at this time, hoping that their commander could come up with a solution - but all they saw were the chopped down horse seals and the main formation where people went to camp in the air.
The morale of the Matsudaira Army on the east side of the battlefield suddenly collapsed. Each unit withdrew from the battlefield one after another and gathered under the leadership of their own samurai to escape. The few samurai who still wanted to resist were immediately surrounded and annihilated by the reinforcements of the Imagawa Army who were outflanking them, while more people were forced to land by the Imagawa Army who spread out their positions while escaping.
The wave of retreat rolled from east to west. More and more Matsudaira troops realized what was happening in front of them, and the huge army dispersed like birds and beasts. However, all retreat routes have been blocked by the Imagawa army, and they have nowhere to escape on the plains beside the river. A few people crossed the Yahagi River and swam to the west bank, while more people had to throw down their weapons and kneel down to ask for surrender - the Matsudaira clan, the Sakurai Matsudaira family and the Fukugama Matsudaira family were almost wiped out.
·
"Don't panic, don't panic, there is still a chance!"
Matsudaira Nagachichi, who fled on horseback, looked back at the chasing Imagawa family cavalry while constantly calming the emotions of the people around him, "Takematsumaru (Matsudaira Hirotada) is still in our hands! The Imagawa family dare not do anything wrong! We don't dare to do anything wrong!" Escape back to Okazaki Castle and use Takematsumaru as a hostage to negotiate with them, and we will definitely not let the Imagawa family succeed!"
"But our entire army was wiped out in this battle. Most of the Matsudaira family's troops are gone. How can the remaining people fight against the Imagawa army?" Matsudaira Nobusada was extremely anxious. "What's more, the Oda army is also besieging Anxiang City. Maybe We will cross the river to Okazaki Castle tomorrow, what should we do?"
"This is our chance of survival, idiot!" Matsudaira Nagauchi cursed at Matsudaira Nobusada, "Both the Oda family and the Imagawa family want the support of the Matsudaira family, so we have room for maneuver! Besides, we have There are thousands of people in Okazaki Castle, including the Goi Matsudaira family, the Tojo Matsudaira family and the Miki Matsudaira family. It will not be a problem to hold on for a while, and they will never be overthrown by the Imagawa family!"
"That's right! With my brother (Matsudaira Nobutaka) and my family's army here, Okazaki Castle can't be defeated by the Imagawa family without siege equipment with only a few thousand people!" Matsudaira Yasutaka was told by Matsudaira Nagauchi. He regained his energy and said in a deep voice as if to cheer himself up, "We still have a chance to turn defeat into victory!"
The group hurried across the Oto River bridge and headed all the way to Okazaki Castle Nanjo Castle Town. Behind them, the Imagawa family's cavalry also pursued them to the Otogawa Bridge. The residents in the castle town were so frightened by the sudden speed of the knight that they all hid in their houses in panic. Matsudaira Nagauchi went straight to the south gate and shouted to the top of the city: "I am Matsudaira Izukumo, please open the door quickly!"
"Grandfather?" A surprised shout came from the city gate, and a moment later, Matsudaira Nobutaka, who was staying at Okazaki Castle, staggered to the top of the city, leaning on the wall stacks and sticking his head out, "Why are you here? Aren’t you going to ambush Imagawa’s army in the south?”
"We're defeated, we're defeated, stop talking, open the door quickly and let us in. Didn't you see that the pursuers are right behind you?" Matsudaira Nagachichi was so anxious that he got angry, and regardless of his white beard, he yelled, " Open the door quickly!"
"Yes...yes...let's open it now!" Matsudaira Nobutaka's voice almost burst into tears. He slowly backed away until he retreated into the shadows beside the stairs, then he begged tremblingly: "Woman, can you?" I can’t move the knife any further, my neck will be cut!”
"A manly man, are you afraid of pain? There is really nothing you can do..." Ginkgo, who held a knife against Matsudaira Nobutaka's neck, chuckled, then frowned and scolded in a deep voice, "Why don't you ask someone to open the door and let them in? Then take it on the spot!”
·
Time goes back to last night, late at night on September 29, the 9th year of Tenmon (1540), Matsudaira Nobutaka was slowly leaving the dungeon.
He came here to visit Matsudaira Hirotada, who was imprisoned here - after all, Matsudaira Hirotada was also his nephew, and Matsudaira Nobutaka still cherished this family relationship. To be honest, in fact, compared to Matsudaira Nobusada, Matsudaira Nobutaka still supports Matsudaira Hirotada as the governor of the family. He had secretly planned to launch a coup in Okazaki City and bring back Matsudaira Hirotada - who would have thought that Matsudaira Hirotada himself would actually go to the Imagawa family, lure the wolf into the house, and bring the Imagawa army to Mikawa.
The previous Imagawa family's robbery of Yoshida Castle has caused panic among the Matsudaira clan, and Matsudaira Nobutaka is no exception - he is worried that Imagawa Yoshimoto will use Matsudaira Hirotada as his banner to usurp the Matsudaira family's territory. Therefore, when his grandfather Matsudaira Nagachichi secretly conspired with everyone to deal with Imagawa Yoshimoto, Matsudaira Nobutaka chose to join after much hesitation. He is different from Matsudaira Nobusada, who is at odds with Matsudaira Hiroutada. He does not want to target Matsudaira Hiroutada, but just wants to protect his own territory.
Therefore, when Matsudaira Hirotada was captured by mistake, Matsudaira Nobutaka immediately interceded with Matsudaira Nagauchi on his behalf - but Matsudaira Naganchika was cruel to his great-grandson and directly imprisoned him in the dungeon. Matsudaira Nobutaka couldn't bear it, so he came to visit Matsudaira Hirotada privately and brought him some food.
After watching Matsudaira Hirotada, Matsudaira Nobutaka was ready to leave the dungeon and return to Okazaki Castle to sit in the castle tower. Now that the struggle between the Matsudaira Army and the Imagawa Army has reached a fever pitch, he must fulfill his duties as the defender of Okazaki Castle - this is what he thought in his mind, until he happened to pass by the room where the maid brought by Imagawa Yoshimoto was imprisoned. cell.
After seeing the maid named "Xing'er", Matsudaira Nobutaka's eyes suddenly went straight, as if he couldn't move forward - no wonder so many jailers like to hang around outside this cell instead of staying anywhere else. Imagawa Yoshimoto's maid is really beautiful and beautiful - no wonder there are rumors that Imagawa Yoshimoto is drunk in the bed every day and ignores political affairs - with such a maid, who can get away from the bed?
However, Nobutaka Matsudaira still wanted to save face. It was too blatant to take the female prisoner directly from the cell. So he coughed twice and looked at the writing of his horse. Bi Tou nodded understandingly, and Matsudaira Nobutaka returned to the castle tower with satisfaction - and then took a shower and changed clothes, gearing up in anticipation.
It didn't take long for the capable pen to bring people into the castle tower. After Nobutaka Matsudaira heard the movement downstairs, he immediately shouted excitedly: "Come here, bring that little bitch up to me!"
After the maid was sent to the door of the dormitory, she was immediately frightened by the circle of brightly armored warriors on the top floor of the castle tower. She fell to the ground and kept shaking. Matsudaira Nobutaka then cleared his throat and shouted as if to show off his masculinity: "Go down and take it to the bottom floor! Do you still want to listen to me? No one is allowed to do it without my order." Go upstairs!"
After the warriors went downstairs, the maid staggered into the bedroom with her head lowered.
"Come here, beauty! I won't harm you. Just listen to me and I'll make sure you're fine." Nobutaka Matsudaira showed a lewd smile and opened his arms to the woman.
The maid moved a little cautiously, her little hands restless and had nowhere to rest.
"Get closer!" Matsudaira Nobutaka urged anxiously, and he took a few steps forward, "It's not close enough!"
The maid seemed to be frightened by Nobutaka Matsudaira's actions, and turned around and ran towards the foot of the house. Matsudaira Nobutaka suddenly lost his bestiality and chased after him like a hungry tiger. The maid fled to the weapon rack. With no way out, she leaned against the wall and began to tremble in panic. Matsudaira Nobutaka couldn't care less about his appearance at the moment, so he pounced on him - and what greeted him was not the gentle nephrite, but the cold chill.
He was stunned for a moment, staring blankly at the blade on his neck - the maid pulled the knife from the weapon rack at an astonishing speed and pointed it at his neck with perfect accuracy.
"We're close enough now." Ginkgo laughed contemptuously, slightly changed the angle of the blade, slowly pressed down the katana, and at the same time scolded with a frown: "Kneel down for me, young lady!"
This time it was Matsudaira Nobutaka Rokugami's turn. He had not yet calmed down and he just obeyed the instructions honestly.
"You really don't regard cats as tigers?" Ginkgo glanced coldly at the warrior in front of her, "They are just different in physique."
"Shout outside the house and ask your people to untie the other maid who is locked in the dungeon and bring her over." Ginkgo gave the order without any doubt, "Just say: 'Come here, bring the other little girl.' You are not allowed to change a single word. This is the conversation I just heard between you and your men. Don’t even think about passing on secret signals.”
"This girl..." Nobutaka Matsudaira didn't realize until this moment that the "maid" in front of him was not a good person, and he also realized the seriousness of the problem.
"Don't think too much, Okazaki Castle is already in my hands." Ginkgo hit the knife hard again, and the pain was so painful that Matsudaira Nobutaka almost screamed.
Ginkgo didn't say much, she just sneered and returned the original words:
"I won't harm you. Just listen to me and I'll make sure you're fine."
