At midnight on March 30, the 14th year of Astronomy, Takio Shrine.
After the Tsutsui Army was defeated, the Kitahata Army, which took up resistance, also fell into decline in the face of the fierce offensive of the Otomo Army. Although Kitahata Harugu was known as a skilled archer and horseman, none of the Kitahata family retainers and samurai were willing to sacrifice a lot for a battle that had little to do with them. On the contrary, the samurai of the Otomo family have clear goals - these "princelings" who support Otomo Yizhen all want to make contributions in this world-famous battle and gain fame for Otomo Yizhen. , in order to compete for the position of family governor.
In terms of numbers and combat power, the Otomo Army is superior to the Tsutsui Army and the Kitahata Army. Coupled with the ebb and flow of fighting will, the balance of victory and defeat becomes extremely clear. The Otomo Army continued to advance, driving the Kitahata Army and Tsutsui Army further and further toward the southeastern main formation. To make matters worse, another group of Northern troops rushed to the battlefield - 9,000 people from the Hatano Army and Yusa Army. They were all vassals of the Mihaoshi family, and they were obviously ordered by Mihaoshi Changqing to resolutely attack south. As soon as the flags of the Hatano Army and Yusa Army appeared on the battlefield, the Kitahata Army and Tsutsui Army instantly lost their will to resist and retreated southward without saying a word - they did not even retreat to the Tofukuji Main Formation in the southeast, but directly withdrew southward. battlefield.
"These pampered Kinki samurai are really unreliable." Masakage Iitomi, standing behind Takeda Harunobu, snorted disdainfully.
"Genshiro, don't be angry. Every family has its own interests, and there is nothing to blame." Takeda Harunobu took a very open mind and was not too annoyed with the Tsutsui family and Kitahata family for ignoring their retreat.
"My lord, the enemy is approaching in large numbers right now, and the reinforcements in charge of His Highness are still invisible." Naito Masayo turned back and glanced in the direction of Fushimi Inari Taisha, then turned back to Takeda Harunobu and said, "I don't know. Should we, the Takeda Army, avoid the edge for the time being, or stick to the mountains?"
"How about we retreat first!" Kasuga Torasuna said softly with a worried look on his face: "There is no need to fight against the aggressive enemy forces here for the so-called 'Southern Army'. The people who will die will be our Takeda family. If so If they attack with force, we may suffer a lot of losses."
"Retreat for what?" Baba Nobuharu spat on the ground, glared at Kasuga Torasuna, and then said fiercely: "We 8,000 Kai athletes, flee without a fight? How will the world see us? We are here to guard, how many come? Kill as many as you want, and let me see who dares to attack?"
"Mino Mamoru-sama is right!" Kasuga Torasuna was so cruel to Baba Nobuharu that he immediately leaned over and apologized weakly, "I didn't think carefully."
"It's Mino who didn't think well, not you." Takeda Harunobu laughed and patted the shoulders of Kasuga Torasuna and Baba Nobuharu, "Gensuke is right, why should I sacrifice the Takeda family's strength here in vain? ?”
"But my lord, if we really retreat, I'm afraid it will do a lot of damage to the Takeda family's reputation, and it will also lead to the collapse of the entire Southern Army. No matter how you say it, it's not a good idea." Naito Masayo advised again, Takeda Harunobu smiled but did not answer. He turned to Yamamoto Kansuke and said:
"Kansuke, guess what I want to do?"
"My lord must be trying to 'trick' again." Yamamoto Kansuke understood Takeda Harunobu's intention. "The best way to deal with such a beast that rushes towards you is to hit its 'tail'."
"That's right." Takeda Harunobu nodded with satisfaction, "It is most difficult for coalition forces to cover each other. Once attacked from behind, they are afraid that friendly forces will leave them behind to escape, and there will inevitably be chaos."
"But how to get back to the enemy's flank?" Kasuga Torasuna asked in confusion.
"Chisekiin." Takeda Harunobu raised his hand and pointed to the north, "Isn't it still in the hands of the Hojo family? The Hojo family doesn't want to return to support our formation and stays in Chisukein to eat and wait to die. They want to see our Takeda family. What a joke. The guys in the Northern Army also know the Hojo family's plan and are indifferent to their positions. Then we just take advantage of this and send a special team to quietly move to Chisukein, and then attack the Northern Army vanguard from Chisukein. Back!”
"Mino, Gensuke." Takeda Harunobu named the two retainers who had just had a conflict, "You lead 3,000 people to carry out the mission of the special forces. Look at the flag, the ones stationed at Sanjusangendo are the Aki Maori Army. , and we have no grievances or grudges. Don’t take the initiative to attack, and they probably won’t come out to fight you to the death.”
"Yes!" Nobuharu Baba and Torasuna Kasuga accepted the order with their hands raised.
·
On March 30, the 14th year of Tianwen, at the end of the fifth quarter, there were thirty-three halls.
"No, I always feel that something is wrong..." The Maori family, who had just settled down, were resting in the hall. Motonari, who was standing at the top of the Buddhist hall, kept stroking his mustache and observing the surrounding situation with a frown. .
"Father?" Motoharu Yoshikawa, who was on the front line, had just had his wound treated by Xiao Xing, and when he came back, he heard Motonari Mouri talking to himself.
"It feels a little wrong, but I can't tell what's wrong." Mao Liyuan showed a wry smile.
"The Southern Army's troops, except for the leader, have all shown up. What else can be done now?" Yoshikawa Motoharu opened the window and glanced at another batch of reinforcements arriving from the north - Yamanoya, The Kono family's reinforcements have also passed through Rokupārami Temple and are speeding towards the south. "As soon as our reinforcements arrive, even if the reserve team led by Hosokawa arrives, we still have the numerical advantage, so we will surround Takeda Harunobu here." In the formation, we turn around and attack the reinforcements led by Commander Hosokawa."
"No, I don't think the Takeda Army will be trapped in this formation..." Maori Yuan frowned even more tightly, and his thoughts quickly circulated around the alarm clock. After a while, he suddenly said with enlightenment: "Quickly send someone to keep an eye on it. In the direction of Zhijiyuan, then go and notify His Highness Otomo who is heading south, be careful that someone is taking a detour from behind!"
"Ah? This is an urgent time. The Takeda family only has that few troops. How dare they go to war without facing the enemy head-on?" Maori Takamoto was shocked when he heard this, but he immediately prepared to take action according to his father's instructions. But before he could step out of Sanjusangendo Hall, he saw an army coming out of Chiseki-in in the southeast - under the banner of Takeda Hisihi.
"It's too late. Gather the troops and stay at Sanjusangendo Hall to warn the friendly forces." Upon seeing this, Mourimoto shouted directly to Mouri Takamoto downstairs, "Don't send troops. We have fought two times in a row and are already exhausted. Takeda's army is out of control." Since the launch, we have been recuperating our strength. Don’t go head-to-head with their elites. Assemble your troops and prepare to go into battle to respond!”
"As expected, the Maori family did not send troops." Nobuharu Baba had to lament Takeda Harunobu's judgment, and then ordered Kasuga Torasuna: "You, lead 1,000 people, and keep an eye on the direction of the Maori army to prevent them from cutting off our retreat. I will take The remaining 2,000 men attack."
After Kasuga Torasuna took the order and left, Baba Nobuharu took 2,000 Kaizu and turned around to kill Takio Shrine. At this time, the front soldiers of the Hatano Army and the Yusa Army were already fighting on the front line south of Takio Shrine, but the auxiliary soldiers of the rear group were still dragging along the north side of Takio Shrine. They never thought that in this direction that was ignored by everyone, the Takeda Army would actually come out. The Takeda Army, which was stretched thin, actually dared to separate a group of people for a surprise attack.
The unprepared auxiliary troops fell into chaos instantly, and some fled southwest of Takio Shrine, all the way to the edge of the Kamogawa River. Some people flocked to Takio Shrine, crowding the small shrine to the limit. Nobuharu Baba did not distract himself from the pursuit, but focused on continuously charging southward to completely break up the formations of Yusa Army and Hatano Army.
Just when the Yusa Army and the Hatano Army were hesitating whether to return for reinforcements, unexpected changes happened again.
"The enemy is exhausted. Our troops are attacking from above and below. I have the right people and good location! All gentlemen, come out with me!"
With only 5,000 men left on hand, Takeda Harunobu voluntarily left the command position on Huiri Mountain, suddenly opened the camp gate, and led his troops to counterattack the Northern Army, which was approaching a manpower level. Kai's warriors roared out like tigers descending from the mountain, charging straight at the Northern Army at the foot of Huiri Mountain.
Whether it was the fierce generals from the Otomo family who were accustomed to fighting, or the veterans from the Yusa family or Hatano family, no one expected Takeda Harunobu's tough move - to attack the enemy with a few and not to stand firm. Waiting for reinforcements, he abandoned the solid position and nearby friendly forces and rushed out desperately - and Takeda Harunobu had no motive to do so. Is there any need to risk the lives of the entire Takeda Army in this battle?
But as the saying goes, taking the enemy by surprise and attacking them unprepared, the Takeda Army's surprise attack exceeded everyone's expectations. The Dayi army had already retreated from two families in a row, and their physical strength was very exhausted. They planned to take a short rest before besieging the southern army's main formation, but they were not prepared for an attack at all. The Yusa Army and the Hatano Army were even worse. Just as they were about to turn their troops to rush back to support, they encountered a head-on attack.
In the blink of an eye, the outnumbered Northern Army was condescendingly rushed by Takeda's family and was in a state of disarray. The Otomo Army, the Hatano Army and the Yusa Army retreated steadily, rolling all the way back to the Takio Shrine. To the north of Takio Shrine, Baba Nobuharu and his special forces were still causing trouble. The three Northern Army units were at a loss of ground and were on the verge of collapse in an instant.
"Don't mess up!" At the critical moment, Toji Kanren led his flag base to bypass Takio Shrine, turned back and fought south, and rushed diagonally towards Nobuharu's horse seal at the racecourse. There were not many soldiers in the racecourse. Nobuharu was so desperate that he had to stop his offensive and tighten his defenses, leaving room for the North Army vanguard to retreat. At this time, the Maori army also moved south from Sanjusangendo, making a flanking attack on Nobharu Nobuharu. Kasuga Torasuna was unable to resist on her own, so she joined forces with Nobuharu Baba, turned around, and retreated in the direction of Chisekiin.
"Just give it up when it's good, don't expect to finish it all in one battle, just win by six points."
Takeda Harunobu was also unwilling to fight. Upon seeing this, he immediately raised his troops and retreated. He quickly left the battle and led the Takeda army to withdraw back to the main camp of Tofukuji Temple. This round of counterattack by the Takeda Army has bought enough time and almost destroyed most of the morale of the Northern Army vanguard who was gaining momentum. By the time they regrouped and organized another attack, the Hosokawa family's reinforcements had arrived on the battlefield, and the Confederate army's main formation had turned the corner.
