Warring States Survival Guide

Chapter 192 Imagawa Yoshimoto has fallen into the trap

Oda Nobunaga went out at night and rushed all the way to the front line. When it was daylight, there were no longer just a few people behind him, but a large number of Oda family retainers and ancestral nobles rode up to catch up with him - they had to chase him. If they really let Oda Nobunaga go out alone, they would no longer be able to live as human beings, and there would be the risk of being revisited in the future.

At least they should follow to see the situation and find out what happened.

However, because Oda Nobunaga suddenly went out for battle, these people were unprepared. They did catch up with him, but they were all alone, with no soldiers except a few attendants.

Oda Nobunaga didn't care about this, he never intended to rely on these half-hearted guys. His direct forces, that is, the "demobilized men" raised by the "separation of soldiers and farmers" policy, were joining his banner as he moved forward.

These were the capital he was going to use to launch a surprise attack on Imagawa Yoshimoto.

When he arrived at Atsuta Shrine, he was already supported by dozens of retainers and samurai, including family elders such as Shibata Katsuie and Hayashi Hidetada, as well as a large number of powerful family leaders and more than 1000 well-trained soldiers.

But until this moment, Oda Nobunaga still did not reveal his intentions, but only led this group of samurai and soldiers with confusing expressions on their faces to pay homage to Atsuta Shrine.

Atsuta Shrine is one of the oldest shrines in Japan. It was built by the order of the 12th Emperor of Japan, and is the most authoritative "Shinto shrine" after the Ise Shrine. The three sacred artifacts that the ancient Japanese emperors inherited when they passed on the throne were the Eight-foot Mirror, the Eight-foot-Naniwa Magatama, and the Sword of Ame-no-Musukomo. The Sword of Ame-no-Musukomo is enshrined in Atsuta Shrine.

It is said that this sword is the treasure that the Oda family's patron saint "Susanoo" took out from the butt of "Yamata no Orochi" after it killed it. Therefore, Atsuta Shrine has a deep connection with the Oda family. After the Oda family left Echigo, they would come here for any major sacrificial activities.

Now that Oda Nobunaga was about to make a life-and-death attack, he naturally had to pray to the "guardian god" first, which could be regarded as a battle ceremony - people of that era still believed in this.

Yuanye had no interest in this, and there were too many people inside, so he did not join in the fun. He led Aqing and Aman to wait outside. Standing outside Atsuta Shrine, they could see columns of smoke rising in the distance, which should be from Marugane Fort and Washizu Fort.

Yuanye took a few glances and asked Aman, "Any news from the front?"

Aman shook his head. "There is no new news. The Oda clan should still be resisting stubbornly, but there is some movement in the rear. The navy of the Imagawa clan is still transporting troops to Kanie Castle. It is estimated that the enemy in Kanie Castle has exceeded 4,000 people, and it is possible that it has exceeded 5,000. Once this enemy moves, Shimazu will not be able to hold on, and it will not be difficult to further capture Kiyosu Castle."

"It's really a one-and-done gamble!" Yuanye sighed softly.

Oda Nobunaga had completely disregarded his life and his home base, and had made it clear that he would die if he failed. This was probably the reason why he was able to win, right? If most people were in Oda Nobunaga's position, they would probably surrender like the Matsudaira family and become a vassal ally, right? Or they would siege the city and hope that the other side would retreat because of the casualties, right?

At least Yuanye asked himself that unless he was forced into a desperate situation, he would not be able to make such a decision, risking the depletion of the wealth accumulated by three generations of his family to take the initiative to attack and fight for a chance of survival.

He actually lacks a bit of offensive spirit. It was okay for him to be an ordinary person who followed the rules before, but now... he should change this kind of personality in the future.

Of course, Imagawa Yoshimoto also had a big problem with Oda Nobunaga's victory. He divided his army too far apart, launching attacks from many places such as Odaka Castle, Shirakawaguchi, Kanie Castle, etc., hoping to quickly defeat the Oda family and completely occupy Owari. He never thought that Oda Nobunaga would resist.

He probably lost because of this, because of his arrogance?

Yuanye was analyzing the development of the situation and the factors that would determine future success or failure in his mind. He was also reflecting on his own shortcomings. While he was thinking about all sorts of things, he heard a burst of exclamations from the main hall of the shrine in the distance. The exclamations quickly turned into cheers, and then there were even more "Oh oh hey"s. It sounded like the soldiers were very excited.

Aman was also very curious. Without even asking Yuanye to say anything, he rushed into the shrine with his sword in hand to investigate. When he came back, he reported to Yuanye in amazement: "It's amazing. Atsuta Daimyojin appeared. After Oda Nobunaga offered his prayer and worshipped in the main hall, the sound of armor shaking and footsteps came from the main hall behind. They all said that Susanoo no Mikoto had moved and was going to join the army to fight."

Well, the main hall is the place for worship and giving money (similar to incense money), and the main hall is behind the main hall, which is the residence of the "gods", and there is usually no one in it. Now there is a sudden noise, and it is very loud, so it is reasonable to suspect that the gods are going to follow us into battle.

But of course Yuanye couldn't believe that there really was a "god" who could walk out of the temple in full armor. However, he didn't say much, just shook his head slightly and continued to wait outside the shrine.

"who is it?!"

Ah Qing suddenly let out a low shout and looked at the "barrier" on the side of the shrine with cold eyes, his hand on the hilt of the knife - in this era, Atsuta Shrine had no outer wall. According to custom, the shrine was renovated every 20 years and had to be burned down and rebuilt to ensure "cleanliness", so the scale of the shrine was not large (referring to the shrine itself, excluding additional facilities such as farms and residential areas), and there was no need to build walls, so they were only surrounded by "straw ropes with talismans", and this straw rope was the "barrier".

Now a man sneaked out from the bushes at the "barrier", looking very much like an assassin, which aroused Aqing's vigilance. The man was also startled when he heard Aqing's low shout, and the small half of his body that had come out immediately shrank back, but after a moment he seemed to find something wrong, and stuck his head out again to take a look. It was Maeda Toshiie who had committed a serious mistake and was exiled.

Yuan Ye was speechless for a moment, then smiled and waved: "What are you doing? Are you a thief?"

Maeda Toshiie was also speechless. Now everyone was crowded in front of the shrine and cheering. He thought there was no one here. But this weirdo Yuanye didn't even pray for God's blessing when he was going to war. He just stood outside doing something and was caught in the act.

Fortunately, Yuanye was not an outsider. He was Oda Nobunaga's brother-in-law. If he was willing to join the Oda family, he would be given the status of an Imonshu. So Maeda Toshiie really came out, wearing a linen robe and large hakama, with a sword on his waist, an untidy beard, and looked like a rough man.

He ignored Yuanye's joke, looked around and asked Yuanye, "Sir Saburo, are you also going to follow the Lord...follow His Highness Kamisosuke to attack?"

Yuanye did not continue to ask. The movement in the main hall just now was most likely this guy playing tricks. There was no need to force the truth. Moreover, from the meaning of his words - attack, not rescue a certain place - it is possible that this guy, in addition to preparing to be an undercover agent for Shibata Katsuie in the future, also has a mission now. At least he should have known about the sneak attack on Imagawa Yoshimoto long ago.

In history, he and the monkey were very familiar with each other. Maybe he and the monkey carried out the preliminary intelligence preparation work for the "Battle of Okehazama" together. They had a special kind of comradeship, so they were very good at diplomacy. Yuanye's mind raced, thinking randomly in his heart, and smiled: "No, I just came here... to check the situation. You know, I am bound by the oath before the gods, and I can't attack the Imagawa family and the Matsudaira family now."

He was speaking the truth. Although he did not believe in the binding force of gods, in this era, violating the oath before gods would bring bad reputation. Oda Nobumitsu was a lesson learned. Even after his death, people were still talking about him all day long. So...it is better to retain some political credibility, otherwise he will become like the Indian, who has to pay the full amount before buying things, otherwise no one will dare to ship them.

Maeda Toshiie already knew about this, and he immediately remembered it when Yuanye mentioned it, and nodded directly. Yuanye asked with concern: "What about you? Are you going this time... too?"

Maeda Toshiie immediately straightened his expression and nodded, "Of course I can't be missing from this kind of war!"

"But your current identity..." Yuanye wanted to test him. After all, Maeda Toshiie's current identity is a ronin, and there is no reason for him to work for the Oda family anymore.

Maeda Toshiie was stunned for a moment, hesitated for a moment and said awkwardly: "If not, I will go with Lord Shibata... I have to go anyway."

Yuanye nodded slightly. It seemed that this guy was really going to be an undercover agent.

He stopped talking about his identity and asked with concern, "Do you have armor, weapons, and horses? If not, I'll have my men get you a set."

"Don't worry, I've already prepared it."

Maeda Toshiie was very grateful. Not everyone who is down and out can meet a friend like Yuanye. Just as he was about to say a few more words of thanks, a fast horse came running from a distance. When it reached the shrine, the rider jumped off the horse. He was a young man who was also wearing linen clothes, about twenty years old, with a topknot and quite handsome - if you didn't count his hairstyle, if you only looked at his face, he looked okay.

The good-looking young man dismounted from his horse and looked at Maeda Toshiie with slight hesitation. Maeda Toshiie also looked a little embarrassed, but Yuanye was understanding and smiled at Maeda Toshiie, saying, "Go ahead and do whatever you need to do. We'll talk later."

"it is good!"

Maeda Toshiie was obviously busy with something urgent, so he didn't waste any more time talking to Yuanye. He turned around and ran towards the young man. The two men whispered to each other for a while, and then the young man rode away on his horse again, while Maeda Toshiie went into the bushes and into the shrine.

Ah Man watched this scene with great interest, and tried to identify it, then said to Yuan Ye: "That guy has a small mole on his chin, he should be the missing Yajiro."

"It's him..."

Yuan Ye glanced at Yakuro's back. Was this what Monkey No. 2 looked like? Was he delivering information about Imagawa Yoshimoto?

Where is Imagawa Yoshimoto now?
Have you reached his fatal place, Okehazama Mountain?
…………

Shortly after Maeda Toshiie went into the bushes, the "demobilized men" of the Oda family withdrew from the shrine and started cooking outside for a hearty meal. At the same time, more "demobilized men" arrived one after another.

By around nine o'clock in the morning, about 2000 professional soldiers of the Oda clan had gathered in the area of Atsuta Shrine. Following a command from Oda Nobunaga, this extremely elite team immediately abandoned all their baggage and long weapons such as the Sanken spear and set off quickly, heading southeast.

They first arrived at Tange Fort. By this time, Imagawa Yoshimoto's position was basically determined and the operation had officially begun. Oda Nobunaga no longer concealed his intention, or it could be said that it was no use hiding it now. The "ninjas" of the "Kyoudanshu" began to run over to report information, and led the Oda army through an extremely remote and difficult path to bypass Narumi Castle, and secretly arrived at the wilderness near Zenshoji Fort without alerting the Imagawa family.

But when they reached the vicinity of Zenshoji Fort, it seemed that the intelligence could not keep up for a while, and Oda Nobunaga stopped again. All the people who were brought here by him could only hide here and wait.

Soon after, someone from the "Xiangtanzhong" brought news that there was a commotion at Oda Nobunaga's side. Aman sneaked over to listen, and then asked his acquaintances, and came back to report to Yuanye: "Marugane and Washizu forts were lost, Sakuma Morishige, Oda Nobuhira, Iio Sadamune, Iio Nobumune and other generals were all killed in the battle, and the defending army was also completely wiped out, not a single one escaped."

Yuanye was surprised for a moment: "Sakuma Shigeshige is dead?"

This was the patriarch of the Oda family, and one of the three greatest elders of the Oda family at present. Moreover, not only one great elder died, but also a bunch of his own family members and important ministers died, and there may have been thousands of his followers who died - if the defending army was really wiped out, and the foot soldiers and the like were counted, the casualties might be over two thousand.

Ah Man was quite good at getting information, and he immediately said, "The Matsudaira clan started attacking the fort from three sides last night. After using Matsudaira Iehiro, Ōho Tadayo, Matsudaira Shigekichi and others to distract the defenders, Matsudaira Motoyasu personally led Ishikawa Suzemasa, Honda Jōji and a large number of family warriors to the castle, and broke through the castle with one blow, killing Sakuma Morishige on the wall."

Yuanye nodded silently. He was familiar with this tactic. When they went to Chita Peninsula to seize territory, the Matsudaira family liked to use this tactic. They sent a large number of heavily armored warriors to go first, quickly kill the enemy and occupy the city wall. He suffered a lot at that time - these warriors had been practicing martial arts every day since they were a few years old. They were very good at close combat. They put on heavy armor and rushed up regardless of their lives. Generally, one person could take the lives of several ordinary soldiers. It was really hard to deal with.

But he really didn't expect that the old turtle had such a side when he was young, and he actually dared to wear armor and climb the city in person? According to the impression he left on people in history, he should be an old and calm scoundrel.

While Yuanye was still thinking about it, an argument had already started with Oda Nobunaga. Mainly because Shibata Katsuie, Hayashi Hidetada and the powerful families were confused, or did not dare to believe that Oda Nobunaga was really going to kill Imagawa Yoshimoto, and they all hoped that he would return to help quickly. However, Oda Nobunaga did not care about them at all and forced them to wait here until noon.

It was not until then that he received urgent intelligence from Shinshumaru: Imagawa Yoshimoto had fallen into a trap.

(End of this chapter)