Warring States Survival Guide

Chapter 63: It seems like he is going to

The next day, before daybreak, the city of Gunye became noisy.

Nobunaga Oda's subordinate retainers shouted and urged the guards to check their armor, spears, short swords, bows and arrows and other weapons. The miscellaneous soldiers and foot soldiers set up pots to cook, feed the horses and donkeys, and pour water into bamboo tubes. The novice Haraye also followed suit, dressing himself up and directing his men to cook. He also had the stretchers, medicines and bandages prepared last night loaded onto the cart - this was probably the only meal they would cook today, and the cooked rice would be kneaded into rice balls, which the guards would carry with them and eat all day.

Of course, this is the general situation. Now we are fighting on the inside, and we may win on the same day and come back to have a celebration banquet in the evening.

After finishing the only hot meal of the day, the sky gradually brightened. A conch shell sounded, and a large group of lower-ranking warriors and senior Langbang with small flags on their backs immediately threw away their bowls and gathered in front of the high platform of the camp. The rest of the Langbang foot soldiers who had no weapons on them also picked up their weapons and lined up behind them. They formed a formation in a very fast time, followed by one after another of "Hey! Hey! Oh!" sounds.

Yuanye also gathered his miscellaneous soldiers and foot soldiers together, but he did not shout or yell, as he could not learn it. However, he had asked Aman last night for some common sense about battle formations in medieval Japan, so he knew what these people were doing - this was the response, "Hey! Hey!" It was the small leaders shouting, meaning "Are you ready?", and "Oh!" was the response from the foot soldiers under his command, meaning "Alright."

When the formation was completed, the conch shell sounded again and the hanging drum was struck heavily. Maeda Toshiie and two other retainers with small surnames climbed onto the platform holding a huge "finger object" - a flagpole about five meters high was topped with a huge, glittering gold-painted paper-pasted copper coin with four big characters "Yongle Tong Bao" on it.

The lower-ranking samurai and foot soldiers in line looked up at the huge copper coin and exclaimed in unison, while Yuanye also looked up, not knowing what to say for a moment - this thing is a horse mark, also called a horse seal, which is used to indicate the position of the main general. In a melee, he is the backbone of the entire army. It is normal to raise it now, but he did not expect Oda Nobunaga to do something weird again!

It was a really cool move. It seems that Oda Nobunaga not only changed his common name, but also changed a series of identity items such as family crest, battle flag, horse emblem, etc. Now he showed it to the public, which should mean that he attached great importance to this battle - not counting the fact that he only played a minor role in the battle when he was in his primogeniture, this should be the first battle he personally commanded.

Sure enough, the flag that appeared later was not the "Five Papaya Flags", nor was it the "Flying Feather Butterfly Flag" that Tanjo Tadashi used before, but it turned into a Yongle copper coin flag with black patterns on a white background. Perhaps Oda Nobunaga had already made up his mind that he would go to the battlefield with copper coins on his head in the future. I don't know what he was thinking.

Maybe he wanted to show that he was very rich?
The last person to appear was naturally Oda Nobunaga himself. He was also wearing a set of armor of the time, but many parts were painted with vermilion lacquer, and on his pockets were a bunch of peacock feathers stuck on each side like twin ponytails. He was extremely showy, and it was speechless. His expression was even more excited, and his eyes seemed to be glowing red. He looked down at his team, opened his mouth to speak, but it seemed as if thousands of words were stuck in his throat, making it difficult to express them for a while.

Leading an army to defeat the enemy was probably his dream since childhood. Now that it was about to come true, his emotions were surging. Finally, under the watchful eyes of the crowd and amid the increasingly urgent sound of hanging drums, he drew his long sword, pointed it at the sky, and asked in a hoarse voice: "Gentlemen, are you ready to die?"

The middle-aged warriors in the audience were slightly stunned, but the young lower-level warriors and young men reacted quickly. They immediately raised their spears and responded loudly. Everyone looked excited. It seemed that Oda Nobunaga had a high prestige in the hearts of these young people, and they really had the intention of dying.

Oda Nobunaga, who received a response from his loyal subordinates, seemed to be more and more excited. He slashed down with his sword and announced the attack order: "Move out, to Higashitsuno!"

"Oh!" The Langdang foot soldiers responded in unison again, and then set out one after another under the command of samurai at all levels. More than one hundred elite vanguard troops already in armor set out first to explore the way, followed by the Taiko drum team. The Langdang were divided into groups of two, one carrying a Taiko drum and the other beating rhythmically from behind to control the marching rhythm.

Behind them was a big taiko drum carried by four men, probably for use in battle; it was not being beaten at the moment. Several men in charge of blowing the conch shells also mixed in with the taiko drum team and set off together.

After them came the spearmen teams composed of large groups of Langdang, but they were not wearing armor for the time being. They only carried two long spears on their shoulders. The spears were as dense as a forest, swaying with their steps, looking murderous.

Behind the spear foot soldiers was a team of bow foot soldiers, and behind them was a team of miscellaneous foot soldiers who carried armor and other items for them.

As for the general commander Oda Nobunaga...

Oda Nobunaga was saying goodbye to his retainers. The family elder Hayashi Hidemasa stood there with his hands behind his back, expressionless. Hirate Masahide had a worried look on his face and was holding Oda Nobunaga's hand as if to instruct him about something. However, Oda Nobunaga looked impatient and would retort in a low voice from time to time.

Yuanye glanced at it twice but didn't take it seriously. He turned around and found a mid-level samurai on horseback waving to him that he could move. He immediately commanded his "ox car team" to follow the end of the miscellaneous foot soldiers team and headed for the Higashitsuno battlefield.

…………

Because they were fighting on the interior lines, Nobunaga's army did not need to carry too many supplies. In addition, their morale was high and they marched very quickly. It took them only half a day to reach the vicinity of Higashitsuno, and they could see Higashitsu Fort from afar. The Matsudaira clan would come to harass several times every year, and the Oda clan was not stupid either. They had built two forts in this direction early on to control the road, namely Higashitsu and Toki Forts, with more than a hundred people stuffed in each fort.

Whenever the Matsudaira family came to rob or harass in the past, they would be affected by these two forts and would not dare to go too deep beyond them, lest they be caught in the dilemma of being attacked from both sides by the enemy. In addition, because they were wary of the powerful enemy "The Tiger of Owari", they usually did not dare to stay too long when they came to harass or rob, and they had never been able to do anything about the Tozu and Toki forts.

But now that the "Tiger of Owari" is dead and the "Big Fool of Owari" is in power, they have fewer concerns. It seems that the main purpose of coming here this time is to remove these two thorns in their eyes. They have surrounded the Tojin Fort and launched several tentative attacks, but failed to take it down. They do not want to suffer too many casualties, so they are now building "siege equipment" to prepare to break the fort by clever means.

They were also alert enough. They noticed from afar that Nobunaga's army was approaching rapidly and immediately lifted the siege of Tozu Fort. However, they did not retreat directly. Instead, they returned to the camp to eat and drink their fill, as if they were ready to accept the "invitation" to a field battle and practice with the new head of the Oda Danjotada family in the heartland of the Oda Danjotada family to see what kind of quality he was.

When Oda Nobunaga heard the report from the front, he immediately ordered the troops to set up camp on the spot, let the troops eat and rest, and recover their strength. He personally led the Huima people and the young men out to observe the terrain of the battlefield.

After he came back, he convened a small meeting with his retainers and samurai. Then, at a command, the spear foot soldiers and bow foot soldiers formed by the Lang party put on their armor and went out directly to the Matsudaira family's camp.

Of course, Yuanye didn't have to go to the war. He was just a hired "field doctor" who just waited in the camp to rescue the wounded. Seeing that the battle was about to begin, he began to assign tasks, organize stretchers, medicines, bandages, prepare firewood and stoves, and set up a small tent to prepare for "surgery" - there must be many people coming back with arrow wounds, and surgery is inevitable. He has always been very foresighted in doing things. He now has more subordinates, 30 foot soldiers who listen to his assignments, and Maejima Jiro, a low-level magistrate, who can supervise and manage. In addition, the brothers Yayoi and Taoi have been running a "black clinic" with him for so long, and they are all qualified nurses. They can also lead many things. After he finished assigning the work, he was free. He waved to Aman and Aqing directly, and said expectantly: "Let's go, let's go to the front and take a look!"

Anyway, he wouldn't lose, so he wanted to go and see the fun. He had been here for such a long time, but he still hadn't seen how wars were fought in medieval Japan, so he was somewhat curious.

Aqing had no objection. She usually didn't have her own ideas, so she just listened to Aman and Yuanye. However, Aman, who usually liked to join in the fun, hesitated for a moment before agreeing.

The three of them led the mare and left the camp, following Oda Nobunaga from a distance. There was no need to catch up, they just wanted to watch the fun. Yuanye was dressed in fine clothes and looked like an important person. If they got too close and were mistaken for a general and were targeted, or if they attracted the interest of an enemy general, they would insist on taking his head in exchange for credit, which would be a joke.

Of course, they have all the weapons with them. If they encounter a few stragglers and need to fight a little, the three of them will not be afraid - Aman and Aqing have extremely sharp ears and eyes, and it is impossible for them to be approached by the enemy without knowing it. As long as there is no close combat, there is nothing to be afraid of. They have pulley bows and cannons, and if there are only a few enemies, they can drive them away from a distance.

After all, for someone as cautious and suspicious as him, if there were really any risks, he would definitely not come to watch the fun.

The three of them followed Oda Nobunaga from a distance, and no one paid attention to them along the way until they reached Higashitsuno. When they got here, the sound of taiko drums began to sound, from slow to fast, and the "urgent drum" was beaten. The conch shells also began to blow long and short, and Nobunaga's army began to organize their formation, preparing to change from a marching column to a horizontal line.

The Matsudaira family did not hesitate, and it was obvious that they were well prepared. They did not want to be blocked in the camp by Oda Nobunaga. The sounds of taiko drums and conch shells began to sound, and the armored foot soldiers came out one after another, and lined up directly in front of the camp. They were not afraid at all and were determined to confront Oda Nobunaga head-on.

Yuanye couldn't see clearly from the side and rear, so he climbed on his horse, stepped on the stirrups and looked around. He found that it was not like what was described in the novel, with two armies fighting and cavalry everywhere.

On the contrary, the two armies were facing each other and preparing for battle, all their forces were withdrawn, and there was no one around.

He thought for a moment, pointed to a small mound with lush vegetation in the distance, and said, "Let's go there to watch the battle!"

It was located on the side of the battlefield with a better view, so they took advantage of the time when the Oda and Matsudaira families kept "Heheoh" to form a line and made a circle and climbed up the small mound to watch the battle.

The view here is much wider, and you can see the entire battlefield.

Yuanye lay there and took a few looks, and found that there were more than 600 people directly participating in the battle on Oda Nobunaga's side, most of whom were armored men. Now they have slowly spread out into three horizontal rows. The formation is very tight, with long spears erected like a forest.

There were also about 600 people from the Matsudaira clan, but at a glance, there were only about 400 armored men. Their domaru looked very messy, not exactly the same as those on Oda Nobunaga's side, and most of them were rather worn out. The remaining 200 or so people in the back row had no armor at all, without even a simple domaru, and only wore bamboo hats inlaid with iron sheets on their heads. However, they were not inferior in momentum at all, and they also lined up in three horizontal rows with their spears erected.

Yuanye looked at him for a while and asked Aman, "The Matsudaira clan does look weaker, and they don't have an advantage in terrain. Logically, they should have retreated early, right? Why do they look like they're going to fight head-on? Didn't you say before that the Matsudaira clan wouldn't spend all their money to fight head-on?"

Ah Man was frowning as he thought about something, and said casually, "It should be the order of the Imagawa family, or Oda Nobunaga has a reputation as a fool, and now he has come in person, and the generals of the Matsudaira family want to try to kill him in battle - if they can bring back Oda Nobunaga's head, it would be a profit even if two or three hundred people die. Anyway, if it were me, I would definitely try it."

Yuanye nodded slightly, thinking that this made sense. After all, Oda Nobunaga had a really bad reputation and was known to everyone as a "big fool". So facing a fool, especially a high-value fool, the retainers of the Matsudaira family might really want to take the opportunity to kill him, thereby making a great contribution and obtaining the fiefdom of Zhixing.

But he soon discovered that Ah Man's eyebrows were furrowed, and he seemed a little absent-minded, so he couldn't help but ask curiously, "What's wrong with you?"

According to her personality, she should be jumping up and down, extremely excited, hoping for a river of blood. She shouldn't be so quiet.

Ah Man himself didn’t quite understand it. He scratched his face, looked around, and said hesitantly, “I don’t think something is right…”

Yuanye was stunned for a moment, and the titles of books such as "The Art of War" and "Thirty-Six Strategies" flashed quickly in his mind. He turned his head and looked around, suspecting an ambush, but this place was called Dongjinye, just a wasteland with not much grass and trees, and the terrain was flat. The highest place was the small mound where they were lying, and there was no place to hide an ambush.

"What's wrong?" Yuanye looked around but found nothing, so he could only ask Aman.

Ah Man's eyebrows were still furrowed, his expression was still funny, and his tone was still hesitant: "I don't know, but since the beginning of the march this morning, I felt something was not right, as if something was wrong, but what problem... I can't tell it now."

This was probably a kind of professional intuition, a keen intuition she had developed after years of lying in the bushes and watching samurai killing each other. She always felt that Oda Nobunaga seemed to be in trouble, as if he was about to be killed.

(End of this chapter)