Warring States Survival Guide

Chapter 64: There are not many chances to save Oda Nobunaga's life

Yuanye has been unlucky since childhood, which led to his dark and violent personality in childhood. Even though he has reshaped himself and changed a lot under the teachings and influence of Meng Ziqi's father in his youth, the unlucky childhood still has some residual effects, causing his mind to still be complicated. He always likes to think of things in the worst possible way, always suspects that someone wants to harm him, and is always worried that accidents will happen.

This was all caused by the beatings he received as a child. Even though he has tried his best to control himself, it is useless as he is still rather suspicious.

Therefore, even though A-Man himself was not sure whether his intuition was correct, Yuan Ye still took it seriously and said thoughtfully: "You mean... we should go back first?"

If A'man wanted to go back, he would most likely "listen to advice and eat his fill" and follow her back immediately. Even if nothing happened in the end, he would not blame her. He was even considering retreating first - the excitement could be watched next time, there would always be a chance, and it would definitely be a good idea to take precautions this time.

Let him be a coward, there is no need to take meaningless risks, that's just the kind of person he is!

He was just thinking about whether to run away first, but Ah Man waved his hand and said, "That's not necessary. I just think that the big fool is in trouble this time. Anyway, he will take the blame if we lose the fight. We are definitely faster than him, so there is no danger."

Well, whether Oda Nobunaga lives or dies has nothing to do with her, as long as Harano is alive. Harano is not on the battlefield, so there is no need for him to run away in advance. With her and Aqing around, Harano is a dead dog, and they can drag him back to the camp first, and then take the whole family back to Takeuchi Manor.

As for what to do after returning to Takeuchi Manor, that would be Yuanye's decision, and they would just follow him then.

Since the expert Aman thought there was no problem, Yuanye was relieved for the time being. He turned his gaze back to the battlefield and said thoughtfully, "Then we should wait a little longer. However, it doesn't look like Oda Nobunaga is going to lose..."

"I don't know either." Ah Man also looked at the battlefield, frowned again, and muttered, "But there must be something wrong, I just can't figure it out for the time being."

She muttered this and didn't say anything else. After all, both sides on the battlefield were ready to fight.

Oda Nobunaga took the initiative to attack. Three rows of spearmen were keeping the battle line in order amid the shouts of the lower-level samurai, and they pushed forward towards the Matsudaira clan. The Matsudaira clan did not want to wait there, as this would cause their morale to drop. Similarly, the sound of taiko drums urged them to move forward, and the three rows of spearmen also moved forward.

Both sides entered the shooting range of each other, and the archers and foot soldiers began to exert their strength, first shooting light arrows, and when the distance was close, they switched to shooting heavy arrows. Even the archers and foot soldiers on both wings of the spears spread out and started shooting heavy arrows at each other, suppressing each other.

In the arrow exchange, Oda Nobunaga's side clearly had the advantage. His foot soldiers were better protected. Some of them, even with several trembling arrows stuck in their domaru, did not fall back even a step and continued to advance in the queue.

The Matsudaira family suffered some losses, especially the unarmored archers. Many of them fell in the duel of heavy arrows. If they did not die immediately, they would groan in pain on the ground. However, the Japanese bows were too soft and the bow power was too weak, so the overall loss was not too great and did not affect the overall situation.

It seems that the war at this time will ultimately be decided by hand-to-hand combat!

Yuanye watched as arrows were shot at each other for several waves, leaving scattered corpses behind the lines of both sides. His adrenaline began to rise uncontrollably, and his mood began to tense up - he had lived for twenty years, but this was the first time he had seen arrows flying, and the first time he had seen so many dead bodies!

While waiting for the two spearmen to start close combat, he asked Aman, "Is there anything special about this spear formation?"

Ah Man was also carefully observing the fighting situation, and at the same time, she was still thinking about her unknown doubts, and she said casually, "Of course there are particularities. Now this is called 'spear quilts'. Generally, they are arranged in three to eight rows, and they just hold long spears and rush forward. It is used when launching an attack;

There are also 'high and low guns', where the front row of guns are squatting, the middle row holds the front row's shoulders, and the back row holds it above their heads, generally used to resist the charge of a large group of mounted samurai;
The next move is 'cross-gun', where the back row moves sideways to the front row, interlacing their spears with the front row to form a fork, which can suddenly stab the enemy diagonally opposite. This is usually used to break the formation during a melee.

Anyway, there are many different techniques, all commanded by the spear general or the spear foot soldiers who are mixed in with the spear foot soldiers, and they are used according to the situation. "

Yuanye nodded, thinking that even if Japan was isolated on the island and it was difficult to exchange military technology with the outside world, the fact that so many people had died after fighting for so many years showed that it was not just a fight in the countryside. There was some method to the fight, not just random stabbing and killing.

While he was daydreaming, the lance foot soldiers of the two sides finally approached each other. He thought that there would be a shout next, and both sides would start to sprint, thrusting the four-meter-long spears into the enemy's body, which would cause people and horses to fall to the ground. But at the same time, the drumbeats on both sides slowed down, and the pace of approaching each other slowed down. The archers on both sides who were shooting at each other sporadically also began to retreat, and the projectiles in the back row also stopped.

"Why not launch an attack?" Yuanye became puzzled, feeling that this distance was just right for a sprint.

"We can't just launch an attack casually, otherwise if we are caught by the enemy, we will fall into the trap and suffer a great disadvantage. But speaking of it, the big fool is really not a fool. I underestimated him before. He actually commanded the troops well and didn't make any mistakes." Aman answered casually, his eyes still fixed on the battlefield.

Yuanye didn't understand, and it wasn't his fault. As a modern man, he had never seen such a scene. He was not a student of this major and had never studied the relevant content. It was the 21st century, and no lunatic would study how to stab people with a spear. He really couldn't do it!

He was just about to ask what "Pao Gun" was all about, but the gun formation that was approaching each other cautiously immediately told him what "Pao Gun" was:
The first row of the gun formations of both sides were holding up their four-meter-long, trembling spears and cautiously testing each other. After all, if they wanted to stab the opponent's vital points without letting the opponent dodge or stab them in the air from a distance of six or seven meters, it was a technical job, not as easy as most people imagined. At this moment, the second row of both sides quickly approached their first row, raised their spears together, and smashed them down through the gap, hitting the opponent's spear tips and shafts that were stretched out to test them. Suddenly, a "crackling" sound was heard on the battlefield, and a large number of flat-ended spears were hit with the spear tips poking into the ground.

Yuan Ye had not expected such a trick to happen, and was speechless for a moment: "Is this 'shooting the gun'?"

"Yes, it's a move to fight for the middle section and the first move." Ah Man was doing two things at the same time, explaining to him while watching, "The spear is top-heavy and light-footed, and it's also very soft. If you rush and stab and get hit suddenly, the spear will fall and you will lose the middle section and the first move. If you are hit by the first row of the opponent, the front line may collapse directly and you will be defeated immediately!"

It turned out to be like this...

Yuanye memorized it carefully, preparing to go back and think about how to crack it so as to be prepared for any eventuality. On the battlefield, the spear formations of the Oda and Imagawa families had already been fully engaged. Neither side had taken the initiative, nor had they completely lost control of the middle section. In an instant, it turned into a situation of "spear quilts" colliding with each other and "mistaken spears" stabbing each other. Dozens of long-lance foot soldiers in the front row were shot in the vitals in just an instant, and blood immediately splattered everywhere. The screams temporarily overwhelmed the sound of the conch shells urging from the rear. At this time, the lower-level samurai mixed in the long-lance foot soldiers also began to play a role, holding two spears, shouting loudly to boost morale, and desperately stabbing with better assassination skills, trying to knock down the opponent to create a gap, and then rush in with better armor so that they can draw their swords and slash, completely destroying the enemy's formation.

However, both sides found it difficult to succeed for a while, and the battle line entered a stalemate. Foot soldiers kept falling to the ground with screams, but the number of casualties on both sides seemed to be similar. But just when Yuanye thought everything was fine, he suddenly found that the Oda family's battle line seemed to be slowly retreating, and the casualties seemed to be beginning to exceed those of the other side.

He was shocked and confused for a moment. He originally thought that this battle was just a bit stupid and neither side had any brilliant strategies. They just collided head-on. But he thought that Oda Nobunaga should be able to rely on better armor and more armored soldiers to slowly gain the upper hand until the Matsudaira family was crushed, and then hunt down the defeated enemy and gain the greatest results - in this way, the casualties would only be one or two hundred people, and Oda Nobunaga had money, and he could also clean up the battlefield and strip the enemy's armor, and he would be able to replenish his strength in no time. Overall, it was a good victory, but how come the Oda army could not stand after less than a minute of stalemate and began to retreat step by step.

Is it because of lack of physical strength?
Although intense close combat is very physically demanding, according to the ancient Romans, the front row would be exhausted in three minutes, but it has only been about a minute now, so how come they can't stand?

As a modern man, he was completely confused. He couldn't understand why the party with the superior strength was forced to retreat. But Aman finally figured it out. He slapped his thigh hard and said angrily: "Asshole, so that's how it is. I knew there was something wrong!"

“What’s going on?!” Yuanye quickly asked humbly, and if he didn’t understand, he would learn so as to avoid falling into the same pit in the future.

"What else could it be? He's just a big fool. He came here with a bunch of green hands. There aren't many of his gang members who have ever killed anyone!" Ah Man's doubts were finally resolved. He returned to his normal state and said excitedly, "I felt something was wrong this morning. His gang members are too young. They don't have that... I can't put my finger on it. Anyway, they don't have that smell. They must be a bunch of green hands. There aren't many old guys!"

Yuanye was stunned, watching the Oda clan's spear formation on the battlefield being pushed back a little bit, with signs of chaos appearing in several places. Recalling Oda Nobunaga's gang, it seemed that they were indeed between sixteen and twenty years old, all of them very young, probably a bunch of green hands - there was no logic at all in this reality, how could Oda Nobunaga make such a low-level mistake, didn't he have any veterans?
Didn't Lin Xiuzhen, Hirate Masahide and others see that? Why didn't they give him some veterans?

He figured it out, and burst into tears. He never thought that the "first man in the Japanese Warring States Period" in history could actually build such an airplane. Ah Man thought he didn't understand, and she was also excited, so she shouted beside him: "Don't you understand yet? You can't fight a war with just a bunch of newbies. Killing people is not that easy. Ah Qing was forced to fight back before, and he wet his pants the first time he killed someone..."

Ah Qing was watching the battle coldly, with no reaction to the blood of the dead, but she heard her own dark history inexplicably. She shuddered and rushed over to cover her mouth tightly. Her cold oval face turned red in an instant, and her slender body trembled constantly. She tilted her head and dared not look at Yuanye. She was obviously angry - what did this have to do with her? She was just lying beside her on guard, so how could it be linked to her inexplicably?
Ah Man knew he had said something wrong and didn't dare to talk about her dark history anymore, but he pulled her hand away and continued shouting, "Anyway, killing someone is not that easy, and watching someone around you being killed is not that easy either. When encountering these two things, most green hands will have blood rushing into their heads, their eyes will be blurry, their limbs will become stiff, they will be unable to hear or see anything, and they will not be able to use even 30% of their abilities. So green hands alone can't fight a war, they must be mixed with some veterans!"

"Okay, okay, don't be so excited, I think I understand!" Yuanye quickly comforted her. He had figured out what was going on. It seemed that it was caused by adrenaline.

There are two Chinese words called "blind panic" and "panic without a clear path", which means that when people are greatly stimulated, adrenaline will surge uncontrollably, causing their vision to narrow and their hearing to weaken. They can only see a little bit of things in front of them and cannot pay attention to anything else. At the same time, the upper body loses strength, and the leg muscles begin to work twice as hard. The human body cannot adapt for a while, and most of the time they will roll and crawl when running.

This is a survival instinct that has existed since the primitive human period. It is very difficult to overcome it simply by willpower. One can only adapt to it slowly after fighting a few battles. What Aman said is probably the situation - a group of young men who have never seen blood are engaged in a bloody fight for the first time. Whether it is killing the opponent or seeing their companions fall down screaming in blood, it is probably a great stimulation. The adrenaline level is probably exceeded collectively, and now everyone is as stiff as wood and out of mind.

I didn't expect that Oda Nobunaga would lose in this aspect. It's a bit nonsensical!

"The Oda family seems to be unable to hold on!" The blush on Aqing's face had not yet faded, and she was still sulking at Aman for mentioning her dark history. However, the situation on the battlefield had changed again, so she still took the overall situation into consideration and quickly pulled Yuanye.

Yuanye looked over quickly and found that the Oda clan's spearmen and foot soldiers were indeed showing signs of collapse. Many lower-ranking samurai from the Matsudaira clan had already broken through the forest of spears, drawing their swords and killing in close combat. Although most of the Oda clan were still fighting tenaciously, some of their followers could not withstand the pressure, suffered mental collapse, and began to leave the formation and flee to the rear of the two wings.

The main camp of Oda Nobunaga, which was mixed with the archers in the rear, was also wavering. From a distance, it seemed that Oda Nobunaga was unwilling to accept defeat. He drew his sword and shouted loudly, as if he was going to lead the young men and the returning horses to fight to the death. Ikeda Terumasa was pulling his horse's bridle, as if he wanted him to turn the horse around and escape first.

As for Maeda Toshiie and the others… they were a bit far away and their facial expressions were unclear, but judging from their postures, these retainers seemed rather confused. It seemed that they had not expected that their party, which had been carefully trained for more than a year, would collapse so quickly despite having all the armor and numbers.

While these high-ranking warriors were still arguing, the spearmen could no longer hold on and a gap suddenly appeared in the middle.

The Oda clan's battle line finally collapsed, and the spearmen at the breach began to howl and flee to the rear.

Oda Nobunaga seemed to have finally accepted his fate and felt that the defeat was irreversible, so he ordered his men to blow the conch shell to represent retreat. However, he did not turn around and flee immediately. Instead, he kicked Ikeda Terumasa twice, shouted loudly a few times, and rushed forward with Maeda Toshiie and other minor retainers and the Huima people, as if he wanted to stop the enemy and allow the Lang gang to retreat smoothly.

At this time, the main camp of the Matsudaira family had already moved at some point, and a team of samurai, a mixture of infantry and cavalry, had rushed out. Led by a black-armored samurai on horseback, they passed through the formation. They had no interest in the fleeing foot soldiers of the Oda family, and went straight for the "Yongle Tongbao" horse seal, as if they only wanted Oda Nobunaga's head.

The two waves of samurai collided soon after and a melee broke out in an instant. Several people were killed in an instant, but the foot soldiers of Oda's side had already thrown away their guns and armor and fled in complete disarray. The foot soldiers of the Matsudaira family also caught up and began to encircle the big fish, Oda Nobunaga.

Finally, Oda Nobunaga did not dare to resist any longer. He shouted loudly a few times and turned around and fled with his men. The black-armored warriors of the Matsudaira family followed closely behind him, not caring about anyone and just kept biting him.

It’s a long story to explain, but it happened very quickly. In just two or three minutes, the scene changed to this. The future “No. 1 in the Japanese Warring States Period” was defeated and chased and beaten by a group of unknown people.

Ah Man took a look, pulled Yuan Ye and said, "It's over, big fool, let's go!"

Yuanye looked at Oda Nobunaga, Maeda Toshiie and their gang being bitten by the black-armored warriors of the Matsudaira clan, fighting and retreating in a miserable state. He then looked down at the pulley bow in his hand, and quickly weighed the pros and cons in his mind. He fixed his eyes and said to Aman and Aqing, "Don't worry, follow me!"

There are not many chances to save Oda Nobunaga's life, so it seems like we can take a little risk!

(End of this chapter)