Japan's Sengoku Period: The Sanada Clan's Ambition

Chapter 87: Base-Swapping Tactics! A Great Victory!

Half an hour later, Teruhisa Yamagami walked out of the desolate city covered in blood.

"My lord, Huangdi City has been captured!"

Sanada Nobuyuki couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, "Dichi, you made a great contribution in this battle. You truly deserve the title of Tiger General of Kozuki!"

"My lord is too kind. There are only a few dozen foot soldiers in the castle. If we can't even take it down with such a defense, I would be ashamed to have failed you." Yamagami Teruhisa waved his hand.

It was just a warm-up, a small-scale event.

“Once the enemy learns that Arato Castle is under attack, they will definitely send troops to reinforce it. We can ambush them at the Senku River and attack when they cross the river. We will surely win in one battle,” Yamagami Teruhisa suggested.

Nobuyuki Sanada wholeheartedly agreed with this.

Where do you think the enemy will cross the river?

"I noticed this when I came here. There is a shallow beach about seven or eight miles north of Huangdi City, which can be crossed by wading."

“What if the enemy crosses the river from downstream?” Sanada Nobuyuki continued to ask.

Teruhisa Yamagami smiled and looked at Nobuyuki Sanada. "Why do you need to ask me, my lord? Didn't you already have Lord Shimazu set up the formation there?"

"Hahahaha!" Nobuyuki Sanada laughed and patted Teruhisa Yamagami on the shoulder. "Those who understand me are truly enlightened!"

At the same time, Katsunaga Yashiro, who was marching towards Yashiro Castle from the opposite bank of the Chikuma River, also heard the sound of arquebuses coming from the other side. At that moment, an ominous premonition arose in his heart.

Is that the direction of Desolate City?

As if confirming Katsunaga Yashiro's unease, several detectives returned from the front.

"The Kasuga army that attacked Yashiro Castle has retreated to the left bank of the Chikuma River and set up camp. In addition, it was discovered that the enemy troops of Izuura Morikiyo and Shimazu Tadanao were also stationed on the opposite bank."

"Where is the Sanada clan's army?"

"Nothing was found," the detective replied truthfully.

At that moment, Masatake Muroga casually remarked, "That shouldn't be the case. How could there be no sound at all?"

movement?

Katsunaga Yashiro immediately turned to look in the direction of Arato Castle. Oh no!

Katsunaga Yashiro immediately reined in his horse and turned it around. "This is bad. The Sanada family attacked Yashiro Castle just to mislead us. Their real target is Arashi Castle."

"Arata Castle?" Muroga Masatake was clearly still confused about the situation.

But soon, Muroga Masatake shuddered, “If the Sanada family captures Arato Castle, then Muroga Castle will be right in front of the enemy.”

The thought that he had brought out his entire army completely panicked Muroga Masatake.

"Hurry up and go to Huangdi City to see if a battle has just taken place."

"Ha!" The detective rode his horse quickly toward the direction of Huangdi City.

After waiting anxiously for a while, the detective quickly returned and reported the news that Katsunaga Yashiro least wanted to hear.

Arashi Castle has been captured by the enemy, and the Sanada family's six-mon flag has been planted on the city wall!
Even before Katsunaga Yashiro could speak, Masatake Muroga was the first to get restless.

His castle, Muroga Castle, was located about 30 li south of Arashi Castle. If the Sanada clan continued their southward attack, Muroga Castle would be in danger.

“Echijō no Kami, now that Kasuga no Nobutada has withdrawn his troops and the crisis at Yashiro Castle has been temporarily averted, why don’t I lead my troops to its rescue?” Muroga Masatake was in a state of utter confusion, with only the three words “Muroga Castle” on his mind.

Seeing Muroga Masatake's urgency, Yashiro Katsunaga quickly instructed him, "Be sure to act carefully."

Muroga Masatake nodded quickly, and then led the Muroga family's army to turn around.

When they arrived at the banks of the Chikuma River, Shimazu Tadanao was already waiting on the other side of the river with several hundred foot soldiers.

Eager to return to Muroga Castle, Muroga Masatake did not want to get entangled with Shimazu Tadanao in this place, so he quickly gave up on crossing the river by bridge and continued to walk upstream.

If he remembered correctly, there was a shallow beach not far from the city of Huangdi.

After traveling at a brisk pace for half an hour, Muroga Masatake finally arrived at the location he remembered, and then breathed a long sigh of relief.

Looking at the foot soldiers behind him, who were already panting heavily, Muroga Masatake gritted his teeth and ordered, "Cross the river!"

The water in the upper reaches of the Qianqu River is not deep, and the riverbank is not wide. The furthest point is only a dozen meters apart, and the water depth is just above the calves.

Muroga Masatake rode at the head of the group and quickly crossed the river.

The more than one thousand foot soldiers of the Muroga clan behind them slowly began to enter the water. Although the water was not deep, the riverbed was very slippery, so the foot soldiers crossed the river very slowly.

Muroga Masatake was anxious but had no choice but to wait patiently in place.

A quarter of an hour later, when nearly half of the Muroga clan's foot soldiers had crossed the Chikuma River, Yamakami Teruhisa, who had been lying in ambush on the hillside not far from the riverbank, drew his sword. "The enemy has crossed the river! Everyone, follow me and kill them!"

"Oh!"

Immediately, dozens of foot soldiers carrying long spears rushed out, while foot soldiers carrying various flags and symbols frantically waved their flags.

Muroga Masatake was stunned by this sudden turn of events. By the time he came to his senses, Yamagami Teruhisa had already led his men to attack.

"Enemy attack! Stop them!"

Before Muroga Masatake could speak, several Muroga samurai bravely stepped forward to meet him.

Meanwhile, the foot soldiers of the Muroga clan were already in chaos, with many falling into the Chikuma River, and the ranks were thrown into disarray.

Yamagami Teruhisa took the lead and swung his sword at a Muroga family samurai.

The immense force caused the opponent's hands to go numb, and he staggered back four or five steps before regaining his footing.

Subsequently, the mountain path and several foot soldiers with long spears struck him, knocking him to the ground.

"That man on horseback is the enemy general. Ignore these people, the reward for capturing the enemy general is 10 kan!" Sanada Nobuyuki, under the protection of Hirabayashi Masatsune, also joined the battle. When he saw Muroga Masatake on horseback, Sanada Nobuyuki immediately issued the bounty.

In an instant, hundreds of eyes on the battlefield were fixed on Muroga Masatake.

Startled, Muroga Masatake quickly jumped off his horse and mingled with the foot soldiers as he ran towards the opposite bank.

Yamagami Michiki led dozens of foot soldiers in pursuit, but they were held back by the chaotic Muroga family foot soldiers and could only watch as Muroga Masatake crossed the river in a sorry state.

Some of the Murogai family foot soldiers who didn't have time to escape immediately dropped their weapons and surrendered. The battle was over in less than half an hour.

“Doji, there’s no need to pursue.” Sanada Nobuyuki called out to Yamagami Teruhisa, who was preparing to cross the river to give chase. “Hurry up and gather the foot soldiers. Send a message to Shimazu Awaji-no-kami and have him come and take over these surrendered foot soldiers.”

"It's getting dark, and the enemy won't be making any more moves for the time being."

"Let's take a quick night's rest at Arata Castle, and attack Yashiro Castle tomorrow."

"what!"

After saying that, Teruhisa Yamagami looked at the other side of the river with a regretful expression, lamenting that Masatake Muroga had escaped.

After the battle, a headcount was taken, revealing that three enemy samurai and nineteen foot soldiers were killed, with over a hundred others surrendering. On the Sanada side, only one foot soldier twisted his ankle from rushing too fast; otherwise, there were no casualties.

Big win!

That night, cheers that lasted for a long time resounded throughout the desolate city.

Meanwhile, Muroga Masatake fled to Yashiro Castle in a panic, gathering his scattered troops along the way. Of the more than a thousand men who had set out, only a little over three hundred remained.

Muroga Masatake's heart was bleeding.

When Yashiro Katsunaga saw Muroga Masatake return in defeat, he panicked, "Vice Minister of War, how could you suffer such a crushing defeat?"

"Don't even mention it, it's a miracle I survived."

"The Sanada family's army has long been lying in ambush on the other side, waiting for me to go down and die."

"It's over, it's over."

"If Arato Castle is gone, then Muroga Castle will be gone too."

“It’s all gone, hahahaha.” Muroga Masatake completely broke down.

Upon hearing this, Katsunaga Yashiro shuddered and almost fell to the ground. He then rushed forward and grabbed Masatoshi Muroga by the collar. "Didn't I tell you to be careful?"

"How dare you say that!" Muroga Masatake struggled free, then glared angrily at Yashiro Katsunaga.

"When the news of Kasuga Nobutatsu's siege of Yashiro Castle reached us, you ran faster than I did."

"Now you're blaming me?"

A hint of embarrassment flashed across Katsunaga Yashiro's face.

"What should we do now?"

"The Sanada family was clearly prepared; we can only rely on Lord Tokugawa." Muroga Masatake was completely deflated.

Katsunaga Yashiro also sat down resignedly.

Fortunately, Yashiro Castle was still in his hands, which made Katsunaga Yashiro feel a little better, and he looked at Masatake Muroga with a look of sympathy.

(End of this chapter)