Owari Yumeki Golden Day

Don't blame Shichibei. He had his servant put the saddle on the horse in the morning and tied it to the river bank, ensuring that Shichibei could see it clearly at any time so that he could mount the horse at any time.

At the urging of the Sakuma samurai, the fifth layer of horse fence was tied up and placed on the designated position. With these five layers of fences, they could definitely fight the Saito army.

Just after ten in the morning, without incident, the Saito army appeared on the north bank of the Nagara River, carrying the two large flags of the Isshiki clan, a privilege granted to his father, Isshiki Kyōshō no Daifu Yoshitatsu, from the shogunate.

By the way, Saito Tatsuoki’s official career was the Minister of Justice.

Okay, okay, Nobunaga is now in conflict with Daisuke Jibe.

In addition, since Ryūshū had also received a letter from Hosokawa Fujitaka last year from Ashikaga Yoshiaki, Ryūshū placed his bet on Ashikaga Yoshiaki. He really hoped to maintain a temporary peace with Nobunaga in order to suppress the semi-independent forces in Mino and strengthen the Saito clan's rule in Mino.

Therefore, in the eyes of Ashikaga Yoshiaki, Saito Ryuoki should be called Isshiki Yoshitsugu, as he received the taboo of "Yi" from Ashikaga Yoshiaki. If Yoshiaki could restore the shogunate, Ryuoki could have held four posts in terms of political status.

Aside from that, it was obvious that Long Xing was personally leading the battle. The number of his men was around 4,000, presumably to prevent the Oda army from disguising soldiers as peasants.

Four thousand people against four thousand people. If necessary, they can summon the three men of Xi Mino to join them. When the time comes, with seven or eight thousand people going into battle, victory is certain.

Because Shichibei didn't know much about the Mino samurai, he wasn't entirely sure of the composition of Ryusei's forces. However, he could roughly guess at the composition of some of the flags, like those of Nagai Michitoshi, Hineno Hironari, and Endo Moritane. These were all Mino generals who would appear in future games, and they were all present at the moment.

Let’s touch it.

Ryusei's main camp seemed to be still in the rear, with Nagai Michiyoshi commanding the front lines. Based on the size of Shibata's army, the Saito army split into three groups, approximately 800 to 900 men each, attacking "Sumonashima" (let's call it an island) from the left, center, and right.

We waded across the river. It was still the dry season, and Shinano, upstream of the Kiso River, was still covered with heavy snow. Therefore, the Nagara River was very shallow, and the deepest part would not exceed 40 centimeters. Even Shichibei had gone into the water to try it.

It is not easy to rely on the Nagara River to stop the enemy.

The gleaming five-layered cavalry fence laid on the ground was visible to anyone not blind. Therefore, the Saito army did not deploy its spears. The front troops were armed with shields and bamboo bundles, while the rear troops were armed with bows and arrows and cannons.

First, test the firepower of the Oda army. If the long-range firepower of the Oda army is weak, then you can encourage the soldiers to move the fence. If the firepower of the Oda army is strong, then you may need to increase the intensity.

Playing a shooting game? That would be great. Sakuma Nobumori is looking forward to a long-term shooting game.

Nobunaga supported him with fifty arquebusiers, and Nobumori himself had more than thirty arquebusiers, plus more than a hundred archers. A ranged force of more than two hundred was more than enough to deal with an attacker of eight or nine hundred men.

After all, the battle area was so small that even with a larger force, they might not be able to deploy their full might. More importantly, the others behind the army could pick up pebbles from the riverbank and throw them at Saito's army.

What, who dares to look down on my slinging troops?

Everyone, including Shichibei, had to pick up pebbles and stones and throw them at the other side. They wouldn't kill, but they would hurt. If you want to fight a bad battle, you have to be prepared for it.

The two sides fought fiercely for over half an hour, with zero casualties. The Oda army suffered two wounded, while the Saito army suffered five or six. Then, with clang clang clang, the gongs began to be beaten to signal the troops to retreat. With such formidable firepower, the Oda army could only be outmaneuvered, not brute-forced.

Fifteen minutes intermission.

Sakuma Nobumori laughed heartily. His strategy was working, so he naturally laughed. While he was laughing, he encouraged the soldiers and the peasants who had been conscripted into the army. "See? Let's set up two more layers of horse fences to protect the Mino soldiers from attacking."

The initially hesitant hearts were instantly reassured, even Qibingwei felt that this thing was indeed possible. Unless Long Xing could get his soldiers to risk their lives to move the horse fence, it would be difficult to completely break through.

Moreover, every day that the Saito army rested, the horse fence at Sunomata would become thicker, and the Oda army's defense would only become stronger.

The opposing Long Xing naturally wouldn't stop his attack. He rode up to the front of the formation and loudly announced to the soldiers: "Anyone who breaks through one layer of horse fence will be rewarded with thirty kan. If they break through two layers, the soldier will be promoted to team leader, and the team leader will be promoted to team leader. The team leader will receive fifty kan, and the foot soldier general will receive one hundred kan."

The first one to reach the top will be rewarded with 50 kan, and the one who captures Sakuma Nobumori will be rewarded with 500 kan.

These words greatly shocked the Saito army. They came out to fight for money. Soldiers wanted money, and officers wanted official positions. Those who made great contributions could also get family shares, so morale naturally rose.

In the second round of attack, the Saito army changed its formation. The first group was composed entirely of archery foot soldiers and arquebus foot soldiers, while the rear group was followed by a large number of foot soldiers armed only with pistols and katana.

The ranged troops only reached the north bank of the Nagara River, fired three shots and three arrows, enough to disrupt the Oda army's movements, and then retreated. Hundreds of foot soldiers, led by samurai, rushed towards the first layer of horse fences with shouts and screams.

After this group of troops, the second and third groups of troops also gradually approached the north bank of the Nagara River, so that they could replace their teammates who were about to "collapse" and continue to attack the Oda army.

After all, as soon as they broke contact, the Oda army would send people forward to reinforce the horse fence. They had to attack continuously, give full play to their military advantage, break at least two or three layers of horse fences, and shake the morale of the Oda army.

Money was indeed tempting, and some brave soldiers, fearless enough to break through the first layer of horse fences, charged towards the second. Unfortunately, there were few brave warriors, and once the leading samurai was shot, the Saito army's offensive quickly faltered.

The battle lasted all afternoon, with Saito's army deploying four lines of troops, and only a handful of them broke through the second level of the horse fence.

Sakuma Nobumori summoned several trusted retainers and selected more than 30 elite soldiers, secretly instructing them on the strategy, making it clear that he was planning to raid the camp.

47. Defeat Oda with water

Little did they know that Saito Tatsuoki was no ordinary man. He thought, "If you come to rob the camp, I will come to steal the city." He sent out a hundred or so men overnight to try to sneak in and destroy the horse fence at night.

Then the two groups collided with each other, and there was a chaotic fight that lasted for half the night, with people killing each other. In the end, one person from the Oda army died, and two people from the Saito army died.

Good man, I thought you would fight for half the night and there would be thirty or fifty people dead.

The next day, Shichibei woke up with dark circles under his eyes. He didn't know how to describe this "victory." He only saw Sakuma Nobumori, looking worried and anxious, pacing back and forth by the river.

After careful questioning, Sakuma Nobumori said that he had overlooked the biggest problem, which was that the Saito army could take advantage of its manpower and harass Sumata day and night.

Of the four to five thousand Saito troops, it was easy to find two or three hundred samurai who weren't night blind. They were divided into two groups, taking turns to launch nighttime attacks. The Sakuma army, on the other hand, numbered just over four hundred, and the only ones who weren't night blind were a few dozen of Sakuma Nobumori's closest confidants.

They did not dare to set an ambush in the middle of the night, nor were they able to deal with the Saito army's continuous night attacks.

If a person doesn't sleep for three days, they will most likely suffer a mental breakdown. The Saito army attacked at night for three days, and then attacked Sunomata normally during the day. Nobumori was certain that he would fail, and lose miserably.

What can we do then?

Shichibei realized it was indeed true. Almost no one could withstand three days without sleep. Last night, no one got enough rest. If they didn't get enough rest tonight, someone might not be able to bear it.

After thinking for a moment, Sakuma Nobumori immediately decided to finish work early today and send the 3,000 farmers who came to participate in the general invitation back to the post station one li (4 kilometers) away.

The post station was built by Shichibei, and could accommodate 200 to 300 people. It was unlikely to accommodate 3,000 people, but at least it had a wall, could be used to build a fire for warmth, pitch tents, and had a well and food.

The next day, he ordered the farmers to walk a mile to Sunamoto to dig trenches and build a city.

Sacrificing about an hour of daylight each day to ensure the universal conscription of peasants, however, the originally scheduled seven days of trench digging might have to be postponed to nine days.

There is no other way, I have to do this.

The Sakuma family's soldiers were divided into two groups: one group went back with the farmers to rest, and the other group stayed behind to guard Sumata. They lit plenty of bonfires at night to keep an eye on the Saito army, just in case.

If that happens, the soldiers won't be able to hold on. During the day, the Saito army will launch a fierce attack on the city, and all four hundred of you will have to go into battle. Those who can shoot will shoot, those who can shoot arrows will shoot, and those who don't have long-range weapons will have to throw stones.

Sakuma Nobumori was certainly aware of such concerns. However, after observing the Saito army on the first day, he found that there were not many brave men in the Saito army, or in other words, not many people were willing to fight to the death.

Even if the firepower is reduced by one third, the Saito army will most likely not be able to break in.

As long as they could drag the enemy out until the trench was completely dug through, forming a circular position, and then summon Nobunaga's two thousand standing troops, the battle would be won.

He has a strong gambling nature!

Of course, Shichibei didn't say this out loud, but silently listened to Sakuma Nobumori's plan. However, Nobumori's brother, Sakuma Nobutatsu, disagreed, saying that such a move was too risky. The soldiers couldn't rest properly, and it would only cost the Sakuma family money.

As Sakuma Nobutatsu opened his mouth, Nobumori simply raised his hand to signal his brother to stop trying. There was no point in trying to persuade him. If he wanted to achieve great success in the Mino campaign, this little risk was worth taking.

Seeing that Nobunaga is a powerful lord, and perhaps one day he will be the regent of the shogunate, the "sixth palace" or "yin and yang governor" of the world, our Sakuma family cannot fall behind. Only by keeping up with Nobunaga now can we have a place in the future.

Maybe in the future Nobunaga will become Kanrei, and our Sakuma family, as the head retainer of the Oda clan, will become Kanrei-deputy or inner Kanrei.

The Nagasaki clan, the Kanrei of the Kamakura shogunate, was so powerful that they disciplined Ashikaga Takauji like a dog, humiliating him in the street. The Miyoshi clan, the Kanrei Dai of the Muromachi shogunate, was so extravagant that they controlled nine provinces, held a 1 million kan (including commercial towns), and deposed and enthroned shoguns.

If a person has no ideals, what is the difference between him and a salted fish?

At least now Sakuma Nobumori has ideals. He still wants to work hard to create a world for the Sakuma family, a small wealthy family in Owari.

All right, Shichibei was just a bystander, so he certainly wouldn't express any clear opposition. Nobumori was using the capital of the old Zuo family to fight, and Shichibei's capital would have already returned to Komakiyama Castle by now, so there was no rush.

If you lose, just run away on horseback.

As daylight dawned, the Saito army also arrived at the Nagara River to draw water. The two sides, in perfect harmony, refrained from attacking each other. It was just a fight, don't take it so seriously. Perhaps in a few years, we'd all be colleagues.

After the troops had risen, boiled water and had their meals, the activities began. As usual, the Saito army, under the command of the commander Nagai Michitoshi, advanced to the north bank of the Nagara River to confront the Oda army.

let's hit.

As usual, the troops were divided into three groups, attacking from the left, middle and right directions at the same time, and the reward for beheading Sakuma Nobumori was 500 kan.

However, today's reward had been increased to 500 kan (approximately 500 kan) instead of just 500 kan. Anyone who could kill Sakuma Nobumori would instantly become a high-ranking hatamoto of the Saito clan, riding a large horse, having foot soldiers, living in a luxurious house, and having beautiful concubines.

Even in the Edo period, a salary of one or two thousand koku was only available to large hatamoto. With this salary, one could even serve as a magistrate of the two towns in the north and south of Edo, or go abroad to serve as a magistrate in Nagasaki.

It was obvious that Saito Tatsuoki had also invested a lot of money. After all, even if he defeated Sakuma Nobumori, he would not be able to seize any territory, and the reward had to be paid from his own direct territory, which was quite generous.

The Saito army was incredibly excited by the bounty. A samurai named Suzuki Fukuemon charged forward, spear in hand, followed by his left and right guards, shields in hand. With a roar of apes, they destroyed two sections of the horse fence in a matter of seconds.

Suzuki continued his offensive, dropping his spear, holding his back flag, and shouting, "Go ahead!" His three-day moon hat was reflected in the sunlight, emitting an extremely bright brilliance.

The Oda army's iron cannon foot soldiers on either side quickly fired their cannonballs. The lead bullets clashed with the shield, instantly killing one of the guardsmen. Undeterred, Suzuki picked up the shield and slammed it into the second layer of the horse fence. The combined weight of the man and his armor was as heavy as a mountain, pushing the fence back half a meter.

As soon as the gap was revealed, Suzuki was overjoyed. Like a wild bear, he dropped his shield, picked up the horse fence and threw it, breaking through the second layer of the horse fence.

Seeing such a formidable general, Sakuma Nobumori drew his bow and arrow, and his brother Sakuma Nobutatsu fired simultaneously. Suzuki, who was picking up shield boards, felt the hair on his back stand on end, and without a second thought, he rolled away. Nobumori's arrow hit Suzuki in the buttocks, and Nobutatsu's arrow hit his skirt armor.

The commander was shot by an arrow, and the fierce offensive suddenly stopped. Suzuki's followers immediately raised their shields to block the attack, and the warriors on both sides dragged Suzuki away, showing very skillful coordination.

Good, a bad fight is good.

After another day of torturing each other, in the evening Sakuma Nobumori sent half of his soldiers to escort the peasants to the post station to rest, while he himself remained in his place, still fully clothed, lighting bonfires and erecting watchtowers.

He was nervous, and so was Saito Tatsuoki. After all, it had already been four days, and the Oda army had dug at least 40% of their trenches. In another four or five days at most, the trenches at Sunomata would be completely finished. By then, capturing Sunomata would be much more difficult.

Yoshitatsu naturally wanted to know what to do. Hineno Hiroshi had previously proposed a strategy of harassing the exhausted Oda army day and night, but just in the evening, when they saw Sakuma Nobumori sending half of his troops and all the civilians to retreat, everyone guessed that Nobumori was planning to let half of his men rest and the other half be on guard.

Everyone present had confirmed the Saito army's attacking power, proving it would be difficult to penetrate the six-layered Oda horse fence. Even if only half of the Oda army fought, they still had about a hundred archers and forty to fifty arquebusiers. This was more than enough to withstand an attack of several hundred men, and there wouldn't be any major flaws.

While everyone was thinking hard, Hibino Shimono-no-mori suddenly suggested, is it possible to launch a water attack?

What do you mean?

It's the dry season, so a water attack wouldn't be possible. But if we could build a dam upstream of the Nagara River, it would be simple: 1,000 or 2,000 people could temporarily fill the river with rice bags filled with soil. There's no need for a real dam; it would simply be enough to store the water flowing in from upstream.

If the water level rose by a few dozen centimeters, the dam would be opened immediately to release water, rushing directly to Sumata. In this way, even if the Oda army could not be defeated, it would greatly prolong the time it took to build trenches.

If the water level was high enough, it wouldn't be impossible to use water instead of soldiers to directly overwhelm the Oda army. Of course, the probability of this happening is relatively small, as there is currently little water flowing upstream.

Is it possible? Long Xing thought, with only four or five days left, it might not be too late. Hibino Shimono-no-mori is also single, so I'll be responsible for giving suggestions. If you believe it, we'll attack. If not, we'll continue to harass the Oda army at night.

The Saito clan, the guardian of Mino, had long since withered away, leaving behind only a handful of respectable retainers. The third generation of the Saito clan, meanwhile, managed Mino for less than forty years. This was only enough time for one generation to mature and the next to be born. Even though Ryūshū was the lord of Mino, he still had fewer hereditary retainers than Nobunaga.

Without a large-scale group of hereditary retainers who share common interests, the core leadership of the entire country will definitely be insufficient.

Of course, if there are too many hereditary retainers, and they have deep roots and begin to retaliate against the master, that would be another matter.

After much thought, he could not find a better solution. Relying on the large number of people he had, Long Xing ordered Hineno Moriyoshi (Hiroyoshi's younger brother) to take 300 soldiers back and recruit a few hundred more people to immediately build a dam in the upper reaches of the Nagara River to block the water and wait for orders.

The next two days were nothing but pure utter chaos. Seeing they couldn't break through the Oda army's six-layer fence, the Saito army's soldiers gradually began to disperse. In war, the first push is strong, the second is exhausting, and the third is declining. That's the truth.

At the beginning, everyone was full of enthusiasm, and the reward was high, so they naturally rushed forward fiercely. After a few strong men tried, they found that they could not defeat the enemy, so they became more and more lazy.

At this time, more than two-thirds of the crooked trench outside Sun Yat-sen Castle had been completed. As long as they worked hard for two more days, at most two days, the trench could be completely dug through.

Sakuma Nobumori, who had been nervous for days, even snored and fell into a deep sleep amid the calls for a night attack.

It was a little after four in the morning, with daybreak still about an hour and a half away. The Oda soldiers on guard were half asleep and hadn't noticed the growing sound of water.

As people got up one after another, they realized something was wrong. The water had already flooded in. It was probably because of the continuous night raids over the past few days. The troops were exhausted and had almost no free time.

Sleeping too soundly!

As Shichibei stood by the riverbank, preparing to take his morning urination, he sensed something was amiss. It wasn't Shichibei who was perceptive; it was the horse. For the past few days, the horse had been grazing along the riverbank, nibbling on the grass sprouts growing near the water source.

The horse has not gnawed any sprouts today and is currently digging the ground.

Why did the water suddenly become bigger?

In less than ten minutes, the water from upstream had completely submerged the entire island of Sunamata. Although it was only ankle-deep, perhaps fifteen centimeters at most, it meant that about one-ninth of Shichibei was submerged.

Doesn't that make it more serious? Sakuma Nobumori was also woken up by someone and immediately cried out, "Oh no!" Could it be that the spring floods have arrived so early? This shouldn't be the case.

Before he could finish his outburst, the sound of drums boomed from the Saito army's camp on the other bank. The front rank held shields and bamboo bundles, while the back rank held bows and cannons. Clearly, the Saito army had anticipated the rising waters and were determined to cause more trouble for the Oda army.

Seeing that the trenches on the island were all filled up, if Shichibei still couldn't guess that it was a water attack at this time, he would be a real fool.

Sakuma Nobumori didn't have much time to hesitate. The water quickly reached halfway up his calves. Sakuma Nobumori grabbed his brother and headed south. If he didn't leave now, he would definitely not be able to escape.

Nobumori still refused, because the land enclosed by the moat for the city had several piles of earth, which had been dug up and prepared to be used to raise the city foundation and build turrets and palaces.

Those mounds will definitely not be flooded, and we can retreat to the mounds and platforms. As long as we hold on firmly, there will be a way.

"Huh?" Xinchen ignored his brother's cries and called two samurai, dragging Nobumori with him and running towards the south bank. Shichibei saw Xinchen running and decisively called two of his men over, saying, "Let's go too."

Driving his horse into the water, Shichibei grabbed the horse's tail tightly, not daring to let go for a moment. The water depth in the middle of the river suddenly exceeded one meter. For Shichibei, who was only 1.4 meters tall, this was almost an insurmountable chasm.

Fortunately, we were with two horses, and the Nagara River wasn't very wide, only about thirty or forty meters. When we got ashore, soaking wet, we found Nobumori had already reached the shore, holding onto the horses' necks.

Some of the Sakuma family's soldiers relied on their swimming abilities to swim hard, some used two shields to paddle, and some even held hands to cross the river. The smaller soldiers were not so lucky. They slipped in the water, bubbled up a few times, and disappeared, unable to even shout for help.

48. Fujikichiro pays for the whole meal

Nobunaga was not really angry about this failure. After understanding the whole cause and effect, Nobunaga just nodded slightly to indicate that he understood.