On May 11, the third year of Motokame, the Oda Army, with Ikeda Tsuneko as the vanguard and Takigawa Kazuyoshi as the second striker, attacked the chaotic army in the Ibaraki area. Shibata, Sakai, Maeda and other people who escaped from the defeat stayed at Yamazaki Castle to rest and recuperate, and to contain the defeated troops.

In order to prevent the enemy from retreating from the battle, such a tactic was determined after some discussion.

Ikeda and Takikawa each brought elite troops to try to defeat the rabble on the enemy's periphery in a short time, while Oda Nobutada deliberately exposed flaws as a bait to attract Miyoshi Nagaitsu himself to surprise attack, and then Hirate Tsunahide needed to appear as an ambush, bite the enemy's main force, wait for Ikeda and Takigawa to return to help surround him, and strive to take down the enemy general in one fell swoop.

This is a very clear and risky strategy.

Miyoshi Nagaitsu is also an experienced veteran, and it is impossible not to see the purpose of the Oda Army, but even if he knows that it is a bait, it is very likely that he will have to bite it.

Because his situation is more difficult than that of the Oda family.

Although the timing of the rebellion was good, taking advantage of the contradictions between the various parties in, he succeeded in occupying Settsu, and with the refuge of Araki Murashige and Yusa Shinkoshi, the forces were suddenly huge, but they did not achieve decisive results. Now that the Oda family has reconciled with the shogunate and brought a large army to attack, the balance has gradually changed.

Of course, raising an army to make a rebellion is a matter of nine deaths, even if he dies and the clan is destroyed, it is just that he seeks benevolence and reaps benevolence.

If Miyoshi Nagaitsu had always concentrated his forces on defense and did not divide his troops to attack, then Oda Nobutada's elite troops would have turned from decoys to assaults, and they would have formed a flank attack.

In short, the side with the advantage in numbers can flexibly divide its troops, widen the width of the battlefield, and force the opponent from space. On the other hand, the side with a numerical disadvantage must concentrate its superior forces and seek results in a short period of time. There is no absolute high or low at the tactical level, and the specific effect depends on many uncontrollable factors.

For example, from Oda's point of view, the biggest concern in this battle was that if Ikeda and Takigawa were held back by the enemy's miscellaneous forces, and the Nobu Tadashi Honjin could not support it first, it would not be easy to handle.

So when someone threw out the idea, Shibata, Takikawa, and Ikeda all objected, but Oda Nobutada insisted on using his example as bait, and no one could stop him.

This earned the young governor a bit of respect. However, whether this respect can be truly fulfilled depends on the outcome of this battle.

……

"Is it already halfway through the Shen period...... The enemy will come at any time, do not neglect it, and give the order: divide into four waves and take turns to eat. (4 p.m.)

Hirate found a place to set up a position at the foot of a mountain with a wide field of vision, and then personally used the "clairvoyant mirror" of the Southern Barbarians to observe the movements around him, ignoring the scorching sun overhead. So I couldn't help but sweat, and after only a few words, I felt dry mouth.

I took the water bladder from my side, unscrewed the cork and was about to moisten my throat, only to find that it was empty.

People with their own dexterity come forward to solve their worries.

"Lord Tie Staff, please use this! Just now, I saw a small waterfall nearby, so I poured some more water to drink. ”

"I have a heart!" Pingshou Fanxiu didn't see who the person was, took the gourd, raised his neck and poured it into his mouth, and drank a few big sips before he felt a little relieved of the heat.

After calming down, I realized that it was not my retainer in front of me, but two guest generals, Ise Sadako and Akechi Mitsuhide.

That's right, these two shoguns also came to the army.

They all gained a foothold in the Ashikaga family through their friendly relationship with the Oda family, and now that Oda is in trouble, and even Nobunaga himself has entered Kyoto as a hostage, the power structure of the shogunate has naturally changed.

In the past, Ashikaga Yoshiaki was helpless against some people who were in Cao Ying's heart in Han, but now he can settle the accounts one by one.

In the words of Akechi Mitsuhide: "Hosokawa Hyobe (Hosokawa Fujitaka) was the one who escaped with Gongkata on his back, and he was always forgiven no matter what, but he was not so lucky in the next......"

Without a backer, he could only speak by merit, so he came to the Oda army with his private soldiers and acted as a guest general.

All in all, as soon as the wheel of history rolls a little, the ants under the car are anxious. It's no wonder that everyone wants to climb into the car instead of being an ant under the car.

Obviously not a retainer, but more respectful than the retainers, under this humble posture, there is ambition.

The tie was unintentionally broken, so he only bent down to return the salute, said "there is labor", and then put his mind back to business.

At this time, Kawada Nagajin was riding a horse and running back and forth to inspect, Honda Masanobu was sorting out the recent correspondence materials, Hattori Hidean was standing on the side like a transparent person, Yamauchi Kazutoshi and others were fully armed and expressionless, and Hirata Hideyi leaned on the stone wall and played with a bunch of leaves in his hand, pretending to be absent-minded but actually eager to try. A little farther away, Bai Xiang Jiajia, Honda Masashige, Kato Kyoaki and other generals each brought their elites and were ready to set off at any time. And Akechi Mitsuhide and Ise Sadako are coming to the front, hoping to get a position where they can make meritorious contributions and not be sent to death.

For the deceased, Tieshou is actually very willing to help and cultivate his influence by the way. However, the war is dangerous, the enemy army is not easy to deal with, and the men and horses of the headquarters may not be able to bear it, and they really dare not let the guest generals occupy an important position.

After waiting for most of the day, I don't know if the enemy is acting as expected, but I keep receiving news from the front.

"Lord Takigawa captured the Sunfield Pavilion and annihilated about fifty enemies!"

"Lord Ikeda conquered Maruda Castle, took three samurai, and killed forty enemies!"

"Lord Nakagawa defeated an enemy army near Yamamotoji Temple and captured more than twenty people!"

"Ikeda-sama's department chased him to the Inonagawa River, and the journey exceeded 100 towns (11 kilometers), and he began to rest."

"Lord Takikawa encountered enemy reinforcements in the area of Daidoji Temple, so the operation was suspended."

Since the morning, some "good news" have been reported one after another, but the scale is all in double digits, and the total results of the battle do not exceed 500, which is really unexciting. This is not unusual, the enemy in front of them was originally a rabble with a loose formation, scattered to dozens of small strongholds to defend, there was little cooperation between each other, and it was not too difficult to eat them one by one, it was just a waste of time.

But the news in the afternoon began to be worrying, on the one hand, the battle line was too open, and on the other hand, Miyoshi Nagaitsu began to send reinforcements to the frontal battlefield, and the enemy forces were compressed and gradually gathered to form a group.

As the battle progressed, Oda Nobutada's main camp slowly moved to the flank, intentionally or unintentionally further separated from the friendly forces, and the draw also widened the distance, but the expected prediction that "the enemy's main force will attack our main camp" showed no signs of fulfillment.

"Could it be that Miyoshi Changyi saw through the bait and adopted the idea of strengthening the frontal defense?" Tieshou Tsunosu looked at the battle report and muttered to himself, "In this way, he can indeed delay a little longer, but he will lose the only chance to fight to the death......"

"Unless...... The Asai family, who withdrew from Harima, will be on his side? Then it makes sense for him to drag on for time......" Akechi Mitsuhide interjected not very confidently.

Hijo honshu immediately shook his head: "This is not realistic, even if Asai intends to be an enemy of Oda, he should be the leader of the alliance himself, why follow Miyoshi Nagayi." ”

"That's right." Akechi Mitsuhide and Ise Sadako immediately accepted this point of view. The retainers of the Hirate family had no intention of raising objections at all.

"Now that we have a plan in place and there are no obvious loopholes, let's do it first...... If Miyoshi Nagayoshi still doesn't come to attack the Oda family's main camp tonight, he will have to consider changing his tactics tomorrow morning. The tie finally came to a conclusion.

After waiting for about an hour, I received three new pieces of news, it is said that the other side has been sending reinforcements to confront the Oda army across the river near the Inona River, and the miscellaneous soldiers scattered in front have also been contained, showing a certain combat effectiveness.

"Are you planning to let the suspicious soldiers drag Takigawa, Ikeda and the others to attack the main camp again? A conspiracy to push the boat along the water? Tieshou made such an analysis subconsciously, but he always felt that something was wrong.

By this time, it was already half dark, but everyone obviously could not rest yet, and they had to devote their energy to preparing for the night attack that could come at any time.

"Uncle! It's really not a taste to be restrained like this, if the enemy doesn't come to attack at night, why don't we take the initiative to attack each other at night? "Hideki Tie made such an offer.

In this regard, Fan Xiu shook his head without hesitation and refused: "Being in unfamiliar terrain, it is best to form a good formation in broad daylight and then attack honestly, you need to avoid night battles and chaotic battles as much as possible, not to mention taking the initiative to provoke night battles and chaotic battles......"

"Alas......" Hisho Xiuyi sighed a few times, looking unmotivated, "I really don't understand, how did it become like this all of a sudden...... There has been such a big upheaval, but I can't do it, it's really aggrieved......"

"Don't be too relaxed...... Tonight may be quiet for a while, but there will be a fierce battle in two or three days. ”

"Oh? Uncle, do you mean, Miyoshi Changyi will take the initiative tomorrow? Xiuyi made a happy face.

Fan Xiu smiled faintly: "I don't know Miyoshi Changyi, maybe he is more patient than I imagined, or there is another way to retreat, but it doesn't matter, if the other party endures it, we will have to launch a full-scale attack......"

After chatting a few words, suddenly the curtain of the military tent gate shook, and Ishikawa Goemon rushed in, half-kneeling on the ground, and said loudly: "I just found traces of enemy troops on the side of Lord Oda Nobutada's main camp!" The other party disguised himself as a refugee, sneaked over in pieces, and only temporarily assembled when he approached the target, so he didn't notice it before, and it is difficult to determine the specific number of people now, but look at the size of the army is at least thousands! Lord Nobutada has asked us to proceed as planned, and we have already informed Takigawa, Ikeda, and others to withdraw from the front to join the siege! ”

"It's finally here!" Pingshou Xiuyi slapped his thigh and jumped up, "Uncle, it seems that Sanhao Changyi really can't do anything about this 'Yangmou', let's hurry up!" ”

"Please be merciful to the middle of the draw, and let me join the attack!" The guest general's Ise Sadako then stepped forward.

Kazutoyo Yamauchi and Yukicho Konishi, who were close to him, also had blazing eyes, and they did not hide their intention to fight, and the former was not well injured in the last battle.

Only the other guest general, Akechi Mitsuhide, was not so excited, but frowned and shook his head suspiciously: "Disguise yourself and break it into pieces, so that you can indeed go unnoticed, but it also affects your own combat effectiveness, knowing that our side is on guard and still doing this, it's a little strange......"

"That's right! I also think there's something strange about it. Hearing Wise whispering to himself, Hirate immediately agreed, "Let's do this...... Inform Kato, Noguchi, and Sugihara to support the enemy's main position on the flank as originally planned. Keiji, you take the two preparations of Baixiang (Iejia) and Honda (Maseishige), and then give you 200 personal guards, and go to pick up Takigawa, Ikeda, and other departments who are returning as planned! ”

Send second-line troops to complete the original plan, and let the best elite carry out the response work. This order is a bit confusing.

But seeing that the flat hand showed a serious expression and a firm tone, everyone did not dare to disagree.