Shoda Castle is an outlier in Awaji country. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

The city is not seaside like most pirate strongholds, and naturally there is no dock. Instead, it was built near the midpoint of the island's only major road. This is because the ancestors of Funakoshi Keinao were not generations of pirates, and they were the first to be officials of the Hosokawa clan, and they took the feudal manor as their ancestral business, but later they followed the general trend and joined the ranks of the Ataka Naval Army.

There are small trenches two to four feet deep on the periphery, but they are not filled with water and can only serve to slow down the assault. Then there is the foundation made of dirt, and the slope is more than ten steps long, but the slope is average. The walls are made of thick planks and clay, and the strength is acceptable, and there are no shooting holes. There are a total of seven arrow oars, about 200 paces apart, each is divided into two layers, and generally 20 iron cannons will be arranged.

The interior is simply divided into two layers, "Honmaru" and "Ninomaru", and Honmaru combines many functions such as the residence of the castle lord, political consultation, and material storage, while the others are all crammed into Ninomaru.

As an old comrade-in-arms, Kan Dachang is well aware of the slight use of military means by the ship.

Behind the city is a narrow valley, the sides are very steep and impassable. The other three sides are all smooth on one side, and there are no ups and downs. This made it easy for the besiegers to concentrate their forces, but they were unable to use cover to shoot at the city's soldiers.

When he crossed the sea to Awaji, he naturally couldn't carry large battering rams, ladders, and other equipment, but he also collected a lot of timber over such a long period of time, and tied fence boards, bamboo bundles, and other things. The former helps fill in ditches and climb mounds, while the latter serves as a shield to defend against shots.

It's just such a little guy, of course, it can't be wasted.

After making a simple arrangement, Suga Dachang let the six wealthy families attack from the flank, and he led his own brothers to attack the main gate.

It is also the only direction to face the two arrows.

After the pre-war "agitation", the morale of these 3,000 people was restored, but it was still not enough to make a strong enough assault.

So Suga went into battle in person. Dressed in armor and carrying a heavy bamboo bundle, he rushed to the front first, and at the same time shouted to the left and right: "Follow me!" Take the boat and go straight to the scene! It's time to grab money, food, and women! ”

The latter words are very empty, but the three words "rush with me" are real. This is a completely different experience from sitting in a safe military tent and waving a military fan and saying "rush me".

"Hey! Ha! Seeing that the head of the family did not hesitate at all, hundreds of Lang Dang followed without thinking, and shouted cheering according to the habit of the past.

This is the tacit understanding and trust that have been tempered by years of fighting together. Over the years, Kan Dachang has led his subordinates to hunt on the battlefield like a cunning fox, and no matter whether the overall situation is won or lost, he can always get a good result. Outsiders say that he is passive and avoids war, but this also allows him to establish a high prestige in the hearts of the soldiers.

The charge must be fierce enough, but the formation must not be chaotic, five or seven people gathered in small teams, keeping a distance of one or two steps from each other, and at least two people in each team were unarmed and only held bamboo bundles.

Then there were some young and unbearable people in the other wealthy clans, who were encouraged to rush forward and kill together. No matter how you say it, they are all outlaws who lick blood from the knife edge, and they would rather die in battle than die in suffocation.

After rushing out of dozens of steps, Kan suddenly waved his hand violently and shouted the word "stop". Then he put the bamboo bundle in his hand on the ground, curled up nimbly, and hid against the ground.

Along with this command, hundreds of people unanimously made similar actions, almost all at the same time. The soldier in charge of protecting his companions stood on the outermost side, facing the direction of the two arrow turrets in the city, and erected bamboo bundles. The slowest responders also caught up with the rhythm in a few breaths.

Then, from the direction of the city, the sound of iron cannons firing and bowstrings breaking through the wind was heard.

Countless projectiles and arrows slanted out like a torrential rain and fell on the heads of the attackers. Outside the city, except for the valley path behind them, screams rang out on three sides.

In just an instant, nearly a hundred siege soldiers were pierced through the body. The offensive that had finally been stirred up was immediately slowed down.

But Suga was unfazed.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to hide behind the bamboo bundles, he could already see that although there were 2,500 rabble in the city, most of them only carried Maruki bows, small rattan bows, or extremely inferior iron cannons, and could not pose any threat from a long distance. Only a fool like Funakoshi Keinao, who doesn't know how to use soldiers, would give the order to shoot at this distance.

Only the 200 Nanban iron cannons treasured by the guy Funakoshi Jingzhi, as well as the attacks made by a few strong archers, can really kill people.

Things turned out exactly as expected.

Therefore, the use of bamboo bundles to deal with the way has achieved very good results, a glance around the past, their own children are afraid of only more than ten people.

However, the Nanban iron cannon is very troublesome to reload, and even if you are proficient, it will take a lot of effort.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Kan Dacho jumped up from the ground and took the lead in sprinting towards the city gate.

"Keep rushing! Brethren, do not panic! If you are injured, someone will carry it, and if you are dead, you will be buried! I will definitely raise your family! ”

Suga's eloquence has never been very good, but with the actual behavior of the past as evidence, his words are convincing.

Before the war, he selected 300 people from his family to be the assault force, of which 100 were the defense group, and he had already shown his skills. At this time, one hundred and fifty shooting teams also began to behave. Under the cover of bamboo bundles, they got up one after another, bent their bows and arrows, and launched a counterattack more than a hundred steps away from the city gate.

At this distance, the city is condescending, and there is still a little bit of accuracy. But if the attacker wants to kill and injure the defenders, it is really difficult for the strongman. No matter how elite the archers of the Kan family were, only one-tenth of the one hundred and fifty arrows could cover the intended target, not to mention the damage.

There may be one or two unlucky eggs who happen to be shot in the vital point and die with a whimper, but it will not affect the overall situation in the slightest.

However, this round of shooting was originally just for cover.

Normal people find many arrow feathers passing over their heads and sides, and they always subconsciously have the idea of dodging. Miscellaneous soldiers who lack training are not exempt from this.

In addition to knowing a little bit of iron cannon tricks, Funakoshi Keinao is not a very powerful general. There are probably about 200 elites under his command, but among the 2,500 people gathered, miscellaneous soldiers can be said to abound.

At the same time as this shooting, Suga Dacho rushed to a range of about fifty paces from the city with a hundred assault groups.

Of course, the defenders will shoot at these deadly fellows. It's just that the elite iron artillery in the arrow oars is still loading, and the miscellaneous soldiers who defend against the wall are affected by the suppression of the arrows, and their movements are subconsciously deformed and lose their accuracy.

At this distance, Suga, who was at the front, began to slow down slightly, adjust his footsteps, deflect direction, and then follow the inertia, turning a straight line into a curve, and his whole body rotated in place for a full circle, throwing the throwing object in his hand.

He carried neither a knife nor a gun, but a strange weapon.

It was a sealed clay pot filled with gunpowder and a handful of iron nails, with a short rope tied to the outside, and it looked like a hammer ball from the later Olympic Games. Holding the rope in your hand and spinning, you can use centrifugal force to throw the clay pot out.

This is the so-called "baked jade" commonly used in water warfare.

Suga's roasted jade arced in the air, bypassing the gate just right, and landing straight into the crowd of defenders behind the gate.

With a "boom", the gunpowder burst and exploded, sending up a thick burst of black smoke.

"Ahh

From the screams behind the door, Suga seemed to be able to see the scene of blurred flesh and blood, which was really pleasant.

At the same time, a total of fifty people threw the roasted jade, a dozen of them fell into the ditch or the earthen wall, and did not enter the city at all, and at least twenty clay pots went in the wrong direction, not hurting people or the city gates, but only stirring up some insignificant small flames.

But there were still six or seven attacks that worked just right, and smashed on the top of the city soldiers.

The city immediately became smoky.

Immediately after that, the soldiers of Suga's second reserve team seemed to have received instructions and began to attack forward at the same time. This time they brought a wooden fence large enough to cross the ditch and the earthen wall.

In an instant, the offensive led by Kan Dachang himself made great progress, and it had the meaning of breaking through the city gate in one go.

There are less than ten targets in total, and it can't cause much effective damage to people and walls. But loud noises, thick smoke, and firelight, combined with the screams of the unlucky guys, will greatly shake the morale of the miscellaneous soldiers.

"Give me all calm!"

"Shoot now!"

"Death to those who shake the hearts of the army!"

The third roar resounded through the sky.

A soldier whose face was wounded and who groaned and shouted "spare his life" became a monkey used to scare chickens, was cut in two on the spot and thrown out of the city.

At the same time, a group of reinforcements came out of the Honmaru to strengthen the defense of the main gate.

Judging from the voice, Suga knew that the first two useless orders were from Funakoshi Jingnao, and only the last angry shout came from Tamura Nobuyharu.

Sure enough, he is the only one who is good at fighting in the "Funakoshi Party", but he is just brave and unstrategic. And that's all there is in the city!

As soon as the defenders stabilized their line, they began another round of fire, ignoring the pressure of the archers outside the city.

At this time, the iron cannon in the arrow oar happened to be loaded.

And the attackers, still in an undisguised open area, are the best targets.

Concentrated shooting at them is actually a bit of putting the cart before the horse, and suppressing the follow-up troops that are approaching with a wooden fence is a more critical and urgent matter. However, the roasted jade just now caused the casualties of the city soldiers, and they must be fired back in order to restore the sense of security of the miscellaneous soldiers squatting behind the city wall to maintain their morale.

Suga once again propped up the bamboo bundle and hid behind. But not everyone can be like him, born with divine power, holding a bamboo bundle of more than 20 catties and still walking like flying.

Many more had to lie on the ground, praying not to be hit.

A rain of bullets and arrows washed densely.

At least twenty experienced elite soldiers will die because of this, and even Kan himself will inevitably be hit by a projectile and two arrows, and his left arm will immediately be so painful that he can't lift it.

The pain is painful, but the loss is meaningful, and after withstanding this wave of shooting, the second wave of siege soldiers will be killed. They would spread wooden fences on the ditches and earthen walls and use them as ladders to attack the castle.

The archery group still shoots supportively under the cover of the bamboo bundle group, and the throwing group that can still run back to prepare for another round.

Suga took out another clay pot from his waist and, with only one right hand, hit the pile again.

Another loud bang, smoke, fire.

But there were no more screams, only low moans could be heard, flashing by.

One hundred and fifty arrows without a score will not make the new group of defenders react in any way. Even the eyebrows won't wrinkle a little more.

Can you overcome human instincts, rationally assess risks, and not be intimidated by vain offensives. The real veterans are obviously completely different from the fish belly miscellaneous soldiers who can only bully the weak and fear the hard just now.