Around the middle of the night, the night guard woke me up:

"My lord, there is very urgent news from Hamamatsu!"

"What's the news?" I'm still not too conscious.

An envoy came to me and reported on his knees: "Pavilion Master, yesterday evening, the Sanhe Hall was defeated in Sanfangyuan!" ”

"What!" When I heard the words "Sanfangyuan", my mind was stirred, as if a lightning bolt had been split in the dim twilight, and it lit up the whole mind at once.

But why is there a decisive battle so soon? Didn't you say that the Takeda family had just divided their troops? You'll have to wait a day or two before you can continue to move your own camp so that you can lure out Tokugawa Ieyasu, right?

Maeno Keidei duly handed over a hand towel soaked in the stream, I took it and rubbed it on my face, and the cold touch made me completely sober.

Now is not the time to discuss the precedents of war and consider the causes and consequences...... I looked at the gold watch in my arms, and it was about four o'clock in the morning, and there was silence all around, shrouded in a thick haze. This is typical of the coastal area, and the same is true of Ise Province, where the climate is not very cold, but the humidity is heavy at night, even though it is the month of Wax. Look at the envoy in front of him, he was dressed as a sailor's head, with dew on his clothes and turban, obviously rushed over overnight. Behind him was a somewhat familiar samurai, who seemed to be from the Tokugawa family, whom he had seen at the previous welcome banquet. Not far away, there were two war horses, looking down at the withered yellow grass in the mountains, and there was a wet water trail on the chestnut hair, I don't know if it was dewy or tired.

I sat down and asked, "From Okazaki Castle?" ”

"Yes," the sailor bowed his head, "the villain's boat was ordered to rush to Okazaki Castle, only to know that the pavilion master had already gone out of battle...... Fortunately, His Royal Highness of the Tokugawa family knew the route of the march, and a while ago he met the Monomi group left behind by the main family, so he caught up with the army of the owner of the building. ”

"So, what is the outcome of Mikatahara?" I continued.

"My lord, yesterday at noon, the Takeda family ......" was about to go on in detail, but I interrupted him with a slight frown: "Just say the result!" ”

"Yes...... Mikawaden was defeated and fled into Hamamatsu Castle, and then the Takeda family surrounded Hamamatsu Castle again! ”

I sighed. Tokugawa Ieyasu finally played. His defeat was a little better for the Oda family than direct annihilation, because the Tokugawa family's morale had been severely damaged, and they were no longer able to organize any resistance in the face of the Takeda family's soldiers.

And after this battle, the Tokugawa family fulfilled its responsibility to the Oda family.

To use an inappropriate analogy, the Oda family is equivalent to a husband, the Tokugawa family is equivalent to a wife, and the Takeda family is equivalent to a villain who robs the house. In the face of the violation of the villain, the husband who couldn't get out for the time being asked his wife to protect his chastity, but the wife felt that she couldn't let the villain wreak havoc at home, so she took the initiative to go out and fight with the villain, and was given xxoo by the other party. However, after all, she resisted violently, and her husband couldn't blame her for it.

In addition, if her husband is then driven away by the villain, then in order to continue to stay at home, she takes the initiative to commit herself to the villain and become a wife or concubine, the villain will definitely not refuse, and others will not accuse her of thinking differently. She's already **! The home is also occupied! So you can only choose to commit yourself or simply die...... But in this case, the rescue of Noda Castle was completely unnecessary. Once the news reaches here, the morale of the military on both sides and the attitudes of the wealthy families in various places will change to the detriment of the Tokugawa family, making the rescue operation futile. The most important thing now is to try to keep Okazaki Castle and the last support of the Three Rivers Kingdom.

"Kotaro, you immediately go to the Tokugawa family camp, inform His Highness Okazaki of the news, and advise him to withdraw to Okazaki in my name." I ordered Maeno Kei to do.

"In Shimojira Hatsunojo, I am willing to go together, please Awajiden agree!" The Tokugawa samurai, who came with him, demanded.

"Kira? People from the Mikawa Kira family? "I was slightly surprised.

"Yes. In Shimono Mikawa Kira family branch of the family, it is now the flag of the Tokugawa family. He replied.

"That's fine. There you go! I nodded in agreement.

After a while, the two of them returned together, bringing a reply from the Tokugawa side.

The young master said that it was early in the morning, and the ashigaru people had been on the road for most of the day, and they were still asleep; Can we take action after dawn on the withdrawal of troops? Whether you're in a hurry or dealing with a disturbance, you'll be able to have plenty of energy," Kira Hatsunojo reported to me, and then added, "This is what His Highness Hiraiwa meant. ”

Is it the meaning of Hiraiwa Kinyoshi? From a purely tactical point of view, this arrangement makes perfect sense. However, almost all of the Tokugawa family's powerful samurai in Okazaki Castle have gone out with Tokugawa Nobuyasu, and there is only one Nagano Fujitsu in the city, and he has no reputation in Mikawa Country, so he can probably only cope with the general situation. Now that Tokugawa Ieyasu has been defeated and rumors are spreading in the city, we urgently need to return to the town to suppress the situation and deal with the next attack of the Takeda Iebaba Nobuharu, how can we still delay time here?

Maybe it's because I have too high expectations for the Tokugawa family's military strength, after all, they are only ashigaru, and their discipline and will are not as good as the elite I lead.

“…… That's it! "I had no choice but to accommodate them, and sent someone to recall the Scout Squad and Monomi Team that had been scattered.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to wait for the dawn, I asked the envoy in detail about the battle situation.

The whole battle roughly began in the afternoon at 10 p.m. (5 p.m.). Previously, at noon, Takeda Shingen sent two detachments, Takeda Katsuyori and Naito Masatyo, Takeda Katsuyori led his own gestures, the stable gate left by Takeda Nobushi, and the Kai guardian of the Daiji family, including 5,000 people, and Naito Masatoyo led the Nishiueno people to the rear and marched in the direction of Mikawa together. At the end of the Shin period, Takeda Shingen's main team also moved, and led more than 10,000 people, including the county people, the Anayama people, the Itagaki people, and the Ganri people, to leave Hamamatsu Castle. At this time, Tokugawa Ieyasu didn't know whether he saw an opportunity to win, or wanted to drag the Takeda family back to the periphery of Hamamatsu Castle, in short, he led a coalition of 11,000 people out of Hamamatsu Castle, and closely pursued Takeda Shingen's main team, and for a time he had a slight upper hand.

I think this move was probably quite unexpected by Takeda Shingen, and according to his ambush arrangement, it seems that he wanted to fight a decisive battle on the side of the Toda River, so as to flank Tokugawa Ieyasu on three sides. However, he reacted quickly, immediately accelerated the speed of the march, and ordered Naito Masatoyo to quickly turn around, fight from the north of the team, and bite the Tokugawa family's army, and then Takeda Shingen's team was also able to calmly adjust, turned back and attacked the Tokugawa family, forcing Tokugawa Ieyasu to have to put down the position and prepare to fight with the Takeda family.

By this time, Tokugawa Ieyasu should have known that things were going bad. He put on an unbelievable crane wing formation, which was a semi-encirclement attack formation, usually used when the force was extremely superior. With the Tokugawa family's disadvantaged forces, if this position is placed, the forces in each part will be very weak.

Not only that, but the 5,000 Hojo clan and the Takeda Katsuyori division in the southwest of Takedazaka also appeared, serving as the left and right flanks of the Takeda army, respectively. The 25,000 Takeda Army formed a dense array of fish scales and launched an attack on the Tokugawa family's position.

In the face of the Takeda family, which was victorious, the Tokugawa family was almost vulnerable. At this time, his purpose of swinging the crane wing array seems to be reflected - it is precisely because the force is spread into a very weak crane wing array, so all parts can escape without hindrance and very smoothly, and the easiest to escape is the main formation recessed in the middle, as well as the apex at both ends of the crane wing. In these places, Tokugawa Ieyasu arranged very well to the people of the Oda family, Hirate Honhide and Mizuno Nobugen were located at both ends of the crane wing, and the reinforcement generals Sakuma Nobumori and Tokugawa Ieyasu himself were naturally in the position of the main formation, and the Tokugawa Banner Honzhong and Sakuma were responsible for the two wings respectively.

Therefore, although the combined Tokugawa and Oda forces were completely defeated and fell into a total collapse, the number of people killed in the battle was not large, and there were only more than 1,000 people in total (according to the Oda family documents. Matsudaira Kee says five hundred). Among them, the greatest casualties were Tokugawa Ieyasu's own banners, Natsume Nobuyoshi and Suzuki Kuzaburo died in battle as Ieyasu's representatives, Haramata Castle Nakane Masatsu and Aoki Sadaharu fought and died for the shame of snow, and there were many middle and low-level samurai in the family, while the Takeda family only suffered losses of more than 200 people (according to the Uesugi family documents. Matsudaira says a hundred).

Perhaps dissatisfied with Tokugawa Ieyasu's breach of contract and worried that his family was in Mikawa's Takahashi Prefecture, Sakuma Nobumori had already broken away from the battle line when he was still in Ieyasu's formation, and did not return to Hamamatsu Castle afterwards, but took advantage of the night to move west and return to his own territory; Mizuno Nobugen also returned, who, like Sakuma Nobumori, was a military commander who had fought in battles (including defeats) for a long time, and was half a Mikawa man, and was very familiar with the geography of Mikawa Province; It was a tragedy that only the tie was a tragedy, because the terrain was unfamiliar and inexperienced, and as a result, the retreat failed and was won by the Takeda family's army...... Gradually, the dawn appeared in the east, the sky began to brighten, and I was very clear about the process of the battle of the three sides, and I had some plans for the next move.

The most important thing now is to return to Okazaki Castle first. As long as he returns to the city, everything will be foolproof, even if Takeda Shingen personally leads a large army to attack, there is no way to take our more than 10,000 defenders, only to look at the city and sigh, or besiege it for a long time.

I was just about to send an envoy to Tokugawa Nobuyasu again, urging them to leave as soon as possible, when suddenly there was a commotion on the mountain not far away, and it seemed that it was the Tokugawa family's camp.

The Tokugawa house was attacked!? I stood up and looked in that direction.

The noise is getting louder and louder. Looking at this movement, Shan County Changjing is obviously very resolute and very well prepared, and now Tokugawa Nobuyasu's 2,000 people are afraid that they are going to collapse!

"Your Highness Sumoto, are you rescuing the Tokugawa family?" For the time being, he led the branch of Annongbei Guangjia to ask for instructions.

I looked at all the people under my command, they were ready to withdraw, silently waiting for my order. Of course, if I order them to come out now, they will be able to adjust very quickly.

But is it too late? Moreover, is it a wise decision to fight a decisive battle in the mountains with the group of mountain monkeys of Kai Country who are carrying the momentum of breaking the enemy?

Perhaps, there is no need for rescue at all? After all, the 2,000 members of the Tokugawa family were all from local origins, and even if they were scattered, most of them would be able to escape without their lives...... "Wait a little longer," I replied to the branch branch Mitsuka, and then gave the order, "...... Zhao Ming prepares to move forward at the intersection and prepare to fight on the spot! ”

Finally, the scene I was looking forward to appeared, and the horsemen of the family dressed in blue appeared in front of me, led by Naota Ii. In the middle of the cavalry were several samurai in large armor, one of whom was riding a white horse, and it was clear that it was Tokugawa Nobuyasu.

I breathed a sigh of relief that Ii Naotora was able to rescue them, and the result was already good.

Seeing the cavalry returning, Zhao Mingbei divided from the middle to both sides, making way for the main road in the middle. When Ii Naoto's cavalry passed through the formation and joined the other part of the cavalry, the formation closed again, and the iron cannon team and the spear team spread out in turn.

Soon, the vanguard cavalry of the Takeda family also caught up, and the silhouette of the whole body and helmet appeared in the shadow. They stirred the mist violently, like a group of horned monsters emerging from the mist.

"Iron cannon ready!" I shouted.

- The figure of the monster is getting closer and closer, and the hideous mask on its face is clearly visible, and the number of people is about sixty or seventy, which seems to be a detachment led by the head of the cavalry.

Really, is it too arrogant for this person to dare to hunt down and kill most of the cavalry of more than 200 people, and to kill two or three people who have fallen behind in front of us?

"Volley! Put! "I gave the order.

Four hundred iron cannons roared in unison, bringing a burst of screams and neighing. Thirty or forty horses and the knights on their horses fell to the ground with a bang, and the surviving horses were also startled by the loud noise, and each of them retreated, raising their heads and neighing.

"Iron cannon back!" I gave the order again. So the pikes split up in the middle, and the men of the iron guns quickly retreated to the rear, and then immediately reverted to the appearance of big hedgehogs.

It may be that they feel that they have encountered hard stubble, and the surviving people have retreated back and forth.

"That's pretty much it," I breathed a sigh of relief.

Naotoro Ii, Nobuyasu Tokugawa, and Hirawa Koyoshi and others came over. Hiraiwa Qinyoshi looked very guilty: "His Royal Highness Captain Saemon, blame me......"

"His Highness Hiraiwa! Time is pressing, not the time to talk about responsibility," I interrupted his self-blame, "Most of the pursuers of the Takeda family are about to arrive, and the most important thing now is to return to Okazaki Castle safely, especially to let His Highness Okazaki go back as soon as possible!" ”

"His Royal Highness Captain Saemon has taught you a lesson!" Hiraiwa reacted quickly.

"Nope! I must not give in the towel...... His Royal Highness, Captain Saemon, please let me continue to fight! Tokugawa Nobuyasu looked indignant, obviously very dissatisfied: this is his first battle, how can it end in this way?

"Young master! Please be mindful of your responsibilities! Hiraiwa Qinyoshi exhorted loudly, almost shouting out the words. This time, it really suppressed Tokugawa Nobuyasu.

Then Hiraiwa Jinyoshi turned around and bowed: "Please arrange it with His Royal Highness Captain Saemon!" ”

"Okay," I nodded, and ordered Ii Naotoka, who came over, "Ah Hu, you lead the cavalry and escort His Highness Okazaki back to the city along the main road first!" ”

Jing Yi Naohu was slightly stunned: "What about you, Your Highness?" What about the rest of the army? ”

"I led Zhaoming and Anong to prepare two units, and the naval army iron artillery team and the pro-guard team attracted the pursuers of the Takeda family, and then retreated along here." I pointed to the shallow, wide stream beside me.

"Is that okay?" Jing Yi Naotora questioned, "Without the cavalry, it would be difficult to deal with the thousand red preparations of Changjing in Yama County, right?" Moreover, His Highness is not familiar with the route of Higashi-Mikawa......"

"No problem!" I had this case before, and then I said it with confidence, "You see, the riverbed is full of gravel, and the horseback team can't run, otherwise it will be easy to break the horse's hooves and legs, so the Takeda family's Akabi can't take us...... Moreover, this is a tributary of the Yasaka River, so you can reach the Yasaka River to the west, and then go down the Yasaka River to the vicinity of Okazaki Castle! ”

“…… Then please take care, Your Highness! "Time is pressing, seeing that I am right, Jing Yi Naohu did not dwell on it, and directly led the horseback team with a total of nearly six hundred to leave along the main road.

(To be continued)