Chapter 47

"Shinchi-dono, it's a pleasure to have you with us."

"Is Tamba under the charge of Akechi-dono?"

"It seems Akechi-dono and Sakamoto have taken over Tamba, but Akai Naomasa, who is under them, is rebellious. I think it will be difficult."

The reinforcement to eastern Mino was assigned to the Shinchi and Hashiba armies. The other generals were planning to continue the siege of Ishiyama with the main army led by Nobunaga.

This time, it was also difficult to capture Ishiyama, and they planned to make peace by contributing to the court. Ishiyama had more casualties than the previous time, with many war dead from the influential temple officials, the Shimaya family. Nobunaga predicted that they would agree to peace more easily this time to reorganize their forces.

"Is Takigawa-dono alright?"

"I think he is, but let's hurry."

The Shinchi-Hashiba allied army hurried to eastern Mino. They rushed to arrive near Iwamura Castle, but it was suffering a fierce attack by the Akiyama army and was in great difficulty. If this continued, it would soon fall.

"To think that Ikenao-dono is commanding the siege and still facing such a tough battle..."

"The Takeda army is strong."

"Hurry, attack the Takeda army!"

"Save the Takigawa army!"

Koseki and Hideyoshi issued orders to the entire army to attack the Takeda army. However, despite their attempt to attack from the side, the Takeda army, as expected, quickly responded and launched an attack on the Shinchi-Hashiba army.

"Fire!"

The vanguard of the Shinchi army hastily began firing, but the Takeda army, as if anticipating this, had soldiers with bamboo bundles come forward to block the bullets. Not all were deflected, but the Takeda army suffered few casualties.

"Charge!"

The generals of the Shinchi army, along with the Hashiba army, including the highly regarded Miyata Koseki, Koshida Masaharu, Otofuji Tomonori, Toda Katsutaka, and the young and promising Senno Shuji, led small forces to charge into the Takeda army. Intense battles continued on both sides.

With 18,000 men from the Shinchi army and 3,000 from the Hashiba army, totaling 21,000, against about 5,000 from the Akiyama army, they had a numerical advantage, but because they couldn't deploy their entire army at once, both sides began to suffer roughly equal casualties.

"What incredible strength."

Koseki was surprised by the strength of the Takeda soldiers. Even by regularly rotating the units that charged to minimize fatigue, the damage ratio remained the same, causing him to be at a loss.

"Chikamatsu-dono."

"I would prefer you didn't call me that... but please be at ease."

Koseki asked Chikamatsu for a solution, knowing his reputation as "the modern Zhuge Liang."

"I think it's a sign of your high evaluation."

Koseki, unlike Seiki, wasn't a chu-ni, but he believed it was proof of the high regard he received from everyone.

"Please don't compare me to such an ancient great. Mori Shingen and Yamaji Ietoyo's forces will soon attack from a different direction."

No matter how elite the Takeda army was, they couldn't maintain an equal battle against four times their number. Chikamatsu devised a strategy to have the veteran Mori Shingen of the Hashiba army and the young Yamaji Ietoyo of the Shinchi army attack from a different direction.

For a while, the intense battle continued, but suddenly the sound of arquebuses rang out from behind the Takeda army. Ietoyo's arquebus unit mercilessly fired at the backs of the Takeda soldiers.

"Indeed, the weakness of not knowing the terrain has shown itself."

"There are also bypass routes that only locals know."

Ietoyo was surprised that they could so easily take the Takeda army from behind, but it was thanks to the local hunters arranged by Chikamatsu. Ietoyo was impressed, thinking, "Indeed, he is the modern Zhuge Liang." If he heard this, he would probably be very displeased.

"Keep firing!"

Ietoyo's unit continued to fire their arquebuses, and when they finished, Mori Shingen's unit began to charge into the Takeda army. Even the renowned general Akiyama Nobutomo was shaken by the attack from two directions.

"This won't do! We must retreat and regroup!"

"Let them escape!"

Koseki wasn't without a plan. At the moment the Takeda army's offensive weakened due to the rear attack, he brought out large bronze cannons mounted on carts to the front line and began firing. Although the efficiency was low when firing horizontally, it was not a type of attack that could be blocked by bamboo bundles. The cannonballs shattered the bamboo bundles and the soldiers, creating gaps in the Takeda army's front line.

"Fire!"

The arquebus units then targeted these gaps, mowing down Takeda soldiers who had not been exposed to gunfire before. Even the Takeda army, known for their strength, saw their morale collapse under this attack.

"Survive!"

Nobutomo, with a bitter expression, decided to retreat, but their misfortune continued.

"I'm sorry for the delay."

Chikamatsu had another plan. He sent a messenger to Takigawa Ikenao, who was besieging the castle, asking him to attack from another direction. Ikenao, known for his tactical skills and rumored to be a former ninja, used his knowledge of the eastern Mino terrain to attack the Takeda army from an unexpected direction.

Although the number of soldiers was small due to the previous tough battles, they were all elite.

The Takeda army, attacked from three sides, was now in a desperate situation. They were relentlessly shot and cut down, reducing their numbers.

"Is that Akiyama Nobutomo?"

Nobutomo, trying to escape with his attendants, was blocked by Maeda Masahiro, who served the Takigawa family. He was the adopted nephew of Kiyohisa and a member of the Takigawa clan. He had accompanied Kiyohisa in his flight and was now working under Ikenao.

"I didn't think you would try to escape..."

"Even a general must sometimes retreat."

"That may be true, but will you be able to escape?"

Nobutomo's attendants, trying to protect their lord, attacked Masahiro but were defeated one after another. Masahiro's strength was unprecedented, even surprising Nobutomo, who was from the Takeda family.

"But, it's a matter of numbers!"

"Is it really?"

Another general stepped forward to help Masahiro, cutting down Nobutomo's attendants.

"Indeed, Sukeemon."

"Not as much as Keiji."

Next to Masahiro was Okamura Nagafuku, who had become a ronin along with Kiyohisa and was participating as a guest general. Ikenao and Kiyohisa had agreed that if Nagafuku performed well, he would be allowed to return to the Maeda family.

"Well, Keiji, this is a competition. Who will take Nobutomo's head?"

"I'll take that bet!"

Nobutomo, targeted by Masahiro and Nagafuku, hastily began his retreat. The other soldiers, under Chikamatsu's command, were thoroughly pursued, and only about 2,000 out of 5,000 managed to escape to southern Shinano.

And among them was no Akiyama Nobutomo.

"Keiji got him."

"Don't be sulky, Sukeemon. I'll treat you to sake later. I got some good sake from Shinchi."

"That's great. But, do you have such connections?"

Keiji and Sukeemon had no direct relationship with Shinchi Koseki. Kiyohisa and his wife were close and often received seasonal gifts, but Sukeemon didn't think he had such connections.

"Well, these are my own connections. Money and sake are the currency of the world."

"Good job, Keiji."

"Sukeemon follows the righteous path. I, by nature, prefer the crooked path. Just pretend to be treated."

"I'm a guest general now. I'll just go along with it."

"Brave warriors who charged into the Takeda army with a small force! Lord Takigawa has given us the highest quality sake from Shinchi!"

"「「「「「Oh!」」」」」

Keiji and Sukeemon, who had taken Nobutomo's head, enjoyed the highest quality sake from Shinchi with their fellow soldiers who had participated in the attack on the Takeda army.

"Lord! The highest quality sake you cherished is gone!"

"What! Could it be Keiji?"

"You figured it out quickly..."

"Only he would do such a thing!"

Inside Iwamura Castle, which had escaped the crisis, Ikenao was furious upon learning that the secret stash of sake he had received from Koseki had been stolen by Keiji. However, upon learning that the sake had been distributed to all the units that participated in the attack on the Takeda army, he couldn't scold Keiji and was left to brood alone.