Chapter 53

In the autumn of the second year of Genki, after the harvest had ended, the temporary peace that had lasted for a year came to an end, and the time of war began again. Takeda Shingen, who had incorporated Suruga and eastern Tōtōmi into his domain, was approaching Hamamatsu Castle with an army of forty thousand.

In response, the Hongan-ji Temple in Osaka, the Miyoshi family in Shikoku, Akai Naomasa in Tamba, the Isshiki family in Tango, and the Yamana family in Tajima also rose up simultaneously. Even in the territories that the Oda family had already incorporated, there were Ikko-ikki uprisings and revolts by some powerful clans, and Nobunaga began to dispatch his troops to suppress them calmly.

In the shadows, the shogun Yoshizumi was still there, but for some reason, he himself did not rise up, so he was only being monitored by Nobunaga.

In southern Shinano, Takeda Shingen also sent an army of ten thousand led by one of the Four Heavenly Kings, Baba Nobuharu. Despite the gains of new territories, the damage from the previous year still existed. It was thought that the army had been assembled with considerable effort, and as a result, refugees were again flooding into southern Shinano and western Tōtōmi. Still, Shingen seemed to think that if he could capture Hamamatsu Castle, he would win.

" Mikawa is like a fruit protected by a hard shell, Hamamatsu Castle. Once this is broken, the rest of Mikawa can be swallowed up."

If he could fall as far as Mikawa, the recovery of the lost southern Shinano would be easy, and he could advance again into eastern Mino. Shingen believed that the capture of Hamamatsu Castle was the key to this battle.

"Things have changed quite a bit in this year."

"Yes, they have."

Listening to Shingen's comment, Sanada Masateru, who was standing beside him, nodded in agreement.

"Newchi seems to have no shortage of money. But, it is people, not money, who protect a country."

Despite this, the Takeda family, having exploited the conquered territories of Shinano, western Kōzuke, Suruga, and eastern Tōtōmi, was hated by the local residents, but few dared to complain to Shingen, and those who did were no longer in this world.

"I hear that the defenders of Hamamatsu Castle number about seventeen thousand."

"Yes, the large number is a problem."

"For that, we have made ample preparations."

To gather this large army, Shingen had increased the levies and taxes in northern Shinano, Suruga, and eastern Tōtōmi. Dissatisfied refugees were fleeing to southern Shinano and western Tōtōmi. The Oda and Newchi families were protecting them carefully, but their kindness was depleting their supplies.

When would Hamamatsu Castle fall due to food shortages? Shingen smiled to himself, thinking that it might be captured by their attacks before that.

"Once we secure these five provinces, we will advance into Owari and Mino."

If that were to happen, Kyoto would not be far away. Following in the footsteps of Miyoshi Nagayoshi and Oda Nobunaga, Takeda Shingen would be in a position to rule the country.

"Considering my health, I cannot afford to take too much time. Everything depends on the capture of Hamamatsu Castle... I will take it, Masateru."

"Understood!"

Masateru issued the attack order to the entire army. The Takeda army of forty thousand, following the information gathered in advance, began a simultaneous attack on Hamamatsu Castle and the surrounding defensive fortifications.

"Lord Newchi, what a magnificent sight."

Tokugawa Nobuyasu, who had come to Hamamatsu Castle as reinforcements, exclaimed in admiration at the advancing Takeda army. He was impressed by the well-trained and disciplined elite Takeda army.

"Our job is to kill those people. If we don't, we will be killed."

"Are you not going to attack yet?"

The reason Nobuyasu was here was that the Tokugawa family had sent reinforcements. At first, Hikaru had refused, but with the message, "There is no need to worry, Mikawa is under control," Numasada had sent two thousand reinforcements.

The commander was the head of the family, Nobuyasu, and this was his first battle.

"There will be no charge. Just watch and learn."

"Understood."

In the past, the young Nobuyasu would have led his troops to charge into the Takeda army and take heads as befitting his first battle, but after being decisively defeated by Kyoko, he had become more subdued and began to study things other than martial arts.

This was because Kyoko had shown him that she was talented in many areas besides martial arts. The young Nobuyasu began to work hard, not wanting to be outdone by a woman.

"Once the army reaches that moat, we will open fire."

Around the fortified Hamamatsu Castle, a dry moat had been dug. In fact, this was also to inform the deployed arquebusiers of the distance.

"Fire!"

The signal to start shooting was given by voice and flag, and the arquebusiers began firing at the army entering their assigned areas. The efficient shooting of the Newchi army's "aim" had reached a level of proficiency proportional to the amount of training.

Bullets hit one after another, sending soldiers and officers alike to the afterlife without distinction.

"Lord, follow Lord Newchi's orders."

"First, we need to reduce their numbers..."

The Tokugawa army, which was also deployed, continued to shoot arrows and throw stones with catapults. Although they were frustrated at not being able to engage directly, their opponent was the Takeda army.

If they engaged directly, the Tokugawa army, which numbered only two thousand, would be easily annihilated.

"There are many new recruits due to the sacrifices of the previous year. We need to get them used to the battlefield first."

Hidemasa, assigned to a specific area, continued to attack with bows and catapults. There were a few arquebuses, but they were being held in reserve for when they were needed.

There were not many arquebuses, but in fact, they lacked gunpowder and ammunition, so they could not fire much. They could not beg for ammunition from the Newchi family, who were only vassals of the Oda family, so the Tokugawa arquebusiers were waiting for an opportunity in silence.

"They seem to be doing well over there."

"Money is so hard to come by..."

The small daimyo of Mikawa usually lived the same life as farmers. There was little circulation of money, and barter was still common in the countryside. Hidemasa thought this was normal and, in fact, looked down on Hikaru, who spent a lot of money on everything.

The brave Mikawa samurai would not be defeated by money.

But the reality was different. The supposedly strong Mikawa samurai were defeated by the even stronger Takeda army, and their lord was killed. The safety of Mikawa was guaranteed by Hikaru, who built a large castle in Hamamatsu. His territory no longer bordered the Takeda family.

Thanks to this, the Tokugawa family's recovery was proceeding efficiently. First, the inner Mikawa, which had been taken, was recovered and returned by the Newchi army.

Now, the Takeda army's large force was being attacked by the Newchi army with a large number of arquebuses. There were units deployed in the area they were responsible for, and they were killing more enemies than the Mikawa forces.

They were weak, so they were being protected by the Newchi army. Because of this, Hidemasa was so frustrated that he could not stand it.

"Don't lament, Hachiro."

Sakakibara Masakatsu, who was leading the Mikawa forces with him, advised Hidemasa.

"We can only do what we can do now."

The surviving Tokugawa vassals were working hard to rebuild the family with Nobuyasu as the new head. They had killed the powerful clans and local samurai who had underestimated the young Nobuyasu and tried to collude with the Takeda family, and were also developing the Mikawa region.

Not only rice production, but also the production of cotton, which could be sold for money, had begun at the suggestion of Ishikawa Masahide.

This was apparently at the suggestion of Newchi Hikaru, but Katsu thought that now was not the time to be concerned with such details. If the cultivated cotton could be sold and the profits used to strengthen the military, that would be fine.

"More importantly, we need to deal with the enemy in front of us."

The dry moat, which also served as a signal for shooting, was already filled with the bodies of Takeda soldiers. Despite the situation being almost the same on other fronts, Shingen did not stop the offensive.

"Is Shingen just going to keep sacrificing his men?"

Katsu was puzzled and scratched his head.

"They are expendable. They are from eastern Tōtōmi and Suruga."

Katsu's question was answered by Honda Masanobu, who had come as a messenger from the main camp.

"Yahachiro..."

"What is it?"

Hidemasa and Katsu were acquainted with Masanobu. However, they did not have good feelings towards him, as he had been picked up by the Newchi family along with other defectors after fleeing the country during the Mikawa Ikko-ikki and had become a senior vassal.

Other Tokugawa vassals also felt the same way, but they knew that Ieyasu would eventually pardon Masanobu and the others, so they had mixed feelings about them joining the Newchi family before that happened.

"An order. Please read it."

The two read the order given to them by Masanobu and immediately put it in their sleeves, as it was written not to show it to others.

"Will it go that smoothly?"

"Even if it doesn't, we have a backup plan, so don't worry."

"Is that so, Hachiro?"

"Yes."

Katsu did not particularly like it, but Hidemasa, who did not like Masanobu at all, tried not to speak to him to avoid conflict with the senior vassal of the Newchi family. He left the response to Katsu to avoid any problems.

"About the expendable troops..."

"The Takeda family is trying to crush them in the vanguard to strengthen their control. Shingen probably thinks it's cost-effective to exchange them for expensive medicine."

"Poor things."

Katsu sympathized with them, who were just attacking and being killed. The Tokugawa family had lost their lord, but they still had their family and territory. However, these people would lose their lives here, and their weakened territories and families would be swallowed up by the Takeda family.

"The Takeda family is strong. But, as Lord says, it is a ruthless strength."

"Lord Newchi?"

"Yes. Ruthless strength, after all, is ruthless and will not last long. If we can defeat Shingen here, the number of unfortunate people will decrease."

"That's true."

After finishing the conversation, Masanobu returned to the main camp, and Katsu continued to attack while deep in thought.

"Will the Tokugawa family ever be able to surpass Lord Newchi?"

At least, Katsu thought, it would be a considerable challenge.

"Masateru, how is the Newchi army?"

"The frequency of their arquebus fire is gradually decreasing. They are switching to catapults and arrows."

"Of course."

For an hour (two hours) since the start of the attack, the Takeda vanguard had suffered heavy losses, but the frequency of the Newchi army's arquebus fire, which was deployed around Hamamatsu Castle and its surroundings, had decreased.

"They must have fired too much."

The Newchi family always won battles by using a large number of arquebuses, which was a merchant-like way of winning, Shingen thought.

However, Shingen thought that their stock of gunpowder and ammunition must have reached its limit, and it was actually the case.

"That Newchi Hikaru must have been stockpiling gunpowder and ammunition carefully even before serving Nobunaga."

And after serving Nobunaga, he used them all at once to rise to power.

"He must be a cautious man. But, that is about to end."

The sacrifice of the expendable troops from eastern Tōtōmi and Suruga was great, but they had done a good job. Shingen thought that the survivors who were obedient would be incorporated into his vassal group, although as outsiders.

"The arquebus fire will end soon. Then we will take it down all at once."

About half an hour later, the Newchi army's fire almost stopped. Shingen, seeing this as an opportunity, committed almost his entire army, including the elite troops from Kai and Shinano. He thought that it would result in fewer casualties if he did not hold back and took Hamamatsu Castle with all his might.

"Attack!"

Under the command of Naitō Masahide and Takasaka Masahide, who were in charge of the entire Takeda army, the entire army was committed, and a fierce battle ensued.

"I like this kind of battle!"

Wielding a spear, Hidemasa defended against the Takeda army's offensive.

"They are fighting better than I thought. Thanks to Lady Kyoko."

Shimazu Kiyomitsu also looked relieved that the Newchi army was able to withstand the Takeda army's fierce attack. He had trained according to the training manual created by Lady Kyoko, and when he put it into practice, it worked better than he had expected.

Kiyomitsu did not know about the ultra-futuristic, efficiency-focused Marine Corps-style training methods, but when he followed the manual and studied it himself, he thought there was no better method.

"Who is that person, when combined with Lord?"

After thinking for a moment, Kiyomitsu stopped. It didn't matter who they were; the couple was amazing, and he was a senior vassal of the Newchi family. It was much better than being in the declining Tōdai family.

"Just a little more... when the Takeda army penetrates deeper..."

Kiyomitsu's mind briefly turned to the order in his pocket. He remembered what Hikaru had said before the battle.

"The purpose of this battle is one: to defeat Shingen."

"Shingen? Isn't that difficult?"

"It's difficult, but most of the problems will be solved if he dies."

Hikaru explained the purpose of the operation to Kiyomitsu.

"Shingen is a hero of his generation, a symbol of hope for the people of Kai and the powerful clans."

That is why the Takeda army was always strong and succeeded in taking many provinces. The residents of the conquered territories were unfortunate, but...

"If that star of hope falls, the Takeda army will weaken."

The source of their strength was that Kai was poor. Hikaru knew that many countries, not just the Republic of Akitsushima, often recruited soldiers from relatively poor regions when raising an army. The residents of poor regions, struggling to survive, had the potential to grow into strong soldiers.

"Without Shingen's skillful command, they would just be bandits, but the Takeda army became strong because of him."

He had also received reports of a strong cavalry unit through intelligence activities, but since Kai and Shinano were mostly mountainous, they were not that numerous. The Hōjō family, which had more plains, had more cavalry,