Chapter 145 34. Selling One's First Soldier
The Ikko-ikki camp outside Kasugayama Castle was in disarray, but clearly divided. In the center, there were even various simple buildings made of bamboo and wood, which, with curtains and tents, were definitely more comfortable than camping outdoors at the end of February in the lunar calendar.
Outside the several large tents in the center of the camp were a few slightly more orderly small groups of camps, which often had a fence and a shallow ditch, somewhat like a military camp.
These were mainly the camps of "groups" and "communities" of the territories of Kaga, Echizen, Hida, etc., which were organized and launched. They were all people from the same hometown and clan, and they were not subordinate to each other, but the small groups were extremely united and orderly. However, due to some unspeakable reasons, these people could never unite as one, and they came purely to obey the decrees of a certain superior who led them.
It is no wonder that the Hokuriku Ikko sect has never been able to achieve the grand goal of going south to Kyoto. In addition to the fact that the Asakura family has a "military god" Asakura Sou's father and two capable field armies (Ono and Tsuruga, which were led by Asakura Kagetaka and Asakura Kagetaka after the old man died), the main reason is that these Ikko sect soldiers who can fight and dare to fight have never been under unified command.
As for the 40,000 people on the periphery, it's random, it's just bullshit, there are huts, grass nests, and even some very regular tents. But it's a mess, there is no order, and people and horses live together. It's even possible that the door of your hut is someone else's natural toilet, and there is a pool of yellow mud when you go out in the morning.
Except for the daily morning and evening classes when they can chant Amitabha Buddha with one heart under the leadership of the Ikko sect's senior officials, these Ikki people are usually a pile of loose sand. It's still the kind of broken sand that can't be pinched even with water, and it's a mess. They can't be called an army at all, they can only be called a mob, or a mob without weapons.
These people came to Kasugayama Castle ten days ago, and they saw that Kasugayama Castle was so majestic that they couldn't conquer it at all. They even suspected that they might not even be able to touch the edge of the city. After all, during the Kaga uprising, more than 300,000 or 400,000 people rushed to attack, and the qualitative change caused by the quantitative change was the reason why the city was taken down. Now the uprising is not so exaggerated that all believers in the country can participate, and they can completely ignore human lives and rely on religious enthusiasm to attack the city from morning to night. This kind of religious enthusiasm is hard to come by, and it requires a top-level charlatan to do it.
(There was such a person in history. The Ottomans attacked Belgrade, an important city in the south of the Kingdom of Hungary. Hungary was an elective monarchy. Everyone knew what the feudal nobles were like. No one led troops to rescue. As a result, a Catholic priest carried a broken crutch and walked from the west to the east of Hungary. This person was also a talent. A few months later, he pulled out an army of 60,000 people to cooperate with the black army of the Huntian family to give the Ottoman Turks a head-on blow, which saved Hungary for more than a hundred years.)
And several officials from various countries in the Hokuriku region had to compete for the right to command. They braved the severe cold and came all the way from Kaga Kanazawa Gobo (a good place. Later, Maeda Toshiie occupied it and established a foundation of one million in Kanazawa) just to fight for power and profit.
So they let the Ikki army wreak havoc in the countryside. First, Kasugayama Town, which had 20,000 to 30,000 people, was completely destroyed and burned, then the entire Nyuki County, and finally the entire Shimoetsu area.
After a crazy disaster, people's hearts were scattered. The Ikko Ikki army, who had originally wanted to build a Buddhist kingdom on earth and a paradise on earth, and who chanted Amitabha Buddha and wanted to sacrifice their lives to go to the Western Paradise, now had their pockets bulged. Everyone was thinking about change, and some had even secretly returned home with money. Those who are still joining now are mostly joining this robbery army to get a piece of the pie.
The officials and the upper class were still happily accepting the looted property contributed by some devout believers, completely immersed in the illusory victory of gold, silk, children, pearls, jade and treasures, but they did not notice the change in the morale of the Ikko army.
Even the Kaga Ikko Ikki army that had been fighting for years (the 400,000 Ikko Ikki army attacked and killed the guardian Togashi clan, and the remaining elite soldiers were actually these) were satisfied and unwilling to work hard to attack the city. Although the Buddhist kingdom on earth is good, the copper coins around the waist and the rice in the backpack are better.
Today is still a beautiful day, "windy and sunny", the Ikko Ikki army set out to capture the chaos in groups, laughing and happy. They were arm in arm, humming unknown tunes, and telling colorful jokes.
Uesugi Terutora in Kasugayama Castle had already put on his armor. A young man helped him tie the tassel of his pocket, and another young man put a small bean on his waist. As for the warhorse and spear, they were already fully prepared and placed outside.
Most of the two or three hundred Uesugi cavalrymen who accompanied him in the attack were also fully prepared. From the hillside to the bottom of the city, it was amazing that hundreds of people and horses did not make any loud noises. Even the occasional snorts of the warhorse could be heard clearly, and the sound of armor colliding was particularly harsh.
Uesugi Terutora said nothing, jumped lightly onto the release of Yuemao, and then rode the horse, exuding vigorous heroic spirit. He walked past the soldiers, looked at each soldier one by one, and encouraged each soldier with his silent but powerful eyes. Under his gaze, the soldiers mounted their horses and followed Uesugi Terutora's horse firmly.
The Ote Gate of Kasugayama Castle was pushed open by several foot soldiers with a creaking sound. Uesugi Terutora took the lead, and with a long neigh from Fangsheng Yuemao, the man and the horse became one, rushing out of the Ote Gate. Both the man and the horse looked unstoppable, and they were truly unparalleled in the world.
Hundreds of cavalrymen followed the general Uesugi Terutora, holding their spears horizontally and crouching down, closely following the general who was leading the way. The flags of Bi and Luanlong fluttered in the biting cold wind.
The mob of Ikko Ikki soldiers had no will to resist and ran away. The flags of Amitabha were scattered all over the ground, and were stepped on by muddy straw sandals.
The Ikko Ikki soldiers, who were laughing and full of vigor, were like a landslide when they met. Without any battle, they fled in all directions with ghosts howling and wolves howling, without any will to resist. The biggest role they played was just to make Uesugi Terutora look annoying, which was really ridiculous and pathetic.
Of course, Uesugi Terutora would not care about these small fish. The high-level horse flag based on Buddhism was his target. Such a clear flag under the sunlight was more like a swagger when he was selling his head.