Chapter 196 39. No One Wins at Azusaka

The situation on the battlefield suddenly changed. The Imagawa army, which had originally enjoyed the advantage of the terrain, was on the verge of death. Any straw would crush this already overloaded camel.

The soldiers of the two armies are now intertwined, and you are in me and I am in you. The heavy rain from the sky and the muddy battlefield have greatly consumed the physical strength of the soldiers of the two armies. At this time, the fight is really just a breath.

Taiyuan Zen Master is also in a dilemma at this time. On the one hand, he gathered the defeated soldiers and sent the Suruga samurai beside him to organize these people to fill in the gaps everywhere. But he himself is an old man in his sixties after all, and he can't fight in person, and the brothers Okabe Motonobu, the brave generals of the Suruga group, are not there, and the Asahina father and son are still rushing from the Yabiki River with the special forces.

The samurai who commanded the army on the front line are only Geshan Motoyoshi, Abe Motoshin, Kuno Muneno and other samurai. You say they are not good enough, they must be qualified samurai, and they are also experienced in the army and have fought for many years. But they are not the kind of strong and brave warriors who can run through the three armies, and they are better at marching and deploying troops.

The general is the courage of the soldiers. In the era of cold weapons, the bravest one wins when they meet on a narrow road. At this moment, the front line of the Oda and Imagawa armies has been completely trapped in a bloody hand-to-hand fight. Because Nobunaga personally came to the front line of the Owari army, the elite warriors of the hatamoto army were added to the front line. In terms of combat effectiveness, the more warriors, the stronger the combat effectiveness. If there are a few more very capable warriors among the warriors, the morale and combat effectiveness of the entire army will also rise steadily.

Coincidentally, the mother-clothing Sasaki Mutsu no Narimasa of Oda Nobunaga's main team was a fierce man who dared to run in the wilderness at minus 20 degrees and two meters deep snow. He was originally a powerful countryman in Owari. Because he did not stand well in the brotherly feud in Owari before, now he has a stain on his body, so he fights harder in the bad battle and does not relax at all.

Since Nobunaga personally went to the battlefield with his spear, Sasa Narimasa, who was guarding Nobunaga, danced with his spear. Blood and mud mixed with the heads of the people he killed, and no one could get close to him. His majestic posture penetrated the rain curtain, and the Imagawa army in front of him was no match for him.

It would be fine if there was only one killer god, but this is not over yet. Shibata Katsuie on Nobunaga's flank and Maeda Toshiie who was attacking from both sides were both skilled in martial arts. One was called "Going Forward Shibata" and the other was called "Spear Matazasa". The Imagawa army on the left and right were screaming and retreating.

The Oda army completely overcame all the disadvantages of the terrain with the brave warriors and the high morale gained by the commander's personal participation, and it seemed that victory was already in their grasp. This is exactly what Oda Nobunaga thought and hoped for.

The fight between the two armies became more and more tragic, and the sky became darker and darker. Due to the rain, it was completely impossible to light a fire and fight at night. Both armies were on the verge of death. The Oda army felt that as long as the next round of fierce attack was launched, it would be possible to completely destroy the already shaky Imagawa army that was resisting head-on. The Imagawa army felt that as long as they could stop the last wave of Oda's attack, the entire Imagawa army would be safe, and everyone could safely return to Yoshida Castle and even Suruga, waiting to fight again next year.

At this time, it was unrealistic to care about casualties and losses. All sacrifices were just to increase their weight on the scale of war that devoured everything. Money, weapons, and even the names of soldiers were all part of the heavy weight.

However, the scale of war did not seem to always favor Oda Nobunaga. When both sides had only their last breath left, the Asahina team, the special forces behind the Imagawa army, finally arrived at the battlefield stepping on the mud all over the ground and successfully joined the main team Taiyuan Xuesai.

When Oda Nobunaga saw this army with crooked helmets and armor, and not very strict, he knew that his original success today had quickly disappeared from his hands.

The reserve troops on the battlefield, and the brave and courageous reserve troops, are one of the most important factors in determining the outcome of a battle. Unfortunately, Oda Nobunaga himself went into battle, and he had no reserve troops to dispatch. Taiyuan Xuezhai Zen Master finally waited for his reserve troops, which were the brave and courageous troops led by the famous Kaido general Asahina and his son.

The situation on the battlefield changed again. Although the special forces of the Imagawa army also braved the wind and rain and trudged to the battlefield, they had not experienced fighting after all, and they still had two or three points of strength. And because of the march, the soldiers were actually warmed up.

Don't underestimate the warm-up. If two soldiers are exactly the same, with the same physical strength and martial arts, the soldier who has finished warming up can definitely knock down the one who has not yet warmed up. Just like we do warm-up exercises before going on the court in sports such as swimming and basketball, there is a scientific reason for it.

Holding the fire bird pattern and the two-hikiryo horse flag, the Imagawa Rangers did not join the battle immediately, but slightly organized outside the battle group. Then they separated a group of people and joined the battle. Looking at the equipment and the number of people, it can be known that they are part of the 1,500 regular foot soldiers of the Suruga tribe brought by Zen Master Taiyuan Xuezhai, as well as the relatively strong samurai servants of the Mikawa tribe.

This group of people is only about 500 to 600. Compared with the 12,000 people who are crowded on Azukizaka and fighting for their lives, these people can't even raise a small wave, but their people are still quite strong. Led by a samurai wearing a red-style five-piece tortoise and a sun and moon hat, they passed through the rain and joined the melee.

What kind of person is Zen Master Taiyuan? Of course, he immediately seized such a fleeting opportunity and drove the last hundred or so flags of the flag to join the battle. Imagawa and the two horse flags moved forward together and attacked with all their strength.

The two sides fought each other in the muddy ground in the heavy rain for more than half an hour. Unfortunately, the addition of Imagawa's new forces did not completely add enough weight to the scale of victory. The sky finally turned dark. At this point, the two sides were unable to fight again. They gradually broke contact unwillingly and finally retreated.

From the afternoon to the night, the two sides were at most a 50-50 situation, and both sides suffered a lot of casualties. Of course, each side still had to make a big fuss when returning home, and they must say that they had won the final victory, and even held a grand banquet to celebrate.

The Battle of Azusaka can be said to be a battle in which there was no winner or loser. But on the other hand, the Oda family captured the important town of Ansheng Castle in Western Mikawa, and their forces entered Western Mikawa, while Narumi Castle was just an isolated city. As long as they continued to surround it, it would fall sooner or later.

Although the Imagawa family lost some territory in Western Mikawa, they greatly tested the level of the Oda family and the current situation in Owari that it was not a solid block.

It was like the first round of probing before the decisive battle, and both sides gained something. Already gearing up for the final confrontation.