Chapter 249 23. Kiso Is Ready to Surrender
It was too late, but it was too late. Kanai Meigoro jumped up to the top of the city with such majesty that everyone above and below the city were stunned.
His Odachi sword, which was no more than 1.8 meters long including the sword and handle, fell from the sky with the sound of shouting. Before the shouting stopped, the light of the sword had fallen. The wooden fence itself was not as strong as the new one due to the sun and rain, and it shattered into pieces when Kanai Meigoro concentrated all his strength and slashed in the air. (There is a video on bilibili, which is about the commonly known wood chopping method.)
The entire wooden fence of the seemingly unbreakable stronghold was completely destroyed by Kanai Meigoro with one blow.
"It's me, Kanei Meigoro Hideharu Ichibanyo!" Kanai Meigoro landed on the ground like a god of thunder descending to earth. He threw down the tachi and pulled out another tachi attached to his waist. He easily chopped down a dazed Kiso soldier, and his majestic appearance was stunning. 【Note 1】
"Quick, Shinano Mamoru beats the drums and drives the army to scale the city." Kodaira took the iron cannon from Tatsuzo and suggested to Yamauchi Yoshikatsu.
"That's right, Zuoma Yun, you immediately hold my horse badge and accompany the horse to the city." Yamauchi Yoshikatsu kept holding the drumsticks in his hands, and the drum beat became more and more exciting.
As Murakami Yoshimitsu rushed to the mountainside with the horse mark, Yamauchi Yoshikatsu's own horse team once again showed their true nature as a samurai who is better at killing people than shooting. They all threw their horse barrels to their servants and rushed towards the city with their spears and swords raised.
When the Suwans saw that the city had been breached, their feet no longer slipped, and the mountain road was easier to walk, they all carried bamboo ladders to attack the city. He changed his fishy look from an hour ago and regained his true character of the Wu family.
Of course, the Kiso Army in the castle knew that they must immediately exterminate the Yamauchi Army who opened the gap, otherwise a gap may bring about the collapse of the entire war situation. The taiko drums in the castle also rang loudly, and several people dressed as warriors with twenty or thirty ashigaru attacked Kanai Meigoro.
At this time, everyone in the city was racing against time. The battle for the entire Tamaki City is completely focused on this small gap.
After all, the Yamauchi Army was more elite and had far more standing troops than the Kiso Army. The leader was Kanai Meigoro, who was also highly skilled in martial arts. Even though the Kiso army tried its best to counterattack, they were still unable to save the day.
When the last breath they held was exhausted, they didn't know who was the first to turn around and flee. The Kiso army in the city shouted, abandoned their armor and opened the east gate, and fled towards Fukushima main city without their lives. At the same time, thirty or forty corpses were also left behind, and the loss was not small.
The Yamauchi Army did not pursue these fleeing soldiers and allowed them to enter Fukushima Castle. Although this city has more than a hundred troops, there are still more than a hundred soldiers who were frightened by the Yamauchi army. Wouldn't it be better to put such soldiers into the enemy's city?
Soon the few remnants of the enemies in Tamataki City were eliminated, and Yamauchi Yoshikatsu, Koheita and others also boarded the city. After all, this is a high place and you can clearly observe Fukushima Castle. Although it will not be used as a main formation, it is an excellent observation post.
Kanai Meigoro held Nanman's carcass in his hands and knelt down on one knee, "Fortunately, I did not disgrace my life!"
"Meigoro, get up quickly. I have written down your achievements. When this battle is over, you will be rewarded based on your merits." Yamauchi Yoshikatsu helped Kanai Meigoro up with his hands, and was quite surprised.
I originally thought he was just a samurai with good martial arts skills. There were too many samurai who served people with swords and guns. Seven or eight out of ten samurai in the flag book were good at using weapons. But Kanai Meigoro's volley slash just now, with that skill, even a swordsman would think it was not a big problem. I just didn’t know that Bando Kobu-ryu, from all its branches, could actually teach such a talent.
Yamauchi Yoshikatsu naturally wanted to win over him, and it became natural for them, Yamauchi father and son, to get used to it.
"Meigoro, does this Nanman suit fit you well? A samurai cannot live without good armor, so I will give it to you." Yamauchi Yoshi, a good man who has a good chance of winning, wears this Nanbar suit that he has only worn a few times. All the body parts were given to Kanai Meigoro.
"This, this must be the favorite thing of a few of your highnesses, and I dare not accept it." He had just put the Nanman crotch on his body, and twenty iron cannons fired in front of him. The two ashigaru next to him threw themselves into the street. , he is the only one who is fine. It's not because the European-origin infantry chest plate is of high quality, and he runs and jumps fast enough.
"Even if a piece of equipment is worth hundreds of strings, how can it be compared to a loyal, brave and fierce warrior like you?" Yamauchi Yoshikatsu didn't mind saying nice things at all, so he would start by praising him anyway.
"Then I'll thank you, young master." Kanai Minggoro's face was full of joy. How could he not like this Nanman trousseau. With the emergence of foreign guns and iron cannons, a warrior like him who has been practicing martial arts for more than ten or twenty years will be killed by a soldier if he is not careful, and his death will be unknown.
This is the progress of the times, but it is a nightmare for these warriors. At the same time, Japan's armor technology has not seen corresponding large-scale development and improvement. Even many generals still use heavy and gorgeous armors that cannot protect against iron cannons.
Now that Yamauchi Yoshikatsu is willing to give him this southern barbarian body, of course he will be happy from ear to ear. It's just that it's hard to show it on the surface. After thanking you, you can secretly enjoy yourself.
The victory of Tamataki Castle in one day not only allowed the Yamauchi Army to see through the true level of the Kiso Army, but also shocked the Kiso father and son in Fukushima Castle.
Although they had expected the branch city to be overthrown, its loss so quickly was still beyond their expectations.
Now, Kiso Yoshiyasu, Kiso Yoshimasa, Kamimatsu Yoshitoyo, and their sons are sitting in a circle in the residence of Fukushima Castle, at a loss. The Miki clan, who were originally friendly, refused to send troops to rescue. Murakami Yoshikiyo of Hokushin was in a fierce conflict with the Takanari clan and the Shimazu clan, and had no time to care about the small Kiso Valley in Azumi County.
The original firm determination to resist began to waver, and some thoughts of surrender emerged. It’s just that a few people can’t take the initiative to say it now, so they can only remain silent.
“Urgent report, Yamanouchi Shinshu-no-kami has moved his troops to Kaminodono Castle, and the castle lord Yamamura asked for help.”
[Note 1]: It is necessary to explain that in the so-called city wall of a general Japanese castle, there will be a distance between the “塀” and the mori, and this open space is called dog-walking. The meaning is literal, no explanation is needed. The Fukushima branch castle Tamataki Castle that was attacked in this article had no walls, only wooden fences, and naturally no stone walls to prevent soil erosion and collapse of the earth moor.
So the space for the dog walk must be quite large to ensure that the side of the moor near the castle will not collapse during heavy rains in summer, and the wooden fence will not collapse with it. The wooden fence will be several meters away from the earth moor. Assuming that Kanai Meigoro started to accelerate before stepping on the bamboo ladder, he would be at his fastest speed when he reached the dog walk, so he could jump off the ground and complete the mid-air attack.