Chapter 286 20. Target Takeda Stable Team
After the Yamanouchi Army separated the combat troops from the logistics, Hosokawa Saime, the lord of Ina County, still had 2,000 men under his command, but now only 1,000 men participated in the battle.
Yamanouchi Yoshiharu left Kitabatake Daigaku with a large number of fellow magistrates including Heiroku to clean up the mess on the spot.
The others set out in formation. Originally, according to his idea, the cannon fodder of the Kokumin clan should go first. It was Kobayata who urged him that this battle was important and these fence-sitters should not be allowed to take the lead.
This is how Hosokawa Saime and Uesugi Terutora met in victory.
Kobayata led the bottom-ranked Renkawa clan in the Yamanouchi Army as usual. This time, the marching sequence was relatively late, so when they arrived at the battlefield, the Bi-ji flag and the Nibiki-ryo were already planted on Chausu Mountain.
As for the roadside, it was endless at a glance. It was all the military servants who ran desperately and were now left here. Many people didn't care about the dirt on the ground, and lay on the ground with their arms and legs spread out.
Some people were in better physical condition and could sit there and drink light salt water. Some people were in very bad condition and were likely to be exhausted for several days.
It was really difficult for these soldiers to carry more than 20 or even 30 kilograms of things on their backs. They set out at more than five in the morning and trotted all the way until now at more than eleven o'clock. Six hours, carrying a load and marching for more than ten kilometers, took half of their lives.
Kobayata also ordered his soldiers to quickly put on their armor and prepare for battle.
The Uesugi army was everywhere on Hachimanhara to capture the fleeing soldiers of Murakami. It seemed that the Murakami army had collapsed at this moment, but it was unknown what happened to Murakami Yoshikiyo.
Kobayata had no one to ask, so he could only look towards the place where the sound of the battle came from.
In addition, Nabenosuke was still young, so he was not brought into the battle this time, so Tatsuzo followed Kobayata all the way here. He didn't have a horse to take him on, but he was well fed and warmly dressed, and his physical fitness was much better than that of the servants. Now he was just panting, but he was still working, unloading Kobayata's Nanbando from the packhorse.
After he and Nanaki helped Kobayata put on his armor, they helped Kobayata climb the 100-step ladder, and then they hurriedly formed a complete army.
Kobayata saw that the team behind him seemed to be Iwase Motomasa, who was the deputy general of Imagawa Yoshichika. Their Takatenjinshu and Makinoshu formed a team with more than 700 soldiers, but their quality was slightly inferior to the Yamanouchishu, and they ran a little staggeringly.
Before he could think about it, a messenger rode a horse and shouted loudly along the way. He ordered the miscellaneous soldiers to get out of the way and rest on the field, and not to block the follow-up army from advancing.
At the same time, the soldiers who were ready immediately bypassed Chausu Mountain and went to the Chikuma River to fight the Takeda army.
The messenger passed by at high speed, but the order was conveyed loudly, and people nearby could hear it clearly.
As soon as Xiao Pingtai squeezed the horse's belly, Bai Duan took a very smart step. Compared with the past, Xiao Pingtai had very few people on the battlefield this time. There were 60 iron cannons and 120 foot soldiers. A total of 180, with one reinforced company commander.
Zi Xiaolu Danzheng, who was famous in the East, was considered a general with 180 people!
The soldiers had taken a short rest, had something to eat, and drank light salt water. They were quite energetic, carrying guns and iron cannons and following Xiao Pingtai, only the rhythmic sound of armor colliding could be heard.
At this time, fierce fighting was continuing by the Chikuma River. After all, Yamauchi Yoshikatsu's 500 cavalrymen did not break through Takeda Harunobu's main camp. Now most of them have dismounted and are constantly pouring bullets on the Takeda army with short barrels on horseback.
But his surprise attack was still very effective. First, the first mover and right wing of the Takeda army heard the support drums of the central army and gave up the formation. As a result, the Takeda army's originally very stable camp is now full of flaws and in danger everywhere.
Secondly, it blocked the connection between the various units on the left wing of the Takeda army and the Takeda main force, which was crucial.
Because the Takeda left wing included Takeda Norimichi, Aburakawa Hikosaburo, Yasuma Daisuke, Kanai Imafukusai and other teams, all of whom were Takeda from Kai.
The Takeda left wing was first attacked by the fleeing soldiers of Murakami, and then attacked by the joint attack of Hosokawa Saejo and Uesugi Terutora. Now, with Takeda Norimichi as the center, they gathered into a small square formation and fought desperately.
Takeda Harunobu certainly would not give up his Kai people. He was ordering the Sanada team and the Oi team to try to break through the blockade of Yamanouchi Yoshikatsu.
As for the final results of Yamanouchi Yoshikatsu's surprise attack team, it was not worth mentioning. Murakami Yoshimitsu stabbed Takeda's general Hatsukano Gengoro Tadatsugu with a gun and made a great contribution. But for the entire battle situation, it was irrelevant.
Kobayata observed the situation. Hosokawa Saime, who was the first to arrive at the battlefield, had joined forces with Yamanouchi Yoshikatsu to block the Takeda army that was supporting the Takeda left wing.
The cannon fodder Kiso, Asahina, and Udono Mikawa were cooperating with the Uesugi army to attack the Takeda left wing.
Although the Takeda's first-hand Suwa team had a similar number of people, they were ultimately no match for the "Echigo Zhong Kui" Saito Asanobu and Naoe Kagetsuna, and had been pressed to the front of the Takeda main camp.
The Kita Shinano people in the Uesugi army, who had been fighting for half a day, did not participate in the battle and were capturing prisoners. They were also tired and could not play any role.
The Uesugi troops that were still attacking the Takeda army now had less than 5,000 people left, mainly the reserve troops of Uesugi Terutora, Saito Asanobu, and Naoe Kagetsuna. These people had not been in the battle for long and still had spare strength.
Now that Takeda's right wing has reunited with Takeda's main force, the Takeda army is in a state of semi-encirclement. However, their rear route, that is, the floating bridge on the Chikuma River, is still firmly occupied by the Takeda side.
Takeda Harunobu has not suffered much loss so far. Most of the casualties were caused by the 100 or 200 killed by Yamanouchi Yoshikatsu during the surprise attack, and some people died in the siege on the left wing.
Although he could not escape immediately, he still fought steadily. After the crisis of the surprise attack was resolved, he began to command calmly and fought well.
It seemed to be in line with his concept that as long as he won 60% of the war, he would be considered a victory.
Takeda Harunobu did not expand the battle now, but only sent soldiers to break through the blockade and rescue the left wing, which seemed to be a way to withdraw.
Kobayata assessed the situation and found that Yamanouchi Yoshikatsu had more than 100 iron cannons and more than 1,000 soldiers. The Takeda army could not break through for a while. It would be better to join the siege on Takeda's left wing and help Uesugi Terutora to eat up the 4,000 Kai people.
Uesugi Terutora was no longer fighting in person at this time. He rode on a horse, commanding various teams and spying on the flaws of Takeda's left wing.
After seeing Koyata's Sunlight and Moonlight family crest, it was discovered that the troops under the flashy Qianchengjin Bamboo Leaf Horse Emblem were Koyata's reserve troops.
"Koyata, your horse emblem is quite impressive!" Uesugi Terutora greeted Koyata.
"Your Highness, the Kanrei-sama, this horse emblem is just for the soldiers to recognize, hehe." Koyata did not dismount, but bowed to Uesugi Terutora on horseback.
"Well. How many of your iron artillery soldiers did you bring? Can you go up and open a gap?" Uesugi Terutora pointed to a Takeda four-cut diamond horse emblem flying high in the air.
"What is that?" "Takeda Nosuma."
"Well? Takeda Nosuma!"