Chapter 372 31. The Tragic Star Falls on the White River Plain

Suddenly, a group of soldiers and horses rushed out from the side, and the Miyoshi army was caught off guard. The archers in the rear team were chopped down one after another, and screamed in pain.

Yamauchi in the front resisted very resolutely. Yamauchi Yoshikatsu had three or four arrows stuck in his body but still waved his sword and fought hard, refusing to retreat a step.

With the combined efforts of both sides, the Miyoshi army collapsed, and several Miyoshi hatamoto escorted Miyoshi Masayasu to retreat in a hurry. They ran away in a flash, and the soldiers who had just besieged Yamauchi Yoshikatsu were nowhere to be seen.

"Excuse me, is it Yamauchi Yulin Shinshu no Kami?" The samurai leading the team asked.

But Yamauchi Yoshikatsu did not answer at all, just nodded slightly, and actually sat down against the wall. Akechi Jurobei knew that he was seriously injured by the look on his face, so he did not ask any more questions.

"I am the Shirakawa garrison commander Akechi Jurobei Mitsuhide. Where is His Majesty the Lord now?"

Anyone who is slightly familiar with Japanese history should know the name Shirakawa. Emperor Go-Shirakawa was the last emperor in Japan to hold real power in the imperial court.

There are a large number of detached palaces, villas and mansions in Shirakawa, most of which belong to the nobles and generals of the court. In addition, it is located on the only way from Otsu, the commercial center of Lake Biwa, to Kyoto, so Ashikaga Yoshiteru set up a garrison here.

On the one hand, he takes care of those garden buildings to prevent them from being destroyed. On the other hand, Shirakawa is a very good street checkpoint, which can stop merchants and collect heavy taxes.

This is why Akechi Mitsuhide has nearly a hundred people under his command. If he can collect taxes, why can't he afford to support the army?

And don't you look at who is commanding them? Anyone can tell that they are the four kings under the future Oda regime and the person in charge of the mountain *** strategy. The direct corps under his command has a force of 15,000 to 20,000 people, and is equipped with Hosokawa Fujitaka and his son, Yamato Tsutsui Junkei and other top retainers with power.

With similar numbers, Miyoshi Masayasu was just a casual rub in front of Akechi Mitsuhide.

But now, he is just a Shirakawa garrison commander, not as high as Otsu Magistrate Wada Koremasa. It is even more difficult to compare with Hosokawa Fujitaka who participated in the shogunate.

If Kobayata was here, he might have played a play like "I know and do 1,300 kan, I'll give you half, and you'll be my retainer." It would be a good play of monarch and minister sharing the same salary and sworn brotherhood.

But Yamauchi Yoshikatsu was not in the mood, and he didn't know who Akechi Mitsuhide was. He couldn't even speak now, and barely raised his hand and pointed at Teruwamaru on his back.

More than half of Yamauchi's retainers died, and now everyone alive was injured, with only five people left.

One of the least injured retainers hurried to see Teruwamaru, only to find that the arrow that seemed to be inserted into Yamauchi Yoshikatsu's shoulder actually went straight into Teruwamaru's neck. Teruwamaru's face was already gray, and he couldn't die any more!

The man hurriedly took Terurumaru off Yamauchi Yoshikatsu's back and laid him flat on the ground. Yamauchi Yoshikatsu couldn't stand up and lay on the ground staring at the twelve-year-old child. He was still calling him uncle an hour ago, but now he is dead.

Mitsuhide Akechi stepped forward and recognized that this was the shogun's legitimate son and the shogun's only son, Ashikaga Terurumaru!

A look of shock, pain, sadness, resentment and other emotions mixed together covered his face, and he knelt down on his knees. Although he didn't cry loudly, his eyes were red.

Yamauchi Yoshikatsu couldn't control himself and burst into tears. He and Terurumaru didn't have much affection between uncle and nephew, but he and Ashikaga Yoshiki were very compatible.

Now his father trusted him and handed his only son to him, but he died like this. And the one who died was Yamauchi Yoshikatsu's "lord", his future "lord father".

On the one hand, he hated himself for not being able to raise the son well, and on the other hand, he was also heartbroken that his own family, the Genji clan, was attacked and killed.

Seeing Yamauchi Yoshikatsu crying desperately, Akechi Mitsuhide quickly came back.

"Your Highness Yulin, now the only priority is to find His Highness the Lord of the Kubo and protect His Highness to get out of Kyoto."

As soon as the voice fell, Yamauchi Yoshikatsu, who was crying bitterly, fainted. Everyone rushed forward to support him, only to find that there was a big hole in Yamauchi Yoshikatsu's abdomen. It was obviously pierced by a spear, and the blood had already stained the skirt armor (straw folds) red.

Seeing that this person was breathing out more and breathing in less, his whole face quickly turned gray. Seeing this, several attendants were all extremely sad. One of the seriously injured people cut his neck on the spot and died first.

Yamauchi Yoshikatsu held on, "His Highness is still in the palace, hurry to rescue him."

After saying that, his hands tightly grasped Akechi Mitsuhide's hands, his eyes widened, and his arm muscles trembled rapidly.

The voice of the word "rescue" faded away, and Yamauchi Yoshikatsu, a powerful daimyo with 163,000 kan of money in the East, the dismounted people of the shogunate, the imperial attendants, the Shinano guardian, the fifth rank lower, the right guard major general, the Shinano no Kami, the direct line of the Seiwa Genji, the Ashikaga family of the Kawachi Genji, died in battle!

The clenched hands fell heavily on the ground covered with blood and mud. Such a noble bloodline and family, in the end, inevitably died under the spear of the unknown.

The remaining four Yamauchi attendants all cried and wailed.

Yamanouchi Yoshikatsu, who was brave and good at fighting on the battlefield, and kind to his soldiers and civilians in daily life, became a shining star of the Eastern Kingdom at a young age, but died like a humble soldier. How could these retainers accept such a cruel reality?

"What is the last will of His Highness Yulin! It is to rescue the general! If you want to avenge His Highness Yulin, pick up your swords and go to the Imperial Palace with me now!" Akechi Mitsuhide scolded the four remaining attendants.

Then he hurriedly ordered people to carry the two bodies and send them to Shirakawa! To avoid any accidents to the bodies in the end.

He glanced at the body of Yamanouchi Yoshikatsu and gently stroked his eyelids, trying to close Yamanouchi Yoshikatsu's wide eyes. But when he gently stroked them, they didn't move at all.

Akechi Mitsuhide sighed and did nothing more. The environment was simple, there was not even a straw mat, how could the bodies of the two be carried away so unobstructed.

"Go, go, go, go quickly, the target is the Imperial Palace!" Looking at the figure going away, the flames of Kyoto on the other side shot up into the sky.

It was no longer the wailing of people, as if all the creatures on the earth were wailing. That kind of horrible situation constantly stimulated Akechi Mitsuhide. His eyes were filled with an indescribable expression, and his expression was cold and almost dead.

His heart was surging like an endless ocean, roaring, crashing, tearing, and turning.

"What is wrong with this world?"