Chapter 384 43. Meeting Yamamoto Kannosuke Again

Several Takeda Monomi were not cowards. They drove their horses to 40 to 50 meters in front of Kobayata's long wall before stopping.

At this distance, a volley of iron cannons could easily turn them into sieves, so these Monomi dared not get any closer.

Unfortunately, Kobayata did not have a single cavalryman under his command. The few horsemen were generals, and they could not drive away these Monomi who came to spy. They could only let them wander around at a safe distance and see Kobayata's arrangements one by one.

Ming Goro originally wanted to fire a round of guns to scare these Monomi away. But Kobayata was reluctant to do so. Firing a round of guns would cost dozens of coins, and it might not necessarily keep anyone.

Moreover, firing a round of guns would expose Kobayata's firepower level in advance. Kobayata was still counting on the 200 iron cannons to stimulate the first Takeda army that showed up. Let them taste the taste of having money to fire and do whatever they want.

After calming down the somewhat agitated soldiers, about half an hour later, a large group of infantry finally came. The troops were very orderly, with clear flags and the sound of gongs and drums.

In addition to the most conspicuous and common Takeda diamonds, there was also a left-facing Sanba pattern [Note 1] that was very eye-catching and erected in the formation.

"Akigoro, do you know who the Sanba pattern is?" Xiao Pingtai recognized it at a glance. It was an old acquaintance.

"Let me think, it seems to be the flag of Takeda clan's general Yamamoto Kannosuke Haruyuki."

"Haha, that's right! This Yamamoto Kansuke and I had a relationship in the past." Xiao Pingtai laughed and clapped his hands. He had suffered a loss from Yamamoto Kansuke many years ago.

In the Battle of Nirasaki many years ago, Xiao Pingtai used the principle of the three-state change of water to cut off the water veins in Nirasaki Castle, the gateway to the north of Kai, with the wishful thinking of killing the Takeda army in the castle with thirst.

When they entered the city to persuade the surrender after three days of water shortage, they were actually deceived by Yamamoto Kansuke's superb acting skills and only 30 jars of wine. They mistakenly thought that the water and wine in the city were enough for the soldiers to drink for a month, and the soldiers did not suffer from water shortage.

Finally, under the military mediation of Imagawa Yoshimoto, the Yamanouchi family and the Takeda family concluded a temporary non-war agreement, and withdrew from the Kai Province that they had finally entered with hatred.

Kobayata recounted the battle of wits and courage with Yamamoto Kansuke at the beginning, especially the description of Yamamoto Kansuke pretending that there were 300 jars of wine in the city, which was vivid and vivid, which stunned Imai Meigoro.

It turned out that Kobayata was still a defeated general of Yamamoto Kansuke, who drank the foot washing water.

"So, this Yamamoto Kansuke is not a simple person." Imai Meigoro nodded repeatedly.

"He is a rare and wise general with extraordinary talent and wisdom." Xiao Pingtai recognized Yamamoto Kansuke's ability.

"Victory and defeat are common in the military, so don't underestimate yourself. In this battle, it is still unknown who will win."

"You are so free and easy, hahaha." Xiao Pingtai pretended to laugh and scolded.

...

While the two were talking, the Takeda army also stopped the formation, and the two wings spread out like waves, revealing the troops of the team.

It was a bit far away, so Xiao Pingtai couldn't see clearly, but he could still see the general wearing a big buffalo horn rib hat. Such a coquettish helmet is obviously not worn by a wild general, and it is in line with Yamamoto Kansuke's identity as a general with 800 kan.

Imai Mingoro ran up the mountainside and counted the number of Takeda troops with his hands. Since neither the Takeda Shiru Army Flag nor the Suwa Upper and Lower Great Myojin Flags have arrived, it means that what is in front of us is at most the vanguard, and the Takeda Army’s main force is at least a day’s journey away.

“Looking at the flags, there are about 3,500 to 4,000 people, which is twelve times more than our army.” Imai Aigoro ran down the mountain and said immediately after taking a breath.

“It’s only twelve times, not much different from ten times. There is not much difference between ten times and three times. Aigoro, you are one against three, and three times is just a joke, hahahahaha.”

The soldiers around were simpler, although they were not very clear about how many troops were on the opposite side. But everyone could see clearly that Takeda Harunobu’s flag and horse mark had not arrived. If the notorious Takeda Harunobu had not arrived, the soldiers would think that our Zixiaolu Tan was a famous general who was famous in the East, and he would definitely crush the opponent to the ground.

Optimism temporarily occupied the soldiers’ minds, and Xiaoping was much more relaxed.

Yamamoto Kansuke on the opposite side also checked the nearby terrain and Kobayata's fortifications. After having a general idea in mind, he was also ready to test how many soldiers and horses were behind Kobayata's long wall.

Of course, Yamamoto Kansuke was a wise general and would not let the soldiers who had been marching for half a day run into the enemy's fortifications. He ordered half of the soldiers to be on guard, and the other half to rest on the spot, make fires, fetch water and cook, so that they could fight after eating.

Kobayata's intention to wait for the enemy to tire out had been clearly seen by Yamamoto Kansuke, and Yamamoto Kansuke would not be fooled. He would not let the exhausted soldiers attack the enemy army with the advantage of terrain and complete fortifications.

They simply started cooking and eating. Kobayata made a mistake first, but he was not discouraged. He also let his soldiers take this opportunity to eat the rice balls distributed in the morning. He also boiled water, added salt, made it into light salt water, let it cool, and poured it into bamboo tubes to distribute to the soldiers.

Both sides were very patient during this delay, and it was not until two o'clock in the afternoon that the Takeda army finally changed to the state of going out. The soldiers who were taking turns to rest were lined up in rows and distributed in the narrow river valley corridor. There were obviously defensive troops on the side close to the mountain, which was very complete.

"The Takeda army is attacking!" Imai Meigoro, who temporarily served as Koheita's deputy general, warned.

At first glance, Kobayata saw that it should be the Aiki clan of the Takeda clan's Shinano vanguard, but he didn't know which one exactly. They fought in a methodical manner, not rushing forward.

They carried bamboo bundles and wooden shields and advanced step by step. The total number of people was not too large, no more than 500. It seemed that it was more of a test.

"Don't fire in unison, go up with 30 archers, just shoot arrows, and only 10 of the iron cannons are allowed to shoot, let's test the waters first."

Kobayata would not reveal all his cards right away.

[Note 1]: There were not many records about Yamamoto Kansuke, and it was even said that he was a fictional character. The rumors about his deeds were all based on the "Kōyō Gunkan", and none of them were true. But now the "Ichikawa Documents" clearly recorded that there was such a person, and he was also a high-level samurai with 800 kanmon.

However, his family crest is still uncertain. Here, the left-facing San-no-Tomoe crest is used (similar to the one of the Utsunomiya clan). Another theory is that his family crest is the stone-paved pattern, which means a paved stone road. It is mainly used by samurai who are priests and monks, and does not seem to have much to do with the Yamamoto family.