Chapter 385 44. Be Cautious in Every Move

As the first group of the Shinano clan, the Aiki clan was generally in the first sequence of the Takeda clan's cannon fodder, especially for a small country like him, who had no power to resist.

According to Kobayata's theory, this was not even a chance to eat shit, and Takeda Harunobu had to beat him ten times before giving him a sweet date, but they had to endure it.

To save their family, they were not afraid!

The Aiki soldiers shouted with great momentum, but when they fought, they were really just "testing". Moreover, these 500 people were not a team at all, but should be several teams of people and horses mixed together, with poor mutual coordination and inability to coordinate.

They lifted the bamboo bundles and wooden shields to a distance of about 30 meters outside the ditch, and did not dare to move forward. The bowstrings began to bang bang bang, and there were always more than a hundred bow foot soldiers, and the Maruki bows were also quite powerful when they were called.

But everyone knows the nature of bows. Sometimes the bows are taller than people, but they can't shoot far at all. Our Marshal Qi said that the Japanese soldiers used long bows and heavy arrows, and they would only shoot when they were close. Now the archers of the Takeda army are reluctant to use heavy arrows, so how could they kill?

Xiao Pingtai watched for a while, and most of the arrows fell on the low wall. The low wall built by digging ditches was one meter high, and some were less than that, but the defensive power it exerted was still good.

At least no one on Xiao Pingtai's side was hit by an arrow, and they just watched the Takeda army's Xiangmu team acting here.

Now Xiao Pingtai regretted that he should not have ordered the ten iron cannon foot soldiers to fire. It was a waste of money. Xiao Pingtai had to pay for his own standing equipment, and Yamanouchi Yoshiharu would not pay for it.

Xiao Pingtai would spend nearly 2,000 kan a year to maintain these iron cannon foot soldiers, almost emptying half of his family's wealth.

After fighting "lively" for half an hour, the Xiangmu team, who were tired and had used up their arrows, retreated.

The fight was extremely easy, and it didn't even feel like a war. It was like he had invited two or three good friends to hunt pheasants and rabbits on the hillside outside the city, leisurely and relaxed.

…

"Noto no kami, how is it?" Yamamoto Kansuke looked at Aiki Masatomo in a joking manner.

Although he didn't expect the miscellaneous soldiers of Aiki's team to fight well, it was still a bit ugly to fight like this. Yamamoto Kansuke couldn't save his face, at least he should have raised two ladders to rush to the low wall to make it look good.

"This is really because the Yamanouchi army on the opposite side is well-prepared and has no flaws. This is the second time to mobilize troops this year, and the soldiers are also dissatisfied." Aiki Masatomo's team was made up of his own people. It was only the end of May, and the military service was launched for the second time. The people must be dissatisfied.

"Go down and rest." Yamamoto Kansuke knew that this was just an excuse for Aiki Masatomo. No one was willing to fight hard in the siege. The local nobles were very cunning and slippery.

"Uemon, what do you think?" "The Zixiaoji Danzheng on the opposite side is indeed worthy of the title of a wise general."

The person who spoke was Yamamoto Kansuke's deputy general this time, who was also a military supervisor, and a famous general, Tsuchiya Uemon no Masatsugu, who was a close student of Takeda Harunobu. He slept with Takeda Harunobu and was loyal to the Takeda family.

Of course, the name Tsuchiya is famous for Tsuchiya Masahiro, who is Tsuchiya Masatsugu's younger brother and left behind the deeds of "killing a thousand people with one hand at Tianmu Mountain". He is the most loyal and loyal retainer of the Takeda family.

Ignoring his younger brother, Tsuchiya Masatsugu is also a very capable general, otherwise he would not be listed as one of the six close students of O with Muto Kihei. He has a lot of experience in attacking cities and is also a brave general in outdoor battles.

"Noto no Kami's test is not useless. The Yamanouchi army behind Nagaki has at least more than ten iron cannons, and there are also thirty or forty bows." Tsuchiya Masatsugu only heard and saw, and he had a good idea of ​​the firepower that Kobayata allowed to use.

"The Zixiaoji Tansho on the opposite side is not only outstanding in wisdom and strategy, but also helped Kasugayama Kanrei to conquer Odawara in one fell swoop. He is also a famous magistrate who manages political affairs. The military funds he raises are no less than 50,000 kan every year, which is first-class abundance."

"So?" Tsuchiya Masatsugu heard that Yamamoto Kansuke was saying that Kobayata was rich and a cunning old man.

"He showed more than ten iron cannons, so there are at least thirty or forty iron cannons, which should not be underestimated."

Yamamoto Kansuke looked at the Qianchengjin bamboo leaf horse mark that Kobayata stood on a high place, and was very sure that Kobayata would not expose all his strength at the beginning.

"Forty iron cannons? You really have to be careful." After the Takeda family's samurai suffered from iron cannons, they still care about them. Tsuchiya Masatsugu knows the power of forty iron cannons firing at the same time.

It's not that we can blame the Takeda family for not equipping iron cannons. There are really no craftsmen who can make them, so they can only buy them. The two or three hundred iron cannons of Takeda Harunobu's team cost him several thousand taels of gold, which is not cheap.

So the Takeda family has now made up their minds and issued an order that whoever can give Takeda Harunobu eighty iron cannons for free can become a samurai and be employed by the Takeda family. [Note 1]

Unfortunately, not long after this order was issued, Takeda Harunobu got some iron cannons and used them to arm his direct standing foot soldiers and his confidants. It is not yet the turn of the Shinano Province miscellaneous brand commanded by Yamamoto Kansuke.

"How about I charge in once?" Tsuchiya Masatsugu listened to Yamamoto Kansuke's analysis and felt that he still had to find out the firepower arrangement of the Yamanouchi Army before he could find an opportunity to break through. The national heroes were unwilling to fight to the death, so he had to go up himself.

"Okay, bring more bamboo bundles and wooden shields, and watch out for stray bullets." Yamamoto Kansuke also agreed. With a front of more than 100 meters wide, the elite soldiers had to break through a little so that the cannon fodder could rush up and expand the results.

…

"At the right moment, another force has been sent from the opposite side." "It seems to be the main unit of Army A, and the momentum is very different."

Xiaoheita saw that there were more than 200 people in Tsuchiya Masaji, and they were majestic. Compared with the scattered Xiangmu team, they were completely different.

"Thirty people are allowed to shoot this time. If we break through to the trench, we are allowed to use thirty more people." Koheta told Sakakibara Nagamasa. There is such a good ready-made ashigaru head that can be used. Koheta is not at all interested. waste.

"Try your best to restrain the firepower and don't expose too much." "Yes, I understand, let's go straight." Sakakibara Nagamasa's command of the front-line personnel is not a big problem. He has been in the army for a long time.

After entering the range of the iron cannon, the Takeda Army rushed to the ditch more than 20 meters carrying bamboo bundles and wooden pallets. The soldiers were very coordinated and ran together. After the bamboo bundles were arranged, everyone leaned over and took a breath, waiting for the breath to be released evenly. There was a gun-wielding samurai who inspired twenty or thirty ashigaru to carry bamboo ladders and attack the ditch.

[Note 1]: This is a true story, but it happened at the time of Takeda Katsuyori. He suffered a loss in Changxiao and wanted to build a large-scale iron artillery team, so he issued this order.

Here, Kawanakajima let the Takeda family understand the use of iron cannons in advance, so this policy was implemented in advance.