Chapter 475 34. Heaven Is Not in the Right Place, and the Earth Is Not in the Right Place
Uesugi Terutora is in pain!
I want to cry but I have no tears!
Ikuno Yamashita was defeated strangely. They had been in confrontation for half a month, and the battle was going well. Although they did not break the defense of the Hojo army, they did not suffer any losses.
Matsuyama Castle is strong and has enough food to support it for a year. Even if they come to rescue at this time next year, Matsuyama Castle will just be out of food.
As a commander with rich experience in war, Uesugi Terutora knew that when his troops were not as many as the enemy's (45,000 vs. 55,000), it was the most perfect way to advance step by step, steadily and steadily, and gradually assist Matsuyama.
Moreover, Matsuyama Castle has many branch castles. If they advance one mile today and one mile tomorrow, the army will gather at Matsuyama Castle in less than ten days. The power of the Kanrei Uesugi family in northern Musashi can be preserved, and there is still a chance to enter Edo Castle and Kamakura Prefecture.
It was exactly the same as Hong's idea. They had 130,000 elite soldiers from the nine passes, China's food and fodder, tens of thousands of muskets and cannons, and 40,000 horses. Such a large army went all the way to Jin (shielded) state along the cities of Songshan, Tashan, and Xingshan.
Even if they didn't win, they wouldn't be defeated!
Under the command of Uesugi Terutora, the various armies in Echigo and Kanto also went south along the Ichino River, crossed the cities of Sugiyama, Koshibata, and broke through Ikunoyama, and reached Songshan.
How similar it is!
But just like Hong, the Hojo army attacked from three sides, and the people were not united. As soon as they were in chaos, the camps collapsed (fought to collapse).
They were defeated in a muddle, and the army of 45,000 people had more than 1,000 killed in the battle. Is that reasonable? There was no fierce resistance at all, and they just fled.
Although the Uesugi army in the Umabashi Castle did not throw away their armor and weapons, they left behind all their friendly troops, so they naturally did not suffer too much damage. But it is true that the army is in disarray. It will take at least ten days and a half months to regain morale and attack southward.
Moreover, without the cannon fodder of the Kanto people, there are only 8,000 Echigo people. What can they do? 8,000 to fight 55,000? Uesugi Terutora is not a fool.
But the Yamanouchi and Nagano troops surrounded in Koshihata and Sugiyama are the two most important allies of the Uesugi family in Shinano and Ueno. If these 20,000 people are lost, Yamanouchi and Nagano will surely perish!
He must save them!
…………
"Father, how is the situation?" As a general of the army, Hosokawa Saiko's face was full of fatigue.
In the battle of Ikuyama yesterday, the Uesugi Central Army was defeated, which affected the Yamanouchi Army. When the Uesugi Army ran away, the Yamanouchi Army had no way to retreat and had to flee to Koshihata Castle.
But Koshihata Castle is just a small fortress, how can it accommodate 10,000 troops? In addition to the main Yamanouchi army, the Kiso army, the Ogasawara army, the Murakami army and other national armies were just surrounding the city, setting up fences, digging trenches, and barely defending.
"The whole army can still have food for 20 days, but the important thing is that there is not enough drinking water. There are only two wells in the city, and water is drawn day and night, which cannot meet the drinking needs of the whole army."
Hosokawa Harumiya has looked very old recently. There are too many blows in life, which makes this old man very unhappy. But fortunately, in the Japanese Warring States period, no matter what army, there is always a small pack team around, and the worst has more than ten or twenty days of food.
It just so happens that after eating, they will go to the enemy's territory. If there is nothing to eat, just let the soldiers go to the enemy's territory to rob, which is nothing strange. So the Yamanouchi army still has 20 days of food and grass, so it will not fall into a desperate situation immediately.
"The key point is that the people of various countries under the city heard that they were surrounded, and they were panicked and afraid that they could not hold on for long." Konishihara Saemon was also very worried.
"Can you send someone to contact Kasugayama Kanrei?" The nearest reinforcement is Uesugi Terutora, and we have to rely on him even if we don't want to.
Hosokawa Harumiya and Konishihara Saemon shook their heads at the same time. There were enemy troops everywhere. The local people also launched a hunting expedition, and the roads were cut off and there was no news.
Not to mention Uesugi Terutora who had already run away, even Nagano Yoshimasa who was close to Sugiyama was difficult to contact. The two armies could only see the fireworks from a distance, but they were separated by tens of thousands of troops.
What's more difficult is that the morale of the army has been severely hit. If the people under the city turn against us at the last minute, or scatter in a hurry. That would be a disaster, and even gods would not be able to save us.
That's why Hosokawa Sai-jo asked Hosokawa Harumiya to keep a close eye on the food, at least as a means of clamping. Otherwise, it is not impossible for the people under the city to really disband directly.
"Murakami-san under the castle is the son-in-law of the prime minister. The Murakami clan and Takeda Daizen have a blood feud that destroyed their families, so there shouldn't be any problems."
"Yes, Murakami-san is my sworn brother, so there won't be any problems for the time being. But the others..."
Hosokawa and his son were worried, with a thousand things weighing on their minds, and they were trapped in a tight siege. It was really like calling to heaven and earth for help, but nothing worked.
According to Hosokawa Saijo's idea, when they entered Koshihata Castle last night, most of the soldiers just thought they were defeated. At that time, although the whole army was in panic, on the one hand, Uesugi Terutora was famous and brave and good at fighting. On the other hand, the Yamauchi army was in good order and had not suffered major casualties.
At this time, the Yamauchi army still had the strength to fight. If they made some repairs, they could take advantage of Takeda Harunobu still besieging Matsuyama Castle. The Hojo army dispersed and pursued the defeated troops. If they ran away at night, some people would be separated from the team and some would die in battle, but most of the troops might be able to cross the Tone River and escape with their lives.
But now the news of the army's collapse has spread to everyone, and the enemy is surrounding them from all sides. At this time, they can't leave at all, and the team can't move.
It's okay to use things like survival and breaking out to motivate soldiers, but Hosokawa Saime doesn't have the prestige of Yamanouchi Yoshiharu to make the whole army unite and unify their thoughts to break out.
Some people want to hold on and wait for help, some want to surrender and survive, and some want to break out and return home.
This is the biggest problem exposed by the imperfect political (shielding) ideological work. There must be a person with high enough prestige, not with ideals, beliefs, but with strength, interests, and the size of the fist to lead everyone.
Even if you barely gather the soldiers to break out, Takeda Harunobu and Oishi Ujiteru are waiting for you outside. You have 10,000 people guarding a broken city. How many people will they have to die before they can break in, even with the rotten fortifications and the trapped soldiers?
But it's different if you break out. In the wild, 55,000 people are biting from all directions. How much strength do you expect the fleeing army to exert?
"What can I do, what can I do!"
…………
The flat-headed man exchanged interests with Matsudaira Ieyasu for a while, and then returned to the Hozoji Temple and handed over Matsudaira Ieyasu's security documents to a Christian priest who had already arrived. In the endless rainbow farts of the Portuguese priest, he returned to Hamamatsu.
The Higashi Mikawa people of Udono Nagateru also divided the money and happily disbanded and went home.
There were more than 3,800 Hamamatsu people left, and Kobayata brought them home safely, and this battle ended successfully.
"Tanzheng, there is an urgent letter from the palace, and the envoy wants to see you."