Chapter 554 16. Ten Years of Fighting, Today’s Final Battle
It stands to reason that speed is of the essence in war. Toishi Castle was in imminent danger and was surrounded and attacked by an enemy force more than 30 times its size. Why was Kobayata still walking so slowly?
It was because Kobayata was carrying the Continental Army's 1776-style three-pound bronze cannon, which took a year to imitate!
Abandoning the miscellaneous soldiers who could not keep up with the team, as well as the extra baggage and supplies, Kobayata traveled hundreds of miles and took five days to cross Si'a Mountain and finally arrived north of Toishi Castle.
The castle was a good cover for the situation inside Si'a Mountain. The 11 days of futile continuous siege also made the Takeda army neglect the surrounding security. The direction of Si'a Mountain, which was not the focus of the investigation, was even more ignored.
Kobayata only brought five days of dry food before he set off. Fortunately, he replenished it for two more days in Kaizu Castle, otherwise the whole army might have run out of food when he reached Toishi Castle. People may be fine after a day of hardship, but if the horse under the crotch does not eat for a day, it can't even think about going to the battlefield.
That is to say, Takanari Masahiro occupied a fertile plain like Kawanakajima. Later, when Mori Nagako was transferred to Kaizu, he had as much as 200,000 stones. It was no big deal for Kobayata to extort some rice and beans from him, as he was very rich.
"Can you try to contact Suda-no-doctor in the city?" Kobayata put his hands on the awning and looked at Toishi Castle in the distance.
"Not very likely. The southeast of the city is full of mountains and plains. Along the Sai River, there are all Takeda troops, with as many as 17,000 to 18,000 people. The other two sides are completely cliffs and cannot be climbed at all." Takanari Hidemasa shook his head.
"Pay 30 taels of gold to recruit warriors to climb the cliffs with bare hands! Even if you die, you must send the news that the reinforcements have arrived into the city!"
"First, you have to swim across the Sai River, and then hang on the mountain wall with a straw rope. It may not be easy!"
"Ask first, and then think of other ways if it doesn't work!"
Of course it is difficult to enter the city, otherwise the Takeda army would not have had such a hard time attacking. If it were simple, Kobayata would have been out of the question.
"Danzheng! I'll go!" Aji suddenly appeared. He was also a captain of the hatamoto.
"You? Are you sure?"
"I'll do my best!"
"Okay! I'll write a letter. You put it in a cow stomach bag and bring it into the city. Give it to the castle lord Suda Daifu! If it works, let's set off three long and two short puffs of smoke in the smoke of the kitchen tomorrow morning!"
"Let's go!" Aji packed Koheita's letter, and then tied the bag to his body with a cowhide rope. The leather rope was so tight that it even left blood marks.
Watching Aji, who was only wearing a pair of calves, leaping and flying from the mountains and forests, and finally disappeared.
A one-sided attack was not enough to completely destroy the morale of the Takeda army. If they could cooperate with each other from inside and outside, they would have the possibility of achieving twice the result with half the effort. The people in Toishi Castle were all relatives and friends of the soldiers and civilians of Saku County who were slaughtered by the Takeda army. They had an irreconcilable hatred with Takeda Shingen. If they leave the city, they will definitely be the sharpest knife, and they will never stop until the Takeda army is destroyed.
With Takeda Shingen's ability, the deployment of troops must be airtight, and it is easy to deal with the enemy army that is attacking from one side. Xiao Pingtai was not sure that he could break the frontal defense of the Takeda army in one encounter, and he needed to attack from both sides of the Toishi Castle.
In ancient and modern times, no matter what army, no matter how strong the commander is, it will inevitably panic when being attacked from both sides. As long as the team is in chaos, it is Xiao Pingtai's chance to win.
The rest is to wait!
The autumn night is always so cold and so deep. Fortunately, the Si'a Mountain is undulating and continuous, and the front peak is 3068 meters high. Not to mention the smoke from the fire in the valley, you may not be able to see it even if you set a fire directly in the valley. So even if there are hundreds of small fires for heating, people outside the mountain can't see it. Otherwise, this autumn wind tonight can make a lot of people catch a cold.
Because they didn't bring cooking utensils, everyone just ate fried rice with a handful of cold water, which was coarse and hard to swallow. Xiao Pingtai's stomach was really not good, and he was afraid that he would get sick again if he ate it, so he just picked up a few wild chestnuts in the mountains and roasted them in the firewood pile to crack them, barely filling his stomach.
And Nanaki held his gun and kept staring at Toishi Castle, hoping that the letter smoke from Toishi Castle would come.
The morning sun was not warm at all. Many people were numb in their hands and feet after blowing the wind all night, and they were warming themselves up by the fire to move their hands and feet. If you don't move your body, you can't swing your sword.
"Dan Zheng, there is smoke rising from Toishi Castle."
Hearing Nanaki's call, Xiao Pingtai and the generals of the hatamoto stood up and looked at Toishi Castle in the distance. Toishi Castle on the cliff was particularly clear in the morning sun.
More than a dozen wisps of smoke rose up, and the city was making rice balls for 500 people a day. There is still firewood in the city. If the siege lasts for more than three months and the fuel in the city is used up, then we will have to eat raw rice and drink cold water.
Everyone looked at the smoke carefully, and finally a line of smoke behind the city was interrupted!
One long!
One long!
One long!
One short!
One short!
Everyone was silent, staring at the smoke quietly, and you could hear a pin drop.
Three long and two short!
It's done! Aji entered the city! Suda Mitsuyori in Toishi Castle received the news that the Yamanouchi army came to help, and was willing to cooperate with the Yamanouchi army to launch a desperate attack on the Takeda army!
"Danzheng! Aji succeeded! Danzheng!" Nanaki said happily.
"Yes! Aji entered the city!" Xiao Pingtai didn't realize that his eyes were already filled with tears. After more than ten years of painstaking efforts and battles, today finally ushered in the moment of the final battle.
All the generals of the hatamoto returned to the team, shouting at the soldiers to prepare their horses, put on their armor, and eat all the dry food on their bodies. Samurai sharpened their swords and spears, foot soldiers tightened their bowstrings, and the fuses of their cannons were all lit.
Ready!
Qi Gui tied Xiao Pingtai's golden bamboo leaf horse flag tightly to his body, and two small flags held him on the left and right with long ropes. Today's horse mark is made of bamboo and is extra high, just to allow Toishi Castle and the Takeda Army to see clearly.
I, Fujiwara, have arrived!
Nanosuke and Yu Kamemaru took out the Nanman's carcass and hung it up for Heita. The two little boys suddenly looked like adults, with soft down even coming out of their mouths. He is twelve years old, and at this age, he is already old enough to go into battle.
"Nanosuke, Yugui, today is the first battle for the two of you. You will join me in the battle later, do you understand?"
"Yes, my lord!"
…………
The Takeda army outside the mountain began a completely useless siege day after day. The cannon fodder-like Shinano ashigaru ashigaru carried wooden poles and worked hard to climb the steep slope and planted the wooden poles halfway up the mountain. The bows and feet of the Suruga people rushed up the slope again and fired fire arrows into the city.
The generals of the Takeda Army under Yamashita no longer have any hope of completely conquering Toishi Castle in a short time, but Toishi City is so important. After a few more days of fierce attack, when the troops in the city are exhausted, they can try to send people into the city to persuade them to surrender. This can be considered a great victory.
Once Toishi Castle was captured, the entire small county fell into the hands of the Takeda family, and Ueno was also watching!