Chapter 594 56. The Three Kingdoms of the East

Flags fluttered under Hachioji Castle, and 15,000 troops surrounded the castle from all sides, determined to break through the castle and kill Takeda Yoshinobu.

The castle was still the same castle, but the defenders were no longer the same people who were united as before!

As soon as Hosokawa Saijo arrived, the people of Hachioji cheered and said that the son of Harumiya Daifu had arrived, and came to Hachioji to save the people from the desperate situation. Not only did they carry pots and water to welcome the king's army, but they also spontaneously armed themselves and went to the camp of the Yamanouchi army to serve.

Everyone knew that Takeda Yoshinobu was on his last breath, and there were Hachioji peasants who tried their best to escape and surrender in the castle. Everyone missed the warm embrace of the Yamanouchi family, just like longing for rain after a long drought.

There was really no need to defend this kind of castle. No matter how strong the castle was, it still needed people to defend it. With Takeda Yoshinobu's hundreds of panicked soldiers and hundreds of peasants who just wanted to run away, it was really meaningless to face the 15,000 Yamanouchi army who were ready for battle.

The only thing Takeda Yoshinobu could expect was the reinforcements from Hojo Ujinao. If the Hojo army could come, Hachioji could still be preserved. Unfortunately, after waiting for a long time, the Hojo reinforcements did not come, but the reinforcements from Yamanouchi kept coming.

Konishihara Saemon and Hosokawa Nainoe did not immediately launch an attack on the city, set up a large camp, and push the cannons to the front of the city. They could not hit the Honmaru on the hillside, but the Demaru below the hillside was still easy.

The five-wheeled cannons were not good, and the Demaru was completely defeated. The diehard Takeda army knew that they could not rely on their flesh to withstand the shells, so they all ran to the Honmaru on the top of the mountain. The captured peasants ran away directly, and the two or three hundred collapsed Takeda troops also surrendered.

In the end, there were only three or four hundred people left in the Honmaru of Hachioji, and they had no ability to resist at all.

Sanada Nobutsuna, who had made meritorious contributions to his crimes, rushed forward to attack the city without saying a word. Sanada Masahiro and Muto Kihei, who were still guarding the city, opened the city gates and welcomed the Yamanouchi army into the city.

You can't say that these two were disloyal. They protected Takeda Yoshinobu from Uehara Castle all the way to Hachioji, and they never left him. They were loyal. So many hereditary warriors of the Takeda family had fled, and even a former relative had surrendered. It was only at this point that they did this. There was nothing to say.

Of course, opening the city gate at this point would definitely have a worse impact. The Takeda soldiers who had the courage to sacrifice their lives and die together had their strings in their hearts tightened, but they were suddenly cut off by someone.

The people's anger immediately vented, and most of them knelt on the ground and waited for their necks to be killed. In the end, thirty or forty soldiers protected Takeda Yoshinobu and hid in the castle tower, and soon the entire castle tower was on fire.

Okuma Bizen no Kami Asahide, Hara Hayato Suketane, Iitomi Hyobu Masatoki and others fought hard outside the castle tower to stop the Yamanouchi army who tried to break into the castle tower and seize Takeda Yoshinobu's head.

In the end, all of them died in the battle, and Takeda Yoshinobu also turned into a sea of ​​fire, at the age of 32.

The city was broken!

People died!

The country was destroyed!

The news reached the Hojo and Uesugi camps in front of Matsuyama Castle in the afternoon. Hojo Ujinao could only sigh, and Uesugi Kenshin immediately agreed to the Hojo clan's agreement. The two sides once again used the Tone River as the boundary to divide the sphere of influence in the northern part of Musashi Province.

The Hojo family had no choice but to disband most of the peasant soldiers who had been fighting for more than a month, accepted the defeat of Takeda, and the cruel situation of the Hojo being surrounded on all sides, and retreated to Odawara.

Uesugi Kenshin moved to Shimotsuke, restored the authority of Kanto Kanrei in Shimotsuke, and made the pro-Hojo forces withdraw from Shimotsuke, stabilizing the Utsunomiya clan, the Haga clan, the Mibu clan, the Nasu clan and other daimyo.

This time, the Yamanouchi family did not need to leave a general in Hachioji, as Kai was right behind them. If something happened, reinforcements would arrive at any time. Just leave a hatamoto with 500 soldiers to monitor the movements of the Hojo clan.

Seeing that the Takeda family was finished, Hojo Ujinao also quietly swallowed up the Sagami Tsukui area that was ceded to Takeda Shingen, which was regarded as swallowing up the last afterglow of Takeda.

The power of the East Country was quickly reshuffled in a short period of time, and it almost completely turned into a three-legged situation. And what is very different from the Three Kingdoms is that among the three legs, Uesugi and Yamanouchi are all 300,000 kan daimyo. Although Hojo was a big country that spanned Jun, Zu, Xiang, Wu, Zong, and Jō, it was hard to say whether it could win against two enemies with a territory of 400,000 kan.

…………

"Where is Takeda Kai's head?"

"Even if there is no head, where are his remains?"

Hosokawa Saijo sat down and told everyone about the course and results of the battle of Hachioji. After the story of Takeda Yoshinobu setting himself on fire and committing seppuku, everyone asked questions.

After all, the others were minor details, and even whether Hachioji had been conquered was not a top priority. The real thing was to confirm that Takeda Yoshinobu, the flag of the Takeda clan, had completely fallen.

"When the fire started, everything in the Honmaru castle tower turned to ashes, and not a single trace was found."

"Must you confirm that Takeda Kai is dead?" Yamauchi Shukei seemed a little anxious.

"It should be correct. The defeated soldier captured, also known as Takeda Kai, has not appeared since he entered the castle tower."

"Hachioji is surrounded on all sides and stands alone on a mountain. It is not expected that he can escape!" Hosokawa Harumiya has been the castle lord of Hachioji for many years. He remembers every blade of grass and every tree around Hachioji clearly.

As for the other heads, the samurai of the Yamauchi family did not want to confirm them one by one. After recording the merits, they can reward them according to the rules.

Apart from this matter, there is nothing bigger to discuss. Today's Lianpanzhong meeting ended here. Everyone went back to their homes and were busy with their own things. Yamauchi Taro continued to go to Kaikawa Shoki for classes, and Kobayata continued to go back to the Kanjo Bugyosho to serve.

In the past, everyone walked out randomly, without any fixed order or shifts. After all, the identities of the nine people are equal in theory, and each person has one vote.

Now, Yamauchi Taro, surrounded by several close associates, left first. Then, Yamauchi Shukei would stand up impatiently and leave first in front of everyone. As for the others, they let Xiao Pingtai walk out second, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

At first, everyone would walk in groups of three or two while talking about some private matters, or chatting about the weather. Now, they all walk out one by one, silently, with big strides.

Unless there is something particularly urgent or something that requires coordination, it is rare for two Lianpanzhong to leave together.

On the surface, they are still harmonious and loving, but after all, there is already a layer of separation.

When I walked to the foot of the city, I met a familiar person, and that person took the initiative to run up and greet Xiao Pingtai.

"Danjo!"

"You are Shinkuro, right?" Kobayata had a vague impression that this person seemed to be Okudaira Sadatsuna of the Mikawa clan.

"Yes, yes, I'm here to present the battle report of Ise on behalf of Yoshida-dono."

"Ise? Has Oda Danjo won the victory?"

"Okawachi Castle has been conquered, and they are besieging Kiriyama Palace!"