Chapter 745 26. Shitarahara Shibata Is the Rear Guard

The siege on Tanshodai had not yet closed, and Oda Nobunaga looked at the situation nearby.

Imagawa Yoshichika and others in Liango River in the front will soon break through the last horse fence and rush to the bottom of Tanshodai. Hosokawa Saime and others who came from the center to surround were also dispersing the Oda people who were defeated in the center, and advancing to Tanshodai one after another, trying to attack Oda Nobunaga together with Imagawa Yoshichika and surround Tanshodai.

"Your Highness, are you determined to defend here to the death?" Hashiba Hideyoshi, who was standing quietly by the side, seemed to have guessed what Oda Nobunaga meant.

Just after retreating from the center, others retreated and ran behind the fence like headless flies, but Hashiba Hideyoshi was different. He was frightened away by the sight of Kanai Aigoro Hideharu like a god of war. Although it was also a retreat, at least the team did not run away too much. Generally speaking, they gathered together and counted a few people, and there were actually more than a thousand or two thousand.

Now, like Shibata Katsuie, as the troops guarding the main camp of Tanshodai, they directly surrounded Nobunaga's main camp. After seeing Nobunaga ordering the drums to unite and prepare for a desperate fight at Tanshodai, he asked this question.

"If you don't defend here, will you run away!" Nobunaga turned his head with sharp eyes.

"If your highness defends, I will fight to the last soldier. If your highness wants to retreat, I am willing to be the rear guard here!" Hashiba Hideyoshi immediately knelt on one knee and answered loudly.

Nobunaga could say that he ran away, but Hashiba Hideyoshi couldn't, so Hideyoshi very implicitly persuaded Nobunaga to retreat, and actively expressed his willingness to take on the task of rear guarding this time.

You must know that the current situation can really be called a life-and-death struggle. The Kitabatake people first watched the success or failure, and now they turned against the enemy in the battle. They even attacked and killed Oda Nobutada and defeated thousands of Oda people. Although it was not easy for them to immediately join forces with the Yamanouchi army without any gaps and attack Tanjhodai all the way, it was still very simple to cut off the roads near Midoyama and form an outer encirclement.

With the two wings that the Yamanouchi army had already surrounded, and the Yamanouchi left wing Yamanouchi's various units that were clearing out the Tokugawa Okazaki people and trying to join the attack, the encirclement around Tanjhodai would soon close.

Whether to fight or retreat, there was no hesitation!

If you leave now, there is still some chance. If you don't leave now, you really won't have a chance to leave!

"Humph!" Nobunaga did not respond, and glanced at Imagawa Yoshichika's troops who were attacking Sakuma Nobumori and eliminating the third horse fence.

"I am willing to open the way for your highness!" Shibata Katsuie saw the two people singing the same tune here, and immediately spoke.

He is also a veteran with a well-known reputation. After more than 20 years of fighting, he should not see the current situation too clearly! If Kitabatake did not rebel, it might be a 50-50 split. Now Kitabatake rebelled, and more than 50,000 troops cut off a quarter with one knife. Not only was the army weaker than the Yamanouchi Army in terms of military strength, but the morale was also hit hard.

The soldiers didn't understand any profound principles. They only knew that even Nobunaga's brother Kitabatake Nobuto had betrayed Nobunaga, and the situation was doomed. Everyone was looking for a way out and ready to get off the ship at any time.

If they still stayed here, even though Nobunaga said calmly on the surface that he would fight to the end, in fact, these soldiers would definitely scatter under the attack of the Yamanouchi Army, which was in full swing.

We are all old warriors!

Who doesn't know who!

However, although Shibata Katsuie's words showed great loyalty, it was equivalent to telling Nobunaga directly that we should run away quickly. If we lose this battle, we will be heroes again when we return to Kiyosu.

"Go! Go ahead!" Nobunaga didn't respond to Shibata Katsuie, and pointed forward with the green bamboo stick in his hand, ordering Shibata Katsuie to defend immediately and prepare for battle.

"Repair is also a heartfelt word!" Hashiba Hideyoshi watched Shibata Katsuie retreat.

"How long can you hold out here?" Nobunaga ignored him and asked this question instead.

"Hold on until His Highness retreats safely!"

Nobunaga looked at Hashiba Hideyoshi, who looked serious, and still hesitated. If he left now, it would be difficult to raise a team of 50,000 people! If he couldn't raise a new team, the Yamauchi Army that captured Okazaki would definitely attack Owari with the Kitabatake Army, and then the Nagashima Ikko Ikki would also join the Yamauchi Army's offensive.

When the people who went to Kyoto arrived in Kiyosu, there would probably be more than 100,000 people. Even if Oda Nobunaga had three heads and six arms, he would be powerless to turn the tide!

"Nobi is rich, with hundreds of thousands of people, and they are loyal to His Highness..." Hashiba Hideyoshi advised again.

Mino and Owari occupy the Nobi Plain, one of the three major plains in Japan. The fertile soil nurtures a large population. At this moment, the autumn harvest is over, and the military rations are extremely abundant, and the granaries in Kiyosu Castle are full. The castle lord Hayashi Hidetaka was also a hereditary retainer of the Oda clan, and he and the Oda clan would rise and fall together.

As long as he returned to Kiyosu, it would be just like what Kawajiri Hidetaka said to Oda Nobutada before, exhausting the people's strength, conscripting strong men, and it would be easy to have an army of 20,000 to 30,000. In addition, Kobe Nobutaka and Nagano Nobuyoshi (Oda Nobukatsu) in northern Ise, Mori Kanari in Jiangnan, Harada Naomasa and Murai Sadakatsu in Luoyang each had thousands of soldiers.

If the two small fish in Echizen were counted, Nobunaga could immediately call for no less than 60,000 to 70,000 troops, and he could definitely fight another battle. Of course, after the situation of the battle in Shitarahara was reported, whether these people could still come, or whether they had the life to come, was still a question mark, which needed to be discussed.

To sum it up in one sentence!

It's possible to be alive, and you can only win if you are strong!

"Send a message to (Sakuma) Uemon and Gonroku, and order them to be the rear guard." Nobunaga finally made up his mind.

At the same time, the iron artillery generals such as Nozomura Sanjuro, Fukutomi Heizaemon, and Sasane Kuransuke Narimasa also stayed at Danzhengtai, helping to cover the rear with the powerful firepower of thousands of iron artillery.

As for the British 8-pound long-barreled cannon that cost 200 pieces, it was too heavy to carry with it. But Nobunaga would definitely not leave it to Yamanouchi, and ordered Sasane Narimasa to blow up the cannon if he wanted to run or saw that he could not hold it.

Looking at the turbulent Shitarahara battlefield, Oda Nobunaga did not sigh. Once he made up his mind, he was really full of action.

The priceless armor and horse harness were all left behind, and even the Yongle Tongbao horse mark was left there because it was difficult to carry. As for other clothes and decorations that were not so valuable, he didn't care at all and threw them all away.

Everyone only brought short swords and short guns for close combat, and wore light armor. The only things they carried were salt and fine feed for the horses. The horses were life-saving tools and could not be neglected.

"Your Highness, go first. I will follow you!" Hashiba Hideyoshi also threw away all the baggage and was ready to set off at any time.

"I will go first!" Nobunaga rode on the reed horse without looking back.