Chapter 749 30. Honda Heihachi Comes to Ask for Advice

All resistance on Shitara Plain had been completely eliminated. Although many defeated soldiers rushed to Okazaki, many soldiers were so confused that they tried to go into the ravines. Naturally, most of them were killed by the Kitabatake army.

Even if they were lucky enough to escape the search of those ronin, many people fell off the cliff in panic and drowned. As for those who ran along the streets to Arumihara and Okazaki, just as Xiao Pingtai expected, they were hunted down by 2,000 Echigo cavalrymen. It was really a one-on-one, as comfortable as playing polo in their own backyard.

Many Echigo samurai did not use katana, but only raised their long spears and hit those watermelon heads who were running. If you died, you were unlucky. If you didn't die, you were knocked unconscious, and there were miscellaneous soldiers behind to tie you up.

It's not that no one stopped to cover the rear of the army and tried to stop the pursuing Yamanouchi army, such as Torii Tadahiro and Honda Tadamasa of the Tokugawa army, Hayashi Sado-no-kami Michimasa of the Oda army, and Nobunaga's brother Oda Hidenari, all turned back to fight.

But unfortunately, individual weak resistance is not enough to reverse the entire battle situation. Under the pursuit of thousands of cavalry and tens of thousands of infantry, that weak resistance quickly collapsed. A large number of famous warriors of the Oda and Tokugawa clans died in the nameless wilderness without even a small wave.

To be honest, it was too late for Oda Nobunaga to decide to retreat and run away. First, the Tokugawa Okazaki people collapsed on the road, and then Oda Nobutada and Kawajiri Hidetaka, who were defeated by the Kitabatake people, retreated to Okazaki. Originally, it was just a river valley street in the mountains, which was not as wide and easy to walk as the Tokai Street. Now there are tens of thousands of defeated soldiers first, and tens of thousands of defeated soldiers retreat.

How can it be easy to walk!

After running for more than an hour, they finally broke into the plain of Yahagi River. Oda Nobunaga breathed a sigh of relief. It was much easier to run on the plain, especially for a horse tribe like him, not to mention that he had more than one horse.

The difference between having a horse and not having a horse was also revealed at this time. Although he started later, he left many Okazaki people behind. The pursuers in the mountains were still far away from the defeated soldiers who were all over the mountains.

"Your Highness, take a break. Let's unsaddle your saddle and change horses for you." Mori Naga was exhausted. Riding a horse also requires physical strength.

"Well, where is that!" Nobunaga didn't want to stop, but firstly, he really had to change horses, and secondly, he saw a waterwheel mill not far away, and there were several horses near the mill.

"You go and check it out!" Maeda Toshiie, who was guarding on the side, immediately pointed to four or five mothers to check.

You don't know until you see it, you will be shocked when you see it! Oda Nobutada, who had been "killed in battle", was sitting on a rice bag and eating raw rice soaked in water. He was obviously very hungry as he was wolfing down the food.

"Father!" Oda Nobutada, who was holding a wooden bowl he had found from nowhere, was a little bit unbelievable when he saw Oda Nobunaga.

"Give me a bowl!" Nobunaga was actually very excited to see Nobutada, but he just patted the young man on the shoulder, then sat down with a big horse and a golden sword, and wanted to drink the raw rice soaked in water.

"Father, please use this one. I can't find another bowl for a while." Oda Nobutada was a bachelor. Seeing his father running away, he suddenly felt that this was not the first time that their Oda army had run away. As long as the people were not dead, they would be heroes again when they returned to Owari Kiyosu.

Nobunaga did not answer, but took the half bowl of raw rice soaked in water and drank it down. He did not despise his son for drinking half of the rest. When he was on the battlefield, he could even eat grass and leaves, not to mention raw rice.

"Your Highness, would you like another bowl?" Mori Nagayoshi brought a bucket of water over.

At this time, there were already 20 to 30 people around, most of them were their mothers and relatives, and the two of them felt a little relieved after drinking the rice water.

"Another bowl!" Nobunaga asked Nobutada to sit aside.

The others didn't care who owned the mill. They cut the rice bags with knives, grabbed the milled rice and stuffed it into their mouths and swallowed it raw. The battle started in the early morning, and lasted for four hours. They ran for almost an hour, and the iron men were starving. At this time, they could swallow even the stuttering rice, let alone the real rice.

Maeda Toshiie had a better image. He grabbed a handful of rice, sucked a dozen grains into his mouth bit by bit, and then slowly softened them with saliva before swallowing them. At the same time, he leaned on a gun with his other hand and guarded the gate of the mill, checking the situation.

After handing the half-drunk rice water to Nobutada, Nobunaga made a long story short and asked about the situation of Nobutada's troops. Nobutada concealed a little, saying that he rushed to rescue when he saw his team was in danger. Then they were attacked by the Kitabatake people who came down the mountain. Kawajiri Hidetaka died in his place, and Nobutada ran out with only a few of his close associates.

After sighing and secretly promising to take good care of Kawajiri Hidenaga, Nobunaga didn't say much and closed his eyes to take a nap. Nobutada immediately finished the rice water, got up to help his father change the saddle and feed the livestock.

"Your Highness can leave now!" After sitting for about ten minutes, Maeda Toshiie came over to urge him.

Nobunaga opened his eyes and got up without saying a word. At this time, nothing is more important than escaping, and it is far from the time to have a good rest. Only by running into Okazaki Castle or Ansho Castle can there be a place to rest.

At this time, there were already many soldiers who had fled to Okazaki Castle on the streets away from the riverside mill, and some of the infantry who had run back on their own finally ran here. Since the infantry had all run here, the Yamanouchi clan's pursuers would soon arrive here. Oda Nobunaga had seen the power of the Echigo and Takanashi cavalry, and it was truly a combination of man and horse.

The longbow on the horse shot one after another, and those who were hit were killed instantly. All of them were heavy arrows. Nobunaga didn't know that he was special. He would definitely not survive after being hit twice, so he had to run quickly.

Everyone got on the horse, and the cavalry team of more than 20 people looked more conspicuous on the road to escape. Mori Nagako tied Nobunaga's helmet on his head without saying a word, and asked Maeda Toshiie to escort Oda Nobunaga and Oda Nobutada to run first. He took seven or eight people and waited here for ten minutes before running, pretending to be Oda Nobunaga to attract the chasing Echigo cavalry and Yamanouchi army.

No one had any objections, and it was too late to care so much at this time. Nobunaga nodded to Mori Nagako, "Be sure to meet up in Kiyosu! Come back alive!"

"Your Highness, hurry up!" Mori Nagako was not hypocritical.

"The Yamanouchi clan's foot soldier general Honda Heihachiro Tadakatsu comes to ask for advice!"

A samurai wearing a deer horn rib-standing hat and a black-colored mighty Tathagata robe ran down the street, riding on a completely black warhorse, with the Tonkiri in his hand emitting a biting cold light in the sun.