Japan's Warring States Period: The Rise of the Wakasa Tiger

Chapter 122: Difficult to Attack
Otagaki Chonobu's suggestion was adopted by Yamana Yufeng, who immediately ordered the main camp to be set up on a platform in front of the entrance to Jiayue Valley. The army gathered under the platform, with an attitude of "not returning until Loulan is conquered".

Just as everyone was discussing what to do next, Tian Jie Zhuang Yi rushed into the tent, exhausted, and without saying a word, knelt down in front of Yamana Youfeng.

"I was not successful in my first battle. Please punish me, my lord!" At first glance, Tian Jie Zhuang Shiyi's armor was covered with blood and dust, with a feather arrow inserted diagonally on the front of his vest. There were deep knife marks on the handcuffs of his right hand and the collar of his neck, especially on the handcuffs, where blood could be seen slowly seeping out from the knife edge.

"It's not entirely your fault." Yamana Yufeng obviously did not want to blame this important official who stood on his side. Besides, the attack in the valley could not be blamed on Tanjie Shoji. It was caused by the inadequate work of Yagi Toyonobu, who was responsible for investigating the enemy situation.

However, now is not the time to discuss who is right or wrong. Yamana Yufeng knows that although the main force was not damaged, the unfavorable initial battle did have a certain impact on the morale of the army. In this case, it is even more necessary to unite all possible forces and jointly discuss the next offensive plan.

"Go down first, bandage your wounds and have a good rest." Yamana Yufeng walked forward, patted Tanjie Shoyoshi on the shoulder, and motioned him to stand up. "Next, Noto no Kami (Otagaki Asanobu) will serve as the vanguard. First, take down Kayetsu Castle, and then march to Miyazu Castle."

"My lord, please give me another chance!" Tian Jie Zhuang Shiyi, who was bent on revenge, was obviously unwilling to be replaced. He stared at Yamana Youfeng with eager eyes, hoping that he would allow him to lead the army to attack Jiayue City to avenge the ambush in the valley.

"This..." Yamana Yufeng hesitated for a long time. It was not that he did not believe in Tanjie Shoji's ability, but he was worried that this trusted retainer of his would encounter an accident. If that happened, he would most likely be isolated or even sidelined by the other three "kings" and become like Isshiki Yoshiyuki. This was something that Yamana Yufeng, who was arrogant and claimed to be from a famous family, could not accept no matter what.

At this time, the envoy sent to gather intelligence returned. Yagi Toyonobu brought him to Yamana Yutoyoshi and told everyone present all the information he had gathered.

"My lord, I and several envoys sneaked into the mountains from three directions to investigate, and found that the defenders of Jiayue City are only more than 200 people at most."

"More than two hundred people? They dare to set an ambush with such a small number of people?" Yamana Yufeng was a little bit unconvinced. Judging from the losses of his own troops, there were at least two hundred Takeda troops involved in the ambush alone, not to mention the defenders in the main castle and the curved path on the ridge.

"Yes, the enemy forces detected by our envoys are basically the same in strength, ranging from two hundred to three hundred," the envoy replied respectfully.

"My lord, I think that since the information collected by the envoys is consistent, it means that there are indeed only two or three hundred people on the mountain." Kakiya Tsunesaga knew what Yamana Yufeng was wondering about, so he immediately analyzed:
"Our army suffered nearly a hundred casualties in the Upper Valley, but many of them were injured by falling rocks, rolling logs, and arrows. Only a small number of them were actually killed by the ambushers. According to this estimate, the ambushers should be around a hundred people, which is basically consistent with the information that the total force is more than 200 people."

"That makes sense." The doubts in Yamana Yufeng's mind were finally resolved. Now that the total number of defenders has been determined, the next step is to discuss how to capture Jiayue City.

"Noto no Kami, is there any problem with you leading the army to attack Jiayue Castle this time?" Yamana Yufeng asked Otagaki Asanobu who was sitting next to him. On the surface, he was discussing it, but from his tone and the conversation with Tanjie Shoyoshi just now, it can be inferred that Yamana Yufeng has made up his mind at this moment and wants Otagaki Asanobu to go and attack the city.

"I will do my best to capture this city as soon as possible." Siege battles, especially attacks on mountain castles, have always been very difficult, but now that things have come to this, Otagaki Tomonobu could only bite the bullet and agree.

"My lord, please let me follow Noto no Mori to attack the city. We can discuss things together if we encounter any problems." Tian Jie Zhuang Shiyi still did not give up and begged Yamana Yufeng to allow him to go up the mountain with him.

"But your injury..." Yamana Yufeng asked with concern.

"They are just superficial injuries, nothing serious." Tian Jie Zhuang Shiyi then twisted his neck and wrist, indicating that he could still fight. "In that case, you will serve as the deputy general and assist Noto in defending the city!" Yamana Youfeng finally relented.

Afterwards, after careful discussion, Ota Gaki Asanobu and Tian Yusho Yoshiyoshi decided to start from Qu Lun, just south of Jiayue Castle, which was closer to the streets at the foot of the mountain and had a gentle slope, making it suitable for a large army to launch a strong attack.

Around noon, the two led a thousand troops to break into Jiayue Valley again, and quickly advanced along the mountain ridge towards the southern part of Jiayue City.

The defenders of Minamigawa who discovered the movement of the Yamana army immediately lit smoke signals and blew the conch shells. Masaaki Onitsuka in the Honmaru not far away received the news and immediately led more than 20 personal guards and part of the defenders of the Honmaru to provide support.

The Yamana army finally climbed out of Nanqulun, but their path to attack was blocked by a series of earthen trenches.

These earth holes are different from ordinary horikiri. Not only are they deeper, but they are also filled with densely packed sharpened wooden thorns, which make people shudder at the sight of them.

This deep earthen moat with barbs is not suitable for filling with straw. Instead, it is necessary to first fill the lower layer with hard objects such as tree trunks and stones. Only after it is basically level with the ground can it be filled with straw. This will prevent the soldiers from being injured by the barbs.

"It seems that the city lord has put a lot of effort into the city defense." When they arrived at the south side of Tsuchibori, Otagaki Asanobu discussed with Tanjie Shoyoshi, "You take the people to cut down the trees. I'll watch over here to prevent them from taking the opportunity to launch a sneak attack."

Tian Jie Zhuang Shiyi nodded, and then selected more than forty strong soldiers to go and cut down trees.

It was the coldest time of the year, and there had been a heavy snowfall not long ago. The Anliang Mountain was covered in snow and the wind was howling. Cutting trees in such a climatic condition was not an easy task.

The soldiers of the Yamana family worked in groups of three or five, searching for suitable large trees in the snow. They then spent more than half an hour cutting down and transporting the wood. After the wood was delivered back to the army, Otagaki Choen arranged for the soldiers to fill in the earthen trenches.

Obviously, Onitsuka Masaaki would not sit idly by and watch the Yamana army fill up the moat. Once someone approached the moat, he ordered his men to shoot arrows or throw flaming arrows through the narrow gap to slow down or even hinder the movement of the Yamana army.

Despite the bad weather and the desperate defense of the Takeda army, the Yamana army was unable to fill one-third of the earthen trench by the time the sun set and the troops retreated.

When this matter reached the ears of Yamana Yufeng, he flew into a rage and demanded that the earthen ditch must be filled in the next morning, Nanqulun must be captured in the afternoon, and the main castle of Jiayue Castle must be taken by noon on the 25th at the latest to completely control this strategic location.

In other words, Otagaki Asanobu and Tadashi Shoyoshi only had one and a half days left. The two men were originally full of confidence, but now neither of them dared to guarantee that they could conquer the city in such a short time.

As the saying goes, good fortune never comes alone, and misfortune never comes alone. While the two men were still scratching their heads over how to attack the city tomorrow, Oniwa Masaaki organized more than a hundred people to launch a night attack on the Yamana army.

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(End of this chapter)