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

Chapter 126 The Wall of Escape (Please subscribe!)
After listening to the battle report from the two envoys, Yi Jianchang sat on a stool like a wilted cucumber, and said listlessly: "It's over, everything is over."

"My lord, do not be anxious. Before I came here, I heard that the Second Prince led two hundred troops to Yoshisaka Pass." The messenger was afraid that Yi Jianchangjing would die out of breath, so he hurriedly told him the rumor he had heard.

"Are you talking about Genji? Isn't he in Atagoyama Castle? Didn't he get angry with me and say he wouldn't participate?" Yijian Changjing was both surprised and happy. He didn't expect that his youngest son could still be relied on at the critical moment.

"Father, we all underestimated Genji. At the critical moment, he will not sit idly by and watch our family suffer." Yijian Changqing was also very pleased. "Genji's Atagoyama Castle is a castle relatively close to Yoshisaka Pass. As long as he is willing, he will be able to reach Yoshisaka Pass before the Takeda army. Relying on the terrain there, no matter how brave the Takeda army is, they will not be able to rush into Oi County in a short time!"

"Yes, if we can hold Yoshizaka Pass, we still have a chance to win." At this time, Naito Katsutaka also happily interrupted:
"Suruga-no-Kami, at this point, on the one hand, we should concentrate our forces to capture Ishiyama Castle and turn the passive situation into the active one; on the other hand, we should urge the Yamana army to pass through Kayue Valley as soon as possible and directly attack Miyazu Castle, forcing the Takeda army near Yoshisaka Pass to withdraw their troops and return to provide assistance. With both approaches, we can still win this battle."

"Uchi Kuransuke is right. Now Yoshisaka Pass and Saburi River are in our hands. Although it is freezing cold and the river is frozen, we still have a certain defensive advantage. As long as Ishiyama Castle and Kayo Castle can be taken smoothly, it is still unknown who will win." Yijian Changqing also regained some vitality. Contrary to his previous cautiousness, he expressed his suggestions without reservation.

"In that case, let's launch a general attack on Shishan City as soon as daybreak!" Yi Jianchangjing gave the order.

"Ha!" A group of generals including Itomi Masaaki and Naito Katsutaka bowed in response.

At this time, Yi Jianchangjing remembered the Yamana family envoy who was still kneeling below, and hurriedly ordered: "Go back and tell Yamana Jinwu about the predicament of our family in detail, and ask him to take Jiayue City as soon as possible to save us from the difficulties of being attacked from both sides."

"Ha, I obey your command!" The Yamana family's envoy obviously realized that Yi Jianchang was in a difficult situation, and hurriedly replied respectfully and assured, "Please rest assured, Your Highness, I will tell my master the truth about the situation here, please rest assured!"

Seeing this, Itsumi Masaki nodded slightly, and then ordered the Itsumi envoy: "Go back and tell Genji that I am happy for what he did, and ask him to defend Yoshisaka Pass and buy time for our family to capture Ishiyama Castle."

"Ha, I understand! I will definitely bring the news to His Majesty the Second Prince as soon as possible!" The envoy from the Yijian family answered respectfully.

After giving instructions to the two messengers, Yi Jian Chang Jing looked up at the starry sky and sighed deeply. Suddenly, a meteor passed by his eyes, and his heart tightened immediately: "This is not a good sign for my Yi Jian clan."

At the same time, Itsumi Changhu, who was far away at Yoshizaka Pass, was also looking up at the starry sky, with a lot of thoughts in his mind.

"Your Highness, fortunately we arrived in time and Yoshisaka Pass was not conquered by the Takeda army. Although Yoshisaka Fort is a bit old and the fortifications are relatively old, relying on the terrain, it will not be a problem to stop the Takeda army for a day or two." A general of the Itsumi family reported to Itsumi Masatora.

On the evening of the 24th, after learning that Kumagai Takanao had captured Tanaka Castle and that there was no news from the envoy sent to Kahara Castle, Itsumi Masatora, who sensed something was wrong, immediately led two hundred troops to Yoshisaka Pass, occupied Yoshisaka Fort first, and successfully prevented the Takeda army from taking advantage of the situation to enter Oi County.

Yoshizaka Pass is an important land route connecting Tango and Wakasa. The mountain road is rugged and the terrain is dangerous. In order to control this important road, the Itsumi clan built Yoshizaka Fort on Aoba Mountain on the north side. However, after the Takeda clan suppressed Higashigasa County, this mountain fort was located in the Takeda territory, lost its original significance, and was gradually abandoned. This time, Itsumi Masatora took the lead in seizing Yoshizaka Fort, which was a major obstacle for Kumagai Takanao and Shirai Kiyotane who wanted to rush directly to Suidoyama Castle. Therefore, even though the sun set, the Takeda army still organized a night attack, but unfortunately it did not succeed.

Although Itomi Changhu was straightforward in character, he was also meticulous in his thinking. He did not get complacent about repelling the Takeda army's night attack, but instead used the wood and stones on the mountain to reinforce the fortifications in preparation for the Takeda army's attack the next day.

In fact, Itsumi Masatora had no intention of taking action. Just as he said in his pre-war assessment, with the current capabilities of the Itsumi family, even with the addition of Naito Katsutaka, Isshiki Yoshiyuki, and even Yamana Takunaga, it would be difficult for them to be a match for Yoshishige.

Moreover, during the day on the 24th, he learned in Atagoyama Castle that Isshiki Yoshiyuki had died in battle, Yamana Takanari was stranded in Kayue Valley and could not move, and Itomi Masaki and Naito Katsutaka had failed in their attack on Ishiyama Castle. These battle reports made him more determined in his view that this rebellion against the Takeda clan was bound to fail.

However, when he learned that Shirai Kiyotane and Kumagai Takanao had joined forces at Kurabashi Castle and successively captured several castles of the Itami clan in Tango, such as Dooku, Kokura, and Tanaka, as a member of the Itami clan, he could not bear the inner sense of mission and family honor, and decided to "do it even though he knew it was impossible" - he led only 200 soldiers to Yoshisaka Pass and single-handedly blocked the Takeda army that was six times his size.

At first, Kumagai Takanao and Shirai Kiyotane did not pay enough attention to Itomi Masatora, especially in Shirai Kiyotane's eyes, the most capable fighters in the Itomi family were the head of the family, Itomi Masatsune, and the eldest son, Itomi Masaki. This unknown second son always lived under the protection of his father and brother and did not leave any impression on people.

Therefore, when he learned that he was leading his troops to guard Yoshizaka Pass, Shirai Kiyotane declined Kumagai Takanao's suggestion to attack again the next morning, and took the initiative to launch a night attack, leading 500 people to attack Yoshizaka Fort, intending to make the first battle the final one, break through the Itsumi army's defense line in one fell swoop, and capture Itsumi Masatora alive.

But the facts proved that Shirai Kiyotane was too naive. Unlike his victory over Isshiki Yoshiyuki in a field battle a few days ago, and unlike the conquest of many cities of the Itsumi clan, those were all achieved with an absolute advantage in military strength, especially those cities, most of which were only guarded by thirty to fifty people, and they were easily defeated in the face of a thousand-man army.

The Yoshizaka Fort in front of them was different. It not only had the advantage of terrain and relatively solid fortifications, but also the number of defenders in the fort could not be underestimated. How easy would it be to capture such a fortress?

Therefore, this night attack did not succeed. Instead, under the resolute command of Itsumi Masatora, the Itsumi army relied on defensive fortifications to inflict considerable losses on the Takeda army.

When Kumagai Takashige learned that the battle situation was unfavorable, he immediately ordered the troops to retreat. Shirai Kiyotane had no choice but to lead his troops to retreat. However, when the army reached the middle of the mountain, Itsuki Changhu led a team of more than 80 people to pursue them. Relying on his familiarity with the terrain, this pursuit once again dealt a heavy blow to the Takeda army.

During the battle, Shirai Tadatsuna, Shirai clan's important official and Shirai Kiyotane's uncle, was shot in the right eye by a flying arrow, and Shirai Kiyotane himself was stabbed in the thigh by a spear. Fortunately, Kumagai Takanao noticed the abnormality on the mountain in time and led his troops to rescue, thus repelling Itsumi Masatora and preventing the Takeda army from a major defeat.

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(End of this chapter)