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

Chapter 130 Cross the River!

"Do you think you can cut off our retreat with just three or five hundred people?" Naito Katsutaka said nonchalantly.

"With such a small number of people, they can't defeat our army, but they don't need to defeat us," Yijian Changqing reminded, "As long as they seize the ferry, no matter how many troops we have, we can only stay in Hedong. At that time, the previously envisioned retreat to Suidao Mountain Castle or Fukudazaka will be out of the question."

"Then according to you, should we deploy troops to defend the ferry?" After a long silence, Itsumi Masaki finally spoke up, "Our army's strength is not as good as Takeda's. If we deploy troops to defend the ferry, we will have no chance of winning this battle."

"Father, what you said is also what I am worried about." Yi Jianchangqing responded, "Please forgive my boldness, since our army is stretched to its limits, why not retreat to advance and turn passivity into initiative?"

"You mean, give up Ishiyama Castle and retreat to Fukuya-zaka or Suidoyama Castle?" Itami Masaki obviously understood what Itami Masaki meant, but at this point, he was already prepared for the decisive battle at dawn, and he was unwilling to do so:

"If we withdraw our troops rashly at this time, let alone whether we can successfully return to Fukudazaka, even if we can, the morale of the army will be greatly affected, and the prestige of you and me in the army will surely be greatly reduced. Have you ever thought about this?"

"If we don't retreat now, the Takeda army will occupy the ferry or Fukuya Sakata at daybreak, cutting off our retreat route, and no one will be able to escape. By then, won't morale drop? What's the point of your prestige?"

Itami Masaaki's words made Itami Masaaki fall into deep thought: "Yes, if we are trapped in Hedong, I'm afraid no one will be able to escape in the end. If the whole army withdraws to Fukuyazaka, not only will we save 1,500 troops, but also bargaining chips for confronting the Takeda army, and also capital for a comeback in the future."

Although he could almost convince himself to withdraw his troops, Itomi Masaki still symbolically sought the opinion of Naito Katsutaka. After all, one third of the soldiers in this team were recruited by him.

"Uchizoku, what do you think? Should we fight or retreat, fight to the death, or plan to make a comeback in the future?" Yijian Changjing asked.

Naito Katsutaka also heard some clues from the conversation between Itami and his son just now. He understood that when Itami Masahiro asked this question, he already had the answer in his mind.

"I feel that, given the current situation, it is indeed more advantageous to retreat to Fukudazaka."

"Since you all think so, let's do it." Itomi Masaki is indeed an old fox. When he said this, he threw the decision of withdrawing troops to the north onto Itomi Masaki and Naito Katsutaka. In this way, if things don't go well in the future, he can also shirk all responsibility.

After the three men reached a consensus, Kubo Village's Itsumi army immediately began to move towards the river bank, while the soldiers who arrived earlier returned to the other side of the river in small boats one after another.

How could Mutō Mitsukenori in Ishiyama Castle not know about such a large-scale mobilization of soldiers? He immediately ordered someone to report the matter to Yoshishige who was resting in Oguruda Village.

Upon hearing that the Itsumi army had begun to withdraw, Yoshishige concluded that it was Kumagai Motonao's army that was approaching. In order to avoid being attacked from both sides, Itsumi Masatsune was forced to lead his army to retreat to a more advantageous place for defense.

"My lord, let's pursue them!" Yamamoto Shigeyuki, Matsumiya Kiyonaga, Yamagata Morinobu and others, who were already very sleepy, suddenly became alert and volunteered to Yoshishige, hoping to lead the troops to pursue the Itsumi army.

But all this happened too suddenly and too smoothly, and Yoshishige even suspected that it was a trap set by Itsumi Masatsugu, so he did not rush to give the order.

At this time, Kuchiki Hidemitsu rode his horse to Oguruda Village, and under the leadership of Xiaoxing, he strode to Yoshishige's main camp.

As soon as he met Yoshishige, he told him the details of the Takeda army's capture of Tatsu Castle, their encounter with the Itsumi army at Manganji, and their plan to march south to seize the ferry.

After hearing his words, Yoshishige made up his mind and ordered Yamagata Morinobu to lead 300 red cavalrymen and Matsumiya Kiyonaga to lead 800 horsemen to cooperate with Muto Mitsukenori on the mountain to pursue the retreating Itami army. At this time, 20% of the soldiers in Itami's army had crossed the Saburi River and arrived in the west of the river. Among the remaining soldiers, except for the more than 100 elite horsemen of Itami Masatsune who were responsible for the outer perimeter alert and defense, most of the other soldiers were waiting for the boats to retreat by the river. The order was still in good order, but the atmosphere was very depressing.

"What did we come here for? We wandered around Ishiyama Castle and went back without getting anything." While waiting for the boat, a young foot soldier complained to the middle-aged foot soldier next to him in dissatisfaction.

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged foot soldier quickly made a "hush" gesture with his hands and whispered, "It's good enough to be able to return alive, what else do you want to get?"

"Yes, I heard that there are more than 3,000 people stationed in the village opposite, which is twice as many as us. If we don't run now, we won't be able to escape at daybreak." Another foot soldier couldn't help but interrupt.

"Assholes, what nonsense are you talking about!" The three of them were talking in a sneaky manner. The Itomi family warriors nearby heard some of their words. He hurriedly walked behind them and kicked one of them on the buttocks: "Shut up, everyone! If you don't want to leave, I don't mind keeping you here!"

"No, no, haha, don't be angry." Although the three foot soldiers were unhappy, they still bowed their bodies and apologized to the samurai with a smile.

"Woo! Woo! Woo!"

Suddenly, the sound of a conch horn broke the silence of the winter night, followed by the "boom boom boom" sound of taiko drums, which made the soldiers who were preparing to board the ship feel their hearts in their throats.

"Your Highness, the sound seems to come from the east." A warrior said to Itomi Masaaki.

Yi Jianchangqing nodded: "It seems that the Takeda army has also taken action. You should quickly lead the Ma Kai people to organize a defense line on the east side of the ferry, and you must hold on until the army retreats to the other side!"

"Ha!" The warrior turned and left after receiving the order.

On Yoshishige's side, accompanied by the encouragement of the conch shells and the taiko drums, more than 1,100 elite horsemen set out from Koguruma Village and quickly advanced towards Kubo Village. Muto Mitsukenori in Ishiyama Castle also led 200 people down the mountain to support, intending to "keep" as many Itsumi troops as possible in Hedong.

Although Itami Masaki and Naito Katsutaka had already crossed the river at this time, after learning that the Takeda army was coming to pursue them, Itami Masaki, who was worried about the safety of Itami Masaki, chose to return to the east of the river, and asked Naito Katsutaka to lead the troops in the west of the river to Fukudazaka first to build defensive fortifications in preparation for the attack of the Takeda army.

Just as Itomi Masatsugu set foot on the land of Hedong again, the red cavalry of the Takeda army also rushed to the east side of the ferry. The one responsible for the defense here was the horsemen of the Itomi family, more than 130 people. They held the line of defense and refused to retreat, and even withstood two rounds of charge by Yamagata Morinobu.

But after all, the numbers were too different, especially after Matsumiya Kiyonaga led the Takeda Umakai troops to the battlefield, the Itami army began to lose strength, and the Takeda army took the opportunity to tear open several gaps and defeated the separated Itami troops one by one. About half an hour after the battle began, this most elite army under Itami Masatsune was almost annihilated.

However, it was this precious half hour that allowed a large number of Itami troops to escape back to the west of the river. When the Takeda army rushed to the ferry, there were only more than 200 Itami troops left in the east of the river.

However, the father and son, Itomi Masatsune and Itomi Masaki, had already sailed to the other side of the river, leaving Itomi Hirotada, a senior retainer of the Itomi clan and the cousin of Itomi Masatsune, alone to command the rest of the Itomi army, preparing for a decisive battle with the oncoming Takeda army.

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(End of this chapter)