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

Helplessly, Kusakari Hengji could only watch the battle situation develop in a direction unfavorable to his side, while he was powerless to do anything.

"My lord, withdraw the troops. We can't fight any longer!" The warriors around him also saw the situation clearly. With the idea of ​​withdrawing as many as possible, they advised Kusakari Hengtsugu to quickly order a withdrawal.

Seeing that the Kusakari army on the battlefield was in chaos and General Komatsu Katsutoyo was also in a tough battle between Sakakibara Nagamasa and Oniwa Masaaki, Kusakari Kōtsugu hesitated for a long time, and finally gritted his teeth and ordered the formation master to ring the formation bell, signaling the Kusakari army to retreat immediately.

After receiving the order to retreat, the various units of the Kusakari Army immediately retreated towards the direction of Yoyama Castle. As it was getting dark, Yamagata Morinobu ordered to abandon the pursuit of most of the enemy troops and concentrate the combat power to destroy the main force of the former Kusakari Army's vanguard that was trapped in the encirclement.

Komatsu Katsutoyo originally wanted to make one more charge before retreating, in order to help more Kusakari troops escape, but the red cavalry that appeared in front of him put a stop to his plan. In desperation, he had to cruelly abandon that part of the Kusakari troops and turn back to the main camp.

As the Kusakarii troops on other fronts withdrew from the battlefield, more and more Takeda troops joined in the encirclement of the Kusakarii troops.

By around 5 p.m., this part of the Grass-cutting Army was finally wiped out. In the first actual inspection held later, the number of Grass-cutting Army killed was counted as high as 280.

After returning to Dianshan City, Kusakari Heng counted the number of people and found that after this battle, only more than 1,500 of his 2,200 troops were left, and 30% of them were killed or escaped. This was an unimaginable huge loss for him.

Thinking back to the battle with the Amago army, the Kusakari army only lost more than 200 people. Now, in just one day, the number of casualties was three times that time. This made Kusakari Hengji feel fear and regret in his heart. He began to wonder whether he should negotiate peace with the Takeda army.

However, Komatsu Katsutoyo did not recommend Kusakari Hirotsugu to show weakness to Yoshishige at this time. He believed that the Kusakari army had just been defeated, and if they went to the Takeda army to negotiate peace at this time, the other side would definitely offer very harsh or even unacceptable conditions.

Instead of doing this, it is better to hold on to the city and wait for the situation to change. With more than a thousand troops at hand, it should not be a problem to defend Yodoyama Castle. In addition, the Takeda army came from afar, and the pressure on logistics supply is not small. It won't be long before they find a way to withdraw their troops. At that time, they will take the initiative to negotiate peace with the Kusakari army. In this way, both sides will stand on an equal footing, and the conditions proposed will be much easier to accept.

Kusakari Kōtsugu thought about it and felt that what Komatsu Katsutoyo said did make some sense. The Amago army had failed to capture Takayama Castle in Mimasaka and eventually chose to withdraw. This time he still had more than a thousand people and sufficient food and grass, so it would not be a problem for him to hold out for a month.

Compared to me, how long can the Takeda army hold out in the cold weather? It could be as short as a dozen days, or as long as one or two months. Yoshishige will definitely lead his troops back east, and then I will send people to show my goodwill, which will not only give Yoshishige a way out, but also resolve the crisis for myself. It is a brilliant move.

Thinking of this, Kusakari Heng followed the advice of Komatsu Katsutoyo and ordered all the more than 1,500 people to guard the key fortifications in various places in Dianshan Castle, determined to implement a siege on the city.

Yoshishige, who was in the Kawawahara camp, was delighted when he learned that Yamagata Morinobu had won a great victory, but he began to feel uneasy when the envoys brought news that Kusakari Hira had continued to besiege the city. The Takeda army had originally set out with the goal of a quick victory, so they did not prepare much food and fodder in the rear to cope with a long-term confrontation and attrition war.

There are now two options before Yoshishige. One is for the two Takeda armies to attack Yodoyama Castle. Not to mention whether they can capture the castle with more than a thousand defenders in the castle, even if they can, they will suffer huge casualties, which is unbearable for the Takeda and Yamana families who urgently need troops to guard various places in Inaba.
Another way is to besiege the city. Now the Takeda army is encircling Yodoyama Castle from two directions, basically cutting off the external aid of the Kusakari army, so besieging the city may be the safest option.

However, this tactic requires a huge amount of food and supplies, and without knowing the material reserves of the defenders in the city, no one knows when to force the defenders to open the city. Once one's side can no longer hold on and withdraws first, all previous efforts will be wasted.

After thinking it over, Yoshishige felt that neither of these two options was a good choice. Just as he was feeling depressed, he suddenly received a war report from Kumagai Takanao, which showed that the conquest of Harima was going smoothly and that the main local clan of the Uno clan in Shishigashi County in the northwest of Harima had been defeated. Yoshishige was now asking for instructions on the next move.

"Shishisobu County?" Yoshishige suddenly had an idea and immediately ordered someone to fetch a map of the area around Inaba, and sent someone to invite Yamagata Morinobu, who was in Niimi River, to the Kawarahara camp to discuss the matter.

"If Shigegoro (Kumagaya Takanao) leads his troops from Shishia County to attack Bimasaka and directly capture Takayama Castle, how do you think Kusakari Kagamori will react when he hears the news?" Yoshishige told Yamagata Morinobu his thoughts.

"If the castle is lost, not to mention Kusakari Kaga-no-kami, I'm afraid the defenders in Yodoyama Castle will be demoralized and in a state of panic all day long." Yamagata Morinobu replied, "But after all, there are more than a thousand troops in Yodoyama Castle. Even if we take over Takayama Castle, those defenders will not surrender, right?"

"As long as I can further undermine their morale, my goal will be achieved." Then, Yoshishige talked about his other plan: "I plan to order the navy stationed near Osaki Castle to transport the two Portuguese cannons on the ship via the Chiyogawa River. With these two siege weapons, Yodoyama Castle should be captured soon."

Hearing Yoshishige mention the Portuguese cannon, Yamagata Morinobu was slightly surprised: "Did you ask Kanjiro (Ataka Fuyuki) to bring the two Portuguese cannons from Obama with you on this expedition to Inaba?"

Yizhong nodded and said, "There are many patrol ships in Obama Harbor now, and the merchants from Ming will also help us maintain maritime law and order. Therefore, the two cannons are temporarily useless. I asked Kanjiro to load them on the Ataka ship and bring them to Inaba on this expedition. We originally planned to use them against the navy of the Amago clan, but we didn't expect that they could be used on the sea and had to be used on land instead."

"Those two cannons are extremely powerful. If the lord can get them to the front line, it should not be a problem to capture Yodoyama Castle." Yamagata Morinobu also agreed with Yoshishige's idea, thinking that as long as Kumagaya Takanao and the Portuguese cannon were added, capturing Yodoyama Castle would be just around the corner.

After getting the support of Yamagata Morinobu, Yoshishige immediately gave orders to Kumagai Takanao and Ataka Fuyuki, which led to Kumagai Takanao's plan to "borrow the passage to enter the work". (End of this chapter)