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

Chapter 30: Losing Two Forts in a Row
"There's another plan?!"

As soon as Yamamoto Shigeyuki said this, everyone became excited again. They didn't expect that this plain-looking, even ugly guy could come up with two brilliant ideas in a row. This made the group of people who had just been mocking and ridiculing him instantly feel ashamed.

"That's right," Yamamoto Shigeyuki continued to point at the map with his military uniform, and drew a line at the eastern end of the Yokotani River Valley, leading directly to the eastern foot of Mount Nosaka:

"My lord, this road can bypass the heavily defended Kanazaki Castle and go directly to the southern suburbs of Tsuruga Town. It is a merchant town with weak defenses. As long as our army goes all the way north, we can directly capture Kanazaki Castle!"

"Kanazaki Castle!" Kumagai Motonao and others had not yet recovered from the previous plan, and they were frightened by Yamamoto Shigeyuki's bold idea and gasped.

"That's the castle of Tsuruga Gunshi!"

"You must be kidding! I felt that the risk of attacking Jinshan Castle via a detour was too high, let alone going straight to Kanezaki Castle!"

"Yes, if we take over Kanezaki Castle, Master Zongdi will fight us to the death. By then, the mediation of the imperial court and the government will be useless!"

"I think it's feasible. We just need to teach the Asakura family a lesson. Although we are small in Wakasa, we are not easy to mess with!"

Everyone was discussing the issue at once, but overall, the voices of opposition were clearly greater than those of support.

At this time, three paths were placed before Xinzhong:

One is to besiege the city of Kuniyoshi and delay the situation;
The second is to lure the tiger away from the mountain, capture Jinshan City, burn the food and military equipment, and force the Asakura army to withdraw;
The third is to attack Huanglong directly, raid Kanezaki Castle, completely cut off the retreat of the Asakura army, and annex Tsuruga County in one fell swoop.

To be honest, before Yamamoto Shigeyuki returned, Nobushige had no choice but to defend the city to the death and pin his hopes on Asakura Kagetaka raising an army;

But when Yamamoto Shigeyuki came back and proposed two strategies in succession, Nobushige began to get restless: he hoped not to rely on others, but to give the Asakura clan a "surprise" with his own strength, and to let the masters of Hokuriku and even Kyoto see that Wakasa is no longer the one with frequent internal strife, decline and division, but a new atmosphere of unity and solidarity among millions of people.

What lies before him now is whether this "surprise" is big or small. After taking Kaneyama Castle, will he use Nishitsuruga County as a buffer zone, or after taking Kanezaki Castle, will he divide the area with the Asakura clan?

After thinking it over, Xinzhong asked, "Zhongxing, how confident are you about this first plan?"

"Sixty percent, and my lord, please allocate me two hundred troops." Yamamoto Shigeyuki replied.

"What about the second rule?"

"Thirty percent, and my lord, you must give me at least five hundred elite soldiers." Yamamoto Shigeyuki spoke frankly. After all, it would be difficult to carry out a long-distance attack on the enemy's castle without sufficient elite troops.

"In that case, I will give you three hundred soldiers, including one hundred horsemen directly under my command. After the siege begins, you will lead them to capture Jinshan City!" Xinzhong finally chose a strategy with less risk.

Of course, he had not given up the ultimate goal of capturing Kanegasaki Castle, but to achieve this goal, he really needed the cooperation of Asakura Kagetaka. If he handed over 500 elite soldiers to Yamamoto Shigeyuki now, perhaps Kuniyoshi Castle would be breached before the victory report from Kanegasaki Castle was released.

"Ha, I obey your command!" Yamamoto Shigeyuki was not surprised by Nobushige's choice. In his opinion, Nobushige had just taken over the Takeda clan, and there were so many retainers in his family who clearly opposed it. He had done his best to agree to his first plan under such great pressure, and he should not ask for more. "My lord, we still need to think about this matter in the long run." Yamagata Hidemasa frowned, "Our army is already short of troops. If we send out another 300 troops at this time... Kuniyoshi Castle is facing a lot of pressure!"

"Genbei, you are the lord of Kuniyoshi Castle, what do you think?" Nobushige did not respond directly to Yamagata Hidemasa, but asked Awaya Katsuhisa for advice.

Awaya Katsuhisa had admired Yamamoto Shigeyuki before, and now he said bluntly: "Three hundred troops have three hundred troops that abide by the law; one thousand troops have one thousand troops that abide by the law; two thousand troops have two thousand troops that abide by the law. As long as we work together, even if we divide these three hundred troops, the rest can still fight the Asakura army."

"That's great!" With Awaya Katsuhisa's words, Nobushige felt relieved. He turned to Yamagata Hidemasa and said, "Shimono-no-kami, please trust Nobushige for once. I will never let the Asakura army break through Tsubaki Pass and enter Wakasa."

"My lord, what are you talking about?" Yamagata Hidemasa sighed slightly, then responded firmly, "As long as you give the order, I dare not disobey. It has been a long time since I have seen the Wakasa Takeda clan so united. I believe that you will lead us to build a different Wakasa!"

Nobushige was deeply moved after hearing this. He nodded heavily, then looked around and said seriously: "My life and death in Wakasa is in your hands!"

"Serve the public with all your heart! Are ready to die!" Amid the thunderous cheers, Nobushige, with tears in his eyes, leaned over and saluted everyone. This was the highest reward and respect he could give to these retainers and soldiers as the head of the Takeda clan.

In the early morning of winter, the sunlight was dim and hazy. The cold air that blew in was like a cold blade grazing the skin, causing the samurai and foot soldiers standing guard outside the main camp of Tennozan to shiver from time to time.

"Woo~woo~woo!"

The shrill sound of a conch horn broke the silence of the early morning. The trembling foot soldiers guarding the city suddenly became alert. Some of them pricked up their ears to listen, while others climbed up the well tower to look into the distance.

"Battle report! Battle report!" Almost at the same time, a messenger with a "Marunouchi Hishi" flag on his back ran to the main camp gate in panic, panting and saying, "Quick, let me in to see the lord!"

After checking his identity credentials, the foot soldier leader hurriedly ordered the city gate to be opened.

Xinzhong had been extremely nervous these past few days. He finally managed to fall into a little sleep, but was awakened by the sudden sound of a conch shell.

"What happened?!" While asking Xiaoxing to help him change clothes, Nobushige asked Kagawa Morihisa and Matsumiya Kiyonaga who were waiting outside the door.

"My lord, the envoy we just sent out has reported that the Asakura army has set out and has already captured the two mountain forts of Karakura Mountain and Kokura Mountain!"

Kagawa Morihisa's words really made Nobushige at a loss for a moment: "You took over my two castles so quickly?!"

"Mongdi is indeed a shrewd man. Before dawn, he mobilized a large army to sneak up to the city from the mountain ridges on both sides. In just one hour, he captured two frontier fortresses one after another!" replied Kagawa Morihisa.

"Where's Genbei?" Nobushige asked uncertainly.

"Genbei has also received the news and sent people to support the scattered soldiers. He himself went to Iwadeyama Fort to personally lead the attack on the Asakura army."

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(End of this chapter)