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

Chapter 34: Second Sangyan Out of the Mountain

The sound of such fierce fighting naturally attracted the attention of other Asakura troops not far away, but as the saying goes, "When disaster strikes, everyone flees." The demoralized Asakura troops had no other thoughts except to quickly go down the mountain, let alone take the initiative to support friendly forces.

When the various armies stumbled back to the foot of the mountain, Asakura Kageki counted the troops and found that not only Matsumoto Heizo, but two other armies had also not yet come down the mountain.

He immediately sensed something was wrong and quickly sent several swift-witted messengers up the mountain to investigate. They were shocked to see that the Asakura soldiers who had not been able to withdraw in time and were ambushed were scattered all over the way down the mountain. The messengers hid in the deep woods and watched the Takeda army cut off the heads of the Asakura soldiers and returned to Iwade Mountain Fort in excitement.

"It looks like it's been taken for the 'first inspection'." The envoys couldn't help but sigh.

The so-called "head inspection" means that the victor will cut off the head of the defeated and send it to the army for inspection, and then reward the victor according to the status of the enemy killed.

Taking advantage of the fact that the Takeda army was too busy to pay attention to other things, the messengers sneaked back to the foot of the mountain and reported everything they had witnessed to Asakura Kageki.

"Jubei..." Asakura Kageki couldn't believe that his close confidant who had followed him for many years was beheaded by the Takeda army and his body was abandoned in the wilderness, and he was unable to give him a proper burial.

Asakura Kageki sat on a stool, looking around with an uncertain mind. The main formation that had been built not long ago was now left with only a broken formation curtain and corpses scattered all over the ground. The scattered food and ordnance debris seemed to remind him how ridiculous and ignorant it was to want to take over the Iwade Mountain Fort in one fell swoop.

"My lord, according to rough statistics, there are still about 2,800 people left in our army." The military commander reported to Asakura Kageki.

"I led 4,500 men to attack the city this morning, and now we have lost 1,700 men, and a lot of food and supplies. How can I explain this to my father..." Asakura Kageki was heartbroken, slapping his thigh and roaring. Everyone watched this scene, not daring to say anything to comfort him, let alone request a temporary withdrawal.

"The new Saemon-jo-sama is here!" The sharp-eyed samurai saw Yamazaki Yoshiie riding his horse and galloping towards him with three or five personal guards not far away.

After arriving at the main camp, Yamazaki Yoshiie and others dismounted sideways and walked up to Asakura Kageki in two steps.

"Your Highness, it's too late." Yamazaki Yoshiie knelt on one knee and said.

"It's Shinzaemon-no-jo," Asakura Kageki said without even looking up, "Look at how I fought this battle... Oh... What should I do?"

"Your Highness, please forgive me for speaking frankly. Now that all the food and supplies have been destroyed, the army has also suffered heavy losses and low morale. It is not advisable to attack Iwade Mountain Fort again. It is better to withdraw to Sada first, replenish food and supplies, treat the wounded, and then make long-term plans."

"Withdraw troops?" As soon as Yamazaki Yoshiie said this, Asakura Keinori slowly raised his head and sighed:

"If we withdraw our troops now, I will have a hard time explaining to my father. According to the established plan, I should be standing at the main castle of Iwade Mountain Fortress, commanding the army to launch an attack on the flank of Kuniyoshi Castle. But now, I haven't even touched the edge of the main castle, and I have lost nearly 40% of my troops. I am really holding my father back."

"Your Highness, please do not blame yourself. In the final analysis, you underestimated the defensive capabilities of the Takeda Army. We are all responsible." Yamazaki Yoshiie kindly advised: "I have sent someone to inform His Highness Munetsuji of the battle situation. I hope he will temporarily suspend the frontal assault on Kuniyoshi Castle and provide us with food and manpower. I believe that as long as we take it seriously, the Takeda Army will find it difficult to find an opportunity to take advantage of."

"You mean, we should continue the siege?" Asakura Kageki looked at Yamazaki Yoshiie in surprise. "Of course," Yamazaki Yoshiie nodded, "The tactics formulated by His Highness Munetsuji are fine. Iwadeyama Fort is an important part of the attack on Kuniyoshi Castle and must be taken."

"But, as you can see, our army suffered heavy losses, the camp is full of wounded soldiers, and morale is low. I'm afraid it will be difficult to launch another attack in a short period of time." At this time, Asakura Kageki was still immersed in the shadow of defeat and could not let it go.

"That's why I asked for support from His Majesty Zongdi."

Although Yamazaki Yoshiie seemed to be thinking about Asakura Keiki and the overall situation, he actually had some selfish motives. After learning that Asakura Keiki was defeated, he immediately ordered someone to pass the news to Asakura Soteki. In the letter, he intentionally or unintentionally blamed Asakura Keiki for the responsibility.

His intention in doing this was obvious. He hoped to improve his favorability in Asakura Soteki's eyes and then replace Asakura Kageki to lead the army.

However, what he did not expect was that Asakura Soteki did not do as he wished. While sending people to ask him to retreat back to Sada, he also sent Asakura Kageren to lead a thousand troops to support him, and took over the military power.

"Sun Jiulang, are you okay?" Asakura Keiren came to Sada and saw Asakura Keiji with a bandage on his shoulder.

"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness." Asakura Keinori responded unhappily.

Asakura Keiren shook his head helplessly, then glanced at Yamazaki Yoshiie standing beside him, and said rather embarrassedly: "Shinzaemon-no-chan, I'm really sorry, it was His Highness Sotachi's order to take over the military power."

"What are you talking about?" Although Yamazaki Yoshiie was very dissatisfied in his heart, he still did not dare to offend this popular person in front of Asakura Takakage: "Your Highness led a thousand elite troops to support us. I am too grateful to say sorry."

"Since you are so open-minded, I feel relieved." After that, Asakura Kageren got back to the point:
"This time I came with a military order. His Highness Muneshita ordered us to capture Iwade Mountain Fort today. He will set out from Yoshun Temple tomorrow morning, and we will set out from Iwade Mountain and split our forces into two groups to launch a strong attack on Kuniyoshi Castle."

"We're going to take down Iwade Mountain Fort today?!" Asakura Kageki was immediately shocked and said, "Xuanfan, you didn't see how tenacious the Takeda defenders were. Our fierce general Matsumoto Jubei was killed by the sword. Now their morale is low. How can we launch another strong attack?"

"This is why I came here." Asakura Jingren explained:

"How could His Highness Munetsuji not know the situation here? Before he left, he told me that after this battle, it was clear that the Takeda army had mobilized a large number of troops to defend Iwade Mountain. Now, the only plan is to rely on the advantage of military strength and consume the defenders in the city in turn until the Takeda army can no longer send troops to reinforce. Then our army can capture Iwade Mountain Fort in one fell swoop."

"Are we going to fight a war of attrition?" Asakura Kageki and Yamazaki Yoshiie had never expected that Asakura Soteki, who was always good at using strategies, could only think of such a primitive tactic as "war of attrition" when facing a strong city.

"The three of us will each lead a part of the army to attack the city in turns. I will lead the first charge." With this, the Asakura army's second attack on Iwadeyama Fort was about to begin.

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(End of this chapter)