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

Chapter 38 Jing Gao's Departure
"Asakura Munetoshi can't afford to delay, and neither can we." As everyone was talking, Kagawa Morihisa walked into the formation with a secret report.

"Sheng Jiu, what do you mean?" Xin Zhong asked in confusion.

Kagawa Morihisa handed the secret report to Nobushige, who opened the letter and read it quickly, his expression gradually becoming serious: "The situation in Tango is not good."

As he spoke, Xinzhong handed the secret letter to everyone for circulation. The moment they finished reading the letter, everyone's face was filled with worry.

"Tango has assembled 3,300 troops, which can be said to be the entire country's strength. Our army has only assembled 1,300 people in Tango. It's no big deal to lose one or two cities." Matsumiya Kiyonaga tried to comfort Nobushige.

"But those two cities are not ordinary." Kagawa Morihisa said worriedly, "Mori Castle and Katayama Castle are important cities on the border between our army and the Tango army. If they are lost, the 3,000 Tango main forces can go straight to Kurabashi Castle."

"I'm afraid Isshiki Yoshiyuki of Tango has made an agreement with the Asakura clan, otherwise why would they send out troops at almost the same time?" A group of people couldn't help but worry, "Morihisa is right. If we delay here with the Asakura army, Tango will be in danger."

"Didn't the letter say that Shirai Tamebu and Itsumi Suruga had fought a brilliant counterattack at Kameiwa Castle, temporarily slowing down the enemy's offensive?" Kumagai Motonao said.

"Pardon my honest words, but with Tango's mob, even if they take down Kurahashi Castle and recapture all of Tango, they still don't have the strength to attack Wakasa. But Kuniyoshi Castle is different. If we lose it, I'm afraid the Asakura army will be able to march straight in, and Wakasa will be in danger."

Xinzhong listened to everyone's comments and felt that they were all reasonable but also biased. After thinking it over, he finally made the following arrangements:

"Morihisa, send a message to Shirai Tamebu that our family currently has no extra troops to deploy to support Tango. If you really can't hold on, you can retreat to Wakasa. I will never blame him.
Shinkuro, send someone to Ono County. I need to know Asakura Kagetaka's latest movements.
Maowulang, go and find out. It's been a while since Master Longxing and Faxinji were gone. Why is there no movement in Kyoto?"

"Ha! As you command." Everyone responded loudly and then went their separate ways.

After everyone dispersed, Yamamoto Shigeyuki quietly turned back. He asked Nobushige when they could implement the plan and attack Jinshan Castle from a detour.

"We have to wait." Nobushige replied, "Asakura Muneshige's main force is still there, and there are still many Asakura troops stationed in Jinshan Castle. In addition, Asakura Kagetaka's whereabouts are unknown, so everything is still a little off."

"I am worried that if this drags on, Tango may not be able to hold on. I heard that Higashigasa County was a land that the Takeda clan conquered after nearly 30 years of conquest. If you lose it now, your prestige in Wakasa will be affected."

"I can't care about that now," Nobushige said helplessly, "As long as the Asakura army doesn't retreat, I won't dare to send troops to support Tango. Besides, if Iwade Mountain Fort is lost tonight, the Asakura army will surely launch a full-scale attack tomorrow morning. With the current comparison of forces, we have no choice but to fight a siege. We can only wear down the Asakura army's strength and morale bit by bit."

"I understand." Yamamoto Shigeyuki seemed to be thinking about something, and then he slowly left after a moment.

At this time, Xinzhong was the only one left in the main camp. He looked up at the starry sky, his eyes were full of stars, but his heart was full of hesitation. The war was about to start, and he didn't know if he would have the leisure to appreciate this crescent moon and the stars in the sky tomorrow.

The moonlight pierced through the forest, casting a shadow that chilled the two of them. At this moment, it was not only Nobushige who was admiring the moon alone, but also Asakura Soteki in Zhongshan Castle not far away.

Holding the battle report sent by Asakura Keiren in his hand, he felt depressed:
Six thousand troops, less than 2,500 were left after one day. Sun Jiulang was really disappointing. But what else could he do? After all, he was his adopted son and inherited his position as the governor of Tsuruga County. He would have to take charge of things on his own. However, the result of taking charge of things on his own this time was too tragic, which directly affected the subsequent use of troops against Kuniyoshi Castle. "How many troops are there in Nakayama Castle?" Asakura Munetoki called Asakura Kagetaka and asked with concern.

"There are still seven thousand left..." Asakura Jingtaka replied in a low voice.

"Haha, seven thousand. You have led troops to attack during the day. You should know that these seven thousand people cannot take down this fortified city."

"Don't we have more than 2,000 people on Sun Jiulang's side? We may be able to win if we attack from both sides."

"Don't mention that kid," Asakura Soto said unhappily, "By the way, how is Son Balang (Asakura Kagetaka) doing? The letter asking him to hurry up and join us has been sent out for some time. What on earth is he doing?"

"I just received news that Sun Balang has assembled 3,800 troops. They have just passed Hachimanyama Castle and are heading towards Kawashima Castle." Asakura Kagetaka replied.

"How did we get to Kawashima Castle?" Asakura Soteki was puzzled. "According to the location of Haishan Castle, shouldn't we take the road to Maruyama Castle? If we took that road, we might have reached Tsuruga by now."

"Yes, Sun Balang sent someone to explain this. He said that the mountain road to Maruyama Castle was hit by an avalanche and was impassable. We had to take a detour through Kawashima Castle before taking it."

"Is that so..." Asakura Sotei thought for a moment and then fell silent.

"Your Highness, do you think we should launch a general attack tomorrow? Should we wait for Sun Balang's Ono group to come for support? After all, our current military strength is indeed a bit stretched." Asakura Kagetaka said with some concern.

"I'm afraid we can't wait any longer," Asakura Sotoki sighed, just as Yamamoto Shigeyuki had expected. "The fire at the foot of Iwade Mountain burned nearly half of our army's food supplies. It will take some time for the lord's food supplies to arrive. I'm afraid our army...can't hold out until then. Anyway, let's try to attack tomorrow. If that doesn't work, we'll have to withdraw to Echizen first."

"The city fortress that we fought so hard to capture is just thrown away like this. Won't we have to take it again next time?" Asakura Kagetaka sighed unwillingly.

"When you send troops to fight, you must not care about the gains and losses of a city or a place. If I fail to capture Guoji City in the next two days, and I choose to withdraw temporarily, you don't have to be confused. It is also to better preserve our strength. When the Daye people arrive in a few days, our army will launch a fierce attack. Isn't it better than fighting a war of attrition or a war of attrition?"

"Your Highness is wise." Asakura Kagetaka hurriedly flattered.

Asakura Sotachi waved his hand and said calmly: "First transfer the 500 troops from Jinshan City, and then transfer 1,000 troops from the main camp to Sun Jiulang. Tell him that if there is another heavy loss like today, I will not let him off."

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(End of this chapter)