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

Chapter 47 Resolving the feud
Since Asakura Munetoki had spoken, Asakura Kageren and others had no choice but to let him lead a few horsemen and return to Ichijodani Castle.

The news of Asakura Soteki's departure from Nakayama Castle was quickly passed to Nobushige through the city's spies. Late that night, Nobushige secretly summoned Kuriya Katsuhisa and asked him to consider the feasibility of a night attack on Nakayama Castle.

"In the next few days, I will try to let the Ma Hui people who stayed behind in the main camp participate in the battle in the northwest direction of Qu Lun." Xinzhong finally ignored the opposition and let the Ma Hui people participate in the battle.

By then, the main force of the Asakura Army will surely split up to support the flanks. In this way, the military strength of Zhongshan City will be greatly reduced. When we are lucky enough to capture Jinshan City and the morale of the Asakura Army on the front line is unstable, you can lead two hundred elite soldiers to attack Zhongshan City at night, destroy its fortifications, and burn its food and grass. You will definitely achieve fruitful results."

"My lord, to be honest, I have long wanted to go out of the city and teach them a lesson." Hearing Nobushige's words, Katsuhisa Kuriya suddenly became excited: "It's getting hard to stay in the city and get beaten every day. I have observed the wind direction these days, and it is mainly northeasterly. It is indeed a good idea to attack and burn the city at night."

"Kuniyoshi Castle is located on a high ground, and any major movement in Zhongshan Castle not far away can be quickly detected. Once the Asakura Army knows that Jinshan Castle has been lost, they will definitely be alarmed and will definitely dispatch troops to seize the city. At that time, the military strength in the city will be the least, and it will be the best time to attack at night."

"My Lord, your analysis is very accurate." Katsuhisa Kuriya nodded in agreement. "Once Jinshan Castle is taken and Zhongshan Castle is destroyed, the Asakura Army on the front line will have no more food and grass to use. The only option left is to withdraw."

"By then, I will not let them withdraw easily. Even if we cannot defeat all the troops in one go, the Asakura Army Tsuruga troops responsible for attacking the northwest Qulun will have to 'stay' in Wakasa at all costs. Only in this way can we have a chance to seize Tsuruga County."

"My lord, this can truly be described as a 'chain scheme'." Katsuhisa Kuriya couldn't help but compliment him.

Nobushige waved his hand modestly. In fact, he knew in his heart that the night attack on Nakayama Castle in history was the work of Katsuhisa Kuriya. It was he who used the wind to set the city on fire, burned and seized a large amount of food and grass, and forced the Asakura army to retreat. Until the end, they were unable to return to Nakayama Castle again.

This time, Nobushige simply saw the situation and brought the battle forward.

On the 18th day of the first lunar month, Nobushige ordered Kumagai Takanao to lead 400 horsemen to arrive near Kushiwa in the northwest via Tsubaki Pass and launch a surprise attack on the Asakura army. Asakura Kageki and Yamazaki Yoshiie, who had originally taken the initiative, had superior military strength, but faced with the sudden attack from both inside and outside, they had to divide their troops into two groups to fight hastily. Near noon, after losing a lot of troops, they had to retreat to Kushiwa in the northeast to rest.

"Your Highness, how about we ask for support from Zhongshan City?" After counting the number of casualties, Yamazaki Yoshiie frowned and said, "Since taking over Northeast Qulun, our army has not made any progress in the past few days, but the casualties of soldiers are increasing. Currently, there are less than 2,500 soldiers who can still fight, and the reduction in personnel is serious."

"Ask for help? Humph, you know that Xuan Fanzhu has been hitting a wall these days. Apart from occasionally rushing to the mountainside, he spends most of his time wandering around the foot of the mountain. He and the Right Guard are already exhausted because of this. How can they have extra troops to support us?"

"We have to give it a try after all," Yamazaki Yoshiie patiently advised, "Don't ask for too much. Even if there are only a thousand troops, the pressure on our side can be relieved a lot."

"If you want to go, you go. I won't go." Asakura Keiki said coldly.

Yamazaki Yoshiie sighed helplessly and walked towards the door. Unexpectedly, he bumped into Asakura Keiren. "Genbansuke? Why are you here?" Yamazaki Yoshiie was quite surprised.

"Not only am I here, I also brought five hundred soldiers." Asakura Kageren's words surprised and delighted Yamazaki Yoshiie. He immediately turned around and looked at Asakura Kageki in the house.

Unexpectedly, Asakura Kageki glanced at Asakura Kageren and said with a half-smile: "Genbansuke's arrival is really timely. With your 500 troops, we will definitely be able to break through the Qulun Group and reach the top of Honmaru."

Asakura Kageren was not a fool, so how could he not hear his sarcasm? However, due to Asakura Sotoku's instructions before he left, he suppressed his anger and said in a gentle voice:

"Sun Jiulang, don't think my 500 troops are too few. We haven't been able to break through the front battlefield yet, and our casualties are not small. I have been fighting with the Right Guard for a long time to bring so many people to support you."

"Then shouldn't I thank you too?" Asakura Kageki still responded unhappily.

"To be honest, before His Majesty Sotei left, he asked me to take good care of you and Shinzaemon-no-e, and to ensure that nothing serious happens to the flank." Asakura Kageren's tone remained calm.
"According to his opinion, I could have directly taken over the military power in your hands, but after thinking it over, I decided that you should still command. The situation is complicated and delicate, so please put the overall situation first and stop being prejudiced against me."

Hearing Asakura Keiren's sincerity, Asakura Keiki felt a little embarrassed. He muttered an apology for his previous words and deeds: "I appreciate Xuan Bansuke's kindness. Since it is my father's wish, you can take the military power at any time. I am not a person who covets power."

"I understand that you just want to perform well in front of Lord Munetsuji. Next, let's work together to win this battle. I hope that when Lord Munetsuji returns, my Asakura clan's military chess will have been inserted into the main castle of Kuniyoshi Castle."

"Well, I also want to let my father take a good look at me. Sun Jiulang is not just a show-off. He can also achieve something!"

In the blink of an eye, it was afternoon. With the powerful attack of Asakura Kageaki and Yamazaki Yoshiie and the firm support of Asakura Keireun, the Asakura army once broke through the front of the northwest Quwa group. However, before the retreat was sounded in the evening, they were forcibly driven out by Kuriya Katsuhisa and his army. In addition, the Makai people who came down from Tennozan frequently harassed the Asakura army. After a day of fierce fighting, the Asakura army gained nothing and was forced to withdraw to the northeast Quwa group.

"This is not a solution." Inside the northeastern corridor, a group of generals were discussing the attack plan for the next day. A feeling of boredom, pessimism, and negativity spread among the generals.

"There are only two options now," Asakura Keiren carefully examined the topographic map in front of him and proposed two tactical plans:
"One is to continue the war of attrition. There should be a breakthrough in about four or five days, but before that, the food and grass may not hold out. The second is to bypass the northwest group of curved wheels and attack the Takeda army's main camp at Tianwang Mountain to eliminate the threat from behind. If we are lucky, we may even be able to capture Takeda Nobushige."

I have something to do today, and there will be another update a little later~
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(End of this chapter)