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

Chapter 67 Captured alive
"Ah! Help!"

"Damn it! It's over!"

"Damn it! I don't want to die here!"

At this moment, the foot soldiers of the Isshiki clan seemed to no longer be a spear quilt, but a densely packed human shield. Under the trampling of the Takeda cavalry's horses, the sounds of broken bones and broken bamboo spears intertwined together, mixed with the splattering blood and painful wails, playing the tragic song of the Isshiki army's defeat.

Seeing that the cavalry was quickly disrupting the deployment on the front line, Nobushige immediately ordered the spearmen to move forward quickly and launch an attack on the Isshiki army closely behind them.

The Isshiki army struggled to hold on under the command of Nobunaga Harunobu and Ishikawa Naomune, but they were not facing ordinary peasant soldiers, but the Takeda army that had been reborn from the ashes.

Led by Muto Mitsuyu and Matsumiya Kiyonaga, the two groups of foot soldiers quickly circled the rear of the Isshiki army and cooperated with the cavalry that attacked from the front, splitting the enemy in front from three directions. As the military magistrate, Nobunaga Harunobu's main camp was attacked first. Unfortunately, he was injured by stray arrows and was forced to withdraw from the battlefield. Before leaving, he handed over the command to Ishikawa Naomasa, the lord of Kayetsu Castle.

Ishikawa Naomasa's strength should be ranked second in Tango, second only to Nobunaga Harunobu, which also cultivated his arrogant and domineering character. Before the official war, he did not take Nobushige seriously. In his opinion, Nobushige was just a young man who had just succeeded to the position of head of the family. In addition, the Takeda army had just experienced a war and should have suffered heavy losses. The reinforcements for this expedition were probably put together temporarily and their combat effectiveness was not that high.

But today, he was completely dumbfounded. The "weak army" that used to be on par with the Isshiki clan was no longer the same as before. It took the initiative on the battlefield as soon as the battle started. Especially after Nobunaga Harunobu was defeated, the command fell into his hands who had never participated in a large-scale battle. He suddenly felt flustered and panicked, and could only rely on the advantage in numbers to hold on.

Near noon, the Isshiki army on the right wing was the first to collapse and began to disintegrate. Muto Mitsuyoshi immediately seized the opportunity to launch a fierce attack into the camp. As more and more troops collapsed, Ishikawa Naomasa's main camp was exposed to the attack of the Takeda army.

Seeing this situation, Nobushige immediately ordered Matsumiya Kiyonaga to transfer part of the troops to support the right wing on the premise of blocking the enemy's retreat. Yamagata Morinobu's cavalry also stepped up to approach the main camp.

The battle lasted until three o'clock in the afternoon. Ishikawa Naomasa's main camp was defeated by Muto Mitsuyuki. While trying to escape, he was stabbed like a hedgehog by more than a dozen peasant soldiers and his head was taken by the leader of the foot soldiers.

With the death of their commander, the Isshiki army's defeat accelerated, and the remaining troops began to retreat towards Kameiwa Castle. Nobushige asked the Takeda army to annihilate the enemy as much as possible to prevent the remaining troops from encircling the castle.

Upon learning that the situation at the foot of the mountain had been decided, the Isshiki army that had besieged Honmaru on the mountain also began to withdraw from Ninomaru. The morale of the Takeda army stationed in Honmaru was greatly boosted. Under the leadership of Shirai Mitsutane, they opened the Ote Gate and pursued the Isshiki army that was harassing and retreating. They killed the lord of Miyazu Castle, Ogura Genbanyoshi, in battle, and caused the Isshiki army to collapse.

In the evening, the Takeda army from both sides of the mountain met at the Hokke-ji Temple at the foot of the mountain, and the Battle of Kurabashi ended with a great victory for the Takeda army.

In this battle, nine Tango men including the castle lord were killed, nearly a hundred samurai, and more than three hundred foot soldiers and peasant soldiers. Most of the remaining soldiers fled, and only about two hundred people retreated to Kameiwa Castle.

That night, Isshiki Yoshiyuki discussed with Nobunaga Harunobu and decided to split his troops into two groups and withdraw them at night, intending to return to Takeyama Castle to besiege it. At the same time, he sent envoys to Kyoto overnight to ask the shogunate and the kanrei to mediate.

But how could Nobushige give them this opportunity? After learning of the movements of the Isshiki army, he immediately sent Itsumi Masatsune and Matsumiya Kiyonaga from Kurabashi Castle to pursue the retreating enemy.

About an hour later, the remnants of the army led by Nobunaga Harunobu were defeated by Itsumi Masatsune, and he was captured; near dawn, Isshiki Yoshiyuki's army was also caught up by the Takeda army. While the two armies were fighting fiercely, Isshiki Yoshiyuki left the battlefield under the cover of his close samurai and arrived at Mori Castle where there were only dozens of defenders.

The commander of Mori Castle thought the situation was hopeless, so he held a banquet to calm Isshiki Yoshiyuki down, and put him under house arrest. All his close associates were killed, and then he sent his retainers to Kurahashi Castle to offer captives to Nobushige and ask for surrender. On the morning of February 24, Nobushige arrived at Mori Castle with the Takeda clan's retainers and 500 horse guards.

Upon hearing that Isshiki Yoshiyuki was imprisoned in the storehouse, Nobushige, thinking that he was from a famous family, ordered his men to untie him and send him to Zashiki. He wanted to meet this Tango guardian who was a few years older than himself.

When Isshiki Yoshiyuki entered the room, all the ministers of the Takeda clan had already taken their seats on both sides, with Nobushige sitting in the center at the top, and Kneeling beside him were Nobunaga Harunobu and several captured local leaders.

Nobushige originally thought that the head of the Isshiki clan would be shocked by the scene before him, but the reality was that he held his head high and looked at Nobushige in the hall, showing no fear.

"Why don't you kneel when you see my lord?" Kumagai Takashige, who was standing next to Nobushige, shouted harshly.

"Kneel?" Isshiki Yoshiyuki, who had already been reduced to a prisoner, seemed to feel that he could not escape death. Instead of being cowardly as before, he sneered at Nobushige coldly and said, "You and I are both guardians of a country. Why should I kneel to you? Besides, our Isshiki family ranks among the 'four major positions', while you are just a small branch of the Takeda clan. If you want to kneel, you should kneel to me, right?"

"Bastard!"

"Too arrogant!"

"You are still so shameless even when death is imminent! I beg you to kill this thief immediately!"

When Isshiki Yoshiyuki said this, the whole room was in an uproar. The retainers of the Takeda clan were all filled with righteous indignation and demanded that he be executed.

"Didn't your Wakasa Takeda clan's ancestor Takeda Nobuyoshi gain recognition from the Shogunate and obtain the post of Wakasa guardian by assassinating Lord Yoshitsugu of the main clan? So, our Isshiki clan is still the 'benefactor' of your Takeda clan. How can a benefactor kneel down in return? What do you think, Izu no Kami?"

Faced with Isshiki Yoshiyuki's arrogant questioning, Nobushige was a little surprised, but he did not get angry. After all, he was just borrowing the "shell" of the Takeda clan, and he did not care about the old grudges between the Takeda clan and the Isshiki clan.

"When our ancestors killed Isshiki Yoshitsugu, it was on the orders of the Lord. As a subject, is it wrong to obey the Lord?" Nobushige asked with a smile, "But you, not only did you not appreciate the kindness of Lord Yoshitsugu who spared you and allowed you to remain the guardian of Tango, but you also publicized this matter and turned black into white. Is this what the Isshiki family, who are the 'Four Officials', should do?"

“This…” Nobushige’s eloquent words left Isshiki Yoshiyuki speechless for a moment. Listening to the laughter and ridicule of the Takeda clan’s retainers around him, his face became extremely ugly. After holding it in for a long time, he simply said, “Since I am already a prisoner of your Takeda clan, you can kill me or chop me up as you please. I…I…I am not afraid of death!”

Recently, I was actually quite depressed because of the comments of some book friends. To be honest, this book could have been put on the shelves last week, but I wanted to finish writing this small climax of Asakura so that friends who don’t subscribe can also read it, so I kept delaying it until next Monday.

Recently, some book friends have put forward many suggestions, most of which I have humbly accepted, but some of them were harsh and indiscriminate, which made me uncomfortable.

Part of the reason for choosing to put it on the shelves next week is to screen out some "black fans", and I hope everyone can understand.

After it is put on the shelves, I hope that those who have money can support it financially, and those who don’t have money can support it physically. Xiong Zai will be very grateful. Thank you all again!
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(End of this chapter)