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

Chapter 9: The Crossing Ceremony
Kumagai Motonao and Matsumiya Kiyonaga were puzzled by Nobushige's order to march immediately. After all, they were only half a day's walk away from Gozeyama, so they could wait until daybreak to set off and there was no need to rush.

Xin Zhong disagreed. He analyzed, "A large army taking the mountain road will take more time than a small army. Moreover, a large number of troops will be more likely to get confused if they are attacked. In order to avoid an ambush by the rebels, our army must take the Faxin Temple through the mountain road as soon as possible. Only in this way can we take the initiative on the battlefield."

"Your Highness is thoughtful and thoughtful. We admire him." Kumagai Motonao did not expect that his brother-in-law, who had only been a monk for a month, could make such a clear judgment on the battlefield situation. "I wonder if it is a blessing or a curse?"

At half past the hour of Yin, 1,200 soldiers packed up and quickly marched along the mountain road towards the direction of the Faxin Temple. In order to avoid alerting the rebels, Xinzhong asked each soldier to reduce the use of torches as much as possible, avoid unnecessary communication, and keep a proper distance between each other to prevent being ambushed and caught in one fell swoop.

The nights in the dead of winter were particularly long, which also bought Xinzhong more time for his actions.

The moonlight was spreading in the snow-capped woods, the swaying firelight was dotted with stars, and the whistling cold wind cut across the soldiers' faces like a bayonet. Along the way, both the soldiers and the horses were breathing hot air and moving quickly westward. The whole journey was silent, with only the singing of birds and the faint sound of horse hooves echoing in the woods.

The journey that would originally take half a day to complete, finally took less than two hours thanks to Xinzhong's reasonable arrangements and the cooperation of the soldiers.

The sky in the east gradually turned pale, and the sun shone softly on the snow.

Led by Yamagata cavalry, the huge army of 1,200 people walked out of the mountain road and assembled near the mountain pass.

Looking at the temple not far away, Xinzhong confirmed with the surrounding generals: "Is that the Faxin Temple over there?"

After receiving a positive answer, he immediately pointed in the direction of the temple and ordered Yamagata Shengxin: "Your Highness Shengxin, lead your cavalry and charge!"

"Ha!" Yamagata Shengxin responded readily, then tightened the reins and shouted loudly: "My men, follow me to take down the Faxin Temple!"

After saying that, he took the lead in riding his horse and rushed towards the Faxin Temple. Seeing this, a group of cavalrymen followed closely behind him. The galloping horses' hooves splashed the snow on the ground, forming a thin mist, and soon the cavalry team disappeared in the mist.

As Nobumasa waved his hand, the foot soldiers behind him began to move forward. The wind was cold and the flags of "Shiwarihira" and "Marunouchihira" fluttered in the wind. A great battle that would determine the fate of Wakasa began.

Seeing the flying snow and swaying shadows not far away, the soldiers guarding the gate of Faxin Temple were stunned: "Is this the army of our family?"

"Idiot, why are our cavalry coming from the east? It's an enemy attack!" The leading warrior hurriedly ordered people to go and ring the battle bell, while he led the defenders to retreat behind the wooden fence to prepare to meet the enemy.

It happened in an instant. Before the foot soldiers who were about to ring the bell had taken two steps, the Yamagata cavalry had already arrived in front of the fence. The huge impact force directly broke through the simple defense, and many of the defenders hiding behind the wooden fence were killed by the cavalry.

Yamagata Morinobu led his troops to kill in the crowd with great pleasure, and the already small number of defenders were soon beaten to pieces. The survivors rushed into the temple, and the formation bell in front of the door was directly knocked down by the flying horses' hooves.

Although it was a quiet Buddhist place, in order to complete the task assigned by Xinzhong, he still led his troops straight into the temple and continued to hunt down the defenders who had fled in disarray.

Not long after, Kumagai Motonao also arrived with the vanguard of the foot soldiers, and cooperated with the cavalry to start hunting down the scattered defeated soldiers. For a moment, the whole temple was filled with wailing and blood, and the monks hid in the main hall, trembling in fear and not daring to make a sound.

When Nobushige arrived, the battle was over. Kumagata Motonao was commanding the foot soldiers to clean up the battlefield, and Yamagata Morinobu reported the battle situation to Nobushige: "The rebels only deployed about a hundred soldiers at Hoshinji Temple, and they were all foot soldiers. Except for a few who fled, they were all killed."

"Only a hundred people?" Nobushige was a little surprised. "The battle on the mountain has ended, and there are only a hundred people here. Where is the main force of the rebels? Oh, and where is Hoshinji-den?" At this time, Kumagai Motonao came over and said, "The abbot said that before dawn, Hoshinji-den and Izu-no-kami were 'invited' to the Takeda clan's mansion."

"What? Izu-no-Mori is still alive?" Nobushige and everyone present were quite surprised.

Kumagai Motonao nodded and said, "I heard that he surrendered voluntarily, and Miyakawa-dono spared his life. He was first sent to the temple at night, and not long after, he was moved together with Hoshinji-dono."

"Hey, where are the consciousness and honor of the samurai?" The generals present sneered at Takeda Nobutoyo's surrender. In their opinion, the soldiers fought for him until the last moment, and he must repay the fallen soldiers with his own life. This is what a samurai should do.

Nobushige didn't take it seriously. He knew that in history, Takeda Nobutoyo was a mediocre ruler who was cowardly, afraid of death and incompetent, and people should not have any illusions about him.

"Does the abbot have an explanation? Why did they move them to the Takeda clan's residence?" This was what Nobushige was concerned about.

"It is said that the family heir transfer ceremony will be held there this morning. How can the two family heirs, one old and one young, be absent?" Kumagai Motonao replied jokingly.

"In such a hurry?!" Xin Zhong and the other generals looked at each other in bewilderment. They were conducting the ceremony without stopping, and no one knew what they were up to.

Yunfeng Longxing, who had not spoken for a long time, saw the clues: "Miyakawa-dono and the others must first consolidate their status. As long as they grasp the righteous cause, it will be justified whether they mobilize within the territory or send troops directly."

Xin Zhong nodded in agreement, and turned to Matsumiya Kiyonaga and others beside him and said, "Then let's go and show our support and give the new head of the family a 'welcome gift'!"

"Ha!" Everyone smiled at each other, and immediately followed Nobushige's instructions, forming a team and heading straight for the Takeda clan's mansion not far away.

At this time, the ferry ceremony at the Takeda clan's mansion had just ended.

After all, it was the former residence of the Takeda clan. Although it was decorated overnight, it was still quite presentable. The hall was decorated with carved beams and painted buildings, and brightly lit. A group of samurai took off their armor, put on solemn gowns, and sat on both sides of the hall. Takeda Nobutaka and Takeda Nobutoyo sat at the top center of the hall. Everyone toasted each other, enjoying the rare comfortable time after the war.

"Thank you for your help, Izu no Kami. I was invited here so early in the morning." Takeda Nobutaka raised his glass and said hypocritically.

After all, Takeda Nobutoyo was under someone else's roof, so he had to bow his head. He could only flatter against his will: "Not at all. This can be considered as putting an end to one's worries. From now on, Wakasa and the Takeda family will be in your care, Your Highness."

Takeda Nobutaka laughed heartily, completely ignoring the extremely lost expression of Takeda Motomitsu who was sitting there.

The sixth head of the Takeda clan, dressed in a monk's outfit, lowered his head and remained silent. He did not expect that after fighting the Miyagawa clan for more than 30 years and consuming the energy of two generations, he would eventually lose.

"Maybe this is God's will." Thinking of the humiliating scene when the family head Du Rang just now, the old man couldn't help but burst into tears. He has not been able to sit firmly on the position of the head for more than 30 years. He doesn't know whether it is because his lineage is too incompetent or the Miyakawa family has God's help.

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(End of this chapter)