Warring States Survival Guide

Chapter 240 A Trial is Extremely Troublesome
In the darkness, Ujinuma Castle was in chaos.

The defenders never expected that the moat, palisades, and first city wall would be breached so easily. They were forced to retreat to the nearest rock fortresses and houses, where they continued to resist while calling for reinforcements to come quickly to see if they could drive the enemy out again.

In short, even though they were caught off guard and the Wanjin army had extremely strong firepower, the defenders still had the will to resist.

Thus, amidst the raging fire, a fierce battle broke out at the foot of Ujinuma Mountain. The defending forces were familiar with the terrain and had pre-deployed defensive facilities and various traps. They also had rock fortresses and arrow towers that constantly fired arrows and stones, controlling the roads in the area from their high vantage point. Even though the Wanjin army was better equipped and more well-trained, their attacks were repeatedly thwarted, and casualties continued to occur.

This kind of siege warfare is different from what people generally know about siege warfare. It is closer to street fighting and emphasizes small-unit coordination, infiltration, and close combat. It is not friendly at all to the Wanjin Army, which emphasizes long-range firepower and formation fighting.

You won't know until you try, and once you try, it's incredibly troublesome.

It's no wonder that since ancient times, launching a direct assault on a large city has been a major taboo for military strategists.

Yuan Ye, stationed at the rear, listened to the news coming back from the front lines and finally understood why there were so many examples of "starving Miki to death," "drying Tottori to death," and "flooding Takamatsu" in the Japanese Warring States period. Without heavy artillery to pick off enemy soldiers one by one, these large mountain fortresses were really difficult to conquer. The only options were to besiege them until they died or to come up with some underhanded tricks.

There are many examples of failures when one insists on taking a hard line, such as the Battle of Usui Castle.

The Uesugi family, leading the Kwantung Allied Forces, besieged Usui Castle and quickly broke through the first line of defense at the foot of the mountain. They also seized the castle town and wreaked havoc on the nearby villagers. However, there was a particularly dangerous spot on the mountain with cliffs on both sides and a very narrow road. As a result, the defending army had built a fortress there early on. They could easily cause the Kwantung Allied Forces to suffer heavy losses and be defeated by simply throwing stones down. In the end, they returned empty-handed and became the laughing stock of the year.

Although the terrain of Ujinuma Castle is not particularly treacherous, at least not as perilous as that of Usui Castle, it is still a mountain, and the terrain is not much better. Some of the enemy's rock fortresses and arrow towers were deliberately built in very tricky locations, making them difficult to take down in a short time. After breaking through the mountain, the Wanjin army was caught up in the melee at the foot of the mountain and blocked on the mountain road.

Wanjin doesn't need Uminuma Castle, and it doesn't matter if the attack, which is just a training exercise, fails to capture it. However, once they reach the Ise Peninsula, there will be many large enemy castles. If they cannot quickly capture such strategic locations and it turns into a siege and attrition war that lasts for years, the situation will be very unfavorable for Wanjin.

This will at least increase the number of variables and greatly increase the possibility of surrounding daimyo getting involved in the war.

Maybe we should develop a mortar? A simplified version of a mortar made of pine wood, capable of sending gunpowder charges flying into the sky?

While Yuan Ye pondered whether he could secretly use some more cheat codes, he discussed with the remaining staff officers what other ways there were to better handle the situation. However, they hadn't come up with any good results yet. The front-line officers, on the other hand, took the initiative and pushed the "Wheel Fortress" up the mountain. They also gathered a large number of small catapults and started burning wherever there was a counterattack, regardless of the consequences.

The cheapest building material of this era was wood, and Honshu Island was also located in an earthquake-prone area, so wooden buildings were the mainstream. The fire attack tactic was still effective. By adopting the policy of not occupying but only driving away, they began to slowly force the defending troops to retreat. However, the Wanjin Army was not fast either. After driving away the defending troops in a certain place, they could not advance for a while.

After more than an hour of fierce fighting, the Wanjin army had burned a large sum of money, but only managed to consolidate the area around the breakthrough point and destroy three enemy fortifications and several arrow towers, barely advancing a few dozen meters up the mountain.

This efficiency is not good, and casualties are extremely difficult to control. In just one hour, the front line has not launched a desperate charge, and the casualty targets have already been exceeded.

The staff officers of the Wanjin Army came and went, constantly gathering information from the front lines. Their discussions became increasingly heated, and they prepared to go back and revise the training syllabus, as well as make some modifications to the configuration of related weapons.

Overall, they were not very satisfied with the results of the exercise. They believed that if they wanted to fight similar siege battles in the future, the troops should be more dispersed, more flexible, and even more proactive and adventurous. After all, judging from the defense maps that were compiled, the enemy did not have the ability to isolate all the places that could be climbed up the mountain. There were still loopholes that could be exploited.

Mikuro hadn't left. He watched from afar as the officers of the Wanjin Army argued among themselves. Haruno listened to their discussion with a calm expression, but when he vaguely heard some of the conversation, he felt like he was about to explode.

Are you still not satisfied with this speed?
Are they only satisfied when they wipe out such a large mountain city overnight?

These days, large-scale battles like this are measured in "years," and it's not uncommon for them to take one or two years. Take Inuyama Castle, which is currently under siege, for example. Does the Oda clan not want to take it down overnight? No, they dare not fight it. They can't guarantee victory if they do, so they wait until it's too weak to resist before making a move!
The Oda clan has been making trouble for more than half a year and hasn't made a move yet, while you have already started attacking the mountain in just over an hour. You're even forcing your way up despite the enemy's strong and well-equipped forces and desperate defense. Why are you still arguing?
What's there to argue about? If I had a foot soldier like that...

Mikuro's expression shifted constantly. He had a lot to complain about, but he also began to suspect that Haruno was lying to him. It was very likely that Haruno wanted to forcibly take over Uchinuma Castle in order to gain the credit.

It's not impossible. If we can quickly capture Unuma Castle and cut off the head of the "Tiger of Eastern Mino," it will definitely greatly deter the large and small lords at the confluence of the Kiso River and Nagara River. At that time, there will be no need to send anyone to persuade them. Those lords will bring their beautiful daughters to our door, crying and begging to surrender. They will give us people and food, and actively join the siege of the Saito family.

Oda Nobunaga would also value Wanjin as an ally more. Even if Harano wanted a piece of Chikyo territory in this area, with such a great achievement in hand, Oda Nobunaga would probably have to reluctantly give it to him even if he didn't want to.

Mikuro grew increasingly disheartened, almost certain that Haruno was trying to steal the credit, otherwise he wouldn't have spent so much money. But he couldn't stop him. Just as he was feeling discouraged, he suddenly noticed that the Wanjin army had slowed down. The sharp bamboo whistles from the front line began to sound one after another, the oil bombs stopped firing, and the sounds of cannons and battle cries completely disappeared.

All of this happened as suddenly as the attack, and the Wanjin Army also ceased fire quickly, saying they would stop fighting and disengaging from the enemy with a single order.

This shows that the Wanjin Army has always maintained the initiative on the battlefield, obeyed orders without question, kept all units under control, and no one has acted rashly or planned to do things on their own.

Mikuro was very clever; otherwise, he wouldn't have been the one supported by Oda Nobunaga. Looking at the front line, which had suddenly gone from movement to stillness yet seemed so natural and harmonious, he swallowed hard a few times. But business was of the essence. Seeing that the guards were no longer stopping him from moving towards the plains, he quickly went over and asked with even more respect than before, "Your Highness, what is this...?" Tonight was too surreal; he really couldn't understand what had happened.

Haruno smiled at him gently as always: "I think it's about time. Lord Osawa Masahide should be willing to have a proper talk with you. What do you think, Lord Yakuro?"

He had learned everything he wanted to know, and he already knew how the defenders protected this mountain city, so there was no need to continue fighting.

Mikuro looked bewildered, still not understanding why Yuanye wanted to fight this battle, why he wasted so much money—the time was short, but the cost was considerable. The oil, gunpowder for the cannons, the damaged vehicles, and the wounded men and horses must have cost at least two or three thousand kan. Usually, a powerful clan would have to declare bankruptcy after such a battle.

Despite his incomprehension, he instinctively expressed his gratitude, saying, "Thank you, Your Highness. I'm sure Lord Daze will be able to recognize the situation."

"Keep it up!" Yuan Ye patted him on the shoulder from above and laughed, "The credit is all in your hands, so be sure to hold on to it. I'll be waiting for the day you become the ruler of a city and a country."

"Yes, Your Highness." Miku could only bow his head and reply, his heart burning with renewed excitement.

The ruler of a city and a country, Yuanye is his goal. If he can become a person like Yuanye in the future, he can die in peace.

…………

As Haruno said, the second time Mikuro and the others went to talk to Osawa Masahide, it went much more smoothly. At least they could go directly up the mountain and were no longer blocked outside the first city wall.

The defection operation went smoothly. Yakuro and the others had already found out why Osawa Masahide was so stubborn through his brother-in-law, Tsubouchi Katsutaro. For the past few years, Osawa Masahide had been opposing Oda Nobunaga here. Whenever Oda Nobunaga attacked Inuyama Castle, he would attack Oda Nobunaga's territory or flanks. Due to the long-term friction, he killed many Oda samurai, including Oda Nobunaga's cousins, nephews, and relatives.

Now Inuyama Castle is doomed, and the Saito clan is in internal strife and looks like it's going to collapse as well. It's not that he doesn't want to surrender, but he's afraid that if he does, the Oda clan will take revenge and Oda Nobunaga will take his life.

Even though the Wanjin army's offensive is fierce, and they could actually take Uchinuma Castle if they were willing to suffer heavy losses and lose hundreds of lives, he still hesitated. He was afraid that surrendering would be suicide, and that both the Oda and Saito families would want him dead, leaving him with no means of resistance.

Knowing the reason made things easier. Without hesitation, Mikuro took off his shirt, took the wakizashi (a type of saber), and sat down in Osawa Masahide's courtyard. He then sent Maeno Nagayasu on horseback to find Oda Nobunaga and tell him that he had agreed to Osawa Masahide's conditions, requesting that Oda Nobunaga write a pardon in his own hand and promising to preserve the Osawa family's authority and name in the future.

If Oda Nobunaga refuses, his mission will be considered a failure, and he will have no choice but to commit suicide in Unuma Castle to atone for his sins.

He was still confident, believing that Oda Nobunaga would definitely agree, and Oda Nobunaga did indeed agree. With Uminuma Castle easily captured, the death of a few cousins ​​and nephews was nothing, since the Oda family was exceptionally prolific and wouldn't lack for more people.

He laughed and scolded Mikuro a few times before writing the pardon document. He even trusted his subordinates and allowed Osawa Masahide to continue guarding Unuma Castle without having to move the location.

After the agreement was reached, Osawa Masahide expressed his "deep admiration" for Oda Nobunaga's magnanimity and said many nice things. Whether it was an act or not, he flattered Oda Nobunaga quite a bit. Then he and Iki Seibei went to Komakiyama Castle to pay their respects to Oda Nobunaga, to show that both families had completely surrendered.

As the fighting progressed, the enemy became an ally, and Yuanye led his army back to Matsukura Castle along the same route, also taking the opportunity to recover the three cantilever bridges built by the Wanjin army.

Most of them were prefabricated and could be recycled for reuse. However, Mikuro was somewhat disappointed because he still had a bridge-building task to complete, so his plan to save money and effort was out of the question. But he didn't dare to ask Haruno for them, so in the end, he strung together the boats of "Kawanai-shu" into a pontoon bridge.

After that, Haruno had nothing to do. He wasn't even on the front lines anymore; at most, he was just keeping an eye on the recently subjugated Ikiyama Castle and Unuma Castle to prevent them from causing trouble, and occasionally threatening the nearby minor clans to keep them from causing trouble. Meanwhile, Oda Nobunaga had finally lost patience and, having determined that Inuyama Castle had little ability to resist, launched a fierce attack on it.

He himself even took to the field, leading more than 2000 hatamoto in a personal charge. In addition, Shibata Katsuie led more than 3000 Owari clan members, Sakuma Nobumori led more than 1500 men, and Niwa Nagahide led more than 2000 men, who also launched attacks from multiple locations in the south.

The garrison of Inuyama Castle had been deserting or secretly surrendering. Saito Tatsuoki was in dire straits and did not provide much reinforcements. Oda Nobukiyo's forces, including the Mino people, numbered less than a thousand. Seeing that the situation was hopeless, he did not put up a final stand at his house on the mountaintop, nor did he attempt a heroic act of self-immolation. Instead, he fled directly from the east.

Oda Nobunaga did not pursue him, but let him escape into the mountains. He then went from the Mino Mountains to Kai Province and became a retainer of the Takeda clan.

Oda Nobunaga didn't do anything to his family members. Those who wanted to stay were given a piece of land in Tsuda village, and their past crimes were forgiven. They were to honestly farm and make contributions later. Those who didn't want to stay were told to take their belongings and go after Oda Nobukiyo, and do whatever they wanted.

With this, the Inuyama Castle faction was finished, and Saito Tatsuoki was now truly alone, without a single ally.

(End of this chapter)