Japan's Sengoku Period: The Sanada Clan's Ambition

Chapter 131 Your wife, I will take care of her!
Sanada Nobuyuki saw Mori Nagayoshi fall to the ground after being shot, and quickly led his cavalry over.

Among the crowd, a samurai named Honda Hachizo failed to notice Sanada Nobuyuki approaching and was preparing to step forward to take Mori Nagayoshi's wakizashi.

Because Tokugawa Ieyasu had ordered that no heads be taken before the battle, fearing that the soldiers would not be able to concentrate on fighting, Honda Hachizo could only step forward to take something else as proof of his merit.

Unexpectedly, Mori Nagayoshi, though shot and fallen to the ground, was not dead. He struggled to pick up the large gun "Human Boneless" that had fallen to the side.

The term "o-shaku-ya" refers to a spear with a large head. Samurai typically used this type of spear in combat, rather than the three-section spear used by foot soldiers.

"The enemy general should not injure Musashi!"

Before Mori Nagayoshi could pick up the spear, Sanada Nobuyuki had already arrived on horseback, and Sanada Nobushige, standing beside him, pierced Honda Hachizo with a single spear thrust.

Sanada Nobuyuki dismounted and immediately went to Mori Nagayoshi's side.

"Musashi no Kami, hold on!" Sanada Nobuyuki said earnestly, his eyes red with tears.

This time it wasn't an act; after all, he had some connection with Sen Changke. Seeing an acquaintance fall before his eyes was bound to evoke mixed feelings.

Two of Mori Nagayoshi's retainers also rushed over and stood guard on either side.

"Gensaburo, you've come." Mori Nagayoshi looked down at his chest, which was gushing blood, and knew that he was not going to live.

He then pulled a will from his pocket and handed it to Sanada Nobuyuki, saying, "I have already written my will. I entrust the Mori family to you from now on."

"Xuanfan, and I'm entrusting Aqian to your care."

"In this world, there is no one more trustworthy than Genzaburo, and only with your loyalty can I feel at ease."

Seeing that Mori Nagayoshi was barely breathing, Sanada Nobuyuki had no choice but to hold Mori Nagayoshi's hands tightly and say with a firm expression, "Musashi-no-kami, please rest assured, I will take care of your wife and children, so you don't need to worry!"

Hearing Sanada Nobuyuki's assurance, Mori Nagayoshi finally felt relieved.

Nobuyuki Sanada is the "most loyal and righteous person in Shinano" personally certified by him. This time, he even traveled all the way from Shinano to support him, and even came to Nagakute to lend a hand.

In Mori Nagayoshi's view, there was no one in the world more trustworthy than Sanada Nobuyuki.

His son Xuanfan was only a few years old, and his only remaining younger brother, Mori Nagashige, was only fourteen. If there was no trustworthy person to take care of them, how could the Mori family survive in this chaotic Warring States period?
"You two, come here!" Mori Nagayo shouted at his two retainers who were guarding him, using all his strength.

Sanada Nobushige quickly took over from the two men, picking up a wooden shield from the ground and placing it in front of them.

"This is Lord Sanada, the future assistant to Genban, understand?" Mori Nagayoshi coughed twice and spat out a lot of blood.

The two retainers nodded quickly, then looked at Sanada Nobuyuki beside them, seemingly trying to remember his face.

After arranging his affairs, Mori Nagayoshi finally closed his eyes slowly, passing away at the age of 27.

At this point, due to Mori Nagayoshi being shot, the front lines had lost command. Ii Naomasa also led the Red Cavalry to join the attack, and Mori Nagayoshi's troops began to rout.

Upon seeing this, Ikeda Tsuneoki immediately led his men forward in an attempt to maintain formation, only to run headfirst into Nagai Naokatsu of the Tokugawa clan.

Nobuyuki Sanada couldn't care less about anything else at that moment.

When Sanada Nobuyuki realized that this place belonged to Nagakute, he didn't want to stay a moment longer. Now that Morinaga was dead, if he didn't run away quickly, wouldn't that be like throwing his life away?
"Genjiro!"

"Take Musashi and retreat from the battlefield immediately."

"Since you two are retainers of Musashi no Kami, you should know the importance of protecting Musashi no Kami's remains. You must never let Musashi no Kami fall into the hands of the Tokugawa family."

"Understood?" Sanada Nobuyuki looked at the two samurai.

The two nodded immediately, then carried Mori Nagayoshi's body onto his mount, "Hyakudankuro," and left the battlefield.

Sanada Nobuyuki glanced at the "Human Boneless" on the ground, picked it up, and took it with him. Mori Nagayoshi's weapon must be a good gun.

On the outskirts of the battlefield, Obata Mitsumori reined in his warhorse and looked anxiously at the Mori clan's army formation. More and more Tokugawa foot soldiers were surrounding them. If Sanada Nobuyuki didn't come out soon, they would be surrounded as well.

Fortunately, not long after, Nobuyuki Sanada and Nobushige Sanada arrived with the body of Nagayoshi Mori.

"Hurry up!" Sanada Nobuyuki didn't hesitate for a second, immediately turning his horse around and galloping back.

Sanada Nobuyuki's party consisted of only about 200 people, making it unlikely to attract the attention of the Tokugawa clan on a battlefield with 20,000 soldiers. Furthermore, their red tunics would likely be mistaken for Ii Naomasa's troops at first glance, preventing them from actively intercepting them.

Besides, even if they recognized the "six coins" flag, so what? The cavalry were focused on escaping, and even foot soldiers wearing straw sandals couldn't stop them.

Moreover, Tokugawa Ieyasu's orders were constantly being issued from the main camp, demanding a swift defeat of Mori Nagayoshi's forces and a fierce attack on Ikeda's army on the right flank.

So no one paid any attention to Sanada Nobuyuki's small cavalry force.

Instead, it was Ii Naomasa in the crowd who noticed this cavalry unit, which, like himself, was clad in red armor. Sanada Nobushige and Ii Naomasa crossed paths, exchanged a glance, and did not engage in battle.

The Sanada clan was determined to retreat, while Ii Naomasa wanted to continue attacking the Ikeda army; neither of them stopped.

Just as they withdrew from the battlefield, another cheer erupted behind them.

"The enemy general Ikeda Kiyoshi has been defeated by me, Nagai Denhachiro!"

"Oh!"

Sanada Nobuyuki could only silently mourn for Ikeda Tsuneoki in his heart, but his warhorse dared not stop for a moment.

Almost simultaneously, news broke on the battlefield that Ikeda Gensuke, the eldest son of Ikeda Tsuneoki, had been killed in action.

"Big brother!"

"Brother Genzaburo!"

Just as Nobuyuki Sanada was running wildly with his head down, a voice suddenly rang out from the side.

Sanada Nobuyuki turned his head and saw, "Sanzaemon?"

It turned out to be Terumasa Ikeda.

"Sanzaemon, hurry up and follow me, I'll take you!" Sanada Nobuyuki hurriedly called to Ikeda Terumasa to catch up. With the deaths of Ikeda Tsuneoki and Ikeda Gensuke, the Ikeda army had completely collapsed.

With red eyes, Terumasa Ikeda followed, glancing back every now and then. If possible, he really wanted to escape with his father and brother's corpses.

But he didn't dare. His father, who was so fierce, had died in battle. If he went, wouldn't he just be throwing his life away?
Moreover, my father and elder brother are both dead. If I just run away, wouldn't the Ikeda family's territory become mine?

I have to run!
The group ran for seven or eight miles in one go, until they could no longer see a single person behind them before finally stopping.

puff!puff!
The panting of the warhorses rose and fell; the escape alone had exhausted Sanada Nobuyuki and his men, and the warhorses were also thoroughly worn out.

Although Kiso Ma has good endurance, he was already exhausted after such a long distance at full speed.

"Mr. Sanzaemon, please accept my condolences."

"It's not too late to avenge Kii no Kami later!" Sanada Nobuyuki couldn't help but come to the side of Ikeda Terumasa, who was grieving alone, and comforted him.

Terumasa Ikeda sighed and waved his hand, seemingly unwilling to discuss the matter further.

It's just a minor grudge for killing my father, nothing serious!

In war, people always die, and for a samurai, dying on the battlefield is the highest honor!

"Big brother, what do we do now?" Sanada Nobushige was also at a loss. They had escaped, but they had no direction and had no idea which way to go.

Terumasa Ikeda quickly said, "I know Owari well, everyone follow me!"

Nobuyuki Sanada nodded as well. The Ikeda family originated from Owari, and Terumasa Ikeda grew up there, so knowing the way was no problem for him.

Led by Terumasa Ikeda, the group turned left and right through the fields and finally reached the main road.

“If you keep going north along this road, you will reach Komakiyama.”

"go!"

Letian City.

It was noon on June 9th when Toyotomi Hideyoshi learned that Tokugawa Ieyasu had left Komakiyama Castle.

"Oh no, Kii no Kami and the others are in trouble."

"Why don't we go and provide support immediately?" "No!" Hideyoshi Hashiba immediately retorted, "It's too late to go now. Ikeda and his men have 20,000 men. Even if Tokugawa Ieyasu goes to provide support, there's no need to worry."

"Now we should take advantage of the vulnerability of Komakiyama Castle and launch a full-scale attack to capture it first!"

In Toyotomi Hideyoshi's view, although Tokugawa Ieyasu had discovered the Mikawa attack force, his good nephew had at least 20,000 men under his command, and also had generals like Ikeda Tsuneoki and Mori Nagayoshi, as well as Hori Hidemasa for assistance.

Even if they can't defeat Tokugawa Ieyasu, they can still hold him back for a few days.

With Komakiyama so close at hand, we must remove this thorn in our side first; this is a golden opportunity.

"Order the entire army to launch an attack and capture Komakiyama Castle in one fell swoop!"

"what!"

Soon, the sound of conch shells rang out, and amidst the dense drumbeats, more than 30,000 Hashiba soldiers began their march towards Komakiyama Castle.

Sakai Tadatsugu and Honda Tadakatsu, who remained at Komakiyama Castle, were well-prepared and had deployed guards at various key points. As soon as the Hashiba army approached Komakiyama, a large number of arquebusiers and archers began to fire intensively.

Tokugawa Ieyasu's defensive fortifications were very well constructed. In addition to the Komakiyama fortifications, a large number of moats were dug and wooden fences were erected at the foot of Komakiyama.

The foot soldiers of the Hashiba army were slowed down by these tight defensive structures, and the crowded foot soldiers were directly exposed to the guns of the Tokugawa and Oda clans.

Although the Hashiba army's arquebuses were also retaliating, the defenders of Komakiyama Castle had fortifications, so they couldn't inflict any effective damage on them.

After two hours of fierce attack, tens of thousands of people were stopped at the foot of Xiaomu Mountain and unable to move an inch.

As if things weren't going to go wrong, just as Toyotomi Hideyoshi was worrying about the lack of progress in his siege, news of Nobuyoshi Miyoshi's defeat also came back.

Hideyoshi Hashiba was dumbfounded.

At this moment, he couldn't care less about Komakiyama Castle. If Miyoshi Nobuyoshi was defeated, then Ikeda Tsuneoki and the others would be in danger.

Hideyoshi Hashiba made a decisive move, immediately halting the siege of Komakiyama Castle and personally leading an army of 30,000 men on a hasty march toward Nagakute.

On Mount Komaki, every move of the Hashiba army was observed by the garrison on the mountain.

Honda Tadakatsu immediately understood that Tokugawa Ieyasu's forces had started fighting, and Hashiba Hideyoshi was going to provide support.

"No, we can't let Hideyoshi leave like this."

"Lord Matsudaira, you stay here and guard Komakiyama. I have to go and hold off Hideyoshi!" Honda Tadakatsu said to Matsudaira Ietada beside him.

Honda Tadakatsu knew that Tokugawa Ieyasu had brought very few men, and if Hashiba Hideyoshi drove them over, Tokugawa Ieyasu would be in danger.

Neither Honda Tadakatsu of Komakiyama Castle nor Hashiba Hideyoshi, who was rushing to provide support, had received any reports of the Battle of Nagakute, so they were unaware of the situation at the front.

Both sides were in a hurry to get there.

After a half-hour run, Honda Tadakatsu, with several hundred foot soldiers, finally intercepted Hashiba Hideyoshi.

"Honda Heihachiro is here! Come on if you're not afraid to die!" Honda Tadakatsu stood in front of the formation, holding the dragonfly cleaver. The foot soldiers behind him thought Honda Tadakatsu was crazy, daring to block tens of thousands of people with only a few hundred men.

Although these foot soldiers were also panicked, as long as Honda Tadakatsu was still there, they managed to maintain their formation.

Hideyoshi Hashiba, riding his horse, didn't take these few hundred men seriously at all. He immediately left a force to fight Honda Tadakatsu and then continued his advance.

Honda Tadakatsu felt humiliated when he saw that Hideyoshi Hashiba was ignoring him.

"Come at me!"

Just now they faced tens of thousands of men head-on, and now they are following Honda Tadakatsu to fight the one or two thousand men left behind by Hashiba Hideyoshi. The courage of the foot soldiers has also returned.

Honda Tadakatsu led the charge, his dragon-cutting sword flashing up and down and left and right, and in an instant, seven or eight foot soldiers fell.

Despite his short stature, Honda Tadakatsu was extremely agile, and using him as the spearhead, he actually broke through the Hashiba army's defenses.

"Haha, die!"

"Remember my name, Honda Heihachiro!"

"Damn monkey, how dare you ignore me!"

Honda Tadakatsu vented his resentment towards Hashiba Hideyoshi directly on these foot soldiers. Several Hashiba samurai mustered their courage and stepped forward, but were quickly cut down by Honda Tadakatsu.

Honda Tadakatsu's Dragonfly Cutter was also a large spear with a huge head that resembled a long sword, capable of both thrusting and slashing.

The bamboo spears used by ordinary foot soldiers were no match for them, and in no time, twenty or thirty foot soldiers had died under Honda Tadakatsu's spear.

Honda Tadakatsu immediately began the dragon dance.

The ordinary foot soldiers had never seen such a sight before and were so frightened that they retreated repeatedly.

Several of the braver samurai who had rushed out had been captured, and now no one dared to approach.

Soon, the foot soldiers of the Hashiba army began to collapse.

Honda Tadakatsu ignored the routed soldiers and continued to chase after Hashiba Hideyoshi's army.

Hideyoshi Hashiba was fed up; this guy was like a persistent leech, he couldn't just ignore him. So Hideyoshi Hashiba personally led his troops in an attack, while Honda Tadakatsu simply turned and ran.

While running, he kept making provocative gestures, which infuriated the samurai on the Hashiba army's side.

"Tadakatsu Honda is just trying to slow us down. He'll only harass us; he won't dare to launch an attack."

"Ignore him, advance immediately!" Hideyoshi Hashiba also realized that this was all Honda Tadakatsu's scheme, so he stopped paying attention to it.

After walking for a while, a cavalry suddenly appeared on the main road ahead, and Hideyoshi Hashiba immediately ordered a warning.

The opposing cavalry also stopped.

"My lord, they don't seem to be from the Tokugawa clan." Katagiri Katsumoto, standing beside Hashiba Hideyoshi, widened his eyes, trying to discern the identity of the troops ahead.

"Stand up my horse seal!" Hideyoshi Hashiba hurriedly ordered.

Soon, the "Thousand-Layer Gourd" horse seal was raised high, and the cavalrymen on the opposite side dismounted upon seeing it.

However, Hideyoshi Hashiba dared not be careless. Dismounting was not necessarily without malice; sometimes it was for the purpose of charging.

"Hashiba-sama!"

"It's me, Genzaburo!"

Just as Hideyoshi Hashiba was on high alert, Nobuyuki Sanada came running over, waving his hands.

Hideyoshi Hashiba was stunned. "What's Genzaburo doing here? Wasn't he helping defend Iwamura Castle?"

Katagiri Katsumoto quickly stepped forward and brought Sanada Nobuyuki with him. Nobuyuki was participating in the battle as a member of Hashiba Hideyoshi's entourage.

"Gensaburo, what are you doing here?"

"Lord Hashiba, it's a long story."

"Then let's get to the point." Hideyoshi Hashiba's mind was entirely on the battlefield of Nagakute. Only Nobuyuki Sanada would allow him to ask a few questions. He wouldn't bother with anyone else.

Sanada Nobuyuki then adopted a solemn expression and said in a low voice, "I have just escaped from Nagakute, where we have suffered a crushing defeat."

"Musashi no Kami and Kii no Kami have both been killed in action."

Hideyoshi Hashiba's eyes widened suddenly, and his mouth gaped open in disbelief.

"what?"

　Mori Nagayoshi in history: In the Battle of Nagakute in history, Mori Nagayoshi was killed instantly by being struck between the eyebrows.

　　Meanwhile, Mori Nagako had a habit of carrying pen and ink with him, so his will may have been written before the fight began.

　　Of course, there is a lot of controversy surrounding this suicide note, but Kira will not spoil it here.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)