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

Chapter 138 A resounding victory! Sanada is too fierce!

Tomomasa Toyama, who was standing nearby, saw this clearly and immediately ran over.

Ke'er licked her lips, held the cross-shaped gun upside down, accelerated, and then suddenly leaped up and swung it down on her head.

The immense force sent Toyama Tomomasa's parrying spear crashing to the ground. Had it not been for the two Toyama clan samurai beside him who reacted quickly and pulled him back, he would likely have died on the spot.

Looking at the murderous-looking Ke'er Cai Zang with lingering fear, Toyama Tomomasa turned and ran.

"Where to run?"

Ke'er Caizang wouldn't let this opportunity to capture the enemy general slip by, and immediately gave chase.

Many foot soldiers and samurai from the Toyama clan tried to intercept him along the way, but they were all repelled by Kana Saizo. Kana Saizo swung his spear continuously, blocking all the enemy soldiers who tried to approach.

Toyama Tomomasa quickly ran to Toyama Tomotada's side, and Kazuya Saizo also stopped in his tracks.

He was blocked by dozens of members of the Toyama Yuchu clan.

"kill!"

Ke'er's eyes narrowed, and she charged forward with her spear.

At this moment, Ke'er was only surrounded by about twenty foot soldiers, while the enemy had already completely surrounded him.

With the crisis averted, Toyama Tomotada and Toyama Tomomasa both breathed a sigh of relief.

However, just as the two relaxed, Ke'er Saizo suddenly charged at them with a cross-shaped gun.

"Die!"

Kanazo swung his spear with great force, forcing back four or five samurai blocking his way. Then, Kanazo accelerated, gripping his spear tightly with both hands, and aimed straight for Toyama Tomotada's face.

Both Toyama Tomotada and his son were stunned. Whose subordinate was this?

puff.

Amidst everyone's horrified gazes, Toyama Tomotada was shot through the chest by Ke'er Saizo.

"The enemy general has already been captured by my Ke'er Cai Zang!"

A deafening roar echoed across the battlefield, and all the foot soldiers turned around to see Toyama Tomotada being lifted up by Kaji Saizo, his corpse held high like a horse's stamp.

Wow!
The foot soldiers of the Toyama family were struck as if by a heavy blow, their faces filled with panic; the scene was truly terrifying.

Meanwhile, the foot soldiers under Ke'er Caizang's command were in high spirits, cheering as they launched a fierce attack. With each swing of their spears, they pushed the battle line back to the banks of the Tera River.

Nobuyuki Sanada jumped up from his stool. "Genjiro, now's the time!"

Sanada Nobushige had been holding back for a long time. Before Sanada Nobuyuki could finish speaking, he grabbed his spear, leaped onto his horse, and shouted, "Let's go!"

Oh!
With the morale of the enemy general high at the front, Sanada Nobushige led the Red Guard directly into the chaotic Toyama Tomotada army formation, cutting through them like vegetables.

The foot soldiers blocking Sanada Nobushige's horse were no match for him. By the time Sanada Nobushige reached Kana and hid beside her, the Toyama clan's army formation behind him had already been breached by the Red Guards.

A long red dragon charged across the middle of the battlefield, tearing through the Yuanshan family's defenses in an instant.

With the death of Toyama Tomotada, the Toyama family's command structure collapsed instantly, and no matter how much Toyama Tomomasa roared, it was to no avail.

With their leader dead, the foot soldiers were too weak to fight any longer. The foot soldiers of the Toyama clan retreated into the middle of the Tera River.

Fortunately, the Sihe River was not deep, otherwise these defeated soldiers would have been doomed.

After scattering the troops of Tomotada and Tomomasa Toyama, Nobushige Sanada did not continue the pursuit, but immediately rushed to the left.

At this time, Mizoguchi Sadayasu's cavalry was engaged in battle with Suganuma Sadatoshi's main cavalry, and the situation was originally evenly matched, but Sanada Nobushige's arrival changed everything.

Sanada Nobushige and Obata Mitsumori divided the battlefield from the left and right, directly surrounding the Suganuma clan's cavalry.

Ogasawara Sadakichi's foot soldiers also joined the battle from the rear. The Suganuma clan's cavalry, who had lost their battlefield space, were tackled off their horses one by one, and then came the much-anticipated kill-stealing phase.

Ogasawara Sadayoshi rushed to the front lines, shouting, "All troops, charge! Cross the river!"

Oh!
The henchmen under the command of Futaki Shigekichi and Inugami Hisashichi also began to move.

The defeat of Toyama Tomotada completely exposed the flanks of Toyama Toshikage and Toyama Tsunekage. Futaki Shigekichi and Inugami Hisachi quickly cooperated with Ogasawara Sadakae to surround Toyama Toshikage and his companion.

The battlefield situation changed drastically.

On the other side of the river, Suganuma Sadatoshi was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. His left flank was surrounded, his center was breached, and Suzuki Shigeji on the right was also held back by Chimura Yoshishige.

The Sanada clan's arquebusiers kept firing, and the Toyama Ikki army's formation kept retreating.

The line of encounter between the two armies quickly retreated from Oda and Isshiki villages on the opposite bank of the river to Teragawa village on this side, and Suganuma Sadatoshi's main camp was in danger of being attacked at any time.

At that moment, Nobuyuki Sanada was dispatched.

Hatsushika Masaji led the remaining foot soldiers of his main camp into battle, and together with Kana Saizo in the vanguard, drove Toyama Tomotada's routed troops across the river. There were no more friendly forces in front of Suganuma Sadaotoshi's main camp.

Nobuyuki Sanada also joined the battle on horseback, wielding the Human Boneless Sword, with Kotaro Suzuki and Chiyo Obata close behind.

"Saizo, the enemy's main camp is just ahead. Follow me and charge forward." Sanada Nobuyuki rode past Kazuki Saizo, issuing orders as he rode.

As they were talking, Nobuyuki Sanada noticed that there wasn't a single bamboo leaf left on the bamboo stalk that Kaoru had just hidden behind.

That's incredible! How many people must have been killed?

"Okay!" Ke'er's adrenaline surged just from hiding, and she didn't feel tired at all. Her eyes were only on the Suganuma family foot soldiers in front of her.

Although Hatsushika Masaji only had a few dozen men under his command, they were all elite Kai samurai, each wearing a dōmaru and wielding a Ōshima spear.

Upon first encounter, a large number of foot soldiers from Suganuma Sadatoshi's main camp fell to the ground.

Meanwhile, Toshikage Toyama and Tsunekage Toyama on the left wing gradually weakened, being repeatedly attacked by Sadayoshi Ogasawara and Nobushige Sanada, and were simply unable to resist.

Sanada Nobushige used his spear to kill people, and blood flowed down the shaft like a line into his palm.

But Sanada Nobushige was completely unaware of this and rode his horse forward.

When he rushed to the point where there was no one left in front of him, Sanada Nobushige looked up and saw that the enemy's main camp was right to his right.
At this moment, Suganuma Sadatoshi's main camp had already become entangled in a fierce battle with Sanada Nobuyuki. Although their morale was low, they were still able to withstand Sanada Nobuyuki's attacks thanks to their numerical advantage.

But Suganuma Sadatoshi knew he was doomed to lose this battle, and all he wanted to do was run.

"Let's go, get out of here right now!"

"My lord, shall we inform Lord Suzuki?"

"You go?"

"This"

"If you don't want to go, then come with me. Otherwise, once the two flanks surround us, we won't be able to escape." After saying this, Suganuma Sadatoshi quickly took the reins from a retainer, mounted his horse, and rode out of the main camp.

Nearly a hundred foot soldiers and samurai followed Suganuma Sadatoshi and quickly withdrew from the battlefield.

Soon, the foot soldiers of the Suganuma family at the front of the main camp realized something was wrong: why was no one coming up to take their place?

Looking back, the main camp was empty.

Oh no, has the commander-in-chief retreated?
The defense line, which was barely holding on, collapsed instantly. With the commander-in-chief gone, how could they possibly fight this battle?
Sanada Nobuyuki also noticed that the enemy's resistance seemed to be weakening, and their formation was retreating quite quickly.

"Send word to Uemon, charge!"

Hatsushika Masaji immediately accepted the order and led his "first men" in a fierce charge.

Behind the battlefield, Suganuma Sadatoshi lay on his horse, kicking its belly incessantly. The Sanada family was indeed formidable; no wonder even Sakai Tadatsugu had been defeated by them.

That was the "flag bearer" of the Higashi-Sankawa clan, and the most capable general of the Tokugawa family!
Suganuma Sadatoshi kept running with his head down, but as he ran, he noticed that there was another cavalry force advancing parallel to him not far away.

That splash of red was an unforgettable memory for him, and also a role that all Tokugawa samurai remember vividly—the Red Guard of the Takeda clan!
"My lord, the enemy is catching up!"

"Don't tell me, I saw it!" Suganuma Sadatoshi was in a panic. He only had about a dozen mounted samurai with him, the rest were foot soldiers. After quickly assessing the situation, Suganuma Sadatoshi could only spur his horse and shout to a samurai beside him, "Miyarokuro, go! Stop this cavalry for me."

The samurai called Miyaro was completely dumbfounded.

He dared not disobey Suganuma Sadatoshi's orders, so he gritted his teeth and ordered his foot soldiers to move to the left and set up their formation. Suganuma Sadatoshi, meanwhile, took the opportunity to continue his escape to the right.

Seeing that Suganuma Sadatoshi had changed direction and was fleeing, Sanada Nobushige quickly said to Obata Mitsumori beside him, "Shimono no Kami, those rabble are yours."

"Understood." Obata Mitsumori, a man of few words and ruthless nature, charged directly towards the foot soldiers in front.

Sanada Nobushige swung his spear to the right, and the remaining cavalry began to maneuver to the right to continue the pursuit of the fleeing Suganuma Sadatoshi.

Not long after Suganuma Sadatoshi ran out, he heard shouts of battle behind him. He turned around and met Sanada Nobushige's gaze.

More than a hundred Red Cavalrymen were chasing after them, and Suganuma Sadatoshi wished his warhorse had two more legs.

I should have bought a few Nanbu horses back then; they were expensive, but they ran fast.

Suganuma Sadatoshi was chased around like a headless fly. After crossing a hill, he looked back and finally managed to shake off Sanada Nobushige.

call.
Suganuma Sadatoshi let out a long sigh of relief before looking around.

He had no idea where he had ended up.

Shan Shangdao yawned. The battlefield in the distance was raging, and the sounds of cannons rising and falling could be faintly heard even from the foot of Xiaoli City.

Thinking of how his other retainers were fighting and making contributions while he was doing nothing in Xiaoli City, Yamashiro Michi wished he could rush to the rear battlefield to join the fight immediately.

However, without Sanada Nobuyuki's orders, he could only continue to deploy his forces at Kosato Castle.

"Lord Kagami, I've heard the lord mention you before. Although we only spent a few days together at Iwamura Castle, I think your abilities are quite outstanding."

"I heard that Lord Hashiba appointed two chief retainers, why not you?" With nothing else to do, Yamaue Michiki could only chat with Kagami Motonari.

Kagami Motomasa sighed helplessly, "Since this matter has been decided personally by Lord Hashiba, as a retainer of the Mori clan, I can only obey orders."

"The new head of the household is the younger brother of Musashi no Moritō, and I will do my best to assist him."

"Do you know Lord Genban, the son of Lord Musashi no Kami?" Yamagami Michiki suddenly asked.

A hint of unease flashed across Genji's face, but he quickly recovered, saying, "I know a little bit."

"I heard that Lord Musashi-no-kami's last words were to appoint Lord Sanada as the guardian of Genban-dono."

"With Lord Sanada's abilities and character, Genban-dono will be worry-free in the future, and we retainers can rest assured."

After testing the waters, Shan Shangdao stopped talking.

In the past few days at Iwamura Castle, Yamashiro and I have discovered that the various officials are quite capable, and they have arranged the castle's defenses in a very orderly manner.

When he thought of his lord's "eagerness to seek out talented people," Yamashita Daoji began to have his own ideas.

When Mori Nagayoshi was still alive, Kagami Motomasa was highly valued; otherwise, he would not have been appointed as the castle magistrate of Iwamura Castle by Mori Nagayoshi.

Now that Mori Tadamasa has succeeded to the throne, the Mori clan elders, Hayashi Tsuneyasu and Hayashi Tamotada, father and son, are in power. Kagami Motomasa is excluded because he is not in Kinzan Castle or Rakuten Castle.

Yamagami Michiki wanted to speak up for his lord, but judging from Kagami Motomasa's words, it seemed that he still wanted to continue serving the Mori family, which Yamagami Michiki found quite regrettable.

"Lord Yamagami, did you hear that sound?"

Just as Shan Shang was expressing his regret, Kagami Gen, who was standing beside him, asked intently.

As they listened intently on the mountain path, they could hear a sound.

The two turned their heads and saw seven or eight mounted warriors rushing towards them.

"who?"

"A samurai from the main clan?"

“I can’t see clearly.” Kagami Motomasa shook his head. “Send someone to ask.”

"Yes." Yamagami Michiki nodded and went to greet him personally.

As he fled, Suganuma Sadatoshi kept looking back until he was sure there were no pursuers behind him before he could finally relax.

However, just as he was about to stop his horse to rest, Suganuma Sadatoshi suddenly saw "banners waving" in front of him. Upon closer inspection, he saw that they were all "six coins".

Suganuma Sadato was stunned. Just as he was about to turn around and run away, Yamagami Michiki and his men blocked his way.

"Ha ha!"

Upon seeing who it was, Yamagami Daoji immediately smiled.

He didn't recognize the person opposite him, and he had never seen the flag behind him before. Looking at the disheveled appearance of the other party, he knew that it must be the Toyama Ikki who had been defeated from the front.

"I originally thought this battle had nothing to do with me, but I didn't expect that someone would actually come to me on their own initiative."

"I am Yamagami Michiki, a retainer of the Sanada clan. Surrender and you will be spared!" After saying this, dozens of foot soldiers behind Yamagami Michiki rushed forward and surrounded Suganuma Sadatoshi and his men.

Sadao Suganuma was utterly despondent.

Totally lost.

In the evening, Sanada Nobuyuki led his army from the Teragawa battlefield to the outskirts of Kozato Castle.

The battle ended early in the afternoon, but the battlefield needed to be cleaned up, and most importantly, the arrows and weapons needed to be recovered, as these cost a lot of money.

In addition, the military supervisor, Yorichika Takanashi, also had to tally the battle achievements, so he was not able to return until evening.

As soon as they entered the main camp of the besieged city, Yamashita Michiko ran over excitedly, "My lord, look who's that?"

Following the direction pointed out by Yamashiro Michi, Sanada Nobuyuki saw Suganuma Sadatoshi sitting dejectedly in a corner.

Sanada Nobushige slipped out from beside Sanada Nobuyuki and said with a laugh, "Haha, you can run pretty fast."

"But running fast is useless; you also have to run in the right direction. You're just courting death."

Hearing Sanada Nobushige's sarcasm, Suganuma Sadatoshi lowered his head in shame, then replied with feigned composure, "Now that I have been captured, I am at your disposal."

"We, the warriors of Mikawa, are not cowards who fear death!"

Yo?
The soul of Sanhe?

Sanada Nobuyuki became interested. "Does Tokugawa Ieyasu know how loyal you are?"

"So you are Suganuma Sadatoshi, the Supreme Commander of the Toyama Regiment?" Sanada Nobuyuki walked to the main seat and sat down.

Sadao Suganuma remained silent.

Sanada Nobuyuki raised an eyebrow. "I have great respect for Tokugawa Mikawa-no-kami. How about we make a deal?"

"What deal?" Suganuma Sadatoshi suddenly raised his head, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

Sanada Nobuyuki's lips curled up slightly as he softly uttered a few words.

"Do you want to live?"

　Hatamoto Sensho-yaku: A military system established by Tokugawa Ieyasu.

　　After unifying Mikawa, Tokugawa Ieyasu divided the samurai of the Mikawa region into three groups in order to improve the fighting strength of his troops.

　　The Mikawa tribe consisted of three groups: the Western Mikawa tribe, the Eastern Mikawa tribe, and the Hatamoto tribe. The Western Mikawa tribe was headed by Ishikawa Ienari (later replaced by Ishikawa Kazumasa), while the Eastern Mikawa tribe was headed by Sakai Tadatsugu. These two men commanded most of the samurai in the Mikawa region.

　　The remaining low-ranking samurai (who could not be mobilized in large numbers) were incorporated into Tokugawa Ieyasu's hatamoto-shu and fought as his direct subordinate troops.

　　By grouping the samurai in Mikawa Province, the Tokugawa clan greatly enhanced their fighting strength.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)