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

Chapter 154 The Battle of Torikawa: Sanada vs. Hojo!
"Chase?"

"Since the Narita family is so brave, then let Lord Narita lead the army to attack."

what?
Narita panicked. He knew perfectly well how powerful the Narita family was, and he dared not be the one to stick his neck out.

Hojo Ujikuni looked at Narita Ujinaga in front of him and cursed him as a useless piece of trash in his heart, but still said with a smile on his face, "The Narita family did a good job just now. Since the enemy has retreated, there is no need to pursue them."

"Ha!" Narita wiped the sweat from his forehead, relieved.

Ignoring Narita Ujō, Hojō Ujikuni continued to stare at the retreating Sanada clan foot soldiers ahead, his face revealing neither joy nor anger.

"The Sanada clan's main force hasn't moved at all. If we pursue them now, we'll inevitably get surrounded."

"How could I, Hojo Ujikuni, fall for such a low-level trick to lure the enemy?"

"The Sanada family underestimates me!"

After saying this, Hojo Ujikuni turned his horse around and prepared to return to his main camp.

He had only taken two steps when Narita Ujinaga shouted from behind, "Lord Hojo, the enemy is coming again!"

Ok?
Hojo Ujikuni reined in his horse and looked back, and sure enough, he saw several thousand Sanada clan foot soldiers already crossing the river.

Hojo Ujikuni was completely bewildered. What exactly was Sanada Masayuki trying to do?
"The Sanada family is utterly arrogant and outrageous!" Hojo Ujikuni said with a gloomy face, feeling insulted.

"All troops, charge! Follow me and break through the enemy lines!" Hojo Ujikuni, spear in hand, led the charge, followed immediately by thousands of Hachigata warriors, who charged towards the Sanada army.

This time, it was Sanada Masayuki who personally led the attack.

The left wing consisted of Yazawa Yoritsuna with 500 men, the right wing of Sanada Nobuyuki with 1500 men, and the center was Sanada Masayuki's main force of 4000 men.

The Sanada clan's 6000 men were lined up in a crane-wing formation, with arquebusiers firing continuously in the middle. The Narita clan's foot soldiers at the front quickly began to suffer casualties.

Hojo Ujikuni led his army out to attack, and Sanada Nobuyuki immediately followed suit.

As the two armies drew near, a cavalry unit, its entire body glowing red, leaped out from the Sanada army's ranks. Sanada Nobushige rode Hyakudanguro at lightning speed, his cross-shaped spear flashing like a dragon.

"die!"

One of the Hojo samurai who was charging at the front was knocked to the ground by Sanada Nobushige before he could even see who was in charge, and was quickly trampled into a bloody pulp by the horse's hooves.

Hojo Ujikuni raised his spear to meet the attack, swinging it straight at Sanada Nobushige's face.

As a fierce general of the Hojo clan, Hojo Ujikuni had never met a match since Hojo Tsunashige.

"Look at the gun!"

Clang.

The two horses clashed, and in the blink of an eye, a particularly jarring metallic clang rang out.

Hojo Ujikuni felt a numbness in his hand, and a tremendous force nearly threw him off his warhorse.

"Who is this person?" Hojo Ujikuni's expression changed drastically; he had almost been shot off his horse by just one shot.

Sanada Nobushige ignored Hojo Ujikuni. The cavalry charge must not stop; if they stopped and were surrounded by foot soldiers, they would basically be waiting to die.

The Red Guards continued their guerrilla warfare around the battlefield, separating the Hojo clan's foot soldiers and arquebusiers. Then, Sanada Nobuyuki led his foot soldiers into the battlefield, and the two sides instantly descended into a chaotic melee.

Sanada Masayuki also stood on horseback at the front of the formation, "Uncle, can we still charge into the enemy lines?"

The over-sixty-year-old Yazawa Yoritsuna laughed loudly, "Kid, watch closely!"

"drive!"

Yazawa Yoritsuna was ruthless and taciturn. He stuck the six-coin flag behind his back and led the foot soldiers of Numata Castle into the formation.

Six thousand Sanada clan foot soldiers and eight thousand Hojo clan troops were entangled in a chaotic battle.

The shouts of battle and the incessant roar of cannons echoed through the sky.

Nobuyuki Sanada held the Human Boneless Sword, flanked by Kotaro Suzuki and Chiyo Obata, with Masaji Hatsushino and his crew following closely behind.

According to the established battle plan, the Sanada clan launched a general offensive right from the start.

The local lords of Ueno still hadn't joined the battle. Apart from Obata Nobusada leading several hundred cavalrymen patrolling the edge of the battlefield, the rest of the local lords were just watching from the sidelines.

As the fighting continued, Hojo Ujikuni also discovered the problem.

"Why do we only see the Sanada clan's troops?"

"What about the other enemy forces?"

While directing the battle, Hojo Ujikuni looked across the Torikawa River and saw that the troops of the Ueno Province forces were still lagging behind and had not yet crossed the river.

In an instant, the scene of the Battle of Kannagawa two years ago flashed into Hojo Ujikuni's mind.

Wasn't Takigawa Kazumasu the same way back then?

That moment is exactly like this moment.

Hojo Ujikuni laughed immediately, "Haha, Sanada is finished. These people from Koshu Province are still as cowardly as ever."

"My Hojo family is invincible!"

"Quickly, report to the main force and order them to launch a general offensive immediately." Hojo Ujikuni called out to Inomata Kuninori, who was standing next to him.

Kuninori Inomata immediately dispatched several envoys back to his headquarters to report.

Inside Kuragano Castle, Hojo Ujiteru, upon receiving the news, could not contain his excitement and immediately ordered the entire army to attack.

This scene was all too familiar to the Hojo family.

"So what if you're Sanada Masayuki? Today you'll end up like Takigawa Kazumasu."

"All troops, advance!"

"Oh!"

Soon, having learned of the battle situation at the front, the Hojo clan's main camp began its advance towards the battlefield.

Just as the Hojo clan had anticipated, even with the entire Hojo clan's main force pressing forward, the allied forces of the Ueno clan on the opposite bank of the Torikawa River remained unmoved.

Now, on the battlefield, there are 20,000 men against 6,000 men from the Sanada clan. It's no longer fair to say that we have the advantage; it's a complete one-sided battle.

Soon, the Sanada clan's formation became unstable, and Sanada Nobuyuki on the right flank was the first to withdraw from the battlefield.

"Cai Zang, fight and retreat, cover the army's retreat!"

"Understood!" Facing the 20,000-strong army ahead, Ke'er Cai Cang remained completely calm, holding a wooden shield and standing at the front of the formation, without a trace of fear in his eyes.

Soon, Sanada Masayuki's main force began to retreat slowly, and Yazawa Yoritsuna on the left flank was also caught in a fierce battle. Narita Ujinaga's troops completely surrounded Yazawa Yoritsuna.

At this critical moment, Sanada Nobushige led the Red Guards out from the flank and forcefully tore open a gap.

"Grand Uncle, retreat quickly!"

However, Yazawa Yoritsuna seemed unwilling to retreat and continued to fight bravely, still wielding his spear.

Seeing this, Yazawa Yoriyasu quickly stepped forward and grabbed Yazawa Yoritsuna, "Father, if we don't leave now, we won't be able to leave!"

"Hey!" Yazawa Yoritsuna reluctantly pulled his spear from a Hojo clan foot soldier, then angrily ordered, "Withdraw!"

"Retreat!" "Our army has been defeated, run!"

In an instant, the Sanada clan suffered a complete defeat.

Hojo Ujiteru rushed onto the battlefield at this moment, and seeing the situation, immediately ordered his men to cross the river and pursue the enemy.

Seeing that things were going wrong, Obata Nobusada quickly led his cavalry over and joined forces with Sanada Nobushige, where they fought desperately to stop the enemy.

The mounted warriors were highly mobile and did not linger in battle, attacking indiscriminately. Although they could not inflict any serious damage on the Hojo clan, they greatly slowed down their pursuit.

After Sanada Masayuki's main force retreated to the opposite bank of the Torikawa River, Obata Nobusada and Sanada Nobushige withdrew from the battlefield from the upper reaches of the Torikawa River.

"Awa-shou, this is a golden opportunity! The enemy has been defeated, pursue them immediately!"

"what!"

In such circumstances, there is no need for Hojo Ujiteru and Hojo Ujikuni to issue orders; pursuing and killing fleeing enemies with the wind at their backs is what the foot soldiers are most happy to see.

As the three conch shells rang out, 20,000 Hojo clan foot soldiers began to swarm into the Torikawa River.

Leading the charge were the Hachigata clan under Hojo Ujikuni and the troops of Narita Ujicho; several thousand men quickly crossed the Torikawa River and began to land.

Behind them, even more foot soldiers crowded together, rushing forward in a frantic race, afraid of missing the opportunity to kill the enemy and make a name for themselves if they were too slow.

Bang bang bang!
Suddenly, a force of several hundred arquebusiers appeared on the opposite bank of the Torikawa River. As soon as the dense gunfire rang out, a large number of Hojo clan foot soldiers who were charging at the forefront fell down.

The sudden and fierce attack caused the Hojo clan foot soldiers to pause in their pursuit, and many of them instinctively lay down on the ground, not daring to show their faces.

However, the foot soldiers behind them had no idea what was happening ahead and continued to surge onto the riverbank.

Soon, the banks of the Torikawa River were densely packed with foot soldiers.

"Red Guard!"

"Oh!"

On the left side of the battlefield, Sanada Nobushige raised his spear high, while three hundred Red Guards behind him stared intently at Sanada Nobushige at the forefront.

"From this day forward, the name of Sanada Akabane will resound throughout the land under our own hands!"

"Come into battle with me!"

Sanada Akabane led the way, followed closely by Obata Nobusada's Koshu cavalry. More than eight hundred cavalrymen marched in a long line toward the riverbank.

Hearing the number alone, eight hundred people might not seem like much, but if you were on the battlefield, what you would see is a line of red stretching as far as the eye can see.

"Cai Zang!"

On the right flank of the battlefield, Sanada Nobuyuki reined in his horse. "Summon Uemon!"

"The Way has been reached!"

"The time has come, now is the time!"

Yamaue Michiki, Kana Saizo, and Hatsushino Shoji immediately understood and stopped, turning around. "Kill!"

Oh!
The Sanada clan foot soldiers, who were prepared, immediately stopped their retreat and turned to launch a charge.

At the same time, Sanada Masayuki's horse seal was raised high, a pre-arranged signal for the "general attack".

From the rear of the battlefield, Naito Masayuki, Kanai Hidekage, and others saw the situation clearly and immediately led their troops into the battlefield.

The sudden change caught the Hojo family off guard.

In the crowd, Hojo Ujikuni was squeezed so tightly that he could not move, and his orders were like stones sinking into the sea in the noisy battlefield, and no one heard them at all.

Twenty thousand Hojo clan foot soldiers were crammed onto the riverbank of the Torikawa River, unable to move forward or backward.

The foot soldiers at the front were suppressed by the arquebus and could not raise their heads. There was no place to hide in the mudflats all around.

Meanwhile, the Hojo clan's samurai were caught up in the crowd and unable to push their way to the front to command the battle.

The Hojo clan's foot soldiers were poorly equipped and disorganized. Many Hojo samurai, still unaware of the situation, continued to urge the troops forward, and the foot soldiers, lacking effective command, quickly descended into chaos.

"Sanada Genjiro is here!"

"Die!"

The Red Cavalry charged into the crowd but quickly became unable to move forward. The crowded battlefield left no room for cavalry maneuvering, so Sanada Nobushige dismounted and fought on foot.

Behind him, samurai such as Obata Mitsumori and Obata Nobusada used Sanada Nobushige as an arrowhead, piercing directly into the belly of the Hojo clan's army formation like a sharp knife.

On the right wing, Kazuya Tsunezo, Yamagami Michiki, and others formed two lines of defense and pushed forward.

Seeing that the situation on the battlefield was developing in accordance with his plan, Sanada Masayuki could no longer care about anything else, as the opportunity to fight was fleeting.

"All men, listen up! In this battle, merit will not be based on the number of enemy heads taken. The enemy is surrounded. Kill them!"

"Oh!"

With the order to launch a general offensive given, Yazawa Yoritsuna and Ashida Nobuhan from Sanada Masayuki's team were the first to charge.

The arquebuses on both sides kept firing, and some Hojo clan foot soldiers and samurai who tried to step forward to fight fell one after another.

The left-wing coalition of the Kozuke lords also began to join the battle, following behind the mounted troops. The main reason was that the Sanada clan had truly withstood the Hojo clan's offensive and even blocked the Hojo army on the riverbank, which meant that the Kozuke lords had no worries about their rear.

The Hojo clan's left flank had already been breached by Sanada Nobushige, and the Koshu army quickly gained the upper hand after penetrating the enemy lines.

As more and more troops from the Sanada clan joined the battle, the already chaotic Hojo clan's army could no longer hold out.

At this moment, everyone in the Hojo clan on the battlefield realized one thing: they had been tricked!
There's no such thing as "beating a drowning dog" or "having an easy time." Right now, the allied forces from Shangzhou are surrounding them and attacking them.

run!
As foot soldiers, on the battlefield, they only ever think about one thing: survival.

Soon, the Hojo clan began to crumble, with large numbers of foot soldiers turning and fleeing.

The water in the Bird River is not deep, and as a tributary, the flow is not large, so as long as you escape, you will definitely be able to get out.

Among the crowd, Hojo Ujiteru and Hojo Ujikuni were completely dumbfounded.

The two were immediately carried away by their samurai and fled the battlefield at breakneck speed.

With tears in his eyes, Hojo Ujikuni kept shouting, "Put me down! The Hojo family is invincible!"

"Let me go one more time, just one more time!"

"Damn it, put me down!"

No matter how much Hojo Ujikuni roared, the Hojo samurai dared not actually let Hojo Ujikuni come down to his death.

If Hojo Ujikuni really dies here, then they will suffer the same fate.

Looking at the foot soldiers scattering around him like headless flies, Hojo Ujikuni helplessly put down his spear, his heart filled with despair.

"It's over, it's all over."

　Regarding the Hojo clan's fighting strength: While the Hojo clan was indeed very powerful in the Kanto region, the fighting strength of their foot soldiers (ashigaru) was consistently weak. Otherwise, the Hojo clan would have already swept through Kanto.

　　It feels like the tech tree went astray. The defenses of Odawara Castle are quite good, though, but it's all very abstract.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)