The name of the great swordsman begins in Okehazama.

Chapter 119 Rescue Iwamura City

While recruiting soldiers, Changqing also made sure to chat with his former subordinates.

"What have you been doing lately? Aren't you going to fight alongside others?"

The one-eyed giant was named Zaemon. He gave an awkward smile and said, "I used the reward money you gave me, sir, to open a small blacksmith shop in town, just enough to make a living."

"Then come with me this time. If we win, I'll make you a samurai, the kind with a salary."

"I am willing to die for you, sir!"

The city assistant also squeezed forward. He was much more mature than before, and he had a knife hanging at his waist, which was a trophy from the battle against the powerful clans.

"My lord, I haven't neglected my martial arts all these years! I practice Ashina-style swordsmanship every single day!"

"Alright! Do you still remember Lord Marume?"

"Remember!"

"He needs a clever girl like you to govern his territory. I'll introduce you to him when the time comes!"

Sakuma Morimasa watched in stunned silence.

This isn't recruiting soldiers; it's clearly recruiting old troops!

In less than two hours, more than two hundred people had gathered around Changqing.

Among them were veterans who had fought alongside him in the past, ronin who had heard of his name, and a few townspeople from Kiyosu Castle who, upon hearing that Lord Mori of the Ashina School had arrived, abandoned their shops and followed him.

Lin Tongzheng stood aside, his shock no less than that of Sakuma Morimasa.

He served under Takikawa Ichima for many years and saw many fierce generals.

Shibata Katsuie was brave, Takigawa Kazumasu was fierce, and Sakuma Nobumori was calm.

But he had never seen anyone with such appeal. In someone else's territory, he simply had someone promote the idea, and more than two hundred people came to vote.

April 2nd, night.

Mori Nagayoshi led two thousand men and silently crossed the border of Owari Province, entering the eastern mountains.

"My lord," Lin Tongzheng caught up on horseback, "Ten more miles ahead is the area of ​​Iwamura Castle. The Takeda army's scouts are only five miles away at most. At this rate, we should be able to reach it before dawn."

To prevent Lin Xiuzhen from revealing information to Takeda, Changqing chose not to join forces with Mitsuhide, but instead went to rescue Iwamura Castle first.

Attack the enemy's rear, and relieve the siege of Wei by attacking Zhao.

Two thousand men, each carrying only three days' worth of dry rations, and also a considerable number of spears to deal with cavalry.

"My lord," Sakuma Morimasa caught up from behind, "are we really going to attack Iwamura? That's Kosaka Masanobu, a famous general of the Takeda clan."

"Shengzheng," Mori Nagayoshi suddenly smiled, "How old are you this year?"

"Ten, eighteen."

Do you know Asai Nagamasa?

"Know!"

"When Nagamasa was sixteen, he had already decisively defeated the Rokkaku clan at Norata. Now, with the addition of Ōkei and Iwamura, our army has four thousand men, while the enemy has ten thousand. What is there to fear? In the Battle of Nagonoshita, we had two thousand men and the enemy had over ten thousand, and I still won. I don't know what you're worried about? Could it be that you were terrified by Takeda after supporting Tokugawa?"

Sheng Zheng lowered his head.

"Shengzheng, you must fight this battle! If you win, you'll overcome your inner demons and be invincible. If you lose, it doesn't matter; you'll never be a great general anyway!"

"I understand!"

Lin Tongzheng followed the two silently.

He had fought alongside Nagayoshi during the conquest of Ise-Nagashima, and because he wasn't worried about failure, he was now preoccupied with how to protect his family.

"Master Lin!"

"Lord Mori—"

"Don't overthink it. Focus now. If we die on the battlefield, the Lin family line might truly end!"

At the end of the Yin hour, the eastern sky began to lighten.

Maeda Keiji climbed to the top of the castle tower and looked westward.

There is no sign of Gifu or reinforcements here.

Since his lord broke through the siege, he hadn't had a full night's sleep.

"My lord." Footsteps sounded behind him. It was Takatora Todo. "You've been standing all night again? Go and rest. I'll take over the watch when it's light."

"No need." Maeda Keiji said without turning his head.

"Gao Hu." He grinned. "Believe it or not, our lord will absolutely not go to Gifu; he'll definitely come here!"

Takatora Todo was taken aback: "Isn't our lord putting himself in danger by coming here?"

"You haven't been with Lord Mori for very long—you keep watch while I take a nap in the castle tower."

The last moment of Yin hour and the first moment of Mao hour.

"My lord! Wake up! There's movement to the west!"

Maeda Keiji practically rolled to his feet, then leaned against the railing and looked westward.

"They're here!" Maeda Keiji gripped the railing tightly, suppressing his urge to cheer and jump.

The enemy is also observing us from the castle tower.

"Gao Hu, go light the fire! Quickly! Lord Takenaka will understand when he sees this!"

Lighting the beacon fire was a code used when Akiyama Nobuyuki was first defeated, meaning that the two cities were to be abandoned and attacked!

Before long, smoke signals rose into the sky from Iwamura Castle.

Kosaka Masanobu, whose real name was Kasuga Toratsuna, was a page of Takeda Shingen and was known as "Taidanjo".

This "escape" doesn't mean fleeing, but rather it's a euphemism for "subduing the enemy without fighting."

As the saying goes, a skilled warrior achieves little without making a great contribution.

He is 44 years old this year and has followed Takeda Shingen for more than 30 years. He rose from a humble servant to become one of the "Four Great Retainers of Takeda" and has been guarding Kaizu Castle in northern Shinano for more than 10 years.

"What's going on?!" he rushed out of the tent. "Where did those shouts of battle come from?!"

"My lord! South! South! A force has suddenly appeared from the south and has broken through the first line of defense!"

"How many people?!"

"N-no, I don't know—it's a dark mass, at least two thousand!"

Two or three thousand? Two or three thousand people came to beat you up?

Akechi Mitsuhide's main force was at Kita Castle; it was impossible for them to get around it. The garrison in Owari? Even less likely.

Without further hesitation, Kosaka Masanobu put on his full protective gear.

"Order! All units, form ranks and prepare to meet the enemy! Sanada Nobutsuna, lead the vanguard to engage the enemy, the rest of you surround the castle!"

"yes!"

Changqing had already charged into the crowd. He jumped off his warhorse to avoid becoming a target for arrows and cannons.

The shouts of battle around him surged like a tide, wave after wave. Blood splattered on his face, blurring his vision, but he wiped it with his sleeve and continued charging forward.

The vanguard was indeed a tough opponent; the Mori army was locked in a stalemate as soon as they broke through the first line.

Changqing turned his head and saw a cavalry unit charging out from the side, led by a middle-aged warrior of about thirty years old, wearing red armor and carrying a long spear.

"Mori Nagayoshi! Stop your arrogance! Sanada Nobutsuna is here!"

Lin Tongzheng led two hundred spearmen to meet Sanada Nobutsuna.

The two armies were locked in a fierce battle, and Mori Nagayoshi had no time to provide support, as he was focused on continuing his advance.

The gates of Iwamura Castle have opened.

Maeda Keiji took the lead and rushed out of the city gate. Yamazaki Shigemasa led 100 people to slip away to hide in the back mountain in the chaos, while the rest of the people came out in full force.

Deafening battle cries also echoed from the north.

Takenaka Shigeharu also led a thousand men out of Daqing City, and even his family members followed him out.

Kosaka Masanobu naturally knew how Akiyama Nobuyuki had been defeated. In the chaos, he sent two troops to seize Daqing and Iwamura.

But the Mori army didn't care about losing the city and came straight for him.

The vanguard was entangled by Hayashi Michimasa and Sakuma Morimasa, and was unable to return to provide assistance at this moment.

Kosaka Masanobu had no choice but to retreat into the relatively nearby Daqing Castle to secure Takeda Shingen's retreat route.

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