The name of the great swordsman begins in Okehazama.

Chapter 103: First up

April 16th, the first quarter of the hour of Mao (5-7 AM).

The 30,000 reinforcements from Asai and Asakura have arrived three miles north of Sawayama Castle.

Hideyoshi Hashiba and Kazumasu Takigawa had already set up their forces here.

They had already received military orders: hold this position for half a day and do not allow a single enemy soldier to go up the mountain!

Mori Nagayoshi only planned to spend another half a day capturing the castle tower.

On the stone wall of Erdaocheng, the mountain city of Sawa.

Upon seeing the reinforcements, Isono Kazumasa vigorously boosted morale.

With all the outer defenses lost, the Oda army went berserk, crashing wave after wave onto the stone wall.

He now only has a thousand men to fight, but he knows the Mori army isn't much better off.

If reinforcements can rush up, and with their combined attack from within and without, Oda's army will undoubtedly be defeated.

Five days of continuous attacks have exhausted the Isono army and the Mori army, which is the main force.

Now it's a matter of who can hold out until the end.

Mouri Nagayoshi stood behind the earthen mound, wrapping the hilt of "Chiyo Tsurutaro" with a strip of cloth around his hand.

"My lord! You are the supreme commander, how can you put yourself in such danger? Let me go!" Takenaka Shigeharu said urgently.

Changqing reached out his hand, allowing Chongzhi to tighten the cloth strips he had wrapped around himself.

"So many of my men have died or been wounded. How can I explain this to them if I don't personally go and fight?"

After saying that, he drew his katana, put on his mask, and walked toward the group of assassins who were preparing to go into battle.

These thirty men were elite soldiers in armor, all veterans who had come from the Iwamura Castle dojo.

"With the protection of the Great God of the Nation, victory is assured!"

Thirty pairs of eyes were staring straight at him.

The Great God of the Nguyen Empire? Is that the deity who blessed them with victory in the Battle of Nagoya?

"Victory is certain!" Changqing roared again.

Thirty people joined in the shouting.

"Remember, fear of death leads to tension, which will hasten your death. Follow me and find a chance to scale Erdao City, understand?"

"yes!"

"Haru'an! You command the rest of my troops! Masanobu, tell Lord Akechi to draw the enemy's attention to the south. Shigeharu and Onojo, take the archers and provide cover for me."

The siege resumed, and Changqing finally found a spot where the enemy's firepower was weak.

Several foot soldiers were using long poles to carry bamboo ladders up the stone wall. The defenders on the wall were desperately shooting arrows down, and two foot soldiers fell down with screams, but the bamboo ladders were still successfully placed on top.

Changqing was the first to climb the bamboo ladder.

He climbed very quickly, so quickly that even the guards didn't have time to react, and one hand was already on the edge of the stone wall. A foot soldier from the Isono army cried out and raised his spear to thrust downwards, but Nagayoshi dodged to the side, grabbed the spear shaft and pulled hard, causing the foot soldier to cry out and fall off the stone wall.

In the next instant, Changqing flipped himself onto the stone wall.

The katana was drawn, a flash of cold light, and two charging soldiers fell to the ground, clutching their throats.

"kill!"

Thirty assassins scaled the stone wall one after another and rushed into the city following Changqing!

The defenders were completely distracted by the sudden attack. Changqing had already led his men through the first line of defense and headed straight for the center of the second city.

The defending troops recaptured the stone wall, while Changqing and his men had already stormed into the buildings of the second city.

In indoor combat, fully equipped samurai are even more powerful.

Isono Kazumasa, who was in command at the citadel, changed his expression drastically upon hearing the alarm bell: "What's going on?!"

"Report! Oda's army has broken through the stone wall on the north side and has already entered Nido Castle!"

"What?!" Isono Kazumasa could hardly believe his ears. "How many people?"

"No, I'm not sure, probably around a hundred people!"

More than a hundred? The exhausted soldiers were already dizzy with the sight.

"Follow me!" Isono Kazumasa drew his sword and charged out.

He cannot allow Oda's army to gain a foothold in the city, otherwise, with the help of both inside and outside forces, the two cities will surely fall.

But as soon as he rushed out of the main castle, he heard shouts of battle coming from the west of the castle.

"Report! The water's defenses have been breached! The enemy has launched an attack from the cliff side!"

Kazumasa Isono could almost hear the sound of his brain cracking open.

The water's mouth is guarded?

The Mori's relentless attacks—was it all in an attempt to break in from the other side of the cliff?

Although the place was poorly defended, it was not so easy to take it.

Who is the enemy general?

"It's Marume Nagayoshi!"

It turned out to be that former retainer of the Mori clan who had gone with them to rescue the Honbonji Temple.

The defending troops were overwhelmed and in complete disarray.

"Don't panic! Retreat to the city! The lord has already attacked; we only need to hold out for half an hour!"

As they were talking, Oda's army had already poured into Nido Castle.

Down the mountain, Asai Nagamasa was directing his troops in a fierce attack on Hashiba Hideyoshi's defenses.

Hideyoshi's three thousand men have been compressed to half a mile north of the mountain, and the defensive line is on the verge of collapse.

Takigawa Kazumasu was covered in blood; the Asakura army had already breached his main camp.

Just then, someone exclaimed.

"The flags on the mountain have changed!"

Nagamasa Asai suddenly looked up.

On the stone walls of the second castle of Sawayama Castle, Oda family flags with papaya patterns are fluttering in the wind.

Beneath the banner, a black figure stood with his hand on his sword; that "Great Power Armor" was now famous throughout the world.

"My lord!" Hai Beigang rushed forward, "The mountain city has fallen. Even if our army attacks again now, it will be difficult to retake it!"

-

"I know!" Nagamasa roared, drawing his sword and pointing it up the mountain. "But the castle tower is still there! Isono Kazumasa is still there! As long as we charge up there, we can attack from the inside and outside!"

"My lord!"

Kaibei Gangchi grabbed his horse's reins and knelt on the ground.

"If Lord Isono were here, he wouldn't have allowed the enemy to plant their flag! Advancing up the mountain now will only increase casualties! We don't even know where Oda Nobunaga's reinforcements are. Please, my lord, withdraw your troops!"

"you!"

"Please, my lord, withdraw your troops!"

Kiyotsuna Akao also agreed.

The Akechi Army and the Sakuma Army have already descended the mountain carrying the Isono banner.

Asai Nagamasa gripped the knife, trembling all over.

Will Yuan Chang surrender? If Chang Qing personally stormed the city, Yuan Chang should surrender, right?

"Report: Lord Asakura says that although our army won the field battle, the outcome of the battle is unpredictable if we continue fighting. He requests that you withdraw your troops with him."

The conch shell rang out.

Asai and Asakura slowly retreated back to Odani Castle.

Inside the three-story castle tower, Isono Kazumasa heard that familiar conch shell sound and let out a desperate cry.

Why did the lord retreat when the main town was not completely lost?

"Lord Isono! Surrender!" Nagayoshi climbed the stairs step by step.

It turned out that Yuan Chang had sent out all his bannermen, and Chang Qing seized the opportunity to sneak in.

Kazumasa Isono could feel the floor shaking.

"Lord Mori, I've lost to you!" Isono prepared to commit seppuku and pulled out his wakizashi.

Changqing laughed and said, "Have you given up on Lord Changzheng?"

"yes!"

"You must believe that Lord Nagamasa dared to attack; he must have been stopped by Asakura! Surrender, enough people have died!"

Changqing sheathed his knife and extended his hand to Yuanchang, who was already kneeling.

Thinking of the past kindness shown to him, Isono Kazumasa ultimately did not draw his wakizashi.

"I am willing to surrender."

Azuchi Castle, castle tower.

"Sawayama Castle, taken. Isano Kazumasa became a retainer of the Mori clan?"

"Yes!" Shibata Katsuie replied.

"My brother-in-law is both lovable and annoying. Send someone to tell him that I will give him 50,000 koku. Now that Asakura has come, I will not sit idly by and let him suffer. Let him wait for my 20,000 main camp to arrive so that we can take down Asai together. There will be further rewards afterward."