The name of the great swordsman begins in Okehazama.

In September of the sixth year of Yonglu (1563), the Guanyin Temple City Incident broke out as Changqing had predicted.

Rokkaku Yoshiharu hosted a banquet for Goto Kentoyo at the Goto Castle, a powerful clan in Omi Province, and executed him on charges of "treason."

"My lord, the Rokkaku family is indeed in turmoil!"

Inside the castle tower of Kiyosu Castle, a military report prompted Oda Nobunaga to put down his teacup.

With none of the senior retainers yet, Nobunaga sighed, "It seems I'll soon receive the oath from the Asai family..."

Changqing, who was on duty, offered his congratulations: "Congratulations, my lord."

"It's time to take Mino. Where do you think we should advance?"

Changqing then suggested, "I recommend attacking the castle of Dongmei Nongyan Village."

"Iwamura Castle?" Nobunaga raised an eyebrow. "That's Ando Morinari's territory, not far from Inabayama Castle. What's the deeper meaning behind attacking there?"

"Saito Tatsuoki is suspicious and already distrusts Ando Kami. If our army launches a large-scale attack on Iwamura and spreads rumors that Ando Kami has secretly sided with the Oda clan, Tatsuoki will not dare to come to his aid easily. And the powerful clans of western Mino, seeing that Saito Tatsuoki dares not come to their aid, may turn to their own clan even faster."

Nobunaga nodded, then suddenly chuckled, "If it were an ordinary person, seeing that you chose to attack Iwamura Castle, a fortified castle, they would definitely think you had ulterior motives..."

Before Changqing could answer, he smiled and said, "But my thoughts are a little different."

……

In mid-September, Oda Nobunaga personally led 5,000 troops, with Shibata Katsuie as the vanguard, and marched in a grand procession to Mino.

The army took a route through northern Owari and crossed the Kiso River.

Along the way, Oda's army deliberately slowed down and made a big show of it.

In every village they visited, Hideyoshi's followers would spread the word: "The Oda clan, at the request of Lord Ando Morinari, has come to welcome him and bring him to their side!"

Rumors spread like wildfire.

By the time Oda's army arrived at Iwamura Castle, news had already reached Inabayama Castle. Saito Tatsuoki, having recently suffered a defeat, also distrusted Ando Morinari and dared not send troops.

Iwamura Castle is situated on a steep mountain ridge, with cliffs on three sides.

Historically, when Takeda Shingen attacked Nobunaga, he ordered Akiyama Nobutomo to attack this castle to tie down Oda's forces. Akiyama Nobutomo captured the castle through psychological warfare, but unexpectedly, Takeda Shingen suddenly fell ill and died, and the castle was then recaptured by Oda.

Moreover, even if it were recaptured, it would have been through a long siege.

This mountain fortress is easy to defend and difficult to attack. It has no shortage of water resources and is located at an altitude of over 700 meters. It is one of the three major mountain fortresses in Japan and is known as the Castle of Fog.

Lord Ando Morinari was standing on the top floor of the castle tower, looking at the dense Oda army formation outside the castle, his face ashen.

"Damn it! When did I ask Oda for help?!" He slammed his fist on the railing.

Takenaka Shigeharu sighed, "Father-in-law, this is Oda Nobunaga's scheme to sow discord. But we are now unable to defend ourselves. However, I believe that a mere five thousand men cannot take Iwamura Castle."

"How long can the city's food supplies last?"

"About two months. But let alone holding out for two months, even if we hold out for five days, our lord will send reinforcements!"

Shigeji was right. Even if they held out for three days, let alone five, Saito Tatsuoki, who was right next door, would not stand idly by and watch the Ando family really defect to the enemy.

"Oda Nobunaga thinks he can intimidate the Mino clans with my head? Not so easy! Issue the order: prepare for battle! I will make the Oda army bleed like a river beneath Iwamura Castle!"

……

Oda's main camp was set up on the plains below the mountain. However, Nobunaga's goal was not Iwamura Castle at all, but to force Saito Tatsuoki to come to its aid.

This is a tactic similar to besieging a stronghold and attacking reinforcements. If Saito Tatsuoki and his loyal followers can be defeated, most of the powerful clans in Mino will defect to Oda much faster.

In reality, Nobunaga only dispatched 1500 men to participate in the siege of Iwamura Castle.

Nagayoshi understood Nobunaga's intentions long ago, but he still planned to take Iwamura Castle.

One reason was to hasten the defection of Mino and simultaneously deter Ieyasu. Matsudaira Ieyasu's unification of Mikawa was too rapid, posing a significant threat to Nobunaga, who held a dominant position.

Another reason was resentment over the Battle of Moribe.

He prepared to teach Hanbei a lesson, both for and against, for insulting the name "Kongming".

Last time, even with superior numbers, you couldn't take it down.

This time I'm attacking with fewer troops, and you can't hold out.

Playing mind games? I'm your ancestor!

The day after Oda's army arrived at Iwamura Castle, Nagayoshi deployed a large number of troops to create the illusion that thousands of people were besieging the castle.

He also mobilized 300 men from Shibata Katsuie to set up a fortification camp in the dense forest outside the castle town.

Since it wasn't an attack, Shibata Katsuie didn't reject Nagayoshi's proposal.

Mountain towns are mostly equipped with earthen ramparts and stone walls, and the working area is narrow. If we really wanted to dig down the walls of the second city, we don’t know when it would take.

However, the greatest deterrent effect of the Earth Dragon's attack is fear.

The walls of the mountain city are made of solid rock, which makes them excellent at transmitting sound.

The engineers dug at night and covered the entrance with straw mats during the day. Every foot they dug, they propped it up with wooden stakes and struck the rock wall. The sound traveled through the rock and was easily heard by the defenders.

On the first night, the garrison of Iwamura Castle only heard faint knocking sounds coming from underground, and did not know the reason.

On the second night, the sounds became clearer, and everyone saw the Oda army continuously transporting rubble, causing panic to spread among them.

Saito Tatsuoki and Nishi Mino's reinforcements seemed unlikely to arrive, yet the clanging sound was so close.

The frontline defenders, constantly fearing the collapse of the city walls, were unable to sleep soundly. Takenaka Shigeharu urgently ordered the digging of deep trenches within the city and the placement of large vats to listen for directions during the digging.

Iwamura Castle is a historically significant castle, with construction beginning approximately 400 years ago.

For Ando Morinari, this was not a family he had built up over generations, and he could not fully trust the strength of the castle's defenses. Although he did not say it aloud, he withdrew the elite garrison back to the main castle.

On the third night, when the garrison was filled with anxiety, Changqing ordered more than a dozen large drums to be placed at the entrance of the tunnel, and they were all beaten at the same time in the middle of the night.

The sound of the drums was amplified through the rock layers, making the entire mountain town seem to tremble.

"The city is about to fall!"

The Oda army's occasional cheers startled the crowds in the city. Ando Mori had no choice but to personally go to Nido Castle to stabilize the morale of his troops.

On the morning of the fourth day of the siege, Saito Tatsuoki still dared not send out troops because there were no reinforcements from Nishimino, while the powerful clans of Nishimino were still watching and waiting.

Changqing began to equip the archers with specially made whistling arrows.

These arrows, bound with strips of paper, had a short range and could only make a piercing sound in the air.

Hundreds of arrows rained down on the city like locusts, most of them landing near the city walls.

A foot soldier picked up a letter, and saw that it read:

"Announcement to the soldiers and civilians of Iwamura Castle: Those who surrender will not be killed. If Ando Moriyoshi opens the castle, the territory of Nishi-Mino will be preserved. Those who resist will be slaughtered on the day the castle falls."

Ando Mamoru quickly saw the contents of the letter and flew into a rage, tearing it to shreds in front of everyone: "This must be a trick by that Mori brat! Burn all the letters!"

But the news had already spread throughout the city.

Takenaka Shigeharu said worriedly, "Father-in-law, this psychological warfare tactic may have further developments."

Sure enough, the second batch of arrows arrived.

Shinichi said, "Inaba Ittetsu and Ujiie Bokuzen, two of the three leaders of the Western Mino clan, have secretly agreed to submit to the Oda clan. Is the Ando family just going to sit and wait for their territory to be divided up by the other two families?"

The third batch of arrows made Ando Mamoru even more uneasy.

"Anyone who presents the head of Ando Morinari will be rewarded with 100 gold coins and a fief of 2,000 koku. Anyone who presents the head of Takenaka Shigeharu will be rewarded with 10 gold coins and a fief of 50 koku. Ordinary soldiers who surrender will be spared death and rewarded with 2 kan of cash to return home."

Shigeharu Takenaka was somewhat bewildered after reading the letter...

I am a member of a wealthy family in West Minong, so why am I so cheap?

Ando Morinari didn't care about that. He immediately snatched the letter, burned it, and forbade the soldiers from looking at the incoming letters.