The name of the great swordsman begins in Okehazama.

Chapter 92 Capturing Father and Daughter Alive

Changqing was still a full two miles away from Qiushan Xinyou's main team.

Takenaka and Hattori took the initiative to create chaos.

Their soldiers are Changqing's elite troops; they will surely be able to hold out until their main force arrives.

"Keep up! Keep up!"

"The arquebusiers have lit the fuses; they are ready to fire at any moment!"

Akiyama Nobuyuki dared not retreat too much. Of these 6000 people, 4000 were powerful clansmen from Shinano, and if they ran too fast, the column would fall into chaos.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The sound of arquebuses rang out. Ando Morinari's arquebus squad was the first to plunge into the chaotic battlefield.

A volley of fire served as a reminder to Takenaka and Hattori that reinforcements had arrived.

"kill!"

Nagayoshi's warhorse charged into the enemy ranks. Ogasawara and Hineno immediately joined the battle.

-

"Where is Akiyama Nobuyuki!" Nagayoshi roared.

"My lord! Over there!" Ōmiya Ōnojo pointed to a small hill in the distance, where flags stood in rows; it was Akiyama Nobuyuki's main camp.

"Bring Chun'an's troops with me!"

Changqing turned his horse and charged.

Akiyama Nobuyuki stood at the main camp, looking down at the battle below, his face ashen.

"Mori Nagayoshi—that madman—"

He thought Changqing would only defend Meinong, but he didn't expect Changqing to take the initiative and attack so quickly and ruthlessly.

"My lord, we must retreat!" the lieutenant urged. "The Oda army is advancing fiercely, and our troops are scattered in various places; we haven't had time to regroup!"

"Withdraw?" Xinyou shook his head. "Withdrawing now means certain defeat. We might as well take a gamble!"

"But----"

Before he could finish speaking, the sound of horses' hooves rang out. Xinyou looked up and saw a troop of cavalry charging down the mountain, led by a man dressed in strange armor.

What kind of armor is this? It's all black, with a bizarre frontal design, and the red mask adds to its menacing aura.

He glanced at the troops behind the general and was startled.

Why is this entire army wearing black armor?

It looks a bit creepy.

"Nobutomo Akiyama!"

The man roared, his voice like thunder.

Nobuyuki's heart skipped a beat. He took the spear handed to him by the hatamoto and shouted, "Mori Nagayoshi!"

The two exchanged a glance, said nothing, and their warhorses charged at each other.

"when!"

Spears clashed, sparks flying. Xinyou felt a sudden jolt in his hand, and the spear was knocked away!

Changqing gave him no chance to catch his breath and stabbed Xinyou to death with a single shot.

Chun'an immediately captured Xinyou.

"You've lost!" Changqing shouted.

He was considering whether or not to kill Akiyama Nobuyuki when he suddenly heard a woman's angry scolding.

"Let go of my father!"

A woman rode straight towards them.

Changqing was startled and instinctively dodged to the side. The girl's knife grazed his cheek, nearly cutting his face.

He immediately drew his sword and severed the woman's weapon in one stroke.

"you----"

Isn't this "Ah Mei"?

Kikuhime immediately drew her sword as well!

"What are you girls doing here?"

"Stop talking nonsense!"

At this moment, Kikuhime was like an angry little wildcat, baring her teeth and wanting to bite.

Changqing couldn't help but smile: "I won't kill you. Go back and tell Lord Xinxuan to prepare the ransom!"

"Impossible!" Kikuhime charged forward again, brandishing her sword.

Changqing laughed in anger.

He reached out and dodged Kikuhime's dagger, then grabbed her waistband and lifted her up forcefully.

"what!"

Kikuhime gasped as she was lifted up. The next instant, she was sprawled on Changqing's horse.

"What are you doing! Let go of me!"

Changqing ignored her, raised his right hand, and slapped her plump buttocks hard with a "smack".

Kikuhime froze.

"Snapped!"

The second time.

"Ah! You—you bastard!"

"Snapped!"

The third time.

"No—no—"

Kikuhime's voice trembled with tears. She had never suffered such humiliation in her life. To be pinned to a horse and spanked by a man, with so many people watching—

Changqing hit him five or six times before stopping.

Kikuhime wept so hard that tears streamed down her face, and she even forgot to resist.

"Are you still going to cause trouble?"

Kikuhime bit her lip and remained silent.

"Are you still going to cause trouble?"

"—Stop fooling around."

Changqing nodded and put her down from the horse.

"Chun'an, take Qiushan and his daughter to Iwamura Castle and keep a close watch on them."

The battle ended with minimal casualties on both sides; the Akiyama army was almost completely scattered.

That night, at the castle tower of Iwamura Castle.

Mori Nagayoshi: "Akiyama Nobutomo has been arrested, and Shinano only has a few thousand old and weak people. This is the perfect opportunity for us to head north."

Ogasawara Nagatoki nodded and asked, "Where do you intend to begin, sir?"

Chang-ching said, "You take five hundred men to your old territory and create a disturbance! Any problems with that?"

He pointed at the map and said, "The other powerful clans are not a concern, but the Sanada clan might cause us trouble."

Yukitaka Sanada——Masayuki Sanada————

Are Masaki Sanada and Nobutsuna Sanada in Ueda?

"They should have gone to war with Takeda Shingen."

Nagayoshi wasn't worried about how strong Sanada was, but rather about Masaki and Nobutsuna, two fearless individuals, going head-to-head with him.

If we really kill them, it will be difficult to deal with Sanada in the future.

"Tomorrow morning, I will lead a thousand men north to Shinano," he said. "Lord Ogasawara will return to Shinano to raise an army and reorganize my territory. I will also allow the powerful clans to return to Mino."

"Lord Shingen, you're attacking Ieyasu in Mikawa, while I'm burning down your backyard in Shinano. I'd like to see whether your soldiers are faster or my fire is faster."

On November 20th, just as Akiyama Nobuyuki's defeat report arrived at Toishi Castle, Nagayoshi's troops had already begun setting fire to Kiso's territory.

-

When Kiso Yoshiyasu heard that Akiyama Nobutomo had just suffered a defeat and that his own forces numbered less than 1000, he simply retreated into the castle.

In the council chamber of Toishi Castle, Sanada Yukitaka held his forehead.

Ogasawara Nagatoki instigated a riot involving nearly a thousand people in Chikuma County and set fires in various areas of Oki and Waha.

However, he dared not send troops out lightly.

"Damn it, Kiso! He actually let the enemy in!"

His son, as a member of the "First Army," had already left with Shingen, leaving him with less than 1000 men.

It is simply unrealistic to expect to annihilate the invading enemy.

The retainers entered and asked, "My lord, have you heard that Oda's army has arrived?"

"The invading enemy isn't many—the Mori's audacity is outrageous!"

"What do we do next?"

If only my son, Muto Kihei, were here; he always has so many ideas.

Muto Kihei is actually Sanada Masayuki, and he is currently being held hostage by Shingen's side.

"Go and ask Lord Kousaka of Kaizu Castle for help!"

"Kaizu Castle only has 1000 people now—if Murakami Yoshikiyo manages to turn northern Shinano against the government, it will be troublesome if it drags on until next spring!"

"Then we'll have to lure the enemy into a field battle! We'll gather all the powerful clans in Shinano, and manage to muster at least 3000 men!"

At the end of November, Takeda Shingen, who had defeated the Tokugawa-Oda alliance, found himself in a dilemma.

He had received Shinano's urgent report several days ago.

At the military council meeting, Baba Nobuharu proposed several times to divide the troops and return to their homeland, but Shingen refused.

Mori Nagayoshi advanced deep into Shinano within four days, forcing the local lords to request Shingen to withdraw his troops.

Sending several thousand troops to Shinano was not a big deal, but he always felt that this move went against his determination to go to Kyoto.

Besides, no matter how chaotic Shinano is, it won't be occupied by the Mori. Once I take over Kiyosu, the Mori will have no choice but to return to Mino.

"This courage and decisiveness of the Mori clan is truly not to be underestimated."

The generals in the room looked at each other in bewilderment. They had not heard their lord speak of a new opponent in such a way for many years.

"My lord, should we first annex Mikawa and Totomi, and then return to Shinano to wait for another opportunity?"

-

Masakage Yamagata proposed a compromise.

With the existing 30,000 troops, a strong attack for one month would surely force Tokugawa Ieyasu to surrender.

But Shingen persisted in his opinion.

"No. Attacking the city will waste too much time. Let's advance on Owari!"