The name of the great swordsman begins in Okehazama.

Chapter 93 Collapse of Shin-ho Stone (Part 1)

Meanwhile, Nobunaga, who was on the front lines in Settsu, was laughing wildly.

"That's Mori Nagayoshi! What an audacious fellow!"

Akechi Mitsuhide, however, worriedly said, "Although Lord Mori has tied down some of Takeda's forces, Shingen's main force is still advancing westward..."

"I know. But we should always try to think positively!" Nobunaga said, though he stopped smiling.

For Oda, delaying Takeda's attack was a good thing.

"Send orders to Hayashi Hidesada and Sakuma Morimasa. Defend all the castles in Owari to the death. If Shingen has the guts to come to Mino, let him. Also, I need to write a letter to Ieyasu urging him to hold out. As long as he can tie down Shingen's ten thousand men, I will defeat Takeda sooner or later. By the way, what if Asai and his men launch a surprise attack on Mino?"

Nobunaga may seem to act on a whim, but his mind is actually quite meticulous.

"My lord, please request the Emperor's decree to negotiate peace with the Shogun, Asai, and Asakura."

"Great idea!"

At this time, Nobunaga had not yet committed the blatant act of burning Mount Hiei. On the western front of Oda's encirclement, Oda's forces held a clear advantage.

The idea of ​​all the daimyo in the west who had suffered heavy losses was to have Nobunaga turn around and fight Takeda.

Why should they fight Nobunaga's main force to the death while Takeda reaps the benefits from behind?

Hamamatsu Castle.

When Ieyasu received Nobunaga's letter, his expression hardly changed.

He was still unable to extricate himself from the defeat at Mikadohara.

That despicable Tadase Okubo actually claimed that the thing on the saddle was his own excrement!

He even touched it on purpose, and then slapped Zhongshi hard across the face.

It's clearly just miso soup!

"My lord! What did Lord Nobunaga say?" Honda asked repeatedly.

Ieyasu then came to his senses and read the letter again.

"Let us hold our ground—until he pacifies Settsu and makes peace with the daimyo in the west, then we will immediately recall our main force."

'

"Will he be able to return? Ise, Yamato, and Settsu are in complete chaos right now. Even if Oda's army negotiates peace, he wouldn't dare to recall his entire army!"

"You're telling me to surrender?!"

"Of course not. As a native of Sanhe, I have already surrendered once, and I will never surrender a second time."

Ieyasu laughed with a sigh of relief.

"You should let others hear your bold words. Nobunaga is working hard to suppress the uprising in the west, and Lord Mori is fighting hard in Shinano. I think we should do our part! Send a small force to harass Takeda."

When Sanada Yukitaka gathered 3000 men at Toishi Castle, it was already the first day of the twelfth month.

The powerful clans of Shinano split into three groups of several hundred men each, sweeping through various counties in search of the Mori clan's main force. Sanada Yukitaka led his main force of 2000 men to provide support from behind.

Mori, who was familiar with Sanada's tactics, had already made arrangements.

The well-trained Mori army broke into smaller units, each led by a retainer and a foot soldier leader from the dojo.

Compared to the troops temporarily recruited by Sanada, almost every member of the Mori army could fight three against one.

The powerful clans were helpless against such small forces.

They couldn't win in a fight, and even when they lured the enemy, the enemy didn't pursue them. It seemed that Mori's intention was simply to set the fire.

Who exactly is luring the enemy in?

The powerful clans even suspected that the Mori were setting a trap for them.

Three days passed, and Sanada's assembled troops suffered over a hundred casualties.

Sanada Nobutaka was thus exhausted from the ordeal.

This can't go on, let's go back!

The powerful clans were clamoring to send troops to drive out the Maori bandits. He finally managed to assemble an army, but he couldn't even get close to the enemy's main force, let alone lure them in for an ambush.

Now the powerful clans have not only suffered material losses, but also personnel losses.

"Quiet down! Everyone, return to your respective territories and hold your positions!"

Yukitaka made a decision, but the argument grew even louder.

These powerful clans currently have only one or two hundred soldiers, enough to defend their own cities but not their fields and towns.

"Let's ask Lord Shingen for help! Even just three thousand reinforcements would be helpful!"

The powerful clans protested, and Xinglong had no choice but to agree.

When Takeda Shingen unified Shinano, he made his blind son inherit the Unno family, his fifth son Morinobu inherit the Nishina family, and his close attendant Kasuga Toratsuna (Kousaka Masanobu) inherit the Kousaka family.

This operation of seizing the other party's territory may have temporarily stabilized Shinano, but beneath the surface, undercurrents were surging.

dusk.

Sanada's main force began to slowly retreat towards Toishi Castle.

Sanada Yukitaka reined in his warhorse, gazing at the ominous red light on the eastern horizon.

-

The setting sun shouldn't be in that direction.

He turned to look westward, as if to confirm whether he was seeing things.

Toishi Castle is on fire? The Mori clan with over a thousand men dares to attack a castle? Impossible!

"My lord!" the lieutenant cried out in alarm, "The city is on fire!"

The three thousand allied troops from powerful clans immediately became agitated.

These powerful clans of Shinano were exhausted from being harassed by small groups of Mori troops for days. When they saw the fire in their rear, their first thought was not to help, but to worry that their castle might also be burned down by Mori.

"quiet!"

Sanada Yukitaka shouted loudly, but he couldn't suppress the panic that was beginning to spread.

He stared intently at the flames, his mind racing.

Impossible. Even though Toshiki Castle only had 300 soldiers left, it shouldn't have fallen so quickly.

Mori is luring the enemy!

"Form ranks!"

Sanada Yukitaka raised his spear. "All troops, form ranks! There's an ambush!"

Before the words were even finished, a deafening battle cry erupted from the mountain forest on the flank.

Mori Nagayoshi transferred all the arquebuses from Mino to Ogasawara Nagatoki.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Yukitaka pricked up his ears.

At least 100 arquebuses! What kind of army is this?

"Don't panic! Maintain formation!"

He had just shouted when he saw a dark figure burst into the crowd.

The armor was entirely black, and even the warhorse was black.

That crimson mask was like a ghostly face floating in the twilight.

"Ozuki, shoot the arrow!"

Changqing roared.

Yukitaka could clearly hear the sound of the taut bowstring, a sound that seemed to converge into two hands gripping his throat.

"put!"

After the second volley of three rounds of fire from the cannons, accompanied by the bowstrings, Ogasawara Nagatoki, wielding the same great dachi as the Mori, "Chiyotsuru," charged into the Sanada army's broken defenses.

He despised Sanada Yukitaka, who had sided with Shingen. If Sanada Yukitaka hadn't helped Takeda capture Toishi Castle, Shinano wouldn't have collapsed so quickly.

Changqing wielded his cross-shaped spear with impenetrable speed, charging into wherever there were many people to disrupt their formation.

With the protection of the Great Armor, he was not afraid of ordinary arrows at all.

Two powerful warriors rode up to meet him, only to be stabbed right through the heart.

The foot soldiers surrounded him, and he snatched a long spear, sending the bamboo spears flying in all directions.

Blood splattered on his black armor, flowing along the patterns on the plates, making his red mask appear even more ferocious.

"It's him! It's Mori Nagayoshi!"

"Red Demon!"

"Tengu!"

The allied forces of powerful clans were thoroughly intimidated.

The soldiers in the front ranks immediately scattered, but under this onslaught, they could only stumble around aimlessly.

Sanada Yukitaka had already seen through the Mori army's true strength, but his shouts lacked conviction.

"Don't panic! There are only a few hundred of them!"

He had to admit that this madman was very good at choosing his timing.

At the very moment the fire broke out in Toishi Castle, at the very moment his soldiers panicked, at the very moment his attention was drawn to the flames.

He saw through Mori's intentions, but it was too late to calm the troops down.

"Don't retreat! Don't retreat!" Yukitaka led his retainers forward, holding off Ogasawara Nagatoki's attack. "Hold the line! The enemy only has a few hundred men!"

However, his voice was drowned out by the chaotic screams.

After a brief exchange of blows, Sanada Yukitaka felt he had regained his footing, but then shouts of battle erupted from all directions.

"kill!"

From behind the hillside to the east, another group of soldiers in black armor charged out.

"Don't let them get away!"

"Sanada Yukitaka! Today is your death day!"

On the mountain path to the south, there was another group of people in black armor.

Those small groups of troops that had been harassing the area for days now seemed to have made a pact to attack simultaneously from all directions.

Sanada Yukitaka's face turned deathly pale.

It turns out that the fire at Toishi was also a signal for an attack.

Although the Mori army fought individually, they all moved towards the direction of Toishi when they saw the fire!