Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

Even if the crew wanted to avoid risking their lives, they had no choice. From Hachisuka Koroku and Maeno Nagayasu down to Ikoma Chikamasa and Yamauchi Kazutoyo, they all had to carry guns and charge the walls and gates of Asaka Castle.

The line is the one Nobunaga was sitting on. Either you have to be carried off lying down, in which case Nobunaga won't blame you. But if you try to stand and back across that line, you can expect to be beheaded.

The city was already in turmoil because of the major internal strife that happened that morning. Ōmiya Ōnojo saw everyone as a rebel and an accomplice of his uncle. However, he was currently defending the city and had no way to purge the people inside.

After another purge, of the original few hundred people, dozens were killed or wounded, and Ōgō Hannōsai took dozens more with him, leaving no one to defend the city.

Then, they encountered the most reckless and frenzied charge in the entire Kinoshita Squad's history. With Nobunaga sitting right below the castle, who dared not fight back?

Even Ōmiya Hanninsai, who had just surrendered to Oda's army, donned his armor and ran to the castle walls, shouting that surrender would spare him death. Whether he was truly spared was hard to say, but he figured he might as well stir up some unrest among the defenders.

To be fair, these true Japanese samurai, risking their lives to attack the city, were not to be underestimated in terms of fighting power. After all, someone who had practiced swordsmanship from a young age, spent most of their life in military and war-related matters, and was under the strict military orders of the time, would have displayed considerable fighting power in feudal warfare.

Even before the cannon fire from below the castle had ceased, men began attacking the castle walls. Although this was a desperate gamble, at least they were fighting for their lives in front of Nobunaga.

If you really shine and catch Nobunaga's eye, then you'll have it for life.

Two attendants carried a small taiko drum and charged down the castle walls, encouraging the attacking forces. Hachisuka Koroku took the lead, carrying a swastika-shaped hat and wielding an iron club as he smashed the wooden gates of Asaka Castle.

Shouts, the sounds of fighting, and the cacophony of longbows firing arrows, cannons blasting, and blades clashing instantly filled the entire battlefield. No one dared to retreat; wave after wave of soldiers charged forward, the battle cries like a roar.

Even Shichibei, watching from below the castle, was terrified. The castle's defender, Ōmiya Ōnojo, stood on an earthen mound, holding a Japanese bow, firing arrows in rapid succession. But the Oda army outside the castle swarmed like ants, impossible to kill completely.

With a loud crash, seven or eight foot soldiers carrying logs smashed open the gates of Asaka Castle. Several samurai shouted their names and charged into the castle, where spears shot out from inside, instantly killing many of them.

But the Oda army outside the city was really brave. Yamauchi Kazutoyo also climbed to the front of the city. Instead of a spear, he used a katana and a small wooden shield, and with the spearheads in his hand, he slashed into the city gate.

His two old comrades, dressed in foot soldiers, stood guard over him with guns. They were all in a frenzy, their faces covered in blood, their eyes stained with red.

The first Oda clan flag was planted on the walls of Asaka Castle, like a heavy punch smashing into the city, and the castle soldiers, who still had some will to resist, finally collapsed.

Some people clung to Omiya Ojiro to find a fake door or tunnel, some knelt down to surrender, and some even knocked down the fence and chose to roll down the embankment to escape—the list goes on.

Meanwhile, Nobunaga, who was outside the castle, returned to Hideyoshi's bedside to check on his condition.

177. The army, exhausted and besieged under the city walls, was forced to retreat.

Although Asaka Castle eventually fell under the fierce attack of Hideyoshi's generals, the offensive on the main castle, Ōkōchi Castle, made little progress.

After all, if Hideyoshi were to die in battle, all of his troops could be beheaded legally and without anyone finding fault. Naturally, they would risk their lives to attack the city, since capturing it would cancel out their crimes and everything would be back to normal.

But Nobunaga, who was standing under Ohkouchi Castle, was not hit by an arrow. The samurai looked at Ohkouchi Castle standing on the hill. Who would be willing to risk his life and fight to the death to attack the castle?

Hideyoshi had also regained consciousness by this time, but he was certainly unable to stand, and over a hundred men had died in the siege. Since Asaka Castle had already been captured, he withdrew and retreated to Nobunaga's main force to recuperate.

Hideyoshi, who could only be moved on a stretcher, looked rather comical. All the generals of Owari knew that he had been shot in the testicle, and those who had the chance to come and see him rushed to do so.

While watching, I couldn't help but sigh, "Kinoshita, my friend, alas, my condolences..."

Actually, when Shichibei was cleaning Hideyoshi's wounds, he carefully examined Hideyoshi's testicles and found that both of Hideyoshi's testicles were still there. After all, the arrow had mainly grazed the skin of his testicles and penetrated his groin.

When Hideyoshi first woke up, he asked himself if he only had one egg left. He didn't even have a son yet, what was he going to do? As he spoke, tears streamed down his face, and he even tried to touch his crotch to confirm.

With those filthy hands, how could I allow him to touch me? It was Shichibei who told him he had both testicles. Don't worry, brother, we're on your side, I won't play games with you. If I say there are two, then there are two.

Perhaps because Shichibei's handling of the situation was passable, Hideyoshi's wound didn't become infected. In addition, Hideyoshi's physical condition was still good; in this era, to live to over sixty and die of old age was considered quite healthy. At this moment, Hideyoshi was even able to sit up, occasionally secretly touching his testicles.

"Alright, alright, stop touching it. It won't make a difference if you do." Shichibei brought over a bowl of porridge and saw Hideyoshi doing his handiwork again when no one was around.

"Can't I even touch them?" Hideyoshi was happy when he touched the two eggs, but disappointed when he let go, probably because he was worried that his eggs were not working properly and was afraid.

"Alright, alright, go ahead and touch it." Shichibei put the bowl down beside the straw mat and, without any hesitation, lifted Hideyoshi's fig leaf to look.

After all, it was an egg he had personally protected, so he had to take a close look. The subsequent cleaning and dressing changes were handled by a physician sent by Nobunaga. Nobunaga still doted on Hideyoshi, and if he could save Hideyoshi, he certainly would.

"How's the fighting going outside?" Hideyoshi was probably a little embarrassed by having a man look at his balls, so he changed the subject.

"Not good." Shichibei lowered his fig leaf.

It's also because Hideyoshi, being a lowly soldier, wasn't corrupted by the erotic practices of the Sengoku period. If it were Nobunaga, he certainly wouldn't have thought anything of it; after all, he did it all the time. Hideyoshi was completely insensitive to this kind of thing and had absolutely no interest in it, to the point that some say the Toyotomi retainers weren't willing to risk their lives for him because he refused to sleep with them.

Sigh...

Let's talk about the war outside. Kitada Tomonori and his son Kitabatake Tomofusa realized that the Oda army's offensive was not strong, and their confidence in defense became even stronger. Nobunaga's main force of the Oda army made several attempts to break through but failed. Finally, they changed their strategy and began to build the Kagaki (demolition wall) using the thick timbers that had been prepared to build in case the 16,000 Kitabatake soldiers went into battle.

In other words, the wooden palisades initially surrounded the two sides of Ōkōchi Castle that were not near the water. Later, it was discovered that some of the Kitabatake troops were communicating with the outside world by water, so the entire castle was encircled.

The third layer of the castle wall is currently under construction. Judging from Oda Nobunaga's intentions, he will not stop until the entire castle is completely surrounded.

Furthermore, the previously mentioned proposal to deplete the military rations within Ōkōchi Castle was also implemented. Takigawa Kazumasu and Inaba Yoshimichi were dispatched to Taki District, and Kiriyama Palace was also sent to set fire to and loot the area, forcing the people of the surrounding areas to flee into Ōkōchi Castle for refuge.

Since many of the civilians were actually family members of the soldiers guarding Ōkōchi Castle, the Kitabatake clan had not achieved any separation of soldiers and farmers. There were many conscripted peasant soldiers. When they saw the family members crying and shouting below the castle, they had to let them in, otherwise the garrison would waver.

As a result, the Ōkōchi Castle, which originally had enough provisions to last for more than three months and feed 8,000 people until the New Year, suddenly fell into a food shortage crisis. No fewer than 20,000 people took refuge in the castle, which not only made it difficult to supply food and water, but also greatly affected their living space.

The streets and alleys were crowded with refugees. It was already autumn, and the autumn nights were cold and the dew was heavy. Dozens or even hundreds of people froze to death at night.

If people aren't allowed in, the morale of the guards will waver. If people are allowed in, the morale of the guards will waver again because of the dead bodies they see every day.

Kitabatake Tomonori was also caught in a dilemma. He was now praying that Nobunaga's supposed 100,000-strong army would eventually retreat due to logistical problems.

Let's just wait and see who can outlast whom.

Nobunaga was indeed in a difficult position. With 75,000 men, the daily rice consumption alone exceeded 1,500 koku. Thirty to fifty thousand koku of rice wouldn't even make a ripple in this situation. If they hadn't pre-emptively purchased rice from Nanseki at extremely high prices, they would have already started shipping rice from Tsushima to provide support.

What was originally a military contest between 75,000 and 16,000 troops turned into a contest of patience and wallets as the fighting progressed.

"The Kitabatake clan refuses to surrender?" Hideyoshi finished his porridge and learned about the situation outside.

“Since they’ve surrendered, we’re all heading back to Gifu to prepare for the New Year.” Xiao Liu also came in and immediately chimed in when he heard Hideyoshi’s question.

However, even if it was just a casual conversation, he still had to lift up Hideyoshi's cloak to take a look. After seeing that Hideyoshi's inner thighs were clean and odorless, he even instructed Hideyoshi to remember to shake off the urine and then wipe it clean.

This is a true brother, speaking the truth.

"Not necessarily. The food in the city won't last long." Shichibei, who personally deployed the Southern Army's food supply siege, surely knew this.

"Tsk, at least 20,000 people have entered the city." Xiao Liu simply gave a meaningful smile.

To be honest, these 20,000 people are eating grain now, but what will they eat later? Or will they be eaten? It's hard to say. Did the Japanese defenders of castles not resort to cannibalism? They must have been involved to some extent. In the end, Miki Castle was a place of cannibalism. Of the 8,000 soldiers and tens of thousands of their families, only a few hundred survived. They had already resorted to cannibalism long ago.

"..." Hideyoshi nodded slightly, while Shichibei remained silent.

Everyone could understand what Xiao Liu meant, but at this time, both Hideyoshi and Shichibei still had a semblance of humanity, and their bottom line of cannibalism had not yet been crossed.

When did Hideyoshi start to become so heartless?

Anyway, Hideyoshi is doing quite well now. When people come to visit him, they chat and laugh, joking with each other. Especially many Owari samurai who rose from humble beginnings are very close to Hideyoshi. They're practically ready to touch them to see if they're both intact.

"By the way, that Kuki navy, they defeated the Kohama family in Toshi District and have already landed." Koroku, as Hideyoshi's deputy commander, was in a meeting at Nobunaga's main force.

“Kuki Yoshitaka…” Shichibei nodded slightly; this guy was quite skilled at water combat.

"Within three to five days, Shishu will likely side with us." With Kohama Kagetaka defeated, the people of Shima will surely be overjoyed to welcome our army.

The royal army has 75,000 men behind it, and a regent of the shogunate. Since the eldest brother has already fled, if not now, when?

With Rokuro looking after Hideyoshi, Shichibei returned to his small pack animal unit. It wasn't really an independent camp; it was completely mixed in with Nobunaga's main force. Shichibei's "main camp" was located in the Kawamura-ya branch in Anotsu, so he could just go and ask for whatever he wanted.

Nobunaga wasn't at the main camp or the shogunate at the moment, but instead oversaw the repair of the antlers. Don't laugh, this isn't surprising. How did Xiahou Yuan die? He was killed by Huang Zhong with a single blow while he was repairing the antlers.

This earned Huang Zhong the extraordinary feat of "slaying a general," a first-rate achievement in the army, along with feats like being the first to scale a cliff or capturing a flag. From then on, no one in the entire Shu Han dared to underestimate Huang Zhong, even though he was old.

It's a pity that Oda Nobuhiro, who usually stayed behind to oversee the shogunate, isn't here; otherwise, Shichibei could have chatted with his adoptive father-in-law. Even Sakuma Nobumori isn't here now, ordered by Nobunaga to set fires and loot everywhere, driving civilians into Ōkōchi Castle.

Everyone's busy; it's Hayashi Hideyoshi who's staying behind at the main camp. You wouldn't expect it, would you? As a senior retainer, Hayashi Hideyoshi is still serving Nobunaga. Historically, his family played a significant role in the conquest of Ise, and unlike his father, who had long managed domestic affairs, Hayashi Shinjiro Michimasa, the eldest son of the Hayashi family, was a man of both military prowess and strategic acumen.

Within the Oda clan, known for its many valiant generals, he was ranked alongside the "Three Left Spears" and the "Right Left Spear" as one of the "Forest of Spears." Historically, he bravely led his troops in the Battle of Anegawa and the Battle of Ishiyama.

Under normal circumstances, Hayashi Hidesada would remain in Gifu to handle government affairs, while the Hayashi family's military forces would be led by Hayashi Michimasa to fight for Oda Nobunaga.

When the Hayashi clan retreated from Ise-Nagashima, Hayashi Michimasa and Ujiie Bokuzenichi covered the rear and both died in battle. Had he been alive, the Hayashi clan would likely not have been defeated; they would have easily amassed a fortune of 100,000 to 200,000 koku.

Nobunaga was quite indifferent to his retainers who were unable to serve in the military.

Lin Xiuzhen noticed that Shichibei nodded as well. They were both from Owari Province, so even if they weren't familiar with each other, they felt a natural affinity. As Nobunaga's business grew larger and his family expanded, small cliques naturally formed.

After exchanging greetings and finding no familiar faces around, Shichibei simply lifted the curtain and left. Just as he was about to raise his hand, one of Nobunaga's attendants came over to help lift the curtain.

Horikutaro Hidemasa.

The future "famous figure, Kyutaro," is now a teenager and still doing chores like lifting the curtain for Nobunaga. This person is talked about in great awe on online forums in later generations, as if he is the kind of person who would make the Toyotomi family an extra ally if he didn't die.

It's similar to saying that even if Hideyoshi died, there would still be Hori Hidemura who could become the chief retainer of the Toyotomi family, keeping Maeda Toshiie and Tokugawa Ieyasu in check.

But that's all in the future. Right now, he's just a little kid in his teens; what kind of scene could he possibly cause? He nodded to Shichibei, who nodded back and asked Nobunaga if he had said when he would be back.

After a moment's thought, Hori Hidemasa said that Nobunaga usually only made one round of inspections and would return within an hour at most. It wasn't good for the commander-in-chief to be away from the main camp for so long.

How long has Nobunaga been gone? Hori Hidemasa smiled and said that he had just returned early to prepare hot tea for Nobunaga.

Both of them were smart people. They looked at each other, and Shichibei retreated back to the shogunate. Hori Hidemasa also went in and picked up the iron kettle to prepare to boil water.

After only a short while, Nobunaga strode in. He didn't pay much attention to Hayashi Hideyoshi, Shichibei, and the others who stood up to greet him, and sat down with an air of authority, catching his breath before discussing the matter.

After he had drunk a cup of hot tea, he asked Shichibei what business he had with the Honjin Shogunate.

Nothing much. I just told him that the 40,000 koku of annual tribute rice collected in Owari had been used up, and now they were eating rice bought at a higher price from Minami-Ise.

Rice bought for one stone and four strings of cash!

Tsk tsk tsk, Nobunaga really spared no expense to buy up all the rice in southern Ise. Shichibei actually made a little extra money from this, not all of it was bought with four kan, but that's how it was reported in the accounts, and it did indeed basically empty the rice reserves in the southern Ise region.

Even without Shichibei's report, Nobunaga could roughly calculate the situation himself. But after hearing it, Nobunaga's face still darkened. The battle was like a dragon charging into the enemy's face; they had almost lost their chief general, Kinoshita Hideyoshi, at the very start. Almost a month had passed with no progress whatsoever; Ōkōchi Castle remained firmly in place.

Ugh, so annoying!

Who wouldn't be annoyed? The war had dragged on like this; the troops were truly exhausted. Everyone who came to fight thought that with the Flying Dragons charging in, how could they possibly lose? And what happened? They didn't lose, but they didn't win either.

And just as Kitabatake Tomokyo had initially planned, Nobunaga would at most stay in the southern region for a month or two. After all, even Nobunaga might not be able to afford the enormous expense of 75,000 people.

178. Fire arrows and curved shots attack the city.

"The General has sent an envoy!"

Nobunaga was feeling annoyed when someone rushed into his tent to report something. However, the matter at hand…

What trouble is Ashikaga Yoshiaki causing now? Nobunaga is really annoyed. He thought the imperial army would arrive and the enemy would be routed. But he never expected the Kitabatake clan to resist so fiercely, and now it seems there is no hope of victory.

But after all, he is the general I have supported, and we are currently in the process of transitioning from being in the same boat to having different dreams. I must see him, and not only see him, but see him as soon as possible.

Upon inviting the man in, it was none other than a long-time acquaintance—Akechi Mitsuhide. Nobunaga, seeing Mitsuhide, slightly softened his previously dark expression. Mitsuhide was someone he greatly admired, deserving of a warm welcome.

Nothing much to report, except that Ashikaga Yoshiaki sent Mitsuhide to inquire whether Nobunaga was having any difficulties advancing. If so, Nobunaga could call for reinforcements.