Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

The bond between the two, though not that of father and son, was almost indistinguishable from that of a father and son. Now, Hirate Hisahide has actually been captured by the Takeda army... this... this...

"Hirate Jinzaemon (Han-hide) has been captured for me, Hagiwara Matahachi!"

It was as if Oda Nobunaga was struck by lightning; blood seemed to well up in his throat. With the Hirate brothers now dead, the direct line of the Hirate clan in Owari was completely extinguished.

For a fleeting moment, Nobunaga thought he must turn back and retrieve the heads of the Hirate brothers, then kill the enemy general who had taken them, to avenge them. But reason quickly suppressed all of this; he knew very well that if he couldn't escape, the Hirate brothers would have died in vain.

The Takeda army that came to block him seemed to be countless, breaking through the encirclement again and again. Only when he could see Kawamura Shuji leading two large horse emblems swaying on the Ōyama-saka in the distance did Oda Nobunaga silently swallow a mouthful of saliva.

By this time, Shichibei had also realized that the battle was going badly. Knowing Shichibei's personality, he would have turned tail and run. Since everyone was running anyway, no one would blame him.

But the thought that he was guarding the rear of Oyamasaka, their only escape route, made Shichibei hold back. He'd at least wait until he saw Nobunaga run past before he fled. As long as Nobunaga lived, the Oda clan would live. If Nobunaga fell, the Oda clan would instantly collapse.

"Lord!"

Holding his long spear, Tōdō Takatora, who was guarding Shichibei, immediately shouted loudly. At 1.92 meters tall, he had a good view and could see far ahead. He could already see the Takeda army encircling the Oda-Tokugawa allied forces, and that the armored troops were moving very quickly. However, he couldn't see the whole picture across the vast Ōdai Plain, which was only a dozen kilometers wide.

"With Lord Uemon still on the battlefield, we must stay here to guard the slope." Shichibei could still distinguish between what was important and what was not; he wasn't a fool.

"Assemble the archers and arquebusiers, push the rice hulls and wagons to the front lines, and prepare for defense." Shichibei began issuing orders as he approached.

Fortunately, Shichibei's troops were mainly composed of proper samurai, although there were quite a few laborers and servants mixed in. The laborers were mainly responsible for paperwork and logistics. The entire rear guard was protected by samurai like Todo Takatora.

"Shichibei!" Just as he was carrying rice porridge, he suddenly heard a very familiar voice. He looked up and found that it was Oda Nobuhiro.

"Father!" Looking up, Oda Nobuhiro was still sticking three arrows into his body, but his headband was nowhere to be found.

(In Japanese, it should be written as "godfather," since I've seen so many videos of Japanese stepmothers that it's impossible to make a mistake; it's just that the text uses "father.")

"The Hamamatsu army has suffered a crushing defeat, engulfing our troops. The situation is hopeless. Retreat immediately!" While shouting, Oda Nobuhiro was still searching for horses throughout the camp. His horses were clearly exhausted from both fighting and running.

"No, absolutely not! Our lord has not yet escaped!" Shichibei grabbed Oda Nobuhiro's reins, trying his best to stop him.

These words stumped Oda Nobuhiro, but with his army in such dire straits, staying at Ōyamasaka would mean facing a fierce attack from the Takeda army.

"Fine! We still have to rescue Saburo." Oda Nobuhiro broke off the three arrow shafts stuck in his body and called to the retainers and samurai who had followed him to form a defensive formation on the spot.

Kawamura's army has not yet been fully affected by the changing battlefield situation and has not wavered. Shichibei is not capable of command, but Oda Nobuhiro is. Since being forgiven by Nobunaga for his rebellion, he has fought for more than a decade. Countless famous ministers and generals of the Oda army have died in battle, but he is still alive and kicking. Now he has even become a legion commander, so his abilities are still considered competent.

Shichibei's troops didn't have many arquebuses, maybe a hundred or so, but they did have a considerable number of archers. These were given to Shichibei by Nobunaga to guard the post stations and stables within his territory. He summoned them all up, totaling about four hundred men, and they defended themselves using fortifications.

In addition, Namie Sadaharu's 500 or so cavalrymen, who had been waiting in the rear guard, immediately sprang into action. They weren't expecting to kill any enemies; their priority was to quickly search for Oda Nobunaga's whereabouts.

Upon spotting Nobunaga, they cleared a path for him and quickly led him away. The yakubura horse (a type of cavalry unit) was not only extremely effective in attack but also a very reliable unit in retreat.

Row!

They all obeyed Oda Nobuhiro's orders; even Shichibei himself found a long spear and lined up behind the oxcart. The already disintegrated Oda army streamed through the rear guard's positions, bringing with them a sense of fear.

Having never experienced such a scene before, Shichibei immediately toured the area behind the lines and announced that anyone who held the line and returned to Gifu would receive a reward of one ryo of gold.

Chapter 275 Suspending Horses and Striking Drums to Command the Rear Guard

"It was I, Shimura Matazaemon, who was the first to charge into the enemy lines!"

Amidst the chaos and disintegration, Shimura Eisada, a general under Yamagata Masakage, led approximately 150 cavalrymen straight into the Kawamura army stationed at the entrance to the Oyamasaka Pass.

Logically speaking, given the overall collapse of the army, Kawamura's troops, consisting of only a rear guard and a small pack animal unit, should have immediately scattered. After all, the Oda army general whom the Takeda clan knew best was Kawamura Shichibei Nagayoshi, a shrewd small businessman. He was intelligent, capable, and very helpful.

But ultimately, he was just a small-time merchant; he lacked the bravery and courage of a samurai. Under such circumstances, he would likely only collapse and retreat completely.

"Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!" Shichibei shouted from his oxcart.

The archers and arquebusiers of Kawamura's army unleashed a fierce barrage of fire at the charging Takeda troops. Dozens of arquebuses and over two hundred bows instantly formed a network of fire. In the blink of an eye, several of Shimura Eisada's men were killed, and more than a dozen were wounded and lay on the ground.

Despite suffering such heavy losses, Shimura's relentless offensive continued. Dozens more arquebuses from Kawamura's unit fired again, bringing the two armies even closer, to within thirty meters. They killed at least seven or eight of Takeda's leading soldiers, and the relentless offensive immediately crumbled. The soldiers, dragging Shimura Eisada, who had been wounded in the thigh by an arrow, retreated.

"Give a small group of enemy troops a head-on blow, causing them to retreat in fear. Then the remaining small groups of enemy troops will not dare to charge again and will definitely choose to join the main force." Oda Nobuhiro had also been in the quagmire of the Sengoku period for twenty years and had seen the scenes of battles involving 100,000 people. He did have some experience.

"And then what?"

"Every extra moment we gain means one more person can escape, until Saburo also escapes." After saying this, Oda Nobuhiro still ignored the three arrows sticking out of his body.

He summoned the two hundred samurai and foot soldiers who had fled with him, and they immediately prepared themselves and checked their weapons to ensure they were usable. He specifically requested Watanabe Tomo, Todo Takatora, Mori Jiroza, and Takenaka Hanbei, all of whom were appointed to their positions in the Shichibei Army for their bravery.

Yes, Takenaka Hanbei also learned the Ichinotachi, so he's practically a swordsman. Thank you.

Gather five hundred men to prepare for the second round of battle. Now, the Takeda army is both dispersing the rout of the Oda army and seizing Ōyamasaka, attempting to annihilate the Oda army.

As for the men brought by Aochi Shigetsuna and Ogawa Yutada, to put it bluntly, they weren't part of Noo's shared destiny at this point. The fact that they didn't flee like the wind was already a favor to Shichibei, who had given each of them a tael of gold.

In the end, Shichibei was left with only two men in their late forties and early fifties: Kuwayama Shigekatsu and Ota Gyuichi, one wielding a spear and the other a bow, protecting him on either side.

Having two old men protect a burly young man in his early twenties was shameless for Shichibei, who didn't feel embarrassed at all.

At this moment, the Oda army, which had collapsed, kept running past the Kawamura army and back. The Owari samurai who were familiar with Shichibei saw that Shichibei was still holding the slope. Some called to Shichibei to run together, while others thanked him repeatedly and bowed to Shichibei on horseback.

They saw many Oda army foot soldiers with arquebuses, who hadn't discarded their arquebuses but were carrying them in their hands, using them as clubs or spears. Shichibei immediately shouted that it didn't matter if the foot soldiers ran away; at a time like this, escaping was the priority.

However, all your arquebuses must be left behind. Although Shichibei's side only has a little over a hundred arquebusiers, there are quite a few men and samurai who know how to load and operate arquebuses. It's not about immediately transferring the arquebuses to these people, but rather having them assist in loading them from behind, and then handing the arquebuses over to the arquebusiers to fire.

This would strengthen their firepower and prevent more Takeda troops from coming to fight. Oda Nobuhiro was right; every moment of delay was precious. As long as Nobunaga could escape, it would all be worth it.

The routed soldiers didn't hesitate. Since Shichibei had ordered them to drop their arquebuses, they didn't waste any words. They handed them over to Shichibei and fled like the wind towards the Toda River pontoon bridge. At the Toda River pontoon bridge, there were 3,000 cavalrymen under Hiromasa Tsuda and Hideyori Mori, along with 300 arquebuses, who had built defensive positions and could take a foothold.

In a short time, Shichibei collected about two hundred arquebuses, all of which were handed over to the men and servants in the team. They were all loaded and then handed over to the arquebusiers who were waiting in formation behind the rice carts and oxcarts.

"Shichibei, you see, although the Kai army isn't attacking right now, they're gathering their forces. After about a thousand or two thousand cavalry, they'll charge again immediately. We must launch a full-scale counterattack now, so they can't determine the size of our forces and will hesitate." Oda Nobuhiro gripped his sword and spear, instructing the soldiers following him to spread out to the left and right flanks.

"Huh?" Shichibei hadn't reacted yet.

Then they saw Maru no Mikazuki Matsu's horse emblem swaggering as he charged towards Kawamura's army. It was clear that Takeda's general, Saegusa Moritomo, with fifty elite cavalry and seventy foot soldiers, had arrived at Ōyamasaka. Perhaps having heard Shimura Eisada's report, he had gathered over a thousand men, or possibly more, and launched an attack on the Kawamura clan.

The A-class army charged forward, met with a cacophony of fire from Kawamura's arquebusiers and bows. However, the A-class army was vastly superior, and the casualties of a few dozen men were hardly enough to deter the entire charge. Miezuki Moritomo shouted, "Advance!" and the A-class troops on either side roared back in unison.

At that moment, completely disregarding the arquebuses and arrows that Kawamura's army might fire, Oda Nobuhiro and Takenaka Hanbei launched a fierce counterattack from the left and right flanks against the armored army, with each of them having more than two hundred men. They charged straight at the 3rd rank of the Sange no Moritomo Maru.

Just as the weaving army was crumbling, such a powerful counterattack suddenly disrupted the already disorganized armored army. The armored army, which had been fighting fiercely for over two hours, was now able to advance with renewed vigor due to their pursuit of the enemy. Encountering the fresh Kawamura army, which had been resting at Ōyamasaka and had not yet mobilized, the tide of battle immediately turned.

In shock, Saegusa Moritomo's younger brother, Saegusa Moritsugu, fired an arrow at Oda Nobuhiro, who was approaching without a helmet. The two armies were only twenty meters apart, yet the arrow struck Oda Nobuhiro squarely in the right eye, nearly killing him on the spot.

Oda Nobuhiro, already wounded by three arrows and covered in blood, momentarily forgot the pain. He simply broke off the arrow shafts and brandished his spear to attack Sange no Moritomo.

Such a scene terrified the armored soldiers, who all retreated in disarray. Even San'e Moritomo was shaken and inevitably felt a sense of fear.

Seeing this, Saegusa Morimitsu immediately urged his elder brother to retreat quickly, as the Oda army was like cornered beasts, extremely fierce and not to be trifled with. He stayed behind to shield the Oda army that was attacking from both flanks.

Before he could think further, Saegusa Moritomo turned his horse and rode away. At that moment, Oda Nobuhiro's spear had already arrived, thrusting straight into Saegusa Moritomo's neck. Because his right eye was blind and he could not see at all, Oda Nobuhiro could only fight with his life on the line, and he actually decapitated Saegusa Moritomo. His blood, like a rain of flowers, fell evenly and beautifully.

The soldiers scattered and fled.

The generals pulled Oda Nobuhiro back from the water, the half-shot arrow still gleaming in his right eye socket. Shichibei was momentarily at a loss, almost losing his mind. Unfortunately, Nobunaga hadn't just returned to Ōyamasaka yet; if he left, all the sacrifices would be in vain. How could they allow that?

"My lord, my lord, my lord..." The retainers and samurai around him called out to Shichibei. At this moment, Oda Nobuhiro was also lying down, so they could only listen to Shichibei.

"First, take Father to the floating bridge over the Todagawa River. The rest of you, immediately gather the flags scattered around and find a weak horse and a taiko drum." After being called repeatedly, Shichibei finally came to his senses.

Now I can't rely on anyone else, I can only rely on myself.

It was approximately 4:30 PM, with at most forty minutes until sunset and complete darkness. Soldiers of this era were almost entirely night-blind, making night battles extremely difficult. Therefore, the Takeda army would temporarily encamp and halt their advance.

"The Imperial Palace, the Regent, the Great Hall..." Suddenly, a series of shouts came from all directions.

Looking up again, he saw the disheveled Oda Nobunaga. Seeing the makeshift camp set up by Shichibei and Oda Nobuhiro lying in Shichibei's arms, Nobunaga simply stared calmly, as if in death, for half a minute.

"Shichibei, farewell!" With that, Nobunaga changed into a new horse he had found and rode off like the wind toward the Toda River pontoon bridge.

"……"What?

Before he could even exchange a single word with Nobunaga, he saw Nobunaga, protected by dozens of horsemen, gallop westward. It seemed he had abandoned Shichibei and everyone else present, using them as his scapegoats.

"My lord, now that the main hall has retreated, let's go too!" Tōdō Takatora, covered in blood from the fighting, prepared to pick up Oda Nobuhiro and drag Shichibei away as quickly as possible.

"No, it's not dark yet. Leaving now would be suicide." Shichibei swallowed hard, making up his mind.

First, let the less useful men, soldiers, and servants take the wounded away, as many as they can. For the truly seriously wounded, well, sorry, give them a quick death, cut off their heads, put them in a bucket, and carry them back home—that'll count as going home.

The rest of the men continued to hold the line, while the small horses that were not much bigger than ordinary sheep, only 1.1 meters tall at the shoulder, which were used to carry miso and quivers, were hung upside down with their legs tied to the front of the taiko drum.

Plant all the flags of our army, as well as any flags we found, on the rice tatami mats and the camp tents. Forget about making straw figures; bring out all the original Nobunaga main camp's shikagi (castles), strip the dead men's armor, and cover them with all the clothing. Whether it's a few hundred mon of gazashi (traditional Japanese armor) or a hundred kan of gintsu (traditional Japanese silver armor), they're useless now; move them all and arrange them as haphazardly as possible.

As the sun sets, every second counts.

I'll have the tall and strong Todo Takatora take Oda Nobuhiro along, and also organize the disorganized men and servants. Ogawa Yutada and Aochi Shigetsuna are also to go. Since you two have seen Nobunaga has fled, you probably don't have the will to hold out, but at least go and guard the Miyadagawa pontoon bridge. Can you wait for me for one night?

Aochi Shigetsuna and Ogawa Yutada immediately knelt on one knee, expressing their eternal gratitude to Kawamura-dono for his great kindness. After saying this, they led their men to organize the soldiers and the wounded to retreat, leaving behind all the flags to make up the numbers.

At this moment, the generals Nobuharu Baba, Katsuyuki Atobe, Nobutsuna Sanada, and Nobusada Obata had already rushed to the front of Oyamasaka. The defeated Moritomo Saegusa did not have time to mourn for his younger brother Moritomo Saegusa. He said that the opponent, Shichibei Nagayoshi Kawamura, was holding on to the death and his men were extremely brave and would fight to the death.

Seeing the Takeda army generals arrive, Shichibei personally mounted his horse and led them to find Nobunaga. He then escorted Nobunaga back to Ōyamasaka, along with 500 cavalrymen including Namae Sadaharu.

"I, Kawamura Shichibei, am ordered to defend the position. You may attack at will!"

His voice was surprisingly calm and low, perhaps because of the many things he had encountered today, and he had run out of emotions, with no more anger or fear to express.

The sight of five hundred formidable cavalrymen of the Kawamura school caused Baba Nobuharu, who had arrived on horseback, to hesitate. Years ago, when Kawamura's army went to Tsutsuzaki-no-kan in Kai Province to fetch Takeda Matsuhime, the generals of the Kai army had actually observed them carefully. They confirmed that this fellow possessed both grandeur and substance.

The Kawamura family had never fought before, having always guarded the rear fortress and the small cargo convoy; they were still a completely fresh force. The attacks of Shimura Eisada and Saegusa Moritomo were met with resolute and powerful counterattacks.

They should not be underestimated! They should not be underestimated!

What to do? Without defeating Kawamura's army, there's no way to pursue Oda Nobunaga. It's almost dark; once it gets really dark, we'll completely lose this opportunity.

but……

The Tokugawa army was on high alert, with sharp cannons and arrows, as well as elite soldiers and fierce generals. In twenty minutes, they couldn't even organize a large-scale siege. After assessing the situation, Baba Nobuharu immediately decided not to confront the enemy head-on and instead turn around to kill the Tokugawa army at Shutasaka.

Before the armored troops could make a move, Kawamura Ryuu's horseman unexpectedly launched a charge. He immediately drew his bow and nocked an arrow, and the arrows flew like locusts, not caring about hitting the target, but only about shooting wildly and showing off his power.

Before even reaching the front of the armored army, they split into two groups, one to the east and one to the west. Those with superior martial skills even turned and fired back. This terrified the armored army, causing them to retreat in panic.

The cavalry slowly retreated into the formation. As darkness fell, bonfires were lit throughout the camp, illuminating the banners and the soldiers standing like a forest, like a mountain.

Even the elite troops of the Kai army, who came to observe Kawamura's battle formation, exclaimed in astonishment at its discipline and warned against underestimating the enemy. Oda Nobuhiro was absolutely right: maintain a defensive posture against small reconnaissance attacks; wait for the enemy's vanguard of a thousand or so men to launch a surprise attack, then take the initiative and wait for them to tire themselves out; only after a successful assault should one consider abandoning the position and fleeing quickly.

This is what Sun Tzu said in "The Art of War": "Warfare is based on deception. When you are capable, make it seem as if you are incapable; when you are active, make it seem as if you are not active; when you are near, make it seem as if you are far away; when you are far away, make it seem as if you are near. Attack where they are unprepared; strike where they least expect you."

The drums in the formation resounded with the pounding of horses' hooves, campfires were lit, and banners fluttered in the wind. The "thousands" of men stood as one, guarding the slope of Mount Oyama. Not a single one of the renowned generals of the Kai army dared to charge again to test the waters. After nightfall, Shichibei, having completed his reorganization, led only a few hundred elite soldiers and retreated safely.

Chapter 276 A Series of Collapses: Hamamatsu Loses

In my hometown, Nanbu Saneyoshi, along the street from Oyamasaka to the Todagawa Floating Bridge, every town had an unpainted wooden pole used as a spear shaft. The exact length of each town varied, but let's say it was one hundred meters.

Whether they were close or not, it was still better to have watched Shichibei collect horse manure from a young age. Of Shichibei's more than a thousand cavalrymen, although many of them were unable to see at night, many of the well-fed and trained cavalrymen at the front were not night-blind.

Slowing down their horses, they searched along the way for the gun barrels left behind by Nanbu Sanenaga, continuing until the moon was high in the sky, almost in the middle of the night, before finally reaching the Toda River pontoon bridge.

Seeing that Shichibei had returned unharmed, Hiromasa Tada and Hideyori Mori exclaimed that they were blessed by the gods. They had already dismantled all four pontoon bridges; if Shichibei had returned even half an hour later, they would have finished dismantling the bridges and fled towards Owari in the dark.