Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

"How many men do you have?" Nobunaga was Nobunaga; he didn't care about anything else and immediately demanded to seize the army.

"About a thousand cavalry." Including Ose Shiroemon, Shichibei only had a thousand men, and several of them had died in the recent battle.

"You dare to storm Tennoji Temple with so few people?" Nobunaga frowned. This number was simply no match for the tens of thousands of Ikko-ikki.

"You..." Shichibei could only hesitate before stopping himself.

You only brought a hundred men and charged in, and you're complaining that I didn't have enough? I have at least a thousand men; there's always a chance to try. What can a hundred men do? They can't possibly break through.

"It's getting dark. Light torches and prepare three to five thousand men to give it a try." Nobunaga didn't waste any more words and immediately issued the military order.

Tie tinder to bamboo poles, find a stick, set up three or five torches, beat drums and gongs, and take advantage of the last glimmer of light in the evening, just before darkness falls, to pretend to be a large army and see if they can break into Tianwangsi Fortress.

"Why does my lord have to put himself in such danger?" Shichibei thought to himself, "Why are you risking your life like this?"

"Harada Kenmon didn't seek death?" Nobunaga astutely seized upon Shichibei's relaxation.

"Yes, they even sent someone to ask for reinforcements this morning." Shichibei immediately understood that Nobunaga had received false information.

"Where is he?" Sure enough, Nobunaga's expression changed. If Hanawa Naomasa was alive and guarding the fort, he wouldn't be in such a hurry.

"They're inside the camp, please wait a moment." Shichibei immediately brought Hanawa Naomasa's attendant to Nobunaga.

Chapter 355 Mitsuhide Fights His Way into the Enemy's Battlefield

Hanawa Naomasa's attendants recounted everything they knew to Nobunaga. Nobunaga, confirming that Hanawa Naomasa had been lively and energetic that morning, setting up defenses at Tennoji Fortress, immediately relaxed.

There were one or two thousand standing foot soldiers directly under Nobunaga's command inside the fort, as well as at least several hundred remnants of Naomasa Hanawa's army. What was there to rush?

Go around recruiting people, gather all the legion commanders and city lords from the surrounding areas, raise an army of twenty or thirty thousand, and have a good clash with those damned Ikko-ikki.

With that, Nobunaga tossed aside his halberd and ordered, "Let's find a walled temple and set up our headquarters here. If there's no temple, we'll find a kofun (ancient burial mound). There are hundreds of kofun in the Kinai region, all built during Japan's Kofun period. So it's common to see a large, abrupt mound standing out on a plain."

This situation is likely the same in both China and Japan, where there are ancient tombs underneath.

That's good. The ancestors erected tomb mounds, and the descendants use them to build their own camps—convenient and safe. As for why Oda Nobunaga didn't get rich through tomb raiding, the reason is simple: Japanese burial mounds contain absolutely nothing of value. Forget gold and silver, there aren't even many copper coins. There might be some silk fabrics, but they've all rotted into mush. What's left are just funerary figurines, pottery, and bone artifacts—what use would they be?

Luckily, I found Shokaku-ji Temple about four kilometers southeast of Tennoji. It's not a Jodo Shinshu temple, but a Jodo sect temple, dedicated to Amitabha Buddha. Although the two sects differ by only one character, in Japan, the old and new religious groups are quite fiercely competing.

The head temple of the Jodo sect is located at Chion-in Temple in Kyoto; its location indicates its integration with the old forces. They pursue the so-called Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss and recite the *Amitayurdhyana Sutra*. Their founder was Honen, and his disciple was Shinran, the founder of the Jodo Shinshu sect.

Nobunaga strode through the gate. Shokaku-ji Temple wasn't large, but it had a main gate, halls, pagodas, and over a hundred monks' quarters. He glanced around, directing his troops to secure high ground, establish sentry posts, and ensure water and firewood supplies. Only then did Nobunaga sit down and chat briefly with the Jodo sect monk, Ryōkyō.

"I won't leave you here for nothing," Nobunaga said, turning to his right-hand scribe and instructing him to send 200 koku to the Shōkaku-ji temple. Then he beckoned to Shichibei, asking, "Do you have any money on you?"

Of course I brought it; how could Shichibei go out without money?

Using Shichibei's money, he pretended to be a tycoon and immediately gave away thirty taels of gold, which pleased the abbot of the temple, Ryosuke, who was so pleased that he hurriedly brought out rice cake soup and small steamed buns for Nobunaga to enjoy.

Tsk.

Money can make Amitabha Buddha steam buns.

But paying money definitely makes a difference in treatment; temples have everything one could want. Many temples these days are essentially small, self-sustaining economic entities. Like monasteries in neighboring Europe, they have farmland, tenant farmers, serfs, livestock, and even watermills. Large temples have developed into grand temple-front or temple-inside areas, the most typical examples being Ishiyama-cho in Osaka and Zenkoji-monmae-cho in Shinano.

Even during the reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula, many towns developed from monasteries. And many towns in the Baltic Sea also developed through military monastic orders. In the context of true feudalism, this form of relying on religious power to preserve knowledge and culture and establish grassroots organizations can be seen all over the world.

At the monk Ryosho's command, nearby farmers brought radishes and lotus roots, firewood, cloth bundles, and even the local women who served Nobunaga, all of which arrived in an instant.

That's good. Anyway, we don't need to eat any dry rations or rice balls anymore. We can drink hot rice cake soup. We're still on the battlefield, so we can consider it a blessing.

While eating a red bean bun, Nobunaga summoned the monk Ryosho and two local officials, asking them to describe the surrounding terrain and environment to the best of their ability: whether there was fog in the morning and evening, the course of the river, the construction of bridges, and the village's beliefs.

Of course I believe in the Pure Land School! If I believed in the Pure Land True School, I should be participating in the siege of Tennoji Fortress right now.

With Nobunaga present, Shichibei suddenly found himself quite idle. Although Nobunaga hadn't seized the army, his mere presence automatically made everyone revolve around him. This was because Nobunaga held immense prestige within the Oda clan; even Shichibei's retainers, like Todo Takatora, would subconsciously obey Nobunaga's orders unless Shichibei explicitly objected.

This is good news for Shichibei. Leading troops into battle is not our forte. Now that Nobunaga is here, we can just follow his orders. We only need to do our duty and obey his commands.

With this free time, it would be wise to eat a couple more red bean buns.

After Nobunaga finished his questions, Shichibei, having finished his meal, was sipping hot tea to cleanse his palate and preparing to stroll around the temple a couple of times to aid digestion. The scene didn't resemble a battle; it looked more like a spring outing.

"Come here, clerk." Nobunaga called Shichibei back from the corridor.

"I am not a military magistrate." Shichibei was puzzled. The countersigned document should be for the military magistrate or the military magistrate. What business does it have to mobilize large armies from various places and send small pack animals to the magistrate?

"You're the only elder in the household here, so this is just a last-minute measure." Nobunaga had no choice. Although he could handle normal documents by himself, everyone was cautious about things like troop deployment.

Having two more signatures makes it easier to verify authenticity. Previously, it was either Sakuma Nobumori or Niwa Nagahide who served as deputies, but neither of them are currently available, so we had to bring in Shichibei.

"Oh, oh, oh..." That makes sense, deploying troops is still the most important thing.

Mori Yoshinari of Tamonyama Castle in Yamato is not too far away, so they need to send men. Tsutsui Junkei will also join the effort. Additionally, the Negoro clan needs to send a thousand arquebusiers; Nobunaga can hire these men. Hideyoshi in Kohoku has just returned home, so he won't be called up this time. However, Kuki Yoshitaka of Shima needs to come; although it's far, Nobunaga needs his navy to block the Kizu River estuary.

Ataka Nobuyasu of Awaji is currently serving Miyoshi Nobutaka; otherwise, summoning him would be faster. Due to the cross-sea operation, even Nobunaga's information is somewhat delayed.

"Send a few more men to find Jubei." After completing several troop mobilization orders, Nobunaga gave another order.

"Understood." At this point, who knows where Mitsuhide has gone? We can only search along the road.

If Mitsuhide had already rushed to the battlefield and was mixed in within a radius of dozens of miles, it would be difficult to find him. However, Mitsuhide's unit was a relatively combat-effective force, and since they hadn't participated in the Kishu campaign last year, they had to be transferred here as the main force.

The two agreed to make their own arrangements. The event was sudden, and information from various sources was a mixture of truth and falsehood. There was too much uncertainty; the best course of action was to gather an army of ten to twenty thousand men. With a large army at their disposal, operations would be much easier.

The next day.

Akechi Mitsuhide arrived at Kakik Castle in the middle of the night; it was the site of Kakik Castle, where Miyoshi Sozo had once served as lord. However, the castle had been demolished, leaving only a moat. Mitsuhide used the moat to build fortifications and surveyed the battlefield.

Then he received news that Hanawa Yasuhiro's entire army had been defeated and that Araki Village had regrouped to attack Takayama Shigetomo. Fighting was raging everywhere within a radius of dozens of miles, and troops were passing through everywhere; he had lost all contact with Saito Toshizo and his few hundred men.

Dividing our forces was a mistake, but it's too late to regret it now.

How to do?

The key point is that after Mitsuhide entered the battlefield, he had no idea where Nobunaga had gone. He was truly loyal to his lord now, after all, he wasn't from Owari. If the Oda clan changed hands, it was uncertain whether Oda Nobutada could even protect the family business. Just the question of whether they could still rely on outsiders was enough to make Mitsuhide anxious.

After regaining his composure, Mitsuhide sent men to find Saito Toshizo and dispatched warriors to infiltrate Tennoji Fortress in order to find out about Nobunaga's current situation.

Both sides were fighting and vying for control of Tennoji Fortress, and Nobunaga was also heading towards Tennoji Fortress. Mitsuhide, at least, remained relatively calm and did not rush headlong into the crowd of Ikko-ikki.

As dawn broke, the Akechi army had rested for four or five hours and eaten some simple rations. Neither of the two groups of men sent out by Mitsuhide had responded; Saito Toshimitsu had disappeared, and they hadn't even made it into Tennoji Fortress.

At this point, Mitsuhide had only 1,300 men left. Some of them had been taken away by Saito Rizo, while others had fallen behind and were catching up.

What can 1,300 people do?

Just as they were hesitating, news arrived that the Ikko-ikki had beheaded an Oda daimyo. The details were vague, which was normal. After all, the Ikko-ikki were filled with ordinary followers who wouldn't be able to clearly identify whose head it was.

The most famous example is the peasants who attacked Akechi Mitsuhide in history. They only seriously wounded Mitsuhide and dispersed the soldiers near him. Even after recognizing that Mitsuhide was a high-ranking samurai, they did not pursue him relentlessly. In the end, it was Mizono Shigetomo who beheaded Mitsuhide and hid his head.

It was several days later before they were found. If the villagers of Ogurisu knew they had stabbed Akechi Mitsuhide, they would go crazy. They'd be asked to offer up their head from their own fields; forget about thousands of koku of rice, they'd be lucky to get a few dozen koku of rice or ten taels of gold as a reward.

The one currently being attacked by the Ikko-ikki is Hanawa Koshichiro, who is defending the Yodogawa area. After Hanawa Yasuhiro's death, the Oda army surrounding the Hongan-ji Temple in the Yodogawa area was greatly shaken and soon began to disintegrate.

The Ikko-ikki swarmed forward and quickly overwhelmed the local garrison. Koshichiro ran around frantically, but ultimately failed to escape and was captured by the Ikko-ikki.

As a member of Hanawa Naomasa's faction, Hanawa Koshichiro enjoyed a stipend of over ten thousand koku, and his name was indeed daimyo.

This news sent a jolt through Akechi Mitsuhide's heart. He had received word that both Hanawa Naomasa and Hanawa Yasuhiro had been killed; who among the daimyo remained in the ranks?

Only Oda Nobunaga!

Shocked beyond measure, Mitsuhide immediately decided to risk everything, even his life, to rush to Tennoji Fortress and see what was happening. If Nobunaga was still guarding the fortress, he would join him in defending it. If Nobunaga had truly been killed, he would retrieve Nobunaga's head and send it back to Owari for burial.

Even if Oda Nobutada succeeds to the throne, with this achievement, he can at least secure his position of 56,000 koku in Sakamoto, and he will definitely continue to promote the San'in campaign.

With this thought in mind, Mitsuhide no longer hesitated. Ignoring his exhaustion, he rallied his men and charged swiftly towards the Ikko-ikki. Meanwhile, Shimoma Yorihiro, who was in charge of the battle, was waiting for Oda's reinforcements.

Finally spotting the Oda army marching clearly towards Tennoji Fortress, he immediately ordered his troops to intercept and kill them.

Thousands of arquebuses roared in the midst of the battle, startling men and causing horses to neigh. Even Shichibei and Oda Nobunaga on the other side could hear the sounds. However, they couldn't pinpoint which battle was taking place, as the battlefield was so vast and the distance so great that they could only barely make out what they were hearing.

But since fighting has broken out, what does that mean? It means either reinforcements have arrived, or it's Naomasa Hanawa from Tennoji Fortress engaging in battle. Otherwise, where would the noise come from?

Shichibei rushed to check on Nobunaga, but Nobunaga was in no hurry. He simply climbed up the five-story tower of Tenkaku-ji Temple. He even tried to crawl out of the tower and stand on the top to look around.

Shichibei, standing at the foot of the tower, watched with bated breath for Nobunaga. Nobunaga was half-exposed outside the tower, seemingly floating in mid-air. After observing the scene, he came down and uttered only one sentence.

The fighter jets have not yet arrived.

Clearly, the massive Ikko-ikki forces surrounding Tennoji Fortress had not been mobilized, and many remained entrenched in their positions. This suggests that the reinforcements were a small force, perhaps only a few hundred men. Who sent the vanguard to gather intelligence on the battlefield?

Unless an army of several thousand men arrives and stirs up the entire Ikko-ikki group's formation, the thousand men from Tianjue Temple will not have a chance to fight.

They stormed into Tennoji Fortress and joined forces with Hanawa Naomasa. By then, they would have an army of four or five thousand. Oda Nobunaga's victory at the Yongle Tongbao Great Horse Banner greatly boosted morale, making it entirely possible to plan a counterattack.

Although they weren't going to fight, since reinforcements had arrived, it was still necessary to find out which force they were. Nobunaga named a member of the Moi-i clan and ordered him to ride out alone on two horses to make sure he could see what banners the arriving army carried. If he could make contact with that army and bring back two messengers, that would be even better.

Upon receiving the order, the servants, without hesitation, whistled, mounted their horses, and charged outside. To put it bluntly, Nobunaga's servants were essentially the Japanese army's officer training school during the Sengoku period, while Nobunaga's pageboys were practically attending the army's junior academy.

Once they graduate and are released, they'll all become foot soldiers commanding hundreds of men, earning stipends of eight or ten thousand koku. Those with real talent, like Maeda Toshiie, have already been sent to Echizen, becoming important members of the Hokuriku army, capable of undertaking tasks in their respective areas.

With such a bright future, it's no wonder that these samurai, both vassals and pageboys, fought tirelessly for Nobunaga. Nobunaga was also quite generous with money and land, creating a virtuous cycle.

After sending his men out, Nobunaga composed himself and sat down in the meditation hall, where he surprisingly began chatting with the resident monk, Ryōshō. Despite the impending battle, Nobunaga remained remarkably calm and collected.

Chapter 356 Attack Three: Left Hand Makes the First Move

Nobunaga wasn't in a hurry, and Shichibei was even less so. He was even considering bringing his own men from Omi. There were only about a thousand people at Tenkakuji Temple, and it was only a little over four kilometers away from the main battlefield of Tennoji Fortress. It was still a risky situation.

But then he thought about it again. Ishiyama Honganji Temple only had about 10,000 to 20,000 monks and soldiers. As for the tens of thousands of believers and rebels, they were nothing. Look at the Ikko-ikki of Hokuriku. They had hundreds of thousands of soldiers at a time, but they were killed by Tomita Nagashige's few thousand men. They killed thousands or tens of thousands of people at a time. Most of the believers and rebels were not very strong.

With a mere 20,000 enemies, there's no need for Shichibei, a close ally, to send reinforcements to deal with them.

Since that's the case, why not watch Nobunaga and the monk Yoshiaki play Go? Although Shichibei's understanding of Go is very shallow, and he can't see any killer moves or dangerous strategies, he's just killing time anyway, so he might as well find something to distract himself.

The game of Go continued into the afternoon, with several rounds played. Shichibei was amazed at how Nobunaga and the monk Yoshiaki could sit still for so long. Shichibei even got up to urinate twice and then ate lunch.

"I'm not going to stop."

Suddenly, Nobunaga tossed aside a chess piece and, barefoot, sprinted towards the five-story pagoda in the temple. Almost instantly, he was seen leaning halfway out of the window, intently watching the battle at Tennoji Fortress.

"They've moved!" Nobunaga's words finally revealed a hint of emotion.

"What?" Shichibei, who was standing below the tower, didn't hear what Nobunaga said at all. This five-story tower was at least ten or twenty meters high, so how could he hear anything?

Then Nobunaga rushed downstairs like a whirlwind, blew his whistle, and ordered the Oda army in the entire temple to assemble and prepare more than five thousand torches.

In fact, Nobunaga did not know why the Ikko-ikki were moving, but he did notice that the Ikko-ikki near Tenkaku-ji Temple were being moved north.

The reason is simple: it lies with Akechi Mitsuhide and Saito Toshizo. Mitsuhide was shocked to hear that the Ikko-ikki had killed a daimyo of the Oda army and immediately decided to charge towards Tennoji Fortress to confirm the situation.

Meanwhile, Saito Rizo, whom he had previously dispatched, had been deployed as a guerrilla fighter near Yodogawa. Having received news of Hanawa Yasuhiro's impending death, they assumed the main outbreak of the war was on the Yodogawa side. Therefore, Saito Rizo, ordered to scout ahead, naturally headed towards the point of conflict to see just how the fighting had progressed.

Thus, Akechi Mitsuhide's 1,300 men marched from Kyoto towards Tennoji Fortress, while Saito Toshimitsu's 500 men launched a guerrilla attack from Yodogawa towards Honganji, launching attacks from both sides.

Both of them were exceptionally brave and skilled. Although Mitsuhide was nearly fifty years old and was not quite up to par with those young and fierce generals, defeating a mere nameless monk soldier was a piece of cake for him.