Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

Accompanying them were the Akabane troops of the Obata father and son from Nishi-Ueno, a force of several hundred cavalrymen, considered among the finest and most formidable even in the eastern provinces. Years ago, when Takeda Shingen had turned against the Obata father and son and Nagano Narimasa, Obata Norishige surrendered to Takeda. Shingen immediately gave him 5,000 kan as a token of respect, and subsequently increased the amount several times, bringing his territory to no less than 10,000 kan.

The first wave of Takeda's army consisted of three columns of cavalry, totaling over a thousand men. When these thousand cavalrymen charged, their front was wider than that of ten thousand infantrymen.

"Just in time!" Nobunaga leaped onto his warhorse and instructed Oda Nobutada to stay behind and hold the main camp, while he went to inspect the Oda arquebusiers on the front line.

"Father!" Nobutada called out, but Oda Nobunaga had already vanished.

"Your Highness, please sit down. Our lord is already ten times more likely to win." Shichibei quickly jumped off the carriage and reassured Oda Nobutada.

"What?" Oda Nobutada thought the outcome was evenly matched, but he never expected Shichibei to say that Nobunaga was absolutely certain of victory.

As Shichibei explained his suspicions one by one, Oda Nobutada's eyes widened even more. After saying, "I see," Oda Nobutada calmed down and sat down quietly.

The first volley of arquebus fire boomed across the battlefield, igniting the five thousand arquebuses of the Takeda army's elite troops, fueled by Oda Nobunaga's fury.

Chapter 364 Obata Akabane breaks through first

Clearly, Takeda Yoshiyori chose the card in his hand that would be easiest to break through the Oda army's advantage in arquebuses.

Utilizing the Sanada brothers, a key figure in the Shinshu campaign, and the Tsuchiya brothers, senior retainers of the Oda clan, both skilled in cavalry breakthroughs, they swiftly traversed the plains between the Oda and Takeda armies. Taking advantage of the cavalry's high mobility, they sought an opportunity to create a breach.

These three units were not just cavalry; they were followed by several thousand infantrymen. They did not actually participate in breaking through the enemy lines, but waited for the cavalry to break through the gap before quickly joining the attack to eliminate the enemy within.

Once the gap widens, the Takeda army can continuously pour in other units, eventually tearing the Oda army apart completely and allowing the Kokujun army to dominate.

It's true that arquebuses are sharp, but if they hit a person and the lead pellet shatters inside their body, even someone like Ii Naomasa would die.

Even the sharpest cannon is useless if you can't fire it. A cannon that can't fire is just a fire poker. The army may have fewer cannons, but it has plenty of unruly peasants who spring up from the remote, impoverished areas.

Historically, after Oda Nobunaga destroyed the Takeda clan, Mori Nagayoshi alone, who was granted 200,000 koku of land on Kawanakajima Island, organized a rebellion of 8,000 men. They nearly defeated Mori Nagayoshi, forcing him to fight back day and night, beheading people.

After slaughtering thousands of men and women and defeating the rebels, Mori Nagayoshi raised an army of 5,000 men from Kawanakajima in just half a month and attacked Echigo-no-Kijo District. He was coordinating with Shibata Katsuie's forces, who were attacking Uozu Castle in Echigo, and prepared to eliminate Uesugi Kagekatsu.

In this remote mountain valley of Koshin, the Kaminari River floods every year, and the weak and sickly cannot survive. Those who manage to struggle to survive are truly cunning and unruly. Even if a thousand or two thousand people die today, when we go back to the valley and raise the recruitment flag, there will be plenty of people willing to come and eat Takeda's rice.

Of course, if the samurai died a violent death, that would be a different story.

However, due to the shallow trench in front of Oda's army, this tactic was adjusted. The accompanying infantry, who were originally supposed to move "as slowly as a forest," advanced alongside the cavalry. The cavalry probed around, and if they found that the soldiers in a certain area were weak or timid, they would go up to fill the trench first.

In other words, it was just a matter of dropping a bundle of firewood, which wouldn't necessarily lead to death. Once the ditch was filled in, the cavalry charged forward and broke into Oda's army's formation in one fell swoop.

The clatter of arquebuses finally echoed across the battlefield. However, there was no real damage; this volley of gunfire from a distance served more as a deterrent. After all, someone on the neighboring continent had said that fleeing at the sight of the enemy was the greatest courage, indicating that there were certainly many cowardly soldiers who would run away after being hit by a volley of arrows or musket fire.

The British army marching forward under the hail of bullets and arrows has been touted on the internet for two or three decades. Anyone who could do that would at least have decent military skills.

The only problem was that after hundreds of arquebuses fired, the battlefield became filled with smoke. In this operation, there was no so-called three-volley attack, nor any pincer attack.

One of the most skilled archers, a hand-picked arquebusier, held the arquebus, aimed, and fired. Arquebusiers from other regions, along with Nobunaga's own arquebusiers, kept reloading their weapons, limited to three or five arquebuses each, while the arquebusier in front fired.

A thousand arquebusiers could create a front two to three kilometers wide and provide a degree of continuous firepower. Coupled with approximately two to three thousand archers, this firepower was unparalleled in Japan.

At least for now, it's second to none. In another ten or twenty years, when firearms become widespread, their firepower will likely be even greater.

"This...this..." Just as Shichibei was observing, many of the arquebusiers in front of Oda's army had already fired three shots.

Alright, with the smoke of battle thick, perhaps only Oda Nobunaga at the front could still make out a few figures. Shichibei and Oda Nobutada at the rear were completely in the dark.

"Your Highness, there's nothing to worry about. There's only the sound of cannons firing, no sound of melee combat." Shichibei thought to himself, "That Oda Nobutada kid is no better than me."

"First published on 705u.com - Book Club"

If a fight really breaks out, many people will shout loudly before engaging in combat to boost their morale and encourage themselves. In Japan, they even developed the so-called "monkey cry," a powerful shout used to concentrate one's mind—a secret technique in swordsmanship.

When the battle actually begins, the sounds of spears lashing against armor, men and horses pushing and trampling each other, will likely be no quieter than the roar of cannons. Oda Nobutada, you still have a lot to learn if you haven't even mastered that.

"Oh... right, right, right." Xinzhong still looked like he was being taught something, after all, these days military experience is basically passed down from person to person.

"The armored troops are starting to run." Shichibei was sensitive to cattle and horses, and he immediately sensed that the thousands of armored cavalrymen on the other side had started to run at the same time.

Xinzhong remained silent, leaping onto a large cart outside the main camp to try and get a clear view of the battlefield's changes. Unfortunately, there seemed to be no wind this morning, and the smoke of battle had not dissipated.

However, his father, Nobunaga, was a renowned general, and he also guessed that Nobutada, who was sitting at the main camp, would be anxious, so he kept sending his servants back to report on the situation on the front lines of the battlefield.

After filling the shallow trenches with cannon fodder infantry, Tsuchiya Masatsune, Sanada Nobutsuna, and others kept galloping on horseback, repeatedly moving around the front of the Oda army, not to mention sending out ten or twenty samurai to conduct small-scale probing and infiltration.

The slightest sign of weakness prompted a rapid increase in cavalry deployment. In a sense, this was a significant investment. A cheap pack horse or draft horse cost only two or three kan, while a better riding horse cost four or five kan. However, the price of warhorses fluctuated with the market, with no fixed price. As a result, Nobunaga issued a ban in Omi, allowing the trade of horses returning north to Otsugawa only in the Kawamura-ya area, and specifically only in the Otsugawa-ya area.

Once Azuchi is completed, trading will be restricted to village houses in the Shimogawa village of Azuchi Castle. Essentially, it will be completely controlled, with free buying and selling prohibited for private individuals.

In just this short time, probably twenty or thirty of these warhorses were killed by Oda's arquebuses. And the number was still increasing, as the Takeda army was still probing.

Did the Takeda army not care? Not at all, it was simply a mismatch between production and demand.

Nobunaga had access to the Kinai region, which had a musket-producing area, so he brought in 5,000 muskets. The Takeda clan, on the other hand, had pastures in the mountain valleys, making it much easier for them to acquire warhorses than muskets.

A warhorse that costs twenty or thirty kan in Oda territory might not even be worth ten kan in Kai. It's not that it's truly worthless, but rather that Kai lacks currency and is a horse-producing region. Due to these two factors, while horses are a valuable war resource, they are also considered consumables.

If Takeda could continuously exchange horses for arquebuses, he would certainly be happy.

Now, let's talk about the present. Using the horses that Kai can replenish, we could break through the arquebus formation and potentially capture thousands of arquebuses from the Oda clan. The loss of warhorses would then be negligible, making it a highly profitable deal.

There is an economics to war, it's just a matter of how much or how little is calculated.

By this time, the Takeda army, having already been running for a while, was somewhat exhausted. Although they hadn't found any weaknesses in the Oda army's defenses, they had at least probed the density of their firepower. Takeda Yoshiyori, in the rear, deduced that the Oda clan had at least three thousand arquebuses, and that it would take several casualties to defeat the Oda army.

Thus, the second wave of troops, led by Takeda Nobuyuki and Takeda Nobukazu, was dispatched. No one will mention Takeda Nobukazu, but Nobuyuki's troops came from his father, Takeda Noriyuki, and were considered a powerful force within the Takeda family.

A slightly weaker dragon, following closely behind the two, was ready to go into battle. The large drum in the formation had even been adjusted to a slow, rhythmic beat for mustering troops.

No sooner said than done, Obata Norishige, who had originally intended to succeed Tsuchiya Masatsune and Sanada Nobutsuna as a professional archer specializing in yakubura (a type of mounted combat), shot and killed another Oda army foot soldier. He astutely noticed that the area had briefly become a vacuum due to the concentrated fire of the twenty or thirty yakubura who had previously rushed over.

A shout rang out in a local language only understood by the people of Shangzhou, accompanied by the sudden sound of a clay goose whistle. Many of the Ryuburama warriors had participated in hunting geese and swans. This goose whistle was their special communication tool when hunting in the wild.

Upon hearing this, dozens of riders immediately gathered around Obata Norishige. With a spur, Obata Norishige charged forward, spear in hand. Although he wasn't a fierce general capable of wielding a broadsword on horseback, he possessed considerable strength.

When Obata Nobusada saw his father charge into the Oda army's ranks, he immediately sent someone to report to Takeda Yoshiyori. He then organized 30 cavalry and 120 infantrymen, cleared a path, and followed Obata Norishige, throwing himself into the Oda army's ranks.

Just in time!

Having already noticed the breach, Hideyoshi Hashiba immediately ordered Katsutaka Toda and Tomonori Oto, two of the Four Heavenly Kings of Hashiba, to lead two hundred foot soldiers to block the breach.

The Oda soldiers who were killed by arrows were ignored; the arquebusiers at the front who were firing were dead, but the arquebuses themselves were not damaged. The foot soldiers responsible for reloading the arquebuses took their place and continued firing.

Dozens of Obata Akabane riders charged into the Oda army's ranks. At this point, they could no longer circle around and play the trick of the yakubura horse. Obata Norishige simply dismounted and attacked the Oda troops on the left and right as infantry.

The first to advance was Tomonori Oto. The moment their spears clashed, they both knew the other was formidable. However, Oto had the advantage of youth, while Obata Norito was fifty-six or fifty-seven, nearing sixty. He had already been riding for quite some time, drawing his bow and shooting several men; why was he now fighting on foot?

Fortunately, the Obata Red Guards on either side were all formidable, and seeing their lord under attack, they fought bravely to join the battle. Japanese duels are unrestricted by the number of participants; once someone has registered, the duel begins.

As Obata Nobusada charged in, the small gap began to falter. Seeing this, all sides reacted. Takeda Yoshiyori immediately ordered the Sanada and Tsuchiya troops nearby to rush into the gap and wreak havoc. He also ordered Takeda Nobuyuki to speed up and charge into the area.

To ensure a breakthrough, Takeda Nobukazu and Ichijo Nobutatsu continued their attacks on other parts of Oda's army. Additionally, a unit of Amari Nobuyasu was reinforced behind them to ensure sufficient manpower for the siege.

Behind Takeda Nobutoyo, Takeda Yoshiyori loudly questioned Yamagata Masakage, asking if he could unleash his "fiery aggression" nature and help the Takeda clan break through the enemy lines in one fell swoop.

What could Yamagata Masakage not do? He immediately accepted the order. Leading over two thousand men on horseback, he almost caught up with Takeda Nobutoyo's troops, setting off at the same time.

Seeing the Takeda army rolling in, but the Oda army had not yet pushed out the Obata Red Guard, Oda Nobunaga, who was patrolling the front, immediately ordered Hideyoshi that if the Red Guard could not be driven out, he should bring his own sword to the shogunate.

Hideyoshi felt a chill run down his spine. The foot soldiers and the yūburama samurai were evenly matched in hand-to-hand combat; the yūburama samurai clearly had the advantage. They didn't give the foot soldiers any space or time to form a spear-clashing formation before charging into battle, carrying only long spears. It's not shameful to lose to samurai.

Hideyoshi thought to himself, "Don't blame me for being uncivilized." He immediately instructed Hachisuka Koroku to select two or three decent arquebusiers from his army and have Obata Norishige take a bullet.

Gradually gaining momentum, and with the help of his close officers, he had forced Obata Norishige, who was now on the verge of defeating Oto Tomonori. Leaning on his spear, he caught his breath and prepared to face Takeda Nobutoyo and Yamagata Masakage, who were charging from the rear. With only a few hundred men, they only needed to hold this section of the torn-up military town.

Years of war experience made Obata Norishige sense danger in an instant. Before he could even utter a sound or roll away, three arquebuses fired at him. One shot hit his shoulder, another his thigh, and the last sent him flying.

"Obata no Owari no Kami has been captured by me, Hachisuka Masakatsu!"

A clamor arose, immediately surprising everyone present. Even Obata Nobusada, who was there to meet Takeda Nobutoyo, was stunned. He searched everywhere, but there was no sign of Obata Norishige.

It was also because the two armies were so close that Hachisuka Koroku had the opportunity to fire. Obata Norishige, who was shot, was not actually dead, but was knocked to the ground. However, with him down, Obata Akabane's men, unable to find their commander, would inevitably panic.

Not far away, Takeda Nobutoyo was also anxious, because Obata Norishige was his father-in-law. Otherwise, why would Takeda Yoshiyori send him to the second line? It was precisely because of their family relationship that he could provide better support.

"Obata Uemon-no-jo Nobusada is here!" Obata Nobusada immediately shouted, trying to calm the troops and preparing to rush in to kill Hachisuka Koroku.

If someone were to use the pretext of avenging his father to shout that he would fight Hachisuka Koroku single-handedly, and Hachisuka Koroku refused, then once this was recorded, Hachisuka Koroku would be branded a coward for life.

Of course, this is normal; blood revenge is a fundamental ethical principle worldwide.

Who would have thought that Hachisuka Koroku would completely ignore him and instead unleash another arquebus. If Koroku were to use a meme, he'd probably say something like, "I'm a water bandit!" I'm not a samurai at all, why would I fight you one-on-one?

Obata Nobusada, who had hoped to use this opportunity to boost morale, found his efforts futile, receiving only the sound of cannon fire in response.

This rough and savage samurai from Koshu became enraged. He charged straight towards the source of the cannon fire without any attendants, determined to slaughter all the Oda soldiers in his path.

Chapter 365 luring Army A to invest heavily

Seeing how brave Obata Nobusada was, Hideyoshi muttered to himself, "If only I had gotten a few more arquebuses along with him, so I could send the father and son to heaven."

Now things have changed. It's just a small-scale battle of a few hundred people, and a fearless man has appeared, charging forward against arquebusiers and seeking revenge for his father. The morale of the Takeda army has been immediately boosted, and the hundred or so men still in the ranks are desperately following Obata Nobusada as they charge forward.

Seeing this, Hachisuka Koroku knew he had been reckless. If he had accepted the challenge just now, according to the rules of one-on-one duels in the Sengoku period of Japan, it would have been a case of one hundred men against one man, and this well-founded morale boost would not have occurred.

What?

What's the point? Just kill him. Yamauchi Kazutoyo, who was next to Hideyoshi, dropped his spear, picked up a musket, and began to aim at Obata Nobusada.

Yamauchi Kazutoyo is different now; he's considered a significant figure in Toyotomi Hideyoshi's inner circle. Because of Shichibei's kind words, his rank was increased to two thousand koku, making him a renowned samurai.

Seeing how sensible he was, Hideyoshi simply handed over the remaining dozen or so arquebusiers to Yamauchi Kazutoyo. The general is the courage of the soldiers; if Obata Nobusada was killed, even the bravest soldiers would retreat in disarray.

Mori Yoshinari was fighting well at Tennoji Fortress when he was shot several times by Saiga's men, his foot was pierced, and he fell from his horse. The once-mighty army immediately collapsed and retreated.

That's just how feudal armies are.

Yamauchi Kazutoyo, carrying a musket, charged forward, and Hachisuka Koroku, Oto Tomonori, and the others were already struggling to hold on. Tsuchiya Masatsune's older brother, Tsuchiya Masatsugu, who had been retreating, received orders to turn his horse around and charge towards the scene.

The Tsuchiya family, as the senior members of the Takeda clan, was a large family with a force of thousands. The Takeda army that followed Tsuchiya Masatsugu into the fray numbered over three hundred, instantly making up for Obata Nobusada's lack of stamina.

With Takeda Nobutoyo only two or three hundred meters away from the rear, if he were to break through, this corner in front of them would surely be shattered.

A fierce burst of arquebus fire erupted once more, with about twenty cannons raining down on Obata Nobusada, who was charging forward like a madman. Obata Nobusada, covered in blood and filled with the belief of avenging his father, was consumed by the thought of battle and showed no fear. He did not flinch as the cannons came at him.

If you are lucky enough to live, you will die; if you are destined to die, you will live.

Several of his close guards stepped forward to block Obata Nobusada's path. One of them was shot and killed instantly, even struck in the chest. The others, including Obata Nobusada, were miraculously unharmed. They were now only about thirty meters away from Yamauchi Kazutoyo and Hachisuka Koroku.

Thirty meters? That's definitely not enough for the arquebus to be reloaded. The generals of Hashiba acted decisively, drawing their swords and spears, and charged straight at Obata Akabane. They were all seasoned veterans; now it was a battle of ruthlessness. If they defeated Obata Nobusada, all would be well; if they couldn't, they'd have to retreat and regroup.

To support the battle in this area, Takeda Nobukazu, Baba Nobuharu, and Ichijo Nobutatsu launched fierce attacks on other locations. Nobunaga couldn't spare any attention and had to rely entirely on himself.

Unfortunately, Takeda Nobutoyo ended up in this corner, and the Hashiba generals failed to push Obata Nobusada out. Even Obata Norishige, who had been shot in the shoulder, was rescued by his son-in-law, Takeda Nobutoyo.

Now it's a contest between Takeda Nobutoyo and Hideyoshi. In addition, Yamagata Masakage is only two hundred meters away from the gap. These two have been specially sent to greet Hideyoshi. Hideyoshi is quite fortunate.

"The A-class army is in high spirits." Shichibei was at the rear of the main force. He couldn't see clearly what was happening in front of the front line because of the smoke, but he could see clearly what was happening behind the front line.