Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

Since Nobunaga promised to give money and rice, he would definitely do so.

With wages and rice provided, everyone was naturally very motivated. Since there wasn't time to do anything major today, they all sat down to tie up the horse guardrails.

It's very simple. Just cross two pieces of wood, put a beam on six pairs of wood, tie them together with rope, and a very standard horse guardrail is done. Even a primary school student could tie it.

Once Nobumori was tied up, he ordered his men to move it out and set it up. His goal was for the horse barricade to have seven or eight layers. When Saito's men came to move it, he ordered his men to shoot arrows and guns at them.

The seven or eight layers of horse guards must be dozens of meters deep. As long as the shields brought with them are erected and placed in front of them, then it will be the Oda army that has to fight the Saito army.

Or what if Saito's army doesn't come to move the barricades and just shoots at you? That would be great! We could shoot at each other for six or seven days, I'd finish digging the trenches, and Nobunaga's foot soldiers would arrive. Who could possibly take Sunomata Castle then?

As night fell, Sakuma Nobumori ordered a bonfire to be lit and continued binding as many bundles as possible. They bound until they could no longer keep their eyes open before going to sleep, their energy truly remarkable.

Perhaps there really is a chance of success...

Logically, since Shichibei had staked everything on Fujikichiro and Hachisuka Koroku, he should have expected Sakuma Nobumori to fail. But if Sakuma Nobumori succeeded, that would be good too. The Hachisuka faction's planks could be sold to the Oda clan at the agreed price; they were needed for castle construction anyway.

It would only mean losing the wages of one person, while Fujikichiro would lose the opportunity to make a name for himself.

Why don't we stay and see what happens? If things don't look good, we'll run. Others can run on foot, but we can run on horseback.

46. ​​Even a chaotic battle has its methods.

The next morning, Shichibei first inspected the horses. The horses were up even earlier than the people; some were already grazing on the tender, fuzzy grass shoots by the river.

After checking again, all the horses were there; none were missing or injured. Excellent! Now I can get up and fetch water to make tea and soup.

Note that when going to the countryside, if necessary, remember to fetch water upstream.

Anyway, Shichibei saw people urinating directly on the riverbank. Although it was a common occurrence, he still noticed it. At home, drinking well water was one thing, but outside, they preferred water from upstream.

As for whether anyone urinates further upstream on the Kiso River, that's up to them; there certainly are, but out of sight, out of mind.

While the water was boiling, Shichibei noticed that Sakuma Nobumori had also gotten up. He immediately started clapping and calling everyone to get up, to eat their fill so they could repair the fence. He wouldn't feel at ease until the fence was six or seven layers thick.

At this time, Nobumori Sakuma was really motivated. When did he start to give up?

I remember Nobunaga later scolding Nobumori, saying that Nobumori was a gambler, womanizer, and lazy good-for-nothing. After Mizuno Nobumoto committed seppuku, he handed over his territory to Nobumori, but Nobumori didn't incorporate the Mizuno retainers. Instead, he left the territory vacant and used the annual tribute for his own enjoyment.

Looking at it now, Nobumori doesn't seem to have that intention. He's quite diligent and ambitious. I wonder if historically he really did end up being a lazy bum, resting on his laurels without contributing anything?

Seeing that Shichibei was tending the horses, Sakuma Nobumori came over to greet him and asked if he was leaving soon.

No rush. After breakfast, Shichibei will have his family and servants take the horses away, while he stays behind. The main purpose is to observe Nobumori's performance during an independent military mission, and also to see if Sunomata can be successfully fortified.

Although Nobumori didn't explicitly try to win him over, his intentions were quite obvious, so Shichibei naturally had to observe him. Logically, it would be best to side with Kinoshita Tokichiro, but Tokichiro had become unpredictable after becoming the ruler of the land.

Hidetsugu died unjustly, and Maeno Nagayasu, who had served Hideyoshi since his early days, was also implicated.

Matsudaira Ieyasu was a stingy man, and his son and grandson were extremely strict with outsiders, frequently changing their punishments. He was definitely not a good master.

Niwa Nagahide would die suddenly from cancer, Shibata Katsuie would be all muscle and no brains, and Ikeda Tsuneoki would be a respectable man, but if he died in the Komaki-Nagakute match, the Ikeda family would also be a bunch of losers.

Sigh, human nature is so complicated.

It's difficult to find a good ruler and even then, it's hard to put on a show of harmonious relations between the ruler and his subjects.

After seeing Nobumori off, Shichibei sent his family and men to leave Sunomata as quickly as possible. Only when the horses returned to Owari could Shichibei finally relax. "We'll take two horses with us, one for each of us, so it'll be easy to get around. Even if one dies, it's a small matter."

Nobumori was quite pleased to learn that Shichibei was staying. He had Shichibei directly organize the farmers to dig a trench, as they were short-handed in managing it. With more Shichibei and his men, two more Sakuma samurai could be freed up for battle.

This is a minor matter, no problem.

Why construct in sections? It has nothing to do with any skills in the game that increase construction speed or save money. It's simply because Japanese castles rarely build perfectly square walls.

If you look around, you'll see Osaka Castle, Edo Castle, Himeji Castle, and Nagoya Castle. Even if you see many straight sections of the castle walls, they are actually interconnected, not square, to allow for firing holes and increase the difficulty of attacking the castle.

The crooked and uneven city walls make it easier for the enemy to launch attacks from multiple directions. When building cities in China, didn't they also construct watchtowers protruding from the city walls, precisely for the purpose of striking the enemy?

In any case, there are definitely common ideas in the concept of city building.

Since the city walls weren't straight, the moats certainly weren't straight either. Polygons, rhombuses, or star shapes were all normal, and even the city gates were deliberately built as trapezoids with corners.

Take Osaka, for example, which will become a tourist attraction in the future. Its castle gates are a modified version of the barbican. Breaking down one gate is useless; you have to go further in and keep attacking. When attacking the second gate, arrows and cannon fire rain down from above.

"Dig!" Shichibei immediately threw himself into urging the farmers to dig the trenches. Because it was an "empty ditch," they had to insert wooden spikes into it after digging to a depth of two meters.

However, Sunomata is a good place; if you dig a pit deep inside, groundwater will seep out. This saves you the trouble of sticking out wooden spikes. Once you fill it with water, it becomes a "water pit," which is even more defensive than a pit filled with wooden spikes.

If necessary, it can also serve as a water source for the defenders. Of course, if anyone dies inside, the water source becomes useless and can no longer be used.

Seeing that water seeped in after digging two meters down, Nobumori Sakuma was delighted, almost shouting that the job was done. Once the trench was completed and the area enclosed, the job was secure.

He was shouting and yelling, and people on the other side of the Nagara River were also shouting and yelling.

Saito's scouts naturally discovered that Oda's army was still persistent and had come to Sunomata to build a castle again. First, ordinary people disguised themselves and went back and forth to scout from a distance to confirm the perimeter.

Before long, a few people wearing dōmaru armor appeared; they were probably local Saitō samurai. Sakuma Nobumori ignored them, but sent out a dozen or so riders to the other side to keep watch.

They would shoot when they were close enough to the bow and arrow, without caring whether they hit or not.

Anyway, Saito's army will definitely discover that Sunomata is building a castle, so killing one scout is pointless. Sakuma's army also doesn't have the ability to kill all the scouts, so that's enough.

However, the appearance of Saito's armored soldiers still caused a slight commotion at the construction site. If enemy troops appeared, even a farmer working on the site would ask questions.

They were all farmers making a living during the Warring States period. The fact that they're still alive after all this time suggests they must have some of the wisdom of that era.

The second day's incident was just this: Oda's army methodically erected fences. Because they were very well prepared and had enough manpower, by evening they had erected four fences surrounding the Sunomata Castle site.

As he watched the fence being erected, Nobumori Sakuma breathed a sigh of relief.

If we hurry again tomorrow, we can at least have five rows of palisades blocking the way between us and the enemy. Although it's still not enough, at least we'll have some support. To assist Nobumori, Nobunaga also sent fifty more arquebusiers.

Once the war starts, they fire their guns and arrows, and they can hold out for five or six days.

They're all seasoned samurai, old and worn-out from countless battles. Everyone knows each other. A samurai's loyalty and duty are only justified if they're alive. Ideally, they'd manage to push the fence aside and move it; if not, they'd "retreat" and continue the next attack.

During the Battle of Anegawa, what did Isono Kazumasa do? How many Oda army units did he single-handedly scatter?

With a salary of ten or eight strings of cash a year, plus a stipend from two or three people, why are you risking your life?

Firing three shots in the heat of battle would be a fitting tribute to Oda Nobunaga.

So the second day passed by peacefully and uneventfully. But on the third day, the scene was indeed different. Sakuma Nobumori got up very early in the morning, fully dressed in his ancestral armor and helmet. His attendants, carrying bows and arrows, patrolled back and forth along the north bank of the Nagara River.

The farmers below knew that the army might be mobilized at noon today, and they couldn't help but whisper among themselves while working.

Don't blame Shichibei; he had his men saddle the horse as soon as he woke up in the morning. They left it by the river, making sure Shichibei could see it clearly at any time so he could mount it easily.

Urged on by the samurai Sakuma, the fifth layer of horse guardrail was secured and placed on the designated position. With these five layers of fencing, they should be able to at least put up a fight with Saito's army.

Just after ten o'clock in the morning, as expected, Saito's army appeared on the north bank of the Nagara River. They carried two large banners, which were permitted for use by the Isshiki clan. This was one of the privileges that his father, Isshiki Yoshitatsu, the Governor-General of the Isshiki clan, had obtained from the shogunate.

By the way, Saito Tatsuoki's official career led to the position of Chief of Staff.

Good, good, it seems Nobunaga is really going after Osamu Daisuke.

Furthermore, since Ryūō had also received a letter from Ashikaga Yoshiaki from Hosokawa Fujitaka the previous year, Ryūō had placed his bets on Ashikaga Yoshiaki at that time. He did indeed hope to maintain a temporary peace with Nobunaga in order to quell the semi-independent forces in Mino and strengthen the Saitō clan's rule in Mino.

Therefore, in Ashikaga Yoshiaki's faction, Saito Tatsuoki should have been called Isshiki Yoshitaka, having received the partial name "Yoshi" from Ashikaga Yoshiaki. If Yoshiaki were to revive the shogunate, Tatsuoki could have held four official positions based solely on political standing.

Leaving aside other matters, it was clearly Ryūō who personally led the attack. His forces numbered around four thousand, likely a precaution against Oda's strategy of disguising soldiers as peasants.

Four thousand men against four thousand men, and if necessary, we can summon the three men of Nishimino to join us. Then, with seven or eight thousand men in battle, we will surely win.

Because Shichibei didn't know much about the samurai families of Mino, he also didn't know much about the composition of Ryusei's troops. But he could roughly guess the composition of some of the banners, such as Nagai Michitoshi, Hineno Hironari, and Endo Moritane. These were all generals from the Mino side who would appear in the game in the future, and they were all out in battle at this moment.

Let's give it a try.

Ryūō's main camp appears to be still in the rear, with Nagai Michitoshi in command at the front. Referring to the size of Shibata's army, Saitō's army split into three groups, roughly eight or nine hundred men each, to attack "Sunomata Island"—let's just call it an island for now.

We waded across. It was still the dry season, and Shinano, upstream of the Kiso River, was still covered in snow. As a result, the Nagara River was very shallow, with the deepest part not exceeding forty centimeters. Shichibei had already gone into the water to test it.

Relying on Nagara River to stop the enemy is quite difficult.

The five layers of horse guards were clearly visible on the ground; anyone who wasn't blind could see them. Therefore, Saito's army didn't deploy a spear formation; the vanguard carried shields and bamboo bundles, while the rearguard carried bows and arrows and arquebuses.

First, test the Oda army's firepower. If their long-range firepower is weak, it will be easier to motivate the soldiers to move the palisades. If their firepower is strong, then it may be necessary to increase the intensity of the attack.

Playing shooting duels? That sounds great! Sakuma Nobumori is looking forward to long-term shooting duels.

Nobunaga supported him with fifty arquebusiers, and Nobumori himself had more than thirty arquebusiers, plus over a hundred archer foot soldiers. This force of over two hundred ranged troops was more than enough to deal with an attacking force of eight or nine hundred.

The battle area is only so big, and even with a large number of troops, they might not be able to effectively utilize their strengths. More importantly, the others behind the main force could pick up pebbles from the riverbank and throw them at Saito's army.

What, who dares to look down on my slinging troops?

Even Shichibei had to pick up pebbles and throw them at the other side. They wouldn't kill anyone, but they could hurt people; if you're going to fight a bad battle, you have to be prepared for it to be a bad battle.

The two sides fought fiercely for over half an hour with zero casualties. Oda's army suffered two wounded, while Saito's army lost five or six. Then, they began to sound the gongs and call a retreat. With Oda's army possessing such formidable firepower, a cunning strategy was the only option; a direct assault was not advisable.

The break is 15 minutes.

Sakuma Nobumori laughed heartily. The strategy was feasible, so of course he had to laugh. While laughing, he encouraged the soldiers and the farmers who had been conscripted, "See? We'll set up two more layers of horse barricades. We'll make sure the Mino soldiers can't get through."

The previously uneasy morale immediately calmed down considerably, and even Shichibei felt that this thing was indeed a possibility. Unless Ryūxing could find a way to get his soldiers to risk their lives to move the horse barricades, it would be difficult to break through completely.

Furthermore, with each day the Saito army rests, Sunomata's horse defenses are reinforced, and Oda's defenses will only become stronger.

Long Xing, on the opposite side, naturally wouldn't stop attacking. He charged to the front of the formation on horseback and loudly announced to the soldiers who were going out to fight: "Those who break through one layer of the horse guard will be rewarded with thirty strings of cash. Those who break through two layers will be promoted from miscellaneous soldiers to squad leaders, squad leaders to squad chiefs, squad chiefs will be rewarded with fifty strings of cash, and foot soldiers will be rewarded with one hundred strings of cash."

The first to scale the cliff will be rewarded with fifty kan, and the first to kill Sakuma Nobumori will be rewarded with five hundred kan.

Saito's words greatly boosted the morale of his troops. They were only fighting these ragtag battles for money. Soldiers wanted money, officers wanted promotions, and those who made great contributions could even receive family shares. Naturally, morale soared.

In the second wave of attack, Saito's army changed formation, with archer foot soldiers and arquebusier foot soldiers leading the charge, followed by a large number of foot soldiers armed only with short spears and katana.

The ranged troops only reached the north bank of the Nagara River, fired three shots and three arrows, which was enough to disrupt the Oda army's movements, before retreating. Hundreds of foot soldiers, led by samurai, charged towards the first layer of cavalry barricades with shouts and commotion.

Following this wave of troops, the second and third waves of troops gradually approached the north bank of the Nagara River, in order to take over from their soon-to-be-scattered comrades and continue their attack on the Oda army.

After all, as soon as they break off contact, the Oda army can send men to reinforce the horse defenses. They must launch continuous attacks, take advantage of their superior numbers, and break through at least two or three layers of horse defenses to shake the morale of the Oda army.

Money truly tempts the heart, and some fearless soldiers breached the first layer of horse barricades and charged towards the second. Unfortunately, they lacked brave warriors, and once the leading samurai was struck by an arrow, Saito's offensive quickly faltered.

They went to fight, and throughout the afternoon, Saito's army sent out four groups of men, but only a very small number managed to break through the second layer of cavalry defenses. As soon as it got dark, they withdrew and regrouped.

Sakuma Nobumori summoned several trusted retainers and selected more than thirty elite soldiers, secretly giving them instructions, clearly indicating that he intended to raid the camp.

47. Using water as a weapon to defeat Oda Nobunaga.

Little did they know that Saito Tatsuoki was no ordinary man either. If you come to raid the camp, I will steal the city. He sent out about a hundred men overnight, attempting to sneak in and destroy the horse barricades.

Then the two groups collided, causing chaos for most of the night, with fighting going back and forth. In the end, one Oda soldier died and two Saito soldiers died.