Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

Right there in front of Kenjiro, taking advantage of a lull in the battle, he brazenly walked up to Shichibei. He smiled at Shichibei and said nothing more.

Since Nobutaka, the most important treasure, is gone, Shimoma Yorihiro, who is commanding the Kennyo army, asks Shichibei to clear the way and escort them and Kennyo out of the city.

Sure, no problem.

If we send Master Xianru away, then Master Xianru can deal with the stone.

The die-hard elements who stubbornly resisted within the Yamagi-bo sect were expelled from the Jodo Shinshu sect by an expulsion order.

The Venerable Master Xianru and his eldest son, Jiaoru, could now sever all ties.

Shichibei had no intention of vying for the credit for capturing Ishiyama Palace; he kept a close watch on Miyoshi Nobutaka and retreated outside. Shimoma Yorihiro then ordered his men to fetch Kennyo Shonin and other important figures, including the in-house family, the palace staff, and the palace guards. A force of about a thousand men followed Shichibei as they retreated outside Ishiyama Palace.

The Kyoju army within the city quickly organized a counterattack, after all, Ishiyama Gobu was their base, and their forces could be easily overwhelmed. However, they soon discovered that the academy had been breached, and Miyoshi Nobutaka was nowhere to be found.

Chase!

Where to chase them? Wherever there are the most people, that's where they'll go. Just stand on any tall tower, and you'll be able to spot the retreating Kawamura and Kenji's armies. They definitely know the terrain inside the palace well; they'll catch up extremely quickly.

Kawamura Jun and his men had just stepped out of the east gate when they were overtaken by the army. A quick glance revealed that the initial force numbered only a few hundred. Although shouts could still be heard behind them, and the enemy's numbers were unknown, Shichibei hesitated for a moment, then ordered...

Sanada Masaki's three hundred most elite men were sent to escort Miyoshi Nobutaka out of the city.

Shichibei led the remaining troops, holding the city gates, and engaged the Kyoto army in a brief skirmish. It didn't take long, only half an hour. The several hundred Kyoto soldiers, who had only managed to catch up thanks to the two hundred arquebusiers who had regrouped, were immediately met with a fierce volley of bullets.

Seeing that Shichibei had voluntarily stayed behind, Shimoma Yorihiro, who had absolutely no feelings for Shichibei, immediately escorted Kenryo and the others to follow Sanada Masaki and Miyoshi Nobutaka in their retreat.

Before long, over a thousand Kyoto soldiers attacked again, and the two sides engaged in a brief melee. Fortunately, Kawamura's army had arquebuses to assist them and quickly repelled the enemy.

After waiting a while, they saw Akechi Mitsuhide personally leading over a thousand men, who had already reached the gate. Mitsuhide spotted Sanada Masaki and Nobutaka running out at high speed halfway there, and was overjoyed. He immediately asked Shichibei which gate he controlled.

Without controlling the city gates, there's no way to get in or out.

Upon learning it was the East Gate, Mitsuhide immediately rushed to provide support. He told Shichibei that he could run away, and that he would take control of the gate to defend against the Kyoju army's attack.

Oh dear, thank you for your kindness. Shichibei immediately decided to leave.

They asked Mitsuhide if he wanted any arquebuses. If so, they offered him two hundred. Mitsuhide, of course, accepted them without hesitation and began setting up defenses.

With this determined gatekeeper, Shichibei immediately felt safe behind him. He left behind his arquebus, gunpowder, and lead pellets and ran without the slightest hesitation.

Just then, a fire broke out in the town of Honganji Temple on the other side. The sounds of looting and rape rose and fell, clearly coming from the side of Sakuma Nobumori's troops.

In other words, the Sakuma army was the first to enter the town of Ishiyama Honganji, but by the time Shichibei had already escorted Miyoshi Nobutaka out of the castle, the Sakuma army was still looting and plundering within Ishiyama town, and did not launch an attack on Ishiyama Gobo itself.

In addition, the Sakuma army set fire to town buildings. Given the current situation, once a fire starts, it's completely uncontrollable. Forget mobilizing townspeople and the military to put out the fires; it would be a miracle if the Sakuma army even stopped arson.

Seeing the fire burning in Ishiyama-cho in the direction of the Sakuma army, with thick plumes of black smoke rising four or five times in succession, Nobunaga gripped his riding staff even tighter, and could even feel a faint grinding sound from his knuckles.

It was clearly stated at the pre-war military council that Nobunaga hoped to achieve victory.

Only after taking over Ishiyama town completely did they hesitate to act rashly. Sakuma Nobumori had so blatantly disregarded Nobunaga's needs, allowing his soldiers to burn and plunder Ishiyama town.

461. They stubbornly resisted and held firm.

Shichibei and several hundred others withdrew from Ishiyama-Osaka Castle without a second thought. During the retreat, they simply ran without paying attention to what was happening in other directions.

Halfway there, they spotted a familiar face: Akechi Mitsutada. He must have been part of the second wave, sent specifically to reinforce Akechi Mitsuhide. They pointed him in the right direction, and Mitsutada, without pausing, led several hundred men straight towards Ishiyama Palace.

That's good. If there are ambitious generals, there will be ambitious subordinates. Birds of a feather flock together.

When Shichibei withdrew from the main structure of Ishiyama and returned to his camp, he only saw Nobutaka kneeling down to apologize to his father Nobunaga. He had not succeeded in persuading Honganji to surrender.

Nobunaga certainly wouldn't blame him; it was something that couldn't be helped. Persuading someone to surrender wasn't guaranteed to succeed, and as long as Nobutaka didn't embarrass Nobunaga, that was enough.

As for the other two, Kyoujin and Shimoma Rairien, their expressions were somewhat awkward. They were actually willing to surrender and open the gates, but unfortunately, they couldn't persuade everyone inside the stone mountain. Even though Kyoujin possessed the powerful skill of breaching the gates, a large number of die-hard pro-war elements still insisted on holding their ground.

city.

Now that Ishiyama Gobo's defenses are crumbling, Konryo no longer has any bargaining chips left to offer in negotiations with Nobunaga. Ishiyama Castle is lost, Ishiyama Town is gone, and he still wants 100,000 koku? To put it bluntly, he deserves nothing more than to eat shit.

In other words, since Kennyo Shonin surrendered with courtesy and did not resist Nobunaga's attack at the crucial moment, and was also a respectable person, Nobunaga was already planning for a new order after unifying all of Japan. Therefore, surrendering persons of status and position like Kennyo Shonin had to show a magnanimous attitude.

Shichibei entered the shogunate, and Nobunaga merely nodded to him. He was busy and couldn't afford to chat with Shichibei; his priority was to conquer Ishiyama Gobo and seize Ishiyama town as completely as possible.

Understand, fully understand.

It was because Nobunaga brought this up that Shichibei turned to carefully observe the direction of the rocky mountain. Why were four or five thick plumes of black smoke rising? This shouldn't be happening; it doesn't look like a fire, it looks like someone is setting it on fire.

The direction is towards the location of Sakuma Nobumori's army. What is Nobumori doing? Doesn't he know that Ishiyama-cho is a treasure that Nobunaga is determined to obtain? How dare he set fire to it?

Was this something Sakuma Nobumori did on purpose?

Yes.

But it isn't.

Initially, there was no problem; it was Sakuma Nobumori who instigated it. In Nobumori's view, he was becoming too powerful to be controlled within the Oda clan. As a result, due to the development of the situation and the need to counterbalance him, the commander of the army, Oda Nobuhiro, was promoted to the position.

This incident alone alerted Sakuma Nobumori. He was by no means a fool; in fact, he was quite intelligent in many matters. Could someone who routinely served as the rearguard, known as "Retreating Sakuma," have repeatedly managed to escape unscathed if he were a simpleton? Impossible.

In Sakuma Nobumori's mind, he needed to tarnish his own reputation, to commit some minor mistake, so that Nobunaga would remove him from his position as legion commander. Then, Kawachi Province would be handed over to Sakuma Nobuege, and he could safely return home to retire.

Although his wealth and power, amounting to hundreds of thousands of koku, were stripped away, the territory of Kawachi was still preserved. Sakuma Nobueaka had done nothing to overshadow his lord or offend Nobunaga Nobutada. As the head of the hereditary retainers, inheriting the territory smoothly was absolutely no problem.

If he fights alongside Nobunaga and his son Nobutada for a few more years, Nobuyoshi, with his large group of retainers and experienced troops, will surely be able to advance further and be granted the title of a great power.

In this way, the Sakuma family could continue to serve as the hereditary head of the Oda family, becoming an important member of the new world order.

So Sakuma Nobumori's idea was to burn down three to five hundred houses—not too many, not too few. Burning down one or two houses is nothing; Shichibei even demolished two houses to attack the east gate of Ishiyama Gobun. Do you see anyone asking? Does anyone care? Absolutely no one cares.

Burning down thousands of houses, large and small, completely destroying an entire town, would be an enormous crime. Ishiyama Town had a population of over 40,000, and probably around 10,000 houses. Including various handicraft workshops and commercial buildings, the total number of houses was roughly 15,000.

If you burn down 5,000 houses at once, and a third of Ishiyama Town is gone, then even if you are Nobutada, you will still have to eat two big sacks of Nobunaga's.

The idea was brilliant: Sakuma Nobumori ordered his troops to attack Ishiyama-cho first, and forbade them from attacking Ishiyama Gobo, letting other generals take the credit. He only needed to make a minor mistake in this battle to prepare for retirement.

Unfortunately, the defenses of Hongan-ji Temple crumbled too quickly; the outer perimeter of the temple collapsed almost instantly. The 20,000-plus people, nearly accounting for a significant portion of the temple's defenses...

Half of Sakuma's army, after the start of the battle, began to compete for credit.

This was a major problem for the Japanese army at the time: many of the troops in Sakuma's army were recruited by Yoriki. Apart from Yoriki himself being under the command of Nobumori, the troops under Yoriki's command didn't care who you were.

Many people seized the opportunity to storm Ishiyama-cho. Initially, they had not yet received orders from Nobumori, so they only dared to engage in petty theft and looting along the streets. They were preparing to launch a military campaign to attack Ishiyama-gobo and capture the castle later.

Ultimately, the reputation of the supreme commander Oda Nobunaga was still great, and the goal of building the Ishiyama Honganji Temple was clear, so everyone was restrained.

Upon seeing the two or three hundred houses that Nobumori had ordered to be set on fire, many of Yu Li's men lost control. "Damn it, even Nobumori's own troops are raping and looting, why can't I?"

Anyway, Nobumori was the first target to be seized, and when Oda Nobunaga took action, Nobumori was the first to be punished. As long as Ishiyama Gobo is captured, the law will not punish the masses, and this matter will be easily over.

Then we can get both the reward money and the spoils of war. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

As a result, a large number of Sakuma's troops joined in the burning and looting of Ishiyama Town. Nobumori did try to control the situation and had given strict orders beforehand not to loot Ishiyama Town.

However, after his own troops set fire to the houses, the ban was declared invalid. The troops that began looting believed that Nobumori intended to leave the entire town of Ishiyama to his own troops to plunder, and did not allow them, who had been driven to fight, to rob and profit from it.

As for the ronin and miscellaneous soldiers in Sakuma's army, who also numbered in number, they were even more unrestrained and immediately joined the looting as soon as the fireworks went off, indulging in unrestrained pleasure.

War? What kind of war? War is nothing compared to the thrill of open and blatant robbery.

At this point, Sakuma Nobumori knew that his troops had made a huge mess. But he was powerless to control his scattered troops and could only watch as hundreds of houses caught fire, forming a fire dragon that began to engulf more towns and villages that had not yet been burned.

What should we do?

Nobumori was still fairly bright; the only way to atone for his crimes was to make amends. He had to immediately storm Ishiyama Palace and kill Kyogyo of Honganji. Even if Nobunaga gave him two large sacks, Kyogyo's head would be enough to save his life.

He might still be able to land safely. Even if he doesn't, the punishment would likely be a forced period of seclusion, with his family business handed over to Sakuma Nobuege. The punishment of seclusion could be severe or minor; a more severe one...

They'll lock you in a small room, forbidding you from leaving, and just torture you.

If it's a smaller one, then like Kitafumi Nobuo's previous fixed-term imprisonment, they'll find him a large house with food, clothing, and other necessities. Apart from restricting his personal freedom, there won't be any major difficulties.

Sakuma Nobumori then led the three or four thousand troops he could control at full speed towards Ishiyama Gobo. With him gone, the troops were no longer under his control, and the revelry reached its climax.

Seeing this, Shichibei knew that Sakuma Nobumori would inevitably be severely punished.

Nobunaga swallowed hard, and after Nobutaka finished apologizing, he sat down next to Shichibei. Nobunaga did not order the army to put out the fire or restrain the already chaotic army, but instead ordered Kennyo Shonin to immediately break into the castle and capture Kyoryu and his followers, including Shimoma Rairyu.

The aim is to dismantle the fighting capacity of the Honganji army within the castle, causing them to collapse without a fight. Or at least to shake the resolve of some of the more steadfast members of the army.

Don't underestimate the power of the broken gate. Why is it that the Hokuriku Ikko-ikki and Ishiyama Honganji are so far apart, yet they can still maintain a certain degree of master-servant relationship? It's because Ishiyama is the head of the sect and can directly expel them from the sect.

In this age of widespread religion, the mere act of excommunication can be more powerful than a hail of bullets.

Those who advance will be reborn in paradise, those who retreat will suffer in the deepest hell. This is the motto of Honganji Temple. Because of this faith, there are believers who have charged forward even under the guns of Oda Nobunaga. And because of this faith, if the temple were to be breached now, the very status of the cult itself could collapse immediately.

Having come this far, it was impossible for Kennyo no Shonin to refuse Nobunaga's request. He ordered the officials who had fled Ishiyama Gobō with him to immediately draft a command to break down the gate, sign it, and then have the two chief retainers, Shimoma Yorihiro and Shimoma Nakataka, sign it.

It was written on a large wooden sign, tied to the tip of a spear, raised high, and guided by the monks of Honganji Temple, entered Ishiyama Gobo to dismantle the religious army within the castle.

The appearance of this sign did indeed demoralize some of the Kyoto army in a short period of time. The Kyoto army, which had been fiercely attacking Akechi Mitsuhide and trying to seize the city gate, immediately scattered like birds and beasts.

Overjoyed, Akechi Mitsuhide sent men to clear the way with signs, ordering surrender. Those who surrendered would not be subject to the breaching of the gates. Those who resisted the royal army would be condemned to the deepest hell, even if they committed seppuku.

Because your door was broken into, Amitabha Buddha won't protect you anymore.

The Kyoju army, already showing signs of defeat, crumbled like melting snow. In the end, only one or two thousand core members remained, who, led by Kyoju and Shimoma Rairyu, retreated to the small but fortified Hōan-ji Temple to continue their stubborn resistance.

Most of the facilities at Ishiyama Gobo were abandoned by the Kyoto Army. Of course, a considerable portion was also captured during the Oda clan's campaigns, including the main hall and other structures.

After the Kyoju army withdrew, Sakuma Nobumori also stormed Ishiyama Honganji Temple. At this time, chaos reigned both inside and outside the castle. Inside the Ishiyama Gobo, there were still a large number of remnants of the Kyoju army and the Kenju army. They could not distinguish friend from foe and were unable to launch a new offensive quickly.

it's dark.

Helpless, Oda's army could only control the castle gates individually, unable to launch a further offensive. Their main task was to mop up the enemy forces in the vicinity. Those who belonged to the Kōyō army were handed over to the Kōyō army for identification; those who did not were beheaded on the spot as a merit.

Nobunaga was in the midst of the battle, and every head was clearly priced. Naturally, it was inevitable that some soldiers of the Akira army would be killed. But killing them was no big deal at the moment.

Everyone's attention was focused on the raging fire that had already begun on the west and south sides of Honganji Ishiyama-cho. More than a third of Ishiyama-cho...

It has been burned down, or is currently burning.

Although it was early spring, the climate remained dry, and no spring rains fell. The February winds were still fierce, fanning the flames and fueling the fire, making it burn endlessly and impossible to extinguish.

All the Oda army generals inside and outside the castle were wondering what Sakuma Nobumori was doing, that he would do such a thing.

One or two houses could be considered an accident, but the burning of thousands of houses and the estimated number of deaths must have been planned or unorganized but large-scale arson to cause such a scene.

At this point, no one dared to say anything more. Nobunaga's prized golden hen had vanished before their very eyes.

Shichibei, however, spoke up, saying that since the Oda army controlled all the gates of Ishiyama Gobo anyway, why not just open up all the exits of the main structure of Ishiyama town and let the townspeople escape?

Although many of these people were followers of Jodo Shinshu, even Kennyo was in Nobunaga's hands, so why would he care about these craftsmen?

After a moment's hesitation, Nobunaga agreed to Shichibei's suggestion and ordered the breaching of the main structure of the rock mountain. The main structure consisted of earthen ramparts, moats, and palisades.

It consists of a series of obstacles, including trees.