Chapter 72 two armies fighting

Enmyoji River is located in the east of Yamazaki.The small streams converge into a river and flow into the Yodo River, and there are swamps covered with reeds and reeds nearby.Normally, you can hear the noisy call of the reed warbler, but today there is not a single bird call. Near here, as early as noon today, the left wing of Mingzhi's army and the right wing of Yuchai's army had been facing each other tensely across a water gap. From time to time, the wind blows the reeds, turning up the white leaves of the reeds, and the two sides can only see the top of the flagpole of the other side, as for the figures of the soldiers and horses, it is difficult to see.On the north bank, the troops of Saito Toshizo, Aguan Sadaaki, and Akechi Motomo assembled to prepare for the vanguard, with about 5,000 troops and horses.On the south bank, there are 4,500 subordinates from Takayama Ukon and Nakagawa Qingxiu, plus 4,000 soldiers from Ikeda Nobuki.For a few hours, everyone endured the heat of the wetland and waited for the opportunity to fight.

Of course, this was waiting for Hideyoshi's arrival and his order.Because they had heard that their own Yamanote team had occupied Tianwang Mountain, the soldiers on this side were even more excited and itchy, and almost cursed at Hideyoshi for his delay in arriving. "What the hell is the army doing?" On the other hand, Mitsuhide Akechi, who set up his headquarters at Gobozuka, heard the news that Matsuda Tarozaemon was killed and the army was completely retreated, and he first blamed himself for delaying the timing, saying, "Isn't it too late... ..." He already knew the difference between having the high ground under his own control and falling into the enemy's hands would make a decisive battle.

However, before that, Guangxiu was constrained by three "unyielding hearts" in the face of the opportunity in front of him. "Not giving up" will undoubtedly make you feel confused and make your decision hesitant. The first is to worry about Tsutsui Junkei's participation in the meeting, and waited anxiously in Dongling all night; the second is to order the construction of Yodo Castle after returning to the Shimotoba formation, which is based on the timing of Hideyoshi's attack. error.The third is his ideological problem, which is also the most fundamental, that is, whether he is active or passive, and whether he chooses to attack or retreat.Before entering Yufangzuka, he hadn't gone astray in terms of big goals.

Here, the opinions of veteran minister Saito Toshisan and others also affected him and made him confused.Li San sent envoys to persuade Mitsuhide twice: "I think this battle is not good for us anyway. It's better to avoid Hideyoshi's sharpness and retreat to Sakamoto for the time being, and then send the soldiers scattered in Jiangzhou and other places Allies gather together and attack after confirming that they have reached an undefeated lineup. I think this is the only good strategy at this time." Saito Toshizo's advice is not unreasonable. The wise army of 16,000 soldiers and horses, in terms of the quality of the soldiers, 20% of them are recruits from the mountain city.Compared with the soldiers trained by themselves, they are definitely at a disadvantage.Because they are untrained soldiers newly assembled from various places, it is conceivable how weak they are.

In addition, most of its generals are Suwa Himori, Yamamoto Yamairi, etc., and the old ministers or local tyrants called Tamba samurai are also mixed in.It is doubtful whether the fighting spirit of these people is the same as that of the wise family, and whether they can be in the same battle. On the contrary, the military strength of the enemy Hideyoshi has to be said to be overwhelming. The same is true in numbers. There are 10,000 troops directly under him who returned from China, 4,000 from Nobuki Ikeda, 4,500 from Takayama and Nakagawa, and a total of 18,500 in total. Including Kobe Nobutaka, Niwa Nagahide, and Hachiya Lairyu in Osaka, the total number is about 8,000, and the actual number totals 26,500.

And Zhifang only has more than 10,000 people. Not only that, but his subordinates are full of elites or retainers of the late Lord Nobunaga.Moreover, he also held high the banner of righteousness - "the battle of revenge of the late right minister", which is an excellent reason. If you go head-on, the wise side will be at a disadvantage. Therefore, under such circumstances, we should temporarily abandon Kyoto, a strategically important place, and retreat to Sakamoto, where there are 3,000 troops and our most reliable general Akechi Sasuke Mitsuharu.Waiting for the political changes in the four countries to surge, there will inevitably be internal strife among Nobunaga's survivors, and then his side will slowly strengthen the lineup.Compared to choosing Ning Wei Yu Sui at this time, it is indeed necessary to prepare for a complete battle.

This is what Saito Rizo is worried about. The veteran's opinion was naturally pertinent, and Guangxiu had to say that he was greatly attracted in his heart.However, "If you lose the battle here, even if you defend Sakamoto Castle, you will eventually lose. If Kyoto falls into the enemy's hands, then what is my name, Mitsuhide?" Guangxiu felt this way in his heart: even if it was very unfavorable, if he did not take over the war and handed over the capital to the enemy for nothing, he himself would definitely not be able to bear it. Although it was not made clear to others, and there was no such content in the call to action, it was the true thought in Guangxiu's heart.

"Even if the lord Nobunaga is defeated in one dynasty, he and I are both subjects of the emperor, and the spirit of martial arts has not changed. If the capital under the emperor's feet is handed over before the battle, people will definitely discuss: 'Look So, what belief does Guangxiu have? How can he gain a foothold in the world? Seeing that the situation is unfavorable, he forgets where the palace is and just runs away. See how despicable he is!' Crusade, it will undoubtedly be regarded as mere traitors, and there is no way to be discussed like this. I, Mitsuhide, will put Kyoto behind me and fight to the death in Yamazaki. Hideyoshi and the like, what are you afraid of!"

In this way, it can be seen that this battle is inevitable, and Guangxiu's heart began to play a sad song. What is Hideyoshi afraid of!Even if he showed this kind of spirit, he still had no certainty of victory in his heart. The main generals all realized his tragic determination.At this point, most of them also have the heart to die for them at any time. Especially those like Saito Rizo and others.They are old, and their advice has not been heeded. As veterans, they have already seen through the situation, so they have the consciousness that "today just happens to fulfill my life" earlier than others.

Therefore, the gunshot at the mouth of the Yuanmyoji River was also suddenly fired by Saito Rizo. Although the opportunity for the battle is a little subtle, just as the two armies were bitten by mosquitoes in the reeds for a long time, waiting for the command of the general above, suddenly there was a horse with a beautiful saddle in Yu Shiba's camp. Wanting to drink water, I suddenly jumped to the opposite bank of Yuanmyoji River. "Ah, hit! Shoot! Shoot!" In order to rescue the soldiers lying on the river bank, they also opened fire in the face of the hail of bullets on the north bank.In this way, there is no time to wait for the order to be issued.

"The whole army raid!" In fact, Hideyoshi's order was issued after the gunshot, and Akechi crossed the river because of the reaction of the enemy's actions. The estuary where it flows into the Yodo River is very wide, but not a little bit upstream. However, due to the torrential rains in the past few days, the water is fast.When the wise gun team with muskets appeared in the grass in the north and shot at the Hashiba army standing on the south embankment, the spear team, regarded as the elite of the wise army, began to wade across the river from various places. "Spear team out!" A general of the Gaoshan team standing on the embankment jumped out and commanded. Because the river is narrow, the gun is very difficult to be effective.When the front discharge gun finishes filling the bullets, it will be filled by the rear row.However, during this period, the enemy who had already climbed ashore immediately rushed into the gun array. "The gun team lined up sideways! Don't get in the front!" Most of the soldiers of the Zhongchuan team raised their guns high above their heads, beating the enemies under the embankment and on the water. The target, of course, is the enemy soldier.Compared with pushing the gun back and forth, it is faster to swing it up and down, and it can prevent the enemy from going ashore. A fierce battle ensues in the river. Spear against spear, and spear against broadsword or spear. The two sides cut back and forth. Roaring and embracing each other, sinking into the water from the array and causing splashes... The turbid current swirls. No, it is more appropriate to say that the water flows among the warriors.The river was crowded with fighting soldiers.Blood pooled on the water, then disappeared. Meanwhile, the Second Battalion of the Southern Army, Nakagawa Kiyohide's 1st Brigade, handed over the downstream battle to Takayama Ukon's men. "Rush! Rush in!" "Rush hard!" "Don't look back!" "Go up, go up!" "Just rush!" The formation of the brigade flocked as if carrying a mikoshi out of the shrine.Immediately afterwards, the army approached the bushes on the east bank, regardless of rushing into the enemy. This is the position of Aguan Zhenming, the second team on the left wing of the Zhizhi Army.The weakness of the Northern Army first came from this line.Because regardless of the fact that his left wing has already started a violent raid, he still fires a burst of guns from time to time, relying too much on the power of firearms. Beyond the bush, besides wetlands here and there, you can see fields, field paths, and chestnut groves.The wise army was densely packed as far as the eye could see, and now when they saw the enemy charging over, all the soldiers aimed at the target and rushed over like a raging wave. "Oh My God!" A big man in Zhizhi's army made a strange voice and stepped forward.Seeing that he hit four or five soldiers of the Zhongchuan team into the air with a very clumsy pistol, and then swooped towards this side again. Although he was wearing armor, he was not wearing a helmet.His messy hair standing on end under the turban was red like the flame of a torch, and together with the light from his wide-open eyes, he looked like an unstoppable warrior. After being crushed by this big man, the Zhongchuan team was pushed back to the river again.At this time, a general stood out from the Zhongchuan army. "You kid, you look so majestic, it makes people angry. Do you know that it's your master Oribe who is here!" While yelling like this, he stood in front of him, looking heroic.I saw him entangle the middle of the reckless man's spear with his spear. This person is Nakagawa Kiyohide's son-in-law Furuta Oribe Shigeno. The battle between the two was extremely fierce, and bystanders could not intervene at all.In comparison, I don't know if it was because Oribe's spear was thinner, but with a "snap", his spear was broken from the tip, and only the tip of the spear flew into the distance like ice. "Ah! The young master is in danger!" The retainers of the Nakagawa family who were watching the battle couldn't help but leave the enemy in front of them and rush forward to help.However, Oribe suddenly swung the broken spear and hit the enemy hard on the wrist, then threw away the spear and twisted the opponent hard. The samurai of the Nakagawa family suddenly went backwards, beheaded Oribe's opponent, and rushed forward again. The surprise attack of Hideyoshi's second army, the Nakagawa Army, made the convex formation that Akechi's Saito team had obtained fall into a critical situation in a blink of an eye. Because if the Zhongchuan Army turned to the right sharply, it would be in danger of being outflanked. Seeing that it was difficult to resist the elite of the Saito team, Takayama Ukon's subordinates all encouraged each other: "The Nakagawa Army of the Second Army has already taken a big lead. Don't fall behind them! How can you put them at a disadvantage?!" Pushing and shoving each other with the enemy, the two sides refused to give in to each other.There were dead soldiers all over the river, and the shouts of killing from both sides shook the sky. "Retreat! Go back to the shore! As soon as the enemy comes up, they will hit the next one!" The hoarse voice of orders came from Saito's army.The Gaoshan team has already seen that the enemy's rear is being forced by its own Zhongchuan army. Therefore, everyone put on the spray splashed by the enemy retreating to the opposite bank, aimed at the tip of the gun and chased after it. "Go, go, go!" "Don't stop!" There are no bushes near the mouth of the river, but swampy areas connected by wetlands.Because there are no obstacles, it is difficult to stop the retreat once they retreat. The horses waded through the water, and the military flag had already been brought ashore.Almost all of Takayama Ukon's troops landed on the north bank. At this point, the sun finally began to set.As dusk draws near, the dark red clouds under the sky, illuminated by the mournful setting sun, look like black armies dotting the night sky lonesomely. At this time, there was another fierce battle for about a quarter of an hour.The enemy army, which seemed to be about to be defeated, charged again. Although it was in swampy areas and bushes where it was difficult to gain a foothold, Saito's strong and stalemate defensive battle was still shocking. Not only that, whether it is Aguan Zhenming's army or Zhizhi Maochao's army, all in all, Zhizhi's army has a creepy spirit of going to death.Perhaps it was the tragic song that Guangxiu expected in his heart that made the sound of Junpo going to death resound in the entire army. "There is a danger of being isolated here! I heard that our Yamanote team has been routed, and the Nikawa sweep unit has also been defeated. Suwa Himoru has also been killed! Let's retreat before we are surrounded! Retreat! Retreat!" The sad song was played repeatedly, and the bad news spread like the wind to Zhizhi's first and second armies, and the third army in the central government was not spared. The central army as a reserve force, with Gobozuka as the center, 5,000 people directly under Mitsuhide lived in the center, and on the right were 2,000 people from Fujita Dengo, Ise Sadaka, and 2,000 people from Tsuda Nobuharu and Murakami Kiyokuni. People and horses. Fighting in this central place is Hachiya Dewamori Yoryutaka. Fujita said that the drums beat five times, and the pace was majestic, and the battle was unfolding. The newly formed bow and crossbow team fired their arrows together, and the feathered arrows immediately brought a gust of wind.The Beehive team immediately responded with a rain of muskets and bullets. "Change teams!" It is said that an order is issued under Wu's command.The crossbow team dispersed at once, and the musket team also came out to fight.Before the vast gunpowder smoke cleared away, warriors with iron spears and armor rushed towards the enemy from below. Fujita Dengo and his elite repelled the Hachiya team. Kobe Nobutaka's subordinates Mine Shinano Mamoru and Hirata Iki Mamoru replaced them, and used the new method to confront the Akechi Army. Fujita Dengo shattered his formation again and repelled him. For a moment, the momentum was like a rainbow, and it seemed that no one could fight against it. The drums of the Fujita team boasting of invincibility directly threatened to disrupt the pace of the cavalry and horses guarding Kobe Nobutaka. At this time, Kokubu Sado Mamoru and two or three other generals led about four or five hundred soldiers from the side of Fujita's team to attack Jin Ge suddenly, and the shouts shook the sky like an army attacking. The clouds were only slightly reddish, and the ground was already dark.Fujita Dengo also understood that his side had penetrated deep into the enemy army, so he waved his command urgently: "Turn right!" "Turn around, turn around! All turn to the right!" The whole army gradually drew a circle, originally planning to join up with the Chinese army gradually, and fight again when there was no worries. However, suddenly Hideyoshi's army under Hideyoshi Hori Hidemasa attacked from the left.For Chuan Wu, this was undoubtedly an extreme surprise. I don't know where these soldiers came from. "There is no way to retreat!" Although Chuanwu thought of it all at once, he didn't have time to regroup.Hori's army cut off the enemy's army like a gust of wind, and surrounded one side of the army. Chuan Wuyan saw the golden horse mark swaying and gradually approaching. "It seems that Kobe Sanchi Nobutaka came here in person!" Therefore, without hesitation, together with his son Chuanbingwei Hideyuki, his younger brother Fuji Sanxinghisa, Ise and Saburo, a total of 450 cavalrymen assembled into a regiment. "Should I cut off my own head or take off the opponent's head?!" A group of people resolutely rushed into the enemy army with an unknown number of soldiers and horses. The so-called bloody storm refers to this moment.The night was dark, and the shouts of the desperate battle merged with the breath of blood as they walked against the wind. Among the Hashiba army, the Kobe army is also the most stable because of its strength.Moreover, there are three thousand soldiers and horses from Niwa Chohide to help.Therefore, no matter how brave Fujita Dengo and his flesh-and-blood brothers are, after all, it is difficult to pass through with swords and guns. The formation of the Kobe Army is by no means ordinary. Chuanwu suffered six injuries all over his body. Moreover, in the end, because of the continuous fighting on the horse, he unconsciously became dizzy and lost his spirit. At this time, the son's loud cry came from the darkness behind: "Father, father!" Hearing the voice of his son Chuanbingwei Xiuxing, he raised his head from the horse's mane.Suddenly, something hit his right eye, and he felt as if a star from the sky fell on his forehead. "Ah! On the saddle, on the saddle, please lie down hard on the saddle. The arrow missed, and your forehead is only slightly injured!" "Who is supporting me?" "It's Fujisan!" "It's my brother, how are Ise and Saburo?" "It's already dead!" "Where's Suwa?" "Suwa-sama also..." "Where's Chuanbingwei?" "Also surrounded by enemies. I am by your side, please lie down in front of the saddle." Fujisan didn't mention Chuanbingwei's life or death, took the reins of his brother Makou, and left the rebellious army behind.