Chapter 22 Chapter 22: The Bloody Battle of Sekihara

The key to war should be the first opportunity, and it is extremely important to grasp the first opportunity. As soon as the main formation was reorganized, Ieyasu ordered Oguri Tadamasa to run to the Ii Naomasa camp.Naomasa Ii and Tadakatsu Honda marched side by side to the right of Nakasendo.Along with Ii, Ie's son-in-law and Ieyasu's fourth son, Matsudaira Shimonomori Tadakishi.Zhongji is the lord of the hundred thousand stones of Wuzhou Nincheng, and today is his first battle.Therefore, father-in-law Zhizheng accompanied Li San to take care of him. As soon as Naozheng arrived, Ieyasu hurriedly said, "Dasuke of the Ministry of War, what time is it?"

"The fog has to clear up. It is estimated that it is Chen time." "Okay! Hit!" Ieyasu only had these two words, and Naomasa immediately understood what he meant, and said loudly, "Obey!" As soon as Naomasa left, sporadic gunshots came from the Fukushima regular formation, like popping beans.This was a tentative confrontation between the two sides, and it was Masori who had advanced to the bank of the Fujikawa River, launching an attack on Ukita Hideo's house in Tenman Mountain in front of him on the right. But this is like a signal, which is to inform the other party: "I am going to attack on a large scale. You will die soon!"

Afterwards, the soldiers on both sides immediately shouted bursts, and the horns sounded. Although the sky had cleared up, the fog was still thick, and neither side dared to venture forward, and both were still a little hesitant.At this moment, a group of cavalry rushed out of the dense fog like a gust of wind, there were at least twenty or thirty people.This team rushed out from the formation of Jing Yi and Matsudaira, passed through the positions of Kyogoku and Fujido like lightning, and rushed to the right of Masanori Fukushima in the front. "Who is coming! Tell me your name!" A figure leaped out from the Fukushima Department and stood in front of the cavalry.This person is none other than the well-known brave man Keer Saizo in the Fukushima tribe. "Today's leader is none other than my lord, Dr. Fukushima Zaemon! How can you wait to claim credit?"

"We're not here to claim credit." "Who are you?" "I am Naomasa Ii Bingbu, and I accompanied Matsudaira Shimomori, Mr. Tadakishi, to pass by." "No matter who you are, how can you pass between the battle formations at will, you must wait after we launch the attack." Fighting for the lead is a matter of the samurai's face.Ke Er Caizang shouted loudly, quickly drew out his knife, and stood in front of Jing Yi.Masayoshi Fukushima was impatient. When attacking Gifu, he was furious because Ikeda Teruma did not abide by the agreement and took the lead in attacking Oda Hidenobu. He also claimed to fight Teruma.Where there is a master, there must be a servant, and Keer Saizo jumped out to stop Ii Naomasa and Matsudaira Tadakichi.

"That's weird. Do you think that the few of us won the first prize? Mr. Zhongji fought for the first time today. He was still young and didn't know much about warfare, so Naomasa took him to reconnaissance the position himself. You actually wanted to stop us and delay it." Who dares to be responsible for a major event? Don’t mess around, let us pass quickly, so you can do meritorious service as soon as possible.” Zhizheng’s words had an effect. "Are you really not stealing credit?" "Look, there are only a few of me, and I still have to protect the young master, how can I attack the enemy?"

"I'll trust you just once. Let's go." "Thank you." As soon as the words fell, Naomasa, Zhongkichi and his party flew through the Fukushima camp, stopped near Fujikawa, and then broke off their horses and galloped to the right.Fukushima Masanori and his veteran Fukushima Tamba hadn't noticed Naomasa's and Chukichi's intentions, so Naomasa and his party turned to the right, quickly passed through the positions of Kato Yoshiaki and Tsutsui who were facing Ukita, passed in front of Tanaka Yoshimasa's formation, and went straight to the island. The Tianjin position galloped away.

At this time, everyone in Fukushima suddenly realized, and rushed to attack Ukitabe. "Follow the adults!" "Protect your lord!" Seeing this, the main forces of Ii and Matsudaira rushed forward like a tide. After driving all the way to the front of the Shimadzu formation, Ii Naomasa reined in the reins and said to Zhongkichi, "Shimono Mamoru, the master of the inner court is unmatched in martial arts, even the late Taiko is not as good. Hey, you and I can't Let Toyotomi's former general take the credit. The enemy in front is the powerful general who crowned Kaido. Only by defeating them can we become famous in the world."

"I understand! I must let the world see!" The attack of the two men had three meanings: first, without their weaving and shuttling between the various camps of the Eastern Army, the start of the war would probably be delayed needlessly.Second, once the fog clears, the Western Army will be extremely surprised—the formation of the Eastern Army has changed dramatically. Ieyasu is no longer in Momobi Mountain, and Tokugawa's most elite troops actually blocked Shimadzu's formation in the blink of an eye. , It can be said to be flexible and quick to use troops.This will bring immeasurable deterrence to the enemy.Third, Ieyasu made Aiko stand in front of his strongest enemy when he played for the first time, which was tantamount to announcing his firm determination to the world.

Due to the resolute actions of Ii and Matsudaira, the battlefield turned into a raging volcano in an instant. The pioneer of Shimadzu was Toyohisa Shimadzu, nephew of Hyogo head Yoshihiro.At this time, General Yoshihiro was sixty-seven years old, eight years older than Ieyasu. If he was an ordinary person, he would not be able to afford field work. "Ii and Matsudaira Tadakichi led people to press us." "Oh." Hearing the report from his subordinates, Yoshihiro was very indifferent and did not stand up. Shimadzu's camp was between Terayagawa and Kando.Yoshihiro ordered a mat to be spread on a higher hill, and a blanket was spread on the mat, and he sat up on it with half-closed eyes and meditated.

A few towns ahead, Feng Jiu had already beat the drums and sent soldiers to fight.The enemy attacked and he had to deal with it.But Yoshihiro meditated quietly as if he had never heard the sound of war drums.Today, Yoshihiro is dressed in light clothes, wearing a Jinhaori with the family crest of "ten" printed on it, a two-foot-two-inch sword hanging on his waist, and a white flag is set up beside the bed, that's all.His safety is puzzling, even the courtiers don't know what he is thinking. The fog has cleared.Before, Yoshihiro asked repeatedly: "How is the movement on Nangong Mountain?"

When he learned that there was no movement, he sat up and meditated again.Of course, as a hero, Yoshihiro did not do nothing.Last night, he ordered his nephew Feng Jiu to launch a night attack from Ogaki Castle to Ieyasu's main camp at night, but Feng Jiu refused to listen.Today, before dawn, he sent Shengchun and Maoli Jueemon of the Longevity Institute to Sancheng to offer advice, but Sancheng did not accept it. Yoshihiro suggested to attack Matsuo-san Kobayakawa Hideaki first.In his view, Hideaki Kobayakawa's betrayal has been clearly revealed.Therefore, in a decisive battle between the two sides, once it sneaks up behind Mount Matsuo, the outcome will be decided. "We can't completely wipe out Kobayakawa's tribe, but we can also try to send someone to kill Xiuqiu first and control his tribe, so that we can fight Ieyasu with peace of mind." But Sancheng did not agree, saying that it is not in line with his original intention to still doubt his own people. Besides, if the Western Army has the upper hand, Kobayakawa Hideaki will come down to join the battle. But with years of battlefield experience, Yoshihiro felt that 30% of the words were absolutely impossible.Although the Western Army had formed a siege on the Eastern Army, Mori, who was in charge of Mount Nangong in the east, and Kobayakawa, who was in charge of Mount Matsuo in the west, could not be trusted.Yoshihiro Shimadzu even regretted joining the Western Army.But at this time, the most elite troops under Ieyasu suddenly broke through the fog and came to challenge. Yoshihiro is very clear about Ieyasu's mind.Initially, Shimadzu's enemy in front of the battle was Okazaki Castle Lord Tanaka Bingbu Daisuke Yoshimasa.Looking at the situation of Jizheng, it is clear that he intends to confront the Shimadzu Department and guard against the small west.Later, Kato Sadayasu, Hosokawa Tadaka, Inaba Sadatsu, Terasawa Hirodaka, Ichiyanagi Naomori, Togawa Tatsuyasu, Ukita Naomori and others lined up. It is not so much that they are Tanaka Yoshimasa's backing, it is better to say that they are Guard against Ishida's department on the left.In addition, to the east of them, Kuroda Nagamasa and Takenaka Shimono have entered Aichuan, and their posture is clearly about to fight Ishida.This is obviously repairing the plank road in the open, and keeping the warehouse in the dark.At the beginning of the war, the enemy's formation will inevitably change dramatically. Yoshihiro's speculation was completely correct.Among the daimyos of the Tokugawa clan, Jingi and Honda are elite teachers.As expected, Ii was the first to attack Shimadzu.But to his surprise, Naomasa Ii came with Matsudaira Tadakichi, who was recruited for the first time, which made him even more dumbfounded. As expected of Ieyasu!While expressing emotion for his decision, Yoshihiro also had inexplicable fear in his heart.The new recruits do not engage in wars, and are often newborn calves who are not afraid of tigers, will not look forward and backward, and will only rush forward like crazy, with the momentum of tigers and wolves. Of course, Toyohisa Shimadzu has just arrived in his thirties, and he is also young and vigorous, and he will never be left behind on the battlefield.Although the drums were beating, he didn't fire the gun immediately. He must have wanted to lure the enemy over and wait for them to come within range before firing. Yoshihiro Shimadzu, who had been meditating quietly, had experienced thousands of battles in his stomach when he was motionless. "Report! The three teams of Hosokawa, Kato, and Inaba started to attack, approaching us from behind Ii and Matsudaira." "Where's Tanaka Military Department?" "Pass past us and head toward Ishida's headquarters." Yoshihiro nodded lightly, and Ieyasu was good at using soldiers.The initial battle was just for show.Hosokawa, Kato, Inaba, etc., who thought they were bound to attack Ishidabe, turned around and rushed towards themselves, while Tanaka Yoshimasa, who was on guard against him, quickly rushed towards Ishida.In this way, Kazuyanagi, Toda, Ukita Naomori and others who are side by side with Hosokawa and Kato will inevitably run towards Konishi Yukinaga. It's not time to move.Yoshihiro is also very concerned about what the governor Konishi, who once insisted on guarding Ogaki Castle, will do today.Xiaoxi's suggestion was rejected by 30%.Therefore, once it became clear that the Western Army had no chance of winning, the dissatisfied Xiao Xi would definitely abandon the battle.Regarding this point, Yoshihiro, who witnessed the Korean War with his own eyes, has already seen it clearly. It had been half an hour since the war started, but Yoshihiro Shimadzu remained motionless.Fukushima Masamori, whose temperament is completely opposite to Yoshihiro's, has almost started hand-to-hand combat with Ukita.Masanori Fukushima has already made up his mind, and no matter what, he must strive for success, which is directly related to the future and destiny of the Toyotomi family.If he falls behind the Daimyo of the Tokugawa clan, he will lose face and his dignity will be greatly reduced. At the same time, Zheng Zheng also asked his grandfather Jiang Fazhai to come and go between the enemy's formations to collect information.It is said that Jiang Fazhai even crushed the feces of the envoys who went back and forth between the camps one by one, and determined the time of their return and return according to the cold and heat, so as to make the news more accurate. Masanori Fukushima started the fight first, and when he was looking for a fighter, he was unexpectedly preempted by Naomasa Ii and Tadaki Matsudaira.Of course, he is not ignorant of what it means for Naomasa and Zhongkichi to rush out. "How could it be spying on the enemy!" When he heard that Ke'er Saizang reported that Naomasa had brought Zhongkichi out to investigate, he kicked the stool away on the spot and stood up abruptly, "This is not challenging the enemy, what is this?" He is clearly blaming me for not going to war earlier!" Originally, he had already entered the Ogose Pass area, and camped against the Ming Shrine and the woods, but when he roared and ran out of the camp, he never looked back. Angrily said: "Lead the horse! Blow the horn! Hurry to the Danbo formation!" He asked Naokuro Bingbei, who was too late to put on his armor, to lead the horse, and ran straight to the old guard Fukushima Tamba. Naomasa Ii and Tadaki Matsudaira, who greatly stimulated Masamori Fukushima, appeared in front of Shimadzu's formation, and when they shouted loudly, Fukushima had already rushed desperately to the forward of Hideka Ukita's home in Tenmanshan.Fukushima Masanori took the lead, followed by Fukushima Tamba, Fukushima Hoki Moriyuki, Nagao Hayato, and Mrs. Yodo's favorite minister Ono Jichang, who was entrusted to Masanori and came with the army, also followed. It was the first time for Kuro Bingei, who rushed to the front to lead the horse for Zheng Ze, to show his face, and it is not difficult to imagine the excitement.Wielding a spear, Ono Jichang fought with Kawachi Shichiemon of the Uki family, and within a few rounds he was shot off the horse. Although the Fukushima Department's offensive was extremely fierce, Ukita's troops were not a coward that would be defeated at the first touch.There are more than 20,000 people in Yuxitabu, and the entire Tianmanshan Mountain is flying. Facing the sudden attack from the Fukushima Department, Ukita's troops were a little timid at first, but the 29-year-old Hideka went to the front line to command the battle in person to boost morale. Morale on the battlefield is often difficult to predict, but even so, if you don't think carefully, you can't use your troops with confidence.Ieyasu used Ii Naomasa's tricks and achieved great success. Ieyasu believes that a decisive battle tests a person's physical strength, and from last night to today, all the soldiers have hardly closed their eyes.Moreover, there is still a large physical gap between the eastern and western armies.The Eastern Army drove straight into the area around Akasaka, and then stopped for a short time, waiting for a fighter; the Western Army hurriedly changed its battle plan after seeing Ieyasu approaching the battle, and hurriedly moved to Sekigahara in order to avoid a deadly battle for the city.The Western Army is far more fatigued than the Eastern Army and is in a more disadvantaged situation.It would be more beneficial for the Eastern Army to launch a decisive battle while the enemy's physical strength had not yet recovered. This was Ieyasu's wishful thinking. More importantly, the situation in Sekigahara will directly affect the whereabouts of the two generals Nangongshan and Matsuoshan.Although Kobayakawa and Masakae Nagatsu looked like they were going to be Ieyasu's nephews, if the Eastern Army showed a slight defeat, they would definitely come down the mountain to beat them hard.These two bystanders guarded the east and west of the Sekigahara battlefield.Therefore, it is not entirely accurate to regard this war as a battle between the eastern and western armies. In other words, if one side loses, it will become the enemy of the world, and it is difficult to escape the fate of defeat. What do the bystanders on Mount Matsuo think of Fukushima Masamori, who is rampant on the battlefield? After being attacked by Fukushima lightning, the Ukita Hide family also encouraged the generals Honda Masashige, Akashi Zento, Nasafune Jihei, Ukita Taro Zaemon, Nobuhara Tosa and others to fight back fiercely.Not long after, Ukita's Dagumaru flag and Fukushima's Sando flag got mixed together, the two sides fell into a melee, and Ukita had a slight advantage. Although Fukushima's men and horses fought desperately, they were still pressed by the opponent from the foot of Mount Tenma to the Teraya River.Seeing that Fukushima was unfavorable, the Eastern Army Kato Yoshiaki and Tsutsui Sadaji immediately moved. If Fukushima attacked Konishi next to Ukita, the defeat would be even worse. Seeing his own side retreating steadily, Fukushima jumped to the front of the formation and roared sharply: "As a vanguard, it is useless to be retreating steadily! Kill me back! Anyone who retreats will be executed on the spot!" After a brief stagnation, Fukushimabe fought back with all his might. It had been nearly an hour since the battle started, and although it was still cloudy, the fog had cleared. When Fukushima, which is the closest to Nakasendo, and Ukita continued to fight, what happened to Ishida's troops in the northernmost Sasao? Sasao is located in the north of Guandao, and the first opponents to it were Kuroda Nagamasa and Takenaka Shigeto.Afterwards, Tanaka Yoshimasa also quickly passed through Shimadzu's front and ran towards Ishida. Ishida Mitsunari built two fences between Sasao Honjin and the cottages of Zuakon Katsumo and Gamo Bitchu in Frontier Island, and transferred the island and Gamo two generals to the front of the fence.Setting up this fence is not just to prevent the enemy from attacking, but also to place guns here. After the battle of Shimadzu, Ikoma Kazumasa and Kanamori Nagachi of the Eastern Army followed Tanaka Yoshimasa closely and launched an attack on Ishida.Two generals, Shima and Gamo, fought a fierce battle with the four generals of the Eastern Army, Takenaka, Tanaka, Ikoma, and Kanemori. At that time, only Kuroda Nagamasa stood still.Kuroda hated Sancheng very much.Changzheng followed Hideyoshi when he was young, and won Ningning's favor.He and Sancheng have been at odds since they were young, and the grievances have accumulated to this day.Although both of them are Hideyoshi's former generals, in Nagamasa's eyes, Sancheng is insidious, cunning and narrow-minded.During the Korean War, the conflict between the two broke out. After returning, they turned against each other and finally met each other on the battlefield today. Kuroda Nagamasa camped at the northern end of Aikawa out of deep considerations: if hit by Ishida's shells, the casualties would be greatly increased.But he ridiculed 30% in his heart: "Regardless of ability and experience, you are just a child!" Last night, he carefully selected fifteen people from the Musketeer Battalion, and issued a secret order to them: "No matter what happens, you can't leave me for a moment!" Half a step. Be by my side at all times and obey the command." Since then, he has been closely watching Ishida's every move until the dawn of the battle today. In front of the Ishida formation, there are not only double fences, but also on the right hand of the official road are the bows and arrows of Yoshitsugu's son Otani University and Hideyori, the Musketeer Battalion, and the Yellow Clothes Army. Sancheng actually put Hideyori Elite by his side. This kind of arrogance made Nagamata find it extremely ridiculous-in case of failure, Sancheng would definitely run away from the officialdom.How can I let you escape?I must take the head of Seoul with my own hands!Out of various considerations, at the beginning of the scuffle, Nagamasa, who had been quietly watching, quietly walked around from the north of Aikawa to the side of Ishida. Daozuo Kin Shengmeng and Gamo Xiangshe both became three strong generals in today's decisive battle, and they did not hesitate to be bribed by high-ranking officials.Dao Shengmeng has 20,000 shi, and Gamo Cottage has 10,000 shi.Dao Shengmeng and Liusheng Shizhouzhai have been close friends for many years.When Pusheng Xiangshe assisted Pusheng's hometown, he also won the crown for a time. This man was upright and upright, and was later given the surname Pusheng.Both of them are extremely brave, how can they take the attackers seriously?Whether it is Yoshimasa Tanaka and his son, or Ikoma and Kanemori, the second generals only need to deal with them briefly, and then lead them to the fence, attack them with fierce artillery fire, and they can easily wipe them out. Kuroda Nagamasa has long been aware of their wishful thinking.Because of this, he made a roundabout and suddenly launched an attack on the left flank of the island near the green mound. "Don't fire your guns yet. Follow me. If you leave me, even if you take the head of the enemy general, it will be useless!" After approaching the left side of the island, Nagamasa took the leaders of the Musket Battalion Baishizhuang Bingwei and Jian Rokunosuke called and gave orders.After a while, he asked again: "How many muskets are there now?" "one hundred fifty." "Okay, pick out fifty, aim at the enemy general, and hit me hard!" At this time, Yoshimasa Tanaka, who launched a fierce attack on Shimazu Konkatsu from the ditch in front, fought and retreated, and retreated and fought.In the face of Tanakabe's stalking, Shimao Katsuo always smiled and dealt with it calmly. On the left of the green mound is Aikawa, and on the other side of the river is the densely forested Mt. Ibuki. Shima Katsumo never dreamed that the enemy would approach so quickly. bang bang bang!The sky-shattering gunshots rang out. "Ah!" With a scream, Dao Shengmeng's body bounced high, fell to the ground, and passed out on the spot.The shot fired by Suganosuke hit Shimao Katsuo. Sheng Meng's men and horses immediately screamed, and the wolves rushed.Several people carried the wounded Shengmeng on their backs to avoid the bullets and retreated into the fence. "The opportunity is here! Get in!" The Kuroda scholars rushed forward with loud shouts.Not only that, the ministries of Tanaka, Takenaka, Ikoma, and Kanemori also took advantage of the chaos to cross the trench. The Gamo tribe, who fought side by side with Shimazukon, could not gain a foothold outside the fence, and retreated steadily.At this time, Sancheng's main force and the Mai Hyogo Department rushed to respond, it was a funeral, so there is no need to repeat it. The Guanyuan area was filled with blood and blood.