"Hurry up! The whole army is pressing forward! Step up the attack! We don't have much time left!"
Tsunari Hojo, who was commanding the Hojo Army to roundabout and cross the river behind the Red Leaf Army's position, watched helplessly as the flags of the Hojo family on the top of Wife and Daughter Mountain were chopped down one by one. At this moment, his eyes were completely red. Years of military experience told him that this
The battle has been lost. However, the price of failure in this battle is too high. Neither the Hojo family nor the daimyo of the entire Eastern Kingdom can afford to lose. Therefore, Hojo Tsunari is unwilling to admit and accept the defeat.
As a result, even if there is no hope, I still want to fight to the death.
He was driving a large number of Hojo military units that had detoured here, wading across the Chikuma River where the current was relatively shallow. However, because the Hojo Army and the Kanto small daimyo troops both began to carry out detour operations, the pressure on the Red Leaf Army on the frontal battlefield suddenly eased.
The Red Leaf Army was also able to mobilize nearly a thousand people from the pike platoon behind the fence between the bastions to defend the ferry. The artillery on the two bastions near the south bank also spent a lot of effort to turn the muzzles and aim them at the ferry.
The Hojo Army's morale was low due to the continuous bombardment of the Hojo Army who was crossing the river. Even the Hojo samurai who successfully stepped onto the other side were immediately pricked into hedgehogs under the siege of the Red Leaf Army's spear array, and their blood was stained red.
Chikuma River failed to make progress.
Hojo Tsunari watched helplessly as more and more Hojo soldiers fell uselessly on the other side of the river, and were swept away by the Chikuma River and rushed downstream. Some bodies were also hung on the rocks, but he was unable to do anything.
But Hojo Tsunari was not the most desperate person on the battlefield. Takeda Katsuyori, the commander of the central front, was. Not long ago, the last round of offensive launched by the Takeda family with all their morale failed. The number of casualties of the Takeda army has already been
Nearly 30% of the entire army - it is hard to imagine that these are the casualties paid in a siege battle. The piles of corpses in front of the Hongye Army's position almost filled the trench, and the corpses beside the ladders even piled up so much that the Hongye Army on the wall
It was difficult for the soldiers to move the ladder away from the wall. The earth could no longer drink the bright red blood, flowing unscrupulously on the battlefield, soaking the remains of the fallen soldiers in it.
Such heavy casualties are no longer something that the Takeda Army can continue to endure. There are very few reserves on the entire front that are still persisting in the attack. Most of the reserves are either hiding listlessly behind bunkers or retreating beyond the range of the Hongye Army, dejected.
Waiting to accept the fate of defeat. Takeda Katsuyori can no longer command a single soldier, and can no longer drive his subordinates to launch even one attack. The Koshu Army, which was once the strongest in the world, was completely defeated at this moment.
In front of an iron wall that can destroy the morale of any attacker - this is not a line of defense that the army of this era can overcome with a frontal attack.
Takeda Katsuyori stood blankly in the shogunate, staring blankly at the sluggish army on the front line and the red leaf army flag still flying high. At this time, the shouts of killing and the sound of horse hooves could be heard from behind in the distance - that
It was the Oda army that defeated the rear troops on Tsumeyama and then drove directly to Kawanakajima Hachimanhara. Takeda Katsuyori knew that he needed to cheer up at this moment, reorganize the scattered army, and find a way to evacuate the battlefield or build a defense. Back then,
This is what Kenshin Uesugi did when faced with attacks from both front and rear.
However, Takeda Katsuyori was frozen in place at this moment, unwilling to move. He didn't know why he was so depressed now, and he couldn't muster any energy to fulfill his responsibilities.
The situation is completely ruined.
It's rotten. There is no hope of victory. It is necessary to collect so many troops who have lost their fighting spirit and then command them to evacuate. The workload and difficulty required to reorganize the defense are simply despairing and make people unwilling to even try.
.
Takeda Katsuyori knew that he had to take action. He knew that countless subordinates were waiting for his order, but his body just couldn't move and he let time pass by minute by second.
If Uesugi Kenshin was in his position, he would definitely assemble his entire army and fly away. If his father were in his position, he would definitely try his best to reverse the situation. If it was Yuqiu Hongye in his position, he would
He must have been able to build a line of defense to support the army despite being beleaguered on all sides - in the battle of Mikamachi, Takeda Katsuyori saw with his own eyes how Amakihei saved the entire army on the verge of annihilation.
: After being completely fooled strategically and being attacked on the flanks, Amakihei immediately entered the Mikamachi Basin that he had never set foot in before and used the unfamiliar terrain to quickly complete a sophisticated defense. However, when his father Takeda Shingen used the current cutoff method to
After breaking through the Hongye Army's defense line again with a feint attack plan, Yu Qiuping pulled the troops back to complete the emergency arrangement of the second line of defense in that situation of emergency. At the time, he didn't think it was anything, but the experience
After ten years of directing battles alone, Takeda Katsuyori finally understood how terrifying his resilience and determination in desperate situations are.
Takeda Katsuyori asked himself, if he was the one who commanded Mikamachi that year, he would probably have collapsed and ordered the entire army to flee after hearing that the Takeda army actually appeared from the south... And if it was him who had encountered the sudden flow of water,
After the thin defense line that he had worked so hard to break through as a result of the feint attack plan, he would probably abandon the army and abscond because the situation became unmanageable - wasn't he frustrated by the collapse of the battle situation in the Nagashino Battle?
Did the earth escape?
This is irresponsible to his subordinates, and to the samurai who believe in themselves and are loyal to the Takeda family. However, Takeda Katsuyori does not have enough willpower to support him to face such a situation bravely. It is not the soldiers he is afraid of.
Failure, what he was really afraid of was living up to people's expectations - he didn't want to experience the embarrassment of being helpless against a desperate battle situation and his subordinates' orders for help.
Is this the difference between me... and those famous generals? Maybe I can bravely defeat the three armies in ordinary battles, but in desperate situations, I am as fragile as a baby. I would like to lose the command to my retainers, but there is no way I can afford it.
It is my responsibility to lead everyone. Will the famous Kai Takeda clan be destroyed in my hands like this? How should I face my father under such circumstances?
Takeda Katsuyori raised his head to look at the sky, took a deep breath, and shouted in a low voice.
No, even if it’s just once, even if I’m destined to lose, I have to clean up the mess. I have to truly shoulder the responsibility of the family governor and not bring shame to the ancestors of the Kai Takeda clan.
"Command all units on the front line to get out of the front immediately!" Takeda Katsuyori shouted to the order soldiers and flag bearers who were also at a loss, "Northern Shinano troops are in front, and Southern Shinano troops are behind. Cross the Hojo family's position and march towards
Cross the Senkuma River to the south and retreat to Komoro Castle! The Nishijono people will cover the evacuation of the baggage behind the Minami Shinano people. If necessary, the baggage can be burned!"
"The remaining Kai and Hatamoto!" Takeda Katsuyori hammered his chest with his hand, listening to the sound of the metal clashing of armor, and ordered to his subordinates whose eyes flashed again.
He said, "Stay here! Let me personally cut off the rear!"
"Yes! Lord!"
·
"It's surprising." Shibata Katsuie watched as the Takeda Army on the Hachimangahara battlefield suddenly took action after being sluggish for a long time. They retreated from the Red Leaf Army's front line, separated one section from the rear, and the rest of the troops formed a marching formation and tried to
Go south and cross the Chikuma River to break out of the siege.
"When we fought together with Nagashino, we were completely different. I thought Takeda Katsuyori was going to abandon the army and abscond." Maeda Toshiie was also quite surprised after seeing Takeda Katsuyori's reaction, "Such determination and reaction ability.
, somewhat like Mr. Shingen’s style.”
"The outcome is the same, there will be no difference." Shibata Katsuie raised his hand and issued several orders to the flag bearer, "Same as before, surround them and don't let anyone go."
·
After seeing the overwhelming force of the Hokurikudo Army coming down Mount Tsuma, the Kanto Little Daimyo troops on the north bank of the Sai River instantly lost the courage to resist. Going south, they would run into the Oda Army head-on.
Going north is also the territory of the Oda family, and going east and west is the unfamiliar Shinano Mountains - there is no reason to be spared no matter what.
"It's over... it's over... it's all over. I shouldn't have listened to Hojo Ujimasa's deceit and came to the East Kingdom Alliance. Now everything is completely over..." Utsunomiya Kunizuna watched the battle situation on the south bank of the Sai River gradually slide to the bottom, and his hands could no longer stop.
The place was trembling, "None of us can run back... None of us can run back to Shimono. The Utsunomiya family, Kanto... it's all over."
"Lord, what should I do?" The retainers of the Utsunomiya family were also desperate about the situation before them, and gathered around Utsunomiya Kunitsuna to ask for orders. However, Utsunomiya Kunitsuna's lips kept trembling, and he hesitated for a long time but could not do anything.
What advice was given? They just kept repeating words such as "Don't run around, don't anger the Oda army, stay where you are, and surrender later."
However, at this moment, the Satake Army, which had also fallen into silence, suddenly took action. They broke away from the bank of the Sai River and marched north within a stone's throw, then turned around and began to form formation towards the south of the Sai River.
"What do you want, His Highness Satake?" Utsunomiya Kunisuna looked at Satake Yoshige's movements in stunned silence, "They don't still want to resist the Oda army, do they? Is there any need to resist now that things have happened?"
Just when Utsunomiya Kunizuna was wondering, the Satake Army, which had completed their formation, had already begun marching southward.
"Are you going to cross the river and return to Kawanakajima? Are you crazy? Takeda Katsuyori has nothing to do with him. Do you have to bring the Satake family in just to save him..." Utsunomiya Kunizuna's eyes changed when he looked at Satake's army.
He was even more confused, so confused that he forgot his own dilemma and began to worry about Satake Jun.
Then, he saw the Satake family slowly raising a large flag with the papaya pattern of the Oda family in front of the central army. Immediately afterwards, the Satake army launched an attack on the Kanto daimyo troops who were caught off guard by the river.
"Go and tell His Highness Momiji and His Highness Shibata that the Satake family has abandoned the dark side and turned to the bright side. Now they are on the side of the Oda family and will suppress the rebellion of the Eastern Kingdom Alliance for them. I beg them to look aside for the Satake family's previous confusion."
Chapter completed!