After learning that the rear army's cavalry hedge failed and that Asahina's army was approaching, Okabe Motonobu had to make adjustments. The Okabe family's troops were forced to stop their defense in Nawa, allowing other wealthy troops to reorganize in Nawa. Uame Akihei and Asahina Taiheng met
He immediately sent out messengers to inform Asahina Taitomo. After Asahina Taitomo learned about the latest deployment of the Okabe family, he also ordered the troops to form a fighting formation. The warriors Ashigaru took over the gear from the auxiliary soldiers and dressed neatly.
Marching forward mightily towards the Minghe. Under the command of Naoe Tadayei, Amakihei Tokiwabei, who was behind the Okabe family, left the official road and moved southeast, making a gesture of cutting off the Okabe family's retreat.
However, in fact, after Sena Toshisho left, the number of soldiers Amakihei and Asahina Yasutomo now have is less than 2,000, which is not as many as the Okabe family. However, due to the Okabe family,
The cavalry of the Asahina family were suppressed by the Asahina family, and they were at a disadvantage in terms of intelligence. Therefore, Okabe Motonobu lacked overall control over the battlefield situation. Therefore, since the flag of Sena Ujitoshi did not appear for a long time, he was not sure about Sena Ujitoshi.
Wherever the Ming Bei Hui appears, Meng Lang doesn't dare to attack.
Asahina Taitomo knew that his troops were at a disadvantage, so he, who was always steady, did not advance too quickly. Instead, he stopped five miles north of Nawa and confronted the Okabe family. The troops of the two families began to take advantage of their rest.
Come and eat some solid food. Now, the longer it takes, the better it will be for Asahina's family. Because now, whether it is Takake Castle or Okazaki Castle, the two factions are evenly matched against each other. And if Asahina Taitomo can
The main force of Okabe Motonobu is dragged here, and Sena Ujitoshi, as a special force, can control these cities one by one without any hindrance, trapping the Okabe family's troops in the wilderness, and forcing them to bow their heads.
After the two armies had lunch, Okabe Gennobu seemed to be aware of the Asahina family's intentions and began to command the troops to retreat to the east. He allowed the Ii family, Miura family and other wealthy troops to retreat first, leaving behind the most organized members.
The powerful Okabe family troops come to the rear.
As soon as the Okabe family's troops moved, the Asahina family's troops immediately followed. Okabe Gennobu, who was worried about the Asahina family's sudden attack, had to let all the soldiers wear uniforms like the Asahina family to cover the evacuation of the auxiliary troops.
Okabe Gennobu initially tried to keep the entire army in marching form and evacuate, but when Asahina Yasuo saw this, he immediately asked Yu Qiupei and Asahina Yasuhiro to lead the cavalry to attack. The Okabe family's cavalry had been attacked not long ago and resisted
Asahina Taehyung and Ame Qiupei could not resist the flanking attack and did not dare to confront each other head-on. This gave Asahina Taehyung and Ame Qiupei space to maneuver freely.
Every time they led their troops to rush into the Okabe family's ashigaru, the Okabe family's ashigaru had to stop and form a fighting formation. Otherwise, the loosely formed infantry would most likely be dispersed by the cavalry.
.And every time the Okabe family's ashigaru adjusted their position, Asahina Yasuhiro and Amakihei led their troops to retreat, constantly harassing the Okabe family's troops. The Okabe family's troops could not fight, walk, or come back and forth.
Adjusting the formation back and forth consumes precious physical energy, and the marching speed is extremely slow.
During this period, Okabe Gennobu once tried to let his horsemen attack Amakihei's cavalry to break the deadlock, but was driven away by Asahina Yasuhiro who arrived in time and returned without success. The Okabe family's archers tried several times
The sniper cavalry team was also dodged by the cavalry even if they were aware of it.
Throughout the afternoon, the Okabe family was unable to go far under the harassment of Asahina Taihiro and Amakihei. The two families dragged each other and headed east. Finally, at 1:40, the Okabe family was forced to go west of the Aizuma River. They camped at Ebata, but failed to cross the Aizuma River and entered Kariya Castle, which favored them. The other small wealthy families of the Okabe family had disappeared from sight under the Okabe family, and they had probably entered Kariya. Castle. The army of Asahina's group also set up a stronghold five miles west of Jiangdu, monitoring the movements of Okabe's army.
That night, Yu Qiupei, who had been riding hard on horseback for a day, was a little overwhelmed. It was not like he had never ridden for a day in a row before, but today he was riding in front of the enemy! The ashigaru samurai of the Okabe family all wielded real swords. There were real guns, and cold arrows were fired from time to time, which made people really scared and nervous. Both Okabe Motonobu's horsemen and the mounted warriors in the formation tried to rush up and attack his troops. Yu Qiuping's hand holding the reins was covered in cold sweat and even had some convulsions. He had to pay attention to what was going on in all directions and be alert to the dangers around him.
Yu Qiuping had to lament that it is really difficult for people with poor riding skills to command cavalry troops. This is not a flat and straight official road, but an unpredictable battlefield. In order to find fighter opportunities, one has to fight in fields, hills, and official roads. Running back and forth across the grassy areas and bumpy areas was quite a challenge to Yu Qiuping's riding skills. In addition, he also had to hold a Chidori in one hand and the reins in one hand, which added a lot of difficulty. It was even more difficult. To make matters worse for him, he had to pay attention to the battlefield situation and issue orders to his men at the same time, which took a lot of energy from him. Throughout the afternoon of fighting, he almost fell off his horse several times.
After nightfall, another evaluation meeting was held in Asahina Taitomo's big tent. Asahina Taitomo first showed the information collected this afternoon to everyone. First of all, Asahina Nobuyuki and Katsurayama Clan's Gentlemen of Takake Castle continued to After the confrontation, the two sides reached a certain tacit understanding, and each led their troops to leave Takake Castle, abandoning the city in the early Owari territory. Asahina Nobuyuki went directly west to pursue Sena Ujitoshi's troops, and Katsurayama Motonori took the same route. Return and take a detour from the east back to Okazaki Castle.
And before nightfall, Sena Ujitoshi also sent someone to deliver a message. After a day of rapid march, he had passed through Tomitatsu and arrived at Anxiang Castle where Asahina Shinyasu was located. Mizuno Shingen of Kariya Castle had already been confirmed to have fallen. To the Okabe group, many detective horses were sent to Anxiang Castle. Sena Ujitoshi also said in the letter that after learning that the two armies started fighting in Mewa, martial law has been imposed between Kariya Castle and Anxiang Castle. Asahina Taitomo had previously sent messengers to convey the information brought by Okuhira Sadakichi - Okabe Motonobu was trying to lead the entire army to seize Okazaki Castle. This news was also passed on to Sena Uji Toshi. Sena Uji Toshitoku After learning the news, they immediately set out to fortify the official roads and villages outside Anxiang Castle, preparing to prevent the Okabe family from passing through Kariya Castle and bypassing Anxiang Castle eastward to Okazaki Castle.
Now, the forces of all the important officials of the Imagawa Army are basically gathered in Mikawa, and an unprecedented brawl is about to begin. From Ebata where Asahina and Okabe's main forces are facing off, Mizuno Nobuyoshi's Kariya, Sena Ujitoshi and Asahina Shinyasu's peace, and Okazaki Castle, where Ujihiro Sekiguchi and Renryu Iio faced each other, were almost on a horizontal line from west to east. The forces of both sides were intertwined, and the situation was unpredictable.
The only thing that makes Yu Qiupei a little uneasy is the whereabouts of Matsudaira Motoyasu. Kohata Kesheng was sent out by him to look for Matsudaira Motoyasu, but so far there has been no news. I heard from the Okuhira family that during the collapse outside Narumi Castle, the Matsudaira family was there
They managed to escape in the chaos and should not have suffered many casualties. However, until now, their whereabouts are unknown. Due to the collapse of the army, the entire Imagawa family's communication line at the Owari Mikawa border tended to collapse, and Okabe
The Asahina family is hostile to each other, and many of the messengers at the post station don't know what to do. Therefore, even if Yu Qiupei wants to contact Chitate Castle, his hometown, it is extremely difficult.
It was precisely because of the crisis in contact that Asahina Taitomo attached great importance to the collection of intelligence. He sent many detective horses to conduct reconnaissance around the Okabe family's camp. After dark, he also erected a watchtower to monitor the situation in the Okabe family's camp.
"No matter what, you all have a good rest tonight." Asahina Taichao ordered, "Tomorrow, the Okabe family will definitely rely on Kariya Castle as an obstacle to quickly move eastward to Okazaki Castle in an attempt to get rid of us. We may face many challenges.
Please be mentally prepared for the big difficulty. After leaving people to take turns keeping vigil, everyone should go back to rest."
At 08:00 on May 21, Yu Qiuping still woke up early. To be honest, he had been on the battlefield several times, but he was still nervous. Listening to the snoring of his subordinates in the camp, Yu Qiuping smiled bitterly.
For a moment, even the new recruits who were recruited this year slept better than me!
But His Highness the Governor has just left... Where can I sleep?
Yu Qiuping shook his head vigorously to expel this thought from his mind. Once he fell into sadness and memories, his mind would be in chaos and he would be unable to do anything.
Just as he was thinking wildly, a drumbeat suddenly sounded. The loud snoring just now was cut off by the drumbeat, and was replaced by the sound of people asking each other at a loss. Yu Qiuping recognized that it was his own voice.
After the army urgently summoned his subordinates to beat the drum, he immediately got up, put on his gloves and gear, and ran to the main tent. On the way, he happened to meet the messenger who came to inform him to go to the main tent.
"No, there is no need to worry, Your Highness Hongye." The messenger replied breathlessly, "On the contrary, our messenger discovered that the Okabe family seemed to be preparing to retreat! The entire camp was moving, probably to cross
It’s the Fengzuma River!”
"It's not completely bright yet!" Yu Qiuping raised his head and glanced at the sky that had just turned white, "Do the Okabe family want to grab time so much?"
The Aizuma River is not a very deep river, and you can barely cross it by wading, but the river is a bit wide, so it may take some time. There are also many bridges on the journey from the end of the river to Kariya, which can allow large armies to pass.
After crossing the Aizuma River, Kariya Castle is a few miles away! If the Okabe family is really allowed to enter Kariya Castle and close the distance, it will be difficult for the people on the Asahina family to stop the Okabe family's maneuver. And the Okabe family
Our goal is to get to Okazaki Castle! If the people from the Okabe family get to Okazaki Castle first, the situation on the Asahina family's side will become very bad!
Then, it is clear at a glance what decision the Asahina family should make - follow and pursue them immediately! The main army of the Okabe family cannot be allowed to enter Kariya Castle without any hindrance!
"Does His Highness Asahina have any orders?" Yu Qiuping asked.
"Your Highness has asked the Second Young Master's troops who are keeping watch at night to immediately pursue and interfere with the Okabe family's crossing the river!" The messenger replied, "I would like to ask Your Highness Yuqiu to also immediately assemble troops to pursue!"