In less than a quarter of an hour, it only took less than a quarter of an hour for Yu Qiuping to complete the assembly and formation of the troops - this was even with the help of auxiliary troops, which undoubtedly impressed the people around him.
At six o'clock, Yu Qiuping's troops shouted slogans and marched neatly to the official road south of Shanzhao Temple. According to the original plan, they left the official road and headed north, and lined up a hundred meters outside the south gate of Shanzhao Temple. Formation. The combat soldiers receive the equipment from the auxiliary soldiers. After completing the armoring, the combat soldiers are in front and the auxiliary soldiers are behind and begin to form the formation.
"Line up—" the Ashigaru heads and Ashigaru generals yelled out orders in Chinese. The military, which was originally a little confused due to the lack of equipment, immediately began to form a team. It is a special habit of Joban Bei to issue military orders in Chinese. .
"Look to the right - all together!" Following the officer's order, the ashigaru all turned their heads to look to the right, and the small steps under their feet quickly adjusted their positions. After a while, the scattered team became a single line. A straight line.
"Each row reports the number——"
"one!"
"two!"
"three!"
…
At the front of the team is Charlie's archery team. They line up in a formation about 30 meters wide. Behind them are the teams of Fukushima Yasunari, Gomaezaki Nakahide, and Yoshioka Katsumasa, who are arranged in four horizontal lines. , arranged into three square formations, the square formations were level with each other but there was a slight gap, forming a straight line formation. The teams of Ame Qiupei, Naoe Tadayei, Amano Keitoku, and Ogawa Yufuyu stayed directly behind as a reserve team, Honda As Ame Qiupei's bodyguard, Nanosuke was responsible for protecting the horse seal. He erected Ame Qiupei's maple bird flag horse seal high in the formation, echoing the red leaves above the heads of the Tokiwabi ashigaru and the red leaves behind them against the flag. Battle After the soldiers, there are the auxiliary troops. They hide behind the soldiers in a noisy manner.
Yu Qiuping saw that the Oda family had no intention of attacking, so he asked the auxiliary soldiers to come to the front of the team, took a shovel and started digging a trench, and piled the excavated soil on the edge of the trench to build a simple low wall.
"Is it okay to form an array like this?" Yu Qiuping still asked Amano Jingtoku worriedly, "This is my first time to form an array in the wild. I just heard them talk about how to form an array! Yes! There’s nothing wrong with it.”
"Sir, please be at ease." Amano Jingtoku said in a deep voice. The crow on his shoulder flapped its wings a few times and stared at Yanzhai in the distance with his dim yellow eyes. "It's quite satisfactory. There won't be any big problems."
"According to the Okabe family's information, the Oda family only has 200 soldiers stationed here." Naoe Tadahei also said, "They may not dare to leave the stronghold. Even if there is a war, we will be in a defensive position with support behind us. , as long as you are not defeated instantly, there is no need to worry."
"What you are saying is," Yu Qiuping sighed, seeing Ogawa Yudong still drinking strong wine not far away, "I may be too nervous."
The Okabe family's information is correct. There are indeed only 200 combat soldiers and 400 auxiliary troops stationed in Zenshoji Temple. However, unfortunately, among them, there are more than 40 cavalrymen in black female clothes. They were originally there today Starting from Naguno Castle, he went to the five rock villages on the border to deliver daily orders, but was blocked by the arrival of the Imagawa Army in Zenshoji Village.
What's even more unfortunate is that the commander of these forty people is none other than the second-in-command of the Black Mother Clothes—Sasa Narimasa, who has a grudge against Yu Qiuping for killing his brother.
"Lord Sakuma, I request to go to war to avenge the death of my brother." Sasana Narimasa's face was already red at this moment, and his eyes could almost spit fire when he looked at the maple bird flag. There was a rumor in the Oda family before. Story: Imagawa Yoshimoto personally gave the horse seal to Yu Qiupei. And every storyteller will always remember that Master Sasaki Masaji died at his hands. This is undoubtedly true over and over again. Uncovering the scars in Sasaki Masaru's heart.
Ever since Akihei Ame's general's banner appeared, Sasaki Narimasa has been in an extremely excited state, staring intently at the young man wearing a red leaf shawl. He asked for battle again and again, but was defeated by Sakuma Nobumori with Asahina Taehiro Kazase. Mingji Shun's troops were nearby, and there was a risk of being flanked, so he refused. Other retainers of the Sakuma family also tried to dissuade Sasaki Narimasa from focusing on the overall situation, and Zenshoji Village could not afford to lose anything. If Zenshoji Village Lost, even after the reinforcements of the Imagawa Army retreat, the Okabe Motobubu of Narumi Castle will occupy Zenshoji Village, and they will compete with Narumi Castle, and the blockade of Narumi Castle will be in vain. Narumi Castle The Nakashima Village, Jiujin Village and Marugane Village to the south will also lose contact. It is the Sakuma family's task to guard the Zensho Temple Village. If the Zensho Temple Village falls, the Black Mothers will not have to bear any responsibility, but the Sakuma family will. He must be held accountable. The retainers still understand these principles.
However, the young brothers of the Black Mother's Clothes who are close to Sasana Masaru, led by Hachiya Yorita, are clamoring to attack Amakihei. Although the Black Mother's Clothes are not large in number, they are all samurai, Oda Nobunaga Sakuma Nobumori was shaken by their strong demands. They were both local wealthy families in Owari, and the relationship between the two families had always been good. He had also been heartbroken over the death of Masaji Sasaki.
Especially when Sena Ujitoshi's reserve force slowly passed through Tokiwa Bei's rear, the call for a battle became even louder. There were 200 soldiers and 46 cavalry in the city. Sasana Narimasa believed that the 200 soldiers themselves could fight with Yu Qiuping was evenly matched. Forty-six cavalrymen could even overwhelm an Ashigaru army formation of several hundred people during a field battle on the plains.
"But your highness, look at those spearmen and the square formation, they are very neat!" Several retainers were still trying to persuade Sakuma Nobumori. Everyone in Yanzhai had long noticed that Yu Qiuping's Tokiwa Prei was unusual. Wherever they stood, spears were pointing straight into the air, like a dense forest. Neither the spears nor the ashigaru made the slightest movement, standing there uniformly. Moreover, their armor seemed to be very sophisticated, and they were all Nice equipment - this is equipment that only a samurai of the Sakuma family or an ashigaru head can afford.
"It's not good to let the cavalry hit the pikemen head-on." His younger brother Sakuma Nobushige advised.
"Shut your mouth!" Hazuya Yorotaka scolded, "If the banner team of Imagawa Yoshimoto is on the opposite side, we will still be afraid of three points. What skills can a newly promoted spearman from a small wealthy family have? We still won't let him go. We will collapse as soon as we rush!"
"Yirō, be careful what you say!" Sasana Masa asked, "You still haven't apologized to Sakuma-sama."
"This battle must not be lost. I want to recover my blood debt from that Yu Qiuping!" Sasaki Chengmasa said fiercely, "There will be variables in a head-on charge. We don't know what the level of that kid's red leaf soldiers is."
"It's better to ask Mr. Sakuma to send troops and contain them head-on." Sasaki Narimasa gestured at Yu Qiuping's military formation from a distance, "Their formation is not long and can easily be detoured. Our black female soldiers took advantage of him When the troops are stuck by you, quickly attack them from the two wings where they have not dug trenches, and hit their flanks. Once those spears are caught in the melee, they are like fish on the sword, without any resistance. We will use the momentum to defeat them in one fell swoop! "
"Cavalry attacks the side of infantry!" Sakuma Nobumori laughed, "This is the most practical method of warfare! It's up to you to attack!"
"Brother, you..." Sakuma Nobushige wanted to persuade him again, but Sakuma Nobumori waved his hand, indicating that he didn't need to persuade him anymore.
"This battle is a sure win. Even if I only have 200 soldiers, I can still defeat them." Sakuma Nobumori disdainfully walked down the observation deck and gathered the troops in the camp. The black women's clothing also gathered on both sides of the village gate.
At this time, outside the village gate, Yu Qiuping's auxiliary soldiers had already dug a half-man-high trench on a position more than 30 meters wide in front of the army, and the dug soil was used to build a simple low wall.
At two o'clock in the morning, the Sakuma family and the Black Mothers in Yanzhai finally finished donning their armor and lined up. 400 auxiliary soldiers were left to hold on in Yanzhai. As the drums sounded in Yanzhai, the south gate of Yanzhai was slowly opened. After opening the door, 200 Sakuma family warriors left the narrow Yanzhai gate in a marching column. They formed four rows, with 50 people in each row. Different from Yu Qiuping's deployment, they placed the archers in the last row. , at first glance, it was a formation for a direct assault. Their formation was much looser than that of Tokiwa Bei. As soon as they started taking action, the ashigaru in the first row began to look a little uneven. Those who were walking faster were already Gradually lead and walk a few steps slower.
"Did the Oda family actually attack?" Yu Qiupei was shocked and hurriedly sent messengers to inform Sena Shitoshi and ask for support. "Send the order to the archery team and start shooting!" Yu Qiupei shouted loudly. Due to the size of Yu Qiupei's army, They were still very young and were not equipped with other flags. Communication basically relied on shouting or ordering soldiers. As Yu Qiuping gave the order, several auxiliary soldiers behind him also started beating drums to cheer.
The distance of 100 meters passed in an instant. After the archery team drew their bows and completed the first horizontal shot, the reserve team of the Sakuma family had already approached the position 50 meters outside the trench. Following several shouts from the samurai in the front row, the ashigaru people started to rush. He charged forward with a long gun and shouting. After the first round of flat shots caused nearly ten casualties, Charlie commanded the archery team to quickly retreat from the gaps in the phalanx to the rear of the team, and used projectiles to attack the troops behind the Sakuma family. Cover friendly forces.
As the Sakuma Army's charge came closer and closer to their own formation, Yu Qiuping's heart also rose to his throat. And his nervous mood was shared by all the ashigaru on the front line. His throat became a little dry, They were covered in cold sweat. However, no one moved or dared to wipe the sweat on their foreheads. Because the last order was to stand at attention with a gun, the Ashigaru were already used to executing orders conditionally and did not dare to do anything. A small move. Each one of them looked straight at the charging Sakuma Army.
However, that trench was like a dividing line. On both sides of the dividing line, there were two completely different armies. The Sakuma Army on the north side of the trench bared their teeth and claws, shouting and cheering themselves up. They took steps, and after a few Under the leadership of the samurai, they rushed towards the trench. The bravest ones had already rushed to the edge of the trench, but there were still many people left behind. Such a loose formation was actually the norm for the Japanese army.
To the south of the trench, there was the silent Tokiwa Bei. They pointed their spears straight into the sky one by one, seemingly turning a blind eye to the enemy in front of them. The motionless red leaves in the forest made people awe-inspiring, and the equipment on their bodies reflected the dazzling cold light.
The neat phalanx and forest of spears, as neat as a knife cutting tofu, brought an invisible deterrent. Faced with the approaching Sakuma army, Tokiwabei's Ashigaru did not make any reaction. The Ashugaru's spears were like no wind
The forest seemed motionless, responding to Sakuma Jun's wild shouts with silence.
Finally, after Sakuma's army had rushed to the edge of the trench and the earthen wall, the three phalanxes of Ashigaru generals, Fukushima Yasunari, Gomaezaki Nakahide, and Yoshioka Katsumasa, took the opportunity to shout in Chinese in a long tone at the same time.
Said: "Prepare——"
Following the officer's order, all the Jobanbi Ashgaru robots changed their movements in a general manner. The first row of ashigaru knelt on one knee and straightened their spears diagonally forward. The second row of ashigaru leveled their spears and raised their spears from in front of them.
The ashigaru stretched out his shoulders, took a step forward, and was ready to thrust. The third row of ashigaru and the fourth row of ashigaru tilted their spears slightly forward, staring at the battle line ahead.
The movements of the entire square were completed in an instant, in one go, neatly and uniformly, almost as if they were completed by one person. This preparatory movement has been practiced countless times by Tokiwa Bei on the training ground. Whenever he is half a beat late or does the wrong movement
All the people were served with merciless push-ups. Their perfect coordination and movements came from the daily hard training. The forest of spears that were originally pointing directly at the sky suddenly became like beasts with fangs spread, ready to attack.
The nearly ten Sakuma Ashigaru who were crossing the earth walls and trenches, preparing to thrust out their spears, and the dozens of Ashigaru and samurai who were following them, all froze in disbelief when they saw the scene in front of them.
They stared blankly at the countless neat spears in front of them. For a moment, they all forgot to shout wildly, and just looked at Tokiwabei's movements with some disbelief. The battlefield suddenly became quiet. There was only a gap between the two armies.
Through a thin gap, countless heavy breathing sounds could be clearly heard, and large pools of sweat flowed down the cheeks.
"Is this really the army of a small wealthy family? It can't be the banner team of Imagawa Yoshimoto!" Seeing such uniform movements and momentum, Sakuma Nobumori, who followed the team forward, suddenly flashed in his mind.
idea.
What broke this short-term tranquility was the command shouted out by various Ashigaru heads and generals: "Thrust!"
Following the order given by the officers of Jobanbei, the ashigaru of Jobanbei acted as they had trained in the past. The 60 spears in the first two rows stretched out quickly like poisonous snakes spitting messages, and deeply pierced the ten sakus in the front.
The ashigaru who were shot several times could not even utter a death cry and fell down in the ditch.
Almost at the same time, Tokiwabei's ashigaru twisted the barrels of their guns at the same time as taught by the master of the Asahina family, and the sound of broken bones and internal organs was heard on the battlefield. Then, they neatly drew out their spears, put them away and stood ready, and resumed
The posture just now was as if the blood spraying high in front of him had nothing to do with him.