Prime Minister Bizen

Chapter 146 The decisive battle of Nobuo ([-]) (Ikeda's death) (big chapter)

For Ikeda Hengxing, the time when his eldest son Motosuke died in battle was the darkest moment in his life.

The eldest son, Motosuke, was born in the 2nd year of Yongrok (1559), and he grew up with the rise of the Oda family. During this process, heroes such as Hengxing and Nobunaga gave him a lot of help.

It can even be said that Ikeda Motosuke himself is the incarnation of a part of the Oda family, and he already possesses the essence that a family governor should have.

In the process of cultivating heirs of daimyo during the Warring States Period in Japan, the eldest son is often the one who puts the most effort into educating. He often begins to teach him how to become a person in power and how to manipulate this thing called "power" from an early age. game.

As for the second son and other children, their purpose of existence is to assist the elder brother, continue and strengthen the family. The teaching between the two has commonalities, but there are also differences.

This is also the reason why Changzong's family lost their son in old age, and their mood changed drastically, becoming self-defeating and ignoring state affairs. For him, the future of Changzong's family has begun to become gloomy.

This is why Takeda Shingen did not directly register Katsuyori as the heir after the death of his eldest son Xinyi, but chose Katsuyori's son to be retrained as the new Takeda family governor, and Katsuyori was seen as an afterthought.

From the many examples above, it can be seen that a mature and stable eldest son has an important letter to a daimyo family in the Warring States Period. It is no wonder that Ikeda Hengxing became extremely emotional after seeing his son buried in the sea of ​​fire with his own eyes. cause for excitement.

In his eyes, Yuansuke is the future.

Now that the battle in Xiaoguchi Castle is heating up, he is only 100 steps away from avenging his son with his own hands. How can he not be excited? For Ikeda Hengxing at this moment, killing Oda Nobuo's head is to complete the attack on himself redemption.

Hengxing Ikeda focused all his attention on Nobuo Oda in front of him. He was so emotional and hysterical that he wanted to tear Oda Nobuo into pieces. He didn't notice the flustered troops behind him until he was killed by his second son Teruma. wake.

"Father, we were attacked by the Tokugawa army behind us." Ikeda Teruma called his father, who was a little bit insane, and pointed his finger at the rear of the army.

Ikeda Hengxing followed Huizheng's gestures and looked to the rear, and there was indeed a group of troops with Genji's chariot flags planted behind them, and they were anxiously fighting with their own rear.

Farther behind, where the sun sets, there are still tens of thousands of people rushing towards this side. Don't think too much, it must be the enemy's reinforcements.

The moment Ikeda Hengxing was thinking, a samurai covered in blood was brought in front of him. Ikeda Hengxing knew this person, and it was the old wife of the Mori family, Mu Laizhong.

As soon as Tomaki Yorichu saw Ikeda Hengxing, he pulled his horse and cried, "It's too miserable, it's really too miserable, Settsu Mori wants to avenge my lord!"

revenge?What revenge?Ikeda Hengxing was a little confused by his words, and asked him, "What happened to Musashi Mamoru? What happened to my son-in-law? Why did the Tokugawa army attack from our rear?"

"The lord died in battle," said Tsunaki Laizhong with a hint of tears, "It's because I was useless, I didn't protect the heirs of the first palace."

"What? Did you see it with your own eyes?"

"I saw it with my own eyes."

"Quickly tell me, what's going on, how did Musashi Shou die in battle?"

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It turned out that after Ikeda Hengxing left, Mori Changke gradually slowed down, and kept gathering the rout soldiers who could not keep up with the marching speed along the way. Because the troops were too messy, and most of the ashigaru were exhausted, they had to go to the The Fuso place is being repaired.

Unexpectedly, this modification directly met the team that came to support Ieyasu Tokugawa.

Tokugawa Ieyasu ordered Kamihara Yasumasa to bypass the Mori Army and continue to move in the direction of Oda Nobuo, and with Ii Naomasa and Watanabe Shouzuna as the banner heads, launched an attack on the Mori Army that was being repaired.

Although Morinagake's scouts discovered the arrival of the Tokugawa army, but because besides his own 3000 people, there were more than 1600 people in the army who were routs gathered along the way, it took Morinagake a lot of time to rush them to the formation Tsuneko Ikeda, who lined up to meet the enemy and was chasing Nobuo Oda, sent an envoy.

However, the organized army in a panic is no match for Tokugawa's elite, especially the new Chibeizhong composed of Shinano samurai under the Ii Naomasa's tent.

In the Battle of Mikatahara, Tokugawa Ieyasu was deeply impressed by Takeda Chibi's powerful combat effectiveness. After occupying Kai Shinano, Tokugawa Ieyasu began to integrate these newly acquired territories under the pressure of Hashiba Hideyoshi.

Although he encountered some ups and downs, he still forced the obedient daimyo to hand in the military service certificate from the Takeda period and the "Koshu Liu Bingfa", the method of Chibei compilation and training.

It has to be denied that the mountain monkeys of Takeda do have more will to fight than the veteran soldiers of Kinai and Nobi, but everyone says that the samurai who have been trained for decades are really not so big in fighting.

We must know that Chibei itself did not break away from the shadow of the early Warring States army. It was still a temporary army organized from various families in accordance with the requirements of military service during the war, and it was not a full-time professional soldier.

Chibei has not undergone completely independent integrated training, and the combat effectiveness of its troops is mainly concentrated on its personal fighting will and the prestige of the general.

The reason why Chibei is really frightening is the psychological pressure given by the color. Pieces of red will give people great psychological pressure and create a sense of fear. In terms of game data, it is a buff to the enemy's morale -10.

The miscellaneous army, which was already demoralized due to exhaustion, was the first to collapse from the battle formation, and now it has lost the superior warriors directly under its command because of falling behind, and fled boldly in all directions.

Moricho wants to limit these deserters, but there are too many of them, and he has only 3000 people, and he has to face the menacing Tokugawa army. Moricho, who is afraid of loopholes in the army, has no choice but to let them leave.

However, the action of the friendly army fleeing before joining the battle was tantamount to the biggest blow to the morale of the Mori army. Not long after joining the Tokugawa army, the army was shaken.

Mori Changke tried his best to keep the front line intact, and slowly led people back to Meinong from the north.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, the iron cannons led by Ii Naomasa fired a volley of iron cannons at the Mori army, and the firing projectiles directly hit Morinagako's body, knocking him off the horse.

Morinaga is currently the only spiritual pillar of the Mori Army. With his fall, the Mori Army finally couldn't hold on and collapsed. Sato Kentada took Morinagake's body and retreated to the north in embarrassment. On the other side of the line, Yori Tada Tsukigi had no choice but to approach Hengxing Ikeda for support.

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However, Ikeda Hengxing didn't have time to listen to his wife Yoshitaka's detailed retelling of Morinagaka's situation, but only roughly heard that he was killed by an iron cannon.

Ikeda Hengxing didn't have time to mourn for his son-in-law. At this moment, he was caught in the anti-siege of Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Ikeda Hengxing looked at the situation present, the Tokugawa army had no less than 1 people and killed him in the Yanyue formation, and he was already caught in a two-sided battle.

Ikeda Hengxing's brain was running fast at this moment, thinking about how to deal with this situation. At this moment, the retainer Inoko Taka said to Ikeda Hengxing, "Your Highness, the Inaba Army has retreated."

Looking in the direction of Inoga's finger, it seems that the Inaba Army, which is pinching the Oda Army from the north, is indeed slowly withdrawing from the battlefield. With the retreat of the Inaba Army, the pressure on the Oda Army has been relieved. He began to deal with Hengxing Ikeda with all his strength.

Ikeda Hengxing still hadn't accepted the result of his imminent defeat until now, and he had to fulfill his long-cherished wish to avenge his son just a moment ago, so why is he about to lose now?
"The west is blocked by the Tokugawa army, and the army of Oda servants is in the east. Should we retreat to Mino from the north with the Inaba army?" Seeing that his father had not made a decision for a long time, the second son Teruma Ikeda asked his father tentatively. asked.

Seeing that there was still no reply from his father, Teruma Ikeda ordered the retainers instead of his father, and the whole army retreated while fighting, and retreated in the direction of Mino in the north.

"No, we can't retreat to the north. The whole army turned to the south. After joining the Hashiba army, we retreated in the direction of Qingzhou!" Ikeda Teruma had just ordered, but his father stopped him.

"Father, why is this? The south is the enemy's hinterland, and we are in the opposite direction." Ikeda Huimasa asked with some doubts.

"We don't have pontoon bridges, and no ferry boats. How can we cross the fast-moving Kiso River? I'm afraid we won't be able to escape the end of destruction. At this moment, we can only fight our way to the south. Kansuke, the task of the queen is entrusted to you."

After Ikeda Hengxing handed over the task of the rear to Inoko Takajo, he began to take Ikeda Teruma and his mother's clothes to the south.Following the changes in Ikeda Hengxing's horse seal, the Ikeda army began to attempt to leave the battlefield from the south.

Oda Nobuo, who was a little bit afraid of Ikeda Hengxing's attack just now, saw that Tokugawa Ieyasu's reinforcements were imminent, and after Ikeda Hengxing retreated, he shouted excitedly, "Where is Settsushou going? Didn't you just want to take the head of the next one? How did you run away?"

Oda Nobuo is indeed slightly lacking in some abilities. After all, Nobunaga rushed to train him as a family governor, but Nobunaga did give him some good retainers.

Oda Nobuo didn't need to order, the Oda Army who had just been suppressed by the Ikeda Army, under the command of their own samurai, entangled the Ikeda soldiers who were trying to escape from the battle.

General Owari Nagasaki Motoya led his 150 troops and killed more than a dozen Ikeda army heads along the way. He picked these heads on bamboo spears to show his bravery.

But when Oda Nobuo tried to continue the pursuit, Kanbara Yasumasa stopped Oda Nobuo and said to him, "My lord asked His Royal Highness to divide part of the army and go with me to pursue the Inaba Ichitetsu Army who fled north."

Oda Nobuo was stunned when he heard Ieyasu's order, "Why did Ieyasu Tokugawa order me? I will take off Ikeda Hengxing's head to commemorate my father's spirit in heaven, and order the whole army to go south to attack the Ikeda army!"

Oda Nobuo's actions were beyond Kamihara Yasumasa's expectations. In desperation, he had no choice but to go after Inaba Kazutetsu first, and send someone to report to Tokugawa Ieyasu.

As for the fact that Oda Nobuo said that he wanted to kill Ikeda Hengxing to comfort Nobunaga's spirit, it was because of his paranoid belief that Ikeda Hengxing, as Nobunaga's breast brother, not only did not fight with him against the rebellious Hashiba Hideyoshi , And turned around to attack himself, but he forgot the great kindness of his father Nobunaga, he is an ungrateful person, he wants to kill his head to get justice for his father.

Ikeda Hengxing initially tried to join the Hashiba army on the south side and retreat after fighting. Unexpectedly, because the division was too large, only Kato Koyasu joined him. The total number of the entire army was 6000, and retreated towards the south.

As for the remaining Hashiba army, under the leadership of Hineno Hiroyuki, Araki Utsuna and others, they retreated to the mountains in the east.

Ikeda's soldiers, who finally escaped from the encirclement, already understood the outcome of the battle in their hearts.The moment they left the battlefield, many people took advantage of the night as deserters and fled to the surrounding areas. When Ikeda Hengxing retreated to Letian, there were only 1800 soldiers left in the army.

Ikeda Hengxing hadn't entered the water since the afternoon, and Ikeda Hengxing, who managed to get rid of the pursuers in the dark, was extremely exhausted at the moment. Seeing the fire not far ahead, he sent someone to ask where it was.

In old Japan, lighting tools at night were very scarce, and the place where the fire could be lit at night was not the castle of the great lord, but it must be a famous local Buddhist temple.

Sure enough, the subordinates reported that the one in front was the Dongquan Temple in Letian.

Ikeda Hengxing said to his son Huizheng, "It's getting late and the soldiers are exhausted. Go to the gate of the temple and ask if you can provide some rice water for us to rest here for a while."

The abbot of Dongquan Temple was a little scared when he saw so many troops surrounding the temple. Later, he heard that he just came to beg for some rice water. People went to inform their lord Oda Nobuo.

Holding the red bean rice ball that symbolizes the blessing of victory, Ikeda Hengxing sneered and said, "The battle is so far, what face do I have to see the monkey, 2 troops were wiped out by me, and even my son-in-law died because of it, hate me Such failure was caused by disobedience to Musashi Mamoru's words!"

Ikeda Huizheng tried to comfort his father, but saw a little bit of fire light appearing in the distance and gradually converging into a fire dragon.

At the same time, the temple door, which had been open just now, closed with a bang, and the sound of the bolt being inserted behind it could be heard.

Seeing this situation, Ikeda Teruma said excitedly, "It must be the letter that the thief, the bald donkey, went to report secretly. See if I don't burn this ruined temple."

"Stop, Sansaemon" Ikeda Hengxing stood up, yelled at the second son who was about to act, saw the torch in the distance, looked up at the crescent moon hanging in the sky, sighed and said, "Motosuke, come for the father with you."

Then he handed his beloved sword "Xiaoxue" to his son Huizheng, and said to him, "Now you are the oldest in the family, you have to fulfill the responsibility of an older brother and support this family!"

"Father, you?" Ikeda Teruma was a little confused, but still said to his mother-in-law leader Nakatani Yoshiyuki, "You must bring the young master back to Quan Da Na Yan's formation properly."

"My lord, you?" Nakatani Yoshiyuki asked a little at a loss, "We will definitely protect the lord and return to Mino."

"I'm already tired, and I'm saying that their goal is me. If I run with you, I'm afraid no one will be able to escape in the end. You have to take Sansaemon back to support this family!"

Then he said to the Banners below who were waiting for him to issue orders, "The battle has come to this point, and I can't recover. I am very grateful that you can accompany me here. Let's run for our lives now~"

Everyone who received Ikeda Hengxing's order was amnesty. Although there were still some loyal samurai who wanted to stay and fight, most of the ashigaru fled and fled for their lives. At this moment, there are only more than 200 mothers and 100 others left. Yu people.

For the purpose of preserving the core strength for his son, Hengxing Ikeda forcibly ordered most of the mother-in-law crowd to protect Teruma Ikeda to withdraw under the leadership of Yoshiyuki Nakatani, leaving only more than 50 warriors who refused to leave and even threatened to die. .

Ikeda Hengxing looked at these 50 different faces, including old and young, with a lot of emotion.In particular, I saw a samurai who was in the same grade as my son, with a very strong figure, and he looked like he was born in the mountains. (Japanese mountain people will secretly eat meat)
But from the looks of it, he was not a member of the mother's clothing group, so he stepped forward and said to him.

"Inosuke, why didn't you follow them back? What about your brother and mother if you stay here?"

"When my father was alive, he always told me to be loyal to the lord. After my father died, the lord took care of our mother and the three of us. Now that the lord is in trouble, how can I abandon the lord? My younger brother is already 14 years old. He will die soon. I am not worried about being able to serve the young master as an adult."

When Ikeda Hengxing heard this, his eyes were wet with tears, he patted his feet and said, "Just follow me later and hold the flag of the Ikeda family for me."

"It's the lord" It is a great honor for a samurai to be able to hold the flag for the lord. The samurai called Inosuke was just one of the many Ikeda samurai before. Absolutely die without regret.

Not long after, a large group of Tokugawa troops surrounded Dongquan Temple, led by Ii Naomasa and Sakai Chuji, who had captured the head of Morinagake before, but now Weng and his son-in-law were killed by him at the same time.

The samurai on Ikeda's side confronted the Tokugawa army with guns and knives drawn, forming a circle to protect their lord sitting on the steps.

Naomasa Ii wanted to persuade Ikeda Hengxing to surrender, so he just ordered the army to press on step by step, and did not launch an attack immediately.

Facing the pressing force of the Tokugawa army, the 20 warriors standing on the outermost edge turned their heads to Ikeda Hengxing and said, "My lord, I will wait for my lord to go to Huangquan Biliangpo to find the way first." After speaking, they resolutely rushed towards the surrounding Sergeant Tokugawa.

The mother clothes were originally composed of elite warriors in the family. They are all good fighters in single combat. Although the number is inferior, the Tokugawa army who killed in a short time could not get close. .

Seeing that the first wave of mothers had died in battle, the 15 members of the second row of mothers also said like Ikeda Hengxing, "Don't worry, my lord, I will go first."

After that came the third wave of 10, and after the fifth wave of 5 people rushed up, the blood of the 50 remaining mothers had all been scattered on the battlefield, but they left nearly 200 dead bodies lying staggered on the flat ground of the temple field .

Looking at the corpses lying on the ground, these are all members of the mother-in-law group who are usually close to him like brothers and nephews. Their faces kept reminiscing in his mind. Ikeda Hengxing left tears of remorse and kept saying murmuring their names.

Seeing that there was only one flag-bearer left beside Hengxing Ikeda, Tadaji Sakai, as a general, immediately stepped forward and persuaded Hengxing Ikeda, "Hashiba has no way, my lord and Oda attendants join forces to fight back, and Settsu Shou is a member of the right government." My vassal, how can I serve the rebels? Fortunately, my lord, Tokugawa Senate Hall, has the virtue of being good at life, and as long as Settsushou surrenders, everything is negotiable."

Hengxing Ikeda had already held the determination to die at this moment, how could he be deceived by these sweet words, looking at Inosuke who was panting heavily because of nervousness behind him, Hengxing Ikeda patted his shoulder and said, "Relax, wait for me Just behind you."

Looking at Ikeda Hengxing's gaze, Inosuke nodded excitedly, forcing himself to settle down.

Because he broke his right foot before, Hengxing Ikeda could only lean on his spear, stand up from the steps, and hopped down the steps step by step, attracting ridicule from countless Tokugawa soldiers.

However, Sakai Chuji and Ii Naomasa, as the chief generals, were shocked by Ikeda Hengxing's actions, admired his determination, and scolded the soldiers behind him who laughed at him.

Ikeda Hengxing found a position, thrust a long spear into the ground, leaned on it, picked up another long spear and made a fighting posture, and the opposite side could attack.

Naomasa Ii, who was deeply moved, decided to see Hengxing Ikeda off in person. He dismounted from his horse, picked up his cross-word gun, and went forward to have a fight with Hengxing Ikeda.

However, Hengxing Ikeda, whose right leg was injured and restricted his movements, was no match for him. After a few feints and changes of moves, he fell to the ground due to an unstable center of gravity, which once again attracted the ridicule of the Tokugawa soldiers.

"Settsu Mamoru surrender, my lord did not intend to kill you, how can you fight now?" Ii Naomasa couldn't bear to see the veteran lose his life here, so he persuaded.

"Boy, what's your name?" Ikeda Hengxing stood up on the spear and asked.

"My name is Imachiyo Naomasa, and I am the Lord of Toe Saku Castle." Ii Naomasa replied
"I remember you, but there are some things you don't understand." After hearing the other party's registration, Ikeda Hengxing smiled, and then said to Inosuke behind him, "You carry me and me, and we will rush up together. Don't be afraid, it will be soon." It's almost over."

Inosuke nodded tremblingly, bent down and carried Ikeda Hengxing on his back, Ikeda Hengxing held the spear tightly in his hand, and Inosuke rushed towards Ii Naomasa with Ikeda Hengxing on his back.

After two rounds of confrontation, Naomasa Ii found an opportunity, pierced Inosuke's throat and Ikeda Hengxing's abdomen with a shot, and the two fell to the ground.

Ikeda Hengxing was pierced in the stomach, and blood gushed out of his throat. With the last strength to support his body, he said inarticulately, "Now, take my head and ask for credit. I only hope that more than 50 of us can be buried together."

After all, I lay down and waited for the last moment. I began to miss my wife and daughter in my heart, and felt that I was not a qualified father or husband.

He also thought of Teruma Ikeda who had escaped, and hoped that he could become a qualified head of the family and support the sky of the Ikeda family.

At this time, Naomasa Ii came over, holding the Taidao used by Jie Mi in his hand, and stood beside Ikeda Hengxing's head.

Looking at this young boy, Ikeda Hengxing seemed to see the figure of his eldest son, and said, "I'm sorry for troubling you."

Following Ii Naomasa's explosion, Ikeda Hengxing's head was cut off. At the last moment, Ikeda Hengxing was still thinking about his eldest son, and said in his heart, "I'm here to accompany you, Motosuke. I'm sorry, father I didn't keep my promise to you."

(End of this chapter)