Prime Minister Bizen

Since the introduction of gunpowder and iron cannons to Japan, this kind of weapon that does not require much time to train but has extremely high armor-piercing power has become a weapon commonly equipped by daimyo.

The current iron cannon is like the crossbow that appeared in Western Europe back then, which aroused the horror of the knights who only had mail armor. As a last resort, the Holy See directly issued a metaphorical order to prohibit the use of this weapon.

After all, an iron cannon ashigaru who has been trained for a month can take the life of an elite samurai who has been trained in samurai warfare since childhood and has been fighting on the battlefield for more than ten years with a single iron cannon. Either way the deal is worth it.

But even though iron cannons have been developed here for many years, it is still rare for the two sides to directly use iron cannons as the main weapon to shoot each other today.

This led to a war situation that had never been seen before, that is, the iron cannons were fired on the battlefield, and the gunpowder smoke filled the sky, affecting the view of the Xiu family.

Even though the Xiu family had temporarily ordered people to demolish the village house and build a wooden scull to look to the west, the gunpowder smoke in the sky still seriously affected the Xiu family's understanding of the frontal occupation.

Also under such circumstances, the Xiu family had no choice but to send someone to notify the adopted sons Yu Xiduotai and Yu Xiduoqi who were arrayed behind the left wing, and ordered their Jurchen rangers to send 100 cavalry each to the left and right wings of the battlefield. Roaming around to investigate the situation and report the military situation back and forth.

It was also under such circumstances that Yuxi Duotai, who was in charge of the left-wing investigation, came to report that "the river on the south side is a few miles south, and there are enemy troops arrayed to the east along the coast, with no less than thousands of troops. .”

Of course, these Jurchens can't speak Japanese, and the information needs to be translated by the attendants who know the Jurchen language.

The Xiu family was not surprised when they heard the news. After all, the Xiu family placed Masatoshi Suga on the front with an army of 5/6 thousand people, not because the Xiu family did not want to spread out more troops, but because the width of the battlefield was limited. reason.

Of course, the reason why the Xiu family chose to fight here is also because they value this point, knowing that the battlefield space north of Inagawa and south of Yelichuan is so large, and only so many people can be spread out.

In fact, these two rivers are not deep rivers, and even the Asahina River is not difficult to cross.

Even though it is now autumn and it has rained a few days ago, the deepest part of these three rivers is no more than people's knees. There are many places in the three rivers where the river channels are wide and the water is flat and can be crossed.

Even the Hide family who stayed here for a few days and chose the battlefield knew about these, but wouldn't the native of Junyuan San, Sakakibara Yasumasa, not know?

He certainly wouldn't ignore his superiority in frontal strength and play some kind of frontal attack with Suga Masari.If this is the case, the Xiu family thinks highly of him.

So Xiujia had expected that the Tokugawa army would come from the south bank of Inagawa to open up the third battlefield.Whether it is to attack Suga Masari's waist from the south, or continue eastward to cross the river near the mouth of the Asahina River, there is a lot to do.

Even at the mouth of the Asahina River, which flows through three rivers, because the river is very wide, the water potential is only around the waist, abdomen and chest, and the physique of a Japanese is only about 1.2m.

Of course, during the midsummer rainy season, the water in the three rivers soared, and it was impossible for these rivers to cross the river without a boat.

In order to guard against Sakakibara Komasa's move, it was also to inflate Suga Masatoshi's flanks, which was why Hideka placed the heavy armored soldiers and Jurchen rangers behind him.

Now that Sakakibara Komasa really sent people to act as Hideka expected, it made Hideka feel at ease, at least everything is going according to Hideka's previous plan.

After a little thought, Xiujia ordered to the attendants beside him, "Let the envoy return to the main formation on horseback, and tell Taro Bingwei (Ukido Tai) to lead people across the river to delay the enemy's advance."

At the end, I still did not forget to warn: "Don't enter within 50 steps at will, even if you don't enter, you should quickly withdraw after riding and shooting."

There was a reason for the Xiu family to issue such an order. Among the 1200 Jurchen Rangers, only a few generals such as Yuxi Duotai wore iron armor, and most of them were leather armor made of Ezo animal skin.

This is because Xiujia said that rangers should come and go like the wind, maneuver quickly, and should not focus on heavy armor. Of course, it also means that Xiujia is on guard against Jurchen soldiers.

Even the iron armor worn by generals such as Yuxi Duotai has the same style as the standing army generals, but the prestige ropes used are all white. Of course, the method of weaving the armor is the same for the Fengchun Army. complicated.

After all, the Iyo production is generally made of Iyozha's sewn extension; the Kanto production is the predecessor of the Tongchuan style, and the rivets are used instead of the Weisheng Ling seam; The one that is used the most is the upper body.

(Date Masamune's black lacquer five-piece carcass is the top carcass that replaced the Nanban carcass breastplate)

With the prestige of the Xiu family in Ezo, if you order the Jurchen rangers to charge, they will really charge, but it has not yet come to this time.

Including why the Xiu family wanted to lure the Tokugawa Army out of Junfu Castle, it was the idea of ​​preserving their strength.

Xiujia's order to Yuxi Jiatai was more because he was afraid that this 16-year-old boy would behave irrationally, so he added this order.

As the military order was passed to the left-wing Jurchen cavalry department, Yuxi Yatai, who had been idle for a long time, took the last bite of the fragrant pear in his hand, put it on the ground, and shouted to the left and right, "Let's go fishing and hunting!"

The female cavaliers following him followed her battalion, reined in their horses, and left the main body of the army formation to cross the river to the south.

The entire Jurchen cavalry department numbered only 600, most of whom wore iron-leather helmets and carved leather armor, carried a long bow on their backs, and a short bow on their horses. There are 5 bags of 2 long arrows and 50 short arrows in 3 bags.

Although the cavalrymen had so many long-range weapons on their bodies, there was a light sharp knife with a gauntlet fixed on the horse on the left, and the middle part of the knife was bent upwards. imitated.

Speaking of a sword, it is more like a scimitar by the standards of the Orientals. This is because most of the western standard cavalry sabers are improved from the Indian Tawa scimitar. A light weapon that can be stabbed by a horse to take a person's head and can be chopped on the horse is indeed the most suitable for light cavalry.

It's just interesting that among the 500 Jurchen cavalry, more than 100 of them were dressed in Japanese style and carried long bows on their backs, but immediately lost the short bow and short quiver, and replaced it with a pair of horses. Guns, of course sabers are also available.

These are Japanese samurai and Japanese Ainu conscripted from Ezo. They came after learning Jurchen cavalry and cavalry. Among the Jurchen cavalry, they either formed an independent army (a hundred households), or inserted into each squad In charge of controlling the Jurchens.At the same time, it can also play a role in monitoring the Jurchen cavalry.

(100 rangers were transferred to serve as sentinel riders)
The 500 cavalry came out quickly, and the horses crossing the river with Inagawa on the south side were a little slow, and then quickly formed on the south bank and rushed westward.

The reason why 500 people were sent out instead of 1000 people was because Xiujia wanted them to ride and shoot to delay the march of the Tokugawa army over there.Japan's land is so big, how much space is needed for 1000 rangers to spread out.

Don't think that there will not be enough space for the rangers to display, and the speed of the cavalry will not increase. Instead, they will be picked off by the Tokugawa shooters and iron gunners.

Looking at the direction in which his cousin (Yuxiduoqi, formerly known as Zasaktu, the third son of Shuerhaqi) was going away, Yuxiduoqi clenched his fists, turned his head and said to the attendant who came to deliver the order, "Please trouble me, please help me!" I sent a message to my father, saying that Erlang Bingwei also wanted to go to battle and kill the enemy to make meritorious service for his father."

The envoy nodded but said, "Your Majesty has seen the loyalty of the major general, but I was only ordered to deliver an order, so I can only help His Highness pass this request on to my superior. As for how the superior will describe it to the lord, how will the lord give the order?" I cannot reply below."

Yuxi Duoqi nodded and said, "I understand, please trouble the messenger."

The centipede envoy had not dismounted when he came to pass the order, so he reined in the horse and turned instead.But after a while, another centipede envoy came to convey the Xiu family's military order, "I have received Erlang's heart, but the current situation is unclear, so please continue to wait."

Yuxi Duoqi failed to get the military order, and was immediately discouraged.However, several muffled thunders sounded behind his cavalry formation, which made him tremble in fright, and also frightened the mounts they boasted.

This was the firing of 24 small gold cannons under the Xiu family's command. The reason there were only a few shots was because some of the cannons fired in unison and the sound overlapped.

It was also because of the overlapping of the voices that the momentum became even louder, so that the nearby Banner Horse Team also had a shocking incident.Fortunately, the horse-riding warriors who could be selected into the Banner Congregation were all skilled horse archers, and they managed to control the horses after only a little confusion.

But speaking of the frontal battlefield, Sakakihara Yasumasa faced the enemy with a fish-scale formation, while Suga Masari resisted with a wild goose formation.It's just that the Shinano soldiers of the Sakai family's sub-command on the front line failed to break through the first-hand army formation, which made the fish-scale formation look like a fish tail after the left and right wings of the Tokugawa army pressed up. It was squeezed into a line.

This is the situation Sakakibara Komasa is least willing to see. The battlefield here is not wide enough. If the front line fails to break through the enemy, it will become a tactic to add fuel. Right now, the key to breaking the formation can only be pinned on Okabe, who is on the right wing. Changsheng and Sakai Shigechu.

In fact, there is another elite in his hand that is useless, and that is the red reserve team that took over from Naomasa Ii.It's just that Takeda Ichibei was lost in the Owari Mikawa before. Although this red team is formed now, how many people have experienced the glory of the past?
It is also because of the Kai Hankokubun and Takeda Hidenobu that the Tokugawa family's trust in the Kai samurai has decreased. This Chibei is mostly composed of Shinano and Suruga (Anayama Chibei) people.

Although the number of the Akabi team is quite large, there are as many as 2500 people. Yasumasa Sakakibara asked himself that he could not do what Naomasa Ii did, using Akabi as the vanguard to charge into the battle.He is a general who focuses on stability, and likes to invest in elites to make a final decision when fighters appear.

But the current situation made him a little aggrieved. He clearly had an absolute advantage in military strength, but he couldn't use it due to the terrain.Even if it is thrown in, it will only become a consumable like the previous cannon fodder.

But he said that when he was still thinking about how to break the formation, there were several loud noises from the opposite side, and then it seemed that a missile was thrown from the sky, and finally fell into the Tokugawa army formation directly in front of him.Due to the tight arrangement of the Tokugawa army formation, although there is no dust splash like in the game, there must be red and white things accompanied by wailing sounds.

At this time, the stone bomb did not explode or have a shock wave. The stone bomb fell on the ground, and without giving people a chance to react, it directly opened a straight line of space and took the lives of 3~5 people along the way. Several soldiers were injured.

The 6-pound guns are not very lethal, and Xiujia brought them mainly because they only need 2 horses to achieve fast maneuvering.

But the psychological impact on the person being attacked is huge. After all, the comrades who were lined up beside him just now had a loud noise, and he was splashed all over by his blood and brain whites.Turning his head and looking to the side, unexpectedly several people in a row lost their lives, some lost their heads, some had their bodies emptied out after being shot, and some had their legs broken and fell on top of others, howling.

Seeing Kansuke, a fellow villager who was whispering to him just now, fell to his side weakly, and Masakura, who had already been splashed all over his body, looked at the headless corpse with great fear, and naturally wanted to Hide aside.

But there are military formations on the left and right, and there is nowhere to hide for the crowded people. Even if they do hide, they will overwhelm others, causing a chain reaction and falling down.

They were all hundreds of steps behind the battle zone, and they were nervously waiting for the battle ahead, so they didn't know that the Xiu family had already invested in the big iron cannon.

So when they saw a weapon that could shoot so far hit their side, and the weapon's lethality was so terrifying, they immediately felt fear in their hearts.

It's not as scary as the thunderous cannons in the history of Guanyuan. After all, the roar of the iron cannons on both sides of the frontal battlefield is not small, and the sound of the iron cannons has drowned out the roar of the cannons just now.

What really affected them psychologically was that such a long killing distance and such a large killing power were weapons that these country folks from Yuanjiang had never known.

The people behind have the worries of the people behind, and the people in the front have the fear of the people in the front.

As the first team, the Sakai family was helpless now. They should have been fighting for more than ten minutes, but they failed to shake the hundred-man army in front of them.

On the contrary, it was my own side that was shot lightly by those "respectively high" iron cannons on the opposite side, and soldiers were constantly shot and fell to the ground.

In particular, Xiujia invested in a larger caliber iron cannon, which was a sharp weapon that had never been seen in the history of the Japanese Warring States Period.Although this kind of iron cannon is reloaded extremely slowly, the killing effect produced is far greater than that of ordinary iron cannons.

This not only refers to physics, but for those Tokugawa soldiers who have become accustomed to the killing of ordinary iron cannons, this kind of iron cannon that not only kills people, but also directly mutilates their bodies causes greater psychological pressure on them.

After all, Japan is deeply influenced by the culture of the Central Plains, and there will be a whole body after death.The iron cannon hits a small hole in a person's body, and the person as a whole is not hindered.But this big iron cannon is so big on a human body that it lacks arms and legs.

Although he ordered the archers and iron rakes to shoot at him from behind the army formation, but they didn't have a small bench, and there were colleagues blocking them in front of them. The iron gunners could only shake their heads and sigh helplessly. Only the archers could bend their bows and shoot obliquely to cause some impact. .

It's not that he didn't think about using the gap of tens of meters between the two battalions of the Fengchun Army to send people to rush in, but the gap here is the gap between the enemy's big iron cannons, and if he wants to rush in from here, he must first go through the enemy. The big iron cannons shoot continuously in 5 stages.

Due to the narrow gap, Xiujia's 500 iron cannons lined up a more slender formation.Although the shooting width has been reduced, after the shooting is completed, the soldiers in the front row squat down and continue shooting in the back row. After the number of rows increases, the shooting frequency is greatly increased.

A Tokugawa soldier who couldn't stand the pressure rushed in through this gap before, and was immediately beaten into a corpse with missing parts by the iron cannons in front. The pikemen were so hungry and thirsty, they naturally inserted their pikes at an angle, and stabbed the person who entered the gap to a chill.

Looking at the hundreds of corpses that fell in this gap is the best proof. No matter how you look at this gap, it looks like a dead end deliberately released by the Fengchun army on the opposite side.

After paving the road with corpses, no one is willing to go through this gap, but the Fengchun army's big iron cannon on the opposite side especially does not spare them. The range of this big iron cannon is extremely long, and it can shoot 150 steps. The range is over 250 steps.

Even the last faction can still cause damage to the Tokugawa army more than a hundred paces away. Under the not-so-short design, the Tokugawa army in front of this gap kept being shot and fell to the ground. You can't go left or right, you can only be called and taken away by the second wave of big iron cannon shooters.

Due to insufficient width, a round of design is only 8~10 rounds.But unexpectedly, on this battlefield where tens of thousands of people were fighting, a [-]-meter-long gap was emptied in the Tokugawa army formation.It turned out that none of the Tokugawa soldiers dared to line up again and deliberately vacated the gap before the big iron cannon on the opposite side.