Emperor Ming's grandson

Chapter 300: Burning Flames
Yoshimasa Sasaki's decision was like a shot in the arm, stabilizing the position of the Muromachi shogunate army.

The move of dividing troops to support the left wing not only stabilized the morale of the army, but also curbed the counterattack of the Southern Dynasty army to a certain extent.

After all, the Southern Dynasty army won the initiative in the local battlefield by relying on the tactic of feigning defeat, which was similar to the "drag sword stratagem". In terms of overall military strength, it was still at a disadvantage.

Moreover, except for the right wing (compared to the left wing of the Muromachi shogunate army), the center and left wings of the Southern Court army were already quite difficult to support at this time. The Southern Court army, which was forced to retreat step by step, had to rely on the buildings outside the temple to carry out defensive operations.

The once peaceful Buddhist land has now been ruthlessly invaded by the cruelty of war. The temple bells are no longer melodious, but are replaced by the harsh sounds of clashing weapons and the painful groans of the foot soldiers.

The clean exterior walls were stained with gunpowder smoke, and the quiet Zen room became a temporary command post and shelter for the wounded.

The outer wall of the temple also became the focus of contention between the two sides.

The archers and foot soldiers of the Muromachi shogunate army began to shoot upwards, and the Southern Dynasty army was not to be outdone. Their arrows poured out like rain, interweaving with the arrows of the Muromachi shogunate army in the air to form a web of death.

The archers on both sides shot at each other, and every collision of arrows was accompanied by the screams and falls of the archers.

However, this was just the prelude to the battle, and the real battle to capture the wall had just begun.

The elite samurai of the Muromachi shogunate army brandished their samurai swords and rushed towards the defense line of the Southern Dynasty army, shouting. They climbed the outer walls of the temple and tried to break the defense of the Southern Dynasty army.

The warriors of the Southern Dynasty army held their ground on the wall, using naginata to meet the enemy's attack. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the warriors were not very fond of using spears or lances. Their favorite long-pole weapons were naginata and nagamaki.

The naginata is actually a Chinese eyebrow-pointed sword with a long handle and a wide blade. From the Nara period to the Heian period, it was a weapon used by monks to guard temples. From the end of the Kamakura period to the Muromachi period, it became the main weapon on the battlefield.

If the historical line had not changed, then it would not be until the Onin War that the naginata was replaced by guns because it was not suitable for intensive combat.

However, because the scale of war in this era is small, and the naginata can be wielded to kill unarmored miscellaneous units in large numbers, similar to the effect of "Musou", it is very popular among samurai.

Even when fighting against a samurai sword, the long-handled naginata can still gain an advantage due to its length, so it has become the mainstream in the battlefield today. If you fight a gun with a single sword, you will die. The same is true for other long-handled weapons.

In games like Sekiro, the Japanese use a large spear that looks quite strange. It has two small branches like the crescent-shaped halberd and is a product of the late Muromachi period to the Warring States period.

In this battle to seize the wall, there is no room for either side to retreat.

The outer wall of the temple became their battlefield, and the warriors on both sides engaged in a bloody hand-to-hand combat on the wall.

Among them, a samurai named Minamoto no Yoshimori was particularly brave. He was agile and had sharp swordsmanship. He killed several soldiers of the Southern Dynasty army along the way and was about to climb to the top of the wall.

The warriors of the Southern Dynasty army held their ground on the wall, using naginata to fight off the enemy's attacks.

The first one to take the lead was Kusunoki Masashiro.

Uh, this “Nanmu Masashige” is not the same as that “Nanmu Masashige”.

The most famous one is Kusunoki Masashige, a famous military commander from the end of the Kamakura shogunate to the Northern and Southern Dynasties. He played an important role in overthrowing the Kamakura shogunate and restoring the imperial power. Kusunoki Masashige was loyal to Emperor Go-Daigo all his life. Later generations in Japan regarded him as a model of loyalty and soldier, and regarded him as a military god. After Masashige's death, he was once designated as a "rebel" by the Northern Court, but he was praised in the works of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, or praised as "a good general with both wisdom, benevolence and courage."

It was because of his admiration for Kusunoki Masashige, and the fact that he was originally from the Kusunoki clan, that he changed his name to this one. If it were put in the Water Margin, it would mean something like "Little Li Guang" or "Big Knife Guan Sheng", a COS famous general.

He was holding a long-handled naginata and standing on the top of the wall in a majestic manner. Seeing that Minamoto no Yoshimori was about to climb up the wall, he shouted loudly and swung the naginata to chop down fiercely.

Seeing this, Minamoto no Yoshimori dodged Kusunoki Masashiro's attack with a flash of his body.

With the samurai sword in his mouth, he took the opportunity to jump up with both hands and stood steadily on the top of the wall.

The two men immediately engaged in a fierce close combat.

Minamoto no Yoshimori's katana and Kusunoki Masashiro's naginata crossed in the air, and every clash was accompanied by sparks flying.

Minamoto no Yoshimori is a veteran swordsman who is good at seizing opportunities in battle. From his decisive judgment and reaction just now, we can know that this person is by no means an ordinary person. He has opened a sword gym in Kyoto before. Among all the kendo masters, his talent is among the best.

The two were not evenly matched in strength. After a brief battle, Kusunoki Masashiro felt that his physical strength was gradually failing, while Minamoto Yoshimori's attack became more and more fierce.
"Ah! Get out of here!" Minamoto no Yoshimori roared angrily and swept his sword heavily on Kusunoki Masashiro's lower abdomen.

Nanmu Zhengcheng groaned, rolled backwards several times, and staggered to the ground.

Minamoto no Yoshimori grinned, wielded the sword in his hand, and prepared to take a step towards Kusunoki Masashige to end the battle.

However, at this moment, he suddenly heard a faint whistling sound coming from his side.

He turned around hurriedly, only to see two Southern Dynasty soldiers appear behind him. They aimed their muskets at him and pulled the trigger.

"Da da!"

The lead bullets came flying with a whistling sound.

In panic, Minamoto no Yoshimori raised his sword to block, but the bullet still penetrated his right arm, and bright red blood dripped down his arm onto the floor tiles of the temple.

At the same time, this scene appeared almost simultaneously in every corner of the battlefield.

Almost all the shogunate troops were stunned by the sudden firearms attack.

Although the Southern Dynasty army was not equipped with a large number of firearms, and the models were all old ones used by the Ming army thirty years ago, on this battlefield, the gap between the two sides was the difference between "having" and "not having".

What I want to point out here is that firearms are prohibited items in the trade between the Ming Dynasty and Japan and are absolutely not allowed to be exported.

It is very intriguing that the Southern Dynasty army was able to equip itself with so many weapons without anyone noticing.

Of course, the Muromachi shogunate was not unaware of firearms.

However, just as the "iron cannon" was only used on a large scale during the Warring States Period, in this era, due to inherent prejudice and a sense of superiority over defeating the Yuan army that used firearms, the Japanese army, especially the Muromachi shogunate army, refused to use firearms.

Because they generally believed that firearms were expensive and not as powerful as bows and arrows.

Is this view correct?

If it were twenty years ago, or even fifteen years ago, there would be no problem.

Because although the Ming army's firearms level had made considerable progress compared to the Yuan army, there had been no qualitative change. Compared to bows and arrows, firearms had no obvious advantages except when dealing with specific targets such as elephant formations.

In other words, its range is not as good as that of a bow and arrow, but it is more lethal against armored vehicles.

Therefore, the lethality of the two is actually comparable.

Considering Japan's own backwardness in firearms manufacturing technology, iron smelting technology and iron ore resources, it is indeed not feasible to mass-produce firearms and equip the army.

Therefore, the Muromachi shogunate army did not consider developing firearms.

Kusunoki Masashige took advantage of this rare opportunity, jumped up from the ground, picked up the naginata that had fallen beside him, and rushed towards Minamoto no Yoshimori.

Minamoto no Yoshimori covered his bleeding wound and moved his feet with difficulty, trying to avoid Kusunoki Masashige's attack.

However, this great swordsman was unable to lift the sword with his right arm because his right arm had been pierced. His left hand, which was not his dominant hand, did not have the strength to parry with the long-handed weapon. Ultimately, he could not escape the call of death and had his head chopped off by Kusunoki Masashiro.

Kusunoki Masashiro wiped the blood off his face and continued to charge forward with his naginata in hand.

The "fire gun foot soldiers" advancing from behind took a look at Minamoto no Yoshimori's body, came to the Southern Dynasty officer and said, "He has been shot dead."

The officer nodded and ordered, "Keep moving forward, and notify all troops to pay attention to the outside of the wall to prevent sneak attacks from the enemy's archers."

"Hi!"

Thanks to the backup of firearms units, the Southern Dynasty army was able to stabilize its position temporarily.

At this time, without the cover of the temple, the unexpected counterattack launched by the right-wing Southern Dynasty army from the dense forest became even more weak.

The reason is very simple, because they are few in number and there are not many people in the temple. Except for the Southern Dynasty army that serves as the reserve, there are only a group of young monks left in the temple who can't help them at all.

The front line along the temple wall was also at a disadvantage after the shogunate army adjusted its formation and reorganized the attack. They were retreating step by step and were about to lose their position.

At this time, more than 600 elite warriors in the temple walked out of the house and joined the battle.

This is the last reserve force in Kitabatake Manya's hands.

Their joining made the situation of the Southern Dynasty army slightly better.

The shogunate troops also felt the pressure and began to request further reinforcements from the rear.

Kusunoki Masashiro wielded the naginata and fought with the opponent. After a fierce battle, he finally defeated the opponent with his bravery, but he was also seriously injured.

The opponent was not giving in easily either. They were extremely powerful. It was already not easy for him to win. If there were more people, he would probably have been killed on the spot.

Kusunoki Masashiro leaned against the wall in the courtyard, breathing heavily.

"Mr. Nanmu? Mr. Nanmu? How are you?" Nanmu Zhengcheng vaguely heard a familiar call coming from not far away.

He forced himself to open his eyes and looked in the direction of the voice, only to discover that the person coming was an acquaintance. Kusunoki Masashiro knew him, and they were from the same hometown. He was the Southern Dynasty officer in charge of commanding the musketeers here. At this time, he led the team back. The musketeers looked quite injured, and some even had arrows stuck in their bodies.

Kusunoki Masashiro shook his head, indicating that he was fine, and looked at the other party. After a moment's hesitation, he asked, "Takekawa, can you still hold the front?"

The Southern Dynasty officer lowered his head and said, "Hmm."

Seeing this, Kusunoki Masashiro couldn't understand. He sighed and muttered to himself: "After all, I still failed to complete my mission. Not only did I harm myself, but I also harmed the civilians of Nara."

The Southern Dynasty officer hesitated for a moment and said, "Mr. Nanmu, you have indeed tried your best."

Kusunoki Masashiro said at this time: "Takekawa-kun, can you do me a favor?"

The officer asked in confusion: "What?"

Kusunoki Masashiro said, "You know my wife and children are all in Nara. They should be safe now, right? If we lose the war, if there is a chance, I hope you can return home as soon as possible and help me send them to my hometown far away from Yoshino to avoid danger."

"Please, please promise me."

At this time, Nanmu Zhengcheng finally let go. The blood on his lower abdomen had dyed his collar dark red.

Obviously, the knife wounds that Minamoto no Yoshimori had inflicted on him before, as well as the wounds that followed, had caused him to lose his breath and he was unable to get up again.

The officer was stunned for a moment, then said seriously: "Okay!"

On the other side, as a member of Ichijoin, the monk Kukai also sadly joined the battle.

He was one of the few monks who truly believed in Buddhism, but at this time, he had no choice but to stop killing with killing.

Kūkai held a heavy iron rod in his hand and shuttled through the swordplay. His strength was quite amazing, so although the iron rod was a blunt weapon, every swing was accompanied by a gust of wind, blocking the enemy's blades one by one.

However, the fire support from the Southern Dynasty army forced him to deal with it. For Kukai, this was an unprecedented threat, a greater threat than arrows. The whistling sound of lead bullets made him very uneasy. He watched the monks around him being knocked down by the fire guns, but he could not get close to the enemy. "We must hold on!" Kukai said silently in his heart. He took a deep breath and smashed the enemy's head.

The air was filled with a strong smell of blood, which mixed with the lingering incense from the temple, creating an indescribable eerie atmosphere.

At this moment, a burst of rapid drum beats rang out, which was the signal for the shogunate army to launch a general attack.

Kong Hai knew that this was the critical moment that would decide victory or defeat, and he had to stand up and open a channel of attack for his comrades.

He roared, and the iron rod swept across like a tornado, repelling the Southern Dynasty soldiers in front of him one by one.

However, just as he was about to leap onto the second wall to open a path for the subsequent charging troops, a stray bullet flew from his left side and hit his left arm.

Severe pain instantly spread throughout his body, Konghai felt his left arm go numb, and then he lost consciousness.

But he did not fall down. With his amazing willpower, he held the iron rod tightly with his right hand, which had been injured before, and continued to fight.

However, having lost the balance of one arm, his movements began to become slow, and his body shook with every swing.

"I can't fall here!" Kong Hai gritted his teeth and insisted, but fate did not seem to favor this brave monk.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Another wave of musket fire, a lead bullet pierced his chest, blood gushed out, staining his monk's robe red.

Finally, Kūkai's body couldn't hold on any longer and he fell to his knees.

He looked at the sky, his heart filled with resentment and regret.

He remembered the oath he made before the Buddha to protect the peace of this land, but now it was going to end in failure.

What’s funny is that the hall where he made the oath was right in front of him, separated by only a wall.

“Buddha, why?” Kūkai murmured, his voice gradually becoming weaker. He felt his life slipping away and everything around him became blurred.

In the end, Kong Hai fell in a pool of blood, and his iron stick rolled to the side with a dull "gulp" sound.

"Brother has passed away"

The surrounding monks desperately tried to retrieve his body.

The battle situation becomes increasingly tense.

The shogunate army attacked Kofuku-ji Temple. Every temple and every Buddha statue witnessed this unprovoked disaster. They silently endured the baptism of war, as if silently telling the endless suffering brought by the war.

However, Yoshimasa Sasaki's advance undoubtedly pushed the Southern Dynasty army into an even more desperate abyss.

The Southern Dynasty army was stuck in a stalemate around the temple complex on the central battlefield, and the fight for every inch of land became extremely fierce.

The left wing of the shogunate army commanded by Akamatsu Yoshinori (the right wing of the Southern Court army) also temporarily reversed the situation, but because of the heavy losses, it was unable to launch a large-scale attack along with the center and right wing.

At the same time, on the other side of the battlefield, the right-wing army led by Hosokawa Mitsurumoto was also fighting a desperate battle with the Southern Dynasty army.

"Huh! Huh!"

The archers of the shogunate army approached the buildings of Fuxingji Temple, and some even climbed up the buildings and low walls to shoot at the musket-wielding foot soldiers of the Southern Dynasty army.

Arrows and lead bullets intertwined in the air. Every vibration of the bowstring and roar of the musket was accompanied by the screams and falls of soldiers.

Hosokawa Mitsurumoto was like a tiger descending from the mountain on the right wing battlefield. He was wearing armor, holding a spear, and personally led the soldiers to charge into battle.

His eyes were as sharp as an eagle's, and every time he swung his spear, it was powerful and sweeping away the foot soldiers of the Southern Dynasty army.

Under his command, the shogunate army's offensive was as surging as a tide, and the Southern Court army's defense line on its left wing (the right wing relative to the shogunate army) was shaky.

"Charge!" Hosokawa Mitsuru shouted loudly. His voice penetrated the noise of the battlefield and inspired the soldiers to move forward bravely.

The Southern Dynasty army was defeated again and again under the fierce attack of Hosokawa Mitsurumoto, and their morale had fallen to the bottom.

Although they still fought desperately, their defense line was finally torn open under the powerful offensive of the shogunate army.

When Hosokawa Mitsuru saw this, a hint of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes.

Wielding a spear, he led his soldiers into the defense line of the Southern Dynasty army and launched a bloody hand-to-hand combat.

At the same time, on the central battlefield, Yoshimasa Sasaki also led the shogunate army in the final charge.

They scaled the outer walls of the temple, paving a path to victory with their flesh and blood.

The cruelty of this battle was appalling. The blood of soldiers from both sides dyed the walls and ground of the temple red. The entire Nara Basin seemed to have turned into a battlefield. The sounds of war drums, the clashing of weapons, and the shouts of soldiers intertwined together, forming a tragic and heroic song of breaking the enemy's formation.

The two sides continued to fight.

The ground was dyed red with blood, corpses were piled up like mountains, and the air was filled with the strong smell of blood and gunpowder, which was suffocating.

However, just when the war seemed to be ending with the victory of the Muromachi shogunate army, the Southern Dynasty army suddenly launched a final frantic counterattack.

Kitabatake Manmasa personally led the only remaining elite troops and rushed towards the central position of the Muromachi shogunate army like a tiger descending from a mountain. Their offensive was so fierce that the Muromachi shogunate army was caught off guard, and a huge hole was instantly torn in the defense line.

Upon seeing this, Yoshimasa Sasaki immediately organized his troops to launch a counterattack, but the offensive of the Southern Dynasty army was too fierce and he could only watch his army being devoured bit by bit.

At this time, the right-wing army led by Hosokawa Mitsurumoto was also attacked fiercely by the Southern Dynasty army, and the situation was equally critical.

The situation on the entire battlefield was reversed in an instant, and the Southern Dynasty army launched a final charge towards the Muromachi shogunate army with unstoppable momentum.

However, after repelling the shogunate army, Kitabatake Manya began to retreat on his own initiative and set fire.

As the only remaining famous general of the Southern Dynasty, Kitabatake Manmasa was well aware of the principle of "considering defeat before considering victory". Behind Kofuku-ji Temple, he had prepared kerosene and dry firewood to set up the incendiary belt.

Therefore, he was prepared to lead the Southern Dynasty army away from the battlefield at the cost of burning down the Xingfu Temple.

"No! No!"

Master Koen Betō of Kofuku-ji tried his best to dissuade him.

In this battle, Daijo-in also took out all of his family's wealth, donated money and food, and all the available "national" warriors were sent to the battlefield.

Master Xiaoyuan's face was pale, his eyes were full of pity and despair. He tightly grasped Kitabatake Manya's sleeve and said in a trembling voice: "Master Manya, this is undoubtedly a great disrespect to the Buddha! Kofuku-ji is an ancient temple that has been around for hundreds of years. It is a holy place for practitioners like us. How can it be destroyed in an instant? Please think twice!"

Kitabatake Mangiya's face was solemn. He looked deeply at Xiaoyuan, with a hint of helplessness and determination in his eyes: "Don't be foolish. I know the consequences of this action. But on the battlefield, victory or defeat can change in an instant. Our army is in a desperate situation. Only this plan can preserve our strength and leave hope for a counterattack in the future."

When Master Xiaoyuan heard this, tears welled up in his eyes. He let go of his hand and muttered something to himself, but no one could hear it.

Kitabatake Mangiya sighed softly, his tone firm: "Don't be reckless, only by sacrificing for a while can we gain long-term peace. I have made up my mind, you should quickly organize the monks in the temple to evacuate, save as many as you can, and don't let innocent people die in the sea of ​​fire."

Upon hearing this, Master Xiaoyuan knew there was no room for maneuver. He clasped his hands together with tears in his eyes and recited a few verses of scriptures in a low voice, as if he was making his final prayers for this ancient temple.

Then he turned around and began to direct the monks to evacuate.

The flames gradually started in the corners of the temple. Kitabatake Manya looked at the spreading fire with mixed feelings.

This fire not only burned down the temple, but also hurt his heart.

But at the critical moment of life and death, Kitabatake Mangiya chose a more rational path. For the future of the Southern Dynasty, he had to sacrifice everything in front of him.

"I hope the Buddha can understand our difficulties and bless the Southern Dynasty to revive soon." Kitabatake Manya prayed silently in his heart. Then, he turned around resolutely and led the remaining Southern Dynasty troops to evacuate this war-torn land under the cover of fire.

For Kitabatake Manmasa, this battle has initially achieved his strategic goals.

The shogunate army failed to inflict heavy damage on its own side and failed to establish its authority, so the Southern Dynasty army still maintained considerable strength.

At the same time, the Southern Dynasty army also inflicted considerable casualties on the shogunate army. At least in the short term, the other side was unable to move south.

This also bought time for the Southern Dynasty army to organize a defense line outside Yoshino.

As night fell, the Nara Basin fell into silence. Only the still burning flames and the cries coming from afar still told of the cruelty of the war.

In the end, the fire burned for four days and three nights.

When the smoke gradually dissipated, Xingfu Temple had become a white land with nothing left.

Soon, Emperor Go-Kameyama of the Southern Dynasty, who was in Yoshino, received the battle report, and it was Kitabatake Manmasa who came overnight and reported the battle report to him personally.

Ano Minoru and Rokujo Tokihiro knelt on the left and right of the Emperor.

“This was a good fight.”

Although Emperor Go-Kameyama sounded tired, he did not show any sign of dejection: "General Kitabatake, you have bought precious time. We will immediately send envoys to the Ming Dynasty to ask for assistance. This is not an easy task, but at this critical moment, we have no choice but to do it."

Kitabatake Mangama heard this with a solemn expression, bowed and said: "Your Majesty, although the Ming Dynasty is far away, its national strength is strong. If we can get its help, it will be of great benefit to the revival of our Southern Dynasty. However, I am also worried that the Ming Dynasty has always maintained a neutral attitude towards our internal affairs of Japan, and it is unknown whether it is willing to intervene in our internal war. Moreover, if we rely too much on external forces, we may lose the foundation of our Southern Dynasty's independence."

Rokujo Tokihiro frowned upon hearing this and said, "General Kitabatake is right. Although the Ming Dynasty's assistance is good, we also need to consider the long term. If our Southern Dynasty wants to truly revive, we must rely on our own strength. Perhaps, it is better to strengthen our internal affairs, reorganize our army, and engage in a stalemate with the shogunate first."

"I believe that foreign affairs and domestic affairs can go hand in hand."

Ano Shiwei stroked his long beard, thought for a moment, and then spoke briefly.

After hearing this, Emperor Go-Kameyama nodded, with a hint of determination in his eyes: "I understand what you said. We must prepare to request Ming's assistance immediately. Otherwise, even if General Kitabatake insists, we may not be able to stay in Yoshino. If we lose Yoshino, where will we go? Take a boat to Shikoku Island? Or the southern part of Kyushu Island? The Southern Dynasty has been in decline for decades. This time, the shogunate army is indeed approaching the city, but it is also our opportunity."

Then he gave the order: "General Kitabatake, you are the backbone of the country. You should continue to coordinate military affairs and prepare troops. Lord Ano and Lord Rokujo, you will be responsible for internal affairs. You must stabilize the people's hearts and raise food and grass to support the front line."

"Also, let Gongwei go to Daming again. He has been there twice and is familiar with the place. Bring a handwritten letter and make sure this matter is done well."

Ano Minoru nodded. It was an honor for their Ano family that his son could do his best for Emperor Go-Kameyama.

However, whether the Ming Dynasty is willing to intervene is actually a very uneasy thing for them.

Even if the Ming Dynasty is willing to intervene, it is hard to say whether it will provide some firearms and other supplies, or directly send troops.

If there had not been strong support, the situation would have developed into what it is now. If Yoshino had not been defended, they would have most likely really fled to the small island of Shikoku.

After all, the power of the Southern Dynasty on Kyushu Island had been compressed to the limit, with only a few guardian daimyo in the southern part still loyal to Emperor Go-Kameyama.

(End of this chapter)