Japan's Warring States Period: The Rise of the Wakasa Tiger

Chapter 50 Burn them all

"Go east..." Xinzhong pondered for a moment and continued, "How many troops are there? Can you estimate it?"

"Based on the number of torches, there are at least two thousand people and at most more than three thousand!" the envoy answered cautiously.

"That's right, it should be Shigeyuki. Shigeyuki succeeded!" Xinzhong was overjoyed and said excitedly with clenched fists.

"Then should we notify Genbei and prepare for a night attack on Zhongshan Castle?" Kagawa Morihisa was also very happy.

"Wait a little longer." Nobushige said calmly, "Since the Asakura Army in Zhongshan City has received the news, we should be here soon. To prevent any fraud, it won't be too late to give the order after Shigeyuki's envoy arrives."

Sure enough, about two quarters of an hour later, another envoy was brought to Nobushige by Kagawa Morihisa. The difference was that he was wearing the Asakura family's goshokuju, and the flag with the Asakura family crest was inserted on his back.

"My lord, this man said that he was an envoy sent by Shigeyuki. In order to avoid being checked by the Asakura army along the way, he specially changed into a set of Asakura army uniforms." Kagawa Morihisa pointed at the envoy kneeling on the ground and said to Nobushige.

"How do you prove your identity?" Xinzhong asked.

"I am Sakamoto Gongoro, a samurai under His Majesty Hisamura Mitsuyasu. I am here to deliver military intelligence on the orders of His Majesty Yamamoto Shigeyuki. His Majesty Yamamoto was afraid that I would be discovered by the Asakura Army along the way, so he specifically asked me to change into a set of Asakura Army uniforms. In order to avoid suspicion from the Lord, he specially ordered me to bring a letter to the Lord."

After saying this, the envoy reached into his chest and took out a secret letter, which was then passed to Nobushige by Kagawa Morihisa.

Nobushige opened the letter carefully and quickly, and read it thoroughly. After seeing Yamamoto Shigeyuki's signature at the end, he finally dispelled his suspicion of the envoy in front of him.

"Thank you for your hard work, Quan Wulang. Go down and have a good rest first. I will have a letter later, and I will ask you to take it back to Jinshan City."

"Ha!" Under the guidance of the young man, the messenger dragged his tired body towards the long house not far away.

"My lord, you mentioned 'Kaneyama Castle' just now. Could it be that Shigeyuki really succeeded?" asked Morihisa Kagawa.

"Not only was it successful, but it went very smoothly!" Xinzhong's excitement was beyond words.

"Great!" Kagawa Morihisa was also very excited after hearing this, "Then can we send a message to Genbei and ask him to lead his troops to attack Zhongshan Castle at night and give the Asakura Army a 'surprise'?!"

"You should go to the main castle of Kuniyoshi Castle first and ask Shinkuro to transfer 200 soldiers to Genbei, so as to avoid a night attack and being taken advantage of by the Asakura army outside the city.

After that, you will go to Genbei again and ask him to lead the 200 elite soldiers selected earlier to return to Honmaru first and then attack Zhongshan Castle, trying to reduce the awareness of the Asakura army on the flank as much as possible to avoid alerting the enemy."

"Ha!" Kagawa Morihisa shouted and hurriedly led three or two horsemen to the main castle of Kuniyoshi Castle.

Afterwards, Nobushige returned to Zashiki and wrote a reply letter to Yamamoto Shigeyuki. In the letter, in addition to praising him for his surprise attack, he also told him that the Asakura side had mobilized a large army to seize the city and asked him to make preparations early.

At the same time, he was informed that Kuniyoshi Castle was preparing to launch a night attack on Nakayama Castle as planned, and asked him to hold out for three days. By then, Nakayama Castle would be burned down and Kanayama Castle would be occupied, and the Asakura army would be at a loss as to how to advance or retreat, and would surely be in chaos and retreat in panic. At that time, the Takeda army would launch a pursuit, which would not only help lift the siege of Kanayama Castle, but also allow them to seize most of Tsuruga County, and even possibly capture Kanezaki Castle in one fell swoop.

At Kuniyoshi Castle, after receiving the news that Kanayama Castle had been captured, Muto Mitsuyu and the Kuriya brothers were also overjoyed. After weighing the pros and cons, Muto Mitsuyu decided to follow Nobushige's order and sent 200 soldiers to replace the elite troops who were preparing to participate in the night attack. After the 200 soldiers arrived, Kuriya Katsuhisa led the elite troops back to Honmaru, and at around 2 a.m. on the 20th day of the first lunar month, he climbed down the castle mountain and headed straight for Nakayama Castle.

At this time, on the mountain road outside Zhongshan City, a group of samurai and foot soldiers had just seen off three thousand soldiers. They were all very sleepy and were preparing to go back for a nap.

"You said that Jinshan Castle is behind us, how could it be lost just like that? Could it be a rumor made up by the Takeda army?" A samurai asked curiously on the way back to the city.

"I don't think so," another samurai shook his head. "Didn't you hear what Lord Jinglong said just now? It was the foot soldier guarding Kinzan Castle who came back to report the incident. What's infuriating is that this foot soldier was deliberately released by the Takeda army. That guy named Yamamoto... Shigeyuki even threatened to burn the food stored in Kinzan Castle. It's really abominable."

"The food and grass in Zhongshan City can only support us for another three to five days. If the food and grass in Jinshan City are burned again, we won't be able to fight this battle. No matter how powerful we are, we still need to eat, right?"

"That's right. We have been stuck here for more than ten days. If there is no progress, I'm afraid we will have no choice but to withdraw. Otherwise, it will be too late when the food runs out."

Several samurai and foot soldiers were talking to each other and did not notice the rustling sounds coming from deep in the woods.

The danger of Nakayama Castle was within sight, but at this moment, more than 40 well-equipped Takeda soldiers jumped out from the bushes on both sides and attacked the Asakura army without saying a word.

"Damn it!"

"asshole!"

"Damn it! I don't want to die!"

Accompanied by sporadic wailing and cursing, more than a dozen samurai foot soldiers in the encirclement were quickly killed.

Katsuhisa Kuriya hurriedly ordered the Takeda army to put on the armor and weapons of the Asakura army, and came to the mouth of Nakayama Castle in a dignified manner. Taking advantage of the darkness and the relaxation of the guards' vigilance, he easily opened the city gate.

As the gate opened, the disguised Takeda army immediately killed the Asakura army on both sides of the gate and fired arrows as a signal. The Takeda army ambushed not far from the gate immediately rushed into Zhongshan Castle. At this time, the defenders on the well tower found something wrong and hurriedly sounded the alarm.

However, it was too late. After entering the city, the Takeda army broke up into small groups and set fires everywhere with the cooperation of spies in the army. They soon found the warehouse where the grain and grass were stored.

"Burn it, burn it all!" Katsuhisa Kuriya commanded the Takeda army to pour kerosene on the grain and warehouses, and then threw torches into the warehouses. Soon, the fire spread rapidly under the blessing of the cold wind. Looking at the piles of grain that were burning more and more vigorously, Katsuhisa Kuriya showed a satisfied smile.

In less than half an hour, looking from the main castle of Kuniyoshi Castle, the entire Nakayama Castle had been engulfed in blazing flames. Even though the Asakura army went around fetching water to put out the fire, the dry weather and strong winds meant that all they did was just a drop in the bucket.

The fire burned all night until the sun rose from the horizon, and the fire was finally brought under control. But by then, there was nothing left of the Zhongshan city.

Please keep reading, voting for me, and collecting my books. It’s the last day of May, so keep going, Xiongzai!

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(End of this chapter)