Warring States Survival Guide

Chapter 191: A surprise attack on Imagawa Yoshimoto

Everyone in this world has selfish desires, so everyone has different faces.

Imagawa Yoshimoto led an "army of 100,000" straight to Owari. The elders, important ministers and heads of the Oda family's dependent families gathered together to discuss how to respond, which really opened Harano's eyes.

Some people made impassioned speeches, showing their passion, saying that they would fight the Imagawa family to the death, and would never surrender even if they had to be besieged for three years;

Some people tactfully suggested that the Imagawa family was of high status and very powerful, so it would not matter if they bowed their heads temporarily. It would be better to take a step back and choose to surrender. After all, if you have a green mountain, you will have no fear of running out of firewood.

Some people's eyes wander, they lean left and right, and they test others with words from time to time;

Some people were dumbfounded, never saying a word, as if they had resigned themselves to their fate;
Some people look worried, reluctant to leave their bottles and jars at home, afraid of being beaten but dare not speak out;
Someone had a strange look on his face and kept whispering with the people around him. No one knew what he was planning.

The meeting started at dusk and was noisy all the time. The two factions, those advocating war and those advocating surrender, refused to give in to each other, but the debate never stopped, just like a person walking at night who always has to make some noise to give himself courage.

Oda Nobunaga just sat there, drinking slowly without saying a word.

By around nine o'clock in the evening, the hall finally quieted down and everyone's eyes were focused on him, while Oda Nobunaga was still drinking without any expression.

After waiting for a while, Shibata Katsuie, the most powerful elder of the Oda family, could no longer hold back and asked in a low voice: "Lord?"

Oda Nobunaga then glanced at the steps below with his eagle eyes and said calmly: "Why are you asking me? Whether to fight or surrender, you continue to discuss until you have reached an agreement."

After saying this, he put the wine glass on the table, and without caring about others, he stood up and went to the back in astonishment. He seemed to be equally undecided, and seemed to have given up on himself and decided to leave everything to fate.

The whispers among the noble families became louder, and close retainers such as Niwa Nagahide and Sawaki Yoshiyuki quickly followed Oda Nobunaga to the back, apparently preparing to give him some advice in private and ask him to make a decision soon.

Yuanye did not join in the fun, but his butt was numb from sitting for a long time, so he stood up and left the hall to stretch his muscles.

Aman quickly came over, holding his sword and looking up, and asked with concern: "My lord, how is the Oda family's discussion going? What are they going to do?"

Yuanye breathed in the fresh air and said casually, "They have been arguing all night, but it's useless. Oda Nobunaga's young retainers want to fight, while the old retainers and the powerful families want to surrender. Now no one can convince anyone, so Oda Nobunaga lets them continue arguing."

Aman was not surprised. Imagawa Yoshimoto rushed over with 20,000 or 30,000 people. If it was Wanjin who blocked the road, she would be in trouble. She lowered her head and pondered for a moment and said, "The enemy has rushed to the door and their hearts are not united. I think they are in trouble. What should we do then?"

"Don't worry, let's wait and see." Yuanye was not in a hurry to reveal the history, so he just said it casually, waiting for Oda Nobunaga to perform. Only when Oda Nobunaga finished his performance and the Imagawa family fled all the way back to Suruga, he would be considered to have fulfilled his oath and could wantonly grab territory on the Chita Peninsula.

Aman opened his mouth to talk to him again, but immediately noticed a few more figures coming out of the hall, walking hurriedly, and soon disappeared into the darkness along the courtyard.

She was very sharp-eyed and said subconsciously, "They are the heads of the Pingjiang family, the Chikahashi family, and the Aota family in Kasugai County."

Yuanye turned around and looked over, and then another person came out of the hall, also walking in a hurry, and quickly disappeared into the darkness.

A-Man raised his eyebrows and continued to introduce him, "He is the head of the Kamikoji family in Aichi County."

As soon as she finished speaking, more people began to leave the hall, more than ten in total.

Yuanye looked at these people without saying a word, but Aman had already realized that some powerful families could no longer hold back and were considering joining a new master. They were leaving Oda Nobunaga's residence for various reasons, not wanting to die with the Oda family.

Moreover, these are only the powerful families that are closer to the Shirakawaguchi defense line. Many of the powerful families that are a little further away and not as desperately in danger should have been shaken, but are not in such a hurry.

She couldn't help but widen her eyes and exclaimed softly: "The Oda family is not in trouble, it's finished..."

If the Yoshiko clan were to scatter, the Oda clan, with its own strength, would only be able to gather three to five thousand people, and would not be able to stop Imagawa Yoshimoto's army. Perhaps the Owari clan would even help Imagawa Yoshimoto to deal with the Oda clan. Then... Shinwanzu would also have to be prepared.

Her mind raced, and she remembered that the Imagawa family's patriarch, Toba Hiromichi, seemed to admire Nohara very much and had expressed his willingness to form an alliance. So perhaps she should send Princess Inu to become a nun and let the Nohara family find a new mistress - this kind of thing was very normal in the Warring States Period. Which daimyo and powerful family had not changed three or five wives?

If the Oda family were to perish, the Inu Princess would be worthless. At that time, it would be considered very respectful of the Nohara family if they could let her have a full meal in the temple.

Yuan Ye didn't expect Ah Man's mind to work so quickly, and she didn't expect her moral integrity index to be so low that she was already thinking about changing his wife. He just said lightly: "It's too early to say it's over now. Let's wait and see."

Oda Nobunaga must have been prepared. He probably had no use for these fence-sitters, so he let them go. It might even be intentional - Oda Nobunaga had wanted to clean up the Owari clans for a long time. After the Battle of Okehazama, these clans would definitely be held accountable. With the excuse of surrendering to the enemy in the middle of a battle, even if Oda Nobunaga killed them all in one go, no one would be able to do anything.

He watched for a while, but he didn't have the patience to go back to the main hall to listen to the quarrel again, so he found a side hall to rest.

The Battle of Okehazama will be either tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, so he needs to get enough rest and be well prepared to watch.

…………Yuan Ye felt confident and was not worried that the Oda family would be destroyed and take him with them. He took Aqing and Aman to sleep, but he was woken up by Aman in the middle of the night.

Ah Man hadn't slept all night, so after waking him up, he reported directly: "There's a battle on the front line."

Yuanye took the hot towel handed over by Qing and asked, "Is it the Shirakawaguchi line?"

"Yes, and there is also Odaka Castle. Both sides have engaged in battle." Aman also just received an urgent message and repeated it to him, "The vanguard of the Imagawa family, Ii Naomori, is attacking Washizu Fort, and the Matsudaira family, Matsudaira Motoyasu, is attacking Marugane Fort. One side has about 3,000 to 4,000 people, and the other side has more than 1,000 people."

Yuanye wiped his face vigorously with a hot towel to cheer himself up, and then listened to Aman continue: "Haixi County has also been attacked. The navy of the Imagawa family has already captured Kanie Castle during the day."

Yuan Ye paused as he was about to throw away the towel and asked in surprise, "Navy of the Imagawa family?"

"Yes, it's the Imagawa family's navy." Aman was confident that the intelligence in the Owari area could not be wrong, and said with certainty, "There are about forty large and small ships, with more than two thousand people, but it is not clear whether they are the Imagawa family's own navy or hired pirates."

Yuanye nodded slowly. It was normal for Ii Naomori to lead 5,000 men as the vanguard to attack Shirakawaguchi and Odaka Castle. He could understand that Matsudaira Motoyasu was actively paving the way for Imagawa Yoshimoto, but he didn't expect that Imagawa Yoshimoto had sent the navy to attack Oda Nobunaga's retreat early. Shimazu also had navy, and it was a bay, which was easy to defend but difficult to attack. The navy of the Imagawa family might not be able to take it down by force, but Kanie Castle was not far from Shimazu. From here, they could quickly attack Shimazu by land.

Imagawa Yoshimoto wanted to kill Oda Nobunaga completely and directly take out his vitals.

Imagawa Yoshimoto was indeed not a good person. In history, he was hacked to death by Oda Nobunaga as a joke, making him look like a clown and the Imagawa family looked even more like a weak chicken. But this is a stereotype similar to "Zhao Kuo". Imagawa Yoshimoto was not stupid, and the strength of the Imagawa family was not weak.

In fact, Yuanye didn't know how the Battle of Okehazama was fought. At least he didn't know that the Imagawa family had sent out the navy to conduct amphibious operations and launched such a fierce attack. He immediately asked with concern: "Did Oda Nobunaga receive the news? What's his reaction?"

"They should have received the news, as they were all sent by express horses, so the time should not be much different." Aman replied, "But the reaction is clear. He hasn't shown up yet, but I see that many of the Owari nobles have sneaked away again. It seems that they all think that the Oda family is doomed."

Yuanye turned his head and glanced in the direction of Oda Nobunaga's inner residence. He wondered if Oda Nobunaga was dancing to "Atsumi" with a folding fan, or singing "Fifty years on earth, the affairs of the world are like a dream. Since there is life, how can there be no death?" - He couldn't see it either. As his brother-in-law, it was not appropriate for him to go to Oda Nobunaga's inner residence in the middle of the night.

He stood up and said, "Get ready, and prepare the horses. We will go with Oda Nobunaga."

Ah Man was stunned for a moment, and asked curiously, "What do you mean, go with Oda Nobunaga? Where are we going?"

"To launch a surprise attack on Imagawa Yoshimoto."

Harano was certain that the Battle of Okehazama would take place today. The enemy's vanguard had arrived and was pulling out the nails along the way. Imagawa Yoshimoto was probably within a day's journey, and Oda Nobunaga could no longer wait.

…………

Aman was very curious about Yuanye's thoughts, but Yuanye's head seemed to have been kicked by a donkey all day long. He thought whatever he wanted and acted in a mess. She was used to it and was too lazy to question it. She really asked someone to prepare the horses and dry food.

Harano also put on a domaru and a haori, ready to set off at any time. He asked someone to prepare rice over tea and he ate three big bowls of it himself. As soon as he put down his chopsticks, he heard the sound of a conch shell.

Ah Man was also trying hard to eat. She never wanted to be left behind when it came to eating. When she heard the sound of the conch shell, she tilted her ear slightly to identify it and said in surprise, "Two long and one short, is he really going to go out into the battle?"

Yuan Ye didn't respond to her words, he stood up and said, "Let's go too!"

"Is Oda Nobunaga really going to launch a surprise attack on Imagawa Yoshimoto?!" Ah Man still couldn't believe it. "He's going to take down the enemy's general from among tens of thousands of people? He's a country bumpkin and he wants to kill the same clan as the Shogun?"

Yuan Ye took Ah Qing straight out the door and said calmly, "He will no longer be a country bumpkin in the future."

Ah Man was stunned for a moment, and quickly dropped the bowl and followed him, but he was still muttering: "Is he crazy? Can he really do this? And we have to follow him, isn't this a bit too dangerous..."

Yuanye didn't respond. He didn't want to talk nonsense now. He took Aqing and Aman on horseback and went straight to the door of the house. The Oda family members who were startled by the sound of the conch shells were running around in panic, not understanding what was going on. Even many of the Oda family's important officials and the wealthy families who stayed overnight were mixed in. They also looked puzzled when they heard the sound of the conch shells.

Harano ignored these people and even responded when someone called out to him. He ran all the way to the door of his house. As soon as he arrived, Oda Nobunaga, dressed in scarlet armor, also rode in on horseback with five of his close retainers, including Sawaki Yoshiyuki, Hasegawa Hashisuke, and Kato Yasaburo.

At this moment, the sky was just beginning to turn white and the light was still dim. Oda Nobunaga saw him when he rode closer on horseback. He was stunned for a moment, but soon didn't care anymore - no matter how Yuanye saw it, it didn't matter, and there was no need to keep it secret now.

He didn't stop his horse, just waved his hand, said "Follow me", and continued to gallop forward.

We have been preparing for a long time, and the planning stage is over. Now the only way left is to fight hard!

Either he dies today or Imagawa Yoshimoto dies!

(End of this chapter)