Warring States Survival Guide

Chapter 254 Missed the Appointment
"Wow, that's really fast!"

Kitabatake Tomokyo stood atop the walls of Anon Castle, watching the thick smoke on a distant rock fortress gradually dissipate. He guessed that the garrison there was likely in grave danger, and couldn't help but frown slightly.

As the core stronghold of the Kitabatake clan, Anong Castle has been developed for over a century. Naturally, its defense system cannot consist of just a bare main castle. There are several branch castles outside it, and numerous rock fortresses guarding key roads and dangerous locations.

But none of this caused much trouble for the Wanjin army. In just six days, the Wanjin army not only forcibly crossed the river, but also removed all the rock fortifications along the river and at the entrance to the Hequ Plain.

Now, the Wanjin army can launch a frontal assault on the city without any trouble, which in a sense has also trapped the Kitabatake clan's main force inside the city.

Well, it's not a complete siege. Anong Castle is surrounded by water on two sides, so it can't be completely surrounded. However, both land exit routes are controlled by the Wanjin Army. The Kitabatake Army inside the castle can only leave by crossing the river. If they leave by crossing the river, they will most likely suffer the same tragedy as when the "Tiger of Owari" attacked Mino. With people crowding together, thousands of people will drown just by crossing the river. After crossing the river, they will be scattered and can only be chased and beaten.

"My lord, do not worry!" Hirado Tobei comforted Kitabatake Tomonori, seeing his low spirits. "The loss of the outer fortresses was within our expectations. Our focus in securing the castle was always on Anon Castle itself. As long as the two fortresses of Watamoto and Hirayama, which are mutually supporting each other, are not lost, we will remain safe and sound."

As the core stronghold of the Kitabatake clan, Anong Castle naturally had a great deal of effort put into its defense. Almost every generation of clan head had expanded and reinforced it. Large rock fortresses were built on two high grounds outside the castle, which were even larger and stronger than the residences of ordinary powerful clans. Together with Anong Castle itself, the whole structure was in the shape of a "品" (pin), which could support and cover each other. If the Wanjin army did not lose a large number of lives first, they might not even be able to reach the first wall of Anong Castle.

Even the outer rock fortresses were not abandoned directly in order to obtain a better exchange ratio and reduce the pressure on Anong City itself.

In fact, it was quite successful. Even though the firepower of the Wanjin Army was very strong for that era, it was difficult to gain an advantage against an enemy that had already occupied a favorable position and had strong fortifications. They could only exchange fire with the enemy's arrows, rolling stones, and logs using matchlock guns. In the end, the infantry had to launch a forced charge.

Even with the depletion of "black technologies" such as artillery shells and rockets, the casualties were still slightly higher than those of the Kitabatake clan. In a sense, the Kitabatake clan had already achieved its goal—the Kitabatake clan did not want to fight, but Harano insisted on fighting and refused to even meet with the envoy. Now, the Kitabatake clan could only hope that Harano could not withstand the casualties and would leave on his own.

This was a common war situation in medieval Japan, where the defender had a natural advantage. Even if the enemy was stronger and the defender could achieve a better exchange ratio, they could continue exchanging blows until the attacker was heartbroken and could no longer hold on.

Kitabatake Tomonori was a seasoned veteran of many battles and naturally understood these things. He also had great confidence in the defensive capabilities of Anon Castle. After nodding slightly, he turned his attention to other questions: "Have all the people outside the castle been brought in?"

"All the able-bodied men have been recruited, and they are almost fully organized and ready to be used at any time."

Kitabatake Tomokyo nodded again, but still couldn't shake the feeling of worry, so he added, "Make sure to keep a close watch on the granary!"

"Rest assured, my lord. Lord Sado is personally leading men to guard the area. As long as we use our resources sparingly, we can easily sustain ourselves for a year."

Hirado Tobei answered confidently that the reason the common people were short of food was because the Kitabatake family had taken all the grain. Therefore, the Kitabatake family would naturally not be short of food. In fact, the grain they had taken was prepared for this situation, ensuring that they could starve the enemy away first, even the wealthy landowner in the wilderness.

Well, Wanjin occupies dozens of villages and has to provide basic winter food for tens of thousands of people, all of which have to be transported by boat from across the sea. The expenses must be enormous. Yuanye might even have to pay for his own funeral. He doesn't believe Wanjin can survive for a year like this.

Therefore, the Wanjin army cannot besiege Anong City. The city has food, and it is built along the river. Fresh water can be found by digging. As long as we can withstand the next wave of fierce attacks from the Wanjin army and prevent them from winning a quick victory, we will be fine.

As for the city defense system of Anong City, even if the number of troops is not much different, the Wanjin people would have to suffer more than a thousand casualties to break through the two "branch cities" and the first city wall of Anong City. In the subsequent street battles and sieges of more fortified houses, it would be impossible to threaten them without losing more than a thousand lives.

He didn't believe that Haruno was willing to sacrifice so many lives and cause mutual destruction with the Kitabatake clan. Even if he wasn't clear-headed now and was blindly arrogant, he would wake up when a large number of his hard-earned subordinates died.

"We also need to be careful to prevent rat infestations!"

Standing atop the castle, Kitabatake Tomokyo could see a whole string of rats darting out and disappearing back into the shadows, completely unafraid of people. He felt that this year was truly cursed, with all sorts of demons and monsters appearing. The Kitabatake family was truly having a run of bad luck.

Hirado Tobei frowned slightly, then turned and ordered his men to be careful to kill the rats. However, since the rat infestation was too small to shake Anon Castle, he didn't take it too seriously. After giving the order, he accompanied Kitabatake Tomonori on a continued patrol of the castle to boost morale.

Now, all we have to do is wait for the Wanjin army to come headlong into our mess and suffer a bloody defeat, so they'll know just how deep the Kitabatake family's foundation is, leaving them with no choice but to negotiate!

…………

"Do you want some? Here, take a bite!"

Aman used to be a wild child, and now she's a wild girl. She's always been unrestrained and has nothing to do at the "command center"—the Wanjin Army is becoming more and more organized, and Yuanye has forbidden her from interfering in military command, so she's so bored that she's started roasting field mice.

The power of bamboo flowering has already become apparent. The bamboo rice has spawned a large group of mice and field mice. Now that the bamboo rice is gone, these small animals are starving and have started running in droves to human territory. It's no longer just stealing food; it's practically robbing them. They're practically pouncing on the grain carts in groups.

This was quite a battlefield spectacle. Yuan Ye was supervising the frontline operations while also instructing the rear forces on rat extermination. After all, the supply pressure was already immense, and if the rats stole even more, he wouldn't be able to make ends meet. Just as he was getting anxious, that unlucky kid Aman brought him a roasted field mouse. He immediately flew into a rage, snatched it away, threw it away, and muttered, "Didn't I say these things should be killed and then buried on the spot for disinfection? Are you deaf? Do you only feel happy when I bring them to justice?!"

That is, it was Aman. If it were anyone else, he would have directly sent the military police to arrest them.

"Those are field mice, they're edible. Ah Qing and I used to eat them all the time, and nothing ever happened. It's just that you're always so afraid of this and that." Ah Man watched the roasted field mouse fly away with a sense of regret, but she didn't take it to heart. She was just reminiscing, and she wasn't short of meat anyway.

"Field mice are out of the question too. During this period, you are not allowed to touch anything with fur!"

The main concern is the potential for an epidemic. Although no signs have been found yet, we must take precautions. Otherwise, if we manage to win the war but an epidemic collapses the Tianjin army, it would be a complete joke.

"Fine, fine, you're the boss, you decide. I won't grill anymore!" Aman gave up. He had originally wanted to improve Yuanye's diet since he was eating military rations every day, but Yuanye didn't appreciate it, so he gave up. He deserved to have no oil or fat.

She then asked with concern, "Still no news from Luling County? Has the plan gone wrong?"

There was no radio in this era, and after the troops were split up, they were practically abandoned. The mixed force of more than a thousand people who were supposed to raid Okawachi Castle in Kasuga County according to plan have not sent back any news so far, as if they have disappeared. This makes people suspect that something has happened.

Yuan Ye casually wrote a sealing order, patching up the previous order, and notifying the rear not to eat field mice either—no one eats field mice anymore in modern times, but in this era, field mice are indeed on the common people's menu. Just look at Aman, and you'll know that the laborers in the rear are probably feasting on them!

After finishing the patch, he put down his pen and pondered, "They probably encountered an accident in Deer Bell County, but there's nothing else we can do now. We can only trust that they can handle it themselves."

"Could it be... that they've already been defeated?" Aman was a little worried. The Wanjin Army was the foundation of her good fortune, and she really didn't want too many casualties among them.

“The chances of being defeated are slim. If we were to lose, someone would have already withdrawn.” Haruno stood up and started grinding grain, circling the table. “However, since the fighting started, we haven’t received much news from Kasuga County. The Kitabatake clan’s rear is just speculation. We’re not sure if the Kitabatake clan has any reinforcements. Maybe they just found that the defenses of Ōkōchi Castle are still quite strong, and since they were lightly armed, they’ve been waiting for an opportunity.”

"Should we just keep waiting like this?" Aman hesitated. "If we don't continue the attack, the enemy will soon realize something is wrong, right? If they have to alert the rear... should we send someone to find them now and have them come back to regroup and launch a strong attack? It's better than being trapped in Luling County."

Yuan Ye was silent for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Let's proceed according to plan. When soldiers are in the field, they may not be able to follow orders. We must give them the trust they deserve and let them make their own decisions. We shouldn't give orders blindly from behind!"

He paused, then added, "However, we must also be prepared for a full-scale attack. Even if the plan fails, we are strong enough to make amends. A failed sneak attack is not enough to change the overall situation!"

The battlefield situation is ever-changing. Initially, he retreated and refused to engage in large-scale battles, waiting for the "peasant uprising" on the Ise Peninsula. At that time, it would be advantageous for him to prolong the war. But now that he has engaged in direct combat with the Kitabatake clan, he has begun to hope for a quick victory to avoid prolonging the war and allowing the surrounding daimyo to recover and come over to intervene or seize his spoils of victory.

However, on the battlefield, plans often fall short of reality. Information is nowhere near as transparent as in strategy games, and there are far too many unexpected events. You might put in a lot of effort, but in the end, you still have to fight a tough battle and suffer heavy casualties.

It would be great if there was a top-down view, even if there was still fog of war and you could only see your own troops. Unfortunately, real war is not a game, and there is no such thing as a dream.

Yuan Ye sighed inwardly, feeling the pressure mounting as he thought about the losses from the assault. He was also somewhat disappointed with the raiding force, but he managed to hold back.

…………

At the same time, in a valley more than 20 miles north of Kasuzu District in Ise Province, a raiding force of 1,400 men from the Kawachi Army was hiding and had been eating dry rations for four days.

Their landing went smoothly. Transported by the Wanjin Navy, they made a long detour in the open sea to the northern tip of Luling County. Relying on their long-term rigorous training, they waded ashore under cover of darkness and then hurried south overnight. With a combination of luck and skill, they secretly made their way to this valley at dawn without being discovered.

Then they received bad news: the defenses of Ōkōchi Castle were not weak. A reinforcement from the Kita-Ise Nagano family had just arrived. The Nagano family, whose head had been adopted by Kitabatake Tomonori's son, had come to help. However, they did not go to the front line but stayed in a branch castle next to Ōkōchi Castle to help the Kitabatake family stabilize the situation in the rear.

There were only 1,500 people, but the Kitabatake clan still had 800 elite members left in Ōkōchi Castle, and they had a castle to defend themselves. The surrounding area was full of Kitabatake clan's adopted children, making it unlikely that they could launch a direct surprise attack to take Ōkōchi Castle. It would be difficult to take it in one fell swoop.

Therefore, the Wanjin Army's raiding force was stuck here and could not notify the rear for the time being. The Wanjin Navy was too conspicuous to be stationed on the sea, so it had temporarily left. Sending a small force back by land to report the news would be both risky and expose them. So they could only hide here for the time being.

This hiding place caused serious delays, and they didn't even know how the fighting was going on at the front lines in Anong City. It was already a serious delay. Even though the Wanjin Army had strict discipline, someone finally couldn't hold back and approached the commander of this unit, beginning to suspect that he was avoiding battle.

The commander of this force is none other than Shi Pusa. He is waiting for an opportunity to take down Okawachi Castle in one fell swoop!
(End of this chapter)