Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

"..." Shichibei only heard Nobunaga mutter a curse.

"Brother, go first. Even if I die in the wilderness, I will risk my life to stop the enemy." At this moment, Azai Nagamasa finally realized what was happening and immediately knelt down on one knee to pledge his loyalty to Nobunaga.

"I am also willing to be the rearguard!" Hideyoshi reacted quickly and immediately expressed his willingness to stay behind to cover the rear.

At this moment, two groups of troops were distributed within the Oda army formation. Nagai Michitoshi seemed to be leading a fierce attack on Nobunaga's main camp, while Hori Hidemura did not immediately charge towards Nobunaga's main camp, seemingly instead attacking Azai Nagamasa's main force. As for those outside the pass, they were undoubtedly the Asakura army, attempting to penetrate the Oda army.

"We can't hesitate any longer, my lord." Shichibei quickly grabbed Nobunaga's hand and tried to pull him away.

We absolutely cannot be trapped in this mountain path. If we are trapped in the mountains, Nobunaga will not only face a nine-out-of-ten chance of death, but a ten-out-of-ten chance of survival.

"Shin-Kuro, then I'll leave it to you." Nobunaga, with Shichibei holding his hand, glanced back at Azai Nagamasa, ultimately choosing to trust his good sworn brother.

Nobunaga then ordered Azai Nagamasa to defend the main camp, Ikeda Katsumasa to block the Asakura army's front, and Hideyoshi to form the second intercepting force. All of Nobunaga's main force's arquebusiers were given to Hideyoshi. In addition, Akechi Mitsuhide acted as Nobunaga's shadow warrior, because Mitsuhide was tall, handsome, and could wear Nobunaga's armor.

There's no need to stay at the main camp. Instead, take the road north of the river and head towards Xiaogu City. Lure any potential pursuers towards Xiaogu City.

As for Nobunaga himself, he chose to travel via Tsuruga and Kuchikiya to return to Kyoto first. He planned to return to Gifu Castle after the situation stabilized.

Hideyoshi ran after Nobunaga and helped him mount his horse. Shichibei patted him on the shoulder, urging him to make sure they returned to Gifu Castle alive. Hideyoshi pursed his lips, watching Nobunaga ride away, and simply nodded solemnly.

The Oda army units immediately disbanded and rushed out of the mountains to avoid being stuck in the mountain paths.

Besides Shichibei bidding farewell to Hideyoshi, Tokugawa Ieyasu also stopped, offering to give all his arquebuses and ammunition to Hideyoshi, and wishing him well.

With the help of his attendants, Mitsuhide donned the armor that Nobunaga had just removed and left at the main camp. As expected, the two were of similar build, and the armor fit them perfectly.

Nobunaga left his horse emblem, flag, and even his supplies to Mitsuhide. Mitsuhide was truly loyal at this moment, letting Nobunaga run for a while. He, along with a few dozen followers, charged back towards the direction from which Nagai Michitoshi was attacking, carrying Nobunaga's banner. This served both to stabilize the morale of the troops currently engaged in battle and to let Nagai Michitoshi know that Nobunaga was there.

To buy Nobunaga time, the enemy must at least be able to see his figure and appearance in order to lure them into pursuit.

Shichibei didn't see how Azai Nagamasa was doing. After saying goodbye to Hideyoshi, Shichibei mounted his horse and rode off. Seeing that the mountain path was becoming chaotic, if they didn't leave soon, they might not be able to escape.

The shouts of battle behind them were incessant. The enemy was waiting for nightfall. The Oda army units were either cooking or resting after eating. The situation was unclear. In the ensuing chaos, no one knew how many people would die.

194. Escaping from the jaws of death was truly difficult.

Since the powerful Hori family of Sakata County in Kohoku has rebelled, it means that the road back to Gifu via Kohoku is now cut off. If we want to escape from Echizen, we can only go through Wakasa, Kuchiki-dani, and turn towards Kyoto.

However, Shichibei and Nobunaga were separate, making them much smaller targets, so escaping should not be difficult.

As dawn broke, Shichibei had already escaped and returned to Tsuruga Kanegasaki, much to his surprise that Takenaka Shigeharu and Aochi Shigetsuna hadn't run away. Upon inquiry, he learned that Nobunaga had already fled, and the more than one hundred horses the two had gathered had all been handed over to Nobunaga.

So what do we do?

As a result, Takenaka Hanbei brought two people over. The two men did not give their names or reveal their identities, only saying that they had met Shichibei once before. They were willing to take Shichibei and a small number of followers and travel upstream from the Shokawa River valley in Kanegasaki, then switch to land routes, which would allow them to reach Lake Biwa.

It takes at most one day to reach Otsu by boat on the lake.

Is there really such a good thing? Shichibei looked at the two people who came to point the way and even took the initiative to lead the way, and thought that since he might not be able to catch up with Oda Nobunaga anyway, he might as well go to Lake Biwa.

Let's get going, who knows what the future holds? I wonder if Hideyoshi and Hidenaga managed to escape. I hope my sister doesn't end up a widow at such a young age.

Seeing that Shichibei agreed, the group immediately abandoned their horses. The horses had been running all night and were completely worn out; they couldn't take them with them when they were fleeing for their lives, so they decided to leave them behind.

Two locals immediately found two small boats, carried Shichibei and more than ten others onto them, and rowed upstream along the Shengchuan River.

Many Oda soldiers also fled to Kanegasaki, and when they saw a boat on the river, they shouted for a ride. Unfortunately, there was no room on the boat. "Better to sacrifice my friends than myself," they said.

The boat reached midday, and without any food, they immediately jumped aboard to prepare to cross the mountain ridge. The passage from Wakasa directly to Lake Biwa is called "Shichirihanko," as the name suggests, it's exactly thirty kilometers of mountain road, and once you cross it, you'll reach Kaizu Village on Lake Biwa.

This Haijin is not the same as that Haijin. People near Lake Biwa also call Lake Biwa "Tasui" or "Omi-kai". The small harbor by the sea is called Jin, hence the name Haijin Village.

Once you get to Haijin, everything will be alright.

At this point, no one was suggesting finding a village to buy food from the villagers. They had all grown up in the quagmire of the Warring States period, and news of the Oda army's defeat spread quickly. Who knew if the nearby villagers might arm themselves and stage a raid on the fallen warriors?

Starving for two or three days won't kill you; escaping is the priority. Thirty miles of mountain road, right? Some people can carry a 120-pound load for thirty miles and still walk briskly.

Fortunately, Shichibei hadn't been a pampered boss all these years. He spent his days following Nobunaga on campaigns, and although he didn't have to personally charge into the enemy's gun emplacements, he still had to ride around on horseback. His thighs weren't flabby, and his feet were strong enough to withstand the strain.

They ran until dark, still a stretch of the thirty-mile mountain road was to come; the path was so winding and treacherous that there was no direct route. Only after two locals lit torches and whispered that they had arrived could they vaguely see a vast and boundless expanse of clear water.

The locals quickly contacted some people in the village and prepared dozens of rice balls and two small boats for Shichibei and his companions. Without a boatman, they had to row to Hunan on their own.

I understand, I understand completely.

Without skilled boatmen or fishermen, Shichibei and his men dared not set sail so easily through the night. They hid in the cabin, covered with straw, and dared not even light a fire, enduring the night. Only after dawn did they row quickly away.

Look at them, all of them are famous samurai with thousands or tens of thousands of koku of rank, but now they're wearing tattered headscarves, and their haori and armor are completely gone. Takenaka Shigeharu, with 8,000 koku of rank, is rowing, Aochi Shigetsuna, with 4,000 koku of rank, is punting, and Kawamura Nagayoshi, with 6,000 koku of rank, is keeping watch. It's like I don't know who's in the carriage, but Gorbachev is driving it.

Since the dozen or so people on the two boats were not experienced sailors, they naturally dared not stray too far from the shore. According to the locals, Otsu, which should have been reached in a day, was still nowhere in sight, even Katada's harbor, as night fell.

Upon reaching the shore and asking around, I learned that I had just crossed the Hira River.

What bad luck, what a terrible name.

Even after dark, they continued along the shore. Upon reaching Katada, they were met by servants from Kawamura-ya, thus entering Oda's territory. While the situation north of the river was uncertain, Nobunaga still held considerable influence in the south. After all, he had forcefully stormed into the south, and the local gentry and various factions had witnessed his military might firsthand.

In Katada town, there was no news of the Oda army's crushing defeat in their expedition to Echizen; the entire town was calm and peaceful, just as usual. Only Shichibei and his group, looking disheveled and exhausted, entered the Kawamura-ya stable, a testament to the utter failure of this military operation.

While others could fall asleep as soon as they arrived at the shop, Shichibei couldn't. He immediately signed a letter to Otsu and Kyo, inquiring about Oda Nobunaga's movements. He also sent a secret message to Oda Nobuhiro, requesting him to immediately lead his troops to Nijō Palace and to send people to meet Oda Nobunaga at various gates of Kyoto.

Furthermore, please have him, in his capacity as a senior member of the Oda clan, write back to Gifu Castle immediately to inform Hayashi Hidesada and Oda Kyokomaru, who are stationed in Gifu. Also, please be wary of Saito Tatsuoki's rebellion at Kiyosu Castle, as he may be crossing over from Echizen and potentially attacking Nagai Michitoshi's army in Gifu.

I wonder if Honganji Temple intends to start a rebellion. If they do, Nobunaga will be in big trouble.

If Honganji also gains power, then Anyoji Temple in Mino and Kamikori districts, along with the disciples of Saishoji Temple in Echizen and Ono districts, will also join in the harassment and attacks on Gifu.

With their fervent religious beliefs, the Ikko-ikki followers possessed both the organizational strength to hold their own sermons and the martial spirit inherent in the peasantry of the Warring States period, making them formidable warriors in battle.

Nobunaga fought the Nagashima Rebellion in Ise for three battles, suffering countless casualties among his followers and generals. The attack on Ishiyama Honganji Temple lasted a full ten years before a peace treaty was finally reached and the castle was opened to the enemy.

Not only did they lose Naomasa Hanawa, but they also dismissed Nobumori Sakuma. Two commanders of the Oda army were defeated by Honganji, which was a formidable enemy of Nobunaga.

This is difficult.

He managed to sleep for four or five hours, but as dawn broke, Shichibei, unable to sleep soundly any longer, grabbed his horse and rode alone towards Kyoto. When Takenaka Shigeharu and the others would catch up was no longer important; confirming Nobunaga's fate was the most crucial thing.

The horse galloped to Myokaku-ji Temple. Oda Nobuhiro had already received Shichibei's secret report, and his face was still filled with shock. He was actively mobilizing troops and deploying defenses throughout Kyoto.

He was a seasoned veteran, and he didn't panic and send daimyo like Miyoshi Yoshitsugu, Wada Koremasa, or Hatakeyama Akitaka to Kyoto. Bringing in these random people at this point would only increase the unpredictability of the situation.

In addition, Oda Nobuhiro informed Shichibei that Rokkaku Yoshikata was in Ishibe Castle in Koga District, Jiangnan, and Rokkaku Yoshiharu was in Namae Castle in Aichi District. They had raised an army and many people responded, and Jiangnan began to be in turmoil.

While Nobunaga was away from Kyoto, Ashikaga Yoshiaki petitioned to change the era name, and this year it was officially changed from Eiroku 13 to Genki 1.

It's not a good era name; it's destined to be turbulent and unsettling.

........................

The pressure on Azai Nagamasa and Ikeda Katsumasa, who remained in place to hold off the enemy, was immense. Ikeda Katsumasa had originally intended to take it easy, since Nobunaga hadn't summoned him when he went to attack Kitabatake Tomonori in the latter half of last year, but instead ordered him to coordinate with Hanawa Naomasa in attacking Urakami Munekage in Bizen. After several months of fighting, there were certainly gains, but the soldiers were also truly exhausted.

This time, seeing how desperately the generals were pledging their loyalty, he wasn't in a hurry. Because the pledges of loyalty had already been made last year, Hanawa Naomasa only had two thousand men, while the Oda coalition army totaled over twenty thousand, and had just sent someone to kowtow to Nobunaga after defeating Urakami Munekage.

Such a large group of people was gathered together by Katsumasa Ikeda, Yasuharu Bessho, Masahide Akamatsu, and others.

As a result, while clearing the way for Nobunaga, they were met with a fierce attack from Asakura Yoshikage. In the darkness, unable to distinguish friend from foe, and without any defenses, they were caught off guard and fell into a trap set by a premeditated scheme. The entire Ikeda army was thrown into chaos. Even when Ikeda Katsumasa personally rushed back to his own troops to gather civil and military officials to organize a defense, he was unsuccessful.

Large numbers of Ikeda clan samurai, completely bewildered and utterly unaware of what was happening, were captured by the Asakura army. Some even wandered aimlessly through the ravines, slipped and rolled into them, and were instantly killed by falling tree trunks or rocks.

The core strength of the entire Ikeda family suffered a devastating blow here, far greater than the losses incurred during a normal attack on Urakami Munekage.

On the other side, Asai Nagamasa had a similar idea. Hori Hidemura, who was plotting a rebellion, had previously agreed with Saito Tatsuoki and Asakura Yoshikage to gather their troops and attack Oda Nobunaga's main camp after dark, and kill Oda Nobunaga.

Once the fighting started, Hori Hidemura was immediately blinded by hatred. Thinking that Azai Nagamasa's main force was in disarray, he saw it as a perfect opportunity to avenge the humiliation and oppression he had suffered at Nagamasa's hands. He directly attacked the Azai army, without launching a fierce assault on Nobunaga's main camp.

The results were naturally good; Hori Hidemura led his troops into the Asai army and practically slaughtered them. Nagamasa, as the commander-in-chief, was not in the army, and there were also many local gentry who were already dissatisfied with Nagamasa's unification of the military.

Upon hearing of the upheaval, these powerful figures from Jiangbei chose to scatter without offering any resistance. It was only thanks to the fierce general Isono Kazumasa, promoted by Asai Nagamasa, leading dozens of samurai in a desperate fight that the attack by Hori Hidemura was repelled.

Even so, the main force of the Asai army suffered a heavy blow, with its men scattered and fleeing in all directions. When Asai Nagamasa found Isono Kazumasa, only a few hundred men remained, still somewhat organized; the rest of his troops were nowhere to be found.

This small force is certainly no match for the Asakura clan's army.

At that moment, a shout was suddenly heard from the valley, and Oda Nobunaga fled in the southwest direction. It must have been Akechi Mitsuhide, the puppet master, who had taken Nobunaga's place and drawn the enemy's main attention.

In that case, retreat is definitely the best course of action. Although Asai Nagamasa had just shouted slogans loudly in the face of Nobunaga, when it came to this, preserving himself was the most important thing.

Having already defeated Hori Hidemura, Isono Kazumasa immediately said, "Don't stay here, run! Otherwise, you'll be wiped out by Asakura Yoshikage at dawn!"

As for Hideyoshi?

Hideyoshi was determined to buy Nobunaga time, so he set up obstacles in the valley and fired arquebuses indiscriminately. Not only were enemy troops not allowed to pass by, but even friendly forces were not permitted to do so.

Since he personally watched Nobunaga run away, he didn't care about anyone else. He didn't care who the arquebusiers killed; he just kept firing.

After setting off a cacophony of firecrackers for most of the night, repelling all those attempting to storm his valley, Hachisuka Koroku advised him to run away as well. But by dawn, escape was impossible.

Meanwhile, the shouts of battle around them gradually subsided, indicating that the enemy was searching for Oda Nobunaga in other directions. Hideyoshi's troops, remaining in place, were no longer of much use.

After some thought, Hideyoshi agreed and continued firing indiscriminately behind him. After all, the arquebuses belonged to Nobunaga and Ieyasu, and he didn't buy the ammunition or lead pellets; why should he begrudge spending other people's money?

After a night of rampage, a rough count showed that the combined forces of Asakura, Saito, and Hori had taken more than 3,300 heads from various Oda army units. Ikeda and Asai suffered heavy losses, and the Oda army itself also suffered many casualties.

Leaving aside those vassals or allies, just considering the losses of Oda's army itself, almost every single one of them was a samurai or a regular foot soldier, and each one was a valuable asset to Nobunaga.

Now they've been lost in Echizen without even realizing it; their deaths were utterly pointless.

More importantly, what about Nobunaga? Lacking the support and assistance of the "locals," Nobunaga chose to travel by land. Previously, Kuchiki Motonatsuna of Takashima County in northern Kogoro had visited Nobunaga in Kyoto; it's unknown whether he was now involved in the rebellion.

Unfortunately, there was no other road to travel by land besides this one. The Hori family in Sakata County, north of the river, had rebelled. The Hori and Higuchi families controlled most of Sakata County, and Higuchi Naofabu was prepared to raise an army and besiege the city. How could Jiangbei possibly get through?

Therefore, Nobunaga still chose to flee to Kuchiki Valley in Takashima County, north of the river. Matsunaga Hisahide, who fled with Nobunaga, volunteered to go and meet with Kuchiki Motonsuna.

Clearly, Kuchiki Mototsuna was not involved in the rebellion; in fact, his family is still listed among the Shogunate's retainers. After meeting with Matsunaga Hisahide, Kuchiki Mototsuna brought sake and rice balls to pay his respects to Nobunaga and personally showed Nobunaga the way to Kyoto, almost leading Nobunaga's horse.

It wasn't really about offering official titles or making promises; Nobunaga immediately stated that the Kuchiki family would definitely receive an additional 20,000 koku.

Kuchiki Motonatsuna's rank was over 9,000 koku. If we consider it to be 10,000, and add another 20,000, that would make him a daimyo with 30,000 koku, essentially the lord of a district. However, the Kuchiki family's wish to be the lord of a district was not realized until the time of the third shogun, Tokugawa Iemitsu, when Kuchiki Tanetatsuna became Iemitsu's head page.

With Kuchiki Motonatsu's help, Nobunaga finally escaped, receiving supplies, protection, guidance, and rest. After a brief rest at Kuchiki Manor, Nobunaga rode south, heading straight for Kyoto.

The news of Oda's army's crushing defeat in Echizen could no longer be concealed.

195. Chaos broke out on all sides, countless [units].

Katsumasa Ikeda, who also fled to Tsuruga Kanegasaki, found his forces severely weakened, exhausted, and on the verge of collapse. As a veteran, he knew that continuing in this manner would inevitably lead to disintegration.

So Ikeda Katsumasa stopped running, immediately raised a large banner and horse emblem, and, as the rearguard general appointed by Oda Nobunaga, rallied the scattered troops. Regardless of whose troops they were, as long as they were part of the Oda coalition forces, they now gathered under his banner.

To fight?

of course not.