Owari Yumeki Golden Day.

With the support of Oda Nobuhiro's two or three thousand regular troops, they could advance and retreat freely. What kind of armored soldiers were they? They were so brave that they survived being shot and were able to defeat my own elder brother and my own servants.

Indeed, the forces of Nakano and Sanada, commanded by Baba Nobuharu, had already flanked Oda Nobuhiro and Sasa Narimasa's troops. Both Oda Nobuhiro and Sasa Narimasa were veteran generals, and they knew exactly what Baba Nobuharu was thinking.

The Japanese also employed a formation called the Crane Wing Formation, where their army spreads out on both wings, resembling a crane in flight. If the enemy attacks the main force, the troops on both flanks quickly encircle and flank them. This not only cuts off the enemy's retreat but also undermines their morale, ultimately leading to a great victory.

But the premise is that your crane wings have to wrap around it. If they can't wrap around it, what kind of crane wings are they?

Alright, let's see how powerful I, Sanada Genta, Saemon Nobutsuna, and Sanada Hyobu no Shōsuke Masateru are!

Led by the Sanada brothers, generals including Kamahara Shigezumi, Hatsukano Masahisa, Nezu Tsukina, and Tada Masaharu launched a fierce attack on Oda Nobuhiro and Sasa Narimasa.

Sanada Nobutsuna, braving hundreds of cannonballs, brandished his renowned sword, Aoe Satsuna, with a blade three feet and three inches long, and charged into the Oda army's ranks. Amidst the smoke and fire of the cannons, he moved like a thunder god, causing the drums behind him to tremble violently. Clad in crimson armor, the iron-faced Thunder King, his katana fell, and the surrounding men and horses fell like mowing grass.

Blood splattered across the horse's face, and a foul wind rose in the afternoon, making the soldiers on all sides feel as if they were about to vomit. Before the soldiers could think further, Sanada Nobutsuna's katana had already arrived, slashing and cutting repeatedly, and not a single soldier could withstand a single blow.

The fierce general, Haigo Ieyoshi, whom Nobunaga had sent to Oda Nobuhiro, immediately rode up to fight. Their swords and spears clashed with lightning speed. Both were strong and fierce generals, and after a few exchanges, Haigo Ieyoshi realized that he was no match for Sanada Nobutsuna in mounted combat.

If it were a foot battle using only ordinary rifles, he would not be afraid of Sanada Nobutsuna. However, on horseback, he encountered the swiftly spinning katana, and he secretly groaned in despair.

Even so, Sanada Nobutsuna was secretly astonished. He had been using his greatsword technique on horseback for over ten years and had almost never encountered a worthy opponent. He had killed so many that even ghosts and men trembled in fear. When Takeda Shingen saw this, he immediately bestowed upon him the character "Nobutsuna" and recommended him to be Captain Saemon.

Overjoyed to have met a worthy opponent, he swung his greatsword straight at Hideyoshi Ieyoshi. Sanada Masaki, who was fighting from the flank, was surprised to find that his brother had encountered an Oda general who could fight him on horseback. He immediately displayed the true nature of a Sengoku samurai.

Group attack!

We brothers charged forward together, spears in hand, to assassinate Sanada Ieyoshi. Seeing their lack of martial virtue, Sasamatsu Chiyomaru, the eldest son of Sasamatsu Narimasa, who was helping his father set up arquebuses, raised his hand and struck at the Sanada brothers.

A bullet struck Sanada Masaki's horse, which immediately collapsed and died. Sanada Nobutsuna, who had originally intended to settle things with Haigo Ieyoshi, immediately turned to save his younger brother, thinking that his brother had been shot.

Haikō Ieyoshi turned his horse and rode away, calling for his arquebusiers to quickly fire upon the Sanada brothers. He dodged, and Sanada Masaki, who had jumped up and down, lost his target.

Seeing that their younger brother was unharmed, and with Sanada Chikasho bringing in new horses to replace him, the two brothers could no longer find Haigo Ieyoshi. Meanwhile, Sasamatsu Chiyomaru, who believed he had killed a Takeda general, was still standing there loading his arquebus.

You little brat, you dare to hit our Sanada brothers? We'll send you to the Western Paradise!

Swinging his greatsword, Sanada Nobutsuna rushed to Sasamatsu Chiyomaru's side, and the Sasamatsu family members and servants also rushed forward to protect their young master. However, Sanada Nobutsuna and Sanada Masaki were truly unparalleled warriors, and the Sanada followers on either side were even more elite and capable.

The Sasa family suffered heavy losses of samurai due to the successive deaths of Narimasa's father, Narimune, and his brother, Masatsugu. It was only in the last two years that they began to recover, and the new generation is no match for the Sanada clan, who have been fighting in the Koshin Mountains for decades.

Upon engaging in battle, they suffered heavy losses; their men and horses were swept away by the swords, none able to withstand a single blow. At this point, Sasamatsu Chiyomaru finally became afraid and wanted to return to his father. However, he discovered that he was already surrounded by Sanada's forces, and Sasamatsu Narimasa was nowhere to be seen.

Meanwhile, Sasa Narimasa, who was directing his arquebusiers to fire fiercely at Baba Nobuharu's charging attack, had no time to spare for his precious son.

With a flash of light, Sasamatsu Chiyomaru's head flew into the air. A shout rang out from the ranks, "Sasamatsu Nagasuke Narimasa has been taken by Sanada Genta Saemon!" The shout immediately startled the left and right garrison soldiers.

Sassa Narimasa, who was loading the arquebus, was still in shock; his head was still firmly attached to his neck. Little did he know that his only son had died so inexplicably. If he had survived, he would have had eleven daughters in his lifetime, not a single son.

Regardless of whether he was dead or not, this shout did indeed disrupt the Oda army's lines. Even Oda Nobuhiro was both surprised and suspicious, only to see a helmet that was indeed worn by Sasa Narimasa being lifted high by a spear by the Takeda army.

Damn it, could Sassa Narimasa really be dead?!

Oda Nobuhiro's command faltered in shock, and his Owari troops on either side fell into disarray. Even the arquebusiers that had been firing incessantly began to fall silent. Seizing this opportunity, Baba Nobuharu shouted for battle and personally led the Makinoshima troops forward, brandishing his spear, to charge at Oda Nobuhiro.

At this moment, Oda Nobunaga, who had already rushed to Anayama Nobuhito's side, realized that victory was beckoning to him, because he clearly saw the general in the Takeda army's main camp wearing the Suwa Hoshoin hat and a white bear fur cap.

Closer! Closer! Closer!

I could even see Takeda Shingen's nose and eyebrows. How could an old man who had aged so much compete with me, Oda Nobunaga, for this world?

Even the minor officials and the imperial guards around Qian Weimao were overjoyed. No matter how the battles were going in other places, as long as they could kill the enemy's general, they would win immediately.

Anayama Nobuhito, who had withstood three consecutive charges by the Oda army, was finally defeated. However, the Takeda army still had a last bit of strength left outside the main camp. Takeda Shōyōken Nobukatsu's troops surged forward to face the Hirate brothers and Hayashi Michimasa, who were charging towards them, as well as Maeda Toshiie's three hundred arquebuses.

The hundreds of spearmen, who had been fed with Yongle coins for ten years, formed a large formation and passed Nobunaga's warhorse. Several centurions of foot soldiers cheered for Nobunaga, promising to break through Takeda Shōyōken's defenses and help Nobunaga reach Takeda Shingen's main camp.

A centurion named Tsukamoto Daizen was the first to engage in battle, followed by Ichihashi Denzaemon, who wielded a three-and-a-half-meter spear and led his men to join the fray.

The elite foot soldiers of Owari were unparalleled in the land.

The sound of conch shells echoed through the clouds and waves as four centurions, with unwavering courage and disregard for casualties, smashed through the infantry formation directly in front of Takeda Nobunaga's camp. Clumps of Oda soldiers cheered their great victory; the Takeda army's main camp was right before them, all cover had been breached, and no one could stop Oda Nobunaga from slaying Takeda Shingen.

On the other side, Tokugawa Ieyasu, also covered in blood, led his elite guards and fallen soldiers to Takeda Shingen's main camp. The elder brother from Owari and the younger brother from Mikawa exchanged a glance, both letting out a sigh of relief; they had finally won. What did it matter how great the price, as long as victory was achieved?

To seize the vast territory of the Takeda clan, exceeding 1.2 million koku, one needs neither brave generals nor elite soldiers; there are plenty of ronin and fierce warriors throughout Japan. Once the petition is presented, even the most skilled swordsman and archer will have to scramble to serve.

Yoshida Takamasa, the archery master of the Hioki school, has already become Nobunaga's retainer. Ogasawara Sadakashi, the successor of the Ogasawara school of archery, also serves Nobunaga and will be among the courtiers when he goes to the palace in the future.

As for your question about a swordsman? Kitabatake Tomokyo has already submitted to Nobunaga, and is currently living in seclusion in southern Ise. Nobunaga doesn't care about this guy's so-called secret techniques of the First Sword; he'll just put you under house arrest and let you drink and eat sushi in your 200-square-meter mansion.

On Takeda Shingen's side, Shingen was certainly not as calm as he appeared. With the enemy army right in front of him, anyone would waver. But Takeda Shingen was no longer a rookie on the battlefield. His six close attendants began to mobilize, calling upon their foot soldiers to block Shingen's and Oda-Tokugawa's allied forces.

Among them was Shichibei's old acquaintance, Muto Kibei, who was now commanding twenty-five riders. Seeing that another warden, Sone Sojuro, had already formed his battle formation, he quickly followed.

Besides his six close associates, Shingen had another trump card. He went to great lengths, taking a roundabout route for several months, and finally managed to bring five hundred Saiga arquebusiers from Kishu to his army, traveling from Kishu to Osaka to Harima to Tanba to Tango to Echizen to Hida to Kai.

As their last line of defense, it was finally time for the Saiga troops to show their strength. Three fortified walls were erected outside the main camp. As Takeda Shōyōken's troops were scattered and began to disintegrate to both sides, leaving a gap in front, the Saiga troops pulled the triggers on the Oda-Tokugawa allied forces that were charging towards them.

Your Oda clan has arquebuses, and so does our Takeda clan. Those were paid for with gold coins produced in Yunoku-go (Yamanashi Prefecture, Minamino-gun, Minamoto-cho). The handfuls of gold coins made the eyes of the Saiga troop, who had initially thought the journey was too long and were even haggling over the travel expenses, gleam.

Not only do they get paid, but they can also fight their way back to Luoyang. This business is more than just profitable; it's incredibly lucrative, making them so rich they're practically flying high.

What greeted Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu was a barrage of six hundred arquebuses that flew like streaks of light or lightning almost without pause, following the three gates of the arquebus.

Why an extra hundred? Takeda Shingen himself had a hundred arquebusiers as bodyguards. As the governor of both Kai and Shinano provinces, he must have amassed a fortune of several hundred arquebuses. Besides, he and Nobunaga were close in-laws in their early years. He was also related to the Honganji Temple's Kennyo Shonin by marriage, meaning he was essentially the brother of one of the two biggest arquebus dealers in all of Japan.

Let alone the hundreds of arquebuses they possessed, if you include the arquebuses held by their retainers, they probably had a thousand. The only problem was the availability of saltpeter; it was completely controlled.

The barrage of fire from six hundred arquebuses immediately disrupted the offensive of the Oda-Tokugawa allied forces. It even stunned Maeda Toshiie, who was leading his arquebusiers into battle—how could the Takeda clan's firepower be even more intense than his own?

Even if they were confused, they had to go. The Oda army had been stuck in the quagmire of the Kinai region for years, and they had seen all kinds of storms. The centurions of foot soldiers at the front immediately shouted to their foot soldiers.

Don't be a coward. Everyone knows perfectly well how long it takes for the arquebus to reload. In that time, you can reach Shikagaki at Takeda Shingen's main camp and even engage in hand-to-hand combat.

You're all from Owari, top-notch men. Keep your spirits up and don't embarrass yourselves!

Indeed, Oda's standing foot soldiers were an army very familiar with arquebuses. After an arquebus was fired, there would be a long reloading period. Even soldiers wearing samurai armor and wielding katana or spears could run over a hundred meters across the battlefield during this time.

The small drums within the Takeda main camp blared fiercely, inspiring the Takeda soldiers to fight. The Centipede troops, who had been surrounding Shingen, galloped off to relay orders to the Takeda forces surrounding the Oda-Tokugawa allied forces: "Don't worry about the situation at the main camp; just focus on flanking the Oda-Tokugawa allied forces. May the gods of Suwa protect our army and grant us a thousand victories!"

Chapter 274 The Mountain Overturns and the Sea Collapses

"In my view, the battle between the two armies, Kai and Wei, is evenly matched, and the decisive victory rests entirely with you and me!"

The Hojo army's 2,000 cavalry, led by Kazuki Ujitsugu, who had marched swiftly for three days from Noina County, finally arrived at the battlefield this afternoon and are now on the river plain north of Ishida-zaka.

Yuhe Shi then said to the Hojo samurai who were following him, "The outcome of this battle may very well be in the hands of our mere two thousand men."

Looking at the Oda army (who were generally considered to be Oda's vassal daimyo) and Takeda army fighting desperately on the distant plateau, Ujitsugu suddenly felt an incredible sense of mystery, as if he had grasped the future direction of Japan.

By joining in, one could potentially decide the outcome of this battle, which concerns the entire future of Japan. Anyone in that situation would be deeply moved and unable to control themselves.

"The tail of the army's arrowhead has reached the tail of the armored army's crane wing. If you want to fight, fight quickly!" Kohana and Taro drew their swords.

"That's right!" Tada no Nakanosuke thought so too.

"Alright! Sound the conch shell!" The Chihe clan had come here to participate in the war, and to help the Takeda army win, so what was there to hesitate about?

If they truly achieve an unparalleled feat, then the Hojo family will be honored with a glorious legacy of supporting the new shogunate. The new Kanto Kanrei (Kanto Governor) would undoubtedly be none other than Hojo Ujimasa.

The Tokugawa army was now completely empty, with only a few hundred soldiers and a small rear guard remaining. They heard the sound of conch shells coming from behind them. Before they could think further, the Hojo generals, wielding their spears and leading thousands of attendants and foot soldiers, swept through the Tokugawa rear guard like a raging storm.

The previously blocked Zhutian Slope suddenly opened up, and in the distance, one could see the Tokugawa army entangled with Takeda Yoshiyori's troops of the Takeda army, maintaining the rear road of Tokugawa Ieyasu, who had already broken through.

What a great opportunity today!

After nearly two hours of fierce fighting, the Tokugawa army, exhausted and fighting for a last breath of victory, collapsed in disarray. Honda Tadazane, the Tokugawa general in charge of organizing the ranks, shouted repeatedly from horseback to his men to hold on, but with the army crumbling like a house of cards, no one listened to him anymore.

His constant shouts, however, attracted the attention of the Hojo army. Two Hojo samurai immediately drew their bows from horseback and fired arrows at Honda Tadazane. The former was struck in the ribs, and the latter in the leg, instantly knocking Honda Tadazane off his horse. Several Hojo foot soldiers rushed forward like lightning, pounced on Honda Tadazane as he tried to get up, and one of them took out a dagger and stabbed Honda Tadazane through the neck.

"Honda Higo Mamoru begs for death!"

With a "boom," the rear of the Tokugawa army was thrown into chaos. The Tokugawa army, which had at least managed to hold on to its last breath, finally began to waver, and a chain reaction of panic began to emerge.

Just as Honda Tadamasa was fighting alongside him on the flank, Tokugawa general Satomi Yoshinaga stepped forward, shouting that Satomi Goroemon, lord of Sugo Castle in Kamo, Mikawa, was here. He not only leaped onto his horse but also raised his own two-pronged banner, a symbol of the Kiyowa Genji Yoshiie school, urging the Tokugawa soldiers on either side not to lose heart and to continue holding on.

Tokugawa Ieyasu has already reached the Takeda main camp. If he can kill Takeda Shingen in battle or break through the Takeda main camp and force it to retreat, then this battle will be a great victory for the Oda-Tokugawa allied forces.

"Perfect timing! Satomi Yoshinaga, is it?" Kiwa Ujitsugu immediately ordered his twenty-odd archers to unleash a barrage of fire at Satomi's two waving banners. Unfortunately, Kiwa Ujitsugu didn't possess a single arquebus. However, the Bando samurai were accustomed to archery, and there were many skilled archers among them.

Unlike the wooden bows used by ordinary foot soldiers, the bows used by these Bando samurai were made by gluing together individual bamboo strips, layering and pressing them together before shaping them. Furthermore, because they were foot bows, they could be made significantly larger than their actual height. An arrow shot from these bows could instantly kill anyone within thirty meters.

Satomi Yoshinaga, who was still shouting on horseback, was hit by seven or eight arrows. He died instantly without even catching his breath, and didn't even know who shot him.

In a short span of time, the Tokugawa army lost two samurai generals, Honda Tadazane and Satomi Yoshinaga, and almost all of its rear troops collapsed and scattered.

When Takeda Yoshiyori, who was besieging them, saw Hojo Sankaihiko, he immediately realized that his ally, Ujitsugu Kazue, had arrived. Without saying a word, he called out to Ujitsugu Kazue from a distance of several dozen meters and immediately went to besiege the Tokugawa and Oda armies at the front.

The two generals maintained a distance of advancing side by side, yet with some gaps between them. One after another, they defeated the Tokugawa army, which was attacked from both sides. After General Aoki Matashirokichi was killed in battle under the combined attack of Kiwa Ujitsugu and Takeda Yoshiyori, the rest of the Tokugawa army was completely annihilated, except for Tokugawa Ieyasu, who was fighting alongside Nobunaga.

At the same time, Baba Nobuharu, with the Sanada troops as his banner, finally broke through the flank defenses set up by Oda Nobuhiro and Sasa Narimasa, and finally formed a trap to trap the Oda army that had advanced the most of the way.

It was already 3 PM. The Takeda army's main camp, which seemed to be on the verge of collapse, was being held up by the six members of the Oku Chikaku group and the Saiga arquebusiers. It was like a small boat in a raging sea, being repeatedly smashed down by huge waves, yet repeatedly emerging again. It was almost on the verge of breaking through.

Just as Tokugawa Ieyasu was preparing to personally charge into battle, the rear route, which had been controlled by the Oda-Tokugawa allied forces, was almost entirely covered by Takeda Hishiko.

Our escape route is cut off!

The entire army was thrown into panic, and all routes were terrified. The pagemen and guards protecting Oda Nobunaga immediately urged him that there was no chance of victory in this battle, and that they should take advantage of the fact that the armored army was still launching a surprise attack to find an opening and break through to escape. Otherwise, Mikatagahara was a high plateau on all sides, a dead end; if they were to fall on it, they would surely die without a burial place.

Where exactly did they go wrong? The situation on the battlefield changed so rapidly that even the extremely perceptive Oda Nobunaga failed to catch the change at the last moment.

There was no other way but to call upon Tokugawa Ieyasu and flee as quickly as possible.

There was still some affection between them, and even though Oda Nobunaga was about to flee, he still informed Tokugawa Ieyasu. Sensing that something was wrong, Tokugawa Ieyasu flung his headband aside, which was snatched away by his samurai general Natsume Yoshinobu, while Suzuki Kyusaburo on the other side stripped off Ieyasu's golden tunic and put it on himself.

Both of them shouted that Tokugawa Mikawa was here, and that they were all lowly villains who should be killed at once.

After driving Tokugawa Ieyasu away, the two men split up and charged. As mentioned before, Mikatagahara is a plateau; the main road to the west is Ōyama-zaka, and the main road to the east is Ishida-zaka. However, beyond these main roads, there are also narrower paths, barely wide enough for two or three people to pass through. These narrow paths are basically only known and found by the locals of Tōtōmi.

The Tokugawa army's main force was the Totomi army, and once it collapsed, they all sought their own way, fleeing towards the familiar Sakamichi.

This put the Oda army in a difficult position. While the Tokugawa army could break into smaller units, the Oda army could not, as they only knew the passage to the Ōyama-zaka. Moreover, at the entrance to the Ōyama-zaka, Kawamura Shichibei Nagayoshi had four thousand men stationed there.

Although it's possible that the Kawamura team has been disbanded or even wiped out, at least there's still hope. By running towards Oyamasaka, they still have a chance to escape.

A servant brought in a new horse, and Nobunaga turned the horse around, looking at the Takeda main camp, which at most was thirty ken (45 meters) away, and thought to himself that he would definitely return.

The Takeda army, already encircled, saw the cavalry and charged forward with eyes gleaming with greed. They might even slay Oda Nobunaga, a feat worthy of beheading the regent of the Muromachi shogunate.

Even in a small local area, one can instantly become a senior retainer and general with ten thousand strings of cash.

Behind Oda Nobunaga, cries of "Oda's foot soldiers, samurai generals, and cavalrymen are being captured!" echoed incessantly. The Oda army protecting Nobunaga withered and crumbled petal by petal, like a lily, so that many familiar faces vanished without a trace, leaving only fleeting glimpses.

"Hirate Kenmono (Hisahide) has been obtained by my Nezu Sake Brewery!"

Suddenly, a loud shout came from behind, and Oda Nobunaga's hands, which were spurring his horse, even trembled. His own son, Hirate-sama, had been lost on the battlefield of Mikatagahara.

Thinking of his lord, Hirate Masahide, Oda Nobunaga shed tears. Despite his mother, Tsuchida Gozen, vehemently opposing his succession and repeatedly urging Oda Nobuoki to change the heir, it was Hirate Masahide who single-handedly persuaded Oda Nobuhide. He practically risked his life to guarantee that he would properly educate Oda Nobunaga.