A tour of Japan's Warring States Period

Sugiyama Castle was on fire, and it wasn't just Hosokawa Kaira who was anxious, but Uesugi Teruhora was also extremely anxious.

When Ikunoyama was defeated, the Takeda-Hojo coalition forces pursued the Tone River. However, neither of the two commanders were impatient and aggressive. They quickly relied on the Tone River to establish a defensive line and completely swallowed up Kitamusashi near Matsuyama Castle.

Uesugi Terutora, who had retreated all the way to Amabashi Castle, gathered up his troops and ordered Hojo Takahiro, Hojo Kehiro and his sons who stayed at Amabashi Castle to go to the north bank of the Tone River for defense.

Now ten days have passed, and Uesugi Teruhora's brother-in-law, Nagao Masakage, led Sakado and other Chinese and Vietnamese soldiers and more than 4,000 people to come to the rescue. Finally, Uesugikata's military strength was strengthened and no longer so weak.

With more than 12,000 riders, they hurried to Tone River. Immediately, the sound of tens of thousands of people fighting in the direction of Sugiyama Castle was heard. The one who stayed on the south bank of the Tone River was the die-hard Hojo clan loyalist Kawagoe Castle Daidōji Masashige, with five thousand troops.

Takeda Kata's guard was Iitomi Saburobei Masakage and Naito Xiuyang Masayu, two thousand five hundred people.

No one understands the principle of striking halfway across, right? It was Uesugi Teruhora who rushed to attack Toguchi Tsu and continuously mobilized troops and horses in an attempt to break through the Tone River and rescue Sugiyama Castle, but it was extremely difficult.

After fighting for an hour, the sound of fighting in Sugiyama Castle became weaker and weaker. Uesugi Teruhora knew that Minawa's 10,000 knights were lost!

Now only 10,000 cavalrymen of Hosokawa Harimeo were left in camp on the south bank of the Tone River, and he didn't know whether the military rations were sufficient.

For the current plan, the only way is to bypass the frontal defense line, turn towards Ninja Castle, then cross the Tone River in the relatively easy-to-pass area between Ninja Castle and Kisai Castle, and penetrate Takeda Hojo's position from the side. After rescuing Yamauchi Ten Thousand Riders, he still has a chance to fight back.

But life is always full of ups and downs.

The Narita clan of Ninja City is not a professional young man. It's just that after Narita Chitai took root here, he always had to adapt to the current situation and preserve the family name in troubled times.

Since the first battle in Kanto, there have been countless people who betrayed Terutora Uesugi, like the crucian carp crossing the river or the sand of the Yellow River. Even Ryota Harisuke, who fought tooth and nail to resist the Hojo clan's invasion for more than ten years, surrendered.

It was once said that even if all the samurai in Kanto defected to the Hojo clan, the rustic Sakai Shinji of the Kamisou clan, who would always firmly support Uesugi Teruhora, defected to the Hojo clan last year. He was almost on the verge of becoming one of the members of the Hojo family's imperial family, and now he was accompanying the Hojo family with five hundred cavalry to attack the Uesugi army.

A letter from Teru Uesugi was sent to Ninja Castle, and the city was immediately divided into two factions. One group believed that Teru Uesugi still had a backup plan, and the Yamauchi family was not crippled, so it was clear who would win. This faction is mainly led by Laojianghu Narita Nagata, Narita Nagatada, and Narita Taiji.

The other faction believes that Uesugikata's forces have suffered successive large-scale defeats in Kanto. Not only have the territories of Shimotsou, Kamesou, Minamimusashi, Hitachi and other countries been lost, but now they are seeing the end of Kitakusa and Ueno. This faction is headed by the heads of the Narita clan, Oda Chao Xing and others.

Originally, the two sides were just arguing, and no one could suppress the other. However, Sugiyama Castle fell, and the entire Minawa army of Nagano Imasa was routed. Nagano Issei waited for the news that only a thousand troops were left and fled across Hata Castle. With the arrival of the Hojo Army's envoy Kawazu Castle Lord Yamoyama Shinshiro, Narita Shi Changfang had the upper hand.

The head of the family at this moment was originally the head of the Narita clan, and his speech was finally recognized by the retainers Tejima, Shibazaki, Masaki and others. Narita Nagayasu made a complete mistake. Narita Yasuki lived in seclusion and handed over his family to Narita Nagasaki. However, Narita Nagatada, who was opposed to his brother, was directly chased and released.

This happened overnight.

When Terutora Uesugi came to Ninja Castle with an army and asked for the recruitment of civilians and ships to build a pontoon bridge to cross the Tone River, there was no response from the people in Ninja Castle and they just ignored it.

The Uesugi army failed to react for a moment and fell into a situation where it was impossible to advance or retreat. The Narita family can either remain loyal or rebel, but what does it mean if you can't beat them with three sticks?

So Uesugi Terutora sent Shimohira Ukon to enter the city, but the result was that the leader of the Narita clan was injured in the battle of Ikunoyama and could not come to greet him. Moreover, due to the war, the nearby people also fled and were unable to recruit civilians.

No one would believe what he said. Uesugi Terutora knew as soon as he heard this that the Narita clan was going to sit on the fence. Seeing Uesugikata being defeated one after another, his strength shrank. The Narita family was afraid that they would be ruined if they continued to follow, so now they made excuses to refuse.

If the Uesugi family makes a comeback, they should keep a secret in everything so that they can meet again in the future. There are no thieves in the Narita family, so they can come back with a licking face. If the Hojo family completely wins, then he can run to the Hojo family. Look, I didn't help Uesugi Teruhu beat you. I am neutral.

It was just the "survival wisdom" of the wealthy Chinese people during the Warring States Period. Although they sneered in their hearts, no one would expose it.

Although the Narita family didn't help, he still had a conscience and didn't get in the way. As long as we build a pontoon bridge and cross the Tone River, the tactical roundabout operation will be successful.

They can attack the Hojo Takeda coalition forces from the side and rescue Hosokawa Saime. Even if they can't enter Matsuyama Castle, the battle can still be fought.

In order to show their sincerity, the Narita family also sent people to pull 200 koku of rice to the Uesugi Teruhora army. In this season, two hundred stone rice is considered a big gift.

Terutora Uesugi naturally accepted it. He had seen too many rebellions, and he had seen them in all kinds of tricks and postures. This was the first time he had seen the Narita family's coy behavior of wanting to rebel but not daring to rebel, not daring to rebel yet wanting to rebel.

Just face it with a smile, what else can you do?

As long as it’s not bad! Uesugi Teruhu thought so.

After the people ran away, they turned to the army's servants to do the formation. If the people ran away, it was impossible to run away with the boats. After some searching, we collected enough boats and prepared planks and ropes. It’s not too difficult. The pontoon bridge has been built, and there are still two.

This is the wisdom of being experienced in the military. If you only build a pontoon bridge, you will not be able to deal with anything that happens. By getting several of them, you can not only speed up the river crossing, but also prepare for emergencies.

Although building the bridge took more time and used more materials, rapid marching could make up for this waste.

Even if he goes to the rescue, he still can't lose even a little bit of Meng Lang. The war is fierce and dangerous, and if you are not careful, the whole army will collapse like Ikunoyama.

The Uesugi army began to cross the river the next day, and Uesugi Teruhora kept an eye on it. He always asked his most trusted Naoe Keizuna and Kojima Sadaki to lead more than 2,000 people to guard against possible sudden accidents in Ninja Castle.

More than 3,000 people crossed the river, and when the army continued marching in full swing, the gates of Ren City opened wide, and thousands of people and horses rushed out.

There was a sudden change on the other side of the river, and flags were flying in the distance, especially the Sun Tzu Siru military flag that was the most conspicuous.