Chapter 140: Epic-Level Idiot
Asahina Yasunaga’s face darkened upon seeing the “Stone City” that had suddenly appeared, while Yuan Ye, upon hearing the scout’s report that a large number of Imagawa Family followers had arrived at Oya Castle, also wore a serious expression.
The Imagawa Family had come too quickly, without any stops for food or rest along the way, arriving with incredible speed, more than a day earlier than the “preliminary completion red line” he had requested. This was truly not good news, but as things stood, there was nothing else he could do. He could only issue continuous orders to halt the construction of the “Sheep Wall,” and to expedite work on the city walls, quickly erecting watchtowers, bamboo sheds for arrow defense, and guardhouses.
At the same time, he ordered the dispatch of additional scattered soldier groups to fully eliminate enemy scouts, ensuring that the enemy could not penetrate and reconnoiter. Surplus construction teams were to retreat and focus on reinforcing the two small fortresses at the port, aiming for rapid completion to prevent the port from being sneak-attacked by small enemy units.
Well, his defense system was being built from the outside in. Currently, only the city on the front, the rock fortress on the mountain, and the defensive positions by the river were barely completed. The small fortresses connecting the high walls and filling the gaps had only just had their foundations poured with concrete, with no above-ground structures yet built. Therefore, the entire defense system only looked presentable on the surface; it was actually just a facade, with several weak points.
If the enemy were to disregard casualties, willing to sacrifice hundreds of human lives and charge in madly under fire from both sides, the port would be difficult to hold. He might be forced to leave the city and engage in open warfare with the enemy. Even if they won, there would likely be significant losses, greatly impacting subsequent defenses.
For a moment, both the commander-in-chief of the attacking force and the defending force were startled and began to feel uneasy.
Asahina Yasunaga was more startled. After all, Yuan Ye had long known he would face trouble and was psychologically prepared. He, however, had come to seize an easy victory, which was why he had rushed here. Instead, he had been dealt a heavy blow, naturally causing him to be more severely startled.
Upon returning to Oya Castle, he immediately summoned the Oya Family vassals to question them, wanting to understand what was going on. However, the Oya Family vassals stammered and could not provide a clear explanation.
They also wanted to understand why, but the scouts they sent out were always ambushed by concentrated fire from multiple matchlock guns, making it impossible to get close. All they knew was that for the past ten-plus days, the opposing city and rock fortress had grown taller by one to two feet each day. Then, today, the opposing city wall had already exceeded three and a half ken. They still had no idea what had happened.
After listening, Asahina Yasunaga endured for a moment before he couldn’t help himself. He stood up and kicked a vassal of the Oya Family, sending him tumbling, and cursed, “Didn’t you harass them at all? You just watched them build the castle?”
He felt that the Chita Local Lords were beyond saving. Setting aside the absurd claim of “the city wall growing one to two feet taller each day,” the fact that these people had holed up in the city and watched the enemy build a castle right under their noses was an epic blunder.
The Oya Family vassal lay on the ground, speechless and timid. Sending them to harass the enemy would be sending them to their deaths! Moreover, who could have predicted this? If it were based on normal castle construction speed, the enemy would be considered incredibly fast if they had only managed to solidify the foundations by now. Who knew how they had erected the city walls? Yuan Ye had driven a circle of piles, using bamboo and iron as reinforcement for the concrete, but they hadn’t seen it, and even if they had, they wouldn’t have understood it.
They felt wronged, but Asahina Yasunaga was still not appeased. He turned and kicked another one down, angrily asking, “What about the enemy’s numbers? You should at least know that, right?”
When the Oya Family and other vassals had previously requested reinforcements, they had stated that the enemy numbered less than seven hundred, with over two hundred matchlock ashigaru among them. These were elite followers who were well-fed daily and brave in battle. They were highly likely to be direct forces of Oda Nobunaga. However, Asahina Yasunaga now dared not believe a single word. How could the enemy’s city grow daily? The enemy had definitely been here for several months, possibly even half a year or a year, and it was impossible for them to number only seven hundred!
Seven hundred people wouldn’t even be enough to carve stone, so how could they build a city?
The Oya Family vassals exchanged glances for a moment. One of them, mustering his courage, replied, “We counted several times. The enemy wasn’t concentrated in one place. In total, it was about one thousand… five to six hundred people?”
“Over fifteen hundred people? How many ashigaru?” Asahina Yasunaga immediately pressed.
The Oya Family vassal hesitated for a moment, not daring to conceal the truth, and lowered his head, saying, “The enemy has about fifteen to sixteen hundred followers. The number of ordinary ashigaru is unclear; their numbers have been constantly increasing…”
They had indeed counted carefully. They couldn’t see clearly from afar due to the castle construction, but experienced individuals could estimate the number of people working with a glance from a distance. Therefore, according to their estimation, the Wanjin Army was constantly rotating. Over six hundred armored individuals occupied strategic positions to guard against sneak attacks, while the remaining followers were desperately engaged in building the castle and fortresses. Those people were definitely followers; they were generally strong, worked very diligently, and their formations were very orderly when moving about. They were clearly well-trained, and if they weren’t followers, they couldn’t possibly be like that. If they put on armor, they could definitely kill people.
As for the ordinary rookie ashigaru, they hadn’t counted them at all. The enemy had been continuously transporting supplies from the seaside to the front, with a constant stream of large groups of people, day and night. It looked like there were at least two to three thousand people, perhaps even four to five thousand, and they wouldn’t doubt it.
“Fifteen to sixteen hundred followers?”
If Asahina Yasunaga hadn’t retained a sliver of his reason, he would have drawn his sword and killed all these fools before him!
He had heard that the opposing side had less than seven hundred followers, which was why he had urgently mobilized fifteen hundred men to prepare for a two-on-one engagement, intending to overwhelm them. Now that he had rushed here, these fools had changed their story. The enemy’s core fighting strength was actually higher than his own. He might have to fight a smaller force against a larger one, and under the enemy’s castle at that. The enemy also had over two hundred matchlock guns. What was there to fight for?
Wasn’t this trying to kill him?
For a moment, he even suspected that these Chita Local Lords had rejoined the Oda Family. This was a trap set to kill his entire force, and then directly counterattack along the Shirakawa Entrance line, perhaps even all the way to Mikawa, helping the Oda Family reclaim lost territories.
Fortunately, upon further thought, he knew these Chita Local Lords lacked the courage, and the number fifteen to sixteen hundred was likely also inaccurate. When “Tiger of Owari” Oda Nobuhide was still alive, with the full might of Owari, they could only muster over eight thousand men, with at most three to four thousand followers from various families. Now, the Oda Danjō no Chū family was not as strong as before. Mustering two thousand brave and capable followers would be considered good, and some of them had to be stationed long-term along the Shirakawa Entrance line. How could they possibly produce so many core fighting forces?
Had the Oda Danjō no Chū family’s strength greatly increased in the past year? Or was this the main force of the Oda Danjō no Chū family, and the rock fortress opposite the Shirakawa Entrance was actually empty?
Asahina Yasunaga was perplexed. He couldn’t understand why Oda Nobunaga would send people here to build a castle and invest such great effort. Apart from facilitating a surprise attack on the Shirakawa Entrance line, this place had no other strategic value. It was just a barren piece of land!
He stood there, his face grim, pondering for a long time, unable to figure it out. However, he managed to calm down and ordered the head of the Oya Family, “Tell me more about the enemy’s commander-in-chief. Be more detailed!”
“Yes!” The head of the Oya Family did not dare to delay. After organizing his thoughts, he said, “The enemy’s commander-in-chief is named Nohara Saburo Ieyoshi, originally from the Western Countries, who wandered to Owari. It is rumored that his medical skills are extraordinary and his archery skills are unparalleled. He followed Oda Nobunaga before he succeeded as head of the family, remaining loyal and participating in all battles after Oda Nobunaga became head of the family. He personally shot down Lord Torii of the Matsudaira Family and, during the rebellion within the Oda Danjō family, he killed Hayashi Sadamasa in battle formation.”
“Indeed, a brave general!” Asahina Yasunaga nodded. He did not dismiss Yuan Ye’s martial prowess just because he was an enemy. After all, he had heard of Torii Tadahira and Hayashi Sadamasa. Both were known for their martial valor, yet they were killed by Yuan Ye. Therefore, Yuan Ye was undoubtedly a brave general. However, he had heard these things before but had not taken them too seriously at the time.
He immediately pressed further, “What about his personality? What kind of person is he?”
Previously, he had not taken the Oda Family’s landing force seriously, but now he had to. He needed to understand the enemy’s commander-in-chief in detail to know himself and his enemy, and thus be victorious in every battle!
The head of the Oya Family hesitated slightly before saying in a low voice, “It is said that he… is extremely greedy, exceptionally skilled at accumulating wealth, and disregards the traditions of the samurai, constantly engaging in various businesses. Many people within the Danjō no Chū family dislike him and privately scorn him.”
Furthermore, he enjoys brocade clothes and fine food, living a life of extreme luxury. It is also rumored that he is extremely lustful, keeping many maidservants and concubines in his residence, often gathering them for lewd activities during the day.
Asahina Yasunaga stroked his sword hilt and nodded, sneering, “Greedy for wealth, that sounds like someone from the Danjō no Chū family. Truly lacking in dignity.”
However, after his sneer, he didn’t take it to heart. The Asahina Family was not much better than the Nohara Family. His current lord greatly enjoyed brocade clothes and fine food, and also liked Chinese poetry and songs. Compared to “Nohara Saburo,” he was only slightly superior. His lord had a hidden ailment and was not very lustful, which was better than Yuan Ye in that regard.
He pondered Yuan Ye’s personality for a while, feeling that since the man was skilled at accumulating wealth, he was certainly not a simple brute. He was likely full of schemes and tricks, and this aspect could not be overlooked. Then, he asked with concern, “Anything else? Any other news about him?”
“That’s all…” The Oya Family had only gathered this much information. However, after thinking for a moment, he added, “He is very tall, standing at eight shaku.”
Asahina Yasunaga was stunned and felt a slight discomfort. He was only five shaku six sun tall, and he was surprised that Yuan Ye was eight shaku tall. If Yuan Ye were to challenge him to a one-on-one duel, it would be quite problematic. Even though he had diligently practiced martial arts since childhood, he had little confidence. An eight-shaku opponent against a five-shaku six-sun opponent; the other party could easily crush him with a wave of his hand!
As expected, he was the foremost brave general of the Oda Danjō no Chū family, truly divinely gifted!
At this point, Asahina Yasunaga felt he had understood the enemy’s strength. He felt that the enemy’s commander-in-chief was both wise and brave, and the core fighting strengths of both sides were roughly equal. One side had fifteen to sixteen hundred followers, and the other had over eighteen hundred followers (including the followers of the Chita Local Lords). The rookie ashigaru and the like were not considered; these people could only play a supporting role. Once the core fighting strength collapsed, they would flee and would not be of much use. With the enemy backed by a strong city, there was absolutely no chance of victory.
Asahina Yasunaga pondered for a while longer. He felt that letting the enemy go was out of the question; having a thorn in his back was intolerable. However, attacking with the current strength was even more impossible. This matter could not be borne by the Imagawa Family alone, nor could the Asahina Family bear the brunt of the consumption. More than half of the fifteen hundred followers he had brought belonged to the Asahina Family’s direct forces.
After a moment, he made a decision and immediately said to those around him, “Set up camp. We will probe the enemy for the next few days and also forge siege equipment!”
He planned to inform the Shirakawa Entrance line and have the Matsudaira Family, further north, send elite troops for support. Originally, he had wanted to keep it all for himself, to eliminate this enemy force that had crossed the sea and capture all their matchlock guns. But now, it was impossible. If it came to a real fight, the Matsudaira Family would have to go first. Otherwise, what was the point of keeping dogs?
Moreover, the Shirakawa Entrance line was about to launch a tentative attack. The main force of the Danjō no Chū family had apparently departed. This might be a good opportunity to break through and destroy the Oda Danjō no Chū family’s important source of wealth, Atsuta Port.
Yes, tie down the enemy here, and first attack the Shirakawa Entrance to test them!
