Chapter 149: A Battle of Minds
Today, the Imagawa Family’s offensive escalated, launching a fierce attack across the entire front. Intense combat erupted at key points like the North Mountain and Riverside rock fortresses, the sheep wall, and the “Stone City.” Yuan Ye judged that the enemy was about to launch a decisive blow and stood ready, deploying all available power to the city walls.
At the same time, he prepared contingency plans for the sheep wall being breached and the rear losing its cover, ready to contract their defenses. After the sheep wall fell, he planned to abandon the North Mountain Rock Fortress and withdraw the remaining over a hundred Wanjin Army personnel to defend the Port Rock Fortress.
Some of the combat and auxiliary troops on the sheep wall entered the “Stone City” to bolster its defenses, while others retreated to several small rock fortresses between the port and the “Stone City,” strengthening the resistance of the second defensive line.
The Riverside Rock Fortress was handled similarly, though only a few dozen Wanjin Army personnel were stationed there, enough to be absorbed into the “Stone City.”
The elderly and weak civilians in the camp, who were not combat-capable, were also organized and retreated as much as possible to the port area. If the port could not accommodate them all, they were to be diverted to the “Stone City” and the various small rock fortresses in the second line.
If there was still no room, then…
In any case, if the front line was breached, he would continue to fight, though he would likely face enemies on all sides and have much poorer supply conditions.
It was unavoidable, really. He had too many non-combatant civilians and a large amount of accumulated supplies behind him, which stretched the front line too thin and spread the Wanjin Army too thinly to cope with the enemy’s all-out assault. The sheep wall was likely lost, but concentrating the Wanjin Army now wasn’t entirely a bad thing. If necessary, he could even find an opportunity to launch a proactive sortie, engage the enemy in open combat, and aim to capture their leader.
The outcome, however, was unpredictable. Engaging in open combat with a few hundred against several thousand, win or lose, he would likely be crippled afterward. If Oda Nobunaga were to seize this opportunity to “take over” here, he would be powerless to resist.
Starting from scratch was this difficult. Developing under Oda Nobunaga’s watchful eye was already challenging, and coming to the Chita Peninsula was a gamble, an attempt to force the Imagawa Family to concede without significant losses. Now, it seemed the gamble had failed. Surrounded by predators, the situation was complex, and becoming a “Minor Daimyo” out of thin air was not easy.
He managed to steal moments throughout the day to coordinate personnel and transport supplies, preparing for the sheep wall’s fall and his own potential entrapment within the city. Then, he stood on the city walls, observing the enemy’s positions and camps.
It was now dusk. The enemy was using the remaining good light to rotate their forces, bringing in fresh troops. The enemy also needed to eat, and wisps of smoke were rising from behind their positions and camps as they began to disperse for their meal.
As the sun completely disappeared below the horizon and the sky gradually darkened, lights began to appear on the enemy’s positions for illumination. Though few at first, as they moved away from the city walls’ firing arcs and were no longer easily targeted, the lights grew in number. By the time they reached the enemy camps, they had become scattered points, resembling the myriad stars in the sky.
The enemy’s numbers had been steadily increasing; they had summoned almost all the Chita Local Lords…
Yuan Ye watched silently for a long time, observing the scene, slightly distorted and shimmering due to the smoke and firelight, feeling a sense of unreality. He doubted if he could survive the night, or if he would be trapped and die in the city. If he truly died trapped in the city, he would likely rank among the top ten “transmigrator disgraces” in history.
He even felt like clasping his hands together and shouting to the enemy from afar: “You’ve lost so many men, why haven’t you left yet? Is this place so important that you must fight me to the death here?”
So many have died, and I’m almost at my limit. Why can you still endure?
However, he knew asking would be useless. The enemy didn’t believe he simply wanted to move to the Chita Peninsula to live. They feared his strength and worried he might ravage the entire Chita Peninsula, causing them to lose the entire southern flank of the Shirakawa Entrance defense line. There might even be more important reasons he couldn’t guess, related to the Imagawa Family’s further arrangements for the Chita Peninsula, but these were no longer important.
The sound of conch shells echoed from the enemy positions. It seemed they had completed their shift change. Yuan Ye’s scattered thoughts refocused. He glanced again at the lights in the enemy camps, then looked up at the starry sky. Turning, he pulled out his iron whistle and blew with all his might.
Shortly after, sharp whistle sounds erupted from the city walls and the sheep wall, responding to him. A new round of offense and defense was about to begin.
That night, the enemy certainly didn’t hold back, launching an assault far more intense than before. Several sections of the sheep wall endured attacks with an intensity comparable to the previous “Battle of North Mountain Rock Fortress.” Large numbers of heavily armored samurai from the Imagawa and Matsudaira Families were deployed, with the primary assault force consisting entirely of elite followers from the Imagawa and Matsudaira Families, no longer using the samurai followers of the Chita Local Lords as cannon fodder.
Yuan Ye personally led a “firefighting team” rushing back and forth on the sheep wall, wielding sabers and spears, firing matchlock guns, and constantly driving the enemy off the wall. However, one tower was still occupied by a sudden surge of enemy troops. During the struggle, a gunpowder barrel inside the tower was somehow ignited, causing a massive explosion that nearly killed him.
In the chaos of the night, a small enemy contingent inexplicably crossed the sheep wall and infiltrated behind the defensive line. In the darkness, they engaged a small rock fortress on the second defensive line, causing widespread wavering among the frontline auxiliary troops.
As dawn approached, the entire sheep wall descended into chaos. In many places, the enemy, relying on their superior numbers and a greater quantity of rookie and ashigaru troops, forcibly built earthen ramps, allowing them to quickly ascend the sheep wall. Close-quarters combat rapidly increased, and the casualty rate among the Wanjin Army combat troops began to soar, with the situation becoming increasingly dire.
He could wait no longer. Yuan Ye calmly accepted reality and ordered a contraction of defenses. He also commanded the military police to fill the pre-made holes in the wall, left during its construction, with gunpowder barrels. If necessary, he would blow up several sections of the sheep wall and cause nearby towers closer to the city to collapse, preventing the enemy from using them. Volcanic ash concrete could be destroyed by explosives, but to achieve a good blasting effect, the wall needed to be excavated and detonated from within. Approximately one jin of black powder could shatter one cubic meter of volcanic ash concrete; he had tested this previously to prevent volcanic ash cement from being leaked, which would make even him unable to deal with it in the future.
Of course, there was no rush now. It wouldn’t be too late to detonate them after the enemy occupied them; the fuses were already laid.
The contraction of defenses proceeded smoothly. The junior officers were highly effective, with the vast majority entering their new defensive positions as planned. This was mainly because the enemy, after fighting all night, was also in disarray and, despite successfully occupying the sheep wall, was temporarily unable to pursue. Furthermore, since the Wanjin Army, including auxiliary troops, knew the small bay was blocked by sunken ships and they had no retreat, they could only hide in the rock fortresses.
Strict military discipline was of little use now. Yuan Ye found it difficult to control these dispersed small rock fortresses. Most people had to fight for their own survival under the leadership of their junior officers. After all, in this unfortunate era and unfortunate country, there was no such thing as preferential treatment for prisoners. If they fell into the hands of the Imagawa Family, their fate would likely not be pleasant.
At least until they were no longer able to fight, they probably wouldn’t surrender.
Probably!
…
Yuan Ye could no longer concern himself with the gains and losses of the small rock fortresses and ceased to worry about them. The city had wells, and he planned to hold out in the sturdy fortress for a month or two. The Imagawa Army, having paid a heavy price, finally achieved a hard-won victory and was ecstatic. After a round of “Oh-oh-hey,” they saw several new rock fortresses emerge on the wilderness in the dawn light. Further away, two large rock fortresses guarded the entrance to a small bay on either side, and in the center was another shorter but taller and thicker sheep wall.
Looking at this scene, the Imagawa Family’s “Oh-oh-hey” from the city walls grew quieter and gradually disappeared completely.
It was then that they suddenly realized the enemy had not routed but had retreated into new defensive positions. Despite their all-out efforts, they had only managed to capture one sheep wall.
How much longer would it take to drive away these enemies?
Even the most thoughtless followers of the Imagawa Family began to ponder this question.
This war had now become a psychological struggle. Neither side knew why the other was fighting so desperately. Both were anxious and fearful that the other would persevere to the end, both felt immense pressure, and both felt they might not be able to hold on. Now, it was a matter of who was more willing to go all out.
