Chapter 240: A Troublesome Test
In the dark night, Unuma Castle was in chaos.
The defenders had not expected the moat, palisades, and the first city wall to be breached so easily. They were forced to retreat to the nearest rock fortresses and residences, using them as strongholds to continue their resistance, and to call for reinforcements from the rear to hurry and see if they could drive the enemy out again.
In short, even though they were caught off guard and the Wanjin Army’s firepower was extremely fierce, the defenders still had the will to resist.
Thus, amidst the raging fires, a fierce battle of attack and defense erupted in the area at the foot of Mount Unuma. The defenders were familiar with the terrain, had pre-arranged defensive facilities and various traps, and the rock fortresses and arrow towers continuously fired arrows and hurled stones, controlling the roads in the area from a commanding height. Even though the Wanjin Army was better equipped and more disciplined, their attacks were repeatedly blocked, and casualties mounted.
This kind of siege warfare was different from what most people imagined siege warfare to be. It was more akin to street fighting, emphasizing small unit coordination, infiltration, and close-quarters combat, which was not at all friendly to an army like the Wanjin Army that focused on long-range firepower and fighting in formation.
You don’t know until you try, and it’s super troublesome.
It’s no wonder that throughout history, a frontal assault on a large castle has always been a major taboo in warfare.
Yuan Ye, stationed at the rear, continuously received news from the front lines and thoroughly understood why there were so many battle examples in Japan’s Warring States period like “starving Sanuki,” “thirsting Tottori,” and “flooding Takamatsu.” Without heavy artillery that could destroy targets one by one, such large mountain castles were truly difficult to conquer, and could only be besieged to death or by resorting to cunning tricks.
There were also many failed examples of trying to force a direct assault, such as the “Battle of Usui Castle.”
The Uesugi Family, along with the Kanto allied forces, besieged Usui Castle. They quickly broke through the first defensive line at the foot of the mountain, plundered the castle town, and ravaged the nearby villagers. However, there was a particularly perilous spot on the mountain, with cliffs on both sides and a very narrow path. As a result, the defenders had long ago built a fortress there. Merely throwing stones down caused the Kanto allied forces to suffer heavy losses, leaving them dejected and returning without success, becoming the laughingstock of the year.
Although Unuma Castle’s terrain was not as perilous as Usui Castle’s, it was still a mountain, so the terrain was not much better. Some rock fortresses and arrow towers, deliberately built by the enemy in strategic locations, were in very tricky positions that could not be easily taken down for a while. After the Wanjin Army broke through, they became embroiled in street fighting at the foot of the mountain and were blocked on the mountain paths.
The Wanjin Army did not need Unuma Castle, and it didn’t matter if they couldn’t take it during this exercise. However, in the future, on the Ise Peninsula, there would be many enemy strongholds. If they couldn’t quickly capture such strategic locations and it turned into a siege and attrition war lasting for years, the situation would be very unfavorable for the Wanjin Army.
At the very least, it would increase variables and greatly increase the possibility of surrounding daimyo interfering in the war.
Perhaps they should develop mortars? A simplified version made of wood, capable of launching gunpowder packets into the sky?
While Yuan Ye was contemplating whether he could secretly gain some advantages, he discussed with the remaining staff officers what other methods could be used to better handle this situation. However, they hadn’t come up with any good results yet. The frontline officers, however, took the initiative, pushing the “fortified carts” up the mountain and gathering a large number of small catapults. They began to indiscriminately burn wherever there was a counterattack.
The cheapest building material in this era was wood. Honshu Island was also in a high-risk earthquake zone, and wooden buildings were the mainstream. Fire attack tactics were still effective. With the policy of not occupying but only expelling, they began to slowly push back the defenders. However, the Wanjin Army also couldn’t move fast. After driving away the defenders in one area, they couldn’t advance themselves for a while.
After more than an hour of intense fighting, the Wanjin Army had burned a considerable sum of money, but had only secured the breakthrough area and destroyed three enemy fortresses and several arrow towers, barely advancing a few dozen meters up the mountain.
This efficiency was not good, and casualties were difficult to control. In just this hour, even without a desperate charge from the front lines, the casualty count had already exceeded expectations.
Wanjin Army staff officers came and went, constantly collecting information from the front lines, and their discussions became more heated. They planned to revise the training syllabus and modify some weapon configurations.
Overall, they were not very satisfied with the results of this exercise. They believed that in the future, to fight such siege warfare, the troops should be broken down more, be more flexible, and even be more proactive and adventurous. After all, according to the compiled defense maps, the enemy was not capable of isolating all possible routes up the mountain. Some places could be climbed by force, and there were still loopholes to exploit.
Yaguro had not left and watched from afar as the Wanjin Army officers argued with each other. Yuan Ye listened to the discussions with a calm expression, and faintly overheard some of the content, making him feel like he was about to split.
They were not satisfied with this speed?
Did they expect to annihilate such a large mountain castle overnight to be satisfied?
In this era, fighting such large battles took years. It was not uncommon to spend one or two years. For example, Inuyama Castle, which was currently under siege, was it that the Oda Family didn’t want to take it in one night? They didn’t dare to. They couldn’t guarantee victory, so they had to wait until it was so weak that it had no ability to resist before acting!
The Oda Family had been struggling for more than half a year without taking action, yet here you are, attacking up the mountain in just over an hour, and doing so against a strong and well-defended enemy fighting to the death. Why are you still arguing?
What is there to argue about? If I had such followers and ashigaru…
Yaguro’s expression flickered. While he had a gut full of complaints, he also began to suspect that Yuan Ye was deceiving him. It was very likely that Yuan Ye intended to forcibly capture Unuma Castle to seize the first merit.
It was not impossible. If Unuma Castle could be captured quickly, and the head of the “Tiger of Eastern Mino” could be taken, it would absolutely deter the local lords at the confluence of the Kiso River and Nagara River. At that point, there would be no need to send envoys to persuade them. Those lords would bring their beautiful daughters and beg to surrender, offering people and provisions, and voluntarily join the ranks of besieging the Saito Family.
Oda Nobunaga would also pay more attention to Wanjin as an ally. Even if Yuan Ye wanted a fief in this area, with such great merit in hand, even if Oda Nobunaga was unwilling, he would have to grudgingly grant him a piece of land.
The more Yaguro thought about it, the colder he felt. He was almost certain that Yuan Ye was trying to snatch the merit, otherwise he wouldn’t have invested so much. But he couldn’t stop it. Just as he was feeling dejected, he suddenly noticed that the Wanjin Army had slowed down. Sharp bamboo whistles began to sound one after another from the front lines, fire oil bombs stopped being launched, and the sound of matchlock guns and shouts of killing completely disappeared.
Everything happened as suddenly as the attack began. The Wanjin Army ceased fire just as quickly, disengaging from the enemy with a single order.
This indicated that the Wanjin Army had maintained control of the battlefield initiative and was disciplined. All units were under control, and no one had gotten carried away and decided to act on their own.
Yaguro was very intelligent, otherwise he wouldn’t have been supported by Oda Nobunaga. Watching the front line, which had suddenly shifted from active to quiet yet was so naturally harmonious, he swallowed several times. But the main business was important. Seeing that the guards no longer stopped him from approaching Yuan Ye, he quickly hurried over and asked with more respect than before, “Your Highness, what is this…”
Tonight was too surreal. He truly couldn’t understand what had happened.
Yuan Ye smiled at him as gently as ever, “I think it’s about enough. Lord Osawa Masahide should be willing to talk to you properly now, Lord Yaguro, what do you think?”
He had learned everything he wanted to know and now understood how the defenders guarded such mountain castles. Naturally, there was no need to continue fighting.
Yaguro looked bewildered, still not understanding why Yuan Ye had fought this battle, why he had thrown away so much money for nothing. It hadn’t been long, but the cost was considerable: the oil spent, the gunpowder for the matchlock guns, the damaged vehicles, the injured men and horses, it must have been two to three thousand koku. For a typical local lord, fighting such a battle would mean immediate bankruptcy.
However, whether he understood or not, he instinctively thanked him, “Thank you, Your Highness. I believe Lord Osawa will surely recognize the situation.”
“Good luck!” Yuan Ye patted him on the shoulder from above and smiled, “The merit has been delivered to your hands. You must grasp it firmly. I look forward to the day you become a Lord of a Province.”
“Yes, Your Highness,” Yaguro could only bow his head and reply again, his heart rekindling with fervor.
A Lord of a Province! Yuan Ye was his goal. If he could become someone like Yuan Ye in the future, he could die with his eyes closed.
…
As Yuan Ye had said, the second time Yaguro and the others went to communicate with Osawa Masahide, it went much smoother. At least they could go directly up the mountain and would no longer be blocked outside the first city wall.
The work of instigating defection was also smooth. Yaguro and the others had already learned from Tsubouchi Katsutaro’s brother-in-law why Osawa Masahide was so stubborn. In recent years, Osawa Masahide had been opposing Oda Nobunaga here. Whenever Oda Nobunaga attacked Inuyama Castle, he would attack Oda Nobunaga’s territory or flank. After prolonged friction, he had killed many samurai of the Oda Family, including Oda Nobunaga’s cousin and nephew, and other relatives.
Now that Inuyama Castle was about to fall, and the Saito Family was in internal strife and seemed to be on the verge of collapse, he was not unwilling to surrender, but he feared that if he surrendered, the Oda Family would seek revenge, and Oda Nobunaga would take his life.
Even though the Wanjin Army’s offensive was so fierce now, if they were willing to shed blood and sacrifice hundreds of lives, they could indeed conquer Unuma Castle. He was still hesitant, fearing that surrendering would be seeking his own death. At that time, both the Oda and Saito families would want him dead, and he would have no means to resist.
Knowing the reason made things easier. Yaguro did not hesitate. He took off his top, took his short sword, and sat in Osawa Masahide’s courtyard. Then he sent Maeno Nagayasu to ride quickly to Oda Nobunaga, saying that he had agreed to Osawa Masahide’s conditions and requested Oda Nobunaga to personally write a letter of pardon and promise to always preserve the Osawa Family’s fief and family name in the future.
If Oda Nobunaga refused, his mission would be considered a failure, and he would have no recourse but to commit suicide in Unuma Castle to atone for his sins.
He was confident that Oda Nobunaga would agree, and Oda Nobunaga did agree. It was easy to capture Unuma Castle, and the death of a few cousins and nephews was not a big deal. In any case, the Oda Family was exceptionally fertile and did not lack people.
He cursed Yaguro a few times and then wrote the pardon letter. He even trusted him completely, allowing Osawa Masahide to continue guarding Unuma Castle without having to move.
The agreement was reached. Osawa Masahide was “deeply impressed” by Oda Nobunaga’s magnanimity and said many good things, whether it was acting or not, he certainly flattered him from afar. Then, together with Igi Seihei, he went to Komaki Mountain Castle to pay respects to Oda Nobunaga, signifying the complete surrender of both families.
As they were fighting, the enemy became an ally. Yuan Ye then led his army back to Matsukura Castle along the same route, and also recovered the three cantilever bridges built by the Wanjin Army along the way.
Most of them were prefabricated parts, which could be reused next time. It was just that Yaguro was a bit disappointed, as he still had a bridge-building task, and his plan to save money and effort was gone. However, he didn’t dare to ask Yuan Ye for compensation and finally strung together the boats of the “Kawana Group” to form a pontoon bridge.
From then on, it was no longer Yuan Ye’s concern. His position was not even considered the front line anymore. At most, he would help Yaguro watch the newly surrendered Ikuyama Castle and Unuma Castle to prevent any trouble, and occasionally threaten nearby minor lords not to cause problems. Oda Nobunaga, on the other hand, had finally lost his patience and confirmed that Inuyama Castle had little resistance left, and directly launched a fierce attack on it.
He himself even personally led the charge with over 2,000 flag bearers. In addition, Shibata Katsuie led over 3,000 Owari local lords and followers, Sakuma Nobumori led over 1,500 men, and Niwa Nagahide led over 2,000 men, all launching assaults from various points in the south.
The defenders of Inuyama Castle had been deserting or secretly surrendering. Saito Tatsuoki was unable to protect himself and did not provide much reinforcement. Oda Nobukiyo’s controllable forces, including the Mino people, were less than a thousand. Seeing that the situation was dire, he did not put up a final resistance in his mansion on the mountaintop, nor did he play a dramatic scene of setting himself on fire. He simply fled to the east.
Oda Nobunaga did not pursue him, allowing him to escape into the mountains, and then from the mountains of Mino, he went to Kai and became a vassal of the Takeda Family.
Oda Nobunaga did not do anything to his family members. Those who were willing to stay, Oda Nobunaga designated a piece of land for them in Tsuda Village, where their past crimes would be forgiven, and they were to farm honestly, with merit to be considered later. Those who were unwilling to stay, Oda Nobunaga allowed them to take their belongings and follow Oda Nobukiyo, to do as they pleased.
Thus, the Inuyama Castle line came to an end. Saito Tatsuoki became a true lone wolf, without any allies left.
