Chapter 96: Taking a General’s Head from Among a Hundred Armies!
In the darkness, arrows flew across the south gate of Takeuchi Manor. The Hayashi family’s followers and ashigaru, using the cover of buildings, harassed them with constant arrow fire as they approached.
A Man packed the lead ball and gunpowder tightly with a ramrod, raised her matchlock gun, and fired straight ahead. Instantly, a long flame flashed in the night, followed by an explosion that turned into a white smoke dragon. Three lead shots tumbled through the air, flying thirty to forty paces in an instant, easily tearing through human bodies and leaving large holes. The powerful cavity effect caused the wounded to spurt blood, which could fly out over ten feet.
After firing one shot, she immediately ducked behind an overturned ox cart. Immediately after, seven or eight arrows either lodged in the ox cart or flew over her head, adding more white feathers to the small position already filled with arrows.
Yuan Ye, positioned further back, calmly observed the situation. He held a crossbow, and with the help of the aiming device, he picked off enemies who dared to advance one by one. The carbon fiber line, originally used for modern fishing and recreation, had completely transformed into a deadly weapon.
Further behind him was the gate of Takeuchi Manor. In the gate tower above, seven or eight archers had a commanding view, enjoying a great advantage in both field of fire and protection. Arrow after arrow rained down, continuously inflicting casualties on the Hayashi family.
The Hayashi family’s attack was proving difficult. The street itself was not conducive to forming battle formations, and Yuan Ye had previously ordered obstacles to be thrown onto the street. In the dim light, it was even harder to launch a charge, otherwise, a stumble might send them rolling directly to the enemy’s front, offering themselves up as targets.
The two sides exchanged fire for a while. The samurai of the Hayashi family clearly felt they were not gaining an advantage. Although the number of dead was not high, a large number of wounded had accumulated, forcing them to temporarily retreat and begin blowing their conch shell trumpets to summon more reinforcements.
Yuan Ye shook his hand and looked around. He found that on his side, apart from two or three unlucky individuals who were directly hit in the head or face, most were unharmed. After all, a soft bow could hardly penetrate armor, and everyone on his side was an armored follower. Only their stamina had been somewhat depleted.
A Qing, on the other hand, was not participating in the exchange of fire. She was rolling oil barrels. These oil barrels contained soybean oil that the guards of the south gate of Takeuchi Manor used daily for lighting and torches. She was following Yuan Ye’s instructions to move these oil barrels down from the gate tower above the stockade wall and hide them.
The street returned to silence. The followers and ashigaru of the Hayashi family retreated back into the shadows, and Yuan Ye’s men also hunkered down.
A moment later, dozens more people arrived from a distance, led by a mounted samurai. Soon after, a gruff voice came from behind the wall of a private house: “Is this Lord Nohara Saburo?”
A Man glanced back at Yuan Ye. Seeing him nod, she immediately shouted back, “If you have something to say, spit it out!”
“My lord says that you are not a vassal of the Oda family, so there is no need to be buried with that big fool Oda! Now, if you are willing to lay down your weapons, my lord can guarantee that you will be treated with respect.”
“Who is your lord?”
“It is Lord Hayashi Sadamasa (Tsūna Shirōjirō).”
A Man stepped back to Yuan Ye’s side and whispered, “He is the nephew of Hayashi Hidesada. I heard his martial arts are quite good.”
Yuan Ye nodded slightly. He glanced again in the direction of Okuruku Kiyobee’s residence. The sky there was already half-reddened by fire, and the sounds of fighting were almost inaudible. It seemed the residence was almost lost, and the people inside were unlikely to escape. He then said to A Man, “We can give them the south gate. Have them retreat and swear not to pursue.”
An oath might not be effective, but given the current situation, they could only gamble that the enemy cared somewhat about their reputation and wouldn’t relentlessly pursue them.
A Man immediately shouted the message in her sharp voice, but there was no further response from Hayashi Sadamasa’s side, and the street returned to silence.
…
“My lord, it is the Yuan Ye family!” a low-ranking samurai asked from behind the private house. “What should we do now?”
His intention was to let them go. The Yuan Ye family’s group had well-made armor, and in particular, they possessed a strong bow and a matchlock gun. In such narrow terrain, their power was doubled. However, to charge through would cost the lives of nearly ten men. Then, to engage in close combat and eliminate this group would normally result in another thirty to fifty deaths, making it not worthwhile.
Hayashi Sadamasa, about eighteen or nineteen years old, also wore “modern armor” and appeared quite brave and resolute. He shook his head upon hearing this and said, “Prepare to attack! The Head of the Family has ordered that Nohara Saburo should be captured alive if possible. If not, then capture the artisans around him, as many as possible, and try not to kill any of them.”
This was a secondary mission. Originally, he thought Yuan Ye would defend his residence obediently, and it would not be too difficult to complete. After all, local warriors generally valued their homes and fields more than their lives, and they would certainly defend them if they could. However, he did not expect this Western Countries rōnin to play by completely different rules. He abandoned his home without hesitation, leaving behind most of his belongings, even several chests of copper coins, and immediately fled to the south gate with his entire family.
If they had not prepared meticulously beforehand, intending to guarantee the capture and assimilation of this direct force of Oda Nobunaga by blocking the north gate and then splitting sixty to seventy men to block the south gate, they might have been caught by surprise. If they had not unexpectedly engaged him, forcing him to dare not expose his back and flee wildly, he might have already disappeared along the lagoon, and the mission would have been a complete failure.
In short, today’s surprise attack was both successful and unsuccessful, with too many unexpected events. Okuruku Kiyobee, who had received great kindness from his uncle, should have surrendered with a single persuasion. Instead, he turned against them, leading his men to resist stubbornly in his residence. Even after the outer walls of his residence were breached, he refused to surrender, fighting and retreating within the house, resisting to the death. If Yuan Ye were to escape now, there would be too many flaws in today’s operation, making it difficult to explain to the Head of the Family, who was his uncle.
He held a high position in the Hayashi family, and this surprise attack was led by his father. The low-ranking samurai, seeing his decision, said no more and turned to select the “assault team.”
In this relatively narrow and complex terrain, rookie ashigaru were practically useless, and arrows could not capture the enemy. It would still require the long swords of low-ranking samurai and veteran followers to tear through the enemy’s defenses.
…
Yuan Ye paid no mind when the enemy’s persuasion stopped after a few words. It was impossible for him to hand over his weapons. Weapons were easy to give up, but very difficult to get back. If any unforeseen circumstances arose, he would be at their mercy and would regret it deeply.
Rather than surrendering and gambling on the enemy’s kindness, he felt more at ease relying on himself.
He used this brief respite to quickly set up defenses, especially for those barrels of soybean oil. Dedicated personnel were assigned to them, with instructions to set fire to the gate if the situation became irrecoverable. Then, they would escape in the ensuing chaos as much as possible.
Soon, Hayashi Sadamasa launched his attack again. This time, the elite forces of the Hayashi family came forward, much stronger than the scattered skirmishers who had approached earlier, and better prepared. From a distance, several rounds of fire arrows illuminated the area. Then, a large contingent of lightly armored samurai followers emerged from the darkness, let out a war cry, and used obstacles like low tables to shield themselves from arrows and matchlock fire, charging rapidly towards the south gate.
A Man also shouted loudly and fired her first shot. The matchlock spewed flames, and the lead balls shot out with powerful kinetic energy, immediately knocking over two men. Obstacles like low tables could not stop the strangely trajectory of matchlock lead balls, sometimes even intensifying the suffering of the wounded in their final moments.
The followers then simultaneously loosed their arrows, shooting directly at the charging enemies. After a volley of arrows, several more men were felled.
The ashigaru behind the Hayashi family immediately returned fire. Large volleys of arrows arced down, striking the various makeshift fortifications with a “thudding” sound, like woodpeckers feasting.
Yuan Ye continued to pick off targets. He raised his bow and shot down a low-ranking samurai who was charging the most fiercely. Immediately after, he instinctively ducked his head as an arrow struck his helmet and bounced off. He felt as if his head had been hit with a pillow, only swaying slightly before recovering. He then nocked another arrow, searching for his second target, but his thoughts momentarily drifted uncontrollably, pondering for a fraction of a second why Japanese people disliked using shields.
Then, as he released the string, his thoughts refocused, and only the enemy remained in his sight.
The enemy’s attack this time was very determined. A single strong bow, a single matchlock gun, and a dozen bamboo bows could not stop them. In less than a minute, the enemy swarmed the makeshift fortifications. The two sides, separated by toppled ox carts, stacked bean bags, and various miscellaneous items, began to howl and engage in frenzied stabbing and hacking in the face of death, stimulated by adrenaline.
This was no longer a time to hide in the back. Yuan Ye charged to the forefront without hesitation, relying on his height, long reach, strength, and excellent armor. With one swing of his iron rod, he swept the legs out from under a low-ranking samurai who was leaping over an obstacle. Immediately after, A Qing rushed to his side, her naginata twisting and deflecting the gleaming katana of another enemy. With a flick and a sweep, blood spurted from the enemy’s throat, and he collapsed onto the obstacle.
For a time, the south gate became a new beast’s arena. The screams of the wounded and the dying cries of those about to perish echoed continuously. People died, and people were severely wounded and fell.
A moment later, the Hayashi family failed to break through the makeshift fortifications in one go and force Yuan Ye and his men to retreat into the gate tower. Instead, they left a ground full of corpses in front of the fortifications. Yuan Ye, however, had no mind to care about the battle. He simply endured scattered attacks with his iron armor, swinging his iron rod with all his might, holding a large section of the front line.
A Qing stayed close by his side this time. Her long naginata moved unpredictably, its short, slender blade flashing like afterimages, as she tried to stab enemies who attempted to flank Yuan Ye. She remained silent, her cool, clear face splattered with blood, even her white head tie stained red.
A Man directed from behind, shouting repeatedly. She gathered five or six followers who had just dropped their bows and descended from the gate tower, attempting to counterattack from a stable position.
While directing, she did not stop her hands, continuing to ram her matchlock gun. Once loaded, she raised it and fired at the most crowded area. At such close range, after each loud explosion, several enemies would cry out in pain and fall. This terrified the nearby enemies, preventing them from organizing a forceful push or climb over the obstacles. Instead, Yuan Ye’s six or seven followers crossed the obstacles and began to pursue and stab them. Two of them even began to stab the enemies in front of Yuan Ye from the flanks.
The Hayashi family threw away seven or eight lives to charge forward, only to stalemate for less than a minute before being pushed back out. They were on the verge of collapse, but that less than a minute was enough. Hayashi Sadamasa, leading a large number of followers and ashigaru from behind, arrived and began shouting commands from the rear.
The arrival of fresh troops immediately reversed the situation. A barrage of long spears instantly pierced several of Yuan Ye’s followers, forcing them to retreat continuously. Then, they forcefully pushed over or climbed over the obstacles, continuing to advance step by step.
With every step, someone fell with a scream. Yuan Ye became the primary target. A stout, short samurai from the Hayashi family, also wielding an iron rod and possessing considerable battle experience, forcefully knocked over two of Yuan Ye’s followers. He then ducked to avoid A Qing’s deadly naginata and managed to get to Yuan Ye’s flank, swinging his iron rod towards his waist and abdomen.
Yuan Ye was already struggling to stand under the thrusts of several long spears from the front. By the time he noticed, it was too late. He was struck heavily in the waist, feeling a piercing pain in his ribs. Instantly, his mouth filled with a salty sweetness. However, he was also enraged. Without a word, enduring the intense pain, he swung his rod at the stout, short samurai, intending to take him down with him even if he died.
The stout, short samurai raised his rod to meet the blow. Both were forced back by the immense recoil. The stout, short samurai steadied himself and prepared to charge forward again to claim the first kill, but his fierce gaze suddenly froze. A Qing’s naginata had already pierced his neck from the side. She used his body for leverage to turn, pushing Yuan Ye back and blocking a katana that was slashing towards him.
However, the enemy was growing in number, and it was becoming impossible to hold them off. But at this very moment, the roar of matchlock guns and Hayashi Sadamasa’s mournful screams suddenly came from behind the enemy, silencing the battlefield.
Immediately after, there was a chorus of exclamations. Everyone saw that Hayashi Sadamasa’s face was mangled. A Man, seizing this opportunity, disregarded everything. Covered in blood, she leaped from the pile of corpses, threw away her matchlock gun, and screamed, “Hayashi Sadamasa is dead!” while simultaneously throwing out a cloud of white smoke to obscure vision. Under this cover, she cupped her head and bent her rear, charging back. In the end, she only sustained two cuts on her back and returned, spitting blood.
In warfare, one always needs to use their brain. With a brain, one can take the head of a general amidst a hundred armies!
