The Self-Cultivation of Warring States Warriors

Page 25

Munetaka Hatano also harbored resentment over this.

However, the more one desires revenge, the more patience is required.

It's clearly unwise for the Hatano family to use their limited resources to fight the Miyoshi family head-on.

Seeing that his lord was determined to launch the operation, Hatano Munetaka had no choice but to volunteer to lead the team.

He felt that with the Miyoshi family's influence involved, the Naito clan of Funai County would probably not be as easy to deal with as before. Only by going there in person could he ensure that, should things go wrong, he could still do his best to protect this precious small team.

So that's how it happened.

At forty years old, Munetaka Hatano was no longer as energetic as before, but he had accumulated enough battlefield experience to quickly formulate a plan.

Each person carried the necessary tools and materials and set off before dawn. After leaving the safe zone, everyone put on their armor in advance, led their horses forward on foot, and then mounted their horses to speed up when they reached a suitable distance. There was no need to chase after the "foreign craftsmen" who were building the city and the sentries who were guarding it; they could simply be driven away. The key was to burn down the houses that had already been built and the building materials that had been piled up. Secondly, if there was an opportunity, they could take the heads of one or two Naito family samurai back to boost morale.

Most importantly, once you've achieved your goal, immediately get back on horseback without delay.

The only thing that pleased Hatano Munetaka on this trip was that the twenty or thirty men in his team were all capable people, possessing both sufficient martial prowess and the ability to obey orders.

……

The group quietly led their horses forward, and time gradually passed.

Hatano Munetaka had already memorized the surrounding terrain. When he saw a familiar bend ahead, he immediately ordered everyone to mount their horses and speed up the assault.

It was late March in the lunar calendar, and dawn broke very early. Not long after 5 a.m., the sun had already risen, and even the diligent farmers had not yet begun their work. The sound of twenty or thirty warhorses galloping at the same time, like continuous thunder, echoed among the hills, breaking the tranquility of the early morning.

After rounding the bend and continuing forward, the outpost under construction on the border of Noguchi Township soon came into view.

Clearly, none of the "foreigners" working on the construction site had gotten up, and although there were a few sentries on night duty, they didn't seem to react at all.

Munetaka Hatano shouted again, "Speed ​​up!"

He rode ahead on horseback.

The crowd replied in hushed tones, "Yes!"

Follow in turn.

But at this critical moment, a sudden change occurred.

From the bushes on both sides of the mountain path, the sound of bowstrings rang out continuously. A volley of arrows pierced the sky, hurtling down towards them.

In an instant, one of the mounts was injured, its forelegs giving way and it collapsed to the ground. The rider on horseback nimbly rolled off, mitigating the impact and escaping injury, but he was clearly unable to keep up with the group.

Hatano Sotaka was shocked when he stood up.

He had considered that after Matsunaga Nagayori of the Miyoshi family took over, Naito of Funai County might be a formidable opponent, with strict defenses and a swift response.

But unexpectedly, this surprise attack launched in the early morning was ambushed.

The plan must have been leaked!

Those who claimed to have defected to the Hatano family due to their dissatisfaction with Matsunaga Nagayori a while ago—there must have been spies among them. But wasn't this operation deliberately kept from them? Wasn't the secrecy still inadequate?

Hatano Munekazu was a little flustered at first, but being a seasoned veteran, he quickly calmed down, looked around, and assessed the situation in all directions.

Just then, he heard a knight call out, "Lord Zonggao, should we fight or retreat? Please give the order!"

In a short while, after analyzing the information he had heard and seen, Hatano Munetaka understood the situation and immediately shouted, "The enemy has a large force on our flanks and rear, intending to block our retreat at the bend, but a frontal interception seems insufficient! Everyone, speed up forward and follow me to detour northward!"

Everyone responded in unison, "Yes!"

So, apart from a few riders whose horses were hit by arrows and forced to dismount, the rest of the twenty or thirty riders were not panicked at all and showed no intention of turning back or retreating. They continued to gallop forward.

The archers lying in ambush on both sides fired a second round, but then lost range and had to emerge from the bushes. But how could they possibly outrun four-legged horses? They had no choice but to take down the unfortunate man who had fallen from his horse and then slowly pursue him.

The construction site was right by the roadside, so we didn't bother with it and just passed by.

Hatano Munetaka led his men forward for a while longer, and sure enough, there were very few enemies blocking their way.

The road ahead splits into two directions, north and south.

From a distance, it was clear that there were about twenty people to the north and about ten people to the south, all of whom were setting up barricades.

But on the south side, leading the charge, stood a young warrior, extremely tall and strong, like a giant, clearly not to be trifled with. Although his armor was very worn, it only made him seem more like an experienced warrior.

On either side of this man was a slightly shorter but more robust attendant, and a burly, broad-shouldered, broad-eared monk soldier.

The rest are insignificant, but these three look like ruthless men capable of holding off mounted warriors! Now that we are in enemy territory, the consequences of being even slightly hindered are unimaginable.

Looking at the north side, although there were twenty men, they were all ordinary soldiers, and none of them seemed to be particularly capable.

Perfect timing, I was already planning to take a detour north to get home anyway.

Then Munetaka Hatano pointed and shouted, "Left!"

The group of mounted warriors turned left one by one, heading towards the fork in the road to the north.

The twenty men blocking the road didn't seem to be well prepared. Caught off guard, they didn't have time to react and simply raised their weapons to attack from behind the barricades, their actions disorganized.

At this moment, the road widened slightly, and Hatano Munetaka, quick-witted and agile, reined in his horse at just the right moment, swung his cross spear and stabbed down one of his men. His allies followed on both sides, and they each began to fight.

The defensive line was breached almost instantly.

Although there were barricades, the soldiers blocking the way were not in high spirits. After losing several men, they were greatly shaken and retreated.

Of the mounted samurai of the Hatano family, only one was hit by stray spears; the rest were unharmed.

So they even had time to have a few people dismount and move the not-so-sturdy barricades on the ground.

This delay allowed others to gradually catch up and come into view.

But at this moment, the mounted samurai of the Hatano family were able to mount their horses and speed away.

048 I really didn't challenge him to a fight.

This was Kubo Shinzaburo's first time fighting as a samurai, and he was both nervous and excited.

However, the development of the battle left him somewhat confused.

During the pre-battle planning, Matsunaga Magoroku believed that the enemy mounted samurai, after being attacked by a hail of arrows, would immediately turn west and retreat. Therefore, the borrowed troops were mainly positioned at the corners to block their retreat.

Shinzaburo Kubo was assigned to guard the eastern side.

Matsunaga Magoroku felt that the enemy was unlikely to continue advancing after discovering the ambush, but he did not rule out the possibility that some of the Hatano clan's mounted samurai might gradually escape eastward during the fierce battle, so the men on the east side could just fill in the gaps.

His instructions to Shinzaburo Kubo were that they must not expose themselves prematurely, lest the ambush fail. Ideally, they should be positioned a little behind the eastern fork in the road, ensuring that they are not discovered by the enemy before the archers can fire.

Unexpectedly, the mounted samurai of the Hatano family did not engage the ambush troops, but instead continued eastward and charged to the fork in the road.

Shinzaburo Kubo was already mentally prepared for a bloody battle.

He was at the southern fork in the road, where the path was narrower and there were only about ten people there.

Aside from Ooi Shigeie and the monk Jōjō, who were by his side, the other seven or eight people were borrowed from somewhere by Matsunaga Sōroku, and they didn't seem very reliable.

If the enemy has twenty or thirty elite soldiers on horseback launch a fierce charge, can our side stop them with just the makeshift barricades?

Unexpectedly, the enemy leader did not hesitate for a second and charged towards the northern fork in the road.

All that remained were trails of dust.

Upon seeing this, Shinzaburo Kubo paused for a moment before realizing that he should join the others and cross the barricade together, positioning himself to flank the enemy from behind.

However, it would be very difficult for two feet to catch up with four feet.

None of the others had mounts, and Shinzaburo Kubo was also not riding the horse given to him by Master Meishu. This was because that horse was not a warhorse accustomed to the battlefield.

I originally thought that the ambush in the valley wouldn't be necessary.

Upon reaching the fork in the road, they saw Matsunaga Sonroku leading a large ambush force, hurrying back.

Several dozen meters apart, their eyes met, and then Matsunaga Sonroku shouted angrily, "How can the Hatano family be so cunning? They don't stop for a moment and keep moving forward!"

After hearing this, Kubo Shinzaburo roughly understood what had happened, but he couldn't comment. He could only remain silent, lead his men in pursuit, and pretend to be fighting hard.

Pursuing cavalry with infantry is obviously futile; the only hope is that friendly forces on the northern side of the road can put up an effective resistance.

However, Shinzaburo Kubo did not dare to have too high expectations.

When he was allocating troops yesterday, he sensed that although Matsunaga Sonroku had borrowed a lot of soldiers, the more capable ones were all lying in ambush at the western bend, while the soldiers on the side roads behind were all of a lower tier.

As expected, things turned out exactly as predicted.

Although the allied forces to the north also had two barricades, they did not hold off the enemy for long, only managing to delay them for a short while.

Taking advantage of this brief moment, the archers fired another round, but ultimately could not stop most of the enemy troops from leaving.

Matsunaga Sunroku shouted in great resentment, "The peerless warrior Kubo Shinzaburo, who received a personal letter of appreciation from Hosokawa Kyōjō, is here! Tanba Oni Hatano Munetaka, do you not dare to come and see me?"

Upon hearing this, Shinzaburo Kubo felt both amused and exasperated.

This is like gangsters yelling at each other.

A moment later, a middle-aged man's hearty voice rang out: "I admit defeat today, and will come to learn from you again another day!"

Then the other party sped away.

……

In the aftermath, it was found that our side had lost five infantrymen and several others were wounded, while we had the heads of four enemy mounted warriors.

The exchange ratio still looks good, after all, the mounted samurai is a highly valuable asset.

However, considering that Matsunaga Magoro had received valuable military information in advance and owed a favor by borrowing eighty elite soldiers from his elders in order to set up the ambush, taking only the heads of four enemies was not something to be happy about.

However, on the other hand, since they are relatives of a high-ranking leader, as long as they haven't committed any heinous crimes, they are unlikely to be criticized.

Moreover, Kubo Shinzaburo had a vague feeling that perhaps this ambush was originally given to Matsunaga Nagayori to practice on Matsunaga Magoro, or perhaps there were other considerations.

Otherwise, if the higher-ups personally made arrangements and sent more capable men, there should be a chance to capture all twenty-odd riders of the invading Hatano family.

Whether this was true or not, Kubo Shinzaburo, as a newly promoted lower-ranking samurai in the "Doshinshu," naturally couldn't judge and didn't care much. In any case, he wouldn't get much credit for his achievements, and he wouldn't be the one to take the blame for his mistakes.

But what was unexpected was...

During the final pursuit, Matsunaga Magoroku's provocative shout and Hatano Munetaka's response before leaving gradually became popular topics in Tanba Province.

Everyone says—

Hatano Munetaka, the fiercest warrior of the Hatano family in Taki District, known as "Tamba Oni", met Kubo Shinzaburo, a powerful newcomer of the Naito family who had just received the "Hosokawa Kyōjō" certificate. They admired each other and made a promise to fight to the death in the future!

This romantic story spread quickly in the country of Tanbo, where news and entertainment were scarce.

Even Matsunaga Nagayori heard about it, and at the assessment meeting at the end of March, he smiled and said to everyone, "Hatano Munetaka is known as the Tanba Demon and has quite a reputation for martial arts. If Kubo Shinzaburo can defeat him, he can call himself 'Tanba Zhong Kui'!"

Master Mingzhou, who was also present, heard these words and privately gave them earnest advice: "Even with the protection of the Bodhisattva, one must be extremely cautious on the battlefield and never act recklessly. 'Tanba Oni' is not a name given lightly, and being Zhong Kui is not an easy task."

Kubo Shinzaburo could only smile wryly and say, "I really didn't challenge him to a duel; it was all caused by a single sentence from Lord Sun..."

Master Mingzhou shook his head and said, "Since things have come to this point, it doesn't matter whether a duel was arranged or not. It's not bad to make a name for yourself in this, just don't act impulsively and do something like 'one-man showdown'."

Shinzaburo Kubo nodded repeatedly, indicating that he had no such intention.

Honestly, he never had that thought!

However, spring planting in the Tanba region ends at the end of March, and it won't get busy again until June.

Including the "Gokurakuji Territory" newly reclaimed by Shinzaburo Kubo, the weeds and shrubs have been basically cleared away, and the land has been roughly turned over. In the summer, the soil will be carefully loosened, and some farmyard manure will be applied before millet, barley, rye, and barnyard grass can be planted. Of course, one cannot expect too much from the harvest in the first two years.

In short, April and May are the off-season for farming.

At the assessment meeting, Matsunaga Nagayachi, the acting head of the Naito family, specifically stated that the Hatano family's repeated provocations were intolerable and that military action would be taken to punish them.

Judging from his words, it seems likely that he will launch a large-scale military operation in April or May.

So the result is—

After the evaluation meeting, many samurai who were unfamiliar with him or only knew his name came up to Kubo Shinzaburo and said, with some seriousness, some generosity, and some smiles, "May you have good fortune in battle and defeat 'Tanba Oni' Hatano Munetaka soon!"

With the emotions building up to this point, even though Kubo Shinzaburo cursed Matsunaga Magoro countless times in his heart, he could only go along with the atmosphere and say, "I will definitely fight to the death!"

But he couldn't tell everyone that it was just a misunderstanding.

Otherwise, wouldn't it be like admitting defeat before a major battle, damaging our own morale?

049 Imperial Loan Complete

As expected, in April of Tenshō 23 (1554), Matsunaga Nagayori launched a conscription that was very large by Tanba standards.

He transferred a thousand men from the Nishigang and Yamashina regions of Yamashiro Province—his former territory.

He also borrowed 2,500 men from his older brother, Matsunaga Hisahide, who was in charge of Nishisetsu.

Because Yamashiro and Settsu are located on the southern plains, with better temperature and soil conditions, spring planting ended earlier than in Tanba. Therefore, when these two troops arrived, Tanba had not yet begun mobilization.

The "army" of 3,500 men made the people in the remote mountainous areas feel the strength of the Matsunaga brothers.