Chapter 110, Fang Yuan

Chapter 110 Mikatagahara

Changqing naturally knew this story from history, but he couldn't let it happen before the great war.

If Ieyasu couldn't say it, then he, the servant, had to say it.

"Deji, you are all still young, you don't need to care so much about the opinions of adults."

"Yes—" Ieyasu nodded in agreement.

"No matter what, Lord Ieyasu must have treated you very well, right?"

Deok-ji nodded.

To solidify the alliance, Ieyasu privately reprimanded Lady Tsukiyama quite often. But he also realized that even though the madwoman had toned it down, she was still exerting a negative influence on Nobuyasu.

Xin Kang had already come of age, and the person in charge of his tutor was an inflexible old stubborn man.

He planned to enfeoff Nobuyasu to Okazaki in the future to avoid him having too much contact with Tsukiyama-dono, but since Nobuyasu had not yet made his first appearance in battle, he could not bestow titles upon him at will.

"Young Master, why don't you talk to Princess Deji for a while? But don't listen to any unfounded rumors!" Changqing said softly.

Xinzhong nodded and led Deji to the next room.

Changqing's performance left Ieyasu speechless with a mixture of astonishment and emotion.

"Lord Mori's understanding is truly admirable, and Ieyasu is deeply humbled!"

"Lord Ieyasu, you'll have to work hard tomorrow, so please don't stand on ceremony."

This time, Oda's reinforcements arrived too quickly, and Ieyasu forgave the lords who had defected last time, which meant that no one in Tōtōmi Ikihira surrendered to Shingen.

Takeda Shingen did not expect Oda to arrive so quickly, so he left 4000 men to surround Futamata Castle and led 26000 men to seize Mikatagahara.

Mikadohara was located in the northwest of Hamamatsu Castle, on slightly higher ground.

The last time the Tokugawa-Oda alliance was defeated was because the Takeda army made several feints, and finally pretended to attack Mikawa.

When the allied forces launched their pursuit from the lower ground, they failed to discover that the Takeda army had already returned to their formation, which led to their crushing defeat.

Takeda Shingen's repeated use of this tactic was precisely to find an opportunity for open-field battle.

Unable to defeat the Allied forces, he couldn't even secure his own supply lines to Shangluo.

After Takeda deployed his forces, Nagayoshi ordered the allied forces to deploy below Mikatagahara.

Ieyasu was unusually tense about the battle location, so Nagayoshi could only reassure him: "Lord Ieyasu, there's no need to worry. This time we're not pursuing—"

He likes to look down from a high place, so let him look.

On the Mikatagahara plain, Takeda Shingen had already gotten a clear view of Oda's army's formation.

There's absolutely no way there could be any ambush.

Katsuyori Takeda rode closer and followed his father's gaze.

The Oda army's formation was very stable, showing no intention of launching a rash attack uphill, nor any sign of retreating.

"Father, you're in a superior position, so you can hit me!"

Shingen felt uneasy. Nagayoshi, who dared to attack his main camp with only 2000 men, was now doing nothing with almost the same number of troops, which was truly baffling.

Yamagata Masakage rode up on horseback.

"Your Highness, the feint force is ready. Shall we proceed with the plan to move towards Mikawa?"

"No," Shingen shook his head, "Wait a little longer."

Sheng Lai asked, puzzled, "Father?"

"This Mori clan never intended to fight us from the beginning."

On August 25, the Takeda army made a feigned attack.

Five thousand men moved from the flank toward Sanhe, their hooves thundering and dust rising several feet high.

Oda's main camp.

"Lord Mori, the Takeda army has moved!" Maeda Keiji's voice was filled with joy.

Changqing smiled upon hearing this.

"Lord Ieyasu, you can send five thousand men to relieve your Futamata Castle now. I will cover your flanks, don't rush, take your time."

"Then I'll have to ask the Ministry of Justice to cover for me!"

Tokugawa Ieyasu then ordered Ishikawa Kazumasa and Hara Yasumasa to lead troops to relieve the siege of Futamata Castle.

Seeing that Nagayoshi remained silent, Maeda Keiji couldn't help but ask, "Lord Mori, aren't you going to send men to pursue them?"

"Chase what? Why don't you ask Lord Tokugawa if he's willing to chase after us?" Nagayoshi smiled as he looked at Ieyasu.

Ieyasu shook his head like a rattle-drum.

Changqing laughed and said, "Takeda Shingen wants us to chase him, but we won't. He likes to enjoy the breeze up there, so let him enjoy it."

Oda Nobutada remained silent, his palms sweating as he stared at the billowing dust that blotted out the sky.

"Young Master, this is just a warm-up. The real battles are yet to come! As long as we stand here, the powerful clans of Mikawa and Tōtōmi will not side with Takeda. Our army will win this battle without even fighting. Kai and Shingen are impoverished and can no longer support Shingen's aggressive military campaigns."

Ieyasu couldn't help but nod in agreement upon hearing this insight.

On the Mikatagahara plain, Takeda Shingen looked at the motionless Oda army, appearing calm on the surface, but inwardly he was extremely worried.

"Father, they haven't moved."

"I see it. Send Yamagata to Futamata Castle!"

One hour later.

"Father, the Tokugawa army has retreated; they didn't even attempt to relieve the siege of Futamata Castle!"

On August 26, the Takeda army made another feigned attack.

In the middle of the night, flames suddenly shot into the sky from the Takeda army camp, and shouts and neighing of horses filled the air, as if they were about to break camp overnight.

At Oda's main camp, a scout rode swiftly to report: "Lord Mori, Takeda has burned down the camp and appears to be retreating tonight!"

The generals all stood up, some of them already unable to contain themselves and eager to give chase.

Changqing put on his coat and walked out of the tent. He looked at the firelight in the distance and yawned.

"Takeda Shingen is up all night, burning down his own barracks for fun. He must be exhausted. Go back to sleep, we'll talk about it tomorrow."

Tadatsugu Sakai exclaimed, "This is a fighter jet!"

Changqing couldn't help but roll her eyes at him.

So you're going to repeat the same mistake again?

"If Takeda Shingen wanted to retreat, would he need to burn his own camp? Was he afraid we wouldn't know he had retreated?"

Tadatsugu Sakai opened his mouth but couldn't utter a word.

Nagayoshi chased everyone back, "Those who should go on patrol, go on patrol; those who should go to sleep, go to sleep! Does Takeda dare to fight me at night?"

As everyone knows, the Mori clan excels at night battles, so his arrogance actually put everyone at ease.

Standing at the highest point of Mikatagahara, Takeda Shingen watched the Oda army camp remain motionless and coughed softly.

"Father, the night wind is strong, you should go and rest!"

"Um----"

August 27th, 28th, 29th —

For several days, Takeda Shingen used various methods, including feigning movement, night raids, cutting off supply lines, and sending spies to spread rumors, but the Oda army remained unmoved.

Aside from patrolling the camp, Changqing spent his days sitting at the main camp drinking tea, occasionally giving Xinzhong pointers on military strategy and tactics, leading an extremely leisurely life.

Tokugawa Ieyasu got used to it, and even sent Nobuyasu, who had a falling out with Tokuhime, to the camp to learn military affairs.

The morale of the Takeda army was low.

Shingen couldn't help but recall the Fourth Battle of Kawanakajima with Uesugi Kenshin.

At that time, the Uesugi army occupied Saijo-yama, which was a commanding position, and the two sides were just waiting it out.

Later, the "woodpecker strategy" backfired, and both sides paid a heavy price for it.

"Father, this can't go on. Our supplies are running out, the soldiers are exhausted, and this stalemate can't continue—"

"I know."

"Tokugawa has stockpiled a large amount of grain in Hamamatsu; he knows we can't outlast him."

The "Four Symbols Flag" was constantly being pulled tight in the autumn wind. Shingen looked at the character "mountain" in those four characters and found it particularly glaring.

Immovable as a mountain —

The Oda army is far too patient with loneliness.

Takeda Shingen was able to suppress his subordinates' anxiety through his own prestige, and Mori Nagayoshi was the same.

On the third day of the ninth month, Takeda Shingen finally gave the order to retreat.

The 30,000-strong army entered the mountain path one after another, while the 4000 men from Futamata Castle were the last to retreat as the rearguard.

>