Volume 1: Stormy Weather in Kawajima Chapter 4: The Great General of Ashigaru

  On the winding banks of the Chigusa River, Li Xiao joined forces with Takeda Nobusada's main army after traveling a section of mountain road. When Li Xiao arrived at the riverbank, it was almost time for lunch, and Nobusada's troops were temporarily stationed on the riverbank, busy fetching water and cooking meals.

  Kai Province has always been poor and barren, with food often insufficient to be self-sufficient. As a result, the common people in the province often go hungry, while ordinary samurai are slightly better off but can only barely fill their stomachs.

  In the past, when Takeda family soldiers went on an expedition, they always brought their own food, and the types of food were all kinds of miscellaneous grains, such as mustard flour and millet flour. Therefore, at that time, for the Takeda family, conquering Shinano Province, which was rich in rice, and eating fragrant rice, was a dream from the head of the house to ordinary soldiers, from top to bottom, every single person's dream.

  The Takeda family, led by Nobutora and Shingen, spent twenty years to fully control Shinano Province, which not only meant an expansion of territory (Shinano was more than twice the size of Kai Province), but also made the Takeda clan self-sufficient in food.

  As they were on the march, there was no time to set up pots and pans to cook rice, so the soldiers took out pre-prepared rice balls from their 'waist bags' tied around their waists.

  Then the soldiers started a bonfire, using branches to skewer rice balls and roast them over the fire, while also boiling some hot water. From Takeda Nobushige on down to the lowliest farmer-soldiers, from commander to soldier, everyone ate the same food, eating rice balls together.

  Li Xiao initially felt a bit novel, his chestnut warhorse was led away to graze, after being allocated a rice ball, he learned from the ordinary soldiers and placed the rice ball on the fire to roast. Li Xiao saw that many people had burned the surface of the rice balls to a dark brown, which gave off a fragrant aroma that whetted one's appetite.

  Li Xiao heated the rice balls and then put them in his mouth, chewing. The rice balls seemed to have also contained plums, and when the grains were chewed in his mouth, there was a sour plum juice flavor that seeped in, with a unique flavor.

  "On the march."

  The orderly gave the signal, and Li Xiao hastily swallowed the remaining half of his rice ball, which was barely enough to fill him up five-tenths full.

  But it seems that the other soldiers' meal was only a rice ball, but they all seemed to have eaten their fill and regained their energy, morale boosted, ready to set off again.

  Most Japanese people of this era were malnourished, and for soldiers, they only had rice to eat during wartime. Normally, they ate coarse grains. So their food intake was generally very small, belonging to the type that eats little but works a lot.

  To solidify his rule over Shinano, Takeda Shingen built a direct road from Kofu to Kawachi Island. Along this road, the distance of 160 kilometers from Kofu to Shinano could be covered by cavalry in six hours.

  Despite this, Shingen also built many beacons along the way to transmit enemy information through wolf smoke. Once the Uesugi family sent troops to northern Shinano, Takeda Shingen in Kofu only needed two hours to receive the news and make a quick judgment to send troops.

  Takeda Nobushige's troops advanced in silence, and the road was muddy due to the recent heavy rain, making it difficult for the small baggage carts at the rear of the army to move forward.

  The rugged and narrow mountain road, combined with the poor road conditions, made it difficult for the busy team to move forward at a speed of less than 1 kilometer per hour. Just then, the pack horse got stuck in the mud and couldn't be pulled out, and more than a dozen peasant soldiers tried their best but still couldn't pull the pack horse out.

  Several urging warriors, despite repeated loud scolding and punching and kicking, still could not force these dozen or so peasant soldiers to burst out with divine power and pull the cart out.

  The advance of the Shinbun team was thus delayed. At this time, the rear team's Anno Nobukimi unit had also caught up and was blocked by the vanguard on the mountain road, unable to move forward at all.

  What's the big deal? Missing the lodging place is nothing, but delaying the army's advance is a problem. Takeda Nobushige was in a difficult position, and at this time, the centipede flag had already brought Shingen's orders, ordering Nobushige to speed up his advance.

  Takeda Shōryū saw the busyness and built a speech to Takeda Nobushige: "If we go on like this, it won't work. For now, there's no choice but to cut off the ropes on the pack horses, unload the luggage from the carts, and have each person carry their own load. We can definitely pull the cart wheels out of the mud."

  Takeda Shingen shook his head and said, "No, cutting the ropes to unload would also take time. What's more, even if we succeeded, this mountain path is difficult to walk on. Are we going to have our soldiers carry food on their backs?"

  As they saw the sky gradually darkening, they all looked worried and didn't show their faces. Delaying military orders is a serious crime.

  At this time, Li Xiao jumped off the horse and came to the front of the cart that was stuck in the mud. He said loudly: "Tie the rope on the horse and use its strength to pull the cart up."

  Seeing the people around him with a bewildered expression, Li Xiao suddenly realized that it was due to the language barrier. So Li Xiao personally took action and untied the rope from a soldier's shoulder and tied it to his own chestnut-colored horse.

  Japan had no horse-drawn carriages before the Meiji period, as horses were too rare and precious to be used for draft purposes. The so-called packhorses were all human-powered.

  No one in the Takeda clan had ever thought of using horses to pull carts, as this idea was too extravagant. The mounted samurai were even more fond of their warhorses and would not have considered using them for such a purpose even if they had thought of it.

  Seeing Li Xiao, as a warrior, lead the way and contribute his own horse's strength, the peasant soldiers dare not slack off. For a time, everyone is vying to be the first to pull the cart with all their might.

  The moment the car pulled out, all the soldiers burst into a cheer, as if they had won a battle. Li Xiao could feel that everyone's face was filled with admiration for him.

  "Li Xiao Jun, you've had a tough time." Xìn Fán was also beaming with joy.

  Li Xiao replied, "How dare I? However, the road below is also difficult to walk. I see a bamboo forest on the left mountain slope. Why not cut some bamboos, split them into bamboo strips and place them in front of the wheels one by one, so we don't have to worry about getting stuck in the mud again."

  "So it was."

  Xin Feng stroked his beard and looked enlightened, and Li Xiao's suggestion was immediately executed as an order.

  At night, the troops set up a large camp, and some soldiers voluntarily helped Li Xiao set up his tent. Today, Li Xiao's actions have won the admiration of all the generals, and Xin Fan also has a high opinion of him. Only Sheng Lai is still standing aside, saying with a somewhat disgruntled tone that this kind of thing can be easily done by himself as well.

  Li Xiao was lying comfortably on the straw heap in the tent, with a grass root in his mouth, gazing up at the stars in the sky. At this time, Takeda Nobushige and his eldest son Takeda Nobukatsu suddenly visited.

  Takeda Nobuyuki was about the same age as Takeda Katsuyori and had a rather gentle appearance, with a solid air similar to that of his father.

  Li Xiao hastily bowed and paid his respects, while Takeda Nobushige smiled and said: "Li Xiao, no need to be so polite. If it weren't for you today, our troops wouldn't have been able to quickly pass through the mountain valley. We really owe you one."

  Li Xiao smiled and said, "This is a matter of course for us. In our great Ming dynasty, war horses are countless, and even wealthy farmers in the countryside will ride horses to commute or pull carts. But it seems that you don't have this habit." Li Xiao was never stingy with his praise for his hometown.

  Takeda Nobushige listened, revealing a strong expression of Mingguo's true power, and immediately said: "That's right, Japan has few war horses, the cost of raising one war horse is enough to support the expenses of five samurai, ordinary samurai will not ride horses at all. Therefore, even if we Kai are rich in war horses and have the support of Kinzan, we can only form a team of 500 Akabeko cavalry."

  Li Xiao was startled, it turned out that his own chestnut warhorse also required him to pay out of pocket, which was a huge expense. With his current low-ranking warrior status, with a monthly stipend of five guan, he would absolutely not be able to afford it in the long run. He had to quickly establish military merit to increase his stipend. If he could be appointed as a direct vassal by the Takeda clan, or even receive a fiefdom, that would be great.

  Takeda Nobushige didn't know what Li Xiao was thinking in his heart, haha laughed and said: "Li Xiao, since you are already a samurai of the Takeda family, I will directly appoint you as the Ashigaru general of my troops."

  Li Xiao was stunned, in the Warring States period, low-ranking warriors were all promoted from the footlight group. In battle, the footlight group leader could lead only five or six ordinary peasant soldiers, while the footlight general was a higher level and could govern several footlight groups.

  Li Xiao did not expect that Takeda Nobusada would suddenly appoint himself as a general of the ashigaru, giving him such high expectations.

  As the Takeda family did not implement a separation of soldiers and farmers, battles relied on temporarily recruited peasant soldiers. The fighting strength of peasant soldiers was slightly inferior on the battlefield, so low-ranking samurai were like junior officers in the army, also serving as intermediaries and main forces in combat.

  To make an improper analogy, low-ranking warriors are equivalent to non-commissioned officers in the army, such as squad leaders. It is well-known that in modern warfare, the combat effectiveness of a unit depends largely on the quality of its low-ranking officers.

  Li Xiao replied: "Thank you, Xin Fan Gong."