Volume 1: Stormy Weather in Kawajima Chapter 60: Mother's Clothes and the Cavalry

  When the Nagano cavalry attacked Takeda Shōryū's small pack horse unit, Li Xiao was watching from a distance of over 50 meters away in a forest at the back of a mountain valley. When he saw the Ueno cavalry raise their long spears and insert them into the pack horses' saddlebags, he couldn't help but reveal a hint of a smile.

  "Finally got tired of it." Li Xiao said with a smile.

  All this was a trap laid by Yamamoto Kansuke and Li Xiao, who had discussed it together beforehand. The purpose was to lure in the Upper Field cavalry corps that had been constantly harassing the Takeda clan and annihilate them at one stroke.

  "Mount up."

  Li Xiao gave a loud order, and the cavalrymen hiding in the woods immediately mounted their war horses, drew their swords and took up their guns. A killing aura spread through the woods, startling the birds in the surrounding area into flight.

  Li Xiao was followed by his three direct subordinates, Dao Sheng Meng, Shi Gang Yiyu, and Kobayakawa Hiromi, and then more than 20 horsemen directly under Takeda Katsuyori.

  The cavalry troops directly under the command of a daimyō or castle owner are also called Mother Troops. They were generally composed of the most elite and bravest warriors under their command. Famous examples include Oda Nobunaga's Black Mother Troop, Red Mother Troop, and Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Yellow Mother Troop.

  The most distinctive feature of the Mongolian horseback warrior is a large, quilted coat worn on the back with iron armor, called a "mother's dress". The mother's dress was made by stretching fabric over a bamboo frame to create a large ball shape. During battles, it was draped over the back and served as both decoration and protection against arrows.

  Right in front of the Ueno cavalry were large groups of ashigaru soldiers from the Takeda clan, who had come down from the mountain road. On both sides were steep slopes that horses could not gallop on, and behind them were more than 20 cavalrymen led by Li Xiao, who had emerged from the forest.

  The Ueno cavalrymen knew they were ambushed, but as seasoned warriors, they did not panic. They turned their horses around and decided to charge back against the mounted samurai who had attacked from behind.

  Li Xiao's cavalry, led by Ma Hui, galloped swiftly, their motherly robes inflated like large airbags, with the vibrant Takeda crest on the surface fluttering in the wind.

  The Uesugi cavalry, facing the fan-shaped charge of the Takeda's mother troops, adopted a diagonal charging formation, which was advantageous for horseback archery. The first round of simultaneous shooting by the Uesugi cavalry did not cause significant casualties among the Takeda army, and some of the heavily armored Takeda soldiers were able to advance forward unscathed despite being hit by two or three arrows.

  The Ueno cavalrymen fired just one round and the Takeda mother troops closed in on them.

  Japanese cavalry general Akiyama Kōko, who had studied in France, a major military power in Europe at the time, for three years. After returning to Japan, when asked by students at the Army University what cavalry was, Akiyama smashed the classroom window and held up his bleeding fist, telling them "This is cavalry."

  Cavalry means speed, power and casualties!

  At that time in Japan's Warring States period, Japanese horses were generally small and not as suitable for mounted combat like the tall European horses, so there were few true cavalry battles. Most warriors chose to ride horses only as a symbol of status, using them for transportation in peacetime and dismounting to fight on foot during battle, which cannot be considered true cavalry but rather horse-riding warriors.

  But this does not mean that Japan's Sengoku period did not use cavalry for slashing attacks.

  When Takeda Katsuyori's mother, Lady Kei, approached, the samurai waved their swords in the sunlight, and the lances were held at an angle against the charging Ueno cavalry. Each person's eyes shone with determination. Due to the speed of the horses, the battle was brief, and they could only exchange one or two blows between each other as they passed by, so their lives hung in the balance within a single breath.

  At this time, the cavalry of both sides collided with each other like a pair of powerful iron fists.

  Li Xiao's horsemanship has improved a lot compared to three months ago. At least he can sit stably on the horse, and can clamp his legs tightly on the saddle, so that he can freely swing his arms and wield his spear.

  While Shigeki Kazuo and Shimizu Katsutake guarded Li Xiao's sides, they shouted loudly and charged at the enemy cavalry. At this moment, Shigeki Kazuo's horsemanship was only average and could only guard Li Xiao by his side, but Shimizu Katsutake's combat power was as fierce as his name suggested. Not only was his horsemanship superb, but also with a swing of his large warrior sword, one of the Ueno cavalrymen was cut down from his horse in an instant.

  However, the most terrifying thing about killing people is still Yumi Obata. After Ueno's cavalry entered her bow and arrow range, the string in her hand never stopped, as a descendant of Ogasawara's horseback archery, her archery skills have reached the point where she can kill one person with one arrow.

  It was just a short time before she had shot down five Ueno cavalrymen in succession.

  Kill!

  Facing the Ueno cavalry charging towards him with their sabers, Li Xiao's spear in his hand did not hesitate to stab the opponent off his horse. Immediately afterwards, Li Xiao retracted his spear and used its elasticity to swing it back, parrying the enemy cavalry's spear thrust from the left side.

  Li Xiao's chestnut warhorse kicked its hooves, he had just adjusted his posture and sat back up in the saddle when another samurai cavalryman raised his gun and stabbed at Li Xiao.

  Li Xiao had no intention of retreating, and he opened up his opponent's gun head. The two men disregarded their own defense and stabbed each other's chests with their guns in a desperate bid for victory. However, Li Xiao's speed was faster, and the length of his gun handle was longer, directly inserting one gun into his opponent's chest, deeply entering.

  The Uwajima cavalry let out a miserable cry, and a desperate look flashed in his eyes. Then he fell off the horse, but before that, he still tightly grasped Li Xiao's gun tip and refused to let go.

  Not good. Li Xiao cried out in a low voice, as the warhorse galloped rapidly, he was no longer able to retrieve his long spear, so he could only helplessly choose to abandon it.

  Li Xiao still had two Ueno cavalrymen in front of him, and his hands were empty without a weapon. Just as Li Xiao was about to draw out the tachi at his waist that he wasn't skilled with to meet the enemy, one of the Mojin soldiers beside him threw the spear in his hand to Li Xiao.

  Li Xiao quietly said thank you, stopped his horse, and at the moment when he crossed horses with the enemy cavalry, he launched a divine bravery, directly stabbing the opponent's body with one spear, and stabbed this cavalryman off his horse.

  As Li Xiao turned around again to open up the killing shot towards himself, the two war horses crossed over each other. Li Xiao only felt a blank in front of him and found that he had already penetrated through the Uye cavalry formation.

  Li Xiao pulled the reins to stop the chestnut horse, and turned its head back to look at the battlefield when the cavalry of both sides had already finished their engagement.

  The Ueno cavalry corps fled back to the intersection where they came from, and more than 30 cavalrymen were suddenly reduced by half, leaving only a dozen or so cavalrymen, barely reaching one-third of their original number. In the empty space between the two armies just now, more than 20 war horses without owners were left behind, as well as a large number of cavalry corpses lying horizontally and vertically on the grass.

  Takeda Shingen's mother, Lady Hōjō, also lost three horses, but overall it was a great victory. The Ueno cavalry that had been raiding Takeda Shingen's rear could no longer pose a threat.

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