Volume 2: Thick and Heavy Winds and Clouds Chapter 65: The Yue Hou Army Emerges from the Array

  As the conch shell was blown, Takeda Katsuyori's 500 gun ashigaru troops returned to their positions on the slope and reformed their ranks. The shields laid out in the trenches were also retrieved and rearranged.

  The Takeda army resumed its original formation, waiting in a tight array.

  The previous slaughter, the Nagano family suffered heavy losses, with more than 300 corpses thrown down, over 100 wounded, and many high-ranking generals killed. At present, the Nagano family's military is retreating back to their main camp, reorganizing and resting, and it is estimated that they will not be able to return to battle for some time.

  On the other hand, Takeda Shingen's side only paid a small price of several minor injuries. This was an unbelievable great victory.

  What was thought to be a desperate last stand turned into a series of clever maneuvers by Yamamoto Kansuke and Li Xiao, gradually turning the tide of battle in their favor. The fight continued until noon, with not a single Takeda soldier having fallen. This unexpected turn of events sparked a glimmer of hope in the hearts of the Takeda warriors who had long resigned themselves to certain death.

  "Uesugi Kenshin will not let our army get enough rest, the large army of the Uesugi family is about to come out, and a fierce battle is coming soon." Yamamoto Kansuke said to Takeda Shingen.

  Sanada Masayuki said: "Our army is not completely without opportunities, if we can hold on until nightfall, I think we can take advantage of the cover of darkness to retreat into Mount Haku."

  Sanada Masayuki's words sparked hope in everyone's eyes.

  Tonight is a new moon, and it will be pitch black at night. If a melee is held, the chances of killing one's own people are higher than those of killing the enemy. And if torches are lit to illuminate, they will immediately become targets for cannons and archers, purely seeking death.

  Uesugi Kenshin would probably not take this risk and engage in a night battle with the Takeda army.

  But would Uesugi Kenshin give them this opportunity and let them hold out until nightfall? Just then, the taiko drums of the Echigo army's main camp began to beat.

  A row of black-clad and black-armored soldiers surged forward like a tidal wave, the mighty army of Yue finally emerged.

  "The Iron Troop entered the trenches."

  "Archers, prepare."

  Iron guns re-squat into the trenches, many people throw away the bamboo-made shoulder pads on their shoulders, the small sleeves on their arms, and the wrist guards, just to be a little more agile and improve the almost negligible iron gun loading speed.

  The iron cannon was carefully loaded with gunpowder, bullets and a ramrod to tamp them down. The fuse was then installed. Each of the iron cannons had already been fired four times in rapid succession, which was close to the limit for this type of cannon in this era. Generally, firing five or six times in one battle would easily cause the barrel to burst.

  But now it doesn't matter anymore, being beheaded by the Vietcong or having one's head blown off, both outcomes are the same.

  "What do you think, will the enemy attack our left or right wing first?" Li Xiao took advantage of the brief lull in the enemy's movement to chat idly with Sanada Yukimura.

  Although it was no longer the first battle of Sanada Masayuki, at the age of 15, facing a life-or-death battle in the Takeda's final stronghold, and with the undefeated reputation of Uesugi Kenshin, Sanada Masayuki would not be as calm as he appeared on the surface.

  Facing Li Xiao's question, he thought for a moment and said: "It should be broken through from the left wing. Although the slope is steeper here, our military deployment in this area is weak."

  Li Xiao laughed and shook his head, saying: "No, I bet with you that the rear army will definitely break through from the center."

  "Why?" Masayuki Sanada was not a blind follower.

  "Because the enemy commander is Kizaki Kagetaka, I've experienced his strength at Kawajiri Island. He's the No. 1 brave general of Echigo and also the most arrogant. He'll definitely choose our army's strongest front line to launch a central breakthrough and then head straight for our main camp."

  Li Xiao and Masayuki Sanada were talking when the iron cannons in the first trench had already opened fire.

  The loud roar of the gunfire had passed, and the head of the iron artillery group observed the results of the shooting. It was clear that the enemy troops were not invincible either, just like the Nagano army, and under the firepower of the iron artillery, they also fell in a large area.

  Boom!

  The iron cannons in the second moat also opened fire.

  After two rounds of cannon fire, the Takeda rear guard began to charge up the slope. Their goal was to reach the front of the trenches before the second round of gunfire and minimize casualties from the cannons. However, the steepness of the slope and the numerous bodies left behind by the Nagano army hindered their advance.

  Behind the shield wall, Takeda Shingen's yumi-ashi were now ready.

  "Fire!"

  As the bowstring vibrated, dense arrows drew a parabola, covering the Yue army climbing up the mountain with a blanket attack.

  Compared to the Nagano army, the armor on the Echigo army was clearly more robust in both thickness and material. It was often seen that fierce Echigo warriors, with several arrows stuck in their bodies, would charge up the mountain as if nothing had happened.

  The charging speed of the Echigo army was significantly faster than that of the Nagano army, and as a result, the Echigo army would soon approach the trenches, while the Takeda family's iron cannon team did not even have the opportunity to fire a second round.

  Li Xiao made a prompt decision and immediately ordered people to set fire to the remaining twenty bamboo baskets, then pushed them down the mountain together. The iron cannons in front of the position hid in the trenches and didn't need to worry about being burned by the fireballs.

  Facing the Takeda army's old trick, the vanguard ashigaru were well-prepared and immediately stood up a row of long spears to block the rolling bamboo baskets. Then several long spears made a great effort to pull them back, or used a samurai sword to slash at them, and the bamboo baskets were destroyed.

  However, this brief delay was enough, and the iron cannon of the Takeda family had already been loaded.

  The iron cannon roared, and a puff of smoke rose above the trenches. The Takeda family's iron cannon fired its second volley, and after finishing, quickly retreated from the trench position to the rear of the Takeda army formation.

  The formation of the troops was not scattered by the volley of gunfire, and they advanced up the mountain in a dense formation, filling in two trenches with wooden boards along the way before launching a charge.

  Takeda Shōryū immediately ordered the yumi-ashi light infantry to retreat to the rear, and soon after, the Takeda house's yari-ashi light infantry also put down their long spears.

  "Come out."

  The Takeda army's ashigaru lowered their spears and charged at the enemy, then clashed with the advancing Viet military ashigaru.

  The three-shaku spear formation of the Takeda army clashed with the Uesugi army's gun formation at this moment. Both sides lightly touched their guns and used each other's long spears to stab, swing and strike, neither giving in.

  Takeda army gun foot light, doing three rooms gun array training, generally is with three people a group, one person specialized in blocking the opponent's attack long gun, one person then holds gun to kill, another person then swings up long gun, uses upper swing hits the opponent's head.

  In this way, every three riflemen are light, respectively responsible for attacking, defending and flanking with different responsibilities.

  The Takeda army also had its own way of coordinating, generally speaking, attacking upwards towards the mountain, but the Takeda army was at a disadvantage. However, the Takeda army won with their numerical superiority, and their troops continuously pressed forward, causing the Takeda army's gun formation to retreat bit by bit.