Chapter 69: The Retreat is Cut Off

  The Ryūjin flag and the Hatajirushi flag fluttered in the sky above the main camp of the Echigo army.

  The atmosphere on the mountain slope was quiet and peaceful, behind the military array of the mountain slope, a temporary earthwork was piled up, and the arrow-proof boards were arranged in front of the array.

  Behind them, hundreds of ashigaru armed with harquebuses were ready to fire, and behind the harquebus troops, rows of arquebusiers formed a dense phalanx that stretched up the mountain, their gun barrels glinting in the sunlight.

  Although the Later Hojo clan's main camp had a military force of 800, over 100 iron cannons, and was situated in a high position with a defensive location that could be firmly defended, they did not dare to show any sluggishness when facing this Takeda family cavalry unit which was less than one-tenth their size.

  Uesugi Kenshin slowly stood up, looked at the Takeda clan's general who was challenging him from the foot of the mountain, and exclaimed with a flash of his eyes: "So it is that Ming dynasty warrior from Komatsujima who saved Shingen."

  "My lord, I implore you, under no circumstances should we engage in battle."

  Naokazu Naoe knelt down in front of Uesugi Kenshin and advised him.

  Seeing Uesugi Kenshin not responding, several other Echigo military leaders also knelt down with Naoe Kagetsuna in front of Uesugi Kenshin, looking at Uesugi Kenshin's expression nervously.

  Naokazu Naoe stared at Uesugi Kenshin, thinking to himself that Li Xiao saw the solidity of our army's main camp and knew that charging up the mountain would result in huge losses. That's why he used a single cavalryman to provoke the general into coming down the mountain for a battle. If that was indeed his plan, relying on the bravery of this Ming country general, even Kojirō Katakura wouldn't be his match, and our general would certainly be in danger if they were to engage in battle.

  Naoe Kagetsuna thought to himself, his eyes fixed intently on Uesugi Kenshin. He had already made up his mind that if the lord really intended to come down from the mountain and fight against Li Xiao, he would stop him at all costs, even if it meant dying in remonstration.

  Uesugi Kenshin turned his head and looked around at the eyes of his subordinates, then laughed and said: "Do you all think I'm no match for that Li Xiao?"

  The generals exchanged a glance, unable to conceal the astonishment in their hearts. Uesugi Kenshin turned to his most trusted vassal, Koizumi Masayoshi, and said with a stern expression: "My lord, please allow me to go down the mountain and fight this Ming warrior, to avenge the death of Kagetsuna and Izuminokami."

  Kojima Saneoki, also known as Oni Kojima Mitsutaro, was a renowned brave general in the Echigo army, with bravery comparable to that of Kakizaki Kageie. However, he usually served as an attendant by Uesugi Kenshin's side and had few opportunities to go into battle, so his reputation did not spread far.

  Uesugi Kenshin snorted and said calmly, "Alright, no need to say more. Everyone defend our position, we don't need to respond to this person's challenge."

  "But, my lord..." Oshima Mataro had just spoken when he was interrupted by Uesugi Kenshin, who said: "But are you worried that my reputation as the Dragon of Echigo will be tarnished? Ha! I am not one to care about such things, let them say what they want!"

  Uesugi Kenshin said, and then Taira no Kiyomori, Oni no Shima Mitsutaro and other generals let out a breath. To be honest, with Li Xiao's unstoppable bravery just now, who wouldn't want to try his luck at this time? How can you say that you still want to keep your life to serve the lord?

  The Echigo army on the mountain slope was intently watching every move of the Takeda army below, with a renowned general in command and known for their bravery, yet at this moment no one dared to come forward to accept the challenge from this samurai.

  At this time, Uesugi Kenshin smiled slightly and walked a few steps closer, looking at Li Xiao who was charging towards him from the mountain below. In his heart, he thought: If I had such a brave general under my command like Uesugi Hōjō, how could the road to Kyoto be blocked? How could justice not prevail in the world? What a pity! What a pity!

  "Awesome!"

  Li Xiao cursed loudly, he had already called out three times, but the Yue army formation on the mountain slope didn't move at all, not even a single voice was heard, this point made Li Xiao extremely frustrated.

  According to Li Xiaoyuan's original plan, he was going to take Uesugi Kenshin's main camp directly, shock the Uesugi army's military strength, and let the Echigo army come to rescue the main camp, disrupting the entire battlefield. If luck is good, drag the battle into a melee, of course, if you can muddy the waters and kill Uesugi Kenshin himself, that would be a bonus.

  However, when Li Xiao arrived at Uesugi Kenshin's main camp, he saw hundreds of iron cannons with black holes and the gun arrays waiting on the mountain slope.

  Li Xiao does not plan to be the first general of the Takeda family to die from a hail of bullets, this honor is still left for the future Lord Yamagata Masakage.

  So he hesitated for a while, gave up the idea of charging into battle with his cavalrymen, and decided to use a provocative tactic to lure Sanada Yukimura down from the mountain to engage in a one-on-one duel, continuing the unfinished "single mounted combat" of Kawachi Island.

  With the experience of fighting Uesugi Kenshin in Kawanakajima, Li Xiao was confident that with his current martial arts skills, he could defeat Uesugi Kenshin one-on-one and stand undefeated. At worst, he could drag the cavalry battle into an infantry battle, using both spears and swords together, and finally use a "hug-the-pig" move to knock this military god to the ground.

  ！

  But this plan is clearly not feasible at present.

  Li Xiao was in a bad mood, but he didn't know how the Uesugi cavalrymen behind him were feeling. Li Xiao led his sixty men to break through five arrays and killed their way to the front of Uesugi Kenshin's main camp, issuing a challenge, but not one of the Echigo army dared to come forward and engage in a "one-on-one" duel with Li Xiao.

  The Battle of Kawanakajima was won by Takeda Shingen's bravery, but he was still killed by Uesugi Kenshin in his own camp and cut three times. Today, Li Xiaocheng did what the Takeda army could not even imagine on a normal day. If they can survive this battle, it will be enough for them to boast about for the rest of their lives.

  At this thought, these mounted warriors could not help but feel their blood boiling with excitement.

  But Li Xiao didn't think that much at this moment, as a commander, he thought about the next plan, to give the enemy the greatest damage with the least cost.

  Li Xiao looked back at the cavalry behind him, originally more than sixty riders, now less than fifty were left. After the battle just now, many people's knives had been rolled up and their spears had been broken. The horses were exhausted, and the soldiers' physical strength was also somewhat inadequate. In fact, they had almost reached the end of their tether.

  In fact, Saitō Toshinaga's and Ii Naochika's troops had each dispatched mounted samurai to return and rescue the Uesugi main camp.

  Even if they launched a surprise attack on Uesugi Kenshin's main camp now, the chances of success would be less than one in ten. If Li Xiao were Taneda Hanzo now, his choice would definitely be to charge in without batting an eyelid, just like Osaka Natsu no Jin.

  Unfortunately, Li Xiao does not have the idea of fighting for the Takeda family to the last moment now, so he gave up the decision to charge Uesugi Kenshin's main camp. Now he must retreat and meet with the Takeda army's main camp. Otherwise, even if they have a chance to win, continuing to fight will likely result in a complete defeat, with Li Xiao himself being surrounded by thousands of soldiers and dying in battle.

  Just as Li Xiao was about to lead the Takeda cavalry back to their base, he found that Shigehide's troops had blocked his way and cut off his retreat.

  Saitō Chōshin's army had a total of 500 soldiers, and with the advantage of being well-rested, they formed a dense phalanx formation in front of them. Meanwhile, on the other side, Ii Shōshin's army was pressing forward step by step against Li Xia's cavalry.

  At this moment, Li Xiao had no other choice but to break through the army of Saito Toshinobu's forces, and only then would he have a way out. Saito Toshinobu was known as the "Kanki of Echigo" and had followed Uesugi Kenshin in battle for many years, and was a commander with both wisdom and bravery.

  At this time, the chestnut warhorse snorted, and Li Xiao's face showed a resolute expression. He ordered fifty Takeda cavalrymen to form up in array.

  "Kill!"

  Li Xiao pointed the gun tip forward, and the Wada army cavalry behind him also shouted loudly, then together urged the war horse to kill the Saito Choshin team's military.