The Self-Cultivation of Warring States Warriors

Page 43

This is a heavily fortified city, with rivers to the north and east, a moat dug to the south, and only the west side is passable. The walls are mainly made of stone, with five curved ramps and more than a dozen tall arrow towers inside, capable of accommodating one or two thousand soldiers.

The Tanba army was no longer fighting alone. Instead, they joined forces with allies from Settsu, Yamashiro, Izumi, Kawachi, and many other regions, forming a coalition of 16,000 men.

Matsunaga Hisahide was nominally appointed as the commander-in-chief of the siege, while Matsunaga Nagayori served as the deputy commander in charge of the actual operations on the front lines.

A few days later, a special "shovel crew," or engineering personnel, was assembled. Subsequently, various tools and equipment were gradually transported over.

Perhaps it was the victory in the attack on Takada Castle that secured this command.

Matsunaga Sonroku was temporarily promoted and appointed as "Tanba Jindai," in charge of 2,400 men.

Nepotism is so enjoyable.

Perhaps because of their humble origins and their busy lives in their youth, both Matsunaga brothers had children after the age of thirty. Hisahide's eldest son was just ten years old, and Nagayori's only son was five.

In this situation, nephews and nieces should naturally be given special attention and guidance.

Perhaps Matsunaga Sonroku should write an article titled "My Uncle Danjo" to celebrate.

On another front, Miyoshi Ikeoki, the young master of the Miyoshi family, with the assistance of Miyoshi Yoshikata, Ataka Fuyuyasu, and Sogawa Kazumi, led the central command troops and a coalition of 17,000 men from Awa, Awaji, and Sanuki to besiege Uozumi Castle, an important stronghold of the Bessho family on the coastline.

The remaining 7,000 men belonged to Miyoshi Nagayoshi, whose mission was to monitor the main force of the Bessho family, who were holed up in their stronghold, Miki Castle, and to be ready to block reinforcements at any time.

Regardless of whether the total strength was actually 40,000, that's what they claimed.

Shinzaburo estimates that the numbers may be exaggerated, but the magnitude should not be too large.

At least the attacking forces under Tamhe City were a huge, swarming force, numbering at least 12,000 to 13,000 if not 16,000.

Logically speaking, a mid-level warrior of the rank of centurion wouldn't be qualified to enter the central command tent to attend a meeting with such a large-scale entourage.

Unexpectedly, Matsunaga Magoroku, the former superior of "Tanba Jindai", saw Shinzaburo halfway there and beckoned him to come along.

So he managed to sneak into the military council.

There were no small stools to sit on, so they were just standing in the back row listening.

First, Hisahide Matsunaga stepped forward and introduced the names of everyone present.

Although everyone works for the Miyoshi family, they come from different regions and don't have many opportunities to meet.

Moreover, the attitudes of some of these people may not be so stable, and you might not know whether they are friends or foes the next time you meet them.

Shinzaburo originally intended to carefully memorize these names.

But as soon as Matsunaga Hisahide opened his mouth...

Imamura Kii Mamoru, Tarao Tsune Rikusuke, Yasumi Mimasaku, Tange Bichu Mamoru, Matsuura Hizen Mamoru, Terada Koshichu Mamoru, Tomigami Ishimi Mamoru, Ibaraki Sado Mamoru, Ikeda Chikugo Mamoru, Itami Yamato Mamoru, Miyake Deba Mamoru, Irie Suruga Mamoru...

More than twenty people all had similar names for their official careers, which made everyone's head buzz.

If an unsuspecting outsider were to encounter this, they would think it was a geography lesson.

I had no choice but to bite the bullet and memorize as much as I could.

Fortunately, those twenty-odd people had to flatter each other, and it wasn't just polite phrases like "I've heard so much about you" or "It's a pleasure to meet you." They had to recount some of the other person's personal or family achievements to be considered polite enough.

It's not easy to become a high-ranking samurai, as expected.

After exchanging pleasantries, the "vice-general" Matsunaga Nagayori appeared and ordered his attendants to bring a hastily drawn, rough diagram, and announced the battle plan.

Then they each accepted their orders and dispersed, without inviting anyone to stay for a meal.

The generals all understood that it was indeed inappropriate to hold a banquet in the midst of war.

However, Matsunaga Hisahide had the servants bake some cakes and pastries to share with everyone to fill their stomachs.

……

After the military council was concluded and they returned to their own camp, it was only the beginning of the late afternoon, with plenty of time before sunset.

But the order from above was "begin the attack on the city tomorrow after all preparations are complete."

So today can be spent leisurely.

The following day, various equipment and engineering units were distributed, including ladders, siege engines, gunpowder barrels, and so on. The most eye-catching of these were fifteen "fire arrow" launchers.

This is a rare "large-caliber firepower" of our time, operated by a team of six to ten people, and needs to be placed on sandbags or mounds of earth for use.

What is it?

Essentially, it involves placing large arrows with flammable materials inside iron tubes and launching them with gunpowder to achieve the effect of "fire arrows." It's similar in principle to Da Meng's "Divine Arrows."

Generally, it was fired from a large iron cannon with a "twenty-eye" or "thirty-eye" barrel, placed on a support.

The term "mesh" refers to the weight of a bullet; one mesh equals one qian (a unit of weight). Twenty to thirty meshes correspond to large matchlock guns with a caliber of 24 to 27 millimeters.

In contrast, the most common arquebuses of this era were the "two-and-a-half-eye small barrel" or the "six-eye medium barrel." Those with ten or more eyes were considered to be "samurai barrels," which only elite samurai could wield.

If it doesn't malfunction, this thing can have a range of several hundred paces, much farther than the "baked jade" that is thrown purely by manpower. However, it is slow to reload, requires a high level of skill from the user, and is not cheap to purchase and maintain.

Not to mention that even a minor daimyo couldn't afford to do it, even the Miyoshi family, who controlled Sakai, couldn't use it casually.

For example, when Matsunaga Nagayori led the Tanba troops to attack Takada Castle a few days ago, not a single body could be found.

Otherwise, there might not even be a need for the raiding party to take the risk.

In this siege of Tamagawa Castle, fifteen "fire arrow squads" were assigned to the southwest direction alone, where the Tanba clan was located.

Why is that?

Shinzaburo didn't quite understand at first.

However, I understood it the next day.

At that moment, Miyoshi Nagayoshi and Hosokawa Ujitsuna arrived with a group of guests dressed somewhat like court nobles and samurai. Then all the "fire arrows" were lit at once.

Then, amidst a deafening roar, fifteen missiles, glowing with fire, were launched in succession, illuminating the gloomy sky. They glided for more than two hundred paces, clearing the walls and arrow stalks before landing in Tamho City.

Upon seeing this sight, some guests cheered excitedly, some were stunned in surprise, and some were filled with fear. Then, Miyoshi Nagayoshi and Hosokawa Ujitsuna dragged them to the next siege site for further tour.

It's a bit like watching a giant fireworks display.

The sound and light effects were excellent. In addition to the guests, the attacking soldiers were also deeply impressed, craning their necks and staring intently at the fifteen "fire arrows".

It should be noted that the soldiers on this position were all mountain people from Tanba, and they had never seen such large firearms before.

But as for the actual results...

Shinzaburo's appearance suggests that it's better than nothing.

Because the walls of the city of Tamsui in front of us are made of thick stone.

It is not a fragile and flammable wooden structure.

If it were Takada Castle a few days ago, these "20-mesh tubes" and "30-mesh tubes" would have been enough to deal with it.

However, Tamho City might require bombardment with so-called "hundred-mesh cannons" or even larger caliber firearms.

I wonder if anyone in Japan can build that thing right now. After all, the introduction of firearms was only a little over a decade ago, and we're still in the early stages of imitation.

The soldiers around them were all very excited, eagerly hoping that the fifteen "fire arrows" would fire another round so that everyone could see it again.

Many people were whispering among themselves, believing that if they fired a few more rounds, the enemy would surely be terrified and surrender without a fight, handing over the city.

Shinzaburo stood there calmly, looking quite out of place.

If he had to express his feelings, he would say that it reminded him of the time he spent setting off firecrackers with relatives during Chinese New Year when he was young in his previous life, and he still misses it quite a bit.

In short, it took a long time and six rounds of firing the fifteen sets of "fire arrows" to finish today's "siege".

It appears that Tamsui City did not suffer any actual damage.

There was no order from above for the soldiers to launch an attack.

After watching a fireworks display, everyone rested on the spot. The soldiers of Tanbo expressed their amazement, saying that the defending forces were incredibly resilient to withstand such a blow.

In the evening, he ran into Matsunaga Magoroku, who said confidently, "Today, those Kyoto retainers saw the divine weapons of our Miyoshi family. They should know who the true master of the land is now, right?"

Only then did Shinzaburo realize that the "tourists" during the day were actually samurai directly under the Muromachi Shogunate.

Ashikaga Yoshiteru and Hosokawa Harumoto ran away. These people, whether unwilling to part with their property or unable to endure hardship, stayed in Kyoto and ended up in the hands of the Miyoshi family.

It's likely that they were somewhat "in Cao's camp but their hearts were with Han," still clinging to their former master, which is why they were specially dragged here to watch the fireworks display.

Will it actually work?

084 The ultimate trick of naughty kids is to call their parents.

Unexpectedly, just the next day, Shinzaburo had to admit that he had underestimated the power of the "Fire Arrow".

Although the large fireworks had little effect hitting the stone walls, one of them hit something and started a fire in the city.

At this moment, Matsunaga Magoro immediately ordered the Tanba army to launch an attack, while also instructing the "shovel men" to quickly dig tunnels in front of the gate to attempt detonation.

Taking advantage of the defenders' slight confusion due to the fire, the attacking ranged soldiers bravely moved within fifty paces and fired upwards. Meanwhile, the melee soldiers, under the cover of bamboo bundles, carried long ladders or pushed siege engines forward.

Meanwhile, the fifteen "fire arrows" were being loaded in preparation for the next round of launches.

Unfortunately, after a fierce battle, they failed to reach the top of the city wall before the defenders could extinguish the fire.

The archers within the city were of good quality, firing calmly and methodically, not aiming for a suppressive volley, but rather focusing on inflicting casualties with hidden arrows. Attacking soldiers were often caught completely off guard, suddenly struck by arrows emerging from behind the "slits."

The "shovelmen" did fulfill their duty, digging a pit in time and burying two gunpowder barrels under the city gate, which they successfully detonated. However, whether due to insufficient explosives or an unsuitable detonation location, the explosion only slightly deformed the gate frame structure, but it did not collapse.

Despite suffering dozens of casualties, they returned empty-handed and had no choice but to retreat and plan their next move slowly.

Matsunaga Sonroku was relatively optimistic, believing that although they had not entered the city today, they had dealt a blow to the supplies and morale of the defending troops, which was a significant achievement.

Shinzaburo, however, felt puzzled and privately asked, "What exactly is the objective of this battle? Is it a direct assault or a siege?"

Matsunaga Sunroku hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "With so much equipment support, if we still can't achieve any results, wouldn't we become a laughing stock? We must launch a full-scale attack!"

Since that's what the leaders are saying, Shinsaburo has nothing more to say.

However, the development of events follows objective laws and is not determined by human subjective will.

For the next three days, the process continued in the same manner: firearms would fire first, then feint attacks would be launched to cover the detonation.

Despite several attempts, costing soldiers their lives and turning the southwest gate of Tamho City completely black, they still failed to create a sufficient breach.

The morale of the attacking side began to drop significantly.

Shinzaburo's "Kubo Guard" consisted of only 75 soldiers. They were assigned to two offensive missions, but in a short time, five were killed and more than ten were wounded. The remaining men were somewhat disgruntled and subtly expressed their unwillingness to continue fighting.

Matsunaga Magoro's expression gradually turned very bad.

Fortunately, upon inquiring outside, they learned that the friendly forces responsible for attacking the other city gates had not yet achieved any results.

Everyone looks just as disheveled, so it's alright.

The strategy above has been changed.

Tamsui Fortress is bordered by rivers to the north and east, and has a moat dug to the south, isn't it?

Previously, they had abandoned all three directions and concentrated over 10,000 troops on the western front, but achieved nothing after several days. Now, the commander has issued an order to move half of the troops to find the narrowest point in the water, build a pontoon bridge, and launch an attack.

This may not necessarily work, but it can at least create some restraint and further disperse the defending troops.

On the other hand, engineering costs will rise again.

Matsunaga Magoroku, who temporarily took on the role of "Tanba Jindai", used the ultimate trick of the naughty child - calling his parents!

Around the seventh day of the siege, he went to talk to Matsunaga Hisahide and Matsunaga Nagayachi for a long time. Whether he was acting cute or begging, he got the desired result.

Two days later, from who knows where, fifteen more "fire arrows" were brought in, along with a "golden dugout" from the Imperial Guard, and two large boxes of Yongle coins.

The term "Jinjuezhong" refers to an engineering team that performs excavation and blasting in mines. They can also undertake siege warfare orders.

However, in the 16th century, they were highly paid talents who had mastered advanced technologies, and their appearance fees were very expensive, perhaps even rarer than fifteen "fire arrow" launchers.

Then, he displayed Yongle coins on the spot and offered a large reward to recruit a suicide squad. As a result, the Tanba soldiers, who had previously been complaining, rushed to express their willingness to fight bravely.

This situation inevitably reminded Shinzaburo of a famous saying by a wise man: "In war, the first thing is money, the second thing is money, and the third thing is still money!"

The simultaneous firing of thirty large-caliber firearms immediately demonstrated the principle of "quantitative change leading to qualitative change," and their power was significantly enhanced.

At the same time, the suicide squad launched an attack.

The defending archers were momentarily silenced, seemingly suppressed.

Meanwhile, the "Gold Diggers" hid in their specially made vans, slowly making their way to their destination and methodically placing the gunpowder.

After an unknown amount of time, although the soldiers still failed to reach the top of the city wall, a loud bang shook the earth at the city gate, and a crack finally appeared in the middle of the wall.

Matsunaga Sonroku's pent-up emotions from the past few days erupted as he drew his katana and led the charge.

……