Vol 2 Chapter 2381: Battle in Tokyo

Chapter 2381 The decisive battle in Tokyo

Chapter 2377: Decisive Battle in Tokyo

Just after escaping from Kinki, Oda Nobunaga issued a handwritten "Message to the People of Japan" and posted it in all areas that had not yet fallen.

 In this article, Oda Nobunaga truthfully explained the collapse of Shintoism, but claimed that it was the result of a sinister trick by the Han people, in order to incite hatred against the Han people among the Japanese who did not know the truth.

In addition, Oda Nobunaga also admitted the tragic defeat of Kinki, claiming that Japan had reached a critical moment, and the whole country must work together to survive this crisis.

At the end of the article, Oda Nobunaga expressed his determination not to surrender and to fight to the end for Japan. He hoped that the people of the country could support him, and even the entire country could not surrender to the Han people.

　　This article by Oda Nobunaga can only be said to be average in terms of provocation, but the period of publication was very good, just after the collapse of Shintoism.

Shintoism is the belief of most Japanese people, but now it has been exterminated without any warning. For the Japanese people, this is simply a bolt from the blue, no less than the collapse of their faith, and they naturally need a channel to vent their hearts.

Oda Nobunaga guided it very well, transferring all the hatred of the upper-class nobles, middle-class samurai, and lower-class people to the Han people, while at the same time absolving himself of the responsibility he had deliberately concealed.

Under the deliberate guidance of Oda Nobunaga, the people of the Japanese country were filled with resentment, and their hatred of the Han people reached its extreme. They all actively participated in the great cause of resisting the Han people. Those who had money donated money, and those who had food donated food, and those who had no money did not have food. Then people come out.

The Oda family suffered heavy casualties in the First Battle of Kinki. After retreating from Kinki, the original army of 280,000 was even less than 140,000. Even if Nobi's local troops were included, the total strength was still less than 200,000.

But under this nationwide anti-Han wave, Oda Nobunaga re-raised an army of 300,000 in such a short period of time.

The reason why he did not continue to recruit troops was not that Oda Nobunaga did not want to recruit, but because all the young and strong people in the Nobi area had been recruited. If he continued to recruit, he would only be able to recruit the old and the weak.

Facing the Han Chinese coalition armed to the teeth, letting the old and weak go to the battlefield is no different than sending them to death. No matter how large the number is, it will not have much effect.

The Nomi area is where the Oda family started. Seiju Castle, the capital of the Japanese Empire, is also located here.

The Oda family's rule in Nooo was the most consolidated, so they were able to recruit so many troops in such a short period of time.

As for the Kanto region hundreds of miles away, although it had only been occupied by the Oda family for a few years, due to the destruction of Shintoism, it was also responding to Oda Nobunaga's call, and all the young ones were recruited.

As of the time when the Qin, Wei, Song, and Wu kingdoms sent out troops, the total strength of Kanto, the area with the largest plain area and the most populous population, had reached 200,000. They were composed of Shibata Katsuie and Sakuma Morimasa among the "Oda Four Elders", and Led by Takigawa Kazumasu in the 'Oda Four Heavenly Kings'.

 Including the military strength in the Kanto region, that is to say, the Oda family still has an army of 500,000.

 Including the four allies Tokugawa (80,000), Takeda (40,000), Shimazu (60,000), and Uyizaki (50,000), Japan's total military strength is still 730,000.

 The total population of the five countries is only three to four million, but their military strength is as many as 720,000.

　　Including the troops who died in the previous battles and surrendered, the total has reached as many as four and a half million.

In other words, in order to resist the invasion of the Han people, the total number of troops mobilized by the Japanese country has completely exceeded one million, reaching nearly one hundred and twenty.

The total population of the Japanese country was only over 6 million, but it mobilized an army of 1.2 million, with a ratio of soldiers to civilians of five to one, or even higher.

This is completely beyond the scope of extreme military expansion. Even if the Central Plains countries cannot afford this level, they can do it in the Japanese country, which does not have any human rights and has a fixed class system.

After Oda Nobunaga learned that the Qin army had sent troops to Kai Kingdom, he decisively sent additional reinforcements to the Kai Kingdom area, but unfortunately it was still a step too late.

Zhou Yu had long guessed that Oda Nobunaga would send more troops to Kai Kingdom, so before sending troops, he secretly sent his elite troops to Shinano in the north, including Wu Qi, Lu Bu, Zhao Yun, Mi Houwang, Huang Zhong and many other generals. After officially dispatching, they immediately launched a fierce attack.

The total strength of the Oda family in Minami-Shinano is only 20,000, and more than half of them are new soldiers. Their will to resist is not strong, and they cannot stop the fierce attack by Wu Qi and others.

In just two days, all the eight cities of Minami Shinano were captured by the Qin army, and then invaded Kai's country.

Minami Shinano fell, Kai Kingdom lost its northern gateway, and the Qin army came too fast and too fiercely, and the Oda army had no time to react, so it lost a lot of territory.

At this time, it was too late for Oda Nobunaga to send reinforcements. By the time he arrived at Kai Country, the entire territory might have fallen.

Once the Kai Kingdom falls, the connection between Nobi and Kanto will also be cut off, and the Japanese army in the Nobi area will also be trapped in a situation where they are attacked from both sides.

 After realizing this, Oda Nobunaga ordered Yukimura Sanada, who was guarding Suruga Province, and Mitsuhide Akechi, who was guarding Enjie Province, to lead an army of 50,000 each, for a total of 100,000 troops, to recapture Kai Kingdom at all costs.

 Akechi Mitsuhide and Sanada Yukimura were originally enemies of the Oda family.

When the Japanese pirates invaded the eastern coast, Akechi Mitsuhide and Tokugawa Ieyasu invaded the Yangzhou area, and Sanada Yukimura invaded the Youzhou area, and both plundered a large amount of wealth and returned.

 The territories of the Akechi family and the Sanada family were both under the nose of the Oda family. After their return, they were attacked by the Oda family.

The Oda family is also short of money and food. Knowing that the two families have robbed a large amount of food, how can they not eat the fat that reaches their lips?

In order to prevent Uesugi Takeda and other families from ruining his good deeds, Oda Nobunaga mobilized a total of 300,000 troops and launched an undeclared war. It only took half a month to destroy the Sanada and Akechi families.

Before other countries could react, the Sanada and Akechi families were already wiped out. Sanada Yukimura and Akechi Mitsuhide were also forced to surrender to the Oda family, and all the money and food they robbed were given to the Oda family before they were warmed up.

 Oda Nobunaga was originally not prepared to reuse Sanada Yukimura and Akechi Mitsuhide, but the Han people's revenge came too quickly, and he had few generals available for the uprising.

In addition, Akechi Mitsuhide and Sanada Yukimura were one of the chief culprits in invading the Han people, and they were absolutely impossible to be accepted by the Han people, so Oda Nobunaga continued to appoint Sanada Yukimura and Akechi Mitsuhide.

Oda Nobunaga naturally knew that it was impossible to recapture the Kingdom of Kai from the 150,000 Qin army with only the 100,000 troops of Sanada Yukimura and Akechi Mitsuhide.

Therefore, he also ordered Shibata Katsuie in the Kanto region to lead the 150,000 Kwantung Army to launch an attack on Kai Kingdom from the Kanto region.

Sanada Yukimura and Akechi Mitsuhide's 100,000-strong army will attack Kai Country from west to east.

 Shibata Katsuie's 150,000 Kwantung Army will attack Kai Kingdom from east to west.

Under Oda Nobunaga's arrangement, the Oda family could not only avoid a two-sided attack, but could even form a two-sided attack on the Qin army, which can be said to be the best of both worlds.

Zhou Yu only took six days to occupy most of the Kai Kingdom, but then he received news that the Japanese countries in Kanto and Kinki were attacking the Kai Kingdom from the east and west directions. The country of Kai has a mountainous and narrow terrain, which is not conducive to the deployment of large-scale legions.

Once the Qin army's offensive is delayed for too long and the east and west armies of the Oda family arrive, it is very likely that due to the terrain, they will be completely trapped in the realm of Kai Kingdom and unable to move.

After seeing through Oda Nobunaga's sinister intentions, Zhou Yu ordered the entire army to speed up the offensive. It took another three days to occupy the entire territory of Kai Kingdom.

After occupying the Kingdom of Kai, Zhou Yu immediately began to divide his troops. After all, even fighting on two fronts was better than being trapped and dying in the territory of Kai.

 After some deliberation, Zhou Yu decided to adopt the strategy of "defending in the east and attacking in the west".

He sent a general to lead a partial division to block the 150,000-strong army from Guandong.

Zhou Yu personally led the main force to attack Nongwei, and cooperated with the allied forces of Wei, Song and Wu to attack Oda Nobunaga from east to west, all the way to the capital of the Japanese Empire.

As long as Tokyo City can be captured and the Japanese emperor and Oda Nobunaga can be killed, the Kanto region will be victorious without a fight.

Both Zhou Yu and Oda Nobunaga wanted to attack each other from both sides, and the key to success lies in which side's Western Route Army can win first. The winning side will naturally be able to attack the other side from both sides.

The total strength of the Oda family's east and west armies reached 250,000, while the total strength of the Qin army was only 150,000.

Zhou Yu was at a disadvantage in terms of military strength. In order to minimize casualties, he decided to concentrate his elite troops and generals to defeat the Oda family's Western Route Army as quickly as possible.

If you do this, the Eastern Route Army will definitely not have too many troops, and the pressure will naturally be greater.

 After deliberation, Zhou Yu decided to give the Eastern Route Army 30,000 troops and select a general who was good at defense to lead the army.

 Thirty thousand troops facing off against 150,000 Japanese troops was an arduous task.

With such a huge gap in military strength, logically speaking, not many generals should be willing to take over.

However, it was just the opposite among the Qin army. All the generals were very enthusiastic and took the initiative to ask for battle. Even if the enemy was five times more powerful than themselves, they would still be treated as dirt.

Zhou Yu did not dare to be careless in the selection of the general of the East Route Army.

 After all, if the Eastern Route Army fails to hold on, the main force will really be attacked from both sides by the Japanese army, and it will also fall into the crisis of total annihilation.

After some thinking, both Zhou Yu and Guo Jia decided to let Wu Qi, who was outstanding in strategy and command, serve as the chief general of the East Route Army, commanding 5,000 Qin troops, 25,000 Qin auxiliary troops, as well as Huang Zhong, Mi Houwang, Gao Shun, Chen Dao and other generals.

After being appointed by Zhou Yu, Wu Qi did not set a direction in Kai's country. Instead, he led an army of 30,000 to capture the Hachioji Castle of Musashi before the 150,000 Kwantung Army arrived in Musashi.

The Japanese defenders of Hachioji City did not expect that under such circumstances, the Qin army would dare to attack under such circumstances, surrounded by an army of 250,000 troops. Therefore, they were unprepared and were successfully occupied by Wu Qizhi.

Hachioji Castle is a mountain city built on the mountain. It is easy to defend but difficult to attack.

If Wu Qi occupied this city, even if he only had 30,000 troops, he could easily block the offensive of the 150,000 Kwantung Army.

On the other hand, if the Kwantung Army wanted to retake Hachioji Castle, in addition to a strong attack, it could only go from Musashi Province, detour to Sagami Province, enter Suruga Province, and attack Kaiguo from Tonoba Castle.

Such a long road has to be detoured, and regardless of whether the Kwantung Army will be exposed or not, even if it is really not exposed, it must capture Fujiyoshida Castle, the gateway to the south of Kai Country.

 Fuji Yoshida Castle is also a fortified city, and it is also the southern gate of Kai Kingdom. As such a hub of the Central Plains, it is naturally impossible for Wu Qi's command to remain undefended.

Even if Wu Qi really did not set up defenses, it would be more than half a month before the Kwantung Army arrived at Fujiyoshida Castle. By then, the Qin army on the western front might have already won.

 After learning that Wu Qi had occupied the Eight Princes City, Zhou Yu was completely relieved, because the control of the next war would return to the Qin army.

Even though Sanada Yukimura and Akechi Mitsuhide had as many as 100,000 troops, they were not taken seriously by Zhou Yu.

Zhou Yu commanded an army of 120,000, including 25,000 elite Qin troops. Under his command were not only powerful Han generals such as Lu Bu, Zhao Yun, and Yue Yun, but also powerful Japanese generals such as Uesugi Kenshin.

Whether it is the military strength or the lineup of generals, Zhou Yu's side is much stronger. How can Sanada survive and Mitsuhide Akechi resist?

Under the fierce attack of Zhou Yu's 120,000 troops, the Oda family's army suffered repeated defeats. In less than half a month, they lost the ten cities of Suruga Kingdom.

Sanada Yukimura and Akechi Mitsuhide had no choice but to retreat to Eotō Country and Mikawa Country. Once these two countries could not defend themselves, the Qin army would invade Owari Country, and Tokyo, the capital of the Japanese Empire, was in Owari Country. within the territory.

At the same time, after the allied forces of Wei, Song and Wu reunited, they mobilized a total of 200,000 troops and launched an attack from Kinki to Nobi.

With the two leading parties, Yamata no Orochi and Shuten Doji, the Three Kingdoms Allied Forces' offensive on the thin line was also extremely smooth. After paying a certain amount of casualties, they also successfully occupied Iga Country, then invaded Ise Country and officially set foot in Nongtail Plains.

 The Qin army and the Wei, Song and Wu armies all invaded the Nobi Plain, which also showed that Oda Nobunaga's plan to attack from both sides completely failed.

Man proposes, God disposes.

Oda Nobunaga has done everything he should and should not do. He has tried his best, but the situation is still so decadent.

The only thing Oda Nobunaga can do next, besides waiting for news from the front line, is to strengthen Tokyo's defense. After all, if the east and west fronts cannot be defended, the final decisive battle will definitely break out in Tokyo.

At the same time, Susanoo and others went to rescue Himihu. After searching for more than a month, they could not find any trace of Himihu. However, they learned that the Uesugi family was forced to surrender to the Qin Dynasty, and the troops of the four kingdoms of Qin, Wei, Song, and Wu entered the Nobi area. News of their upcoming rendezvous in Tokyo.

Neither Susano'o nor Tsukuyomi expected that Japan's situation would deteriorate to this point in just one month, and they were both shocked and regretful in their hearts.

Had they not left in the first place, would the Uesugi family have persisted longer? The situation would not have deteriorated to this point.

 (End of this chapter)