The Self-Cultivation of Warring States Warriors

Page 56

However, after everyone left, Mori Takamoto himself showed signs of impatience and asked Mori Motohiro, "What exactly is Father considering that he still cannot reveal?"

Mori Moto was silent for a moment before speaking: "I am waiting for two letters. If I receive both letters before Itsukushima falls, it will be an opportunity to launch a counterattack; even if I only receive one, I can try to tie down the enemy. But if I do not receive either of them, Itsukushima will be beyond saving."

105 Two Winning Letters

In the tenth month of the lunar calendar, winter has gradually arrived in various parts of Japan.

Fortunately, the climate along the Seto Inland Sea is pleasant, neither too cold nor too hot throughout the year.

Within the camp, numerous flags embroidered with "Ichimonji Sansei" (One Character Three Stars) fluttered in the wind. The soldiers standing guard or patrolling around the camp, armed with weapons, were almost entirely silent, as if facing a formidable enemy. They all roughly knew that this was a critical moment.

A tense atmosphere filled the air.

At the critical moment, Mori Motonari remained calmly seated in the main camp, inviting Shinzaburo, the "envoy from the capital," to play a game of "Shogi," a game popular among the retainers of the Muromachi Shogunate.

At that moment, not far outside the gate, a group of Mori retainers, fully equipped with swords and spears and carrying banners, all looked indignant.

They adhered to the rule of "no noise in the army" and did not make a sound, but their desire to fight was self-evident.

Only Yoshikawa Motoharu, as the representative, went straight into the camp.

He didn't act impulsively today. Instead, he calmly bowed, stood up, and said in a flat tone, "Father, if we sit idly by and watch the Itsukushima garrison be killed by Suzuo-no-wari without providing support, we may lose the hearts of the people in Aki and Bingo in the future."

(As mentioned earlier, Tao Weizhang refers to Tao Qingxian.)

Mori Motonari, dressed in plain clothes, sat calmly in the main seat, tapping the chessboard lightly with his fingers, his expression unchanged, without uttering a word.

Shinzaburo, this "envoy from above," was in a rather awkward position.

In fact, he was basically a novice and didn't understand the intricacies of "Shogi". He was easily defeated by Mori Motonari and couldn't experience any fun at all.

The "holding a piece" rule is not yet popular in this generation, otherwise Shinzaburo's pieces might all be captured by the opponent and have to switch sides.

At this moment, Mori Takamoto stood up again, stepped forward, cupped his hands to his younger brother, and gently reassured him, "Please calm down. Father's arrangement must have a profound meaning."

Although he was extremely anxious last night, he now exudes a calm and composed demeanor.

“What you say, elder brother, is certainly true.” Yoshikawa Motoharu said expressionlessly, “How could I not believe Father’s decision? But what exactly is the plan? You should at least reveal it to me…”

As soon as he finished speaking, Mori Motonari raised his head slightly, his gaze slowly sweeping over his eldest and second sons, before finally speaking: "The reason my Mori family is where it is today is because of our caution. We are willing to offend the 'envoy from above' to keep them here, just to protect our secrets."

“But…” Yoshikawa Motoharu paused for a moment, a wronged look on his face, like a naughty child who had failed to get a snack: “Father told Matashiro yesterday, right? Can you tell him, but not me and my brother?”

The so-called "Yashiro" is the name of Kobayakawa Takakage.

Indeed, Motonari Mori had a private conversation with Takakage Kobayakawa yesterday. It's very likely they were discussing something important.

“If you ask me, that’s true.” Mori Motonari spoke with an air of certainty, like a biased parent: “There are some things I can only tell him, and I explained the reasons a long time ago.”

Seeing this, Mori Takamoto reassured him again, "Shofu Shiro, your talent is the best among us brothers, but sometimes you are too kind-hearted and lack vigilance towards those around you. On the other hand, Shiro is meticulous and even more adept at keeping secrets."

As he spoke, he walked over to his second brother, gently patted his shoulder, and gestured for him to calm down.

Upon hearing this, Yoshikawa Motoharu sighed and turned to leave the camp.

He left only one sentence: "I will keep my generals in check, so that they can always maintain the fighting spirit to go into battle, but not to get too excited."

Mori Takamoto bowed deeply and solemnly: "Only you can do this!"

……

The turning point came in the afternoon.

Kobayakawa Takakage arrived at the military camp with a dusty, dark-faced man and said to Mori Motonari, "The three Murakami lords have all agreed to be there by noon tomorrow!"

Then let the big man speak.

Shinzaburo overheard a few words and, combining them with his memories from his previous life, quickly understood.

This man, named Nomi Munekatsu, was a retainer of the Kobayakawa clan and had close kinship ties with the Murakami family of the Mishima navy. Several years ago, he received orders to feign winning over the Mishima navy in pursuit of independence, while in reality acting as an envoy for the Mori family.

With a major battle imminent, they have finally achieved some success. Shimamura Michiyasu has decided to personally lead the main force into battle, as Shimamura Yoshimitsu and Nojima Mura Takeyoshi have also sent men to participate.

It is estimated that a total of two hundred warships will come to the rescue.

Nomi Munekatsu handed over a letter jointly signed by the three "Murakami-sama," which clearly explained the situation.

After the story was told, Mori Takamoto was overjoyed: "In that case, we are not entirely at a disadvantage on the water! Before it was 130 to 350, now it's 330 to 350, we can fight!"

Mori Moto stroked his beard and muttered to himself, "We've secured our victory; now we need another letter..."

Today is probably a day when good things happen in pairs.

About half an hour later, a grain merchant came to the camp to settle accounts. He took out a small box and presented it to Mori Motonari, saying, "This is a specialty snack from the Takamori region, worth 1,000 kan. I have come to present it to Lord Mori."

Mao Li Longyuan, standing to the side, was taken aback: "What kind of sweet can be worth a thousand kan? Is the filling made of gold?"

Shinzaburo realized that it was probably another one of the "two letters" mentioned earlier.

As expected, Mori Motonari calmly bowed to the merchant and replied in a composed tone, "Thank you very much! I will eat all the sweets of the thousand kan tomorrow afternoon."

The merchant returned the gift and left.

Mori Takamoto slowly came to his senses, a look of disbelief on his face: "Takamori region...that's the territory of the Ōuchi family. And there's a naval port nearby. Could it be..."

Mori Motonari waited until the outsiders left the tent before eagerly opening the box. Inside, as expected, were letters, not sweets. He quickly took them out, glanced at them, and jumped up with great joy, overturning the wooden chessboard and exclaiming excitedly, "I feel as if I can already see Tao Wei Zhang's head!"

Having heard what was said, Shinzaburo understood that Tao Qingxian's navy was about to defect.

"Father! This... is truly brilliant!" Mori Takamoto also realized what was happening and couldn't help but exclaim in praise, his face beaming with excitement. "I was originally anxious about holding back, but now I realize that there is such a profound plan behind this. But when did you plan this? There was not a trace of it before."

"Not a trace at all?" Mori Motonari had already suppressed his joy, glanced at him indifferently, and shook his head, saying, "Lord Kubo Genban, as an envoy from above, saw through the clues in just a few days in the Western Country. In the eyes of a true wise man, I am still not insightful enough."

Shinzaburo was speechless.

The knowledge I gained in my previous life was that the Mori clan won the Battle of Itsukushima by winning over the navy, but I never imagined that this was a military secret that required extreme secrecy.

I need to be more careful with my words in the future.

Looking at Shinzaburo, Mori Takamoto exclaimed, "The area above is truly a place where dragons and tigers dwell, and heroes emerge in great numbers!" Then he asked Mori Motonari, "Father, you must be a loyal and righteous man who, seeing that Tao Qingxian murdered his lord and usurped power, disdained to associate with him, and that's why you agreed to defect!"

Mori Motonari rolled his eyes and said, “It has nothing to do with loyalty. This man made great contributions in the last battle and asked for an additional 500 kan of credit, but Tao Oji refused. However, I promised to give him 1,000 kan.”

"This..." Mori Takamoto paused for a moment, then shook his head with a wry smile and asked, "Did the other party believe so readily with just a simple promise from Father?"

"Of course!" Mori Motonari's tone suddenly became more serious, and he said solemnly, "My Mori family is of humble origin and cannot command our soldiers with the benevolence left by our ancestors. Only by fulfilling our promises to the people can we gradually win their hearts. When I pass away, you must never forget this!"

"Your son will remember this!" Mori Takamoto bowed solemnly, then stood up and said with a smile, "Actually, although Father is getting old, he has always been very healthy. Perhaps when my child succeeds to the throne, you will still be able to take charge of the overall situation."

"Nonsense!" Mori Motonari scoffed with a laugh. He seemed to be in a good mood, unusually talkative, and bowed to Shinzaburo, saying, "I must thank the 'envoy from above' for staying here, which makes it believable that the Mori family has received support from Hosokawa Kanrei and Miyoshi Chikuzen..."

Shinzaburo smiled faintly, without reacting.

He already understood why Mori Motonari, despite being a powerful lord who independently established his empire, was not respected or loved by his retainers.

This person's way of doing things is really a bit strange.

106 The Mountain of Corpses and Sea of ​​Blood on Itsukushima

The scene that followed was probably quite exciting, but unfortunately Shinzaburo didn't get to see it up close.

Because Mori Motonari stayed at the main camp to oversee operations, he only sent his sons to the battlefield. Shinzaburo, of course, couldn't risk going to the front lines to become a war correspondent.

At this point, there is no need to worry about the issue of "leaking secrets".

However, based on the information continuously sent back by the "envoys," we can still deduce how things will develop.

The 350-plus ships of the Ouchi Navy were originally stationed in the strait between Honshu Island and Itsukushima Island, which was about two or three kilometers wide, ready for battle.

Because Japan lacked naval guns at this time and relied on oar-powered boats that sailed in coastal waters, naval warfare was not the mobile warfare of the Europeans, but rather more like "land warfare on water".

Specifically, they would build arrow spurs on their warships, allowing them to launch ranged attacks from about a hundred paces away using cannons, bows and arrows, and mortars. If they could suppress the enemy, they would then attempt to "board" the ships and engage in close combat.

The smallest boat was a small boat about ten meters long, with thick wooden planks on both sides for defense, and firing holes were dug into the planks for a dozen or so people to fight. This was called a "small boat".

There was another type of large ship, twenty or thirty meters long, with a sturdy square wooden cabin built on top, resembling a fortress, where dozens of soldiers would fire from inside as if defending a city. It was often used to collect tolls and was called a "toll-collecting ship".

Larger ones are the latest trend, the "Atakebune," which typically has two or more superstructures, can accommodate more than a hundred soldiers, can carry large-caliber firearms, are expensive to build, and are not very common.

Therefore, the Imperial Navy guarded both ends of the strait, theoretically forming a "turtle shell" that was impenetrable.

On the afternoon of September 30th, Kobayakawa Takakage led 130 ships and approached Itsukushima from the east. At the same time, Murakami Michiyasu led 200 ships and circled around to the west, launching a pincer attack.

The Murakami family of the Mishima Navy has always prided themselves on neutrality and has not been keen on participating in land battles between daimyo. Their sudden appearance is undoubtedly unexpected.

However, the Imperial Navy still had a slight numerical advantage and immediately split into two groups to fight separately.

Even with the assistance of Murakami's navy, the Mori family only managed to turn the tide and achieve a stalemate.

However, to everyone's great surprise, dozens of ships on the western flank of the Imperial Navy suddenly left without notice, turned south, and abandoned the battle line without looking back.

The remaining friendly forces were unaware of what was happening. Some stood there dumbfounded and at a loss; others probably thought it was some kind of flanking maneuver and subconsciously followed them south; still others sensed something was wrong and immediately retreated to their own lines.

Amidst this chaos, the experienced Murakami Michiyasu commanded the Mishima navy to launch a swift attack, easily defeating the western front of the Ōuchi navy and heading straight for the flagship where the "Chief Admiral" was located.

Then those dozens of ships that had broken away from the battle circled around, changed to the Mori family flag, and came back, following behind Murakami Michiyasu, and symbolically fired.

They probably still weren't too willing to engage in fierce battles with their old comrades.

Even so, it was enough to turn the situation around.

Once news of defection spreads, it can be a fatal blow to morale.

As night fell, Shinzaburo sat next to Mori Motonari and heard the messenger deliver a message that the vice admiral of the Ouchi Navy had been killed on the spot, and the commander had fled to the east in a small boat, pursued by Murakami Michiyasu.

To the east, there were only 130 ships under Kobayakawa Takakage, which served a diversionary role, but the forces were indeed insufficient to completely block them.

According to current intelligence, the Ōuchi clan's army was divided into two groups by Tō Haruki, with one group remaining on land and the other going to Itsukushima to fight. Now that the navy has been defeated, the two groups are separated and unable to fight together.

The soldiers left on the shore could only watch helplessly, unable to receive orders.

Those who followed Tao Qingxian to Itsukushima were even more unfortunate. After besieging Miyao Castle on the island for several days without success, they were already quite exhausted. Now, seeing no way to return to the shore, they were truly trapped with no way forward or backward.

Mori Motonari immediately ordered: "The Ōuchi army must have witnessed the defeat in the naval battle today, and they are currently at their most vulnerable. Do not give them any chance to recover. Order the entire army to eat immediately, and set off across the sea at 3 to 5 a.m. to take the head of Sumi-Owari!"

Takamoto Mori asked, "The enemy still has quite a few troops remaining on the coast, waiting for orders. What should we do if they take advantage of this opportunity to attack?"

Mori Motonari laughed and said, "Don't worry, there aren't any generals as outstanding over there!"

Mori Takamoto pondered for a moment, then nodded and muttered to himself, "Indeed. Tao Qingxian acted against the natural order, murdering his lord and causing chaos within the Imperial Household. Now, the veteran ministers and generals have either retired or been executed; there is no one left who can turn the tide."

When the order to go into battle was given, the soldiers, led by Yoshikawa Motoharu, cheered with great excitement.

No one should have slept that night.

Even Shinzaburo was not immune to the atmosphere of impending storm.

The fact that they were able to go into battle at the hour of Yin (3-5 AM) indicates that the soldiers recruited by the Mori clan this time were of good quality, and that none of them suffered from night blindness due to malnutrition, which was common in this era.

……

When it was time to go into battle, Mori Motonari remained on the shore and did not move.

That's normal; he's almost sixty years old, no longer at the age to lead from the front.

As previously planned, Yoshikawa Motoharu boarded a ship belonging to the Murakami family's Mishima navy, leading a small number of elite troops, and landed on the west side of Itsukushima Island as the vanguard for a frontal attack, with Mori Takamoto leading the main force in close behind.

Then another part of the elite troops were assigned to Kobayakawa Takakage to land on the southeast side of Itsukushima Island and launch a surprise attack on the enemy's flank.

Shinzaburo did not witness the specific scene.

However, it was later heard that in the early hours of the morning, Tao Qingxian, leading the demoralized and exhausted Ouchi army, was barely managing to fight against Mori Takamoto and Yoshikawa Motoharu, and was already at a disadvantage. When Kobayakawa Takakage suddenly appeared on the flank, the outcome was basically decided.

Then, the remaining hundred or so soldiers of Miyaji Castle, who were garrisoned on the island, bravely charged out. Some had bandages wrapped around their arms, and some limped, but they still shouted slogans and launched their attack.

The Imperial Army immediately collapsed and fled in all directions.

However, Itsukushima is a small island, roughly a rectangle eight kilometers long and four kilometers wide. With such a small area, where could people escape to? Although there are some mountainous and forested areas, they cannot accommodate thousands of people hiding there.

As for the soldiers of the Imperial Guard who remained on the coast, they were indeed a rabble without a strong general to lead them, and most of them fled as soon as they heard the news.

In the morning, Mori Motonari only sent one hundred men, who swaggered over while blowing conch shells and shouting slogans. The rest of the men fled at the first sign of trouble, leaving behind an empty camp.

Around 3 PM, news came from the front lines that Tao Qingxian's army had been completely routed, and the last remaining force that had put up a stubborn resistance had been wiped out. They were currently hunting down the remaining enemy forces.

At this point, Mori Motonari leisurely boarded the ship and arrived at Itsukushima.

Shinzaburo also arrived at the main battlefield in the early morning.

Then I was instantly shocked by the strong, pungent smell of blood in the air.

How many people must have died!

The valley, only a few hundred meters wide, was densely packed with corpses, leaving no room to even step. At a glance, at least a thousand people had perished there. It was clear that many were not killed by swords or knives, but rather pushed and trampled to death.

In the past, when fighting in Tanba, the death toll in a single battlefield was considered to be two or three hundred men at most. The rest would run into the ravines when things went wrong, and there was no way to chase them.

But Itsukushima today is completely different; there is absolutely no room for maneuver. Without naval support, a defeat in battle would mean total annihilation.