I. Smoke of gunpowder in the northern land

Originally intended for KING to play with, at that time, "PC&TV" was just starting out and lacked sufficient content. This guy actually published it without any annotations! I fear that friends who are not well-versed in Japanese history might take it as factual history (at the very least, it should have been marked as "pseudo-history"), which made me so angry that I felt like throttling him. Well, he will make an appearance, and he will be quite an annoying character—haha, friends who dislike KING, stay tuned.

We should take it back

In this battle, the Hori army suffered heavy losses of over two thousand cavalry in exchange for the disappearance of Seishō. Command was transferred to Deputy General Takezura Jubei and the reinforcements, Ōgawa and Kōda, who had arrived to join them. A total of over one thousand defeated soldiers retreated thirty miles, regrouping to await the arrival of the rear forces for support

"Impudent!" Zheng Cheng's tone was quite severe, but in reality, it was more regretful than angry. "Attack? Where to attack? Spring Day Mountain?"

Zheng Cheng had not had time to remove his armor and was leaning against the city gate, heartily eating his tea rice. Upon hearing the news, he was momentarily stunned, then silently mounted his horse and slowly rode into the inner circle. He took off his helmet and armor, carelessly tossing them down the corridor. "Si Lang, Si Lang," he called the name of his personal guard, "convey my orders: all divisions are to rest in place and stand by, and the Ministry of Rites is to be responsible for the defense of the four cities"

Uesugi Nobuhiro entrusted his chief retainer, Naoi Kagekatsu, to guard Kasugayama Castle, extinguish the remaining fires, and strengthen the castle defenses, while he personally led the main army northward, vowing to plant the "Bi" banner all the way to Sado Island

Zhao Fu was simultaneously assigning duties to strengthen the city defenses while urgently seeking assistance from Hori Masanari, who was currently engaged in suppressing water bandits in Sado. Neither Zhao Fu nor the lord of Echigo, Hori Masanari himself, anticipated that Nobuhiro would launch an attack against them.

The cavalry of the Hori clan charged until they were about five li away from Kasugayama, only then did they gradually rein in their horses. However, a sudden cannon fire erupted from the left side, instantly taking down more than ten riders. Masakatsu remained calm in the face of danger and personally led the main army to bravely charge forward, resulting in the cannons that were originally supposed to fire from the right side being directed towards the rear of the Hori forces.

The command has been disseminated, and the first to express dissent was the eldest son, Cheng Jin. "Father, I request," he shouted as soon as he entered, without any preamble, "to lead our troops out of the city to confront the enemy!"

"Yes," Cheng Jin's voice rose higher, "to die gloriously! My uncle is my role model, even though he was defeated. The disparity in forces between us and the enemy is significant; failure is not shameful. What is precious about him is that he did not retreat..."

Zheng Cheng was truly at his wit's end. Originally, he hoped to win this war solely through his own strength, but now it seemed like a fleeting dream, and he had no choice but to seek help from his vassals. However, to whom should he send envoys? The Kōkuchi of Shinbatian, like Uesugi, had long coveted the fertile lands of Central Vietnam, and asking him to send troops for assistance would be akin to refusing a wolf at the front door while inviting a tiger in at the back. The Matsudaira clan in Central Vietnam might indeed lend him a helping hand, but with his poorly trained force of less than two thousand foot soldiers, they would be of little use. Moreover, if he were to open the gates to Central Vietnam and unleash the formidable force of the Maeda clan with its 1.2 million koku, it would truly be a case of losing more than he gained.

Zheng Cheng raised his hand and threw the chopsticks at Cheng Jin's face: "Aren't you afraid? Is it really that precious?! Knowing full well the disparity in forces, why engage in a frontal battle? Moreover, he... he fell into an ambush!"

However, Da Guang immediately frowned and said, "How can we march like this? We are less than ten miles from the enemy, yet we are not forming ranks for a slow advance. Are we really going to charge straight to the city gates?"

"There are a total of one thousand two hundred warhorses that can be directly deployed to the battlefield," Zhimo pointed to a cavalry unit with white banners that had just been formed not far away, "along with all the necessary equipment. Three hundred horses have sustained minor injuries and are being kept in Chundishan City for recuperation; nearly four hundred others are too severely injured and must be slaughtered for provisions"

However, in the end, the "Bi" flag was planted at the foot of the spring mountain city

"Is it just your eight hundred men?" Zheng Cheng cast a sidelong glance at him, "Are they going to die?"

"The enemy has invaded our territory. If we cannot drive them out, then, then..." Cheng Jin could no longer hold back and uttered those two words, "it is the behavior of cowards! What do you intend to do? Defend the city? We should attack, not defend!"

Hori Masanari's 5,000 foot soldiers were divided into three teams: front, middle, and rear. On the second day after the fall of Harunoyama, they gradually entered Sakado Castle. Almost simultaneously, the news of Masakatsu's defeat also arrived.

The one guarding the spring mountain city is Koike Haruo, an old minister of the Hori clan, who holds the title of Jōkan in Etchū, along with the renowned generals from Hokuriku, Kishi Hirota and Fukazawa Daikō, commanding a total force of 1,700. In contrast, Uesugi has a full army of 15,000.

Xinhong focused his attention on the imposing cavalry unit, noticing that nearly half of them were the war-captured soldiers from Echigo. "The cavalry of Echigo," he thought to himself, "should always belong to my Uesugi clan!"

Xinhong nodded. Handling all related matters in an orderly manner in the middle of the night was not Zhi Mo's specialty; in the swift-moving Uesugi army, almost every commander possessed this unique ability

Chunri Mountain is a stronghold, and Zhao Fu, Hao Tian, and Da Guang are all renowned warriors in the world. However, the disparity in military strength was too great, and under the years of relentless training by Nobuhiro, the Uesugi army's combat effectiveness became the best in the eastern region. After holding out for four days, the Hori army finally abandoned the city and retreated. Koike Zhao Fu was shot in the back and died beneath the north gate.

The reason I initially began writing this pseudo-history has long since slipped my mind. In any case, I have consulted numerous books and put in considerable effort—most of the characters in the text are, of course, fabricated (the empress and the general are real). As for the circumstances of the time, I have made some adjustments (for instance, Echigo was no longer under the Hori clan, but I have a fondness for Hori Hidemasa, so I created a composite character named Hori Masanari, merging him with Hojo Ujiyasu)

The banner bearing the character "毗" emerged from the darkness with a hellish aura of killing intent. The foot soldiers of the Mizawa Domain shouted as they charged forward, led by the foot soldier commander known as "White Tengu," Kashizaki Nagamoto

The enemy is exceedingly despicable and cunning

In the fourth month of the seventh year of the Kan'ei era, the Uesugi army invaded Echigo, with the vanguard directly targeting Kasugayama Castle

Zheng Cheng was furious: "Do not say that in front of me! Was it him, was it he who taught you this? Was it he who discarded my elite cavalry? A glorious death, is it?!"

Thus, it is unimaginable for Zheng Cheng to think that the Uesugi army would take advantage of the chaos in the world to launch an offensive against him; such a perplexing strategy could only be devised by Nobuhira. However, upon closer examination, it is not entirely without reason. Nobuhira's main motivation in responding to Anren and Mori is, after all, to restore the glory of his grandfather Kenshin. Therefore, is it not logical to first restore the territories that were once glorious under Kenshin? This illustrates why the imperial succession dispute, which has garnered no interest for nearly a century, has erupted into such a significant uproar. It is also evident that the daimyos involved in the overthrow have ulterior motives that are not particularly honorable.

What? Zheng Cheng listened to him without further comment and then asked, "Is it that you regard me as a coward?"

The term "Shibu" refers to Yoshida Tadayoshi, who held the position of Shibu Shōshō. After the political appointments were completed, he nonchalantly sat down at the head of the table and said, "Is there any fish? Cut me a piece."

Under the pressure of Cheng Jinqiang's anger, he deeply bowed down and ran out with a "thud thud". Zheng Cheng held his face with both hands and sighed deeply: "It's better if this kid Zheng Sheng is dead."

On the battlefield from last night, hundreds of horse corpses lay scattered across the ground. "How is the confiscation going?" Xinhong turned to ask Chōbi Shima, who was in charge of clearing the battlefield.

Chunri Mountain is the birthplace of Uesugi Kenshin and later became his primary castle, as well as the homeland of the Daizaishōni Tora no Sai Nobuhiro, who dreamed of it day and night. The central army raised Kenshin's white banner emblazoned with the character "Bi"—was it to prove that they were the true lord of Echigo, or to commemorate the glory of their ancestors, that they unearthed this old relic from the bottom of the box? Only Nobuhiro understood.

"A glorious death is better than a humiliating life!" Cheng Jin's neck stiffened as he fixed a fierce gaze on the long knife that Zheng Cheng had casually tossed aside.

After Emperor Go-Mizunoo's abdication, the shogunate excluded many of his princes, and a seven-year-old girl, Princess Kōko, of the bloodline of the second shogun Tokugawa Hidetada, was enthroned as Empress Meishō. Less than a year after her ascension, the retired emperor suddenly passed away. Shortly thereafter, Prince Anrinnomiya, aged twenty-one, appeared in Hiroshima, claiming that the retired emperor had been secretly poisoned by the shogunate, and called upon all the feudal lords of Japan to rise against the shogunate.

On the very night that the Uesugi army entered the city, Hori Masanari's advance reinforcements arrived at a plain less than ten miles from Kasugayama. Masanari's actions were swift, almost arriving just in time, yet ultimately fell short of success.

"Who?" Hao Tian seemed to have anticipated something, "Are you referring to Yue Zhongshou?" Yue Zhongshou is the younger brother of Zheng Cheng, Zheng Sheng.

He summoned his vassal, Kan Sanlang Jia Feng, in the middle of the night. This Jia Feng claimed to be of the Genrai clan, proficient in ninjutsu, and had clandestine connections with various temples and shrines. Through him, Zheng Cheng spread a terrifying web of spies for himself

Kakizaki Nagatomo's South Gate, Honjo Hara Shigeru's East Gate, and Ogasawara Clan Shige's West Gate were besieged from three sides. Under the direct command of Masanari, the Hori army, relying on their solid fortifications, dealt a heavy blow to the Uesugi army. Nobuhiro was not a patient man and could not endure a prolonged siege. After half a month, he ordered Kakizaki Nagatomo to lead the attack on the three gates and returned to Kasuga Castle himself

However, if it is to prove something, then Xinhong has certainly miscalculated. It has been a full fifty years since Qianxin passed away, and how many people still remember this once-mighty banner of the North Land? Ultimately, the common people and the foot soldiers do not have the leisure to mourn the glorious ancestors of fallen nobility.

Da Guang's face was as white as snow: "Could it be him?"

Cheng Jin's face turned bright red as he shouted: "I do not wish to be seen as a coward by the world! Nor do I wish for you to be..."

The castle is built by the slope of the hill, with the northern gate surrounded by the flowing waters of the Yuyagawa River. The Uesugi army is unaccustomed to naval warfare, making this the only passage to maintain contact with the outside world. On the fourth day of the siege, a swift horseman galloped into the city through the northern gate, reporting to Masakatsu that the Sado water bandits were once again rampant, hindering the arrival of the reinforcements and the allied forces from Makino.

Zheng Cheng almost choked on a fish bone: "Died in battle?!"

In the end, only seventy-four cavalrymen of Takezura Jinbei managed to escape into Sakahoko Castle. Masanari greatly rewarded them for their tenacious resistance, which won valuable time for the fortifications. Only Naritomo remained troubled by the fact that the three generals had not died heroically in battle.

The cavalry charge is immensely powerful, yet an ancient saying from the Han dynasty states: "The strength of a strong crossbow cannot penetrate the fine silk of Lu." Observing this cavalry, which had traveled a long distance to provide support, both the horses and riders were already exhausted, yet they still recklessly charged forward, causing a sense of alarm to rise in the hearts of Haotian and Daguan.

Then let us fight

The cavalry, spinning chaotically amidst the smoke of battle, could not withstand the long-range thrusts of the pikemen. Many fell from their horses, collapsing onto their comrades who were close at hand, and in their dazed state, they clung to their allies as they all tumbled to the ground. The banners of "Pi" and the book characters fluttered fiercely in the night wind, and no amount of explosions, shouts, or cries of agony could drown out the sound of their rustling. Xinhong stood motionless beneath the banner, resembling the Yama of hell.

***

"Battle? What shall we use to fight? I have lost almost all of my cavalry. In open combat, we cannot compete with Uesugi..."

As soon as one leaves the city, one will encounter Uesugi

"Do you consider the strategies and deceptions of warfare to be despicable?" Zheng Cheng shouted angrily, "Get out! Get out of here!"

Uesugi's army achieved three victories in three battles, continuously defeating the remnants of Takezuka and others. On May 3, they besieged Sakado Castle

Da Guang nodded, and both of them sighed inwardly at the same time: "It's over"

The various regional lords immediately divided into two factions based on their closeness or distance from the shogunate. The loyal vassals and hereditary families, such as Matsudaira, Kanbara, and Honda, along with some of the outsiders who had surrendered during the Battle of Sekigahara, like Date and Asano, naturally denounced Prince Anrinkan as a traitor and a purveyor of falsehoods, and began to gather troops to move towards the western territories. Other outsider daimyos, especially those like Uesugi and Mōri who had their domains reduced after the Battle of Sekigahara, became the main force of the anti-shogunate army, eager to seize this opportunity to restore the glory of the Warring States period. However, many other daimyos adopted a wait-and-see attitude, preparing to decide their actions based on the ebb and flow of power between the two sides. Among the twenty-eight thousand koku lords in Hokuriku, Shōben Hori Masanari was one such figure.

That was a contingent of 3,000 cavalry led by Hori Masakatsu, the elite of the Hori cavalry. When Hirota, Daikyo, and several hundred remnants of defeated soldiers saw the sea of red banners of Echigo, their first thought was: "There is hope for Harukiyama!"

First, it is necessary for Satake Takachi in Yuzhong to restrain Komaguchi Hisataka, while Matsudaira Seiwa in Uechi and Matsudaira Tamon in the eastern part of Wakasa should restrain Maeda Kiyoshi of the Kaga domain, thereby severing Uesugi Nobuhiro's left and right arms. Subsequently, Masanari earnestly wrote a letter of loyalty, sending it by horseback to Edo, pledging to defend the shogun, and hoping that the various protector lords of the Kanto region, such as Mito Tokugawa, Yuki Matsudaira, as well as Hoshina, Sanada, Sakai, and Doi, could strike at Yonezawa from the flanks. Since the war first broke out in his own Echigo, he thought of ways to let it spread like a snowball to every corner of Kanto—perhaps Masanari was thinking this with indignation.

Then die in battle