Warring States Survival Guide-Chapter 363 - 250: Triumph Through Virtue (Part 2)

Nongzhen City has fallen. As an outpost of Anong City, an important southeastern barrier, it held out for less than twenty days before being breached.

This was despite the enemy’s slow movement due to splitting their forces along the way.

If the enemy had rushed directly at Nongzhen City without concern, solely relying on the city’s defenses and the surrounding rock fortresses would have held for only two days at most.

However, the losses weren’t significant for the Hokitate family, losing only over a thousand men, while the main force managed to retreat successfully.

Nongzhen City was indeed an outpost. Although its defenses were solid, it couldn’t accommodate the Hokitate family’s six thousand strong army. Originally, the Hokitate family planned to rely on Nongzhen City to hold back the Wanjin Army, keeping most of their troops on the side, ready for an opportunity. However, despite the Wanjin Army’s slow march, they fought fiercely, methodically removing nearby rock fortresses and launching a large-scale night assault once they arrived.

By the time the Hokitate family realized what was happening, Nongzhen City had turned into a blazing furnace, as bright as a beacon in the night, illuminating several miles. The nearby troops attempting an urgent nighttime rescue were ambushed, and a fierce skirmish broke out in the dim firelight, resulting in a crushing defeat for the Hokitate family, leaving three hundred bodies and all the wounded behind as they fled.

By dawn, Nongzhen City had changed hands, or rather, was destroyed. Almost all of the over one thousand defenders were wiped out, with only a few lucky ones escaping under the cover of darkness, familiar with the terrain.

This turn of events was completely unexpected for everyone in the Hokitate family. Originally, they thought Harano was turtling hard at Kaogang, like a giant turtle, not expecting the turtle to bite so fiercely, slowly and steadily advancing and suddenly taking a big bite out of them, causing deep pain.

The situation reversed rapidly, thwarting some of their plans completely.

Originally, the Hokitate family intended to hold the Wanjin Army around Nongzhen for months, allowing the main force to turn around and clean out the "Iki-zu" rebels from each county. But now the Wanjin Army was slowly advancing on Anong City, like a giant turtle, and they couldn’t leave.

Even Kitahata Giyou couldn’t deal with the simultaneous uprisings in the other four counties, turning into a chaotic mess, and had to urgently draw several hundred Banner Men to take charge of the situation.

After all, Anong City was the center and fulcrum of the Hokitate family’s rule over Lower Curve County. If it fell, the entire county would quickly crumble.

This was unacceptable to the Hokitate family. Deer Bell and Lower Curve were their core territories and must not be lost.

Kitahata Giyou couldn’t comprehend how these fools, wielding more than half of the Hokitate family’s military power, could have been defeated so badly. He could understand the reluctance to clash head-on with the Wanjin people’s defenses given the instability at the rear and low morale at the front line, but even though they had retreated to fortified positions, they couldn’t hold them, which was truly incomprehensible.

The Wanjin were just a vassal of Oda Nobunaga, yet they couldn’t even stop his vassals?

If Oda Nobunaga himself attacked, would the Hokitate family just surrender immediately?

But after all, he was a man of the "Tiger of Owari" generation, able to remain calm in old age. Watching his subordinates who had come to meet him, he didn’t get angry but sat down, calming his mind with prayer beads, and solemnly asked, "What happened? Why did Nongzhen City fall so easily?"

Everyone’s attention turned to Yasuda (Internal Guard Pavilion) Genshou, who was the commander of Nongzhen City at the time. However, his luck and resourceful household retainers fought valiantly, covering his escape until all were exterminated. He was undeniably the primary person responsible if blame was to be assigned.

But since escaping, Yasuda Genshou had been in a daze, looking like a living dead, just sitting there absent-mindedly, without the courage to take responsibility and commit seppuku in public as an act of atonement.

Probably, the Wanjin Army’s performance that night was too overwhelming, effortlessly slaying all his Lang Faction household retainers, leaving him in shock and unable to recover.

Eventually, Hirata Fujimori, the General Magistrate of Daheicheng, also referred to as the "Niwa Nagahide" of the Hokitate family, couldn’t hold back. Bent over, he sighed, "My lord, our previous judgment was flawed. The Nozawa family... is a greatly strong force, rare in these times."

When Wanjin suddenly landed and began a forced confrontation, the Hokitate family unanimously judged it as an opportunistic raid, intending to plunder. However, the situation was obviously different now, even after giving up nearly half a county for Wanjin to raid freely. Wanjin was still advancing towards Anong City step by step, clearly indicating long-term intentions.

Hirata Fujimori shouldered the responsibility of advising his lord and analyzing the situation. Afterward, he invited Kitahata Giyou to the courtyard, where a Wanjin Army corpse was laid out.

Pointing at the corpse, he said, "My lord, please look. This is an Ashigaru of the Wanjin Army, truly... truly unimaginable. They are extremely well-equipped, and... and fiercely combative. Even when surrounded, they refuse to surrender. Back then... back then, we surrounded five of them, and none surrendered in the end; all died fighting."

This was a reconnaissance squad of the Wanjin Army, responsible for scouting terrain ahead to clear the way for the main force. During their mission, by sheer coincidence, they encountered a troop of the enemy. Five men couldn’t escape and, attempting to hide in an abandoned village, were surrounded, but refused to surrender. After sending distress signals with smoke, they used iron cannons, bombs, and long sabers to defend fiercely, killing two low-ranking samurai and wounding over a dozen Lang Faction Ashigaru.

Even amid these events, the Hokitate family attempted to persuade them with gold and silver and land offers, but these five men remained silent, persistently resisting until death. None survived the encirclement.

However, the Hokitate troops also didn’t fare well. A local unit of more than a hundred Wanjin Army arrived upon seeing the rescue signal, leading to a fierce battle in the abandoned village. Ultimately, the Hokitate family suffered a defeat, losing over thirty men before being forced to retreat, but they did capture a Wanjin Army corpse—an unusual war trophy.

Many similar events occurred, for the Hokitate family hadn’t yet resolved to engage in decisive battle with the Wanjin Army. In such a situation, where one side deliberately avoids battle, large-scale confrontations don’t arise. Mostly, these were small skirmishes with few to dozens of individuals, but the combat spirit and tactics displayed by the Wanjin Army demoralized the Hokitate family’s low-ranking samurai and Lang Faction.

Hirata Fujimori gathered much intelligence: some hundred-person Wanjin Army patrol besieging an Earth Warrior’s home, repeated contests over a mountain rock fort during stand-off phases, ambushes inflicting or receiving significant losses, and more...

In short, the Wanjin Army wasn’t just excellently equipped, with powerful firepower, but also had clear operational goals. If they needed to capture a location, they dared to launch a desperate charge, stopping at nothing until achieving their objective.

Truly a strong army, and the Hokitate family, ruling over Lower Curve County, didn’t wish for a decisive battle. However, stability and normal morale wouldn’t suffice against the Wanjin Army; at best, they could only inflict varying degrees of casualties on them.

After Hirata Fujimori finished, the former Nongzhen City commander Yasuda Genshou seemed to recall again the scene of the silent, surging Wanjin Army that night, shuddering suddenly and letting out a moan.

Kitahata Giyou glanced at him without speaking, focusing back on the Wanjin Army corpse. Noticing it was indeed well-equipped, he couldn’t resist examining it further. Shortly afterward, he discovered something and curiously asked, "What is this?"