Carrying the reputation of invincibility in a hundred battles, of burning cities and destroying nations, before the army had even conquered the Iwami Province, letters of allegiance from various clans began to fly in like snowflakes.
With this, naturally there was no need to worry about the situation at the beginning when entering the Ohara Province, having to fight against numerous local clans, each city and fortress resisting fiercely, bleeding the army bit by bit.
But Wu Ming held absolutely no goodwill towards these local clans and regional samurai who acted like fence-sitters.
If they were outright enemies, he could burn and slaughter his way through, leaving behind a land of white ashes. But now, such a situation made it hard for him to act decisively.
Among these people, there were certainly spies and assassins, and even the ordinary clan leaders were no saints. If they saw his situation deteriorating, they might betray him immediately.
At that time, the fortresses along the supply lines might become gates of hell!
“Send out the order: these clans that surrender must send their clan leaders or heirs as hostages to our army. Furthermore, the local clans of Iwami Province must mobilize ashigaru to join our forces after my arrival, and hand over control of key roads and fortresses. As for those who refuse, simply crush them!”
“Although these conditions are somewhat harsh, I think they know what choice they should make!”
Yamanaka Katanosuke replied with a bitter smile.
“Yoshitsune, how about the army?”
Beside him, Oniichi Yoshitsune replied immediately, “Following this, the clans that surrendered have mobilized ashigaru to join us. They are now unified under command and training, forming a new regiment of two thousand men!”
“Excellent! I promote you to the rank of major commander, placing you in charge of the one thousand five hundred musketeers and cannon units. I hope you won’t disappoint me!”
“Hai!”
Oniichi Yoshitsune knelt down, his face filled with excitement, “Are we going to confront the Iyu clan?”
“That’s right…”
Wu Ming smiled and nodded, “The Iyu clan is indeed the daimyo lord of Izumo Province, with deep pockets. Even after I defeated three thousand of their ashigaru, they still managed to mobilize eight thousand troops in such a short time!”
Yet there was one thing Wu Ming did not say: while replenishing ashigaru was relatively easy, the loss of two sword masters, a jounin ninja, and a group of shrine attendants had been a serious blow, one that could not be easily made up.
“Hmph! Eight thousand men! If they had all holed up inside Kawaragawa Castle, I might have had some trouble. But now they want to fight me head-on? Then I’ll grant their wish and send them all to hell!”
Wu Ming gazed towards the northeast, his eyes filled with excitement, “Issue the order: enter Iwami Province and give the Iyu clan a perfect farewell performance!”
…
Seven days later.
On the plains of Kawaragawa, in Iwami Province.
This was the most fertile land in Iwami, with a great river flowing through it called Kawaragawa. With a rice yield of 80,000 koku, it was the richest part of Izumo Province, and the Iyu clan’s main fortress, Kawaragawa Castle, was located here.
Wu Ming had advanced like a storm, leading five thousand men to confront the Iyu clan’s eight thousand troops, and both sides had now arrayed their forces.
“A battle with over ten thousand soldiers? This level of engagement is enough to be recorded in the history of Izumo Province, and even the entire Wajin world will hear of it!”
Wu Ming’s eyes gleamed, “Moreover, the momentum of this army is sufficient to suppress any minor schools and even manifest visible omens!”
He immediately opened his celestial vision and saw that from the enemy camp, threads of dark military energy were rising, interwoven with red light. Several beams of starlight shot forth, faintly forming a strange two-headed, two-tailed serpent, entirely black in body with red eyes, flicking out its red tongue.
“So it’s a simplified version of the Yamata no Orochi, huh?”
Seeing this, Wu Ming almost burst out laughing, “The key to commanding an army lies in unified command and strict discipline. This two-headed, two-tailed formation is a symbol of divided authority and mutual checks, what kind of strategy is that?”
“I’ve long heard that the Iyu clan’s leader, Iyu Hidenari, and his senior retainer, Iyu Hidetsugu, are at odds with each other, constantly vying for power. Now it’s proven true!”
Looking at his own aura, he saw a black serpent as well, but its body was solid and its scales gleamed with light. It had only one head, with a small protrusion on top, as if it were about to grow horns. Its fangs were bared, as if ready to strike at any moment.
“If a serpent grows horns, it becomes a qiu dragon. Now that I control two provinces, this is already excessive. It would be more appropriate after I unify the entire Izumo Province! Perhaps this change is brought about by Oniichi Yoshitsune?”
Aura is the external manifestation of strength! Except for those born into royal bloodlines, everyone else must first gain strength, then obtain the corresponding aura. Seeing this, Wu Ming felt reassured.
Although war cannot be determined solely by aura, with our side holding the advantage, and with great generals like Yamanaka Katanosuke and Oniichi Yoshitsune, we certainly won’t be inferior to the enemy!
With a cold smile, he was about to order the army to advance when Wakamochi Kotarou suddenly arrived, “My lord, urgent news from the rear!”
“Oh?”
Wu Ming’s eyebrows twitched, a sense of foreboding suddenly arising. He took the report and read it, “Fushishi Province has been attacked by high-level ninja! Oobayashi Hayakichi has fallen in battle, and Tachibana Shigetake is severely wounded. It is suspected that the attackers were ninja from the Mouri clan. They want to destabilize our rear!”
In an instant, numerous thoughts flashed through his mind: “With my arrangements in Fushishi Province, ordinary ninja would be of no use unless a level-three jonin was involved… No! Even a jonin might not… Ye Bai!”
At this thought, Wu Ming was greatly shaken, “I didn’t expect you to still be hiding under the Mouri clan!”
At this point, he almost wanted to rush back immediately to slay his great enemy, but he forced himself to restrain the impulse, “Hmph… You can never imagine how quickly I can act!”
“If this news had come during my bitter struggle in Ohara Province, my clan would have been thrown into chaos, and my ambitions would have crumbled in an instant. But now…”
After five years of consolidating his position, with his ability to observe auras, combined with Oniichi Yoshitsune’s fortune, the talents he had gathered were not limited to just Yamanaka Katanosuke.
There were several “statecraft talents” who were no less than Tachibana Shigetake, and they had formed an administrative team, establishing a system where if one fell, another would immediately replace him. Assassinating the leaders would not solve the problem.
“But since the Mouri clan has found the opportunity to act, even if Five Dragon Castle hasn’t fallen, it must be close!”
As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Wu Ming’s face broke into a smile, and he laughed loudly, “Good news! The Mouri clan in our rear has been decisively defeated, and our allied Daizoji clan has already occupied Aki Province. Spread this news among the high-ranking samurai, then advance the army!”
Even if Fushishi Province was now filled with corpses and Moon Mountain Futatsu Castle had fallen, he would first deal with the enemy before him!
A fierce determination burned in Wu Ming’s eyes.
“Attack!”
With the sound of the war drums, both armies began to move slowly forward.
“Musketeers! Fire!”
Oniichi Yoshitsune led the vanguard. With a wave of his hand, musket fire erupted, and dozens of the enemy ashigaru fell.
“Raise the shields!”
From within the Iyu ranks, a samurai shouted frantically, and dozens of ashigaru rushed forward, raising thick bamboo shields, charging forward under the musket fire.
“After several encounters, the Iyu clan has finally figured out a way to resist!”
Seeing this, Oniichi Yoshitsune did not seem particularly alarmed, after all, his mastery of the Fire Scroll technique was not that simple, “Cannons, fire!”
Boom! Boom!
More than ten muskets roared together. After the thunderous noise, several iron cannonballs fell into the Iyu army formation, exploding and scattering blood and flesh everywhere, even shaking the ground.
Although the soldiers had been repeatedly warned and mentally prepared, they still froze in place, and the formation slightly scattered.
“Now! Musketeers! Fire! Three-stage volley, don’t stop!”
Oniichi Yoshitsune shouted hoarsely, while in the rear, Yamanaka Katanosuke was commanding ashigaru armed with bamboo spears and samurai wielding katanas to begin the assault.
Bang!
Two waves of troops clashed fiercely, and in an instant, the sounds of slashing and screaming mixed with the white smoke of musket fire and the roar of cannons.
“The traditional daimyo armies are indeed like this; our own one thousand five hundred ashigaru are performing quite well!”
Wu Ming watched the battlefield with some tension, after all, the battlefield was ever-changing, and the Iyu clan’s forces were three thousand more than his own!
But now it seemed the situation was not bad, at least the advantage was slowly shifting towards Oniichi’s forces.
Clatter! Clatter!
At this moment, the enemy could no longer hold back, and a force of more than two hundred blue-clad cavalry charged out from their main formation.
“The Iyu clan’s Blue Cavalry? Now they’re really showing all their cards!”
Wu Ming smiled and mounted his horse, “Yamanaka Katanosuke, you have full command! Ghost Unit, follow me to attack!”
“Hai!”
Matsushita Ken’ichi answered loudly, mounting his horse alongside Wu Ming. In an instant, more than a hundred cavalry charged out, their momentum extremely shocking.
These more than a hundred warhorses, if not for the previous capture of the Blue Cavalry and the contributions of the Ohara Province clans, might not have been gathered so easily.
“Target, the enemy cavalry, charge!”
Wu Ming, wearing black armor, roared out the order.
He knew his own abilities well; his talent for military command was merely average. He could only rely on a few small inventions to show off temporarily. When it came to commanding battles at this level, he was still not as good as someone like Yamanaka Katanosuke, who possessed the qualities of a great general.
What he excelled in was his personal strength and martial arts techniques!
“By the Nine Heavens’ Swift Wind, grant me thy power—so it is decreed!”
With the body of a true cultivator, he could suppress the battlefield’s blood qi. At this moment, he forcefully cast a spell, and a gentle breeze enveloped the Ghost Unit cavalry, instantly increasing their speed by thirty percent!
As the two cavalry units charged, one side suddenly gained a thirty percent speed boost! What did that mean?
Crash!
In an instant, the Ghost Unit cavalry charged into the Iyu Blue Cavalry like war chariots, sending blood and flesh flying everywhere.
“Hahahaha… Follow me!”
In Wu Ming’s hand, the Wind Demon Cutter flashed with electric light, slashing left and right, sending enemy cavalry heads flying.
In the past five years, not only had his cultivation foundation as a true cultivator stabilized, but through diligent study and practice, his martial arts had also reached the level of a master!
At this moment, every slash of his blade carried the ultimate mastery of force, even giving Wu Ming a sense of “control.”
Looking at the enemy cavalry’s armor, at the moment the Wind Demon Cutter touched it, he could instantly know the enemy’s stamina, cultivation level, even the weak points and internal cracks in their armor, allowing him to kill enemies with minimal effort!
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage