The Tokugawa army was caught off guard. They were overwhelmed by the furious Toyotomi army.
Since they didn't receive orders from their commander in time, the soldiers started to retreat and even run for their lives.
Even the Red Guards couldn't stop the Toyotomi army's advance and the Tokugawa army's retreat. They were pushed back by the main army and were utterly defeated.
By the time Ii Naomasa realized that he needed to organize a retreat, it was already too late. Once the army was defeated, the soldiers' hearts would be in chaos. Once their original organization was disrupted, the soldiers wouldn't be able to effectively fight back.
The only thing he could do now was to run.
Ii Naomasa ran away. Although it was shameful, he had to do it.
His master, the King of Extreme Survival, Tokugawa Ieyasu, had repeatedly warned him to cherish his life.
He had to cherish his own life. Only when he was alive would there be hope. If he was dead, everything would be over. If a soldier died, then so be it. He could recruit and train them again. But if a politician like Jing Izanao died, where could he find another one?
Therefore, it was necessary to retreat and run for his life. Ii Naomasa also knew that Tokugawa Ieyasu would punish him, but he wouldn't kill him.
He could live.
He was just confused. He didn't know why he lost.
He didn't know why his sneak attack on the Toyotomi army didn't affect the Toyotomi army's combat power. Instead, his main camp was ambushed.
What was Yasumasa Kamihara doing? What was going on?
Ii Naomasa couldn't get an answer. But perhaps Ishida Mitsunari, who was currently leading his army in the Tokugawa army's camp, could give him a perfect explanation.
Because all of this was meticulously planned by Ishida Mitsunari.
From the arrival of the vanguard army to Asano Yukinaga enduring the humiliation and sending out troops, to the delay of the Toyotomi main force, to the black smoke at the main camp, everything was arranged by Ishida Mitsunari. The so-called plan was to take down Ii Naomasa and seize Ishikami before the Tokugawa main force arrived.
The previous defeat dealt a huge blow to the Toyotomi clan's army. In order not to affect the main force in the decisive battle, Toyotomi Hidetsugu strongly requested Ishida Mitsunari, Asano Yukinaga, and the others to fight a battle that they had to win.
After winning this battle, the morale of the army would be boosted.
He really needed morale.
Therefore, Toyotomi Hidetsugu decided to go big.
Under immense pressure, Ishida Mitsunari and Asano Yukinaga decided to temporarily put aside their differences and work together. With Toyotomi Hidetsugu as the guarantor, both sides confirmed the principle of Ishida Mitsunari's tactics and Asano Yukinaga's execution. Both sides would split the credit equally.
Ishida Mitsunari inquired in detail about the previous defeat and the combat effectiveness of Ii Naomasa's army. Then, he came up with a plan. However, this plan had higher requirements for Asano Yukinaga and his army. At present, in the Toyotomi army, apart from the Daimyō's own guards, only Toyotomi Hidetsugu's 30,000 troops had such strength.
Toyotomi Hidetsugu did not hesitate much. He was willing to transfer 20,000 of the 30,000 elite troops that he had trained for a long time to Ishida Mitsunari. Ishida Mitsunari gave the authority to command 15,000 of them to Asano Yukinaga, leaving only 5,000 for himself. He told Asano Yukinaga to do this and that.
Therefore, under the second provocation, Asano Yukinaga could not stand the insult of being dressed as a woman. He led his army and fought against Ii Naomasa, who had ulterior motives. At the same time, Ishida Mitsunari transported an additional 20,000 troops into Asano Yukinaga's camp by pretending to be a civilian, an auxiliary soldier, and hiding in a grain cart.
However, whether it was the banner or the number of burying the pot and cooking rice, they were all calculated at 20,000.
Ii Naomasa had always been cautious. However, in the face of a defeated general, he might have been a little less cautious. Or perhaps he did not know who the real opponent in this battle was, and he had overestimated the degree of internal strife in the Toyotomi clan under such circumstances. If he had known, he would probably have been more careful.
He did not lose unjustly.
In order to avenge his humiliation, Asano Yukinaga led his army to fight fiercely. The Toyotomi army's morale was greatly boosted, and they killed many enemies. When the Tokugawa army retreated, even if some people wanted to resist, they were powerless in the face of the retreating tide.
This was especially so for the Red Reserves cavalry. They were badly hurt by the retreating soldiers. Not only could they not resist, but they could not even run away. Some soldiers even dragged the Red Reserves cavalry off their horses and ran away. Of course, they were dragged off by more people, and in the end, their horses were trampled to death.
The red armor on the Red Reserves cavalry was particularly eye-catching. Asano Yukinaga directly ordered the iron cannoneers to shoot at the places with more red armor. The hit rate was unprecedentedly high.
The Tokugawa Army suffered heavy casualties as they fell to the ground one after another. Countless soldiers of the Red Reserve Troops died along with them. Only a few soldiers of the Red Reserve Troops managed to force their way out of the battlefield and even killed their own men. Only then did they manage to escape from the battlefield and catch up with Ii Naomasa's footsteps.
There were about five or six hundred of them.
The rest of them, Ii Naomasa could only run without looking back while his heart was bleeding.
Asano Yukinaga won a complete victory. He wiped out the humiliation in one fell swoop and stabilized his position and reputation.
Ishida Mitsunari swept through the Tokugawa clan's military camp. He killed those who needed to be killed, and robbed those who needed to be robbed. However, he kept all the miners, which was a great victory. It was a pity that he did not manage to capture Ii Naomasa. Instead, he managed to capture Yasumasa Kamahara, which gave him one more trump card.
When he faced Tokugawa Ieyasu, he would be more at ease.
This was what he thought, and he also acted accordingly. His action was quite successful.
When Toyotomi Hidetsugu heard the good news, he was overjoyed. He immediately ordered everyone to be informed of the news, which greatly boosted the morale of the Toyotomi army. Then, he ordered the entire army to speed up and advance toward Ishikami.
There was no doubt that the Tokugawa clan had lost Ishikami and their morale. Most importantly, they had lost Yasumasa Kamahara. The capture of Yasumasa Kamahara was a great blow to the Tokugawa clan. After Honda Tadakatsu's death, Yasumasa Kamahara was undoubtedly the bravest general under Tokugawa.
The loss of a general was secondary. The most important thing was that the morale had suffered a serious blow. This made the Tokugawa clan, which was already at a disadvantage in terms of numbers, even more disadvantageous.
Therefore, when Tokugawa Ieyasu saw Ii Naomasa, who had escaped with hundreds of Red Guards, he immediately ordered him to be locked up and await punishment.
If it was just a simple loss of soldiers, it would be fine. However, such a loss was too great. It was so great that even people like Tokugawa Ieyasu found it hard to accept. Out of the four thousand Red Guards, only around six hundred came back with them …
Even if you lost Yasumasa Kamahara and his twenty thousand soldiers, you could have brought the Red Guards back!
You've lost all of the elite Red Reserve Troops!
Now, he couldn't even cover up for them. He was locked up immediately. He didn't even have time to decide on punishment measures. He immediately called for a military meeting to discuss what to do next.
Now, the Toyotomi Family has seized Shi Jian and seized the initiative. They have the righteous title of honoring the king to punish the traitors. Even Tokugawa Ieyasu, who is very shrewd, realizes that he can't just sit still and wait for death. Otherwise, once the name of the traitor army is confirmed, he will never have the chance to make a comeback.
He had to win the battle and reverse public opinion. He had to take back the name of the Imperial Army and make the Toyotomi clan the Imperial Army.
Tokugawa Ieyasu began to plan how to take back Ishikami.
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