He was rated as a "prodigy" since childhood, leading the strongest horseback riding legion in the Warring States, and the famous Japanese Warring States general Takeda Shingen was greatly renowned. Although he did not fight with Oda Nobunaga, who later became a man of the world, due to the difference in age, there were times when takeda Shingen approached conflict in his later years. Takeda Shingen fell ill in the middle of the Battle of Shangjing and passed away, if Takeda Shingen had not fallen at this time and continued to march, what would history have become?
To avoid depletion of troops, Takeda Shingen bypassed Tokugawa Ieyasu in Hamamatsu Castle.
"Takeda Shingen hopes to set out from Farsan (Toe and Mikawa) to Nono (Mino and Owari), seize the world in his lifetime, erect the Takeda Banner in Kyoto, formulate Dharma, king's law, Shinto, and the interests of the samurai, and correctly carry out the imperial government."
In Shangjing, the takeda ling flag was erected in Kyoto, which was a long-cherished wish of Takeda Shingen. In September of the 3rd year of Motokame (1572), at the request of Ashikaga 15th Shogun Yoshiaki, Kai no Tiger obtained the title of Daiyoshi and raised an army in Shangluo.
The year before, Oda Nobunaga had burned Mt. Hiei. As an patron of Buddhism, Takeda Shingen had this to say about Oda Nobunaga:
"The change of the devil also." , to make accusations. Flaunting the defeat of the Enemy Oda Nobunaga, he embarked on the road to Beijing.
In order to contain his old enemy, Uesugi Kenshin, in collusion with Hongan-ji Temple, he launched the Ichijō Ichijō (Peasant Revolt) in Echizen. Uesugi Kenshin was too busy suppressing the uprising to stop Takeda Shingen's ambitions. It is also winter, and heavy snow limits Uesugi Kenshin's activities. At the same time, it cooperated with Asai and Asakura to contain many forces such as Oda Fang.
So, on September 29, Takeda Shingen handed over 3,000 soldiers and horses to Yamagata Masaaki and Nobutomo Akiyama and asked them to attack Mikawa. On October 3, Takeda Shingen himself led an army of 22,000 men from Kai Province to Enjiang.
The Kai soldiers led by Takeda Shingen were powerful. He once said, "Man is the city, man is Ishigaki, and man is Hori (moat)." ”。 Takeda Shingen constantly trains soldiers so that they can use their skills to the fullest. It is said that one Kai-fi soldier is equivalent to 5 foreign soldiers.
On October 13, the takeda army headquarters captured all the Tokugawa castles on the Northern Totogawa River, including Fukugawa, Tenkata, Ichinomiya, Iida, and Kasa Castle, in just one day. Yamagata Masaaki captures Kakimoto Castle and Ihei Castle to join the headquarters, and Akiyama Nobutomo surrenders to Okiwa Mura Castle, the key to Tomino.
Oda Nobunaga was unable to adequately cope with the formation of a network of encirclements such as the Asai clan of Omi, the Asakura clan of Echizen, and the Ishiyama Honganji Temple of Settsu.
The Takeda Army defeated the Tokugawa Army at Ichisaka in the Togae Onsen on 14 October, and on 19 December captured the key Ninamata Castle. Oda Nobunaga developed a strategy to repel the Takeda Army at Nago. "Make the people of Takeda tired and reduce their number." , from the Far River to the Three Rivers, consuming the Takeda Army. After the Takeda army entered Nono, it would first encounter Komaki Castle, if Komaki Castle was occupied, then Gifu Castle, and if Gifu Castle was breached, it would devote all its forces to Sekigahara to meet it, and even if it could not win, it would stop its offensive. The most important thing is not to let the Takeda Army enter Beijing.
In contrast, Takeda Shingen had to break the Oda Army before he could enter The capital. Therefore, "Don't meddle in small goals. Sieges are a waste of time and are foolish. If they attack, it is our luck that we will be able to crush them. ”
Before the decisive battle with the Oda Army, he wanted to minimize the depletion of his soldiers.
The Takeda army ravaged Tokugawa territory, passing through Hamamatsu and rushing to kyoto. This humiliation caused Tokugawa Ieyasu to resist, and despite the unfavorable situation, he decided: "Gamble your life to buy the prestige of the hereafter." ”
On 22 December, a battle was launched against the Takeda Army in Mikatahara. This is exactly what Oda Nobunaga is thinking, and Tokugawa Ieyasu is just a pawn that consumes the Takeda Army. The result was a major defeat on the Tokugawa side. This gave Tokugawa Ieyasu a glimpse of the strength of the Takeda Army, so this time he was scared to the point of running away.
Shingen continued to attack west
Early the following year, Takeda Shingen entered Mikawa. On February 10, 1573, Motokame captured Noda Castle and kept an eye on Owari under Oda Nobunaga.
The time for Takeda Shingen and Oda Nobunaga to fight is approaching.
In order to secure the capture of Owari Stronghold and Moriyama Castle, Takeda Shingen appeared in front of Oda Nobunaga's eyes!
During the siege of Noda Castle, Takeda Shingen collapsed. As a result, it would take more than a month to attack Noda Castle, but considering that more than 3 months had passed since they had departed from Kai Province, the fatigue of the soldiers and the need to continue marching in the future, they rested here. Send the wounded soldiers back to Kai and replace them with new personnel. Takeda Shingen himself was able to recover with the help of the Imperial Physician Itasaka Honin and the Imperial Guardian.
During this period, Nobutomo Akiyama, who was operating separately from the main force, went straight to Gifu Castle, Oda Nobunaga's base after capturing Iwamura Castle. Along the way, there are Oda-side castles such as Odakata, Such as Kosato, Kanayama, and Inuyama, and if they are all conquered, it will waste time. Oda Fang was also fully prepared. Contrary to Oda's prediction, Torashi entered Nishimino with a single blow and attacked Kajita Castle.
The journey from Kajita Castle to Gifu Castle is only 7 miles (28 kilometers), and it is a sword for Oda Nobunaga. In addition, Akiyama's forces entered between Nakano and Gifu Castles, cutting off the Oda family's ties. If the soldiers of Nakanoma Castle wanted to retake Kajita Castle, the Shimojō Nobu clan would defeat them from Iwamura Castle and take it away.
The main force of the Takeda army invaded Owari and occupied Tsuyaka Castle as an offensive stronghold. Oda Nobunaga went to the Nono branch of Oda Fang. Several castles existed to attack the Takeda Army in turn.
Five months had passed since the Takeda Army had marched 70 miles from Kai to Owari, and the fatigue of the soldiers was increasing day by day. Then accumulate consumption little by little.
After the castle are Marugen, Hatsuzu, Dagao, Andi, Andi. If these are mastered, they can indeed be transported by sea, facilitating logistics. However, it was a long detour.
The majesty of Takeda Shingen, the domination of the generals, and the continuous victories in successive battles, although the morale was not reduced, the consumption of soldiers was undeniable.
Takeda Shingen avoided the consumption associated with Oda castles such as Okusaka Castle and Naruto Castle, and headed straight for Morita Castle, which was located in Mino's straight line. It was only 2 and a half miles (6 km) from Nobunaga's defensive stronghold in Nono.
Takeda Shingen captured Morosan Castle and gained a stronghold in Owari. However, Oda Nobunaga's waiting for Komaki Castle is already in sight.