Soon after they left the gates, the marching order was allowed to break down. The way they paraded as such was merely for the view of the public. In reality, it was a rather inefficient way of moving, and a shortcut to tiring the men out quickly.
According to their intelligence, the dispatchment that was sent to deal with them was less than a day’s march away. They began forward in that general direction with no other plans that they were acting out.
Gengyo did not want this to be a strategical victory. There would be plenty of time for that in the future. He wanted to test the raw power of his men, and this was the perfect opportunity to do that. He would fight this battle almost entirely reactively.
Imagawa had thought that he was playing this safe by sending double the number of men than he knew his enemy to have. He had learned from his campaign into Oda territory, and knew that to underestimate his opponent was folly.
But unfortunately for him, it was still not enough. Perhaps if they all came carrying a six-inch-thick iron shield – then things might be a little better for him. But somehow, Gengyo thought that was unlikely.
The spirits of the men were high. They knew their own weapons to be powerful, and they trusted in the techniques that they had been taught recently. There was actually a hint of excitement there, behind the greater nervous fear that came with every battle.
The commanders were almost jovial in their outlook. It had been a long time in the making. They were to return to the battlefield once more, and this time, they did it in a position that was even stronger than that which they had last. They were excited, it was true. For their master, they would put on the most glorious display that they were capable of.
"Second scout is back. They’re still reporting seeing nothing." Jikouji informed Gengyo, as they rode together. To a less experienced commander, losing their enemy like this might prove alarming, but Gengyo knew the lay of the land well by now, and these reports did nothing to faze him.
"Very well. Stop sending scouts for now, we will continue to march onwards." They’d sent them a good distance ahead, with two of the fastest horses that they had, so they were able to cover ground quickly. And yet there was still no army in sight. How could a force of a thousand men suddenly disappear, when they had been moving so audaciously before? "There is a forest coming up. Before entering, we will stop for lunch. It would not do to have the men fight on an empty stomach."
"As you say lad." Jikouji responded with something of a salute, before trotting off to deliver the message to the rest.
"What are you thinking, Tadakata?" Akiko asked, as she rode by his other side.
"This enemy is attempting to be tricky with us."
"Is that a problem?"
"For them, not for us."
She smiled at his confidence. "I hope so."
Gengyo’s command was passed along the line, and the long trail of soldiers soon drew to a halt. They started to gather in somewhat sporadic groups, before falling to the earth with exhaustion, and opening their packs, to munch on some of the food that had been prepared beforehand.
The forest that stretched before them was vast indeed. It could satisfy a small village’s need of logs for hundreds of years, should it be looked after properly. But for now, it served another purpose to another people.
"Is there any point dismounting?" Togashi asked, having realized what Gengyo’s intentions were.
"I think we better, just to put them at ease."
Jikouji returned a moment later, similarly dismounting from his horse. "They’ve retained their rifles, Miura. Everyone is read to fight at a moment’s notice."
"Very well. I don’t think they will attack straight away, so do not disturb their eating for now."
A thousand men had suddenly disappeared from the map, and the only thing nearby to hide them was a large forest. The intent of their inexperienced commander was obvious. He’d spied them leaving Okazaki through the eyes of one of his scouts, and now he intended to ambush them as they passed through the forest, in order to solidify his already expected victory.
In setting up camp here, and munching away on their lunch, Gengyo hoped to taunt them a little, whilst appearing oblivious.
"Dear, are you stopping for lunch? I made you some rice balls." Seeing that the line had ground to a halt, Fuku left the baggage train in order to give lunch to her husband.
"Fuku! It’s still dangerous. Get back to the baggage train, quickly! I’ll eat these, just go – they could attack at any time." Morohira said hastily, hurrying her off, as he took the rice balls in one hand. "The enemy is in that forest over there – they could fire anything at any time." He explained, hurriedly motioning for her to go back.
Fuku nodded her understanding, and hurried back. She was glad to be along in the first place. She was not going to neglect her husband’s plea, and make him more likely to leave her had home once more.
Gengyo wanted all that he cared about in one place, so that he could protect it with his life. He would make his fortress his army, and as such have no weak points that his enemy could attack and exploit.
There was no way any missiles could reach them from where they stood, but still Gengyo did not speak up as his father hurried Fuku away. It was better for her to be back with the others.
"Come, Akiko, let’s relax for a while." Gengyo encouraged her down from her horse, as he reached into his own pack for lunch. His closest men began to gather around him, and soon there was a circle of black armour that had been formed. Gengyo had made sure to seat himself so that he could always keep an eye on the forest, and give the command when it was necessary.
"Another battle, eh youngin’. You nervous?" Sasaki asked Il who sat down next to him.
"Nope, we’ll smoke them. We went through way tougher than this on the ship, remember?" Il said confidently. "Though I do miss the cannon. Imagine if we could bring that to the battlefield? We could shoot them from here!"
Gengyo smiled at that. It was something he had thought of as well. A few cannons would go a long way to causing their desired chaos on the battlefield. Luckily, they had their shipwrights and blacksmith with them, so when the opportunity presented itself, they could make the desired changes.
The only problem with a cannon was how slow and heavy it was to manoeuvre. But if they loaded it in the back of the cart, and had a few strong horses pull it, then they should be able to set up on any battlefield of their choosing. The requirement that they set it up would make it effectively useless in an ambush. Still, three canons were better than no cannons.
He kept his gaze on the forest, as casual conversation sprung up around him. There was no unease in their group. Each man was confident about his profession, and they trusted their commander to keep them safe, and put them in the best position to do battle.
He saw the white head of a horse peer out from the tree line, before it hastily went back. They were being watched it seemed. He wanted to alert his group, so that they could enjoy the sight together, but he didn’t want them to turn around as one - that would be telling the enemy that they had been spotted.
He waited a few more moments, and kept watching, picturing the enemy commander in his head. He could imagine how irritable he might be, as he saw his prey crouched down in front of him, apparently defenceless, but he was being forced to wait. What if they never went through the forest at all? Then this perfect opportunity to attack would have been wasted, and the enemy would have effectively got away.
He wrestled with those choices in his head. Whether to attack, or to wait, and Gengyo was assured that it was only a matter of time. They were almost a kilometre off from the forest. For an attack to catch them off guard, then it would have to be mightily fast. Through the scouts he had learned that the enemy had some 300 cavalry, and as he saw more horse heads appear from the tree line, he started to wonder.
They gradually formed up the line, not entirely in view, getting all the men ready before he gave the order. Gengyo continued to munch on the cold, grilled fish that they’d packed as he watched them, as though he was enjoying a play.
"Should I give the order?" Jikouji asked, seeing what he was seeing. At Jikouji’s words, the rest moved as though to turn around, curious as to what was going on.
"Don’t look." Gengyo warned, stopping them mid movement. "We will wait a little while longer. We have more than enough time to prepare, but I would rather our prey expose itself completely first, so we can kill it cleanly, and not let it get away."
He paused a moment, as an idea occurred. "There is an order I want you to give though: tell the men only to fire one round, until I give the order to do otherwise. They are to finish the cavalry with the sword."
The majority of their troops were still unaware that they were being watched by their enemy. They had simply been told to keep their rifle with them, and they had obeyed without question. Jikouji once more began to give them Gengyo’s order, without warning them that they were in eminent danger. It was imperative that they not give away their knowledge of the enemies’ position until they committed themselves fully.
The order just managed to make its way through the camp – whispered around enthusiastically by battle ready men – when the signal finally came. The previously quiet plains began to thunder, as row after row of cavalry charged out from the trees.
"RED FEATHER SOLDIERS! ASSUME BATTLE FORMATIONS!" Gengyo roared, mounting his own horse, as his men did alongside him. The soldiers began to form up quickly – some too quickly, as they fell over in their haste – and as the cavalry charged across the open plains, what was there to meet them was not a band of disorganised men, but an army of rifle wielding soldiers, with fingers on triggers.
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