A Time Traveller's Guide To Feudal Japan

Chapter 298 - Cards

Kenshin began the engagement just as Yamagata had thought he would. He slowly sent his bow samurai and ashigaru forwards. He paid particular attention to the bow unit that held the right-wing and ordered that they take control of a small mound, a distance away from the rest of the firing line.

It truly was a small mound and it barely offered any advantage at all, but still Kenshin seized it and placed one of his units there, knowing that they would be better severed for it in the future.

And then his attention turned to his cavalry and he moved them out from behind the rest of the units and sent them over to the right once more, staring down the open space that was in front of them, taking control of that right flank so that Gengyo would not be able to use it for tactics or strategy of his own.

It was then that Gengyo truly began to understand Kenshin’s style of war. The suffocation that Yamagata had described became painfully obvious. Kenshin slowly worked to take up more space on the battlefield, to secure more lines for his own men to operate, all whilst starving the enemy of potential ideas of his own.

"He slowly works up the tiniest of advantages until he has built up a great wall around you. Before you can escape from it, he crushes you," Yamagata explained, having not yet made any movements of his own. "This is the problem with an army like ours – one that is composed of only one style of unit, however versatile it might be. We can not build up the creative position like he can – we can only rely on brute force. And for that, we simply need to make sure we are not outmanoeuvred."

With a motion of Kenshin’s fan, he finally began to work on positioning his infantry. Two bow units dispatched from the left-wing and went even further leftwards. After them came four katana samurai units whilst the rest went to occupy the centre. Kenshin took the fullest advantage of his superiority in numbers.

"His attack will come for our left-wing. His earlier movements were to stop us from launching a counter-attack in the centre or on the right," Gengyo noted. Incredibly subtle movements that were extraordinary flexible, before revealing his actual intention and placing the men he needed on the left for an attack.

"That’s right, my Lord. And in moving our men to counter that attack before it happens, we open ourselves up to further weaknesses that can be exploited with their numerical advantage. As painful as it is to say, we are best served in doing nothing and staying with our flat line," Yamagata proposed, already sweating heavily. The pressure of his post and the heat of the sun made for a deadly combination.

"Hoh," Kenshin muttered to himself, a hint of respect in his voice. Keeping still whilst your enemy busied himself with action was no easy thing to do. It required an understanding of the enemy’s intentions and above all, nerves of steel. Having placed his pieces optimally for the position, Kenshin and his command centre began forwards themselves, a slow and steady trot upon their horses.

Still, the Miura army showed no reaction. Rin and Akiko shared a look with each other, continually turning their heads to glance back towards Gengyo, waiting for an order that never came. They were not the only ones. Jikouji and Morohira found themselves unsettled too, unused to the lack of movement. It was only Yamamoto that betrayed no hint of unease, for he had fought in this style once or twice before.

It was left to Kenshin to make the first attack and he took all the time he needed to give the order. Finally, his fan went up into the air and the bow units he had positioned on the far left-wing began forwards. They stood not directly opposite the Miura riflemen, but diagonal to them, so that if the Miura men wished to return fire, they would have to turn slightly and reveal the subtlest of weaknesses in their position.

"Sometimes the cure is worse than the disease," Yamagata said quietly, having read through what Kenshin??s intentions were. "But other times there is no choice." He gave the signal with his fan and it was echoed down the line and translated into voice.

"Turn and face!" Jikouji shouted when it finally reached him. His men turned immediately as a single entity and aligned their barrels with the enemy. Their range exceeded that of a bow and as the bowmen were still walking forward, looking to get close enough to loose a deadly arrow, they had already stepped into the zone of the riflemen. "Fire!" Jikouji barked, swinging his arm forwards. A volley of bullets were shot as a result of his words and a spray of red mist sang into the air.

Kenshin was quick in reorganising his troops. His fan had been held halfway up all the while in preparation for the order to retreat and so when it was sent and his men began to run backwards out of range, the death toll was insignificant. A hundred men at most – those unlucky enough to be caught up at the front.

Even with such minimal casualties, Kenshin could not brush them away. He was a man that favoured every tiny advantage he could get.

He stared long and hard at the enemy and noticed that their rifles were still tight against shoulder and their eyes were still down the sight even though each of them had already released a bullet. It was then that it clicked and he understood.

"Interesting," he purred, tapping his finger against his thigh as he thought through its significance. "A rifle capable of unleashing multiple bullets before needing to reload. A scary weapon indeed. So that is the source of your confidence, Miura? Understandable. But now that I know your card, I will dance past it and crush you."