Text/Comrade Guevara
In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, Japan was in a protracted melee, known as the Warring States Period. Japan's Sengoku period began with the Onin Rebellion in 1467 and lasted for 148 years until the destruction of the Toyotomi clan after the Battle of Osaka in 1615. During this period, Japan, which was about 1/30 of China' area, was divided into 66 domains (the head of the domain was called Daimyo), and they fought each other. With the acceleration of the momentum of reunification, a large number of famous generals "gathered together" and performed extraordinary on the battlefield at the end of the Warring States period, staging a legendary story of the popular population. Among them, the performance of the following ten famous players is the most praised.
1.Shingen Takeda (1521-1573)
Takeda Shingen is the 17th governor (head of the family) of the Takeda clan of Kai, nicknamed "The Tiger of Kai", known as "the first general of the Warring States" and "the soldier of the Warring States". In accordance with the principle of "Wind Forest Volcano" advocated in Sun Tzu's Art of War, Takeda Shingen's march was known for its tactical flexibility and maneuverability, and created the "Koshu Stream" military method.
Takeda's most well-known method of warfare is the "Woodpecker Tactics", which is to send elite troops with high mobility to detour back behind the enemy to attack, and when the enemy is defeated and retreated, it is snipe with the troops left behind in the local front, which is quite effective.
2. Uesugi Kenshin (1530-1578)
Uesugi Kenshin was the Guardian Of the Echigo Kingdom (acting daimyō), nicknamed the "Dragon of Echigo", and was regarded as the strongest warrior in the Warring States. Uesugi believed in Buddhism and claimed to be the reincarnation of Bishamon, and adhered to the concept of "righteousness" in war, which was particularly special in the chaotic world of the Warring States.
The method of warfare is known as the "Battle of the Car Hanging", in which the flag warriors (i.e., personal guards) are gathered in the center of the formation, and the rest of the teams are arranged in a radial shape, rotating like the wings of a windmill, and taking turns to attack the enemy, so that the enemy army is tired of coping, and the army is rested.
3. Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582)
Oda Nobunaga is the daimyō of Owari Kuni, one of the "Three Masters of the Warring States", nicknamed "The Sixth Heaven Demon King" because of his eccentric and unworldly personality. Oda Nobunaga is best at using firearms, and his "three-stage strike" tactics are famous in Japan, and help him defeat many powerful enemies and dominate Japan.
The "three-stage attack" tactic is to first arrange 3,000 musketeers to place anti-horse fences in front of the formation, and then arrange for soldiers to work in groups of 3 people, so that the soldiers with the highest shooting accuracy will act as shooters, and the remaining 2 will be responsible for the assembly of bullets and ropes, so as to achieve uninterrupted shooting.
4. Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598)
Toyotomi Hideyoshi, whose original name was Kinoshita Fujiyoshiro, rose from the foot light samurai (low infantry) and rose to prominence in his service to Oda Nobunaga, leading his people after Oda Nobunaga's murdered descendants, eventually defeating the rival daimyōs and formally unifying Japan for the first time.
Toyotomi Hideyoshi often used the tactics of "flooding the enemy army" and "starvation warfare", the latter being the most famous. The so-called "starvation method" is to completely besiege the enemy city, and then buy the grain in the area at ten times the price, so that there is no grain in the city, and when the enemy army is hungry and unbearable, then suddenly besiege the city, so that the enemy army will collapse without a fight.
5. Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616)
Tokugawa Ieyasu was the first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate and was known as the "First Ninja of the Sengoku" because of his calm personality and amazing endurance. Tokugawa Ieyasu paid attention to the post-emptive strike and used this to truly unify Japan. After the Battle of barrel narrow space, he formed an alliance with Oda Nobunaga, and after the Honnōji Rebellion, he first confronted Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and then surrendered to him due to the situation.
After Toyotomi Hideyoshi's death, Tokugawa defeated the Toyotomi clan at the Battle of Sekigahara, established hegemony, and established the Tokugawa shogunate in 1603. In 1615, through the Battle of Osaka, Tokugawa completely eliminated the remnants of the Toyotomi clan and formally unified Japan.
6. Maori Yuan (1497-1571)
Maori Yuan was started by the Xiaohao clan of the Anyi Kingdom, and eventually became a major force ruling the Ten Kingdoms of Western Japan, known as the "First Wise General of the Western Kingdom". In the Battle of Aritanaka Izuku in 1517, maori Moto, who was fighting for the first time, killed Takeda Motoharu with more than a thousand people, which shocked Japan.
Since then, the Maori clan of the East Keni clan and the Nishi Ōuchi clan have expanded dramatically. In the end, he defeated The Ouchi clan warlord Tao Qingxian in one fell swoop in the Battle of Itsukushima, and then attacked the Nizi clan, threatening Kansai and once invading Kitakyushu.
7. Nobushige Sanada (1567-1615)
Sanada Nobuyoshi is a warrior of the Toyotomi clan, known as Japan's "last hero of the Warring States rebellion", and is regarded as the "three last tragic heroes" in Japanese history, along with Genyoshi Kei and Nanki Masanari.
Sanada Nobuhiro often used the tactic of "shadow warriors" when leading the flag to attack the enemy army, dividing the army into several squads, all holding the Sanada clan's six-dollar battle flag to burst into the enemy position, making it impossible for the enemy to distinguish which was the real commander. At the same time, let the ninjas blend into the enemy line and spread rumors, so as to maximize the confusion of the enemy army.
8. Date Masamune (1567-1636)
Date Masamune was a daimyō of Okuwa and the ancestor of the Sendai Domain in the Edo period, and was known as "One-Eyed Dragon Masamune" because he was blind in his right eye as a child. Date Masamune is most proud of his "iron cannon on horseback" tactics, which he tried and tested.
Okuwa was a famous horse producer, so Date Masamune had a powerful cavalry and used cavalry units carrying iron cannons as the vanguard of the cavalry. The soldiers galloped on horseback and fired with iron cannons, which were very powerful and made a name for themselves in the Battle of Osaka.
9. Hojo Gangsei (1515-1587)
Hojo became the son of Masanari Fukushima, a vassal of the Imakawa clan, and was named Takechiyo, and was later renamed Hojo Tsunari because he married the daughter of the Hojo clan, the head of the Hojo clan.
Hojo's pinnacle was the Battle of Kawagoe Castle in 1546, when Hojo defended the 200,000-strong Kwantung Army with only 3,000 men and held out for about half a year. Because the troops he led all planted yellow flags as trumpets, they were called "Yellow Hachiman" by the world, which was awe-inspiring.
10. Honda Tadatsukatsu (1548-1610)
Honda Tadatsukatsu was a Tokugawa Ieyasu courtier, nicknamed "Oninohei Hachi", known as "the first strong general of the Sengoku" and "Japan's Zhang Fei". Although Zhongsheng has no culture, does not understand the art of war, and relies on experience and talent in fighting with soldiers, every time he goes out to fight, he makes the enemy feel frightened.
Honda Tadatsu had three world-famous "magic weapons" of equipment, namely the antler pocket, the dragonfly cut, and the bell and horse seal, which could often make the enemy army smell the wind whenever he appeared on the battlefield. Tadatsu was unharmed in fifty-seven battles, so some people call him the incarnation of the "Great Bodhisattva of Hachiman".