The Battle of Okehazama: The Imagawa army initiated its march to the capital and set its sights on the land of Owari, Oda Nobunaga's homeland. When news of this reached Nobunaga, he prepared an army at dawn and launched a surprise attack during a rainstorm towards their main camp, overwhelming the vast imagawa army that greatly outnumbered them.
Had Nobunaga decided to listen to some of his retainers and remain in the castle to defend it, it would've been impossible to face Yoshimoto.
Quote Originally Posted by ArtistofWarfare[/quote
Research the "Hearts and Minds" campaign. Converting a populace to supporting your side of the table is a challenge the attacker almost always has to contend with. Often, it's impossible. Even more often, it's absolutely necessary to achieving military and political victory.
This reminds me of the siege of Alamut, where the Hashashin converted the castle's population to Ismailism without having to risk casualties, the governor realized that he practically lost the castle, so he was peacefully offered to escape.