In March of the ninth year of Tensho, when Takatenjin Castle fell, Katsuyori was confronting the 30,000 troops of the Hojo clan who had sent troops to Mishima.

Katsuyori wanted to continue his march and start a decisive battle with the Hojo clan, but he was strongly admonished by Takeda Sakuma Suke Nobutoshi and Nagasaka Yukan, no, it is better to say that there is strong opposition. As a result, he had to let Genicgoro Takasaka defend Numazu and defend the enemy in Kokokuji Temple and Tokura and other places, while he himself withdrew his troops on all fronts.

At this time, Umeyuki, a native of Suruga's Caveyama, also frequently said, "The only way to do this is to make a complete truce and recuperate......

As a result, the High Heavenly God City did not fall in a few cases, and Shenglai was in the ninth year of Tensho, and after the defeat of Nagashino, he ushered in the most anxious year of his life.

"These are my enemies...... "These are the enemies of mine," he hated Oda, Tokugawa, and Hojo, all of whom were encroaching on Takeda's territory. Katsuyori wants to give a head-on blow. He is already an enemy on three sides, and he cannot compromise with any of them. Outright hatred of the enemy eventually captured Katsuyori. His requirements for his soldiers were even more demanding, and it also made the people more tired. It's not so much a matter of strategy as of his psychology.

However, at the end of the year, when Kofu ushered in the new year of the tenth year of Tensho, Katsuyori was still full of ambition. After taking a break in the winter, he waited until the spring flowers bloomed, and then united with Uesugi Keikatsu of Echigo, invited Ishiyama Honganji Temple, and dealt a severe blow to his hated enemy.

Of course, his rivals are doing the same. What the enemy feared was that Katsuyori would never come out again after withdrawing to the Heavenly Danger Koshu and recuperate leisurely.

Since Takeda's distant ancestor, Minamoto Yoshimitsu, the Takeda family has been able to continue to grow and develop in this land because no one thinks that they are the overlord of this land, so that they can gradually accumulate strength and lay a solid foundation on this land.

Because of this, Oda Tokugawa's plan was to lure Katsuyori out in every possible way, but Katsuyori was unaware of this.

In February of the 10th year of Tensho, Katsuyori received an important piece of information: Kiso-Fukushima Castle's Kiso left Matou Yoshimasa took refuge in the Oda family.

Another spy reported: "Zuo Matou has sent a secret envoy to the Oda family. ”

In fact, by the time the spies reported to Katsuyori, Katsuyori had fallen into a trap orchestrated by the enemy.

"Hmm, the left horse head betrayed my Takeda clan......" In the hall of Tsukazaki Castle, after listening to the report, Katsuyori's forehead was bruised, and he said loudly without hesitation: "After Yang Chun, the matter is decided, it is better to take action as soon as possible and defeat him in one fell swoop." ”

Kiso Yoshimasa was the fourteenth emperor of Yoshinaka Genji, and the younger sister-in-law of Katsuyori. Katsuyori believes that Kiso Yoshimasa, who is also a descendant of Genji and a sister-in-law, actually wants to vote for Oda Nobunaga, and if he can't deal with it decisively, he will definitely have endless troubles. He immediately gave orders to the daimyo to send troops. He had no idea that this attack, which was mostly driven by emotion, would put him in an even more dangerous situation.

At that time, Kiso Yoshimasa of Fukushima Castle had already sent hostages to Nobunaga, and in order to further arouse Katsuyori's anger, he frequently sent envoys back and forth between the two places. The reason for this change is clearly the increasing military service of Shenglai.

In a year, from beginning to end, there is no time to recuperate, spring, summer, autumn and winter, wars continue, although it is said to be the Warring States Period, but such wars are too frequent, in the long run, it is like self-destruction - in order to survive, in order to get rid of the war, so surrender and surrender, this is the transformation of Yichang's strategy.

Hearing that Katsuyori was going to send troops to deal with Yoshimasa, Umeyuki, a man from Agoyama in Suruga, sighed: "In this way, the Takeda clan will die soon......" In order to survive, he is also considering returning to Tokugawa Ieyasu.

The envoy from Fukushima Castle flew to Nobunaga again and asked for reinforcements. At the same time, a good opportunity that Nobunaga had been patiently waiting for finally came. "Well, you can't watch your allies sit back and wait. I, Oda Nobunaga, will personally go to the rescue and reassure your master. ”

After sending Yoshimasa's envoys, Nobunaga hurriedly sent envoys to Kanamori Nagakon in Hida and Ieyasu in Hamamatsu. He thought that he had sent troops from Shinano, Kanamori Nagami from Hida (DA), and Ieyasu from Suruga, and the three armies had attacked Katsuyori from three directions. After receiving the urgent report, Ieyasu immediately sent an envoy to Usayuki in Suruga.

"The end of the Takeda clan has been decided, please hurry up and return to Shun Tokugawa ......"

Katsuyori is narrow-minded and wants to attack Fukushima Castle in order to save a little face, and as soon as the news comes out, the world shakes in the blink of an eye.

Even the castle under his nose was deserted, but no one told Katsuyori. Katsuyori thought that the order had been vigorously carried out in the army, so he personally led more than 1,000 elite samurai and set out from Kofu.

The continuous mountain tops, covered with thick snow, are still as cold as winter in the morning and evening.

Soon after entering Shinano from Koshu, Katsuyori heard some rumors. First of all, I heard that Nobunaga himself made a big attack. Then, I heard that Umeiyuki Anayama had returned to Ieyasu. Later, I heard that Kanamori was attacking from Hida (DA) in a big way. Katsulai was shocked. It was only now that he realized that he was a "warlike man." "Even Cave Mountain betrayed me. No way, withdraw. Hurry back and hold the city. ”

Just as he was about to reach the vicinity of Iida, where the plum blossoms were in full bloom, Katsuyori suddenly turned his horse's head and hurriedly led his team back.

Of course, the return of Suruga's Anayama Umeiyuki to Ieyasu was already a sign that the foundation of the Takeda family was beginning to waver. No, Kiso Yoshimasa's private correspondence, the alliance between the Hojo clan and Ieyasu were all signs of the demise of the Takeda family, but Katsuyori didn't realize it at all.

The generals of Takeda had no intention of fighting, and they were all calmly watching Nobunaga and Ieyasu attack like angry waves. Kai's Tagasaki Castle was simply not enough to resist the armies of Nobunaga and Ieyasu. It's not so much that it's a castle, but that the ancestors of the Takeda clan were too confident that the enemy wouldn't attack at all.

Katsuyori had just left the city, but he hurried back again, and Mrs. Odawara was puzzled. "Oops, I didn't expect the adults to win so quickly...... Now that the adults are back, quickly help me tie up my hair and burn incense. "Madame doesn't know that the entire Takeda clan is already in danger. While listening to the sound of the soft spring rain that had just fallen before noon, she asked people to erect the mirror platform and quietly put on lipstick herself. "It would be nice if there was no war all the time!" she smiled at the maid who was combing her hair, and the maid Ikawa was also smiling in the mirror.

All the women in Kofu Castle, not only the ladies, but also the great ones who have never experienced war in their births. I don't know when these women have always believed that war is a matter outside the city, and if they fight, they will win and triumph, and they have never thought of defeat or anything like that.

After the lady put on her makeup, the room was already full of fragrance. She had the piano brought out and ordered the wine to be prepared. "Okay, so you can come over whenever you want. But why haven't you come yet?" Mrs. Odawara, who was convinced that Katsuyori loved her and loved Katsuyori deeply, began to complain, "I must be talking to those retainers about boring things again, when will such a day be the end?" It doesn't matter if people are waiting pitifully here. ”

Madame couldn't wait any longer, so she sat down in front of the piano and tuned the tune. At this time, I saw that Taro Nobukatsu had hurried through the corridor without waiting for the maid's report. "Madame, my father has an urgent order. ”

"What are your orders?"

"I'm going to evacuate here tomorrow morning and move to the new city, please hurry up and pack up the things around me and prepare to evacuate. ”

"Huh?" Madame took her hand away from the piano and looked at Nobukatsu in surprise, "Shinjo...... Is it ready?"

"Not yet, we've just bulldozed the wilderness. The enemy is about to attack, and it is dangerous to stay here, so everyone unanimously agreed to defend against the enemy in the new city. Hurry up and prepare to evacuate. ”

"Enemy ...... Enemy, have you lost the battle?" Madame's bewildered expression still looked like an innocent little woman of seventeen or eighteen years old.

When Shin Katsu heard about the victory or defeat, he couldn't help but be angry, but after thinking about it, he suppressed his anger again. "Madame, I don't know anything now. Although it had not yet failed, the city could not defend itself against the enemy. ”

"Is the enemy's offensive so ferocious?"

"Yes. The three armies of Tokugawa, Oda, and Kanamori combined were at least 50,000 people. After speaking, Shin Katsu was a little anxious again, and said: "Plus the people of Odawara, either 60,000 or 70,000......"

"So, aren't you here tonight?"

For the number of "fifty or sixty thousand", Madame has no other feeling than knowing that it is a lot.

"Probably won't come. Just directing the transfer of ordnance was already busy. ”

Madame was silent, her disappointment palpable. She sat there quietly, reminiscent of a doll.

"Hurry up and call the old ladies and tell them to clean up quickly. Shinkatsu really wanted to scold the young maids, so he bowed deeply and hurried away. The maids finally became uneasy, and looked at Madame, bewildered.

Madame's gaze fell on the piano in a daze, and after a moment she suddenly began to play vigorously with her delicate jade fingers.

At this time, the chaos inside and outside the city was like an explosion. In the chaos, the quiet sound of spring rain and the sound of the piano are intertwined, expressing a kind of loneliness that no one can solve. After a while, the maids called three old ladies, and they came to sit down beside the lady with a frown. However, the lady seemed to be playing but not playing, and was still there stroking the strings.

"Ma'am. A woman finally couldn't help but speak, "I heard that I am going to move to the new city in the morning, if I don't prepare early......

"See for yourselves. ”

"So, can we have someone clean up?"

"Oh. ”

The three old women winked at each other and stood up. There were two hundred and thirty or forty women in the inner court alone. Everything had to be packed overnight and ready to move. The inner courtyard suddenly became a pot of porridge.

Fifty thousand or sixty thousand, unimaginably large number of soldiers, overwhelmingly overwhelmed them. Once so many people invade the city, what kind of consequences will be, these women dare not think. The dice, the cards, and the leftover snacks were all reluctantly put away, and in a short time the contents of the house were piled up.

Despite this, the sound of the piano in the lady's room did not stop for a moment. At sunset, the sound of the piano finally stopped. However, the lady picked up the pen and paper again, and looked at the rain feet.

The construction of the new castle began with the suggestion of Anayama Meixue. The address was chosen on the Nirazaki Tenha, west of Kofu, and it is still under construction.

"The first lord was wise, generous and merciful, and regarded the kingdom as a city, and there was no need to build other cities. And today, our lord is not only inferior to his predecessors, but also has Nobunaga, Ieyasu, and Shimasa as enemies. Therefore, it is necessary to choose a dangerous place to build a city. "It was Anayama who first made this suggestion, and now he has returned to the Shuntokugawa clan.

The enemy was already close at hand, so he fled in a panic. But after moving to the new town, the new city is not reliable. Although a dangerous place was deliberately chosen, due to the large amount of supplies to be transported, a flat road has been built. The construction of the arrow tower and the city wall has only just begun, not to mention the fire guns, not even the bow and arrow.

Mrs. Odawara ordered the team to stop and take a look in front of the castle walls, and was dumbfounded. If nothing else, there is no place for the belongings that have been carried by a large number of people.

At this time, Tsuchiya Masatsune, the younger brother of Tsuchiya Shoji, came from Katsuyori, who had set off first. "The lord ordered to enter the city and join the vanguard. ”

Mrs. Odawara misheard and frowned. "Are you not allowed to enter the city?

"No, this ......," Chang Heng crouched on the ground in embarrassment, "Now, everyone is discussing where to stay. ”

"Still discussing?" the lady listened, glancing back at the line of women behind her.

Everyone thought that if they came here, they could live the same life as they did in Tsushigasaki Castle, and everyone came with such expectations.

"That is, you can't go back to Tsugasaki Castle?"

"Wait a minute, anyway...... Probably, Koyamada Hyoshi Nobushige of Iwaden Castle should have sent someone to greet ......"

Iwaden Castle is the residence of Nobushige Oyamada in Tsuru Prefecture.

"Oh, then wait. Madame sent Chang Heng back and called the maids out of the car.

There are warblers singing and swallowing everywhere here. If it's a rainy day, it must be an embarrassing trip. But the weather was clear and the mountains on all sides were covered with clouds and mist, which was really beautiful. "Alas...... He became a down-and-out person. ”

"What did you say, ma'am?"

The lady said softly to the maid again: "It is said in the story that once a person loses a battle, he becomes a down-and-out person. ”

"Oh? really...... Really?"

"It seems to be true. As if talking about someone else's business, Madame squinted her eyes and stared at the sky that was gradually dying red to the west, "It might have been better to fail fiascoly." If lost, there will be no more wars. If there was no war, women would have stayed with men. ”