Reading, an ordinary process that we are accustomed to, is actually a process of combining the human soul with the great wisdom of all nations, ancient and modern.

- Gorky (proletarian writer of the former Soviet Union, founder of socialist realist literature)

From the time the ninjas of the Yanhuang Ninja Army began to spread rumors to the closing of the castle gate at noon the next day, in just one day, more than 8,000 people left Yuzawa Castle with a total population of only tens of thousands.

Although the lord of Yuzawa Castle, Mitsushige Nakuoka, was not a man of great wisdom, he was not a reckless man who did not understand anything, and he naturally heard of the remarks of the people in the city, but he did not take any specific measures against them.

Uesugi Keitor's name for brutality and what he had done along the way were known better than anyone else, so he turned a blind eye to the hasty escape of the people in the city, as long as things didn't go too far.

Seeing that the people in the city were walking more and more, and even the servants of their own city lord's mansion had secretly absconded out of the city, they couldn't sit back and watch Yuzawa Castle become a deserted city, so he ordered the defenders in the city to close the four gates and not allow anyone to leave the city.

If the loss of nearly a quarter of the population had invisibly curtailed Yuzawa's war potential, the rumors had caused the defenders to become terrified, as they were the only military force in the city.

It was no secret that the 50,000-strong army of the Mogami family, along with their families, had been controlled by the Uesugi army under the command of Uesugi Keitora in Yuzawa Castle, and Mitsushige, who knew more than ordinary people, was also worried about the imminent arrival of the Uesugi army.

Mitsushige's unintentional indulgence was almost equivalent to a tacit acquiescence to the rumors for the people in the city who did not know the truth, and the Yanhuang ninja ninja who seized this opportunity added some new remarks to the rumors they had originally spread.

For example, Uesugi Jinghu, the commander of the Uesugi army, was a monster who ate people and did not spit out bones, and legend has it that he had to eat children's hearts and livers before he could sleep every night;

This kind of deliberate demonization of Uesugi Jinghu and his subordinate Uesugi Army is known to be false to anyone with a discerning eye, but it can easily resonate with ordinary people, and the speed of spreading is also unusually fast, and it has spread throughout Yuzawa Castle in less than half a day.

Yuzawa Castle, which was flooded with all sorts of rumors, was not only uneasy among the people, but also uneasy about its military spirit, and even with the mandatory order of Mitsushige Nakuoka to close the castle gates, the people of Yuzawa Castle fled outside the castle in droves, and even the soldiers who defended the castle participated.

The vast majority of the castle defenders in Yuzawa Castle were natives of Yuzawa Castle, and their wives and children were all in Yuzawa Castle, and it was only natural that they would disobey military orders and let their families and friends go when the brutal Uesugi army was approaching.

As for the fact that the soldiers of the garrison in his city knew about the law and violated the law, Mitsushige Aoka, who received many reports within a day, at first just waited and watched; later, as more and more people left the city, Mishige Aoka, who could not stand it, came forward to reprimand some of the officers who participated in the matter.

Since almost all of the 4,000 or so defenders in the castle were involved in this incident, it was impossible for Mitsushige Nakuoka to take any disciplinary measures, after all, he was a retainer of the Sagami family, not a retainer of the Uesugi family.

It is not an exaggeration to say what the people of the Mogami family are hostile to them, and Mishige Kamioka, who knows that his family needs the support of the Uesugi family, cannot clash with Uesugi Keihu head-on for the sake of his family's interests, but it is what Mitsuge Nakaoka is happy to see before Uesugi Keitora leads his army to Yuzawa Castle.

The loss of population continued for nearly three days, and by the time Yuya Miyazaki led his army to Yuzawa Castle, the number of civilians in Yuzawa Castle was less than half of that of three days earlier, but it was not just half of the population that Yuzawa Castle had lost in these three days.

Those people who dragged their families out of Yuzawa Castle took away not only the gold and silver in their homes, but also the food they needed to survive; in other words, at this time, in addition to the military rations hoarded in the official warehouses, the civilian grain stocks were already seven or eight out of ten!

After the Uesugi Army and the more than 70,000 troops of the Mogami Army entered the castle, the ninjas of the Yanhuang Ninja Army, who had overfulfilled the task of spreading rumors, immediately suspended their original operations and began to spread another rumor that had been prepared long ago through special channels.

The so-called special channel refers to the Yanhuang ninja ninja hidden in the Mogami family army and the Yanhuang ninja in Yuzawa Castle disguised as relatives, and then through the conversation between their relatives, the real coalition soldiers next to them 'just happened' to hear the conversation.

If the soldiers who are listening are from the Uesugi Army, then the content of the conversation between the ninjas of the Yanhuang Ninja Army is that the lord of the castle, Mitsushige Nakuoka, has received an urgent order from the governor a few days ago, and secretly transferred all the grain and grass in the city outside the city within three days.

As for why the castle lord Mitsushige Nakuoka secretly transferred the grain and grass in the city, and what the content of the emergency order issued by the governor was, it is not for ordinary people to know, and the ninjas who have a thorough understanding of people's hearts have left enough room for imagination for the soldiers of the Uesugi army.

If the soldiers who are listening are from the Mogami army, then the content of the dialogue between the ninjas of the Yanhuang Ninja Army is that the city lord Mitsushige Nakuoka has already secretly surrendered to the Yanhuang family;

The two versions of the rumors, combined with the sudden reduction of more than half of the city's population, both the soldiers of the Uesugi army and the soldiers of the most senior army will inevitably panic after hearing such remarks, after all, this is a major event that determines their life and death!

Soon, these two versions of the rumor spread throughout the Uesugi and Mogami coalition forces, and Yuya Miyazaki, who was aware of this special situation, ordered all armies to prohibit the spread of these rumors of unknown origin, and at the same time hurried to the castle lord's mansion with his guards to find Mitsushige Kazuoka.

Yuya Miyazaki, who looked confident in front of the soldiers, was no less restless in his heart than ordinary soldiers, so even if he knew that the origin of these inexplicable rumors was very suspicious, he still had to go to Mitsushige Nakuoka for confirmation.

In the face of Yuya Miyazaki, who came to the door with a large number of armed guards, Mitsushige Kazuoka, who was an important minister of the Mogami family, was dissatisfied; no matter how dissatisfied he was, Mitsushige Nashioka did not dare to offend Uesugi Keitora in a situation where the city was full of Uesugi soldiers.

Yes, it's Uesugi Keiho, not Yuya Miyazaki. Yuya Miyazaki, who knew that his identity and status were not enough, did not come to the castle lord's mansion alone without recklessness, and there was a person with a special status by his side, that is, the 'pseudo-Uesugi Jinghu' that only he knew!