For a person with a highly conscious and deep mind, pain and troubles are essential qualities.

- Fyodor Dostoevsky (a preeminent representative of Russian literature, one of the most complex and contradictory writers in the history of Russian literature)

After a little deliberation, Luculus and Bronno decided to split their army into two routes, one west to attack Meisheng Castle and the other south to attack the Kasai clan in the south-central part of Hitachi Province.

Because the combat effectiveness of the Seventh Legion was stronger than that of the Dragon, Luculus would lead the Seventh Legion south to attack the Kasai family, while Bronno would lead the Dragon's Legion to the west to attack Mingsheng Castle.

Nanbu Xinli, who had promised the Governor's Council to obey the orders before the expedition, although he was inevitably a little dissatisfied with the scattered use of the standing army under his command, he did not raise any objections, and still unconditionally obeyed the arrangements of Bronno and Luculus.

In fact, Luculus and Brono, who had a lot of discussions with each other, did not take Nanbu Xinli seriously at all, and when they were in military discussions in peacetime, that is, symbolically asked for his opinion, where would they really give him the opportunity to give his opinion.

After the division of the landing army, Bronno led his Tenglong Army and the Southern Standing Army of 5,000 Ashigaru, and built the military camp 1,500 meters outside the city;

Luculus, who led his army south, was much more fiery than Bronno, and the 10,000 ashimen of the southern Shinri army were sent by him to capture the Kasai family town near Girzawa Castle, and he himself led the 7th Army of his headquarters to the Kasai family's important city of Danzawa Castle.

Kashiwayama Akiyoshi, the lord of Girzawa Castle, and his second son, Kashiwayama Akicho, were the number one generals of the Kasai family, and even the fighting power of the defenders of Girzawa Castle was the highest in the Kasai family.

The approaching salvo of 6,000 longbowmen of the three longbow wings covered the head of the city with a dense rain of arrows, and the soldiers of the defenders of the city on the city wall who were waiting for it did not even dare to raise their heads when they were suppressed by the rain of arrows, and where could they organize an effective defense.

Under the cover of the rain of arrows from the longbowmen, the eight Roman youth and eight Roman heavy infantry of the two wings launched an attack on the city wall, carrying the ladder improvised by the Roman light infantry.

The contest between more than 2,500 heavy infantry and youth troops and the less than 5,000 defenders of the castle was not described as a one-sided massacre, but it was also a battle of great disparity.

Even the brave and warlike Kashiwayama Akicho himself rushed forward, but could not stop the strong onslaught of the Roman heavy infantry, and the unwilling to be defeated by Kashiwayama Akicho tried to kill the Roman centurion who commanded the battle, but was cut down to the ground by several Roman heavy infantry who took advantage of the opportunity to surround him.

Even Kashiwayama Akicho, who was known for his bravery, fell, and the morale of the defenders on the city wall plummeted, and it was not long before the defenders on the left wall collapsed, followed by the defenders on the right wall, and the soldiers of the 7th Legion won the battle.

The loss of the city wall meant that the fall of the castle was only a matter of time, and would the inactive Kashiwayama Akiyoshi dare to use his remaining forces to fight a terrible street battle with the Seventh Legion? The answer must be no, Kashiwayama Akiyoshi is not the kind of loyal minister who is loyal to the Kasai family.

However, his second son, Kashiwayama Akicho, was still struggling at the hands of the Roman heavy infantry guarding him, even though he was seriously wounded, and such a warrior could undoubtedly win the favor of Luculus, but it was a pity that a warrior could not decide the outcome of a war.

After the capture of the city, the 3,000 soldiers under the command of Nanbu Xinli were naturally left behind to defend the city, and only 7,000 soldiers were left to accompany the army to the southern standing army, and how much role could they play in the war, Nanbu Xinli himself had no confidence.

Luculus had never heard of the reputation of the 'Kashiwayama Three', but Luculus knew the value of the four Kashiwayama Akiyoshi and his son, so he tied them to a carriage and handed them over to the light cavalry of his own legion to escort them forward.

The next target of the Seventh Legion was not Tsunehide Yoneya's Saganuma Castle, but Terike Castle, the capital of the Kasai family;

There was Teraike Castle, where Kasai Harunobu was personally under the command of the Kasai family's governor, and the defenders of the castle were commanded by the Kasai family's general, Yasaku Shigemun, who was the number one commander of the Kasai family, and it was Kashiwayama Akinaga who defeated Yasaku Shigetsunu with his youth.

In the same attacking pattern, Luculus invested one-third of the infantry of the Seventh Army to capture the castle in an hour, and when it was the turn of Teraki Castle, the frantic volley of 6,000 longbowmen failed to suppress the defenders of the castle.

Knowing that he could not build an effective defense on the walls, he gathered the main forces of the city and launched a suicidal attack when the Roman heavy infantry and the Roman youth army attacked the walls.

The elite of the 3,000 Kasai family, led by two Kasai generals, thwarted the attack of the Roman heavy infantry and the Roman youth army, and also forced the longbowmen to stop the rain of arrows.

The so-called elite of the Kasai family could not have been the match for the Roman heavy infantry and the Roman youth army, but Yasaku's resoluteness exceeded Luculus's expectations, and seeing that the 3,000 ashigashi of the Kasai army were about to be killed and wounded, the defenders on the city wall began to shoot with bows and arrows.

The defenders' bows and arrows were so light that the Kasai army was wiped out and the attacking Roman army was left with hundreds of corpses, and Luculus's 7th Army lost 600 men in a single attack.

War, sometimes it will turn into a fierce contest between the commanders of the two armies, whoever is more ruthless and who can bear the casualties of his own soldiers will win the war; from this point of view, Yasashige is often a qualified general, and so is Lucurus!

After a short rest, the Seventh Legion, which had launched another attack, mobilized all the Roman heavy infantry and Roman youth army, half of the soldiers carried the ladder to the city wall, and the other half held their shields to block the city gate to prevent the defenders of the city from suddenly attacking.

As soon as the Roman hoplites and the Roman youth army reached the top of the wall, the Kasai army came out of the other gate, and this time, it was no longer the infantry of the Seventh Legion that met them, but the cavalry of the Seventh Legion, which had not been engaged in the battle!