Takeda Harunobu was noncommittal, and frequently sent sentinels to Toishi Castle to reconnoitre. and ordered a detailed map to be drawn.

On 28 August, Takeda Harunobu marched to the vicinity of Toishi Castle, and a stag ran west from the outside to Harunobu's camp.

The beast crossing the camp was seen as a bad omen.

The soldier who saw the deer reported it to the general, and the general reported it to Komai Takahakusai, but Komai Takahakusai hid the matter in his heart and did not tell Harunobu.

Harunobu Takeda led twenty cavalry attendants to observe the terrain of Toishi Castle.

To the east of Toishi Castle is a cliff overlooking the Kamigawa River, and to the west is also a cliff.

The hill on which the castle was built was wide, but the height of the mountain on the north side was inaccessible, making it a castle that was not suitable for a large army.

To attack, you have to climb the southwest cliff to reach the mountain, but this will have to pay a considerable price.

On September 7, he sent a detailed report back from Beixin Linwu City in advance. Toishi Castle seems to have iron cannons.

"How much is it?"

"I don't know the exact number, but it is estimated that there are about twenty."

This news came from the peasants who had brought the iron cannons into Hushi City.

The Iron Cannon is an extremely powerful new weapon, and one Iron Cannon is considered to be worth 100 soldiers.

Compared to the power of iron cannons, it should be said that having such a weapon will greatly boost morale and make the enemy fearful.

There are often cases where there are no iron cannons in fact, but they pretend to have iron cannons on the surface.

If the news comes from a nearby peasant, it should be suspected that the enemy may have deliberately spread rumors.

"If you really have an iron cannon, you have to find out where it came from, and ...... about that."

Hayashi Takeichi, who arranged the fine work, said, "In fact, it was Echigo's Nagao Keitora who provided it to Murakami Yoshikiyo. This must be Nagao Keitora supporting Murakami Yoshikiyo in the war with us. ”

"You mean Echigo's long-tailed Keiho?" Harunobu Takeda has often heard rumors about Nagao Keihu lately and wants to know more about him.

Thinking of Nagao Keiho, he thought of Kansuke Yamamoto who went to Echigo to find out the news.

What the hell is Kansuke Yamamoto doing, according to the report, he has infiltrated Echigo, why is there no news, could it be that he is dead?

Takeda Harushi thought confidently, if Kansuke Yamamoto was here, whether there were iron cannons in Toishi Castle, and how many iron cannons there were, had already been found out now.

The fact that Toishi Castle had an iron cannon couldn't be hidden, so Ueda Nobukata directly released false news, and at the same time connected with Murakami Yoshikiyo and deceived many retainers.

There are twenty-four iron cannons in Toishi Castle, and these are the iron cannons built in the past two years, in fact, there should be forty-eight, and the other half was sold by Ueda Nobukata.

On the afternoon of September 8, the Takeda family held a military meeting.

Before the meeting, make a report on the hostile situation. There were 500 enemy soldiers, of whom 300 were Saku. Twenty iron cannons (wind rumors), enough food for three months, and a well in the city.

"If you want to attack Hushi City, there is no other way than to climb up the southwest cliff wall and reach the city gate." Nobuyi Oyamada said.

"Yes, but you may not be able to attack otherwise. However, if you use this method, you will fall into the trap of the enemy, and your casualties will increase, and Toishi Castle is still not suitable for attack.

It is best to only surround Toishi Castle and attack our main force into the village and cause uneasiness, which is the best policy. ”

Is it to directly attack Toishi Castle, or to surround Toishi Castle and propose the main force to disturb the enemy army?

Opinions differed over these two strategies, and it was actually only Nobu Oyamada who advocated attacking.

The controversy ended quickly, and most of the generals agreed with Yokota Bichu Takamatsu. Yokota was familiar with the local conditions and geography of Saku and Koprefecture.

At this point, the military council seemed to have made a decision, and everyone looked up to Takeda Harunobu's face and waited for the verdict.

"If you are afraid of the stone castles and do not attack, but burn and plunder the territory of the village like bandits, the people of Toshin and Kitanobu will despise me Takeda, and instead attach themselves to the village and the forces behind it."

When Harunobu Takeda mentioned the forces behind it, his expression was extremely serious. Although the generals understood that the force behind this was Nagao Jinghu, there was no direct connection between Nagao Jinghu and Toshijo.

"I'm going to swear to the Takeda heirloom since Genji, one of the eight pieces of armor that has been passed down from generation to generation, to attack Toishi Castle. Attack will begin tomorrow morning. ”

When the generals heard this, they all knelt down together. Although it was the height of summer, the cold of midwinter locked the scalps of the generals. When most of the generals heard Harunobu's determination, they seemed to be defeated.

"Tomorrow morning, I hope that my subordinates will be in charge of the strikers." Yokota Bichu Mamoru Takamatsu stepped forward and said.

If it is a war with a certain chance of victory, at this time, someone will volunteer to be the vanguard.

However, this war was different. Since Yokota Bichu Mamoru Takamatsu volunteered to be the vanguard, the generals breathed a sigh of relief.

Yokota Takamatsu was a retainer who existed during the Takeda Shinhu period, and became famous in the Takeda Harunobu period, and was one of the five ministers of Takeda.

At six o'clock in the afternoon of September 9, the 19th year of the Astronomical Universe, Yokota Bichu Shou Takamatsu led 500 men to attack the stone castle, climbed along the cliff wall, and wet his whole body with dew.

About four-fifths of the way up the cliff, there are no more trees to cover you from there to the top of the mountain. The upper slope is steep, and the movement slows down.

Coming here, the attacking army took a breath and did not see the city soldiers.

Sensing that the enemy must have a plan, Yokota can almost guess the enemy's tricks, but the situation forces him to do nothing. He gave the soldiers a good rest in the forest, planning to climb to the top of the mountain in one go.

He guessed right, Ueda Nobukata took his wife Kiyotsuna, Yazawa Soshige and others to ambush in the middle of the road at this moment, and when Yokota Takamatsu rested for a while, Ueda Nobukata shouted: "Archery!" ”

A large number of arrows were shot suddenly, and the unsuspecting Takeda family Ashigaru was a little flustered, and at the same time, the Murakami family's ashigaru pushed the stones down the hillside, and the Takeda army was suddenly overwhelmed.

Yokota Takamatsu is the top fierce general of the Takeda family, he is constantly in danger, brandishing a spear and roaring: "Can't retreat!" Rush up! Fight to the death with Murakami's army! ”

Yokota Takamatsu's movement attracted Ueda Nobukata's attention, and he asked left and right, "Who is that general?" ”

Azuma Kiyotsuna said, "That's Yokota Bichu Takamatsu, the fierce general of the Takeda Army. ”

Ueda Nobukata recalled a little, remembering that he was a military general who died in the Battle of Toishi Castle, and he immediately took out an iron cannon from his subordinates and put gunpowder on it.

Yazawa was unimpressed by the iron cannon that Ueda Nobukata was mandling, and he felt that such a weapon was not as good as a bow and arrow.

Ueda Nobukata loaded the ammunition, lit it, and aimed at Yokota Takamatsu, who was reorganizing his army.

"Bang!"

A deafening gunshot rang out.

Takeda Harunobu, who was watching the battle, stood up suddenly, took a step forward and said angrily, "It's an iron cannon!" ”