After a series of shady secret room deals, Heite handed over a sternly worded letter to Miyoshi Nagaharu on the second day of February, condemning the other party's crime of bullying the monks and destroying the monastery, and then marched into the army.

The personal guards and banners under his command, a total of 2,900 soldiers who were out of production, served as the main force in this battle; The seafarers, who did not have to beg for a living on the farmland, numbered 1,200 sailors, who were responsible for sea transportation; On duty-free terms, 1,700 people voluntarily undertook all-weather military obligations as auxiliary corps.

Although it was a busy farming season, the Heite family still mobilized 6,000 troops.

Awa Mori general Naoharu Yukawa, Sanuki shogun Shigehide Suzuki, and Iyo commander Kawada Nagajin all received orders to shelter the suffering monks, and if the thieves of the Miyoshi family dared to chase down the castle, they would resolutely fight back.

Of course, the latter two are the meanings.

At the same time, Kii's Koyayama Neraiji Temple offered 3,000 stone of grain and 800 monks and soldiers to help in the battle, while Ishiyama Honganji Temple sent 300 iron gunners, promised 5,000 kan gifts, and called on believers from all over the country to participate in the action spontaneously.

There are many people who have responded to this call. Many small-scale teams of about ten people gathered around Shimoma Yorilian, and there were even many solo travelers with one person and one sword.

The only name worth mentioning is Miki Tsuaki, a native of Harima, who led 430 people to join the "Dharma Protector" cause, despite the delay in spring ploughing and the opposition of Asai.

This is indeed a devout true believer.

Tosa's Nagamune Ibu Motojin must have been willing to have the opportunity to enter Awa again, but his troop composition was mainly composed of "one collar and sufficient strength", and there was no way to fight at all during the busy farming period, so he could only shout twice and do his best.

As a descendant of the Miosin Temple faction of the Rinzai sect, Toraya Soyi was commissioned to carry out activities around Kyoto, visiting the imperial court, shogunate, temples, merchants, etc., to expose the atrocities of the enemy and promote the righteousness of the war.

The purpose is to tell the people of the world -

It was not that the Tie family reversed course and violated the armistice agreement, but that the Miyoshi family had committed appalling crimes, and the Shosuke of the Criminal Department could not stand idly by, so he could only start the war with great grief and regret.

In fact, Hu Zai Zongyi felt in his heart that this matter was too much.

Apo's three good long reigns, enjoying the "legacy" of his predecessors, and his diplomatic prestige is basically negative, do you need any more reasons to beat him?

But Tieshou Fan Xiu cherishes feathers and requires that there must be such a fair and fair process, and Tiger Zai Zongyi is not worth arguing about this kind of issue, just do it.

The coalition army sharpened their knives and danced their claws, but the Miyoshi family seemed to be asleep and did not give a reply for a long time.

Until the sixth day of the first month, when he landed on the southern shore of Awa Province, Hirate did not meet any resistance, but a few hours after he came ashore, he received a hasty letter.

However, Miyoshi Changji did not mean to beg for mercy or sophistry, but cursed and cursed angrily, claiming that "Your Excellency is both sinister and cunning, and you will definitely be punished by God in the future!" ”

It seems that the tie is regarded as the mastermind behind the whole thing.

This is completely untrue.

The young assistant of the Criminal Department was self-purifying, disdained this, and sent the messenger out of the country with the demeanor of the two armies fighting without slashing the envoys.

As for Keiji kicking the messenger's ass while no one was paying attention, causing him to fall to the ground - this kind of thing really wasn't instructed by the lord.

Minor details, not enough detail.

All in all, with the support of the Ichijo sect and the Shingon sect, Hirate Honshu formed a temporary military formation in the Komatsushima area in the southern part of Awa, and began to listen to the enemy's situation and consider a strategy for the invasion.

During the war, the situation of the military conference was urgent, and the information was not sorted out in time, so the person in charge of reporting was Ishikawa Goemon, who had succeeded Nakamura Kazuji. He attaches great importance to his first performance, so much so that he is a little overly nervous, he is already a thief with low culture and mediocre eloquence, and now he is even more incoherent.

Fortunately, it has not yet reached the point of not knowing what to do.

Barely enough to make what should be said clear.

"There are a total of 3,500 people in the Miyoshi family, which have been divided into three routes, and now they have looted and burned more than 10 temples and shrines...... Among them, the closest to our army is...... The Jade Dragon Temple of the Shingon Sect is still resisting, and if you send troops tomorrow morning, you may be able to rescue it in time...... There shouldn't be more enemies, and the people of Shikoku are also in the spring ploughing...... Miyoshi Awa (Nagaji) is still in Katsurui City and has not yet made an unexpected follow-up reaction...... No high-ranking monks have been publicly executed, but it appears that two have died in the chaos...... The spring ploughing in eastern Awa seems to have been greatly affected, and many people may be forced to become thieves this winter...... There was clearly a big divide within the enemy army, and one of the guards at Katsurui Castle said that he had seen Miyoshi Awa (Choji) and Tokawa Hayato (Kubo) quarrel again...... Therefore, the subordinates thought that it was impossible for the Miyoshi family to launch an effective mobilization...... Yukawaden sheltered some followers of the Tendai, Rinzai, and Kegon sects in Kamizakura Castle. The Shingon sect and the Ichijo sect seem to have rebelled and have fought several battles...... In addition, his subordinates personally heard the lower-level samurai in several places say: It is better to surrender directly to the Pingshou army, maybe you can use it...... There is also a sensor temple that is probably still resisting......"

Ishikawa Goemon gradually gave up treatment as he spoke, and no longer intended to pursue order, but a running account-style narrative, and then he was much more comfortable.

Anyway, he didn't embarrass himself in front of outsiders, so he didn't think about it, and said with a smile: "Goemon! If you have time, Izumi will find some teachers of literature and etiquette and practice a little! By the way, give yourself a better name. Now that you are a samurai of 800 stones, you have to look like yourself in front of your subordinates. ”

Then he returned to the topic, lowered his head, and added:

"But the investigation is still good, and the schematic diagram is very detailed."

As Ishikawa Goemon said, there were only 3,500 people in Miyoshi Nagaji, and all of them vigorously devoted themselves to the activities of "sealing up illegal monasteries and expelling guilty monks", and the soldiers did not gather together in three directions, and they did not have the ability to continue to recruit them......

The right time, place and people are here, and all you need to consider is what posture to use.

Heishou drew a few fingers on the map, thought for a moment, and asked Tarao Mitsutoshi on the other side, "Where is the Sugi no Fang of the Shingon Sect, the lower room of the Shingon Sect, the lower room of the Honsho Sect?" ”

"The details have not been confirmed...... Tarao Mitsutoshi replied conservatively, "On the surface, it seems that the believers should be commanded to fight against the Miyoshi Army at Mount Kinabalu and Nagagawa respectively. ”

"Have you heard how they are doing?" Tie asked Tsuyoshi.

"Someone has been sent to the field to verify but has not yet returned, and there is indeed only some news I have heard so far." Tarao Mitsutoshi was a little embarrassed, "Some people say that the Miyoshi Army won a great victory, and some say that the believers won a miserable victory, and there are many unreasonable things, so there is no report from the subordinates...... There are so many contradictions between the different accounts, and some people even say that tens of thousands of believers were killed, how is this possible? How many people are there on Shikoku Island......"

"Hmm......" Hiratsu closed his eyes and pondered for a while, slowly opened his eyes, a fleeting strange smile floated across the corner of his mouth, and muttered: "Whether it is a great victory of the Three Good Army or a tragic victory of the believers, the common thing is that the people mobilized by the Shingon Sect and the Ichisho Sect must have suffered heavy losses. ”

The retainers sensed that the lord had some wonderful idea, and they did not dare to make any noise to disturb them.

Judging from the diagram, after the Miyoshi soldiers divided into three ways, there should have been two teams of men and horses that collided with the resistance of the Shingon sect and the Ichijo sect respectively.

Although the number of believers is high in morale, they lack equipment and do not have a unified establishment, and it is normal for them to lose to a small number of elite soldiers. The troops of the Awa Miyoshi family are not particularly good at combat power, but they are not weak and weak, and they should be enough to deal with the common people.

There is also an enemy army of less than 1,000 men, but it is not far from its own side, half a day's reach, suitable for slashing.

You can also choose to support the resistance of the believers first, and if the goal is to gain the favor of Shingon and Issejong, you should do so.

It's just that the tie Fan Xiu suddenly thought of one thing-

In the busy farming period, it is impossible for the Miyoshi family to maintain too many soldiers, there are already 3,500 people burning and looting outside, so how many people can be left in his hometown Shengrui City?

It's better to capture the thief and capture the king first, and directly take down Miyoshi Changzhi himself in one fell swoop.

In this way, you can grasp the most initiative.

In case something happens later, Miyoshi Nagaji personally went into battle and unfortunately died, or was captured by monks and soldiers during the transfer, or fled abroad when the situation was not good, it would not be very wonderful.

It is somewhat inconceivable to give up the opportunity to destroy the enemy's living forces in a field battle and choose to directly attack the city from a military angle. However, the military is only a continuation of politics, and it is the most important thing to achieve the ultimate goal.

As soon as he thought of this, Hirate Hisho Hidehide decisively issued an order to Kinoshita Hidecho on his side: "Koichiro, inform Ina Tadaji and ask him to calculate whether the supply line can support our army to leave for Katsurui City immediately, and if not, how long it will take to adjust." I heard that Nagabune Masaya is extremely proficient in arithmetic, so I don't know if I can help. ”

"Yes." Kinoshita Hidecho is a simple person, and he didn't think about the meaning of his words, but honestly took orders to do it.

The head of Konishi next to him listened attentively, rolled his eyes and thought for a while, stepped forward and knelt on the ground, and suggested: "Lord, don't you want to drive straight into Shengrui City and attack Shengrui City?" The subordinates thought that the most valuable thing in Shengrui City was none other than Miyoshi Changzhi himself. If our army goes, Miyoshi Nagaharu will most likely be frightened and abscond from the city, and it will be a needle in a haystack to capture him. ”

"You mean......" Hirate Hasuhide immediately understood the meaning.

"The lord really saw through his subordinates at a glance...... "Konishi Yukicho faked a compliment, and then said: "You might as well send only a small army, put away the conspicuous flag, and rush to Shengrui Castle at night." If the city is really empty, go straight into it. If there are still garrisons in the city, secretly watch the back door to prevent the enemy chief from absconding. ”

"Hmm...... That's a good point. Tieshou closed his eyes and brushed his beard, nodded in agreement: "So...... It's up to you! Be sure to keep Miyoshi alive! ”