"After years of recession, he can still maintain such a military appearance, Shinohara's long house is really a masterpiece, he was better than him last time, and he was confused by Miyoshi Changyi."

To the east of Awa Kunikatsurui Castle, the two armies spread out across the Imakiri River, with the Hirate army in the north and the Shinohara army in the south.

Holding the Nanban clairmile mirror and looking out, he saw the enemy's flag fluttering, the formation was compact, calm and orderly, and he couldn't help but admire the opponent on the other side of the river.

Standing beside him on duty today is Kinoshita Hidenaga, who has always been careful and cautious, and at this moment he closed his mouth and did not dare to speak casually. Honda Masanobu, who didn't know much about military affairs, touched his beard and pretended to respond: "As expected, the new law set by Shinohara Nagabo is very popular, and the centripetal force of the retainers has increased instead of falling two years ago." ”

"It's a pity, it's not easy to recruit him." Hirata Honxiu sighed, "Let's study the content of the "New Plus System" more, take its essence and absorb it for your own use is the right way." ”

It's rare that Ina Tadaji, who is not dealing with government affairs but is in the main attendant, suddenly interjected: "My subordinates feel that the status of Shinohara Nagafang may not be really so stable!" Otherwise, he should not have to take any chances. ”

Hearing his words, Hiteshu didn't feel it: "Hanzaemon, you guy, are you making a sycophant?" The other party didn't think it was a risk to fight me, maybe they were planning to borrow the tie house to Liwei! ”

Ina Tadaji was slightly embarrassed when he heard this, and he smiled: "Then he is too self-aware!" ”

This will be a small talk, and the line has been lined up in order according to the pre-order.

More than 2,000 people from Hete Hidehide personally led the guards and flags in the center, and the people led by Hiratite Hideyoshi and the reinforcements led by Oda Nagayoshi himself were lined up on the left and right. The new senators of Izumi and Awaji and the Pedestai were on standby a thousand paces away from the west, under the temporary command of Kawada Nagakin, with Konishi Yukicho as the military commander; The Saga Party, Nerai, Kii Kunishi, and Mikawa Ichitsu occupied a position of 1,500 steps to the east, under the temporary command of Tsuchihashi Morishige, with Horio Yoshiharu as the commander.

It's a bit far-fetched that the commanders of the two wings are all chasing ducks to the shelves, this is because now there is no other person in the Heite family who can serve as a general except for Tsunohide himself, and the only Iwasari Yutong with enough qualifications and reputation has not been joined long enough, and it has not been generally accepted by the retainers.

As the Tie Army moved, the enemy on the opposite side also spread out in formation along the river bank.

In addition to the main general Shinohara Nagafang, the banners of the retainers such as Akazawa, Ogasawara, Izawa, Kasai, Yasutomi, and Kankawa were seen in turn. However, Miyoshi Changzhi and Shihe Depository only have a few lonely flags standing in the Chinese army, and they seem to be just used as a symbolic ranking.

From this, it is already possible to roughly deduce the political status quo of the Miyoshi family.

The two sides continued to dispatch troops and put up positions along the river, but neither of them would attack first.

The Ikinori River is a tributary of the Yoshino River, with a maximum width of more than 50 steps (about 90 meters) and a maximum of 20 steps (about 36 meters) at the narrowest point.

The two armies encountered here, and no one wanted to show their flaws easily. Invariably, bows and arrows and iron cannons were used to fire constantly in an attempt to disrupt the enemy's formation before launching an attack.

On the side of the Hite, all the archashigaru and iron cannon ashigaru received the order to "shoot with all their might" and tilted their fire to the opposite shore without any scruples. The response of the other side was similar. The rain of arrows probed lasted at least two hours.

The river is already dozens of paces wide, and the two sides stand on both sides to shoot at each other, and in the subconscious of self-preservation, they will leave the river bank more than ten paces away, which is actually equivalent to shooting at each other a hundred paces away.

The distance of 100 paces is indeed not beyond the maximum range, but the strength and crosshairs are no longer guaranteed, as long as there is a slight sense of protection and evasion, it will not be damaged much.

It would be a bit whimsical to expect to suppress the enemy in this way. However, the location of the battlefield is not up to you, but is determined by a combination of many factors. The two sides have already encountered here, and there is no room for casual transfers.

Such a stalemate.

The flat-handed family has a big business, and the food and salary are worry-free, but they can afford it.

Shinohara's Nagabo is fighting at the door of his house, and he is not in a hurry.

They confronted each other from noon to night, looked at each other across the river, shot at each other, shouted slogans for a long time, and never entered a white-knuckle battle, so they had to collect their troops to rest, drink and eat, and treat the wounded.

After the statistics, Kinoshita Hidenaga summarized the data from all parties and reported: "Today, the whole army fired a total of 82,000 arrows and more than 19,000 projectiles. Two hundred and sixty were wounded and thirty-seven were killed. The enemy's losses are not yet known, but they must be comparable to ours. ”

A regular arrow, depending on the quality of production and materials, can reach a maximum price of 30 yuan, and the lowest cost is 5 or 6 yuan. The projectile of the iron cannon is close to 20 wen a piece, and it is estimated that at the end of the day, just shooting at each other across the river is an expenditure of more than 1,000 yuan. However, this money is not reimbursed in full, and as a rule, the levies of each family should bear all the equipment themselves.

"If we don't officially engage in battle in two days, some of the countrymen may not actively respond to the order to shoot." Honda Masanobu speculated with the heart of a villain, "The bow foot light battle will only bring more than a hundred arrows, and the iron artillery will have less ammunition, and if it is wasted like today, it will take less than ten days." ”

"In addition to the rations and the wooden planks for building the pontoon bridge, the baggage supplies brought here today contain 75,000 arrows, 20,000 projectiles, and 320 catties of gunpowder, which is enough for the people of the banner to use for more than ten days." Out of his own duty, Ina Tadaji took the initiative to speak: "If necessary, you can also give some to the new senators from various countries, and the fleet will have spare strength from tomorrow, and you can transport another batch from Izumi Awaji......"

"If any family is really in trouble, it is okay to be even. Koichiro (Kinoshita) hurriedly assigned people to inquire. Hirate agreed to the proposal, and then glanced in the direction of the other side, "By the way, I want to send a message to everyone to reassure." It must be known that the savings of the Miyoshi family for many years have been squandered by Miyoshi Changyi, and it is expected that the enemy's supply should be more problematic. ”

"Could it be that your purpose is a war of attrition?" Honda Masanobu felt a little strange, "Indeed, from the intelligence point of view, the enemy is a little stretched in terms of military resources, but after all, this is the other party's hometown, and it will definitely take out the inventory at the bottom of the box later, and it will take at least two months to drag them down." Moreover, even if we win in this way, we may not be able to achieve our goals after the war......"

Tie Hand Tsuki smiled without saying a word.

At this time, the curtain of the military tent shook, and Hattori Xiu'an, who was dressed in a short robe, rushed in with agility, and said in a low voice: "Changzong sent a message from the palace (Yuanqin) of my department, 1,500 elite soldiers, quietly following behind the Miyoshi army, and they will be there tomorrow morning!" He sent someone to ask you what to do. ”

It turned out that there was also a surprise attack team - Ina Tadaji and Kinoshita Hidenaga who were present were all happy, but Honda Masanobu frowned.

Hijo Tsuyoshi unwaveringly instructed Hattori Hideyasu: "Let Chozong's army appear from behind the Miyoshi Army with great fanfare at the beginning of tomorrow (nine o'clock in the morning)!" Apo is the foundation of the enemy's business for many years, there are so many eyes and ears, the whereabouts of 1,500 people, the possibility of concealing it is really not high, and it has probably been discovered a long time ago. You can't expect a surprise attack, so it's better to attract him with some frontal troops. ”

When the words landed, Hattori Hidean didn't think about it, he only remembered these words in his heart, and bent down to take the order.

Ina Tadaji, who rarely involves military affairs, let out an "ah" in surprise, and Kinoshita Hidecho also opened his eyes quite unexpectedly, only Honda Masanobu suddenly realized, and said slowly: "If our army does not attack together, the palace of Chozong and my department will be in an extremely dangerous situation." It seems that His Highness intends to put him to the test. ”

"Huh." Hisho glanced at him, and he didn't know what the laughter meant.

Ina and Kinoshita understood, and at the same time secretly surprised: this Tamasanobu is really intelligent, and he guessed the meaning of the lord in an instant, and he was really bold, and he said it directly on the spot. It's so sharp and intimidating, I'm afraid no one will have a close relationship with it.

At this time, Hirate Hoshu began to officially give orders: "Yakuro, draft a pleading!" Order the troops on the left and right flanks to eat tomorrow, move at the end of the day, move to the side of the forty towns (about 4.4 kilometers), build pontoon bridges, and outflank the left and right! Ordered Hiterate Hideyi, Bai Xiang Jiajia, and Honda Masa to stand by the river before two o'clock, waiting for the order to force the crossing! The rest of the doors and flags are in front of the front at four o'clock! In addition, please move the headquarters of Oda Choyiden to the right in advance and be ready to support at any time! ”

The 1,500 men of Changzong's department came around from behind, and the 19,000 men of the frontal tie army were almost lined up, and the combat power was evenly distributed. The layout of this battle was decent, only to see the coincidence, not to see the odd victory, and it was a big violation of the way of the Weizhou Zhi General to draw the way of the criminal department.

Several retainers in the account were a little puzzled, but Honda Masanobu guessed the lord's mind again, but this time he didn't rush to show off.

In the end, it was a tie and Fan Xiu took a sip of a small half cup of tea, and said to himself: "In this battle, our army is outnumbered, and the strong attack is weak, not only to kill the enemy, but also to establish power!" Once the power is established, you will be able to live in Shikoku in peace from now on. ”