Before returning to Hakata, I cleaned myself up so that others couldn't recognize it, and then I took a boat to Sakai Port.

Actually, there is no important business here, but there is another person waiting for me. It's none other than the Asai Lanxiang who was sent to cooperate with Honganji Xianru to launch a shot.

Now that the fight is over, he must be waiting for me at the place we agreed

As the snow melted in the spring, I could clearly hear the footsteps of war approaching. According to Tanma, the vanguard of Shibata Katsuie and Hashiba Hideyoshi had already set up a position north of Yuwu Lake, and the reason why they did not do it was precisely because of this sudden sleet.

I have grown so big and lived in the ocean country of Toei for so many years, except for the impression that there was a year of continuous typhoons, well, the scientific name is tropical storm, and I once saw rain for more than a month when I was in Toei. At that time, every household nailed their windows with wooden boards, and when the wind and waves were at their worst, people hid in high bunkers, desperately hoarding food, and making it seem like the end of the world.

This time, however, I saw the longest spring rain. The hearts of the people under the rain are hairy, let's say it's big, it's not big; It's not a big deal, the transportation of grain, grass, guns and medicine will definitely be damp. Therefore, the military forces of the two sides are just looking at each other from a distance across a mountain beam.

I got the latest news on the waterway, the troops of Changzong and my relatives have begun to assemble, and this old cadre is really not convinced, and he is always thinking about finding a place.

But the situation with the old tortoise Tokugawa Ieyasu is unclear - although I have already asked someone to bring a message to Shibata Katsuya - and I estimate that although Shibata Katsuya is not good at playing with wrists, such a blank check should not be a big problem, but a few days have passed, and Tokugawa Ieyasu is still silently lurking in his territory, without movement.

When I saw Asai Lanxiang, I vaguely felt that this young man seemed to have grown taller! Originally, he was seventeen or eighteen years old, and he ate a lot and ran a lot, so he naturally grew taller. He reported to me about the cooperation with Honganji Xianru to launch a one-shot attack, and the result was basically in line with my expectations.

In the vicinity of Nagahama Castle, there are indeed many people who miss the prestige of Asai Nagamasa and choose to join the command of Asai Lanxiang and become a rebel army that is not small.

And this young man is indeed worthy of being behind the gate, before he came back, he had already broken these volunteers into pieces, and lurked in the area of today's Tsuruga, Imajo, and Sakauchi, and I don't know what the number of roads, these people actually have basic armament, which I did not expect.

Complimenting Asai Lanxiang's merits, I promised to give him 2,500 men fully armed, but he had to train this man to become a warrior who could charge at any time, and the time was less than half a month - of course, this was based on the fact that the people he recruited were all from the old department of the Asai family, and had a good foundation, and this conscription was only to bring them back from the fields to the ranks, and all that was needed was familiarity, skill, and unity of thought.

And we agreed that on the fifteenth of February, I would have him lead his troops to the Xingshi Mountain, thirty miles north of Yuwu Lake, to hide and wait for my dispatch at any time—and at the same time, this is also the place where I will provide him with weapons and equipment, and this is a very desolate place on the coast, which is the perfect place for a hidden army to lurk.

Asai Lansho took the order. I sat in the secret base of Sakai Port, and after thinking about it, there were three things that had to be done - first, I had to remind Shibata Katsuya that about Sakuma Morimasa and Maeda Toshiie, of course, would not be so straightforward, but it was definitely not right to hold back like this. If these two are still as pitiful as they were in history, then what's the use of all my previous arrangements?

So, in my letters, I made my own point of view. To the reckless Sakuma Morimasa, I suggest that Shibata Katsuya send him an adjutant, a competent adjutant, who is old and heavy, to prevent him from making another mistake and becoming the one who has been defeated by the entire army.

As for the Maeda Toshika, I didn't say anything more, but I just said that the Maeda clan's messengers had close contacts with the Yushiba clan recently...... Of course, this is my fabrication, but it is definitely not a fabrication, because the facts have proven that the Maeda Toshiya definitely colluded with Hashiba Hideyoshi! By saying this, I am only putting a more viable cloak on the record of the history books!

Second, I sent Kite and Mo on a trip to Shikoku, with two boats, with the sole purpose of bringing the Sagasun City that I had agreed with before, that is, the iron cannon master Shigehide Suzuki and the remnants of his Saga people, to Gyoichi Mountain by February 15th. That's exactly the place I agreed with Asai Lansho, and it will become a gathering place for my strange army, but I don't know how much effect such a strange soldier can have in such a large-scale joint battle......

The third thing, which I didn't tell most people, was that I handed it over to Arashi and that she and Chen Kui, who was lurking south of Naha, to complete it together—this was also the biggest worry in my heart—would this battle against Hashiba Hideyoshi fail? If it fails, will Dongying still be a place for me to stay for a long time?

Although, this battle is nothing more than three endings.

If the coalition led by Shibata wins, then everything is good, and I naturally have plenty of room to maneuver - not that I believe that Shibata Katsuya will deliver on his promise, but that I don't take his management skills seriously at all, and his skills are not worth mentioning to me.

If the two sides draw, which is actually the result I hope for the most, then Dongying will fall into chaos again, at least the beginning of the partition. At that time, the scenario of two sides is almost predictable, and it is the best situation when the attack can be attacked, and the retreat can be defended - but it is not easy to achieve such a situation, because there are too many uncontrollable factors, it can only be said that this is an ideal state.

If Shibata Katsuya loses, even though I have made a bet with Hashiba Hideyoshi that I will "open a teahouse and invite them to come and patronize me often", it is actually an expression of retirement. Even if Hideyoshi Hashiba considers the problem of face and treats me politely, with my personality, it is still uncomfortable to stay here.

So, I handed this matter over to Lan and Chen Kui - Lan took the Galen fleet and cruised around Dongying as my backyard army to fight, and Chen Kui ...... I asked him to take the fleet, and if he has no regrets, he will take the brothers and sisters Su, Sha, Smith and Afra, and go to the Western Ocean before me!

For nothing else, I hope they will go to Britain and catch Smith's unwarranted "royal blood" - even if it is self-reliance, with the precious goods of the East, they will definitely have a foothold in Britain! And they will be a solid nail for my next step in my global journey!

After I finished assigning the task, Zhang Yunxiu and Zhang Youxi, brothers and sisters, came to me, and I suddenly remembered that I had promised them to go to the West to study, so the two brothers and sisters of the Zhang family were added to the team without regrets

The Sakai Port was over, and we returned to Hakata by boat together. Knowing that I have no regrets and want to lead the team to the West, Grandfather Ye and Uncle Ye know that I want to cultivate No Regrets and let him become a general who is in charge of his own affairs, and at the same time, I can't help but worry, but I am also very pleased. However, both said that they would not help him until he had made a career out of his own business, because they feared that he would become dependent.

However, the uncle-in-law was not at ease, so he took Yan Zhu, who turned back three times one step at a time, and stepped on the unrepentant fleet, and slowly left the port with the ship, all the way to the west.

After Grandfather Ye and Uncle Ye finished the New Year, they knew that the big war was coming, so they were ready to leave. It's just that before leaving, I was told again and again that the sword has no eyes, and I was told to be careful myself. Although they know that I am no longer Wuxia Amon, in their eyes, I am still the timid and afraid San'er.

When I saw them off, I felt very sad, although I was not related by blood, but I had cared for each other for a long time, and I was like relatives!

And I have repeatedly told the two elders to take more care, and when the war on my side is over, I will immediately go to Nanyang to find them, and then discuss the question of staying in Nanyang or going to the West.

All gone. Suddenly, I felt a little empty in my heart, but I was a lot more sure that the war was about to start, and if the relatives were still here, if the back road was not paved, it would probably be the real thing to worry about!

During this time, it seems that the smell of tension on the island of Honshu has been smelled, and the number of tanma and messengers of the Otomo family has almost tripled compared to before! They shuttled back and forth between the islands of Honshu and Kyushu, listening to the situation of the great war that might determine the future of the entire Toei - because the torrential rain that held both sides had stopped!

On February 11, Shibata Katsuie ordered his nephew Sakuma Morimasa to send troops to Omi, and the commander Morimasa and other generals led the army from Echizen Kitanosho, opened roads in the mountains, built bridges in the water, and continued to remove snow and advance, and after entering Omi, approached Hideyoshi's fortress on Tenjin Mountain with an extremely powerful attitude, and set fire to the vicinity of Kinomoto! This was a test of Shibata Katsuie's will to fight against Hideyoshi Hashiba, and it was also a demonstration and challenge. It's a pity that I don't know what the reason is, and I didn't get a positive response from the scheming Hashiba Hideyoshi.

As a result, Shibata Katsuya is even more imposing! On February 20, Katsuya led a large army to Yanase in the rain and snow to set up a formation and began to lure Nagahama Castle to surrender. Soon, Hideyoshi, who heard the news, marched north, in an attempt to cut off Shibata Katsuie's retreat!

As a military chief, Shibata Katsuie did not hesitate to retreat to Nakao Mountain, north of Yanase, and set up his headquarters here. At the same time, the construction of fortifications in the surrounding areas such as Mt. Oak Valley, Mt. Ringok, Mt. Nakatani, Mt. Bessho, and Mt. Gyoshi - he was in the valley of Mt. Gyoshi, and San'in was the place where my strange soldiers were ambushed, so far Shibata Katsuie had imagined that he had formed a confrontation with Hideyoshi, believing that he had taken the initiative, but this was not the case.

In terms of combat, Hideyoshi may not be as brave as Shibata Katsuie, but in terms of strategy and tactics, especially in marching maneuvers, Hideyoshi is definitely in Shibata Katsuie's IQ! From mid-to-late February to early March, Hideyoshi Hashiba took advantage of the confrontation between Shibata Katsuie's main force and his own feint troops, and personally led a large army from Mino to Ise quickly! Besiege Peak Castle, capture Kameyama, forcibly occupy the national capital castle, and so far, cut off the connection between Shibata Katsuya and Takigawa Ichiyoshi!

After reporting the news that Katsuya had entered Omi, Hashiba Hideyoshi left the wavering Oda Nobuo to pacify the situation in Ise, but he divided his troops all the way to prevent Oda Nobuo from having two hearts, and he himself led his army north to Omi. At the beginning of March, Hideyoshi's army had firmly occupied the high ground around Mt. Shidake, placed its headquarters in Kinomoto, and built fortifications at Mt. Sami, Mt. Doki, Mt. Shinmei, Mt. Tagami, Mt. Iwasaki, Mt. Oiwa, and Mt. Shidake, and held the passes of each mountain road. In addition, Niwa Nagahide was also invited to send troops to Kaizukou.

By this time, the main forces of Shibata Katsuie and Hashiba Hideyoshi had reached the north of Lake Yuwu and were facing each other!

In terms of situation, Hideyoshi's army was around 54,000, while Shibata Katsuie's army was around 38,000. Considering the difference in combat effectiveness between the two sides, the actual two sides can be called evenly matched!

The big war is on the verge of breaking out!