The unexpected death of Chio Maru, the son of the original relatives of Chozong, indirectly changed the situation in the world.

Hirate Hazuhide had plenty of reasons to put aside the affairs of Kyushu, Hokuriku, and Kanto and focus on the crusade against the Mori family, who instantly felt the pressure several times over.

The soldiers of the four countries marched by water to Hiroshima to build a castle, which was unexpected, but it was not a bad move.

If successful, it would be an eyesore in the core sphere of influence of the Maori family, drastically limiting their ability to generate revenue from maritime trade and forcing them to spend exponentially on security and transportation.

Now it seems that there is no reason to fail.

Yoshikawa and Kobayakawa were delayed in San'in and Sanyo respectively, and they lacked skills, and the immediate living forces of Mori Terumoto were only more than 20,000, while the military strength of the Hiroshima area was as high as 35,000 or more, and if they were outnumbered and had to take the initiative to attack, the confidence of victory was really not high.

And he didn't dare to take risks lightly.

If the war is defeated, it will not be a question of whether or not Hiroshima can be stopped, but whether the mountain castle of Yoshida-gun can be defended!

It's just the difference between waiting for death and looking for death.

In such a sinister situation, of course, the upper echelons of the group will start to save themselves.

I don't know if it was the arrangement of Maori Terumoto, or the private decision of the two rivers, they chose different paths.

Yoshikawa Motoharu ended the encirclement and suppression of the Niko Revival Army of Hakugi Province ahead of schedule, and then left only a small number of troops to garrison Tottori Castle in Inaba Province, and led the main force back to Aki, bringing the strength of Yamashiro in Yoshida County to nearly 40,000, and it seems that he intends to solve Hiroshima first, and does not hesitate to abandon San'in.

Kobayakawa Takakei chose to use the connections of Onomichi merchants to find Konishi Yukicho and forward the proposal for peace to Hirate Honhide. However, the response was: "Unless the Mori family is negotiated, it will be regarded as a delaying tactic." ”

No ambiguity was given a chance to fish in troubled waters.

In this regard, Kobayakawa Takakei had to affirm: "All actions have been authorized by the contemptible lord Right Horse Head. "I was able to continue.

Then Hirate Honhide casually put forward a condition: "If you surrender now, the Maori family will be allowed to keep the five kingdoms of Nagato, Shubo, Yasui, Iwami, and Bingo, but all gold and silver mines and port towns need to be investigated for account settlement, and taxes will be paid annually in the future." ”

And then...... There is no then.

So someone needs to pay for this "no then".

As for who it is, it depends on the outcome of the battle.

First of all, the Mori family gathered 40,000 heavy troops and marched towards Hiroshima in an attempt to retake the beach and sabotage the plan to build the castle. The 35,000 people on the opposite side were mainly soldiers from the four countries, and since the relatives of Changzong and my department were absent due to illness, the ones who were qualified to take command were Nakamura Ichishi and Xiangzong and my department pro-Tai. Or in addition to Kinoshita Hidenaga, the acting official of the northern half of Iyo, and Sanuki's Daimyo Tokawa Depository, they have roughly the same qualifications.

Judging from the candidates, it seems to be slightly inferior. However, the so-called employment of people is not suspicious and suspicious, and since the situation has reached this point, of course, it cannot be changed on the spot. Besides, there is no better candidate.

The draw stated that the battle was handed over to the Nakamura Ichishi of the "Jindai" command, and that Xiangzong and my department were pro-Tai, Kinoshita Hidenaga, and Shihe Depository were his second lieutenants.

Then he sent people to emphasize that, first, it is necessary to build a good position in advance and give full play to the effect of waiting for work at leisure, and second, it is necessary to make use of the advantage of sea control to advance and retreat in coordination with the ships on the water. In short, it is prudent to keep the way out, and do not leave the beach and go inland easily, no matter what temptation, so as not to fall into the trap of the enemy.

As for guarding against night raids, maintaining discipline, and so on, there is no need to mention it. Nakamura Kazushi may have average ability in other aspects, but these details are countless times more serious and responsible than ordinary people. Since the current strength is not at a disadvantage, and the overall situation has a certain advantage, the biggest advantage of making him the acting commander is that even if he loses, most of them will only be a small defeat, and they will not collapse and defeat miserably.

The Hiroshima line, for the Mori family, is life and death, but for the Tie family, it is only secondary, and it is the nature of containment.

It is better to win the battle, and a draw or even a small loss can be accepted happily.

On the other front, after Yoshikawa Motoharu abandoned San'in, the pressure on the Niko Revival Army and the Hakuki Nanjo clan suddenly lightened, and they immediately returned to unite with the direct army of the Hirate family to besiege Tottori Castle. The garrison of the castle was about five or six thousand, led by Yoshikawa Nobuye, the general of the Mori family.

In fact, the offensive and defensive battles of Tottori Castle have been going on for some time.

After the tie was pacified, he deliberately connived at and drove the remnants of the enemy's defeated generals to flee westward in advance, and then waved his army to follow.

Of course, these people wanted to be taken in by the Maori family so that they could make a comeback and revive the family.

It is said that since they still have the residual strength, they should not worry about not being able to find a new master when they take the initiative to come to the door, just like Kitashinano Murakami and Takanashi defected to Echigo Uesugi. Unexpectedly, the Tottori castle guard Yoshikawa Nobuya was very sober-minded, and he judged that the combat strength of these rabble was very limited, and they would only waste precious grain and grass in vain, and their loyalty was also doubtful, and they did not know whether they were mixed in, so they locked the gate and did not allow them to enter, and those who insisted on standing outside the city and did not leave were greeted with bows and arrows.

The remnants of the defeated army were cornered and had to scatter.

Seeing this, he could only sigh that the enemy general was shrewd and not deceived, and then continued to use the orthodox, mediocre and boring siege method to do the same.

But when the Nizi Revival Army withdrew, the situation was different.

Their Nizi family was known as the "Yin and Yang Eleven Kingdoms Taishou", even though it was only a blow and did not achieve real centralized rule, but the old influence still existed deeply in the hearts of the people of Kansai.

Knowing that the Yoshikawa Nobuyo family of Tottori Castle refused to defeat the army and enter the castle, causing the Mori family to fall, Yamanaka Yukimori was very excited.

He immediately raised the banner of the Nizi family, and together with Tachihara Hisatsuna, Shenxi Mototsu, and Kamei Ziju, he took the initiative to encircle those who were not accepted, and in just ten days, he attracted a large number of followers who had fled to the end of their rope.

At the same time, he applied to Hirate Hoshu to allow these people to survive in the new identity of the retainer of the Nizi family, or the old identity.

I didn't understand much about this for a while.

He thinks that these people are very lacking in ability and discipline, and it is a very cost-effective choice, and the Nizi family has just had signs of revival, how can they divide the limited land at will?

Yamanaka Yukimori replied confidently, "Lord Da Nayan, dare to ask, what is the composition of the 6,000 guards in Tottori Castle?" ”

Of course, Hirate Haruhide already knew: "I heard that there are about 1,000 soldiers from the Maori family, and the rest are recruited by the wealthy families of nearby countries, led by Nakamura Harusu and Morishita Yoshito. ”

"In that case...... Yamanaka Yukimori said with a smile, "You know, almost every one of the newly recruited people in our Niko family can be compared to the defenders of Tottori Castle. You may think that we Kansai people are very stubborn and unsentimental, but in fact, we attach great importance to blood ties, even in war. ”

Hearing this, Fan Xiu suddenly realized: "I see! With these connections, there is hope that the morale of the city's defenders will be broken. However, most of the people in Kansai now regard me as an invader from, a great thief, and the Hirate clan cannot use this trick. But your family is different. ”

"Aha...... Lord Da Nayan ......, "The mountain was fortunate just now, but he didn't know how to respond to the self-blackness of the tie and the show, so he had to wipe his sweat and say embarrassedly: "Your old man is really humorous and witty......

At this time, Hite-suso changed his color again, and said, "If you can capture Tottori Castle according to your plan, I guarantee that the Izumo Ichigoku will be returned to the Niko family in its entirety." ”

Hearing this, the eyes of the mountain Yusheng suddenly glowed with flame-like light, and he leaned over and bowed down: "Since this is the case, I will thank Lord Nayan in advance for his kindness!" ”