Hokuriku is the beginning of the ice and snow melting, but Tokaido is already warmed by the spring river.

After riding a horse fully armed for an hour or two, I couldn't help but feel a little hot and sweaty in my back armpits, and I didn't need to worry about heating up at all, but thought about the problem of cooling off in advance.

After entering the Enjiang River, Takeda Katsuyori, who was accustomed to the refreshing climate of the Kai Mountains, did not stay in the siege of the large army, but was stationed alone on the banks of the Tenryu River, which made it easier to get water for cleaning, and the temperature was much cooler.

It makes people feel that their efficiency in handling military and political affairs can be improved.

The battle was quite smooth, but Takeda Katsuyori's mood was not very good, and he often reprimanded his subordinates for no reason, which made the atmosphere of the entire camp seem more depressing.

After taking Taka Tenjin Castle, the most stubborn fortress in the eastern part of the Tokugawa family, with a surprise attack strategy last year, and making a forced landing on Ogasawara Nagatada, this spring successfully conquered Futamata Castle, and now almost all of the entire Togae country, except for Hamamatsu Castle, which is still holding on, has fallen.

At the same time, Akiyama Nobutomo of Higashimino also thwarted the Oda family's counteroffensive plan under the instigation of Yamaguchi Masaka, and firmly occupied the two counties of Ena and Toki.

Such an offensive can be said to be not inferior to Xinxuan's achievements back then, and in some respects it is even surpassed.

However, neither the enemy nor the enemy, nor the third-party neutrals, did not think so, and did not feel that it had as much impact as last time.

Although Tokugawa Ieyasu only had a small piece of territory along the Hamamatsu coast to hold onto, he had no intention of becoming a vassal.

The officers and men of the Takeda Army did not feel that there was any possibility of forcing the other side to surrender.

The biggest difference in the situation is that the power structure in Kyoto has changed.

When Takeda Shingen went west, was still a scattered sand, Oda and Tokugawa did not have enough strong support behind them, and even Matsunaga and Asakura were once adjusted and changed their positions.

And now, the Lieutenant General of the Prime Minister of the Tie is almost recognized as a "sample", no one dares to disobey, and he can fully mobilize huge resources to put into battle.

Secondly, due to the decline in Kanayama's production, the attitude of the Hojo family has changed, and the size of the troops that the Takeda family can put into the front is much smaller than last time.

Another aspect is the difference in the reputation and prestige of Katsuyori and Shingen.

Military victories could not be translated into political gains, let alone deterring foreign enemies, and even subduing important internal ministers was not fully achieved.

Takeda Katsuyori was very anxious about this, and sent letters to Uesugi and Hojo many times in a row, calling on everyone to put aside their prejudices and work together to avoid being broken by a tie and causing a cold regret.

Unfortunately, there was little success and no positive feedback.

Masatoyo Naito, Nobubo Baba, Shoji Tsuchiya and other important ministers suggested that no matter what the two pit teammates did, they must go straight and advance alone, and only by shaking the ideological foundation of the Heite family's rule over could the prestige of the Takeda family be revived.

If you entangle with Tokugawa in Enoe for too long, you will obviously not be able to achieve this goal.

Therefore, the complete plan was to leave only a few people to monitor Hamamatsu Castle, and the main force to attack Mikawa and Owari, so that within two months, an offensive could be formed against Minami-Omi.

Even if you can't create a real threat, at least send a few hundred soldiers to set it on fire, like making a sign of "visiting here".

Now that the world knows that the main force of the draw went to Hokuriku to defeat Uesugi, it is undoubtedly a great opportunity for Takeda to prove his strength.

However, Nobutoshi Takeda, Masanobu Takasaka, Morinobu Nishina and others opposed this overly risky strategy.

The reason is "steady and steady, Xu Tu westward, even if the final success is successful, but not as expected, still do not lose the plan to advance and retreat." If you make a desperate bet, the elite soldiers will be lost in Owari and Mikawa, and I am afraid that there will be a danger of destruction soon. ”

There is merit in both views.

Naito Masato, Baba Nobubo, and Tsuchiya Masaji They are more out of emotional considerations - now it may be the last chance in this life, no matter how much they try to try, even if it is a total annihilation, it can be said that they will die well, strong and good, and seeing the ancestor under the nine springs, it can be regarded as an explanation.

In addition, it may have something to do with the fact that they all have direct relatives who died at the hands of the Tie Army.

Takeda Nobutoshi, Takasaka Masanobu, and Nishina Morinobu are obviously more rational and pragmatic - anyone with a discerning eye can see that the success rate of fighting for the position of "people in the world" is not large, and what should be considered at this time is that if you can't be a person in the world, how to preserve the vitality of the Takeda family as much as possible is fundamental.

Among them, the most conservative and pessimistic Nobuyoshi Anayama even said in private: "Even if you have a chance to attack Hamamatsu Castle, you must treat Tokugawa Mikawa (Ieyasu) well, and never hurt it, otherwise it will not be good for the Tie family to be held accountable in the future." ”

Katsuyori Takeda himself is caught in a contradiction between emotion and reason, and it is difficult to make up his mind.

So the army delayed for ten days at Yuanjiang, but did not storm Hamamatsu Castle or march westward.

Until a message was received from the sea.

The Suruga Pirate Commander reported to Masakatsu Mukai very clearly: "The Hirate Navy has eight Nanban gunboats, more than 100 Ataku ships, and countless small boats, and is about to land on the west beach of the lake. There is a huge disparity between the enemy and us, and the only way to avoid the battle and protect the ship is not to confront it head-on. ”

Obviously, this is the source of Tokugawa Ieyasu's confidence that he was besieged in Hamamatsu Castle, but it was completely true.

As long as there is no sea route, there is no food or water. Constantly running out of food and water, with the current strength and equipment of the Takeda family, it is difficult to take the city.

As for the navy, the Suruga navy, which was just rebuilt from the wreckage of the Imagawa family, is really not powerful.

Two days earlier, the ninjas operating in had already received information that Hirate seemed to have news that reinforcements were being transported along the coastal route to Enoe.

The combination of the two, Takeda Katsuyori had to pay attention to it.

Rumor has it that Hirate has sent 4,000 people from Shikoku to help, but if it's that scale, it's not much to worry about. But Takeda's decision-makers judged that this information was likely to be false.

First of all, it is quite illogical to pull the troops of Owari and Ise to fight in Hokuriku, and then go all the way to let the troops of Shikoku come to Enoe, which in itself is quite illogical, and the only possibility is to hide the military situation as much as possible.

Obviously, the farther away from Kai, the lower the mobility of the Takeda ninja. Especially after the exposure of Ataka Kiyoyasu, the investigation in the area of Nankai Road has become more and more rigorous, and there is no chance to take advantage of it.

Secondly, there are more than 100 housing boats, transporting 4,000 people, and this proportion is also doubtful. It is said that it is no problem to squeeze it and pretend to be three or four times or even five times.

In addition, Takeda Katsuyori also received some vague clues.

For example, these units have not joined up with any other units, and have been operating alone in Izumi, with the perimeter being closely protected, and the Metropolitan Police Department is responsible for sending supplies.

For example, the soldiers boarded the ship in the dead of night, and no one can say exactly how many people were on the pier at that time.

Moreover, the caravans encountered on the way seemed to be guarded and warned, and were detained for several days without being allowed to go ashore, except for a few people who sneaked up.

All this, judging comprehensively, the truth is simply revealed-

The tie must have quietly gathered heavy troops, attacked the Northern Continent openly, and secretly took the East China Sea!

Two years ago, Takeda Katsuyori had already suffered a loss, and realized that the clever means of the tie were false and real, and at this moment he could break the conspiracy, and he was quite nervous, and almost immediately ordered to return to the division.

It was only out of respect for the generations of the Kai Spectrum - or fear - that he did not immediately give orders, but invited all the important ministers to discuss together.

The generals gathered, and without greetings, Takeda Katsuyori immediately threw out his opinion: "The reinforcements have arrived along the waterway, and they are said to be only four or five thousand people, but I think there are actually 10,000, or even 15,000 is possible, what should we do?" ”

Although he asked "how is it good", the meaning of the words was obviously conservative.

After listening to the rough explanation, many people showed serious expressions.

Takasaka Masanobu immediately frowned and spoke: "This battle has already won the important town of Futsumata Castle, even if it is stopped immediately, it can be regarded as a small victory, it is better to accept it when it is good." The flat family has strong capital, even if you lose one or two bets, it will not hurt your muscles and bones, but our Kai foundation is not much. ”

Nobuyoshi Anayama further expanded the topic: "Actually, if I am fighting now, I will help the Uesugi family share the pressure, but my family's income is limited, and at the same time, I will not get the support of the Hojo family...... It's better to think thoroughly about whether you want to make a change! ”

When the words landed, Tsuchiya Shoji suddenly changed color, and said sharply: "Do you mean to bow down to the Hirate clan?" ”

Anayama Nobuyan chuckled nonchalantly and replied, "Don't be impatient for a while, the contemptible person just said that you are too sensitive to consider whether there is a change." ”

Naito Masatoyo let out a long sigh, the furrow on his face was deeply revealed, and he said tiredly: "What the Cave Mountain Hall said is not unreasonable. The current diplomatic situation must improve. Imagine if the Hojo family could support 5,000 troops and 10,000 koku of food, even if 15,000 people were sent in peace, we wouldn't have to worry too much. ”

Many people nodded their heads.

Tsuchiya Shoji originally thought about his brother's death and couldn't let go, but Naito Masato, who lost his own son, behaved so generously, what could he say?

Machang Xinfang thought about it for a long time, and slowly spoke at this moment: "Don't panic, gentlemen, it's not too late to verify the truth of the matter first." I always feel that there are some problems with the basis of the judgment just now......"

His words were about to be spoken, when suddenly Nagasaka Mitsuken hurried over, and before he could give a salute, he ran to the side of Takeda Katsuyori, and said anxiously: "There are three new news. The first is that it was discovered that thousands of troops were arriving from Ise-Owari and were expected to arrive in three to five days. The second is that two days ago, our ninjas saw that the Hirate army set off from Omi to Echizen, but the general Hirate Hideyi was not in the sequence, and the general Yamauchi Kazutoyo and others were absent, and the movement was unknown. Thirdly, the enemy's fleet did not land on Konishi Beach, nor did it go to Hamamatsu Castle to meet the Tokugawa army, but sailed straight east, and it seemed that it was going to cut off the rear route of our army! ”

He still felt a little hesitant, but after thinking for a while, he shook his head and didn't speak.

In the center of the crowd, Takeda Katsuyori's face changed sharply several times, and even a trace of fleeting fear flashed, and the fighting spirit on his body dissipated greatly.