Throughout July, while Hirate was busy with foreign affairs, the war on Shikoku Island was at a stalemate.

The Miyoshi army led by Shinohara Nagabo besieged the Okatoyoshi Castle of Chomune's head relatives for a month, but it could not be conquered, and it was just in vain for a long time; The advance team led by Kawada Naga was limited in strength and did not dare to go directly to relieve the siege, but only continued to harass the territory of Awa, trying to force the Miyoshi Army to return to defense, but with little success; The proxy war of Iyo Province still failed to determine the final victory, and Kono and Saionji under Mori had the upper hand, but Utsunomiya and Ichijo under Otomo always survived and could win small battles from time to time; Sanyo's Kobayakawa Takakei and Urakami Munekei were more keen on plotting against the opposition than in the war, and their tentacles also extended to the area of Nishisanuki and Kita-Iyo.

Now, in the entire Kansai region, the framework of "Oda-Mori-Asai" uniting against "Otomo-Miyoshi-Urakami" is still largely in place, so the wave of 12,000 troops crossed the sea into Shikoku to break the balance.

Before leaving, I received the expected help.

Honganji Temple, which is located in Ishiyama, thought that the support of the heterogeneous people was too low to boast of the generosity of the Tsugan sect in front of the prospective in-laws, so with a wave of his hand, he called on the believers in Settsu, Harima, Izumi, and the coastal areas of Awaji, Awa, and Sanuki to help in the conquest of Shikoku.

In the next few days, the company received a lot of donations of military rations, armaments, and equipment, and more than 200 medium-sized merchant ships took the initiative to provide transportation services free of charge. There are also people on the island of Shikoku who have expressed their ability to take charge of reception and lead the way.

A rough calculation, it is obvious that under this order, at least one or two thousand additional expenses have been saved for the Tie family.

This in-laws are really amazing......

At the same time, Oda Nagayi raised more than 2,000 people along the coast, and together with the 2,400 soldiers brought out by Uewari, he claimed that if the family could afford the grain, he would also go to Shikoku to participate in the battle, and his prestige would be strong.

The move is eye-catching.

The territory that Ashikaga Yoshiaki promised to Oda Nagayi was Sumiyoshi and Tosei Counties in the southeastern corner of Settsu Province, adjacent to Ishiyama, and was about 57,000 koku, with a maximum of 3,000 or 4,000 people. However, when he first arrived, he didn't have much foundation, and he was able to pull out more than 2,000 people, which was already very capable.

Tie Tetsu asks him how he dealt with the local tyrants.

As a result, Oda Nagayi laughed: "I am Oda Danzheng's own brother, and I am the brother-in-law of the Tie Criminal Department, who doesn't give a little face?" Settsu is not a messy place, and the authority of public ceremonies has long been in the hearts of the people. ”

At this moment, news came that the acting official Beehouse Yorlong sent by Nobunaga to Iga was unable to support himself in the turmoil, and he was unable to defeat the local people, so he was driven out and returned to in embarrassment. Fortunately, with the help of his neighbor Yamato Tsutsui Shunkei, he was spared.

Combined with the Sanuki Shokatsu who died not long ago, Suga Masakatsu, he suddenly fell to the bottom when he thought he was on the road to the throne, and his fate is worth sighing. Once there is a problem in the center, and if you are a little careless, you will lose your division and lose your ground, and you will be defeated and killed.

However, when Ashikaga Yoshiaki took out the two southeastern prefectures of Settsu and Kitayama Castle Uji as bait, Oda Nagayi and Tsuda Nobusumi did not hesitate to bite the bait, and the young Oda Nobutada was completely unable to stop it. Are these two members of the clan really confident that they will avoid the footsteps of Bee Suka and the Bee House?

Or are you willing to gamble for the potential gains, knowing that the risks are extremely high?

This is the norm for warriors in troubled times...... If everyone is cautious and resourceful, how can there be so many legends to hear? And before the final victory or defeat is decided, who can accurately determine the difference between bravery and arrogance?

The shogunate's Ise Sadako and Akechi Mitsuhide also intended to go on expeditions with the army and establish more achievements in order to consolidate their voice in the imperial palace. But this was stopped by the Shogun.

The "Ghost Warrior" Wise Zuo Masuke was too impressive, and Ashikaga Yoshiaki had a headache when he thought about it, and he really didn't want to see the disobedient retainers in the limelight again, so he comforted: "With the three nobles as the deacon of the political office, the day is full of opportunities, and the ten guards are also shogunate generals, and Luozhong Zhushi." They are all my right and left hands that I can't leave for a moment, how can I let the two of them go to the South China Sea? ”

Yosan, i.e. Ise and Saburo Sadako, Ten Guards, i.e., Wise Ten Guards Mitsuhide.

The princess Chrysostom insisted that the former was "the deacon of the government office with great opportunities", and the latter was "the shogunate and the Luozhong pillar", which meant that he would not dare to continue to wear small shoes in the short term.

Although it was a little different from expectations, just looking at the results, the two of them got what they wanted, and they really won back their position through the battle before the battle.

Anyway, wasn't the shogun quite able to endure Nobunaga's oppression back then? Why is it so rigid and harsh now after raising his eyebrows? Wouldn't it be possible to put aside prejudices and reuse the words of Ise, Akechi, Hosokawa, and other capable ministers, greatly increasing the possibility of revival of the Ashikaga family?

— although it's just a "big increase" from one percent to five percent......

With this subtle emotion, the troops under the command of Hirade Honhide crossed the sea in batches, and I landed on the land of Sanuki Province on the afternoon of the fourth day of the eighth month, along with the last group of soldiers.

Before he could deal with military affairs, the first thing he did was to meet Kagawa, who had been hiding in the mountains for more than a month and had never surrendered to the enemy. This person is the only Sanuki wealthy clan who supports the center and resolutely fights against the "traitors", and his political significance is very great, and he must be drawn out to set an example.

As for the real situation - this person has long had the intention of being a wall grass, but because he deeply offended Shinohara Nagafang and was included in the list of "murder and extermination", he had no choice but to stay - this point is not important.

Now the scenery of Kagawa is extremely bleak, the city is destroyed, the homeland is ruined, the relatives are punished, and finally adopted an adopted son with the blood of the high-level of the shogunate, and he also died of illness in the chaos, and the close retainers either surrendered or died in battle, and there were only a few dead henchmen left around, and the food and water were about to be cut off.

When he arrived at this field, he really made up his mind, and he and Shinohara Nagafang never died, and he was full of resentment and anger towards all the members of the Miyoshi family.

Seeing the "Great Savior" Tie Punishment Department, Kagawa Zhijing immediately prostrate on the ground, wailing and crying, unable to say complete words, and his deeds did not seem to be fake.

Hijo reassures him and promises to try to ensure the continuation of Kagawa's Miao characters. Then he was filled with righteous indignation, and said angrily: "The Apo army is really mad, the sins are monstrous, and the heinous ones are unforgivable. ”

This was said in a manner that seemed to be furious, and the morale of the retainers was greatly boosted—or pretended to be greatly boosted—but in fact it was deliberate. He only said that he would kill the "culprit" of the "Awa Army", but he did not mention who this "culprit" was, which was very particular.

On the same day, when he had just withdrawn from affairs and listened to the information of Shikoku, Hirate Honohide immediately discovered a major suspicion: "When I married Oda Danmasa's adopted daughter to Miyoshi Nagaji two years ago, didn't I say that he would be in power?" Why is it still the army of Shinohara Nagabo? ”

At that time, the messenger sent by the head of the Nagamune and my department to deliver the letter was named Nakajima Kannosuke, a handsome and articulate young man, and he explained: "Report to the Punishment Department, Shinohara, Nagabo, this person's wolf ambition, although nominally no longer in power, but before that, he replaced all the generals of Katsurui Castle with his own henchmen, and he is still in actual authority. ”

Tie Fan Xiu didn't say whether he could laugh it off.

Privately, Honda Masanobu referred to the Shinogara-Nagabo's "New Rules" and praised it, saying, "This is a good law, which clearly records the rights and responsibilities of the officials, and prevents the daimyo from acting arbitrarily and arbitrarily through the evaluation of the public, and will surely unite the people of insight." With the merits of this legislation, there is probably no hope for Miyoshi Changzhi to get rid of the shadows. Unless ......"

For him, this is a rare rise from "deception" to the height of "Dao Sheng".

It just so happened that Honganji Temple sent a letter saying: "Shinohara-kyo has a lot of connections with the temple, and if the responsibility is not deep, I ask for forgiveness as appropriate."

When Hirata saw this, he immediately recruited relevant personnel, and after careful inquiry, he learned that after being widowed, Shinohara's long house married a distant cousin of Xianru as a steproom, which can be regarded as a distant relative of Wufu.

Shigehide Suzuki, a representative of the heterogeneity, claimed: "Without the help of believers, this guy Shinohara Nagabo may not be able to achieve the level of a Miyoshi family leader, but after he came to power, he completely ignored the old friendship, and the contemptible people did not have a good impression of him at all." But the young second and third sons of the Shinohara family all have the blood of the Lotus Master, so it's another matter......"

Based on all of the above information, Hirate Honhide played the banner of "only punishing the evil, and never asking questions", and used merchants and monks as intermediaries to persuade the local tyrants and landlords on the island of Shikoku to surrender.

As for the question of who is the "culprit", let them guess.

With the current situation of the Miyoshi family's monarch and ministers reversing the throne and Tai'a holding the throne, if the strategy is implemented smoothly, it probably only takes a grand enough victory to dominate the two countries of Awa and Sanuki.

Provided, of course, victory.

On the seventh day of the eighth month, Hirate Hoshu formed his team in Sanuki and headed for Awa. On the way, he met 4,000 people led by Kawada Nagakin. Kawada reported that Katsurui Castle was very strong, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and even if it put on a siege posture, it might not be able to attract the enemy's attention, so he simply changed his goal, and since the landing on the 20th day, he has burned six castles along the way, eliminated more than 200 enemy soldiers, and captured the families of five wealthy families, but Shinohara Nagabo has been firmly besieging Okatoyo Castle of Chomune's family, and there is no sign of rescue.

This detachment was able to complete the goal of rescuing Kagawa's scenery, and did not make any superfluous contributions.

Tie Fan Xiu comforted him, and the generals were put together, and the size of the army reached 18,000, pointing directly at Shengrui City.

On the same day, Shinohara Nagabo launched a final attack on Okatoyo Castle, but it was still unsuccessful, and regrettably gave up the siege, and the squad returned to the court, preparing to face off against the Hisho army.

The head of Chozong's department, who had managed to save a breath of relief from the loss of his troops, was already exhausted, but after only a short rest, he entrusted the city affairs to his younger brother Kira Kinsada and personally selected 1,500 men who were still able to fight, and planned to rush to the front line to support.

The big war seems to be on the verge of breaking out.