On December 4, the news of the reinforcement of Maple Leaf Mountain Castle by the Oda family's remaining troops in Kyoto reached the ears of Yoshiken Miyoshi, who was commanding Takaya Castle.

"The rain and autumn red leaves solve the problem of grain and grass?" When he heard the news, he asked his subordinates very unexpectedly, "Originally, he was going to run out of food in the past few days, but he still had food and grass to supply friendly troops?" ”

"Your Highness, I don't know if I'm here." The ninja leader under Yoshiken Miyoshi whispered in a very incomprehensible voice, "The area around Iimoriyama Castle is heavily guarded, and we can't sneak in to find out. ”

"Could it be that the merchants of Sakai and Ishiyama have started supplying them again?" After pondering for a moment, Miyoshi Masayasu put forward a hypothesis, "Do you need to send someone to beat those mercenary businessmen again?" ”

"Sakai is impossible." Miyoshi Yoshiken shook his head when he heard this, and whispered very firmly: "It's possible that the merchants of Ishiyama Town are likely. However, Ishiyama rarely traded with other daimyos, and the size of the grain trade in Ishiyama was much smaller than that of Sakai Town, so even if Ishiyama was trading with Iimoriyama Castle, it would not be able to support the rations of so many people. The rainy autumn and red leaves must have gotten food from other sources. ”

"Why does Shikyu think that Sakai is absolutely impossible?" Miyoshi Changyi frowned and thought for a moment, but there was no reason, so he asked.

"Because I'm a businessman, I know what they're thinking." Miyoshi Yixian snorted contemptuously, "Those businessmen are mercenary, and the account books in their hearts can be calculated clearly. There is almost no doubt that it should support the Miyoshi family or the Yuqiu family. Supporting the Miyoshi family, they don't need to pay any price, they only need to stop supplying to Hansheng Mountain City, and they can ensure that the Yuqiu family will collapse without a fight, and the Miyoshi family will undoubtedly win. And when the Miyoshi family occupies Iimoriyama Castle, they also have to trade with them, and they will not lose. And if they support the Yuqiu family, they not only have to pay out of their own pockets to supply grain, grass and other materials to Yuqiu Hongye to ensure that they continue to eat. Even so, it's hard to say whether the Yuqiu family can win or not, the risk is huge. And afterwards, what benefits can the Yuqiu family give them more than us? At most, you should pay more when you buy goods from them. ”

"The benefits that the Yuqiu family can give them, our three good families can give them the same. And our Sanhao family has a lot of winning chances than Yuqiu's family, and we don't need to take risks and pay the price for supporting us. How could those shrewd businessmen not have a choice? ”

Miyoshi Yoshiken's words persuaded the three Miyoshi people present, and Iwanari Yutong also joked with a smile: "Unless Yuqiu Momiji promises the merchants of Sakai Town, saying that after the matter is completed, half of Hanoi will be assigned to them, otherwise I don't believe that the merchants of Sakai Town will help them." ”

"Uncle, what are we going to do after that?" Miyoshi Yixing bowed his hand very respectfully and asked Miyoshi Yixian.

"Delay a little longer, don't worry about the virtuous nephew." Miyoshi Yixian picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea slowly, looking really not in a hurry at all, "Anyway, before next year's autumn harvest, there will be no new food and grass supplies for the rain and autumn red leaves, what are we anxious about?" ”

·

However, on 6 December, new information reached Hanoi. Kawachi Guardian Hatakeyama Takamasa led the Nerai people and many Kii people from Kii Province to the north and headed for Kishiwada Castle in Izumi Province. At the same time, Hatakeyama Takamasa also asked all the wealthy families in Hanoi to respond to his call to support the Yu Thu family and drive the Miyoshi family out of Hanoi.

After receiving this news, the wealthy families of North Hebei, who were originally at loggerheads with Yu Qiuping, offered hostages and land deeds one after another, and expressed their willingness to join Yu Qiuping's army. Yu Qiuping immediately issued them a document to block the land to ensure the safety of their territory. The total number of troops willing to fight alongside Yu Qiuping in North Hanoi was nearly 2,000 people, so that the number of the Oda family's army reached about 11,000.

The wealthy clans of South Hanoi broke away from the troops of the Miyoshi family one after another and returned to their respective territories. Although they did not launch an uprising to attack the Miyoshi Army, they would definitely not cooperate with the Miyoshi family again. In this way, the number of the Miyoshi Army is only 12,000 people.

And because Kishiwada Castle was threatened, Miyoshi Yoshiken had to arrange for Miyoshi Yoshiko to lead 3,000 people to Kishiwada Castle to garrison. And now in his hands, there are only 9,000 people left in his hands, and the number is even smaller than the troops of the Oda family, and the situation has been reversed in this dissipation.

"Why is that old thing going to help Yuqiu and autumn leaves?" Seeing that the situation was reversed, Miyoshi Changyi angrily hammered a few times on the table, "We gave him such generous treatment before, and that old thing is going to rebel." Could it be that the rainy autumn red leaves can really give him Hanoi and be his guardian? Will Oda Nobunaga say yes? I'm afraid this Hatakeyama Takamasa didn't wake up! ”

"They are just using each other, and the autumn leaves can't come up with any bargaining chips that can attract Hatakeyama Takamasa." Yoshiken Miyoshi was a little overwhelmed by the situation in front of him. First of all, Yu Qiuping didn't know where to get enough food for him to consume, and it was Hatakeyama Takamasa who suddenly announced his support for Yu Qiu's family. "It was my miscalculation, and the change in the plan to recapture Iimoriyama Castle this time was all my mistake."

"I'm going to ask my brother for reinforcements, and the attack on Tosa may have to be delayed." Miyoshi Yoshiken let out a long sigh, "Let's wait until some of my Awa people arrive, and then make plans." ”

·

The Miyoshi family wants to drag it out, but Yu Qiuping wants to win the Miyoshi family quickly. Although the grain and grass are not worried now, the consumption of grain from Sakai Town and Ishiyama Town all the way is really not small. If the battle can be completed as soon as possible, the auxiliary units can be disbanded and some food can be saved.

However, Tokiwa's armament has not yet been completed. Lan Xiang told Yu Qiuping that even if the Military Industry Department has expanded its manpower and gone all out, production will not be completed until the end of the month at the earliest. And the training of recruits can come to an end at about that time. In the past, the recruits were only put into the battlefield after three months of training, but this time it may only be less than two months, and the pressure is very high.

The good news is that the weather has warmed up a little in the past few days, which has allowed the people to improve the progress of building defenses, and it seems that it is not impossible to finish the house before the coldest weather. Yu Qiuping has purchased a lot of charcoal in advance, and plans to distribute it to every household for heating at that time.

The two armies facing each other in the north and south of Hanoi now, for their own reasons, have not been able to easily break the deadlock. The scorching situation lasted until December 28, the day when the production of the Tokiwa armament was finally completed. On the same day, 3,000 Awa people of Miyoshi Yoshiken arrived at Takaya Castle. In order to maintain the integrity of the battle line on Shikoku Island, the Awa people could not be transferred all at once, but had to leave in batches. The remaining 5,000 people are now gathering in Shengrui City, waiting for the fleet of Anzhai Dongkang to transport them.

·

December 28, in the city of Wakae.

"Reinforcements from the Miyoshi family arrived yesterday, and due to their ninja defenses, we can't get close enough to reconnoitre. However, based on the time of passage, the total number of people is estimated to be around 4,000. "Sanada Masayuki is recounting the information about the return of the ninja reconnaissance to Yu Qiuping at this moment, "The total number of the Miyoshi Army in Shiki County in the south is estimated to be around 13,000 people. ”

"It's still more than my soldiers." After hearing Sanada Masayuki's report, Akechi Mitsuhide sighed a little helplessly and said: "In the end, the Miyoshi family is the family that has dominated for more than ten years, even if it is only a few months after the accident, it can still gather so many people in a corner. ”

"But we can't drag it anymore, we have to fight." Yu Qiuping smacked his lips, glanced at the map, and then looked at the position of the Miyoshi Army to the south. "We won't have any reinforcements, but the Miyoshi family will send more reinforcements from the four countries, which will not be good for us. In addition, the pressure on our food and grass supply is also greater. ”

"Half-guard, let the staff make a plan for sending troops." After Yu Qiuping made up his mind, he said to Shigeharu Takenaka, "Chang Panbei has completed the change of clothes, and tomorrow we will go south from Ruojiang City with the whole army." ”

·

In the early morning of 29 December, all units of the Oda Army received a white paper on the battle plan issued by the General Staff of the Yuqiu Family. The Yuqiu family's own subordinates were used to it, but Kinoshita Hideyoshi, Akechi Mitsuhide, and the other small tycoons were as surprised as Ikeda Tsuneko and Mori Kesei were when they first met the General Staff, and were amazed at the perfection of the plan and the efficiency of the General Staff.

At five o'clock, after breakfast for the 11,000 army, they slowly moved south from Ruojiang City. Since the army of the Miyoshi family was 15 miles away, everyone did not dare to be careless. Not long after leaving the city, the morning fog gradually dissipated, and the camp of the Miyoshi family was already faintly visible. The Miyoshi family also noticed the movements of the Oda family, and they also began to slowly come out.

The place where the two armies faced each other was a plain about three and a half miles wide, and the width of the battlefield was very narrow. The reason why the width is so narrow is that the shape of Hanoi itself is like an hourglass, which is tightened at the waist in the middle. And the place where the two armies met was the plain where this waist was located. The narrow plain between the Neya River, which flows from south to north, and the Kongo Mountain Range on the east side, will be the battlefield for the two armies.

Thirteen miles to the south of this plain is the bifurcation of the Neya River and the Yamato River. The Yamato River flows from east to west across Hanoi, dividing Hanoi into north and south. Less than 7 miles south of the Yamato River is the main castle of Kawachi Province. The Yamato River also branched off as a tributary of the Neya River, which first headed north, then turned west southwest of Maple Leaf Mountain Castle and flowed into the Seto Inland Sea.

At eight o'clock, the two armies faced each other in the plain of Shiki County. Both sides lined up in armor, with the soldiers moving forward and the auxiliaries hiding behind the soldiers. The 3,600 soldiers of the Oda family and the 4,000 soldiers of the Miyoshi family are about to engage in a dignified battle on this narrow plain.