Originally, the winter of the eighth year of Motogui (1575) was not cold to the extent that the ice wind was cold to the bone, especially in the Junyuan San area near the sea. As long as the supply of cotton clothing and firewood is guaranteed, there will not be too many non-combat attrition.

However, at the end of December, it was still snowing heavily in Tokaido.

The temperature felt was not very low, but the snow under your feet was real.

This caused a lot of difficulties for the march and transportation.

The wheels of the vehicles pulled by the animals will be buried deep in the snow and blocked. The health of cattle and horses will also be tested, and there are also hidden dangers of waterproofing.

Manpower is even more unreliable, whether it is strength or patience of the mere ape is not worth mentioning, used in such harsh conditions to transport, for every hundred catties of grain transported, logistics personnel may have to eat seventy catties.

It was really embarrassing that the large sums of grain and firewood that had been unloaded from the ship and piled up along the banks of the three rivers could not be passed down.

In fact, it is not impossible to forcibly transport, at best, the consumption of manpower and material resources has increased by five times or ten times. It's just that, after all, the purpose of this battle against Takeda Katsuyori has been achieved, and the last remaining stronghold, Nimata Castle, may be important to the Tokugawa family, but for the overall situation, it may not be worth the sacrifice.

In any case, the Hirate Tsunohide slowed down the pace and let the soldiers move slowly along the coast so that they could receive logistical supplies from the waterway.

After Oda Nobutada obtained White Eagle Castle, it was difficult for his soldiers to advance through the mountains through the snow, so he had to stop, and his plan to put pressure on Minami Shinano could not be achieved.

Tokugawa Ieyasu struggled to maintain the siege of Futamata, but apparently could not hold out for long in such a climate.

In such a situation, Maeda Genya's exploits in outwitting the two cities are particularly significant. If it weren't for him, the front might not be able to encircle it now.

This young monk, who was short in stature and funny-looking, was lavishly praised by the tie for a while, so much so that it caused a point of jealousy.

The bad weather was not good news for the defending general, Baba Nobubo, and only worsened the dismal level of the soldiers.

However, for Katsuyori Takeda in the Kusakikan, it is equivalent to getting a precious benefit. Kai and Suruga were not affected by heavy snowfall, and the roads and fields were in relatively good condition, and the march was generally normal.

That is, a rare hint of initiative was obtained.

Then, probably because he had already lost two castles, Takeda Katsuyori really didn't have the face not to hold on to the third one, and finally made a decisive moment, personally led the troops, out of Kai, crossed the Surugawa, and came to the foot of Kyomaru Mountain in a blink of an eye, and it was already a stone's throw away from Futama Castle.

And the tie can only look at the forty-kilometer-long snow road and sigh.

He did not plan to rush into the army, and at the same time suggested that Tokugawa Ieyasu simply withdraw, and not make any bad news for the sake of the gains and losses of one city and one place.

……

Futamata-jo is a transportation hub on the island of Tokai, the gateway to a hilly area with a radius of tens of miles, and the only place in the vicinity where people can gather.

When Takeda Shingen mastered this place, he cut off the channel for Tokugawa Ieyasu to exert influence in the northern part of Ene Province, so Amano, Yamauchi, Matsui and other wealthy landowners had no choice but to sell themselves and take refuge.

It is the so-called battleground for soldiers.

Everyone knows that the Takeda clan has always been relatively good at controlling the appearance, the law is clear, and the orders are strict, but they will also make the best use of things, arrange appropriate tasks according to the actual situation, and the promotion opportunity is of course inferior to the Kai spectrum, but it is not nothing.

Directly speaking, the result that can be seen is that in the last two or three decades, there have been few cases of rebellion or dismissal of the people of Shinano, Suruga, and Ueno.

Therefore, Tokugawa Ieyasu was very urgent to recover Futamata. If it drags on further, I am afraid that the local tyrants and landlords will gradually take over a deep relationship with Takeda, and it will be difficult to clean up.

Despite the heavy snow and the road closed, the 17,000 soldiers of the Sanhe and Yuanjiang rivers refused to withdraw from the siege.

After observing the Tokugawa family's supply team up close, the new Hirate clan retainer Genyoshi Maeda reported to Lieutenant General Nakanoyan, "At this rate, about one-fifth of the soldiers on the front line will not be able to get enough food, and a quarter of the people will not be able to get enough warmth. ”

Two worrying figures.

Hirate Honhide communicated with the Tokugawa family's Itakura Katsushige, but the latter's attitude was: "The lord is considering lifting the mobilization of some of his retainers, withdrawing half of his troops, and trying to maintain the offensive with the elite of his direct subordinates." Although my family is in an embarrassing situation, the defenders of Futama Castle are definitely dying, and if they hold on for a few more days, they will be victorious! ”

There is no intention of giving up at all.

This mentality is also worth understanding.

Futamata Castle is not only a gateway from south to north, but also a gateway from north to south. This stronghold is in the hands of Takeda Katsuyori, which means that the other party can send someone to attack Hamamatsu at any time, and it means that the subjects of the Tokugawa family always have a sharp sword hanging over their heads that they don't know when they fall.

In the past few years, because of the inferiority in quantity and quality, the field battle was really unbeatable, let alone besieged the city.

Now that the opportunity has come, how can you give it up?

Tokugawa Ieyasu personally persevered in the wind and snow, and sent someone to send an impassioned handwriting back to Hirate Honhide.

The content can't help but sigh.

There are three main things that are said in the letter.

The first is to express the gratitude of the lieutenant general in Pingshou, and at the same time admit that it is common sense to suggest the withdrawal of troops at this time, and he does not dare to harbor the slightest resistance. However, for the sake of the Tokugawa family, he had to go his own way, which was very ashamed, but as a martial artist, he also had the righteousness of never retreating at this time.

The second is that he has already informed his retainers that if he dies in battle today, it will be purely self-defeating, and no one else can be blamed. If it is really unfortunate, I ask Lieutenant General Nakayan, to find a suitable son-in-law and adopted son for the Tokugawa family to inherit the family business.

Thirdly, he proposed a set of plans to defeat the enemy with Tokugawa Ieyasu himself as bait, and asked the Lieutenant General to adopt it. Of course, if you don't adopt it, there will be no complaints.

After reading the whole article, I only felt that the image of a samurai who was indomitable, resolute and resolute, but also deeply aware of righteousness and gratitude was about to come out on the page.

After reading it, Tieshou Fan Xiu did not express his opinion, and called all the important ministers to come over to discuss.

The old qualifications of the public equalizer Xiuyi hastily read it, half appreciative and half spurned and commented: "This Lord Tokugawa Mikawa, his acting skills are getting better and better!" ”

The upstart approached Maeda Genyi but commented: "This is not true. If it is said to be acting, then Tokugawa Mikawa-sama is afraid that he has been acting for five or ten years. If you can act for five or ten years, it can't be regarded as acting. ”

Hearing this, Xiuyi shook his head and was noncommittal.

Honda Masanobu, who has always been happy and angry, has never been a henchman, but he didn't know that the tendon was touched, and suddenly sighed lightly: "What Xuan Yidian said is very true! How can you tell the difference between truth and falsehood! He immediately reacted, restrained this rare emotion, and said respectfully: "In any case, I am afraid that I can only agree to Tokugawa Mikawa's suggestion now, and I can't find any reason to deny it at all." ”

"The more the other party claims to have no complaints, the more we can't abandon it." Kazushi Nakamura said something that everyone understands, and the reason why he said it was just to show a sense of existence.

Maybe not everyone understands it. Some people may not understand, or are too lazy to understand, such as Tieshou Xiuyi, Baixiang Jiajia, etc.

Asano Nagayoshi on the side frowned and shook his head, "Shikoku's Ten Rivers Sanuki and Sanho Funny Rocks, including Mino Oda, Yamato Tsutsui...... I don't think they're going to do such a headache. ”

"But that's what makes Tokugawa Mikawa so special." At this time, Hirate Yoshimitsu stood proudly, walked into the tent, and bowed down generously: "Father, since Tokugawa Mikawa has such an admirable fighting spirit, we Hirate can't be behind others!" ”