On August 15, 1575, in Kii Province, it was located in Kusa-gun.

"What a hell of a life."

Yu Qiuping held an oil-paper umbrella and stood on a high ground in the heavy rain, looking at the auxiliary soldiers struggling on the winding mountain road.

"Today's baggage, it is estimated that there is no way to deliver it." Yu Qiuping shook his head helplessly, and sighed in a low voice, "The grain and grass on the front line are rapidly consumed every day, if this rain does not stop, we will have to withdraw our troops for another half a month at most." ”

"Ah, it's all to blame for the perverse behavior of the Oda Palace, but now it's okay, damn it." The crisp voice like a silver bell sounded behind him, and there was a faint hint of schadenfreude in it.

"Suizi, you stupid pig really dare to say it." Yu Qiuping was happy when she heard this, and turned to look at Ye Gu Suizi who was following behind her, she had learned some of the work that a maid should do these days, "It is the lord who is perverse, and it is your Royal Highness who suffers." ”

"Ah, I don't know why, isn't it raining, why don't you leave?" She raised her head innocently and asked with a smile, "In the past, when it rained so much, I used to go to the valley with an umbrella to sketch." There are nearly 10,000 of you, but you don't dare to walk the mountain road? What kind of man are you? ”

"It's more troublesome than you think." Yu Qiuping shook his head again - he found that he had been shaking his head a lot these days, "As soon as it rained, the mountain road immediately became muddy and slippery. It's okay to walk alone, but tens of thousands of people have collapsed here, and the road has become unshapely, a puddle of mud. The cart could not be used, and the auxiliary soldiers could only carry the baggage in with flat poles. Moreover, the heavy rain also caused the mountain streams to flood from time to time, and the bridges on the streams were repeatedly broken, and it took a long time to repair them every time they braved the heavy rain. Not to mention the landslides and small-scale mudslides caused by heavy rains, which are simply a disaster that destroys the mountain road. ”

"In that case, why don't you go over it? Listen to Senpai Senpai, Ranmaru and Matsuchiyo say, His Highness's army should be much stronger than the other side, right? Haya Suizi threw out another question, but this time, Yu Qiuping did not answer.

Because of the unintentional title of Hatani Suizi, the "Senpai" called by Guan Sen Kolong, made Yu Qiuping suddenly think of the deceased Senkashi - he had always called him Senpai before. In an instant, the memories of countless deceased people poured into his mind, making Yu Qiuping's sadness instantly irrepressible.

If Ryuko is still around... Now the one with the umbrella at his side is the stupid girl.

Yu Qiuping's eyes moistened in an instant, and there were already tears rolling faintly. He turned sideways slightly, so that Hatani Suiko couldn't see his expression, but his small movements were still noticed by the empathetic Hatani Suiko.

"What's wrong with Your Highness... What's on your mind? She glanced at Yu Qiuping and asked in a low voice with some concern.

"No, I'm fine." Yu Qiuping chuckled, trying to expel the negative emotions from his mind, "It's hard to attack now." Due to heavy rains, the use of iron cannons was greatly restricted. Coupled with the muddy roads, difficult mountain roads, and heavy rain obscuring the view, it was very unfriendly to the attacking side. Blindly attacking the fortified city now will only bring more casualties. And the deeper we advance now, the longer the supply line stretches, the greater the pressure on supplies. Before the rain stopped, I am afraid that I would not dare to attack. And in order to cover the supply line, we did not dare to cross the opponent's city and advance directly. ”

"What about the east? Doesn't it mean that there is also an army of His Highness coming from the east? ”

"It's not very good over there, it's raining after all." Yu Qiuping casually rotated the handle of the oil-paper umbrella with his hand, watched the raindrops being thrown out along the eaves of the umbrella, and replied in a low voice, "There was a time before that the people of Kii Province transferred everyone to watch out for us, so that they could move forward for a long time. However, since the rain, the Kii people have transferred some of them back, and they are struggling to move forward. It is said that Zhongxiu's kid still wants to carry out some surprise attack, but it is estimated that he will return in vain. ”

Just then, a herald suddenly arrived in the rain. Yu Qiuping took a look and found that it was Naomasa Ii who came.

"Hu Song, aren't you serving as an ashigaru in Changpanbei, why did you come to give the order?" Yu Qiuping asked in some surprise, "Did something happen?" ”

"No, it's the heralds who can ride horses in the company have all fallen ill in the past few days, and the company commander sent the ones who can ride horses." Ii Naomasa turned over and dismounted, stood up straight and saluted Yu Qiuping, and then said in a low voice, "Tell Your Highness, Chang Panbei's second company has not received enough supplies, and it is expected that there will be no food this evening, so I ask to leave the path and join the main formation." ”

"Come back to the camp with me, and I'll go to the half-guards to see where the convoy for your supplies should go." Yu Qiuping greeted him, and led Naomasa Ii and Suiko Haya back together. On the way, Yu Qiuping suddenly remembered what Jing Yi Naomasa had just said, so he casually asked, "You said that even the heralds in your company are sick?" ”

"Yes, many people have a little cold these days, but it should be fine in a few days." Naomasa Ii replied nonchalantly, sniffing his nose himself - he had been working in the rain for days, and he actually had a little cold.

However, Yu Qiuping did not expect that the words he casually mentioned that day would become a nightmare for the Red Leaf Army.

·

A terrible epidemic is quietly struck, causing the already difficult situation of the Red Leaf Army to suffer a huge blow.

Due to the rain for several days, many tired soldiers and auxiliaries of the Red Leaf Army caught a cold because of the rain. However, the enormous pressure on the supply lines made the transportation of fresh vegetables and medicines much less limited than the food that was used as a necessity of life, so a large number of sick people were not cared for in time, and the disease began to spread. In addition, most of the Momiji troops came from and Ono and other places, and the lack of adaptation to the water and soil in the Kii area aggravated the condition. The disease spread quickly, but the Red Leaf Army had never encountered such a situation, so that the number of doctors and the stock of medicines were far from enough to effectively control the spread of the disease.

Yu Thu Ping hurriedly sent people back to Hanoi and Izumi temporarily, and asked the left-behind Naoe Tadahei to collect medicines and recruit doctors to be sent to the front line, but it was estimated that it was too late. Even if it was in time, the Red Leaf Army's supply lines, plagued by heavy rain and mountain roads, would not be able to send them to the front line with food. The Red Leaf Army was faced with the embarrassment of either dying of illness or starvation.

On 19 August, Yu Qiuping inspected the troops again, and the number of sick patients was obviously much higher than the previous time. Although the illness was not severe, it was clear that the soldiers with a cold and fever needed to rest and could no longer go on with their work – a vicious cycle that added to the logistical pressures. There are more than 1,000 sick people in the most logistically stressed places on the front line, and they can't work but need to eat. However, the pathetic volume of traffic on the road in front of them was impossible to evacuate the wounded.

In desperation, Yu Qiuping decided to withdraw after consulting Shigeharu Takenaka, Keitori Amano, Masayuki Sanada and others. He gave an order to Naoe Tadahei in the rear to start dredging the roads in the rear and stop transporting baggage. At the same time, he sent someone to inform Mimasesaki Nakahide and Ikeda Tsuneko so that they could also prepare to retreat. Yu Qiuping arranged for people to cut wood by hand and make a large number of stretchers to carry the wounded and sick who were unable to move back.

At the same time, Yuqiuping sent people into the mountains and forests on both sides to destroy all the posts that had been built with great difficulty—otherwise, the next attack, they would be the defensive positions of the Kii people.

As the auxiliary brigade began to slowly turn around, the soldiers of the Momiji Army also left the castle in front of Hachiman, and slowly retreated along the way they came. The people of Kii, lurking in the mountains and forests, cheered and celebrated this hard-won victory. They sacrificed the autumn harvest, killed and wounded many brothers, and finally repelled the rain and autumn red leaves that even Takeda Shingen couldn't help.

However, these excited celebrations came to an abrupt end with the sudden rise of three clouds of wolf smoke in the direction of Saga Castle in the far south.

·

"What's the situation?" Yu Qiuping stared at the three wolf smoke rising in the distance, his eyes full of confusion and incomprehension. After staring at it for a long time, he finally realized that the wolf smoke pattern was the wolf smoke of the Red Leaf Army itself! And the message of the wolf smoke is - "The city is being attacked, and reinforcements are requested." ”

"Did our men hit Saga Castle? Whose troops? How can it be? Yu Qiuping's eyes widened in surprise, and he stood up from his horse in disbelief by kicking the saddle, staring in the direction of Saga Castle.

"It could be Hosoyanagi or His Highness Ikeda." Sanada Masayuki made a judgment in a low voice, "Based on the information from the east last time, it is possible that they have advanced there. ”

"No way, unless there is no enemy obstruction, no rain, and a flat pass." Yu Qiuping shook his head and said in a low voice, "It must be a suspicious strategy!" It was not the wolf smoke emitted by our own people, but the people of Kii who imitated our wolf smoke to lure us back to our division and planned to ambush us. ”

"No, Your Highness, it is definitely the wolf smoke of our own people, please send someone to support immediately." Shigeharu Takenaka shook his head, and said in a deep voice to Yu Qiuhei, "Let the cavalry company go south immediately without caring about the soldiers and auxiliaries, break through the enemy's blockade, and go straight to Sakaga Castle." ”

"Half-guards? Are you serious? Why do you think that's a sign from our own people? Yu Qiuping saw that Takenaka's attitude was so resolute, and he couldn't help but be solemn.

"It's just a feeling that I'm down, there is not much basis, this is a judgment that cannot be verified." Shigeharu Takenaka shook his head, but the look on his face did not waver at all, "I hope His Highness trusts His Highness's judgment." ”

"Don't break the heterozygosity, don't leave the head."

Yu Qiuping was stunned when he heard this, and after a while, he smiled and patted Shigeji Takenaka's shoulder.

"Although I don't know why. But all I know is that believing in you is done. Yu Qiuping and Shigeharu Takenaka glanced at each other, and then said in a low voice, "I still prefer to trust your judgment rather than trust yourself." ”