In order to prevent disease, after the army was stationed, Heite Hoshu organized people to collect firewood overnight, gathered thousands of corpses, and burned them.

Of course, it is indispensable to ask a few monks to recite sutras to maintain the stability of people's hearts. The job was handed over to Shunkei Tsutsui.

The human body, which had not yet decayed, burned in the fire, giving birth to a strange aroma.

Oda Nobutada had already gone into the city to rest, and barely had some porridge. But before going to bed, I smelled the smell coming from the burning place outside the city, and I vomited again, and I almost collapsed. So he simply closed the door and asked the deputy general Pingshou to temporarily take charge of the army.

Thinking that the second generation is only thirteen or fourteen years old, he has never seen real blood before today, and he encountered this situation for the first time when he went into battle to lead the army, and it was indeed not easy to bear.

So it took some time for Hirate to take turns on duty and rest around Kashiwahara Castle according to the usual practice. Then he began to investigate the cause of the frenzied siege of the city by the civilian population in the vicinity.

Hattori Hideyasu and Ishikawa Goemon were secretly sent to conduct a plainclothes investigation, ostensibly to find the parties concerned to understand the situation.

However, even after asking a few people, they all had limited knowledge of the ins and outs of the matter, and their words were unknown.

Including Hidetaka Kawajiri, who personally led the surprise attack troops, he said this-

"The course of the battle ahead was still very smooth, and with more than 2,000 men, he besieged Binachi Castle, a border stronghold in Iga Province, without attracting the attention of the enemy. Moreover, that guy is also very 'aware of current affairs', and after surrendering, he took the initiative to reveal all the information he knew, and pointed out a despicable path, leading us and others to drive straight into Kashiwahara Castle. Originally, I only planned to strike first and not expect a big victory, but when I saw such a good opportunity, I didn't want to let it go. ”

Hearing this, Hirate's previous doubts were explained.

It seems that no matter where it is, there will always be a party that leads the way, and it is no wonder that the beheading operation was so successful. It's just, how did it become that bloody scene later?

Kawajiri Hidelong paused, then said:

"I learned from the mouth of the village wall in Shimoyama that although the lord of Kashiwahara Castle, Takino Sadakiyo, was elected as the leader of more than 30 people in Mingzhang County, his direct territory was only about a dozen villages, and in a hurry, there were less than 200 troops. We fought hard to attack the city, and it only took a little more than an hour to take this small city. I also have to mention the Yamauchi Kazutoyo-sama you sent to help, he took the lead and did not avoid the rain arrows, and was the first to rush into the wall and behead Takino Sadakiyo. It's worthy of being a person from your flat family. ”

This is a bit surprising.

Although Yamauchi Kazutoyo is active and brave in combat, his body strength is not outstanding, and his swordsmanship and spearmanship are also difficult to say exquisite.

But it still doesn't get to the point.

So the flat hand shook his head, symbolically said, "I am sorry for the praise, I dare not be ashamed", and then stopped saying and waited for the other party to continue.

Then Kawajiri Hidetaka's expression began to become gloomy, and he smiled bitterly, "I know what you want to ask, but I can't say it myself." To tell the truth, after the city was broken, I only sent some random people to guard the families and children of the enemy army, and then went to do other things. Later, I don't know why, the women and children resisted fiercely, and they couldn't even suppress the bullets that killed several people, and there was a fire in the city, and some people fled in the chaos, saying rumors such as 'The Oda family is going to kill all the people of Iga'. I hurriedly sent people to chase after me, but unexpectedly, Diao people from all directions rushed to join the battle when they heard the news......"

Speaking of this, Kawajiri Hideko sighed heavily, looking exhausted and unable to hold on.

Looking at the bloodshot in the other party's eyes, he may not have closed his eyes for two consecutive days, and he was embarrassed to continue asking.

Then, talking to the other generals who participated in the surprise attack one by one, there was still no substantial gain.

Whether it is Mori Nagahide, Fukuru Mitsuji, or Yamauchi Kazutomi, who is lying in a hospital bed with two arrows in his body, the situation described is much the same as that of Hidetaka Kawajiri.

Everyone was deeply impressed by the two events of "forcing the lord of Bina Chi Castle to go down the mountain and the countryside" and "rushing to storm Kashiwahara Castle in the middle of the night", but they had no clue about the subsequent chaos.

So he had no choice but to give up, routinely perform his duties as a deputy general, verbally encourage the meritorious officials, and let them go back to rest.

In the end, the flat hand also met with the lord of Bina Zhicheng, who was on the verge of defection, and went down to the mountain and the countryside. It is said that this kind of person who "abandons the dark and turns to the light" must be rewarded and set up as a model, but this person's original power is too small, even if he doubles his knowledge and deeds, he still can't get on the stage.

Looking at his description of obsceneness, incoherentness, groveling, timidity, and an unbearable appearance, Fan Xiu only gave him a commercial smile, and was not interested in talking to him more.

It wasn't until late at night, when the head of his own spy returned, that he brought back a piece of information worthy of attention.

Hattori Hideyasu disguised himself as an ordinary ashigaru, similar to the small soldiers of the surprise raiders, and learned from there that before the "riot" of the nearby people, there was a small but incense-burning shrine behind the castle that was burned by unknown people. This incident stirred the emotions of the captives.

After a long time, it was already dawn on the second day, and Ishikawa Goemon returned to his life.

The former thief, known as "traveling five hundred miles at night", was panting and flushed, and as soon as he entered the room, he called: "Lord! After walking for two hours into the depths of the mountains, the local peasants were able to meet the fleeing people, and now they have learned the general cause of yesterday's riot. ”

"Hmm...... Thank you for your hard work. ”

Pingshou Fanxiu's tone was still flat, but there was a slight appreciation on his face, and he poured a cup of tea himself and handed it over.

Not to mention the final result, in terms of work attitude alone, Ishikawa Goemon is more worthy of praise than Hattori Hideyasu.

Of course, the latter is an old minister who has followed him for many years since childhood, and his own existence has additional added value, and it is not appropriate to criticize it.

Ishikawa Goemon did not make a gesture, but took the cup with both hands, drank it all, and said in a deep voice, "Thank you!" ”。 Then he stood up, returned to his energetic state, and spoke:

"Back to my lord! I have already asked more than a dozen groups of refugees, and according to their words, the riots yesterday were due to rumors that the Oda family was going to kill all the Iga people to sacrifice to demons, and second, because some people were killing people indiscriminately and burning down temples. The two complement each other and become more and more intense. Later, Hidetaka Kawajiri tried to suppress it, which caused even greater turmoil. ”

"Is that so......"

Hirashou brushed his beard unconsciously and frowned.

This conclusion is not satisfactory.

It is not surprising that rumors are a common occurrence in the age of ignorance. As for the indiscriminate killing of innocents, it is also a common thing in wars, so why did it happen this time?

Ishikawa Goemon immediately added an explanation: "The lord doesn't know anything, Iga is a poor and remote country, and the local mountain people are dull and rough, and most of them believe in some strange ghosts and gods, so they are easily encouraged by rumors. In addition, yesterday there were indeed some people who wantonly killed innocent women and children, and insulted the bodies in an unsightly way, acting very much like performing some lewd ritual......"

"Wait!" Hearing this, Pingshou Fan Xiu frowned and interrupted: "Who do you mean by 'some people'?" ”

I have to pay attention to what I just said.

"Killing innocent women and children" has become accustomed to seeing a lot, what the hell is "insulting the corpse in an unsightly way"?

In this chaotic era of decay, the lower limit has really been refreshed again and again.

Ishikawa Goemon replied word by word: "It is the Shimoyama village wall that defected to our army and guided the route for the surprise attack troops. ”

Although this civilian-born "thief" tried his best to suppress his lips and tongue, he could still hear a clear anger in his tone, and it was obvious that he was extremely dissatisfied with the indiscriminate killing of innocent people.

Tie Tsutsu suddenly remembered something.

"Goemon...... Anyway, I remember, it seems that you grew up in Iga when you were a child. Fan Xiu asked meaningfully.

"That's true." Ishikawa Goemon narrowed his eyebrows and said, "But I was born in Yamada-gun, and I am not familiar with Nabari-gun. Besides, it has been nearly twenty years since I left my hometown, and I have long since lost my old acquaintance, and I don't remember anyone's name except for the enemy of the three doctors of Baidi. ”

"Do you mean to say that it's not because of nostalgia that you are dissatisfied with the person who went down to the mountain?" Hitetsu asked bluntly.

Hearing this, Ishikawa Goemon closed his eyes and took a deep breath, paused for two seconds, and then opened his eyes suddenly, bowed down, but raised his head high, and said in a dignified voice: "If the lord knew what that beast had done, he would definitely be able to understand the mood below!" This has nothing to do with nostalgia or anything, it's just a little conscience that is born as a human being! ”