"At the beginning, when the princess was in trouble, he repeatedly shirked and refused to send troops; Later, with the assistance of Oda, Lord Gongkata went to Luo, and ordered him to come to meet him, but he refused twice in a row. Asakura Yoshikei, as a famous family for generations, is deeply favored by the Ashikaga family, but he doesn't think about serving the country at all, and only cares about his own selfish interests, shouldn't he be reprimanded for such behavior? The Oda family responded to the heavens, inherited the hearts of the people, and was ordered by the imperial court and the shogunate to fight for ......adultery and rebellion."

In the Oda barracks, there was always a special clerk who read the meaning of the inscription to the illiterate soldiers. The pleadings officially sent to the Asakura family must be more elegantly retouched.

But no matter how much it is retouched, it is estimated that it will still be ridiculed by the people of Echizen.

After all, it is a well-known cultural town, there are great Confucianism in talking and laughing, there is no white ding, and famous poets abound.

However, the victory or defeat of the article is not enough, and the righteousness behind the article is the key.

The fact that both the imperial court and the shogunate sided with the Oda family cannot be changed. Based on this, all forces with ulterior motives have to weigh their own weight before trying to cheer for the Asakura family!

As expected, Asakura Yoshikei made three public replies to the Oda family in two days, justifying the "false slander" in the text one by one, and implicitly and obviously accusing Nobunaga of using force to force the imperial court and suppress the shogunate's heinous crimes.

That's right, it's subtle and obvious.

The text is very rhetorically obscure, but the meaning can be clearly understood in context. You don't even need to have a high level of literary accomplishment, you just need to know Chinese characters. Even the mid-level samurai of the Oda family can see seven, seven, eight, eight. (In fact, this requirement is not low in this era)

Because the articles of the Asakura family are not lacking in literary brilliance, but also concise and clear, which can be called elegant and vulgar appreciation, and it is suitable for the upper and lower levels.

However, the speed of the mobilization of troops is always one step faster than that of the Oda family.

After Mori Kecheng assembled in the eastern suburbs of Kyoto, it took less than two days to preemptively attack the border of Tsuruga County with 3,000 elite soldiers, erect a fence, build a military formation, and put on a posture of leading but not starting.

A few hours later, Takigawa Kazuyoshi's 4,000 men quietly attacked from the right flank, and before the enemy could react, they surrounded Tentoyama Castle in the east of Tsuruga Prefecture, and cut down trees and set up equipment to prepare for the siege.

At this time, the 5,000 men of Niwa Nagahide's department came to the middle of the two armies of Mori Kosei and Takigawa, filled the gap, formed an inverted triangle formation, coordinated and commanded in the center, and was ready to make reinforcements in two directions in response to changes in the battle situation.

The commander of Tsuruga Prefecture, Asakura Keiheng, was a high-ranking and powerful member of the Asakura family, with nearly 5,000 troops, which was originally enough for a battle. However, he was frightened by Takigawa's raid, fearing that the back road would be cut off, so he withdrew from Tsuruga Castle, which was unsafe to defend without firing a shot, and turned back with his whole army to Kanesaki Castle, which was closer to the heart of Echizen Province and easier to retreat.

As a result, the entire Echizen country, the richest commercial district, was handed over to the Oda family without resistance.

A day later, Hirate followed Nobunaga's Chinese army to the area of Shidake on the border between Omi and Echizen, and received information from the front.

From the words, it seems that the regret of Niwa Nagahide and others can be seen.

The enemy general Asakura Keiheng broke his wrist and resolutely abandoned Tsuruga Prefecture and transferred to Kanegasaki, although it seemed very cowardly, but it also preserved the vitality of the Oda family, so that the Oda family's idea of "attacking it must be saved, and encircling the point to help" was completely ruined.

The three advance troops, totaling 12,000 men, could only advance smoothly to the foot of Kanesaki Castle and surround it first.

According to the information, Kanesaki Castle has been used as a military station for a long time, and the internal materials are very sufficient, and it can also get some supplies from the waterway, and the Oda family does not have a navy in Hokuriku, so it is impossible to blockade the port.

But it is even more impossible to storm it, after all, there are close to 5,000 defenders in the city, and the combat effectiveness is not low, and the price to pay for a strong attack is unimaginable.

The only thing to be happy about is that the enemy's main forces are moving extremely slowly, and they are still hovering twelve miles (about 47 kilometers) away.

There are even rumors that in Yicheng Valley City, many sects are fighting for the selection of the general general.

This involves a "fine tradition" of the Asakura family, that is: the head of the family does not go out easily, and temporarily dispatches a group of people to serve as the acting general when the war is fought.

Outsiders see a very strange tradition that has been going on for three or four generations, decades, in Echizen.

Passed down to the current generation, it is even more extreme, Asakura Yoshikei has lived for most of his life and has only personally led soldiers twice, and he only had his first battle at the age of thirty-two.

In the past, there was the "God of the Northern Army" Chaocang Zongdi sitting in the town, and it didn't hurt to conquer the south and the north to seek prestige.

However, more than ten years ago, as soon as the "Northern Army God" died, everyone else was not convinced by each other.

Jing Heng, mentioned above, is the grandson of the old man Zongdi, but because his grandfather was too awesome, he was afraid of it, and was squeezed out of the power center, leading four or five thousand troops to garrison Tsuruga.

In addition, Jing Jing and Jing Jian have certain achievements and qualifications, and they have been arguing for the position of "acting general" for more than ten years. Originally, Jingjing's connections had a higher status, but in order to maintain balance, the head of the family, Asakura Yoshijing, secretly helped Jing Jian and achieved a situation of "forcibly opening five or five".

At the moment of this great enemy, Asakura Jingjing was already in command, but he was unable to enter the army, I don't know if Asakura Jingjian's faction was pulling back his legs, or Asakura Jingjing deliberately wanted to send Asakura Jingheng, who was trapped in Kanesaki, to death.

Oda Nobunaga took in Horie Keitada, a traitor of the Asakura family, and had a certain understanding of the internal contradictions of the enemy.

For these messy things, the "country samurai" of Owari expressed their disdain. In the words of Ikeda Tsuneko: "If the lord himself goes into battle as a general, won't there be no such problems?" Hiding in the city and letting the people go out to bleed, can this guy Asakura Yoshikei still be considered a samurai? has degenerated into a minister! ”

It's okay for ordinary people to laugh at it, but those who have a heart can see a hint of a fighter in it.

Since the garrison of Tsuruga Prefecture is determined to give up the land and preserve the living force, why don't they simply withdraw a few more steps and go back to join the main force?

The only explanation is that Asakura Jingheng's political position is not stable, and if the retreat is too large, he will be held accountable and even punished after he returns.

A thought arose in Hirate's heart, and he involuntarily raised his head, just in time to meet Oda Nobunaga's gaze.

But Nobunaga hesitated for a moment, then shook his head slightly, signaling to be calm. Then he tilted his head slightly and glanced at Hidemasa Hori, who was beside him.

Hori Hidemasa was originally a little timid to stop talking, but after being encouraged, he boldly got up and said, "My lord! Since even our army can know about the enemy's internal strife from various channels, then Asakura Keiheng, who is garrisoning Kanesaki Castle, may be more aware of his own situation, so our army has the opportunity to outwit Kanesaki Castle. ”

"Shut up! You yellow-mouthed boy, just speak for me in vain, what insight can you have? Nobunaga feigned anger and scolded him.

Over there, Hidemasa Hori was stunned for a moment, and his face turned pale with horror for a while.

Boss, why don't you act according to the script? Didn't you just make me talk? Is it fun to pit retainers?

Is this a public execution? Are you going to pull it out and beat it to death with a stick?

Is it because the night service has not been as good as before?

Pingshou Fan Xiu understood the intention of the "director", and promptly pleaded for mercy: "Lord Xiuzheng, although he is young, Yu Junlu has extraordinary opinions, the lord might as well listen to it." ”

“…… All right! Nobunaga pretended to be displeased, nodded reluctantly, and glared at Hidemasa Hori sideways, "Then give the flat a face!" ”

"Thank you, my lord! Thank you for the handling of the matter" Hori Hidemasa also reacted at this time, and hurriedly played the trick, made a gesture of gratitude, and then sorted out his thoughts, and said:

"Asakura Keiheng, who is now garrisoning Kanesaki, should be looking forward to the arrival of reinforcements, but also doubting whether there will be reinforcements...... In this mentality, he will be very sensitive and cautious, so our army can pretend to be reinforcements from the Asakura family and try to deceive the city gate......"

"Wait, wait!" Ikeda Hengxing jumped out and questioned, "You said that Asakura Jingheng will be sensitive and cautious, so if he pretends to be reinforcements, isn't it very likely that he will be recognized?" ”

"It's better to trick him into opening the gates, but it's okay for him to see through." Hori Hidemasa is unhurried and confident, "And you have to pretend three times in a row, so that he can see through it three times in a row." ”

“…… Is this just idleness, playing with him? Ikeda looked up and down with the eyes of an idiot.

Hori Hidemasa smiled reservedly and explained, "Several reinforcements in a row are all fake, so what will the defending sergeants think?" What will the guard general Asakura Jingheng think? ”

"You mean...... Ikeda Hengxing understood slightly, "after such a toss, the defenders may feel that reinforcements will not come at all...... Then is it possible to surrender? ”

"It may be difficult to surrender." Hori Hidemasa carefully worded, "But if you promise to spare the lives of the defenders, you may be able to convince them to open the castle bloodlessly." ”

"In that case, I'll understand." Ikeda bows his head in approval.

But there was still an unpleasant look on his face.

This is also understandable, as a traditional "martial arts faction", he still prefers the practice of attacking head-on and capturing the flag.

Although intellectually, outwitting is better than grabbing. But watching the "wise generals" get ahead faster one by one, there is always a bit of a gap psychologically.

Seeing that Hidemasa's plan was adopted, Nobunaga smiled and asked, "Is there anyone else who has anything to say?" ”

Pingshou looked left and right, came out again, and suggested: "Two subtle details, slightly supplemented." First, the three times pretending to be reinforcements must be more like the real one each time to be effective; Second, while pretending to be reinforcements to deceive the city gate, you can send a partial division to take the opportunity to burn the port of Kanesaki Castle to cut off its waterways. ”

Hearing this, Nobunaga nodded again and again, and ordered: "Kutaro has made a suggestion, and Katsuzaburo has asked the most positively, so let the two of you carry out this matter together." ”

(Kutaro is the character of Hidemasa Hori, and Katsuzaburo is the character of Ikeda Tsuneko)

The two of them bowed together and said yes.