On July 16, the army of the Yuqiu family began to assemble on the border with Izumi. Naruto and Hosoyanagi were in Takaya Castle and Sakai Town, and only Tokiwa and the cavalry company were to set off from Maple Castle. And Chang Panbei's military family members and many residents inside and outside Maple Mountain Castle also rushed to see off the troops.

Yu Qiu was in the team, looking towards the crowded crowd of people seeing off. He looked at it for a long time, and finally found the little girl who didn't know what she was stepping on before showing her head in the crowd. He suddenly felt a throbbing in his heart - he didn't know why, he firmly believed that Cha Cha would definitely come to see him; He didn't know why, he was convinced that he would be able to find her among so many people.

He lowered his head and calmed the smile that had inadvertently appeared on his lips. Then he raised his head and waved his hand in the direction of Cha Cha, and the little girl in the distance also waved at him excitedly.

Maybe the distance can dissolve the embarrassment between the two.

"Cha Cha, what are you looking at?" As soon as Yu Qiuyou didn't find Asai Chacha early in the morning, he guessed that she might have come to see her off. After looking for a long time, I finally found Cha Cha.

"Ahh Cha Cha was waving his hand, but Yu Qiuyou's voice behind him startled him, and he hurriedly took his hand back.

"Let's go eat something good! There's a new candy shop in the back! Yu Qiuyou asked with a smile, trying not to think about who Cha Cha was here to give.

·

July 25, Wazumi Kunishi Wada Castle.

Standing on the top floor of the Kishiwada Castle Tower, Miyoshi Nagaitsu looked at the autumn leaves swaying in the wind outside the castle, and suddenly felt a burst of sadness. Who would have thought that the person who entered the lonely city with more than 1,000 people six years ago would gradually encroach on the territory of the Miyoshi family in the past few years, and now he would completely drive out the former overlord.

Underestimate the enemy... It's always been underestimating the enemy.

This is a summary of Miyoshi Changyi's Miyoshi family in the past few years.

From the Battle of Kyoto that year, he despised the Nanzen Temple garrisoned by Tokiwa Bei, which led to the escape of tens of thousands of troops of the Oda family; After Yu Qiuping established himself in Iimori Mountain Castle, he despised his combat effectiveness, so much so that he was defeated in the Battle of Zhiji, and Miyoshi Yoshiken himself was captured, missing the best opportunity to destroy Yu Qiuping, who had not gained a stable foothold. There were also several tug-of-wars in Hanoi and Izumi after that, and every time they thought they had a chance of winning, they would end up in disgrace.

Even Takeda Shingen couldn't take advantage of this rainy autumn and red leaves, how could they despise him? The price of the enemy was that they had almost lost all of Hanoi and Izumi to Yu Thu Binh in a few years, leaving only Kishihoda Castle and a few counties in the south. And the three good people who were dominant, now there is only one person left.

And now, the Miyoshi family can't even keep Kishiwa Tiancheng.

The Oda family's attack this time was very vicious, and they specifically attacked at the time of the autumn harvest. The Miyoshi family's grain reserves have been almost consumed in Tosari, and this autumn harvest cannot be delayed, and there is no way to mobilize the whole army to fight a decisive battle with the Oda family. However, the Oda family directly pulled out an army with a total strength of nearly 70,000 people, making all hopes of victory for the Miyoshi family come to naught. Yu Qiupei led 15,000 men and 3,000 men of Ikeda Hengxing to make peace and attack Izumi Province. The main force of the Oda family was directed at Arioka Castle in Settsu Province.

The Miyoshi family almost gritted their teeth and transported the last grain of food, and they could only guarantee that there would be 30,000 Miyoshi troops stationed in the territory of Settsu Province - this was on the premise that the Honganji family provided a large amount of grain and grass support. As for Izumi Country, I'm afraid I can only give up. Miyoshi Changqing symbolically sent 3,000 reinforcements to Miyoshi Changyi, but the total strength was only 6,000, and they had no ability to fight in the field with the Red Leaf Army. Miyoshi Nagakei instructed in the letter that Miyoshi Nagayi should abandon Kishiwada Castle and return to Shikoku if he could not do anything, and the Awaji Navy would come to support. However, Miyoshi Changyi made up his mind and didn't plan to go back alive. Not only his own life, but also the lives of 6,000 people under his command.

He knew that if these 6,000 people were to withdraw to Shikoku, it would only further exacerbate the food pressure on the Miyoshi family. Rather than this, it is better to fight with the Oda army, bring them heavy losses, and buy respite for the main family. He is in his sixties this year, and he doesn't have many years to live, which is also one of the things that he, an old thing, can do for the Miyoshi family.

"Narusuke, what do you say the Red Leaf Army is messing with?" Miyoshi Nagaitsu walked down the castle tower and came to the castle wall of Kishiwada Castle Sannomaru, and found Ogasawara Narisuke, who was supervising the battle at the head of the castle. He is also an old guy, he will be 50 in a few years, and he is also a person who has fought for most of his life for the Miyoshi family, and he is the commander of the 3000 reinforcements this time.

"I don't know, Yuqiu Zhibu can always surprise." Ogasawara Narisuke watched the troops of the Momiji Army line up more than a hundred zhang away, and then he didn't know what he was preparing, "At such a distance, even crossbow arrows can't shoot at the head of the castle." And isn't the Red Leaf Army equipped with iron cannons? Where can you hit so far? ”

"No matter what, don't underestimate the enemy." Miyoshi Changyi shook his head and ordered the ashigaru to go to the castle to stand guard, "We have already suffered countless times because of the light enemy, and we can't do it anymore." ”

However, as soon as the Ashigaru of the Miyoshi family reached the top of the castle, a burst of smoke and fire immediately rose from the position of the Red Leaf Army. Immediately after, the roar of artillery sounded. Miyoshi Nagayi was taken aback, and hurriedly subconsciously squatted down with Ogasawara Narisuke and squatted behind the battlements. In the next moment, several heavy and dark iron balls smashed heavily on the city wall, making a loud noise that shook the sky, and also shook the majestic city wall. For a moment, the gravel flew, and the screams of the ashigaru people rang out.

"Get down!" Miyoshi Changyi lay on the battlement on the back side of the wall, and immediately gave orders to the chess players in the city.

"What the hell..."Ogasawara Narusuke glanced at the castle with trepidation and sighed in a low voice.

"Hell yes." Miyoshi Changyi nodded, agreeing with his judgment.

They lamented not the artillery, but the crosshairs.

Miyoshi Nagayi is also a person who has seen the world, unlike the people of the Kai Takeda family, he knows what artillery is, and he has also seen artillery. But this was the first time he had seen the shock of four or five guns firing at the same time. Although these cannons are not very powerful - Miyoshi Nagayi has seen more powerful cannons. However, their accuracy shocked Miyoshi Nagayi.

At a distance of three hundred meters, accurately hit the battlements. Not to hit the walls, but to hit the battlements! This requires not only an accurate grasp of the firing distance of the artillery, but also a good grasp of the height of the projectile's landing point - how is this aiming? Of the 5 guns of the Red Leaf Army, except for one that shot low and hit the city wall, the remaining 4 guns all accurately hit the battlements.

It didn't take long for the next round of shooting to arrive. This time, the cannon that hit the battlement at the beginning also hit the battlement, and the five projectiles smashed into the battlement in unison, once again sending gravel and dust flying on the battlement. This time, since all the ashigaru had already fallen on the walls or hid behind the battlements, there were few casualties.

However, Miyoshi Changyi did not breathe a sigh of relief - because from the gap in the female wall, he found that the iron gunners of the Red Leaf Army, under the cover of artillery, were leaving the main army in great strides, until they reached the position of thirty zhang below the city, lined up a dense phalanx, and pointed the muzzle of the black hole at different angles to the city wall. During this period, the Miyoshi family's Ashigaru did not dare to show his head for fear of artillery attacks, and no one hindered the formation of iron gunners.

However, when the 1,350 iron cannons were neatly pointed at the head of the city to complete the fire suppression, the archers of the Miyoshi family had no chance to fight back. Once someone shows their head, they will be beaten into dice in an instant.

"This..."Ogasawara Seisuke saw the strange siege method of the Red Leaf Army, and he didn't know what to do for a while, so he set his eyes on Miyoshi Nagaitsuke, who was squatting next to him. The latter also looked solemn, not knowing what order to give.

"1,350 iron cannons and 5 large barrels..."Miyoshi Changyi gasped and shook his head helplessly, "This firepower is not something that the 500 archers on our section of the city wall can compete with." ”

Immediately afterwards, the auxiliary troops of the Red Leaf Army began to be dispatched in a steady stream. Carrying sandbags on their backs, they lined up in a neat line to emerge from the gap left by the phalanx of iron gunners. When viewed from above, it looks like a large pile of yellow muddy water flowing out of the three autumn leaves. When they reached the foot of Kishiwada Castle, they threw their sandbags down the moat and splashed them in patches. Those who have thrown sandbags will leave from both sides, receive new sandbags in front of their main camp, and then walk out of the gap between the three phalanxes in the center.

Because the iron gunners and artillery of the Red Leaf Army have completely suppressed the firepower of the city, the Miyoshi Army cannot shoot a single arrow, and it cannot interfere with the operation of the auxiliary troops of the Red Leaf Army at all. Therefore, the action of the Red Leaf Army's auxiliaries to fill the moat is as easy as the workers on the construction site carrying supplies, and some people will take a casual look at the quiet head of Kishiwada Castle. Soon after, the moat outside the east gate of Kishiwada Castle had been filled in by the Momiji Army. The subsequent auxiliaries brought in several large wooden planks and paved an improvised path on the sandbags facing the east gate.

"When they start climbing the ladder to the city, their ranged soldiers won't dare to attack so unscrupulously." Miyoshi Changyi pondered for a moment and then made a judgment, "Don't worry. It doesn't matter if they are suppressed for the time being, they may not necessarily rely on iron cannons and large barrels to collapse the stone walls. ”

However, the further actions of the Red Leaf Army surprised Miyoshi Changyi. They didn't push out a single ladder, and the only siege weapon on the empty plains and castle towns was a wooden iron ram with a huge iron ram. The iron eaves on the top of the cart covered the dozens of auxiliaries pushing the cart underneath, and slowly pushed the heavy cart towards the city gate. They walked through the gap left by the phalanx of gunners, and with heavy steps, they slowly approached the gate. The wheels of the storming cart left clear deep ruts in the ground, and the rumble of the wheels pressing against the ground became a monotonous melody in the gap between the roars of the big tubes.

"This is..."Miyoshi Changyi looked at the dozens of auxiliaries of the Red Leaf Army in a daze, and pushed the rushing car directly outside the east gate of Kishiwada Castle, pushed it onto the simple boardwalk, and pushed it to the east gate. Since Kishiwada Castle was a flat castle and there were no mountains, the rush to the castle was able to push up the river in a flat way.

A moment later, a low, dull crash came from beneath the city. Every time the heavy iron hammer hits the city gate, it will shake the city wall slightly, which shows that its strength is far from being comparable to that of a simple ram.