The help of the Hakata merchants was a completely unexpected factor, which boosted the morale of the crusading army.

Kyushu Island was relatively warm, with very little heavy snowfall, and the climate at the end of the fourth year of Tensho (1579) was not too cold, so many daimyo who were close to the front could not wait for the beginning of spring next year, so they actively applied for war.

Among them even includes Mori Terumoto, who has always had a cold attitude, I don't know if he finally figured it out after a long time, or was persuaded by Kobayakawa Takakei.

For reasons that can and cannot be said in all aspects, the tie is recognized.

Thus the so-called "vanguard" stepped into the battlefield before the army was assembled.

Yoshikawa Motoharu was concentrating on retiring to write books at home, and Kobayakawa Takakei was dragged elsewhere, and Mori Terumoto had to go out in person and take 14,000 people across the strait into Bunzen. Acting with them were Niko, Nanjo, and the armies, as well as Hirate Jiyin and Asano Nagayoshi Kase, about 30,000 people, and then joined up with Tachibana Michiyuki and Takahashi Shoyun of the Kamitomo family, preparing to attack Chikuzen, Hizen, Chikugo and other places in Kitakyushu.

On the other hand, the relatives of the Changzong and our tribe, who had come out of the pain of losing their son for a long time, reappeared in the rivers and lakes with vigor and led the army to enter the Hyuga country along the familiar road and the familiar road. Ukita and Bessho also went in this direction, accompanied by Noguchi Masatoshi and Kinoshita Hidenaga, a total of 28,000 soldiers, to assist Otomo Yoshito, the head of the family who had just taken over the mess, and remove the Shimazu family's direct threat to Bungo Province.

Heite did not force his relatives and ministers to serve as the nominal commander-in-chief, but let Mori Terumoto and Chomune's relatives take command. The main purpose is to show full trust in the daimyo of the outside world, and it is not excluded that they have dark thoughts that will be convenient for losing the pot afterwards.

Attacking from both sides is a test of the water and a measure of the enemy's weight.

The initial response was very pleasant, and the Northern Route Army made a victorious start, and the assembly was a great victory in just a few days, which was simply incredibly smooth.

The reason is that Tachibana Michiyuki and Takahashi Shaoyun have already reached an unspoken tacit understanding with the Tsukushi Hiromon secret song, which was once subordinate to the Otomo family for a long time. It's just that the latter has no confidence in Otomo Yoshijin at all, and he doesn't know the true situation of the center, so he has never been able to make up his mind to return to the "right path".

Now that the tie has really sent someone out, the guy no longer has any hesitation, and cleanly handed over the surrender letter, offered the hostages, and defected on the spot.

At this time, the stubborn Akizuki Tanemi happened to concentrate all his forces and stick to the castle at the frontline, hoping to wait for the support of Ryuzoji Temple and Shimazu. Unexpectedly, there was a sudden change in the flank and rear, and the supply of the grain route was immediately in danger of being cut off.

Seeing this, the coalition forces marched forward bravely and with high spirits, killing two or three thousand people in one day, and almost returning from Fengqian and Zhuqian territory.

In an instant, the Zhuzi family was subdued, the Qiuyue family was wiped out in an instant, and only Longzao Temple Longxin was left in the way. Although the bear of Hizen is quite brave, he has few troops, and he is not known for his wisdom, and the generals are full of confidence.

Then Hizen people Arima Harunobu and Omura Juntada also sent secret envoys to come, saying that they would set things right and abandon the darkness and turn to the light.

Tachibana Michiyuki and Takahashi Shaoyun, two locals, said that they were originally forced to surrender by the Ryuzoji Takanobu army, and they had no loyalty at all, so it was normal for them to have such a move.

The whole army did not doubt that he was there, and according to the time and place agreed in advance, they launched an operation at the right time, intending to do another trick of flanking before and after the defection.

As a result, in the area of the Shichiide River, Mori Terumoto took his own troops as the lead, and took the initiative to cross the river to attack the troops of Ryuzoji Takanobu, and the advance was very difficult from the early morning to noon, and the soldiers were tired and hungry, but they never saw the "time bomb" in the rear of the enemy explode as promised.

In the afternoon, Hizen General Nabeshima Naoshige suddenly appeared on the flank with 5,000 troops, and broke through the pontoon bridge with a flaming pointed brisk boat, slamming the coalition forces trapped on the river bank and unable to move.

At the same time, the heads of Haruma Arima and Omura Juntada were hung high, and the ending of the conspiracy of the two was revealed.

At the front of the crusading army, the soldiers of the Maori family had been fighting for a long time without success, but they were attacked by fierce flanks, and they were already somewhat shaken. Knowing that the generals' plans failed, and the enemy's generals planned their strategies, how could they still have the heart to insist?

The coalition forces had no backbone, and once they lost, they immediately turned into a rout, and each of them spared their lives and fled in all directions.

Only the Tachibana Michiyuki and Takahashi Shaoyun of the Otomo family felt that as locals, they had led to the tragedy by believing the news, and they didn't need to be instructed by others, so they took the initiative to take on the responsibilities of the palace. The latter brought 800 of his own soldiers, fought to the death, and died in battle, and finally delayed until dark, and the friendly troops were able to escape from the pursuit while it was dark.

And Ryuzoji Takanobu was in a good mood, like the sun, and decisively launched a large-scale counteroffensive.

When the coalition forces retreated into Zhuqian, people's hearts fluctuated and they could not hold on, so they retreated again and again to avoid the battle.

The titular general Mori Terumoto is sitting on pins and needles, but he doesn't know what to do.

Fortunately, Yoshikawa Motoharu, who was recuperating in the mountain castle of Yoshida County and writing about the biography, heard about his nephew's embarrassing deeds, and angrily threw away the pen, ink, paper, and inkstone, picked up the knife again, rode a fast horse, and went to the front line with his illness.

That's how the situation turned around.

Since most of the soldiers of the Northern Road Pioneer Expeditionary Army were from the western country, and Yoshikawa Motoharu had a very high prestige in the western country, he repeated the words that were half reprimanding and half encouraging, so that everyone could regroup.

With the help of this uncle, Maori Huiyuan dared to speak a little louder.

At this moment, Longzao Temple Longxin was carried away, chasing after him, following more than 100 kilometers all the way, the momentum was slightly slack, and the formation was gradually chaotic.

In the Kuboike area of Chikuzen, the coalition forces that had retreated for many days suddenly launched a counterattack, and Yoshikawa Motoharu took the lead in charging into battle, fighting with his old arms and legs to behead a young general of the enemy, which greatly boosted the morale of the army, and everyone worked together to achieve a great victory.

After that, the crusading army rested for a while, gathered 30,000 soldiers again, and slowly approached Hizen, and made a comeback.

The newly defeated Ryuzoji Takanobu could only meet with less than 20,000 men.

It was again near the Nanide River, and the two sides looked at each other across the river, and waited for a long time before they began to tentatively attack each other.

Unexpectedly, Tachibana Michiyuki, who commanded the left wing, suddenly received a secret letter, and after reading it, he was so angry that he vomited blood and fainted. Thousands of his men were in chaos without a fight.

Ryuzoji Takanobu was quite knowledgeable and good at fighting, and when he saw the opportunity, he hurriedly led the reserve team to grasp this weak point, rushed and struck, and suddenly opened up the situation and had the absolute upper hand.

The coalition forces collapsed on one side, caught off guard, suffered heavy casualties, and their morale plummeted, so they had to try to withdraw from the battlefield.

It was later learned that what was so angry that Tachibana Michiyuki was delirious was the "atrocity" of Otomo Yoshizhen.

With such two victories and two defeats, Mori Terumoto was no longer able to organize an attack, and the damage of Ryuzoji Takanobu was also quite serious, and the two sides invariably stopped fighting and retreated to the rear.