At night, Yuakihei and Asai Nagamasa were dining in the castle tower, chatting about world affairs, but the attendant suddenly came in to report, saying that Sanada Masayuki under Yuakihei asked to see him.

"Kibei?" Yu Qiuping's hand holding the chopsticks trembled, "Didn't he go to see your information?" Come here in such a hurry..."

"Hurry up, please come in!" Asai Nagamasa also became nervous all of a sudden, and hurriedly shouted. After a while, Sanada Masayuki walked briskly from outside the door, hurriedly saluted, and said in a low voice: "Two adults are good!" I think it's very likely that the Roxagonal family will not wait for the end of the autumn harvest to launch an offensive! ”

"Huh? How could it be! Asai Nagamasa was taken aback, "It's the most important days of the autumn harvest now, how can it be possible to recruit troops?" The various wealthy clans and people under their command are unwilling to delay the harvest for a year, and there will be great resentment, and there may be deliberate delays. ”

"It's unlikely." Sanada Masayuki shook his head, "But I found in the intelligence that the wealthy clans of Kuritai County and Yasu Prefecture located in the south of Kannonji Castle and west have begun to assemble, but the wealthy clans in the east have not moved at all. ”

"The wealthy clans in the west and south are all relatively powerful wealthy clans, such as the Gamo family and the Yamaoka family, and there are more standing soldiers at home, so it is very possible to assemble at Guanyin Temple in advance." Asai Nagamasa explained.

"That's right." Sanada Masayuki nodded in embarrassment. Yu Qiuping gave him an encouraging look, and the latter continued: "But it is also very likely that this time the Rokkaku family did not give the order of the various wealthy clans in the territory to assemble to Guanyin Temple City, but directly to Sawa Mountain City. ”

"Nani!" Asai Nagamasa was taken aback, "If you come here like this, it's very likely that you will be broken by each of us." ”

"But the Asai family is indeed still busy with the autumn harvest and has not been able to assemble troops." Sanada Masayuki said in a low voice, "There is really no factual basis. But if I had to make a judgment on the coming down, I would think that the Rokkaku family planned to take advantage of the fact that we had not completed the autumn harvest and first gathered some troops to seize the favorable terrain and besiege Sawa Mountain Castle. Wait until the end of the autumn harvest and the main force is assembled before going to war. ”

"Don't be on guard." Yu Qiuping nodded solemnly, "Changzheng, what do you think?" ”

"Makes sense." Asai Nagamasa shouted a small surname, "Go and inform Lord Onoki Shigetoshi of Asho Sada, and ask them to immediately gather some troops and go to Sawa Mountain Castle to support!" ”

On the morning of July 29, shortly after Yu Qiuping got up for breakfast, he was notified by his surname and asked to go to the castle tower assessment room. After meeting with several of his subordinates, Yu Qiuping immediately rushed to the castle tower. When they arrived, they saw Akao Kiyotsuna and Yumori Kiyosada arguing about something, and Haibei Tsunade tried to mediate on the sidelines. One after another, many important ministers should come to the castle tower again.

"What's going on?" Yu Qiuping asked Asai Nagamasa, who had a solemn face on the side.

"Sanada-sama was unfortunately right." Asai Nagamasa pointed to the location of Sawa Yamashiro, "Early this morning, the ninjas of Sawa Yamashiro discovered that a large number of troops from the Rokkaku family were crossing the river by the Nose River, so they hurriedly sent someone to call the police. ”

"Sure enough, I didn't wait for the end of the autumn harvest to mobilize the troops." Yu Qiuping said in a low voice, "How many people are there?" ”

"The number of soldiers is not much, there are only less than 800 soldiers, and these are the number of standing soldiers of the Hexagon family. It was followed by more than 1,000 people. Asai Nagamasa said in a low voice, "Just to defend Sawa Mountain Castle, Lord Isono was forced to stop the autumn harvest in the territory and gather all the troops into Sawa Mountain Castle, and I am afraid that the crops under the castle will be handed over." ”

"Akao-sama and Yumori-sama are arguing over what will happen next." Asai Nagamasa said, "Lord Yumori has asked to immediately stop receiving the autumn harvest and recruit troops to meet the battle. However, Akao-sama suspected that this might just be a ploy to disrupt the enemy, and refused to recruit troops. ”

"We have to wait for further information." Yu Qiuping sighed and waited in the assessment room with Honda Nabenosuke and Maeda Toshiie, listening to the disputes in the Asai family. The lords who have a slower autumn harvest in their territory are generally more conservative, but those who have a small territory or whose autumn harvest is almost completed demand that troops be sent immediately, and both sides have their own opinions. And Amano Keitoku, Matsushita Kamisa, and Sanada Masayuki asked for a map and sat in the corner discussing something. Panasonic and Amano Keitoku are still very incompatible, and they are cold to each other, and Sanada Masayuki has to play a round.

At noon, the latest intelligence came. Ashisai and Shigetoshi Onoki, who had been sent to the front, sent messengers back to report that the two gates of Sawa Yamashiro had been surrounded, and that communication between the inside and outside of the castle had been severed. Before the siege, Sawa Yamashiro sent a messenger for help, who said that since the grain from the autumn harvest had not been recovered from the warehouse, it had already fallen into the hands of the Rokkaku family, and that the city's grain stock might last for a month.

The troops of Asho Sadashi and Onoki Shigetoshi also said that the number of Rokkaku's troops had further increased to 5,000 men, and that small groups were arriving one after another. The advance team of the Asai family was only 1,500 people, and they could not match it, so they had to wait on the north bank of the Yakura River, not daring to cross the river. And the troops stationed on the south bank of the Yakura River to confront them were the troops of the famous retainer of the Rokkaku family, Goto Kento.

The battle situation is no longer so optimistic, and the Asai family is forced to make the same decision as the Rokkaku family. Asai Nagamasa sent the retainers back to the territory, and successively collected troops to complete the autumn harvest and assembled on the north bank of the Yakura River. And he himself, with the samurai of Banner and the people of Mada, arrived at Maihara, five miles away from the front line of the Yakura River, to set up the main camp. The formation of the contingent that arrived one after another was in disarray, and they set up camp in a haphazard manner. The hexagonal family on the opposite side was also chaotic, and neither side had any intention of attacking. The main camp of the Rokkaku family was set up in Hikone, four miles south of the Yakura River.

The time was postponed until August 7, and the autumn harvest of both North and South Omi had come to an end, and the troops of both sides had been assembled at Sawa Mountain Castle. The number of troops in the Asai family reached 13,000 people, and the number of troops in the Rokkaku family reached 20,000. However, due to the first move of the Rokkaku, the initiative of the war has fallen into the hands of the Roxagon. The Asai family had planned to cross the Yakura River, but their attempt to rely on the terrain to form around Sawa Yamajo had been shattered, and Sawa Yamajo had been surrounded by the Rokkaku family, and the geographical advantage had also fallen into the hands of the Rokkaku family. The Asai family had to try to break through the defense line of the Rokkaku family in order to relieve the siege of Sawa Yamashiro.

On the 5th and 6th, the Rokkaku clan tentatively attacked Sawa Yamashiro twice, but the terrain of Sawa Yamajo was dangerous, and the defender Isono was brave and good at fighting, and after the Rokkaku clan attacked to no avail, they turned to the defense, intending to trap Sawa Yamashiro.

The Yakura River is a river that surrounds Mt. Sawa and originates in the Ibuki Mountains, circles around Mt. Sawa from the east, and turns west in the northern section of Mt. Sawa to flow into Lake Biwa. And next to the eastern side of Sawa Mountain is the Ono River. It flows almost parallel to the Yakura River to the north for a while, and then joins the Yakura River, which turns westward.

To the northwest of Mt. Sawa, across the north bank of the Yakura River, there was a small mountainous area that hindered the movement of troops. As a result, the area where the Yakura River can be crossed is unusually narrow, with only an area of three to four hundred meters sandwiched between the two mountains. Under the deployment of important ministers such as Goto Kentoyo of the Rokaku family, the Asai family had no chance to take advantage of it. The fierce generals of the family, Kiyosada Urmori and Naokyo Endo, launched two tentative attacks, but it was difficult to find a breakthrough in the defensive line. Although the Yakura River was not very wide or deep, it made it very difficult for the troops to march and move in formation.

In desperation, the Asai family decided to start a roundabout battle, sending a special force of 4,000 men led by Akao Kiyotsuna to cross the Yakura River from the eastern side of the Sakawa Mountains, pass through the plain between the Yakura River and the Ono River, and go all the way to the south, trying to attack Hikone from the east. However, the elusive attacks of the Koga ninjas of the Rokkaku clan seriously affected the speed of the march. Later, on the south side of Mt. Sawa, the banners of the Kamo family and the Mikumo family appeared, and Akao Kiyotsuna, who was afraid of being ambushed, had to return the same way.

It seems that on August 15th, the mountain castle of Sawa has been besieged for half a month, and half of the grain and grass have been consumed. Early this morning, after holding a military meeting, Asai Nagamasa felt that a large-scale offensive should be launched on the entire front to find the weak points in the defense line of the Rokkaku. Kiyosada Amamori, Naokei Endo, Seisei Ashi, and Shigetoshi Onoki led 5,000 ashigaru to take turns attacking the Rokkaku Army opposite the Yakura River as a feint. Asai Nagamasa personally took 6,000 ashigaru from the plain between Onogawa and Yakura River from the plain between Ono River and Yakura River to the flank of the Rokkaku Army. The Haibei Gang Qin took 2,000 people, including the Eagle Bei and the Ma Di people, to stay in the main camp in case of accidents. Yu Qiupei and his subordinates followed Asai Nagamasa in a roundabout battle.

At seven o'clock, the Asai family arrived near the Yakura River and began to plan for battle.

When Kiyosada Yumori led his troops to line up on the north bank of the Yakura River, the Roxagonal Army on the south bank was ready for battle. With the sound of drums on the north bank, 1,000 soldiers formed a dense formation of five rows and stepped into the river of the Yakura River. They were greeted by a rain of arrows from the Hexagonal Army on the other side. After the Hexagonal Army archers came out, the archers of the Asai family also threw at the Hexagonal Army archers on the shore to cover the friendly troops who were wading across the river. The first row of the advance team of the Asai Army did not carry weapons, but walked in the front with large rattan cards and wooden planks, covering their companions behind them. But the shield can't protect the whole body, and there are still many ashigaru who lose their combat effectiveness because of the middle of the legs.

As the distance closed, more and more Asai family ashigaru fell with arrows in the legs, and the 300 hexagonal archers on the shore also suffered more than two dozen casualties under the projectile of the Asai family archers. As the Asai family began to get closer and closer to the shore, Goto Kentoyo removed all the archers and instead let the 600 melee ashigaru go up. In the past ten days, the Hexagonal family has built a lot of fortifications on the south bank, and on the tidal flats on the south bank, a lot of horses and wooden fences have been placed horizontally and vertically, and further on, there are two trenches and two rows of fences. The defense of the Rokkaku family stood behind the fences and trenches, ready to hold back the Asai army.

In the previous two tentative attacks, the Asai family only invested a few hundred people, and left after only slightly destroying some fortifications. And this time, the Asai family is violent, obviously it is real, and the Rokkaku family is also in the spirit of twelve points.