It's really over.

On November 16th, in the castle tower of the Thousand Stone Digging Castle.

Yasunari Fukushima and Yuaki, Yoshioka Katsumasa, Mizuatoma, and Wasuka Koroku met with Tsuda and Tsuda Tsunaga, father and son, and discussed future action plans. Not long ago, Nerai had just opened the gates of the castle to welcome Tokiwabei's troops into the castle and invited the officers of Tokiwabei to dine at the castle tower. In order to show his sincerity and trust, Fukushima Yasunari also calmly brought the senior commander of the army to the banquet, which immediately won the favor of the roots.

"This..."At the banquet, Yoshioka Katsumasa recognized Okushigemasa sitting in the back row at a glance, "But that samurai who has been guerrilla a few days ago?" I know him, and he's caused us a lot of trouble. ”

"Ah..." Ao Chongzheng was a little embarrassed when he heard this, and he didn't know how to reply, so he was stunned for a long time before he replied nondescriptly, "You have won the award." ”

Yoshioka Katsumasa stirred up a thousand waves with one stone, and immediately the officers of Tokiwa began a large-scale "confession" operation, and they all found out those who had fought on the battlefield before from among the samurai who had come to the roots. To say that there is mutual appreciation, but to say that there is no hatred for each other before is certainly a lie. After all, the guerrilla attacks of the Kii people made the life of the Red Leaf Army very difficult, and they also killed many of their brothers.

However, war is like that, there is no way. These samurai are also people who have been licking blood with their knives for so many years, and they will not be ignorant of the severity.

"I'd like to ask you about someone." While chatting, the Water Atom Sutra suddenly remembered something and asked the samurai who had come to the roots, "Do you know a samurai who also uses iron cannons?" With a pipe in his mouth, he whistles every time an attack is launched, and the whistle is like the sound of a bamboo bird! ”

"You're going to ask that little bamboo finch!"

"I'm definitely talking about the little bamboo finch!"

Before the Water Atom Sutra finished speaking, several other Chang Panbei colleagues had already guessed what he wanted to ask, and echoed in unison.

"Little bamboo sparrow?" Tsuda laughed when he heard what Tokiwa called the Kii samurai, "It doesn't look like a samurai's name at all." ”

"How old is the guy you're talking about?" Tsuda thought about it with a frown, and it seemed that there was no good candidate.

"Twenty-six seven, a blue feather weave." The Water Atom Sutra recalled the man's appearance and replied to Tsuda.

"This..."Tsuda thought for a while, then raised his head and whispered, "Could it be that the chief of the field of the Saka people?" ”

"The Lord of the Field? He does seem to like to smoke a lot. Tsuda nodded approvingly, "But I don't know if he can whistle?" ”

"Ah no matter, we'll know when the time comes." Yoshioka Katsumasa smiled and waved his hand, "At that time, he gathered the whole army of the Saga people and attacked our baggage team several times, making us miserable, the whole army remembered him, and His Highness also remembered him, let us be careful of this person." ”

"It's also an honor to be a samurai to be valued by His Royal Highness Momiji." Hearing this, Tsuda said with some envy, "After all, His Royal Highness Momiji is the best of the younger generation of martial artists. If you can face the repair doctor and the big meal doctor, you will not be left behind, and in ten years, no one in the world will be able to stand out. ”

"Then what are the further arrangements for His Highness Momiji? But do you need to do anything about it? Tsuda took over his father's words and asked in a low voice.

"Your Highness considers that the Genlai people may not be willing to meet with their former colleagues, so there is no need for the Genlai people to participate in the war." Fukushima Yasunari whispered very considerately, "Your Highness only needs to send a guide to guide us into the army." At the same time, I also hope that the Genlai Congregation can provide a messenger to help us persuade more people to surrender. ”

"So what's next for Tokiwa Preparation?"

"After crossing the Izumi Mountains, we will be able to go deep behind the Kii people's defense line, and the entire defense line will be divided into two. Your Highness asked us to first cooperate with the Eastern Route Army to encircle and annihilate the troops on the eastern front of the Kii people, and then join forces to march westward and cooperate with His Highness's main force to flank the army of the Kii people on the western front. ”

·

Due to the rebellion of the Nelai, the Kii Line was opened in the middle. Momiji Army Tokiwa Bei entered Naga Prefecture directly from the mountain road and appeared behind the people of Kii. The people of Kii were immediately shocked, and the troops on the eastern front urgently retreated, but they were crushed by Ikeda Tsuneko's pursuit, and the retreat road had already been blocked by Tokiwabi. Under the persuasion of the Genlai, these people had no choice but to surrender. However, these defeated and surrendered people will certainly not enjoy the same treatment as those who have thrown rain into the Qiu family before. The armament of their troops was confiscated, and the main samurai retainers were temporarily placed under house arrest.

With the defense of both the central and eastern fronts already collapsed, Suzuki Shigei did not dare to block and harass the Momiji Army in the mountains left on the western front, so as not to be outflanked by the troops attacking from the flank. As a last resort, he ordered his troops to be broken into pieces and retreat to Saga Castle from all roads to hold on. However, many small wealthy clans did not return after breaking away from the large army, but returned to their territories and sent envoys to Yuqiuping to negotiate peace.

By the time the Yuqiu family's army met under Saga Castle and surrounded Suzuki Shigeyi in the city, there were only 3,000 poor people left around Suzuki Shigei. Yu Qiuping then issued an order, demanding that all the Kii people and temple forces who had previously remained neutral immediately take a stand - those who were willing to submit to the Yuqiu family should lead their troops to meet at Saga Castle, otherwise they would be treated as enemies.

Yu Qiuping's move was actually suggested by Amano Jingde. In order to transfer the small wealthy clan and the people of the country out of their territory, so as to facilitate the implementation of the subsequent "land reform" plan. At the same time, Amano Jingde pointed out that those temple forces would most likely ignore Yuqiuping's announcement, which also gave Yuqiu's family a pretext for crusading afterwards.

Sure enough, most of the small wealthy clans and the people of the country honestly led their troops to the castle of Saga, but most of the temples and shrines in Kii were indifferent to Yu Qiuping's request. Yu Qiuping secretly wrote down the names of these temples in his heart, but he didn't settle the account immediately—burning the flames towards the Ichijo sect now would easily provoke the dissatisfaction and resistance of the entire Kii. Until the dust settles, don't rush to do it.

·

"Cut." At the head of Saga Castle, the head of the "Little Skylark" who was remembered by the Red Leaf Army was at the head of the city, staring at the camp under the city with great annoyance. There are a lot of flags there, and the friendly forces that fought side by side a few months ago have now turned into Yu Qiuping - obviously Yu Qiuping didn't promise anything, not even the security he received, why did these guys wag their tails and surrender?

Right now, the 3,000 Zaga people are besieged in Saga City by more than 20,000 people, and there is no chance of breaking through at all. And even though they had already asked for help from Honganji, and Honganji had promised to contact the Miyoshi family and the Mori family to come and help, they could not count on these reinforcements. I don't know how long it will be delayed, and when the navy arrived, the daylilies were cold.

In the past few days, the Red Leaf Army auxiliaries outside Saga Castle are frantically building siege equipment, and rushing cars, ladders, siege turrets, and lookouts are densely piled up throughout the camp, making the people in the city shudder. Yu Qiuping also sent envoys to persuade him to surrender many times, but he was rejected by Suzuki Shigei - as the most staunch believer of Kii, the Saga people could not betray the master of Honganji, let alone surrender to Oda Nobunaga, the enemy of Buddhism. Although the leaders of the wealthy clans, such as Tsuda Somasa, Tsuchihashi Shigeharu, Satake Yoshimasa, and Ota Tada, wrote letters to persuade him to surrender, explaining that "His Royal Highness Momiji has a kind heart and is different from a demon king like Oda Nobunaga", Suzuki Shigei remained unwavering. In his view, these rhetoric were merely excuses made by the capitulators for their lack of determination.

However, despite Suzuki's strong will, the hearts of the Saga people are fluctuating, and the desperate situation in front of them makes them unable to see the future. Many people talked about it, saying that those who surrendered were not affected, and those temples who refused to come were not embarrassed by Yuqiuping, so why not surrender? Isn't it possible to work for the Dharma Master in the future? And those who hold a similar view are Suzuki Shigei's eldest son, Suzuki Shigekane

Thinking of this, Suzuki Shigeyi seemed to feel that he had a lot more gray hair. Seeing that the general attack of the Yuqiu family was imminent, Suzuki's heart became tighter and tighter. However, at this critical moment, Saga Castle suddenly welcomed an uninvited guest - a visitor lurked in from the mountains and evaded the blockade of the Momiji Army.

·

"What? His Royal Highness Suzuki agreed to make peace? After listening to the envoy's report, Yu Qiuping asked in a low voice in some surprise. He had planned to launch a general attack early this morning, but Suzuki's envoy suddenly said that he wanted to negotiate peace—if he really wanted to negotiate peace, why did he go earlier? So many messengers were sent out before, and they all took so many tongues, and they were all eaten?

"Yes, but the lord under the command must first figure out the conditions of His Royal Highness." The messenger replied in a low voice.

"What else can you mention now?" Seeing this, Yoshioka Katsumasa shouted dissatisfiedly, "You're going to be done soon? Surrender unconditionally! Still want conditions? ”

"Don't do that, Katsumasa." Yu Qiuping pressed his hand, motioned for Yoshioka Katsumasa to stop, and then whispered to the envoy, "The conditions are very complicated, and I can't say it clearly. I suggest that His Highness Suzuki lay down his arms and stop resisting first, and then I will call all the Kii people together for a meeting to discuss peace talks. ”

"We will not lay down our arms until we have been assured." The messenger whispered without humility or arrogance.

"Ah, forget it, it doesn't make sense with you." Yu Qiuping smiled and shook his head, "If His Royal Highness Suzuki really wants to talk about peace, let him come out in person, and I'll talk to him." ”

When the envoy heard this, he glanced at the heavily armed guards of the Red Leaf Army with some vigilance, and did not say anything.

"What's there to worry about, haven't you talked about it all once before?" Seeing this, Yu Qiuping asked with some puzzlement, "I have always been trustworthy, don't you know?" ”

"If His Royal Highness doesn't mind, can you come to Saga Castle to negotiate?" The messenger did not answer Yu Qiuping's question, but whispered to himself.

"Are you kidding me?" At this moment, Maeda Keiji couldn't sit still, got up from the stool and shouted, "It's time for this, will we let the lord run to your hands to negotiate?" Don't you have any points in mind? If you want to talk, get out of the city and talk! ”