On the evening of February 6, in Tange, north of Narumi Castle.

After listening to the words of the bee house Yoryu who came to ask for help, Mizuno Tadamitsu sat down in his seat with a grim face.

"The lord asked us to strictly blockade Narumi, and it didn't take long for Da Gao to poke out such a Lou Zi." Mizuno Tadamitsu slammed his fist on the coffee table, "Is Sakuma-sama-sama crazy?" Going out of the city to fight out of the city, half of the others were annihilated, and he was seriously injured, so he couldn't even defend the Zenzhao Temple? ”

"Mizuno-sama is angry." Beehouse Raiton said in a low voice, "Lord Sasa-sama let me say that everything is his responsibility, and Lord Sakuma was forced by him to go out of the city to fight, and he is willing to bear all the blame from the lord." ”

"The Asura is still the same." Mizuno Tadamitsu sighed, his mood had just calmed down a little, but when he thought that the situation had deteriorated instantly due to Zenshoji's unauthorized attack, he was angry and shouted, "Why did you fight at that time!" ”

Mizuno Tadamitsu knew in his heart that the reason why the Oda family was able to maintain their advantage on the border and build rocks to besiege Narumi Castle and Odaka Castle was because the main force of the Imagawa family was unwilling to go on an expedition. If the Imagawa family really came with all the divisions, the Oda family would immediately fall into crisis. Narumi Castle, Otaka Castle, and Tsukake Castle were originally the territories of Owari, but at the moment they were controlled by the Imagawa family. Although the Oda family built rock barricades to intimidate the local wealthy families and ensure that most of the land was still under their control, their prestige had seriously declined.

If Zenshoji Temple is lost, Nakajima, as well as Washizu and Marune under Odaka Castle, will immediately lose most of their communication channels with Owari, and the more than 1,000 people stationed there will have to flee back in pieces, and Iwaki will have to give up. At that time, the border situation that the Oda family had painstakingly managed for several years would be ruined, and the wealthy families of Aichi-gun and Chita-gun would surely fall to the Imagawa family in large numbers. The Oda family will forever lose control of southern Owari.

Although the total strength of the Oda family's five rocks was quite large, they were scattered in various places. If you want to break the siege of Zenshoji Temple, you must gather together. However, most of their communication with each other has been cut off by the Imagawa family. All the rocks can only hold on at the moment, and they dare not go forward to relieve the siege.

"Your Excellency." Beehouse Yoritaka also knew that this time was a big trouble, he had always been aggressive, and he lowered his tone even though he was rude and tough, "At that time, there were only 200 people in the Imagawa Army Yuqiu family watching outside. We felt we had an opportunity, so we struck. ”

"Opportunity? I think it's an asura who is eager for revenge. Mizuno Tadamitsu snorted, "Then how can you 200 soldiers and dozens of black mother-clothed people be defeated?" ”

"My lord, that Yu Qiuping's troops are not the same as those slaves in Zhili last year, and they are exaggerated in terms of combat effectiveness." Beehouse Yoritaka still shuddered now when he thought of the opponent's immobile military formation, the rapid and neat formation change and the momentum of the whole army when he stabbed, "We all think that Yu Qiuping must have led other troops, and it is very likely that it is Sena's or Imagawa Yoshimoto's banner team!" ”

"Did you see Yoshimoto Imagawa's horse print?" Mizuno Tadamitsu's eyelids jumped.

"Not really." Bee House Rylong said honestly.

"Can you send someone to check again?" Mizuno asked.

"I'm afraid it won't work, sir." "Soon after we left, the Imagawa family surrounded Zenshoji Temple, and the communication between the inside and outside had been cut off, and it was probably impossible to contact the three rocks to the south. ”

"Then what kind of flag team do you say?" Mizuno Tadamitsu snorted heavily, "Don't say more, let's go to Nakono Castle and report it." ”

"Yes, sir." Beehouse Lailong led a few of the black-clothed people who had broken through before the encirclement of the army to leave Tange and run in the direction of Nakono Castle.

After they left, Mizuno Tadamitsu looked at the retainers behind him, "What do you think?" ”

"Your Highness." An elder of the family said dissatisfiedly, "Sasa-sama and Sakuma-sama made a big mistake, but they are not willing to take responsibility. Deliberately exaggerating the strength of the Imagawa family to shirk the blame, saying that the Yuqiu family's troops are Imagawa Yoshimoto's banner team is obviously nonsense. It is very likely that he was defeated in an ambush after leaving the city. ”

"That's right, I think so, too." Mizuno Tadamitsu nodded, "The situation is already so grim, and the Zenshoji Temple may be lost at any time, so our Tange Temple is the last line of defense." ”

"Once Tange is lost, not only will our allies in the three rocks to the south lose their way out, but Aichi-gun and Chita-gun will lose control, and even the important town of Nakono Castle will be exposed to the Imagawa family's forces." Mizuno Tadamitsu said as he tapped his hand heavily on the map hanging on the wall, "So we must defend Tange!" ”

"However, the large-scale mobilization of the main family during last year's autumn harvest has affected the autumn harvest." Mizuno Tadamitsu sighed, "Fighting for many years, there is not a lot of grain in stock, and the spring ploughing can no longer be delayed by gathering troops, we have to rely on our own strength to defend Danxia!" ”

"My lord," said one of the elders with some hesitation, "what if we are besieged for a long time?" Our military rations ... There's not much left, so I'll have to ask for help from Nakono Castle. ”

"No, it's too late." Mizuno Tadamitsu shook his head, "What if the Imagawa army has already surrounded Tange before the rations are delivered, will we be able to wait for death here?" In order to relieve us from the siege, the main family has to recruit troops to fight again, and this year's spring plowing will also be affected. ”

"What does the lord mean?" asked the retainer hesitantly.

"Collect food from that village around you, and go early tomorrow morning!" Mizuno Tadamitsu said unceremoniously.

"But... Many of those people had fled from the vicinity of Narumi Castle and Dataka Castle, and they didn't have much savings in the first place. Last autumn's war destroyed a lot of farmland, and many men were recruited from there, delaying the autumn harvest. They're afraid... There's not much food either..."

"Is it time to think about the people?" Mizuno Tadamitsu glared at the retainer dissatisfied, "We are now considering keeping food for the people to keep for them, and when Tanxia loses it, won't it all be cheap for the Imagawa family?" ”

"That's what my lord said." The retainers nodded their heads in response and began to prepare.

On 7 February, the Imagawa army was too busy reinforcing the siege ring and building siege equipment to continue transporting food to Narumi Castle – there was no shortage of food anyway.

At the same time, Nakajima, Washizu, and Marune, who were located in the south, made the same judgment as Tange and began to forcibly collect grain from the surrounding villages.

On 8 February, the Oda family swept away almost all the grain stocks in the surrounding villages, and the Imagawa family succeeded in surrounding the Zenshoji Temple. At the same time, the subsequent delivery of military rations was also escorted by the Matsudaira family to the military camp outside Zenshoji Temple.

On February 9, Sena Clan Jun left Sena Yoshiwa Okuhira Sadaichi to stay in the camp, while he himself took Yu Qiuping, Askina Taiheng and more than 20 cronies on horseback to personally investigate the situation in Tange. In addition, scouts were sent to reconnoiter the three rocks in the south.

However, to Yuqiuping's surprise, just as they approached the small village east of Tange, they saw a crowd of people carrying small parcels and dragging their families away from their village.

At the signal of Sena Shitoshi, Yu Qiuping rode over, and several peasants saw Yu Qiuping and Naoe Tadahei on horseback, Amano Keitoku, and Honda Nabe Nosuke on horseback, and they all wanted to avoid it in horror. When Yu Qiuping saw this, he hurriedly jumped off the horse and led the horse over. The peasants stopped running in a trembling manner.

"Uncle," Yu Qiuping beckoned to an elderly peasant, "are you from Danxia Village?" ”

"If you go back to your lordship, the grass people are from Danxia Village." When the peasants saw Yu Qiuping coming, they hurriedly led their families to kneel and kowtow, and several surrounding peasants also knelt down immediately.

"Your Excellency, you look like an adult from the Imagawa family, right?" The old man asked, kneeling.

Amano frowned violently, and the crow on his shoulder let out a wail. He asked in a wary voice, "How do you see that we don't have a flag?" ”

Hearing the unkindness in Amano Jingde's words, the old man hurriedly kowtowed a few more times, and kept saying something like "adults forgive sins".

"Forget it, let's all get up." Yu Qiuping smiled, and motioned for Honda Nabe Nosuke and Naoe Tadahei to help them up, "We are not from the Oda family at first glance, what else can we be if we are not from the Imagawa family?" Yu Qiuping's smile made the dozen or so farmers who looked at each other a little lighter.

"Uncle, I want to ask, where are you dragging your family going?" Yu Qiuping asked.

"If you go back to the adults, the grass people are going to escape the famine. My second son is in the bucket room, and I plan to go to him. The old man said honestly.

"Barrel Narrow?" Yu Qiuping remembered the village that had been devastated by the Oda family last year, and the great battle that broke out near the barrel sagama last year, "I'm afraid that the year there is not good, and the old man may have to run for nothing." ”

"There's no better place than here!" The old man sighed and shook his head, "If I really can't live, I don't want to leave my hometown, this is a place where I have lived all my life." ”

"Why? Did something happen? Yu Qiuping asked.

"Eh, don't mention it. The adults of the Oda family were all blinded by lard! The old man took a sip, "During the autumn harvest last year, the third and fourth sons of my family were dragged to be people's husbands, and the autumn harvest of my family was confiscated." A few days ago, during the spring ploughing, we took away all the grain stored in the village, and we couldn't even make up the seeds and grain. The old man complained for a long time, and the farmers complained about the tyranny of the Oda family.

After that, Yu Qiuping followed the farmers back to their village to take a look, and the paddy fields on the edge of the village were no longer cultivated, and the whole village, young and old, went to the fields to dig grass roots and find food for wild mice. Starving people can be seen everywhere on the roadside, and the stench of decay is emanated. Several other families' houses were burned down, and the bodies of the old and young families were dumped by the door.

"This is what happens if you don't pay the grain," the old man choked up, "it's just a dead word." But what if you pay it, it's not like the whole village can't survive. ”

The old man took Yu Qiuping to his home, and there was no food left at home. The rice silos where the grain was stored were empty, and even the wooden planks were warped to pick up the grain that had fallen into the crevices. The uncle's two little grandsons also came back soon after, and they were already yellow and thin, and they hadn't eaten enough for a long time. Each of them carried a small basket of wild vegetables, which was their food for the day.

Yu Qiuping couldn't bear it, so he left the dry food he was carrying with him to the dozen or so farmers, and with tears in his eyes, he quickly left the village and went to find Sena Shijun to recover his life.

"The Oda family has collected all the food stockpiles, and the people of these villages around Narumi Castle will not be able to survive." Yu Qiuping said in a low voice.

"Yesterday, the Tanma I sent to the south also reported that the grain of the people around Dataka Castle had also been looted by the Oda family, and it seems that they were preparing to dig out their hearts and defend it." Sena sighed.

Yu Qiuping was stunned for a moment, and memories suddenly flooded in.

"Although, a person like me, who has no rights in his hands and no great ability, will be a little arrogant to say such things to you," Yu Qiuping solemnly looked at the tearful girl, "but I am willing to promise you a promise to the family that has experienced misfortune all over the world." I, Yu Qiuping, will definitely do my best to save them, so that they don't have to go through life and death again. ”

"Your Highness, the focus of the next is not here." Yu Qiuping swallowed his saliva, hesitated, and said, "So many people won't be able to live, Your Highness, look... Can we help? ”