After the meeting, Sena told everyone to rest in the barracks for the night, while he waited for further information, and asked everyone to hold another evaluation meeting tomorrow morning.

After Yu Qiuping returned to the barracks, Charlie and the guards immediately greeted him.

Yu Qiuping took out a border map and probably repeated the words of Sena Shitoshi.

"That's it." Yu Qiuping sighed, "Although there is still strength left in Narumi City and Yukake Castle, but there is not enough food and grass in Narumi City, and Yukake Castle has just suffered a fiasco, and in order to defend the city, it is no longer able to send troops to contain the Oda army." The forces of Okakajo were almost completely wiped out, and the Matsudaira family of Okazaki Castle also suffered a crushing defeat. Now Okazaki Castle is an empty castle. After the Oda clan won a great victory on the 26th, they did not move on the 27th and 28th," Akihei said nervously, "If they really have 2,000 soldiers, they will leave part of the siege of Kariya Castle and Ansho Castle, and the main force will continue to advance." One attack may be able to take Okazaki Castle. Yu Qiuping finished talking about Sena's pessimistic estimate of the battle situation.

In fact, because the Oda family did not know that the grain and grass of Narumi Castle were so embarrassed that they could not attack, they were very wary of Okabe Motonobu, who had high combat power, so they did not choose to attack boldly, fearing that they would be cut off by Okabe Motonobu.

"Will we go to war?" The pro-soldier guard, who had never been in battle, trembled a little. Yu Qiuping patted him on the shoulder and comforted, "It's okay, I guess we still focus on protecting Okazaki City." ”

Yu Qiuping suddenly found that after experiencing the experience of war, he was on the front line at the moment, and he was no longer so nervous, but could comfort others.

"Thompson, have you been on the battlefield before?" Yu Qiuping saw that Charlie beside him was also wiping his longbow very calmly, and asked.

"I haven't been to the battlefield before, but I've fought bandits with my father and I've killed people." Charlie said, "War is not so terrible, take care to protect yourself." ”

"Anyway, let's get some sleep first." Yu Qiuping looked at the black blindfold that Qin Bingwei had newly put on, and smiled slightly, "The Oda family can't stay still forever, maybe the situation will change tomorrow." ”

At the assessment early the next morning, all 200 soldiers were called. Sena and his entourage with crows hung a huge Owari map of the Mikawa border in the center of the castle tower parlor.

"Until early this morning, the general has not received any information about the Oda army." Sena's opening remarks relieved everyone present, but Sena shook his head.

"It's not a good thing." Sena said with a stern expression, "This only means that the scouts we sent out have not been able to detect the movement of the Oda Army until now for some reason," he put his right hand on the location of Okazaki Castle on the map, and then drew a line horizontally to the left.

"We don't know anything about the situation on the battlefield north of the Okazaki-Ansho-Kariya line. The cavalry of the Oda family has spread out a huge intelligence barrier, and our scouts are now too tight to infiltrate. ”

"If the Oda family's goal this time is to take over all of Mikawa," Sena Toshitoshi said, and some of the people present looked disapproving. "Don't think it's impossible," Sena Shitoshi glanced at those people, but under his quietly gentle and calm face, he exuded a powerful deterrent, "Once Okazaki Castle is lost, the communication between Enoe and Nishimikawa will be cut off immediately. Now that most of our troops in Yuanjiang have just been disbanded for the autumn harvest, it will take at least ten days for Asahina-sama to assemble a force of 2,000 soldiers. In ten days, who of you here can guarantee that Xisanhe will be able to hold on? ”

The crowd fell silent all at once.

"Going on, if the goal of the Oda family is to capture Mikawa, they will definitely target Okazaki Castle. Then they will attack Kariya Castle or Anxiang Castle from the barrel narrow, through Zhili. Anxiang Castle and Kariya Castle were originally at odds with each other, but now that there is a serious shortage of troops, it is very likely that they will be broken by each other. The Oda family must not be allowed to approach Kariya Castle and Ansho Castle, because once these two castles are lost, Okazaki Castle will be in no danger to defend, and we may have to withdraw from Okazaki. ”

"Therefore, the key point of this war lies in Zhili." Sena said loudly, and at the same time clenched his right hand into a fist and pounded the location of Chi Tachishi Castle on the map.

Yu Qiuping's heart suddenly rose to his throat. Isn't that exactly... The city of more than two hundred slaves?

"And if the purpose of the Oda family is limited to attacking Kakeke Castle, Odaka Castle and Narumi Castle, and recovering the lost territory of Owari. Our first goal, then, is to restore the connection with these two cities. Sena Shijun said, "I have already sent someone to lift my mother last night, Fukuya line, bypassing the front to contact the city. Sending people to the end of the river, Nawa first line to connect Dataka Castle and Narumi Castle, trying to establish a new transportation route. However, these two lines are too far away, and it is very likely that the information communication will not be smooth and timely enough. ”

"So, the key is still Chiri," Sena Shitoshi pointed to the location of Chiritsu Castle, "If we can contact Yukake Castle through Chiritsu, we can keep the information flowing." ”

"Such a strategic location." Sena Shijun complained a few words in his heart, "The Lord of the House not only refused to build a large castle here, but also only sent slaves to garrison it, and now there is trouble. ”

"What we can see, the Oda family will not fail to see, and they must also take the capture of Chirichi as an important goal in the next stage. However, since the evening of the 26th, there has been no news of Zhili Castle, and we do not even know that Zhili Castle is still under the control of the Imagawa family, and it is very likely that Zhili Castle has fallen. ”

Yu Qiuping suddenly felt dizzy again, he touched the more than two hundred letters in his package, and felt a burst of tension in his chest that it was about to explode. If more than 200 people were in danger, how would I deal with those 200 or so grief-stricken families! No, I'm going to Zhili, I'm going to go to Zhili and see how they're doing.

"So we need a squad to go to Zhili now to determine if Zhili has fallen. Now there is a shortage of manpower, so only 10 people can be sent. Have any of you been to Zhili? ”

"I've been down there." As soon as Sena's voice fell, Yu Qiuping immediately stood up, "I just went to Zhili Castle not long ago, and I am very familiar with the route, so please leave this task to you." ”

Sena was stunned for a moment. Suddenly remembered that this Yu Qiuping seemed to have come to Sanhe this time to bring letters to the more than 200 slaves in Zhili. He looked at Yu Qiuping's red eyes and anxious look, and wanted to dissuade him, but Yu Qiuping immediately clenched his fists and shouted: "Please be sure to give this task to you!" ”

Sena hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded.

"Okay, after the meeting, you can order ten people to come to me."

The next topic, what is being discussed, Yu Qiuping has no impression at all. All I could think about was to hurry to Zhili, and Zhili, who had not fallen, and Zhili, who had more than 200 slaves alive, handed over the letter to them and told them that everything was fine at home.

It seems that there is a very dangerous task, and the little man who was very excited on the road was like Yu Qiuping, who stood up and took the initiative to ask for help, and won the task.

After the assessment, Yu Qiuping took Charlie and the guards, as well as a few people who were selected with the help of the entourage with crows, to the second floor of the castle tower, the temporary office of Sena Shitoshi.

"Momiji-kun, don't you really matter?" Sena asked with concern, "You have no combat experience before. ”

"My lord, please leave it to me, I'm really in a hurry." Yu Qiuping swallowed, "I believe I can handle it." ”

"There may be life-threatening dangers." Sena added.

"I'm not afraid of it, I'm already killing my friend because I'm afraid of death, and I'll regret it for the rest of my life," Yu Qiuping said in a deep voice, "I don't want to do it again." ”

"Well, if you've made up your mind." Sena Shijun sighed, "Besides, Momiji-kun himself is also talented, and I am more relieved to have you to carry out this problem." ”

"This Samurai of mine is called Amano Keitoku, and he is 30 years old this year. He is a veteran who has been on the battlefield many times, has rich experience and is also very decisive. I'll let him go with you. "Sena Shijun introduced the retinue next to him who had been gloomy and expressionless, with a crow." His crow will deliver letters, and if the conditions do not allow you to come back to report the news, let the crow come back with the news instead of the carrier pigeon. On the battlefield, crows are far safer than carrier pigeons. ”

"Listen, we will arrange for you to leave at four o'clock in the morning." Sena Shitoshi said, "You go along the official road to Zhili Castle. Given that we don't hear anything from Zhili Castle right now, it's likely that there are already cavalry from the Oda Army on the pipeline to stop the transmission of information, and you are likely to be ambushed. If the conditions really don't allow it, return it. Don't take any chances. ”

"Yes." The crowd responded in unison.

"If you can reach the Zhili City, no matter what the situation is, give me a crow message, and then you will decide for yourself whether to evacuate with the defenders of Zhili City according to the specific situation, or hold on."

"However, if you find the Oda family's horse cavalry nearby, be sure to abandon any plans to retreat." Sena said in a deep voice, "The cavalry is Oda Nobunaga's elite guard, consisting of about 100 riders. With such a number of cavalry present, do not expect a retreat. ”

"Why, my lord, there are more than 200 people in Zhili City." Yu Qiuping asked puzzled.

As soon as the question came out, a few samurai who had been on the battlefield next to him threw a surprised glance at Yu Qiuping.

"Ten paces on one horse, it's never a lie," Sena explained, "Fighting on the plains, a single charge of 100 cavalry is enough to destroy 1,000 undertrained ashigaru." ”

"I see that there are a lot of iron-tipped bamboo spears in Zhili City, which can be used to restrain cavalry." Yu Qiuping said assumedly.

"Do you want to use pikemen to stop the cavalry from charging into battle," Sena Toshi smiled bitterly, "In our Imagawa family, I'm afraid that only the Governor-sama, Asahina-sama, and Okabe-sama's banner team can do it." My flag team can also try reluctantly, but they are still in Yuanjiang and have not brought it. ”

"How easy is it for pikemen to stop the cavalry charge? It is true that if you are very determined to stab the spear, you can indeed stab the horse or the rider to death, but the pikeman himself is not immune to the high-speed collision of the opponent. Sena explained, "If the cavalry keeps charging in a group, it will have a great momentum. Generally speaking, they are engaged in farming when they are busy and go out on expeditions when they are not working, and they are seriously undertrained, and they lack willpower, and they have no determination to die with the enemy. When the cavalry rushes in, they instinctively dodge. As soon as you dodge, let alone change your life, you can't even save your life, and you will be buried under the condescending and high-speed attack of the cavalry. As long as there are only three or four people in a pikemen's ranks, a large number of cavalry will pour in, and they will use the high speed to slaughter the helpless ashigaru. A contingent of pikemen was destroyed. ”

"Even a team of strong-willed pikemen dared to exchange lives with the cavalry to stop the other party's charge that disrupted the formation. If there is no cavalry to cover the flanks, once the opposing cavalry changes direction and detours to your flank to charge before you adjust your formation, the troops will not be spared. Therefore, don't expect to take those more than 200 slaves to fight the stables, even if there are only about 20 people on the other side. Sena Shijun could only sigh as he watched Yu Qiuping's face get worse and worse. There's no way around it. ”

"In war, the vast majority of casualties occur in post-war pursuits." Sena continued, "Generally, semi-professional soldiers like Ashigaru, with one percent of casualties and two percent of the best ones, will begin to retreat due to low morale and incomplete battle lines. At this time, if you can keep the establishment intact and retreat, you won't lose much in the end. ”

"But if unfortunately the team collapses and the establishment is disorganized, then it will turn into a massacre." Sena said with trepidation, "The collapsed team was unorganized, and no one was willing to cover their comrades, so everyone threw down their armor and weapons and fled in fear. Normally, when such a rout occurs, only those who are at the front are able to run back to safety. The people behind were always confused, crowded with each other, didn't know where to run, just ran with the big army. In the end, he senselessly ran out of strength and didn't run far, and was caught up by the enemy and killed. ”

"If the enemy had cavalry units, it would be even more miserable," added Sena, "and the high-speed cavalry could easily catch up with the fleeing Ashigaru and kill them." If there are hundreds of cavalry on the battlefield, it would be fine if the defeated side could maintain the formation to deter the cavalry, or let their own cavalry cover Ashigaru retreat, but if it turned into a rout, these hundreds of cavalry would make none of the thousands of Ashigaru escape. ”

"Having said all that, I just wanted to tell you," Sena sighed, "Don't expect to fight in the field with the stables or retreat in front of them. ”

"My lord, what should we do if we encounter a crowd of horses on the way forward?" Amano Keitoku suddenly asked.

"Hurry up and retreat, the ten of you are not the opponents of the mother-clothed people, and the hope of forcibly breaking through is too small." Sena said. Everyone's expressions darkened slightly, as if they had lost confidence.

"Your Excellency." Yu Qiuping suddenly had a flash of inspiration, "Is there a captured Oda family's flag in Okazaki City?" ”