If Tokiwa really did what they and the Nakane family said, he was going to Inima Castle. Then after they followed the Tianlong River to the south, they should turn west. However, Yu Qiuping neither had the "Takeda reinforcements" behind him, nor was he stupid enough to use Tokiwa to single-handedly pick up the entire Okabe army. At this time, after leaving the field of vision of Futamata, he turned east and went straight to the first line of Sheshan-Kakegawa Castle.

On June 2nd, before three o'clock, the city of Yinma.

After listening to the information sent by the messenger of the Nakabe family, Okabe Motonobu's face was still very calm. His composure also gave a reassurance to the governors of other wealthy clans around him, and he didn't mess around because of sudden changes.

"Your Highness..."The messenger of the Nakane family added in a low voice, "They said that the Yuqiu family's Chang Banbei is going to Yinma City by the way, and please prepare your Highness early!" ”

"Suspicious tactics." Okabe Motonobu said decisively, "Autumn leaves in the rain and autumn are cautious, and they will never hit a stone with an egg. If I expected it to be true, he must have gone to defend Kakegawa Castle with his whole division. ”

"Don't worry, you can't be wrong." Seeing that the subordinates around him seemed to want to raise doubts, Okabe Motoshin shook his head resolutely and said, "If he really wants to go to Inma City, how can he talk to the Nakane family?" It was clear that Tokiwabi had made a long detour from the mountains to the north, and was unable to attack us. ”

"In that case, brother." Okabe Masatsuna said excitedly, "We might as well hurry up and rush to Kakegawa, and take advantage of their unstable foothold and physical strength not recovered, and directly defeat Kakegawa!" ”

"What the second son said makes sense!" "yes, good opportunity! Hit the Kakegawa, and the traitor Asahina will have to be caught! The surrounding families and generals also agreed.

However, Okabe Motonobu, who was extremely decisive just now, fell into deep thought at this time. After a long time, the surrounding suggestions gradually weakened, and Okabe Motonobu raised his head and said with a solemn face: "No, we don't have enough troops. ”

"Brother?" Okabe Masatsuna said with some surprise, "The defenders of Yoshida Castle have abandoned the city and retreated early this morning, and they will arrive at noon tomorrow, so the guards of Yoshima Castle don't have to worry." Our 6,000-strong army attacked Kakegawa Castle together, can't we still defeat the unheard of Chang Panbei? ”

"Because our army of 6,000 must not go out with the whole division to attack Kakegawa." Motonobu Okabe shook his head.

"The Takeda family, you must be guarded." Motonobu Okabe sighed and looked worriedly at the rolling mountains to the north.

"I won't hide it from you, the Okabe family has always had a good relationship with the Takeda family before. However, as a retainer of the Imagawa family, I would never contact the Takeda family by crossing the main family, so I didn't know anything about the movements of the Takeda family. Okabe Motonobu turned to look at everyone, "After His Royal Highness the Governor was unfortunately killed, a civil war broke out, and people were panicked. Doctor Dashan's skills are also well known, and it is very likely that he will take advantage of this opportunity to rob and take advantage of the benefits. ”

"It's just that something unexpected happened to me." Okabe Motonobu's Adam's apple squirmed, "I thought that with my relationship with the Takeda family, the Takeda family would definitely try to contact me to make a profit. At that time, I can delay until the chaos subsides, leaving the Takeda family with nothing. ”

"I really didn't expect that the Takeda family would be able to contact the Asahina family through Yu Qiuping. I had some contact with the Takeda family in the eastern part of Suruga before the autumn autumn leaves, and I forgot about it. Okabe Motonobu clenched his fists with remorse, "The Asahina family, who are at a disadvantage, has no choice but to gain the support of the Takeda family on the condition that part of Enoe's interests will be made. ”

Everyone present looked at each other for a while.

"For the sake of this infighting, we have abandoned His Highness Uden, abandoned Owari, and allowed the Matsudaira family to gain a great deal of autonomy and lose some control of Mikawa. Before I was in Trois-Rivières, I was a little impulsive. I always feel that there should be a solution to the mole first, otherwise who is the defense of the border for? But if it goes on like this..."Okabe Motonobu whispered bitterly, "If even the Enoe is damaged... This is something I absolutely cannot allow. This is the Toe that the Imagawa family has worked hard to recapture for generations. ”

Okabe Motonobu's words made everyone present sigh, and several people were already red-eyed.

"It is better to believe what you have than not to believe what you don't. The Takeda family must be guarded against. Okabe Motoshin said in a deep voice, "On the one hand, I will send someone to confirm with the Takeda family, but at the same time, the defense must not be left behind, and the Takeda family must not be allowed to sneak attack." ”

"His Royal Highness Iio, His Royal Highness Iyi, please lead your subordinates to Nagashino Castle to garrison. His Royal Highness Miura, please lead your troops over Futama Castle to Inui Castle. The two highnesses also need to be vigilant about the movement of Shinano in the north. Okabe Motonobu continued to arrange, "Your Highness Katsuyama, please take my warrant and go to Futama Castle to defend immediately. If the Nakane family does not obey the order, they will go to Inui Castle with His Highness Miura first, and cut off the connection between Futama Castle and the north. His Royal Highness Iiao, Tsunebanbei estimates that he will soon pass through Sheshan and head to Kakegawa Castle. Please garrison Mt. Sheshan after you arrive in Tokiwabi. Cut off the connection between Kakegawa Castle and Futamataki Castle. ”

"The above deployment should be completed within two days. Please, everybody! I, Okabe Motoshin, sit in Yinma City and support you. Okabe Motoshin said loudly.

"Obviously, there has been infighting in the family, but His Royal Highness Okabe still focuses on the overall situation of the Imagawa family, and he is really a model for my generation." Miura Yoshiki bowed with emotion, "It's just that there is something unclear below." His Royal Highness Okabe scattered the entire army to defend it, and what should I do if the pursuers of the Asahina family attack Rima Castle? ”

"Chang Panbei has already made a detour to leave, and the chasing soldiers behind him are only about 2,000 soldiers. When Yoshida Castle's troops withdraw, there will be about 1,500 soldiers in Suma Castle, which is enough to resist. Motonobu Okabe said confidently.

"But our arming, external and not internal, in case of Yuqiuping in Chuan City, what should we do?" Miura asked again.

"I have my own way to deal with the rain and autumn red leaves." Okabe Motonobu smiled confidently, "Massuna, after the meeting is dismissed, you can stay for a while." ”

"I know that in the case of a civil war on both sides, it is inevitably a little unkind to let you defend against foreign enemies." After seeing everyone's embarrassed faces, Okabe Motoshin said in a low voice: "But everyone, please also make this clear - whether it is rebellion or defending against foreign enemies, it is all for the Imagawa family, and there is no contradiction between the two. ”

"When it's really a last resort, my Okabe family will never force you for their own interests." Okabe Motonobu said in a deep voice, "However, Asahina and the others not only covered up the rainy autumn and red leaves of His Royal Highness the Governor, but also colluded with the Takeda family to plot against Yuanjiang, and the crime is unforgivable. I, Motonobu Okabe, will never die with them! ”

On the evening of June 4th, Kakegawa Castle.

Tsukiwanbei had already arrived at Kakegawa Castle in the evening of two days earlier, and entered the castle amid the cheers of the samurai and the people inside and outside Kakegawa Castle. Now, throughout the territory of Yuanjiang, the families of the large and small wealthy families who followed the Asahina family have basically fled to Kakegawa Castle. If Kakegawa Castle is lost, everyone really doesn't know where to flee. However, since the Imagawa family was almost empty this time, there were not many defenders left in Kakegawa Castle. Full of battles, there are only soldiers in their early 100s. The armor and armament are complete, and the retainers who stayed behind are trying to mobilize all the men in the collar for training, distributing weapons to them, and preparing to guard Kakegawa Castle.

The arrival of Yu Qiuping is really a timely rain. Not only did he bring the famous Red Leaf Soldiers, but Yu Qiuping himself was also a general known for his defense. Kakegawa Castle is a castle that has been run by the Asahina family for generations, and is one of the most fortified castles in the Enoe region with well-equipped defense facilities. In such a situation, it should not be difficult for Yu Qiuping to hold the Kakegawa. The only problem is that some of the castles are too large, and Yu Qiuping's 600 soldiers may not be able to take care of the four walls in every detail, and they still need to mobilize civilians to assist in the defense.

The day after Yu Qiupei's arrival, almost all of the ashigaru were very tired and exhausted—the three-day trek was too much of a drain on their physical strength. After everyone had a good night's rest, this stamina came up. The backache and leg pain of the ashigaru people can't help but make Yu Qiuping worried. Fortunately, the Okabe family did not attack Kakegawa Castle on June 3. The scouts sent out by Kakegawa Castle did not find that the troops of the Okabe family had crossed over and moved eastward.

"It's likely that our suspicious tactics have worked." Yu Qiuping, who had escaped, let out a sigh of relief, "Okabe Motonobu may be worried that we are going directly to attack Inuma Castle with the support of the Takeda family, and we are shrinking into defense. ”

However, on June 4, further information arrived. It seems that the troops of the Okabe family have abandoned Yoshida Castle and shrunk to Prima Castle. The troops of the various wealthy clans were sent by Okabe Motonobu to the northern border to guard against the Takeda family. Such a move really relieved the nervous people in Kakegawa Castle and relieved that the Okabe family did not have enough troops to attack. But Yu Qiuping himself was slightly embarrassed, regardless of whether Okabe Motonobu was a traitor or not, he gave up the offensive for the benefit of the Imagawa family and went to defend Enoe instead. Yu Qiuping himself took advantage of the other party's selfless scheme, and it was really difficult for him to feel gratified.

In the early morning of June 5, the pursuers of the Asahina family had pursued to the shores of Lake Hammyeong, and sent a herald to make contact with Kakegawa Castle. Okabe Motonobu finally got in touch with the Takeda family of Minami Shinano, Iida Castle, and learned that although the Takeda family was very concerned about the situation of the Imagawa family, they had no intention of sending troops at all. Having discovered the plan, he hurriedly began to adjust his deployment, but it was too late, and the scattered troops were powerless to stop the advance towards Bina's house.

Just when everyone in the Asahina family celebrated the reversal of the situation, no one knew that the deputy strategy arranged by Okabe Motonobu had quietly unfolded. And Okabe Masana had already left Inhima Castle early in the morning with a dozen cavalry on June 3.