The next morning, as soon as it was dawn, Yu Qiuping arranged for Chang Panbei's soldiers and auxiliaries to go out together to help the people repair their houses, build simple refugee camps, and resettle the homeless people. Amano Keitoku also proposed that Yu Qiuping repair the burned castle tower first, so that he could have a place to live. However, Yu Qiuping himself didn't care, and felt that he could make do with a house that hadn't burned down.

To everyone's surprise, the attitude of the common people, who had clashed with the troops yesterday, has taken a 180-degree turn today. Not only are there people who are willing to help, but there are also people who fetch water from the river to quench their thirst.

"I don't dare to do that." Seeing this, the water atom hurriedly excused himself, "Our Highness has ordered us not to take any grass or anything from the people without permission, but this is not allowed. Disobeying military orders without permission, where are we worthy of Your Highness. ”

"Then it's okay for us to help, this is also for us to repair the house ourselves!" Those people who came to fetch water saw that Chang Panbei and all the staff were not able to advance with oil and salt, so they had to retreat to the next option.

"Okay... But why are you in such trouble? The water atom scratched his head hesitantly and asked puzzled.

"Because your samurai lords are all good people, and that His Royal Highness Momiji is even more good." An old man who was already sixty or seventy years old, with gray hair, whispered with emotion, ignoring the old waist, picked up a plank and began to help.

"In the past, every time the city changed hands and the new army entered the city, it was inevitable to hunt and plunder indiscriminately. We all thought it was over, the Miyoshi family robbed once, the Matsunaga family robbed once, and the Matsunaga family left, and they were robbed again, but as a result, your old men who were always prepared did not commit any crimes, and did not take a stitch from us. ”

After the old man spoke, the people around him also seemed to be opened to talk, and you said word by word:

"Our Highness Hongye is a good person, and he still talks about credit, and he doesn't lie to us. Originally, His Royal Highness Momiji had just arrived, even if he didn't give us food, it was a matter of course. But he went up to the city himself to explain to us that he was being honest with us! ”

"His Royal Highness Momiji is not the same as Matsunaga Shu and Yasunaga Miyoshi, whose conscience has been eaten by dogs! He swore to protect us! ”

"Yes, yes. Our rice Sheng Mountain City is also the main city of the Sanhao family, and the rules and regulations have been paying public food for so many years, and the Sanhao Kangchang saw that the enemy was coming, and he abandoned the city and fled without defending it, and threw us to the rebellious soldiers to loot. What's more, he actually robbed us before leaving, do you still have a little conscience? ”

"The samurai of the Matsunaga Army are too, and they don't see the city defenses when they come here, they just rush to rob, and they don't have the intention of defending the city at all. Sure enough, this is not just a run! Only His Royal Highness Momiji is willing to defend the city, and only Chang Pan Beiqiu is willing to protect us! ”

"His Royal Highness Momiji doesn't even have a place to live, and when he gets up in the morning, he doesn't repair his own castle tower, but helps us grass people repair houses, where will we not know this kindness?"

"After waiting for so many years, there is finally a samurai master who does not treat us as grass mustards and is willing to protect us. His Royal Highness Momiji said that the military rations cannot be given to us, but to defend the city and protect us. With this sincerity, I am willing to give him my life! ”

·

The samurai lord in their mouth is having a headache in a roof in Honmaru at the moment. Maple Mountain City was in ruins, and there were so many things that he needed to deal with that he couldn't figure it out at all. He called Naoe Tadahei, Amano Keitoku, Sanada Masayuki and Shigeharu Takenaka to discuss.

"The top priority is to expand the army." Yu Qiuping first emphasized this point, "We can't do anything with the 800 soldiers we have on hand. ”

"How many people does Your Highness plan to expand your army?" Shigeharu Takenaka pondered for a moment and asked in a low voice.

“2000。” Yu Qiuping spit out a number that surprised everyone slightly, "We Chang Pan prepared the soldiers and auxiliaries who went out this time, and there are about 2,000 people who can go to the battlefield after recovering from their injuries. Let's just organize all these auxiliaries into soldiers. The auxiliaries brought on this expedition are all young and strong, and their physical fitness can definitely keep up. They've all been on the battlefield, they've had real combat experience – you all know how big the gap is between veterans and recruits who have been in battle. Moreover, they have also been marching and living with Chang Panbei for a long time, and they have an understanding of our discipline and various rules, so it is perfect for them to adapt. In the future, we might as well take this as a routine, and if we want to join the Tokiwa Preparatory Army, we will first serve in the auxiliary army for a period of time. ”

"But 2,000 people will not be too much, and the cost of each ashigaru year will need 10 yuan, so it will add up to 20,000 yuan. In addition, the cost of armament and equipment is also huge. Shigeharu Takenaka reminded with some uneasiness.

"There is no way, we are in the land of four wars, and we don't have enough troops to compete with the Miyoshi family at all. Even the Matsunaga family could stab us in the back. Yu Qiuping shook his head and said, "If you can't defend Maple Mountain City, no matter how much money you have, it's useless." ”

"Speaking of defending the city, I think His Highness's fortress is a good attempt." Shigeharu Takenaka still remembers the role played by the fortress constructed by Yuakihei during the battle of Nanzenji Temple, "We can build several fortresses around Iimoriyama Castle, oh no, Maple Mountain Castle, to echo Maple Leaf Mountain Castle." ”

"That's what I thought, too. However, after the actual battle, javelins, stones, bows and arrows did not play well in the fortress. Yu Qiuping recalled the battle situation at that time, frowned and said: "The attack area exposed to the enemy by the fortress is larger than that of ordinary cities, and the battle is more intense and intensive. Therefore, the defender of the city is required to have sufficient physical strength and attack frequency. Javelins, stones, bows and arrows consume too much physical strength, and last time it was only less than two hours, and the ashigaru people couldn't move, and they were still the most suitable for the iron gunners. ”

"I'm going to replace all the archers in our army with iron gunners." Yu Qiuping once again threw out a suggestion, which surprised everyone again. "Actual combat has proved that the combat effectiveness of iron cannons is very strong, and it is imperative to replace bows and arrows with iron cannons. Even if we don't change our costumes, the enemy will start changing their costumes. ”

"2,000 people, that's five companies. Each company had three platoons of iron gunners, which was 150 iron guns. Five companies, that's 750 ... And it is necessary to train them, which is another expense. The corners of Naoe's mouth twitched slightly, and he whispered with some fear: "Fortunately, Sena-sama is still in Owari, otherwise I heard this..."

"Alas, I don't know how to explain to Ji Bingwei when the time comes." Yu Qiuping's reaction to the thought of Sena Shiyoshi after hearing that he was going to spend so much money was big. "Straight to the point. I plan to expand the number of pikemen veterans in the army, except for some of the backbones, to train iron artillery, and let the new recruits train to become pikemen. ”

"Why is that?" Naoe Tadahei asked puzzledly, "Auxiliaries are trained to be spearmen, and pikemen are trained to be iron gunners, so wouldn't it be necessary to train one more round." Why don't you let the auxiliaries train directly as iron gunners? ”

"Because the reason why we are strong is because of discipline. The most important part of discipline training is the training of pikemen. After thinking for a moment, Yu Qiuping explained: "Whether it is the neatness of the formation, the order and prohibition, the trust in the companions, the maintenance of the battle line, the march in the queue, or other things such as perseverance and physical strength, the training of pikemen is the most demanding. The Iron Gunner, on the other hand, does not have such a high level of requirements for these basics, and mainly emphasizes the speed and accuracy of shooting, as well as the skill of using a knife. Therefore, I think that pikeman training is an indispensable lesson for every Changban preparation. ”

"There is another reason, and that is for the needs of future combat." Yu Qiuping had thought about this for a long time, "Although the iron gunners were equipped with short knives, so that they could assist the pikemen in the melee. But the main output of melee combat is still the spear. If the pikemen suffered too many casualties, the iron gunners could not resist against the short knives. ”

"But if all the iron artillerymen were former pikemen veterans, then they would be able to pick up the pikemen of the dead pikemen at a critical moment and continue to fight, ensuring the number of pikemen."

Yu Qiuping's statement was recognized by everyone present, but Shigeharu Takenaka still made a suggestion: "Your Highness, we only have about 500 spear veterans now. However, if according to His Highness's army expansion plan, there will be more than 750 iron gunners needed in the future, and more than 600 people will be needed after deducting the existing 100, which is too big. Moreover, if all pikemen veterans leave the pikemen queue, the pikemen's combat experience may drop dramatically. ”

"Of course, I won't ask for it in one step, after all, the production of iron cannons is not that fast." Yu Qiuping waved his hand again and again, "Don't worry, it's better to go step by step, step by step, it is impossible to let a platoon full of recruits go to the battlefield." However, this time for training, all the auxiliaries were to be trained according to the pikemen. ”

·

After solving the problem of military training, the problem of food is once again in front of us. Although this evening, some of the relief food will be delivered. Oda Nobunaga also assured that before the withdrawal of the army, enough rations would be left to support Yuakihei. However, this is not the solution, after all, there are more than 50,000 people in the castle and village towns around Maple Leaf Mountain Castle, and it is impossible to rely on the food relief left by the Oda family. However, most of their harvest this autumn was lost in the fire of Iimoriyama Castle and the indiscriminate fishing of the Matsunaga family and the Miyoshi family, and there was not much surplus food left. The next harvest will not be until next autumn. During this period, how to solve the problem of eating so many people is really a difficult problem.

Another pressing issue is the winter problem of the tens of thousands of residents of Maple Mountain City. Winter is approaching, but most of their homes have been destroyed in the fires. The simple wood-plank straw huts that Yu Qiuping has built now cannot withstand the cold at all, and if they want to survive the winter, they will need a lot of building materials - which Yu Qiuping does not have on hand.

"Maybe you can buy it from Sakai and Ishiyama." Akihei Akihei made a suggestion, "Sakai Town, located in the territory of Izumi Province and backed by the Seto Inland Sea, is a huge trading port in all of Japan, and there must be a lot of grain and building materials there. The town of Ishiyama is located in the territory of Settsu and is also strategically located. I can get in touch and give it a try. ”

"But Sakai Town, although autonomous, is still under the control of the Miyoshi family." Sanada Masayuki reminded, "If you want to get in touch with Sakai Town, you need to at least lay down Wakae and at the same time ensure a good relationship with Honganji." Then, from Wakae, to the southeast of Ishiyama Gobo, across the Neyagawa River and the Yamato River to connect with Sakaicho, this is not something that can be solved in a short time. Ishiyama Town, on the other hand, has a close relationship with Honganji Temple, and generally does not engage in large-scale trade with other daimyos. ”

When Masayuki Sanada pointed this out, everyone fell silent. What lies in front of them is a dead end.