On May 7th, two o'clock in the hour, inside the castle tower of the present-day Miyagi castle tower. After the two sides decided to cooperate temporarily, Yu Qiuhei, Sanada Nobutsuna, and Sanada Masayuki each took ten people to negotiate in the castle tower.

"Is this what you found?" Sanada Masayuki took the sachet in his hand and handed him to an elderly ashigaru beside him. The latter looked at it and said, "My lord, that Lord Yuqiu is right, this is the sachet of Kanto Sagami." ”

"Hojo?" Sanada Nobutsuna snorted, "Is your information reliable?" ”

"It's not reliable or easy to say, anyway, I've told you how I got it, and I can only guarantee that my description is true." Yu Qiuping promised. "What about you? Did you find anything? ”

"Before we left, the ninjas from Kasuga Mountain Castle came back with a message," Sanada Masayuki said in a low voice, "The Uesugi family's Regulus ninja shows no signs of mobilization. ”

"What do you mean... Didn't the Uesugi family do this incident? Is the information reliable? Yu Qiuping was a little surprised for a while.

"It's not reliable or easy to say, I can only promise that I will tell you everything I heard." Sanada Masayuki said in imitation of Yu Qiuping's tone, causing Yu Qiuping to smile.

"What are you going to do today?" Yu Qiuping asked. "Don't worry about grain and grass, Lord Imamiya promised us that we would subsidize our grain and grass for free."

"How to act, don't you have to look at Lord Yuqiu's face?" Sanada Masayuki sarcastically said, "Our people are all blocked in the camp, how do you say we will act?" ”

"I'll let it go later." Yu Qiuping nodded, "I'm going to investigate the southern foot of Aiying Mountain, after all, it is the only way for our Imagawa family herald to reach Hojo Odawara. ”

"Then let's go to the northeast of Aiying Mountain, where our heralds will go to Odawara." Sanada Masayuki looked at his brother.

After ending his meeting with Sanada Masayuki, Yu Qiupei found Imamiya Rakuding again.

"Lord Imamiya, with all due respect, I feel that the defenses of Imamiya Castle need to be strengthened." Yu Qiuping said.

"Oh? Since it was in Zhili Castle with 200 people to block the rain and autumn red leaves of the Oda family's 6,000 army, I listened to it. While Imamiya was happy to agree, he didn't forget to praise it.

"I think we should build a checkpoint there." Yu Qiuping pointed to the narrowest part of the road up the mountain from the ground, "Although the current palace castle is built on the mountain, it is very dangerous, easy to defend and difficult to attack. However, if the enemy attacks, the castle town may not be able to be saved. If the enemy is too numerous and besieged on all sides, our forces may not be enough to defend all the walls. Yu Qiuping explained, "It is very likely to be breached." ”

"But if you set up a checkpoint in that narrowest place," Yu Qiuping continued when he saw Imamiya nodding, "The road up the mountain will be completely blocked. As long as we hold that checkpoint, we can stop all the enemy troops at the bottom of the mountain, and Miyagi will not have to be harassed by war. And the narrow passage in the checkpoint is not conducive to the enemy's deployment of troops, and we only need a small number of troops to achieve the effect of being a man and a man. ”

"Makes sense! I haven't thought about this before, but now I really need to improve it, because I've not been attacked much before! Imamiya accepted with a smile, "I'll send someone to build it today!" ”

"By the way, Lord Yuqiu is going to investigate this time, do you need to send a few guides below."

"Thank you, then, sir."

The gates of Imamiya Castle are not closed during the daytime. Yu Qiuping freely returned to the camp tent and began to deploy today's mission.

Naoe Tadahei and Ogawa Yuto were arranged to stay in the camp with a squad of 10 people to protect Imamiya Rakuyu. Keitori Amano and Nakahide Mimasaki led a squad to patrol the mountainside, helping Imamiya Rakujo build the checkpoint by the way.

And Yu Qiuping took Fukushima Yasunari, Yoshioka Katsumasa, Charlie's three classes, and the four guides sent by Imamiya Leding, took weapons, and personally went to the southern foot of Aiying Mountain to investigate.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, Yu Qiuping's team first walked west and turned back, passing Yoshida, which they passed when they came, and then turned east, took a zigzag line, and arrived at Xingguo Temple. This is also the place where the Hojo family used to rise, and it is now nominally affiliated with the Imagawa family, but in fact some of the taxes are transferred to the Hojo family.

However, unlike the situation where all the villages were empty, in several villages of Heungguksa Temple, although only a few people were working in the fields, no one seemed to have evacuated. By noon, smoke was curling from every house.

"In a village that is inextricably linked to the Hojo family, no one escapes." Yu Qiuping frowned, "Go in and have a look, find a few people to ask." ”

Yu Qiuping led people into the village, and everyone was still dressed as a caravan, pushing a cart covered with tarpaulin. Therefore, the surrounding people don't seem to be too repulsed, but it is estimated that because the world has not been peaceful recently, they have all hid in their own houses far away and closed the door. There were only two or three old grandfathers, still walking unhurriedly on the road.

"Uncle!" Yu Qiuping stepped forward and asked, "I am a merchant who comes and goes, and all the villages have fled along the way, and there is nowhere to rest, do you know why?" ”

"Oops," an old man at the head sighed, poked the ground with his cane, and walked away ignoring Yu Qiuping. Another old man who followed behind him said apologetically to Yu Qiuping: "It's not peaceful here recently, I heard that there is a group of bandits, killing innocents everywhere, and I heard that even a few heralds from the family governor's hall have been killed, and the people of various villages have fled." Who would dare to live here? ”

"Then uncle, why don't you run away from your village?" Yu Qiuping said tentatively.

"If you don't run, we want to run too!" The old man sighed as he spoke, "The village chief of our village doesn't know what's crazy. It's obviously a member of the Imagawa family, but he said that he was ordered by the Sagami lord that the whole village was not allowed to escape. Who ran away..."The old man said as he made a gesture to wipe his neck around his neck, "The whole family is caught and killed." ”

Yu Qiuping was both confused and excited for a while. Confused, I don't know why there is such a strange command. Excitedly, the Sagami-sama that the old man said is probably the Hojo family. This village chief is obviously from the Imagawa family, but he obeys the orders of the Hojo family, and then contacts the sachet from Kanto before, and the truth of the matter has gradually surfaced.

"Can you take me to meet your village chief?" Yu Qiuping opened his mouth and asked, "I just took the caravan from Suruga to Sagami and wanted to ask about the situation." ”

"No problem." The old man enthusiastically led the way, "But when the time comes, don't tell our village chief that I brought you here, otherwise you will cause me trouble." Yu Qiuping hurriedly nodded in agreement, beckoning his subordinates to follow. The residents on both sides probably developed the habit of closing their doors in terror and panic, and when they saw a strange caravan coming, no one went out from the houses on both sides of Yuqiuping.

"The boss is from Suruga?" The old man casually said, "We haven't had a caravan from Suruga here for a few days, and there are rumors in the village that the bandits have robbed all the merchants. ”

"Maybe my caravan has a god protector, and I have always worshiped the Buddha devoutly." Yu Qiuping replied casually.

"Hahaha," the old man laughed, revealing a mouthful of neat teeth, "The adult said with a smile. ”

Yu Qiuping was stunned for a moment, and suddenly felt that something was wrong.

I'm an atheist, and I really think it's ridiculous to be a god or a Buddha. But in this era, Buddhism spread very widely in Japan, how dare an elderly person be so disrespectful to the gods and Buddhas?

And his neat teeth - is it really an old man?

Yu Qiuping's heart trembled, could it be a ninja or an assassin dressed as an old man?

He continued to talk and laugh with the old man, but his heart was already turbulent, and cold sweat flowed on his back. He quietly looked at his subordinates behind him, but none of them were defenseless. He took another quick glance at the closed houses on either side, each with smoke in its chimney, but no conversation was heard.

Could it be that the residents on both sides of this street... Are they all ambushes?

Yu Qiuping was already frightened at the moment, and he didn't know what to do. If he suddenly asked his subordinates to be on guard at this moment, he would have launched an ambush immediately, but his subordinates had not yet reacted and would be caught off guard. But if he continues to move forward, he can only fall deeper and deeper into the enemy's trap.

What to do?

Pregnant! Yu Qiuping had a flash of inspiration, and I could use Mandarin Chinese to communicate with my subordinates, and even if these Japanese people could understand Mandarin, they were far from my Mandarin.

However, as soon as I used this language to communicate, it soon became clear that I was sending a message.

What to do.

A ridiculous idea suddenly popped up in Yu Qiuping's mind, but at this moment, there was no other way.

"Uncle, this place is really similar to my hometown in Mingguo." Yu Qiuping looked around and said with emotion, "I'm a little homesick." ”

"Oh?" The uncle asked, "The boss is from the Ming Kingdom?" ”

"Yes," Yu Qiuping smiled, "I'm a little homesick, why don't I sing you a ballad in our hometown dialect?" ”

"Okay! Boss! "Sing, sing, sing!" The subordinates and guides who didn't know why coaxed one after another, and the uncle was also laughing from ear to ear.

Yu Qiuping cleared his throat, hummed a tune casually, and sang in pure Mandarin: "My ~ subordinates~, hear ~ I sing like this ~ don't show a surprised expression!" There is danger ~~~Hmm~~ Keep walking, keep walking~~"

After a moment of stunned, the subordinates immediately reacted and shouted for Yu Qiuping.

"We~around~ the houses on both sides of the street~ are full of ambushes!" Yu Qiuping continued to hum, "I'm afraid that ~ in Japanese ~ as soon as I remind you ~ they ~~ will find out~~ that's why I sing Chinese songs~~"

In the song Yu Qiuping, the subordinates behind him were already like a storm in their hearts, but they couldn't maintain a smile on their faces and shouted hello to the beat. The guides didn't notice it, they just felt that they couldn't understand the lyrics sung by Yu Qiuping, and the tune was so ugly, I don't know why everyone was desperately shouting.

"Next~~We'll ~~ immediately rush into the left and right~~ The rooms on both sides~~Listen to my count~Three-two-one~~"

"Three~~~~~" Yu Qiuping pretended to enter the high octave of the chorus part and generally sang.

"Two~~~~" He dragged out his tone, but his hand was already quietly pressed on the hilt of the knife, and the subordinates behind him also shouted a good opportunity, and touched the knife and bow under the tarpaulin.

"One!" Yu Qiuping shouted sharply, drew his knife and stabbed at the old man beside him, the old man was really in disguise, and his figure flashed suddenly after noticing the sound of drawing the knife, and he had already dodged a few steps away. At this moment, Yu Qiuping's thirty subordinates also suddenly burst out and rushed towards the houses on both sides. Yoshioka Katsumasa took the lead and kicked open the door of the house, and the two enemy soldiers hiding behind couldn't dodge and were smashed to the ground at once. Before the other person in the room could react, Charlie had already shot him in the throat, and he fell down without saying a word.

On the other side, Fukushima Yasunari and two of his subordinates also smashed open the gate and slashed and killed the unprepared enemy troops, and the attackers died before they could even pull out their knives.

In just a few breaths, Yu Qiuping's subordinates immediately took control of the four nearby houses, and the unknown guides were also dragged into the room. Yu Qiuping quickly ran into one of the rooms even crawling on the ground. When the old man found out that his plan had been revealed, he shouted angrily, and dozens of people rushed out of the houses on both sides of the surrounding street and attacked the houses. Akihei Yu, Charlie, Yasunari Fukushima, and Katsumasa Yoshioka each commanded the defense of a hut.

In this hut of Yu Qiuping, there are a total of 7 people including Yu Qiuping. Yu Qiuping hurriedly asked them to hold up the door panel and block the door, and then dragged the two corpses in the room to the center, and then the seven people quickly hid behind the desk, inside the cabinet and other places under Yu Qiuping's tidying.

Just a few moments after hiding, the door was kicked open again. As soon as three or four people dressed as ninjas rushed in, they couldn't help but be stunned when they saw the corpse in the center of the room. At this time, the two archers who were hiding in the back suddenly got up and shot arrows, and the ninja who was close at hand could not dodge at all, and they were immediately shot down. A ninja in the back throws two kunai. One archer crouched down to dodge, and the other couldn't dodge being stabbed in the shoulder.

In just a few moments, three more ninjas rushed in, Yu Qiuping shouted, and several people around him swarmed up, immediately slashing and killing the ninja who had just thrown the kunai and had time to adjust his posture. The three people in the back saw that it was not good, and quickly fled out of the house.

Before Yu Qiuping could react, he heard a sharp bamboo whistle blowing outside the house. Immediately after, I saw that dozens of ninjas who were originally attacking Yu Qiuping's subordinates quickly withdrew.

Yu Qiuping didn't react for a while why the other party withdrew so quickly, and shouted in the room to tell the other three troops not to rush out, so as not to be ambushed. It wasn't until they waited for about a cup of tea that no one had made a comeback, but there was a commotion from many residents at the head and end of the village, and everyone cautiously touched it out and gathered in the middle of the road.

Yu Qiuping suddenly reacted to something, and almost forgot the purpose of their trip: "An Cheng!" Take your men to arrest the village chief! Fast! Yu Qiuping let out a low roar, and Fukushima Yasunari suddenly realized that he immediately rushed over. Yu Qiuping slowly dispersed with the rest of the people, scouting for the enemies who were still left, and cleaning up the battlefield by the way. In the sudden encounter just now, three people were wounded on Yu Qiuping's side, but a total of thirteen attackers were killed, which can be said to be a successful backhand blow.

At this time, the people at both ends of the village gathered around the scene of the Yuqiuping fight, pointing at the middle and discussing something. Yu Qiuping stepped forward to ask if they were forced to leave, and the people said they had not heard of it. When asked about the rumors of the robbers' murder, they all said they didn't believe it. Didn't the panic spread here?

Not long after, Fukushima Yasunari came back empty-handed, sighed and said, "The village chief is gone." ”

"Is that so?" Yu Qiuping shook his head, "Sure enough, it was calculated." ”

"But there are traces of a fight in the village chief's house, I don't know why, I don't know if he was arrested." Fukushima Yasunari asked in a low voice with his eyebrows furrowed.

"Huh?" Yu Qiuping was also stunned for a moment, "Isn't the village chief the same group as the attacker just now?" ”

"And I think it's strange down there," Fukushima Yasunari hesitated, "and the gang fought and withdrew, as if they wanted to let us know that someone was going to attack, and they didn't want to kill us." ”

While the two were talking, Yoshioka Katsumasa led the guides over.

"My lord, those guides all said that the corpses of these ninjas are dressed like people from the Wind Demon Ninja." Yoshioka Katsumasa pointed to a few guides who were still a little frightened by the incident just now, and the latter nodded hurriedly.

"In the Wind Demon Ninja? Wind Demon Kotaro! Yu Qiuping's first reaction was the ninja who was famous in the Warring States, "The ninja of the Hojo family!" ”

Now it's hard to do.