On the evening of July 19, in the main tent of Yuqiu's family, almost all the high-ranking samurai were surrounded by sand tables with black faces.

"What the hell is going on with the 'little lark'?" Yu Qiuping flipped through the stack of war reports in his hand, and each of them had a similar description, "What did you hear a whistle like a lark's call, and then hundreds of people rushed out of the mountains and forests?" ”

"It's very likely that it was done by one person." Shigeharu Takenaka also held a copy of the battle report in his hand. While spreading out the battle report on the table, he picked up a small flag and inserted the place where the battle broke out on the sand table in the chronological order of the battle report, and found that it just formed an arc. "Judging by the speed at which the Saga people marched through the mountains and forests, it is very likely that these attacks were completed by a single force in one day."

"About 300 soldiers? That's almost one-tenth of the strength of the Kii people, so it's no wonder that all the troops can't resist..."Yu Qiuping asked in a low voice, "Why is such a large force maneuvering in the mountains and forests without anyone noticing?" ”

"Someone noticed, to be exact." Sanada Masayuki shook his head and added to Yu Qiuping's statement, "But because the command headquarters has specially issued an order, do not attack the troops in the mountains and forests, so as not to be dragged into the guerrilla warfare between the mountains and forests. Therefore, even if the enemy was detected in action, there were no officers to conduct fire reconnaissance of the enemy troops in the mountains and forests. Those Kii people are very powerful in the mountains and forests, and with the cooperation of ninjas, the ninjas of the Military Intelligence Division cannot check the enemy's situation up close, and they don't know the specific number of enemies. And the soldiers on the official road did not attack the people of the country, so they did not know anything about them. It was this embarrassing situation that caused us not to pay attention to the convergence of the large forces of the Kii people. ”

"It's really troublesome..."Yu Qiuping held his forehead deeply when he heard this, "If you don't fight, then you won't be able to find out their information." But we can't fight it, but we can't fight it, but we can consume our precious armor soldiers in the complex terrain of the mountains and forests out of thin air. ”

"So I suggest that the ninjas of the Military Intelligence Department and the ninjas of the Ravens be called back, and cover the soldiers in the mountains and forests to start a war with the people of Kii." Sanada Masayuki once again put forward the proposal that was previously rejected by Yu Qiuping, "If we don't clear the Kii people in the mountains and forests, our soldiers and auxiliaries will be exposed to danger forever." ”

"The ninjas of the crows are all precious insiders, and it's not easy to lurk in them, so it's better not to sacrifice." Yu Qiuping hesitated for a long time, but still shook his head, "The ninjas of the Military Intelligence Department must have not fought in actual combat for a long time... In this way, I fought with the people of Kii in the mountains and forests, and the losses were too great. ”

"But Your Highness, we have no other way to do this at the moment." Sanada Masayuki whispered again very firmly, "The ninjas of the Military Intelligence Division are all subordinates brought out by the next hand, and it is not that they do not value their lives. However, for the sake of the safety of the whole army, this is a sacrifice that must be made. ”

"No, how many people are there in total? How is this consumption a head? I still say the same thing, we perform our duties on the battlefield, the soldier is the fist that hits the enemy, and the military intelligence department is the eye that observes the enemy's situation. How can there be any reason to use eyes to hit someone else's fist? ”

"Your Highness, if we don't check the mountains and forests on both sides of the road, we won't be able to cover the auxiliaries. If the auxiliaries are attacked, how can the supply lines and baggage be guaranteed? Sanada Masayuki shook his head reluctantly, rarely stubbornly self-sufficient, "As the director of the Military Intelligence Division, I can't agree to let the troops march in the mountains and forests with unknown information. ”

Yu Qiuping was silent for a long time, and finally said with some difficulty: "Okay, what you said is that the mountains and forests next to the road must be investigated. ”

"But I'm not going to trade lives." Yu Qiuping shook his head, and instead set his eyes on Shigeharu Takenaka, "Hanbei, let the staff make a plan." With ninjas as the auxiliary and warriors as the main force, they systematically entered the mountains and forests on a large scale to expel the people lurking in the mountains and forests. In the areas that we have occupied, a large number of sentry posts have been set up to monitor the situation in the mountains and forests, so as to ensure the safety of supply lines. ”

"Your Highness..."Shigeharu Takenaka sighed slightly when he heard this, and then said in a low voice, "This will consume a lot of baggage, manpower, material resources and time. ”

"It's okay, we don't lack food and grass, we don't lack people, what we lack is just a way to transport grain and grass safely." Yu Qiuping shook his head and whispered very firmly, "It's worth spending some time arranging the rear, it's not an overnight thing to attack a country." If you only think about a quick victory, quickly advance along the main road and ignore guerrilla warfare, you will pay the price. ”

When Yu Qiuping said this, the scene of "the vast ocean of people's war" already appeared in his mind.

·

Beginning on July 20, the strategy of the Red Leaf Army has been greatly adjusted. The pioneers who had been chasing Suzuki's Shigei Saga stopped their tracks, set up camp on the spot, and began to defend.

Immediately afterward, according to the plan of the staff officer, the Red Leaf Army began to march on a large scale to the mountains and forests on both sides of the road under the guidance of the ninja. The auxiliaries used saws, axes and other tools to cut trees carved out paths in the mountains and forests for the march of the infantry and the transportation of baggage. The Iron Gunners and Lancers covered each other to advance through the dense forest, and the ninjas spread their intelligence tentacles around them. As soon as an enemy is spotted, the gunners and pikemen will immediately attack.

Such a steady style of play made the Kii people, who had been fighting guerrilla warfare for several days, a little at a loss for a while. Although they were able to inflict some casualties on the Red Leaf Army by retreating through the forests, hills, and valleys, the Red Leaf Army was gradually forcing them out of the hidden terrain beside the road. They were not in a hurry to advance, advancing a small point every day, and only after ensuring that they had sufficient intelligence would they continue to advance, so that the Kii people would not have a chance to sneak attack.

They thought that the goal of the Red Leaf Army was to exterminate them, so they retreated deeper into the mountains and old forests in a hurry. However, after advancing some distance, the Momiji Army stopped, and began to build a guard post on a large scale in a dangerous place. These posts are small fort-like, with small rows of firing ports in the walls, allowing the gunners to shoot from inside the post without being easily hit by the outside cannons. There are more and more such posts, and the terrain next to the mountain road is gradually falling into the control of the Red Leaf Army. Once the official road next to the mountain road is confirmed to be safe, the transportation of the mountain road will be unimpeded. Baggage, ammunition, grain and grass were continuously transported, and the Red Leaf Cavalry of the Yuqiu family also advanced to the front line, putting great pressure on Suzuki Shigeyi.

After completing the flank deployment, Fukushima Yasunari, who was on the frontal battlefield, pressed towards Suzuki. There were cavalry, and Suzuki did not dare to make a mistake, so he had to retreat far away. Fukushima Yasunari did not pursue exhaustively, and after advancing some distance along the official road, he set up camp again. The rest of the Momiji Army immediately approached the mountains and forests on the flanks again, expelling Kii's guerrillas and setting up sentry posts to protect the official road.

Seeing the steady advance of the Red Leaf Army like this unhurried and caterpillar-like manner, the people of Kii were in a hurry, and it seemed that the Red Leaf Army had extremely sufficient material reserves to support their slow advance. If they wish, they may even fight until the winter.

However, due to the fighting that broke out in the territory, almost all the men were mobilized by the people, so that this year's autumn harvest in Kii could not be carried out normally. The year was not good, and there were not enough people to farm, so Kii Province fell into a food crisis.

In the past, in order to clear the wilderness and not give the Momiji Army the opportunity to obtain grain and grass through indiscriminate fishing, the people of Kii Province concentrated almost all the grain near Saga Castle, leaving little for the people. Now that the autumn harvest is not smooth, many people's food stocks are about to bottom, and the people of Kii have no choice but to return grain to appease the restless people.

The defending side saw that it was about to lose to the attacking side in attrition, and the people of the country were naturally unwilling. Under Suzuki's arrangement, the forces defending Nakahide Omaezaki and Ikeda Tsuneko on the Eastern Front were all redeployed, leaving only a few suspicious soldiers to hinder their advance. The Kii people gathered all their forces and launched an all-round harassment attack on the Momiji Army, which was slowly advancing through the mountains and forests.

However, the Red Leaf Army has long been prepared for this. The sentry fortresses, which resemble fire-breathing earthen pots, fired at the enemy in the mountains and forests, and waved banners to guide the soldiers of the Momiji Army to pounce on the enemy's main attack. The Momiji Army quickly advanced on the path that had been cut down and built, and repelled the invading Kii people one by one, making the general attack of the people of Japan retreat in disarray.

At the same time, Yu Qiuping also commanded the cavalry company and Chang Panbei to launch a fierce attack on the frontal battlefield. Suzuki's main forces were unable to resist and had to retreat back to Hachimanmae Castle in defeat. Seeing that the tactics of the Red Leaf Army were about to succeed, Tiangong was not beautiful - it was raining.

Beginning on August 1, heavy rain began to fall in Kii. Heavy rains have made the mountain roads muddy and slippery, causing great problems for transportation, and the situation of the baggage teams has been exacerbated by the occasional small-scale landslides, floods and bridge breakdowns. Since the Momiji Army has penetrated deep into Nagusa County, the supply line has also been stretched for a long time. Due to the heavy rains, the supplies of the front-line troops are gradually beginning to lose pace, and the grain and grass stored on the front line are being consumed every day at a rate that is visible to the naked eye - but the amount of replenishment cannot keep up with the consumption. Due to the firm policy of clearing the wilderness by the people of Kii, the grain stocks of the people in the various villages were confiscated, and the Momiji Army did not receive any local grain and grass along the way, and even if they wanted to spend a lot of money to buy it, they could not buy it.

Due to the heavy rain, the traffic conditions of the mountain roads were very bad, and the Red Leaf Army was forced to stop the offensive, and the battle line was stalemate. Yu Qiuhei and Shigeharu Takenaka and others were in a hurry, but there was no way - no matter how they fought, they couldn't fight God. They had to hope that the rain would stop soon, but the damn rain didn't stop for more than half a month. However, this also brought a devastating disaster to Kii Province - most of the crops that had not been harvested in the fields were finished, and this year's autumn harvest in Kii Province was ruined.