The Uogawa River is located in Echigo Province's Tsujo-gun, which faces the sea in the north, and is the junction of Hokuriku Province and Senkoku Street (also known as the "Way of Salt", which is the main passage for salt and seafood to enter the interior, and is related to the allusion of Uesugi Kenshin and Takeda Shingen "sending the enemy to salt"). Since the Hori clan entered Echigo, this place has been controlled by Hori Kiyoshige, the lord of Nechi Castle, and as the west gate of Kasuga Mountain Castle, there are more than 2,000 garrisons all year round.

However, with the mobilization of Horihideshige and the launch of the Kita-Shinano Raid, there were only 1,000 defenders left in Kasuga Yama Castle, and the remaining troops in Nechi Castle were less than 200, which gave Goto Kiichi, who was in Wajima, an opportunity.

In the early morning of April 24, the day after the defeat of the Tokugawa army and the city of Numata, Goto Kiiji and Kuki Yoshitaka led 500 warships and 15,000 troops to set sail from Wajima, bypassed the Noto Peninsula, landed at the Himegawa Pass in the area of the Iyogawa River, and went south along the Himegawa River to Nechi Castle.

At noon on the same day, the army captured Kasugayama Castle's outpost fortress of Kasugayama Castle, and Horihide followed the advice of his retainers to seek help from Kasuga Yamago Castle, and at the same time sent a request for help from Horihideshige, who had invaded Shinano, and Hori, the lord of Sakado Castle. But at this time, Hori's Naoyo was already difficult to protect itself - Mizoguchi Hidekatsu of Shinbata and Murakami Yoshiaki of Murakami Castle learned of the defeat of the Tokugawa army, and took the initiative to surrender to Mogami Yoshimitsu's Echigo Crusade Army, and the three sides met at Tochio Castle, combined 16,000 troops, and launched a fierce attack on Sakado Castle.

On the morning of the 25th, Sakado Castle fell, and 600 soldiers and soldiers of Hori Naoyori and below were killed in battle. When the news reached Kasugayama Castle, Hideharu Hori was shocked, and the ninjas who had been sent to Shinano for help were intercepted and killed by the Toyotomi army, and they were isolated and surrendered at dusk. Goto Kiji and Mogami Yoshimitsu then split into two routes, the former leading Hori Hideji south through the Tohoku Province Street to persuade Hori Hideshige to surrender, and the latter going along the Mikuni Street to Numata Castle to join Hideho.

On the 28th, Mogami Yoshimitsu arrived at Numata Castle one step ahead of Hideho, and when he learned that the Tokugawa army had gone to Minowa Castle, he immediately asked Hideho for instructions, and Hidebo told him to rest in Numata and go south together after the arrival of the army. However, Goto Kiji's march was not as smooth as Mogami Yoshimitsu's, and the army's march to the Kuroiwayama area at the junction of Echigo and Shinano encountered a landslide, and Goto was forced to make a detour to Makinoshima Castle to Kawanakajima, which was delayed for nearly two days. When he arrived on Kawanakajima, it was already the afternoon of the 30th, and by this time Hori Hideshige and Ishikawa Yasunaga had already left Kaizu Castle and headed south, and engaged in a fierce battle with Sanada Masayuki and his son at Ueda Castle.

In order to avoid a repeat of the tragedy of Kaitsu Castle in Gamo Yorigo, Goto Kiji ordered the envoy to send Hideharu Hori's handwritten letter to Horihide Shige Honjin in Toishi Castle overnight, asking him to immediately suspend his troops, and to attack Komori Castle with the Toyotomi army after dawn, and to intercede with Hideho on his behalf after the war was over.

But what people didn't expect was that Hori Hideshige and Hori Naomasa had a serious disagreement over the truce, Hideshige believed that the Echigo territory was lost, the general trend was gone, and Hideho's army would arrive in Numata soon, and at this time there should be no more illusions about the Tokugawa army; Naomasa believes that the Hori family went south from Echigo, conquered more than ten Gamo and Sanada castles, and killed nearly 100 people from two families, and there was no way to turn back.

The two had a verbal disagreement, and the military discussion broke up unhappily. However, in the middle of the night, Naomasa Hori led a group of cronies to raid Hideshige's room and put him under house arrest, and then called a meeting of the ministers, announcing that he would be the representative of the battle, with full authority over the rest of the battle. Naomasa made a plan that night, on the one hand, he wrote back to Goto Kiji that he was willing to wait for the arrival of the Toyotomi army in Toishi Castle, but in fact he was ready to launch a surprise attack when the Toyotomi army entered the city; On the other hand, he informed Ishikawa Yasunaga of Goto Kiji's movements, and asked Yasunaga to hold back the Sanada army at Ueda Castle and buy time for himself to face the Toyotomi army.

Ishikawa Yasunaga didn't expect that the Toyotomi army would be killed from Echigo, and the army was so strong, so he discussed with his retainers overnight, and agreed that Hori Naomasa's rash house arrest of Hori Hideshige would inevitably lead to unstable morale in the army, and it could not be ruled out that someone had sent a message to the Toyotomi army overnight, and Hori Hideji was still in the hands of Goto Keiji, and some of the Hori generals might be difficult to start when the Toyotomi army entered the city.

Just when everyone was at a loss, Ishikawa Kiyoyasu, a retainer of the Ishikawa clan, who had been friends with Goto Kiji in his early years, recommended himself and was willing to go to the Toyotomi army headquarters overnight to negotiate with Goto for the future of the Ishikawa clan. Yasunaga Ishikawa was reluctant to turn his back on Horie and Ieyasu at first, but was shaken by Kiyoyasu's words:

"At this point, the family has two ways to choose, one is to follow the Hori family to the dark, and the final result may be that Goto and Sanada are each broken, and they are buried in this Uedahara without even seeing the face of the inner house; The second is to see the reality clearly, after all, Naomasa Hori turned his back on the sweep first, and there is no need for the family to be in the company of such unrighteous people, and using him as a bargaining chip in negotiations with Goto Matabei can be regarded as making the best use of everything. To put it bluntly, this is the last chance for the family, and if it is missed, the Mikawa Ishikawa clan will be doomed. However, the minister also understands the lord's loyalty to the inner government, so there is a way out that is not considered a way out......"

"Isn't it a way out?" Yasunaga Ishikawa frowned and asked, "Either fight with the Hori family against Goto Matabei, or take refuge in Goto Matabei to attack the Hori family, I really don't see any other way out." ”

"The lord wants to carry out his loyalty to the inner government, but he doesn't want to die in this Uedawara, so there is only one plan, which is to leave the Hori family and withdraw his army to the south, go to Komoro Castle to join the Shinano generals, and strive to meet with the inner government in Matsuida, in order to make a turnaround."

"What kind of method is this?!" As soon as Ishikawa Kiyoyasu finished speaking, he was rejected by Yasunaga: "In doing this, the Hori family is to die in vain, and they went to Komoro Castle without taking Ueda Castle, ignoring the entire rear, and the result can only be a two-sided attack in the Matsuida area, even if they join forces with the inner government, what is the use?" ”

"So it's not a way out." Ishikawa Kiyoyasu said helplessly: "How can you have both fish and bear's paws? If the lord wants to carry out benevolence and righteousness, he must have the consciousness of sacrificing the Ishikawa clan; If you want to keep your family name, you have to let go of outdated ideas. Being so indecisive now can only end up being a missed opportunity and nothing to gain. The minister implored the lord to make a decision immediately, no matter what the outcome is, Qingkang will give up his life to accompany him! ”

"Please make a decision immediately!" As soon as Ishikawa Kiyoyasu finished speaking, the retainers also knelt down, and from their excited expressions and loyalty to Ishikawa Ichikawa, Ishikawa Yasunaga finally determined the answer.

"Qingkang, I'll work for you this time." Yasunaga Ishikawa sighed and finally spoke up his decision.

When Ishikawa Kiyoyasu heard this, he immediately bowed to the ground and said, "The minister will not disgrace his mission!" ”