However, Sakuma Morimasa's career as a warrior would never have been smooth sailing, and the fateful battle that broke out twenty years later would not have had unimaginably tragic consequences if it had not been for his reckless actions.

is obviously such an old person, but he is still not very calm in doing things, and this is the most regrettable place in his life!

At the end of the day, the smoke of gunpowder has not completely dissipated, and the decisive battle under the Songtian Plain has come to an end. When Sakuma Morimasa, the tiger, entered the core camp of the Date people, this battle had already been decided.

Including Suda Hakuki, more than a dozen Date commanders, without exception, were killed by Sakuma Morimasa and Sanada Masayuki, after losing their respective tribal generals, the Date army, which had little determination to resist, soon collapsed, and a third of the five thousand defenders were beheaded by Akechi and Shibata generals, and the rest became prisoners of the two Oda armies.

With nearly 10,000 soldiers and horses defeating 5,000 Date soldiers and capturing more than 3,000 prisoners, Akechi Kogoro once again created a miracle. The three thousand Dates, whether they were willing to throw away their weapons and surrender or not, were already there.

This day is the twelfth day of the seventh month of the twelfth year of Tensho.

After learning of Matsuda's defeat, Date Terumune, disappointed, also made his own decision -- to shrink the southern flank with Kuma-tei as the central axis, and the entire defense line rotated from west to south.

On this day, Akechi Kogoro abandoned Kumawakanomiya's position and rushed to Matsuda to join Sakuma Morimasa.

[Sakuma-sama, thank you so much, with your help, our army's war will go more smoothly...... Well. How is Dr. Shibata's health? I heard that he doesn't look very good, Lord Sakuma, please take me to greet him. 】

[Haha, Lord Wise, you are too polite, the repair doctor's body is good. How can it be as serious as you say, haha, we accept your wishes...... By the way, do you have any high opinions about the war? 】

[I can't talk about it...... My idea is to set up an ambush on the road leading from the Kumato to Kurokawa Camp while storming the Bear Mansion......]

[Well, it seems to be quite interesting, let's listen to it carefully......]

Sakuma Morimasa is an unruly man. A very frivolous person, the wise Kogoro who is many years younger than him estimated that even if it was himself, Sakuma Morimasa might not take it seriously, so he decided to speak according to the former's heart and try to serve the former as much as possible......

The night is as dark as ink

On the upper floor of the Xiongdi City Formation, the torches are bright. The charcoal fire in the brazier burned brightly, dispelling the chill in the air.

The night was dark. Silence.

Except for the footsteps of soldiers patrolling back and forth, and the occasional sound of soldiers talking to each other, there was no other sound, and the black night sky was overwhelming, especially the soldiers on the formation tower, with a solemn look on their faces. From time to time, I glanced at the dark place downstairs.

[Yawn! 】

The flags stood on the formation tower, their faces showing a hint of fatigue, and their spirits were a little sluggish.

However, there was a little light in those slightly squinted eyes, showing that the flags were still full of energy and did not have the slightest difficulty. The expression that was revealed was just an appearance. The flags stood on the formation tower, like a sculpture, as steady as Mount Tai, motionless.

People will be tired, plus the war is not going well these days, and there is no flag book, can I say how good my mood is.

In addition, Date Masamune's finances have not shown the slightest sign of improvement, because Date Masamune's [goodwill diplomacy] over the years has made the daimyo around Date Ling very much [like] him, to the point that they are unwilling to sell him even a grain of rice or an inch of iron.

In order to save money, Date Jun even began to shrink his food -- two meals a day, with only rice balls, miso soup, and umeboshi kimchi...... This is not bad, in recent days, the officers and soldiers have nothing else to eat except miso soup and dried plums.

Everyone was looking forward to the war being over sooner, and they had no other demands than to go back to their hometowns, eat a hot meal, and get a good night's sleep.

Just when everyone's morale is low......

[Knock! 】

Suddenly, a dull drum beat came from a distance.

A few soldiers didn't react, but some seemed to hear, and they looked at each other a few times, hoping to get the assurance from their companions whether it was their own auditory hallucinations or real voices.

However, this action was only redundant, because they quickly got the answer.

[Knock! 】

[Knock! 】

Most of the Japanese war drums are made of cowhide or wild boar skin, and the sound is very dull and not very good at all, but it can travel far and wide......

Immediately afterward, the dense and dull sound of war drums broke the quiet night, and the oppressive drumming that made people tremble in their hearts was like a lightning bolt tearing through the dark sky, and people's hearts were tensed. When the soldiers in Xiongdi heard the sound of war drums, their breathing became rapid.

[What's going on?] Who's beating the drums? 】

[No, this drum doesn't sound like it's coming from the main formation.] 】

[Huh? Could it be that someone else is beating the drum? 】

Listening to the sound of war drums, the flagmen opened their eyes, and a fine light flashed in their eyes, staring at the dark night sky, revealing a contemplative look.

[Enemy Attack! 】

[Enemy Attack! 】……

The sound of the commotion was heard in the formation tower, and the soldiers ran back and forth, and the situation seemed to be in chaos.

[Crackling ......]

Torches lit swiftly everywhere, and the blazing torches made the whole vicinity of the bear mansion as bright as day, and the running soldiers were like a pot of porridge, like frightened birds, not knowing what to do. The sudden sound of drums disrupted the rhythm of the soldiers, but it was Oginiwa Zuo Yuesai, who was the commander-in-chief of the Date Army, who saw such a scene, still standing in place, motionless, without any panic.

Not far from the formation tower, the wise Kogoro next to the [Yongle Tongbao] Ma Yin was riding on a horse, looking at the blazing bear mansion, showing a smile.

The dull sound of war drums really made the Xiong Mansion chaotic.

However, after the drums of war continued for some time, they stopped. The night was quiet again, and the sudden sound of war drums seemed to be short-lived, and it didn't take long for it to disappear silently. After the drums of war were raised, there were no sneak attacks, no bows and arrows to shoot, just the beating of the drums, and nothing else.

Ghost Court Zuo Yuezhai stood on the formation tower, the smile on the corner of his mouth disappeared, replaced by a dignified color.

Night Raid?

Or harassment?

Oni Court Zuo Yuesai thought that the Oda army would launch a strong attack, but now after the sound of war drums, there was no movement. Could it be that the drums of war were beaten only to harass the soldiers stationed at the bear mansion?

If Akechi Kogoro just wants to play this kind of trick, then forget it, this method is not only naïve, but also has no practical effect at all...... However, it is not excluded that the real purpose of Wise Kogoro is to shake everyone's will and paralyze everyone's vigilance, which is worth noting!

Ghost Court Zuo Yuezhai felt that there must be something greasy in it, Oda could not simply harass the soldiers defending the bear mansion, after all, this is not a camp stationed in the wild, and the open-air camp is vulnerable to sneak attacks.

In the early days of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, Xiong Di had been built into a purely military fortress, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and the soldiers on the formation tower occupied a favorable position, not affected by the war drums at all, and the only thing to fear was that the Oda army forcibly attacked the formation.

There was no sound around, and Zuo Yuezhai of the Ghost Court was puzzled, shook his head secretly, and closed his eyes slightly to recuperate.

The night, silent, dark, silent.

Half an hour later, the war drums sounded abruptly.

The dull sound of drums came from afar, and the irritating sound of the drums made the soldiers on the formation tower tremble, their heads tilted, and they looked vigilantly at the open area below the formation tower. Zuo Yuezhai of the Ghost Court also opened his eyes and stared at the downstairs, but there was nothing downstairs, it was still empty and dark, and there was nothing.

After the drums of war were beaten, it continued for a while and then stopped.

And so repeatedly, every half hour, the drums of war would sound on time.

After a long period of harassment, the soldiers on the formation tower have also become accustomed to the harassing war drums outside the formation.

They no longer care whether the enemy will attack the city, they only think that the sky can quickly light up and dispel the sleepiness on their bodies.

However, there were also a few [heroes] who proposed to go out of the city to attack the enemy, and there is no doubt that they were reprimanded by Zuo Yuezhai of the Ghost Court.

Zuo Yuezhai of the Ghost Court also squinted his eyes slightly, ignoring the sound of war drums outside the formation. On the upstairs, there was only one person who did not relax his vigilance, and Endo Kinobu, who was sitting cross-legged in the conference hall of the formation building, propped his hands on the desk, stretched out his right middle finger and gently tapped the desk, with a contemplative look in his eyes.

Next to him, Hizen Mamoru Shigenobu Ito squinted, his head hanging down from time to time like a chicken pecking rice.

(Hizen Ito Mamoru Shigenobu is not a fictional character, in history, in the Battle of Hitori Bridge, because of his unauthorized attack, not only led to his own defeat, but also affected the ghost court Satsukisai who came to the rescue.) ）

[Enemy, gone?] 】

Suddenly, a smile appeared on the corner of Endo's mouth, and he got up and walked out of the hall.

When Ito Hizen Mamoru heard Kinobu Endo speak, he stood up suddenly, jumped up, and exclaimed:

[Lord Busai, is the Oda Army here? Is it coming? Go, go, hurry, they're going to attack. 】

Kishin Endo shook his head, didn't speak, and walked outside.

Seeing that there was no movement around him, Hizen Ito smiled wryly, and followed Kinobu Endo outside...... (To be continued.) )