On May 18 of the first year of Eiroku, the court sent Tadanobu Hirosawa to finally arrive at the base of the Oda family, Gibu Castle (formerly Inabayama Castle). He had come as a diplomatic envoy to discuss an alliance with the Oda family.

Led by Tadanobu Hirosawa Shimoru (from the top of the five), Shintaro Yasuda, Yajiro Arakawa, Captain Fifty Kono Uemon (Echigo Yohoku Fifty Konoya Ichichi), and Akiyama Jotsuna were supplemented by four people, and they disembarked at the port outside Yamazaki Castle in Owari Province to inform the local acting official Okumura Tadashi, and they were immediately escorted all the way to Gibu Castle by the Oda family.

Early that morning, Oda Nobunaga met with Tadanobu Hirosawa and others in the Ohiroma of Gibu Castle.

Hirosawa Tadanobu knew that his visit this time would have a great impact on the future of the main family, and did not dare to slack off, and bowed respectfully: "In the lower Hirosawa General Shou Faithful to meet His Royal Highness Oda Danmasa Shaozhong (from the five), on behalf of my lord, I wish the Oda family a long military luck and Danzheng Shaozhong's good health." ”

"I have the memory of Lao Zhen's palace, and I wish him good health and long martial luck." Oda Nobunaga also said very politely. Anyway, if he wants to unify the entire territory of Mino, he must have the Uesugi family to contain the main force of the Takeda family, otherwise he will not be able to capture Higashimino in one fell swoop.

"Dare to ask how many of them are the ministers of the Uesugi family?" At this time, Shibata Katsuie, who was sitting next to Oda Nobunaga, questioned. This was not intentional on the part of Oda Nobunaga, but Shibata Katsuie's own curiosity flareed up.

"What is the Minister of Humerus? Could it be that the Oda family received envoys from other countries and asked 'Are you a minister of the humerus?' Hirosawa Tadanobu was a little dissatisfied at this time, and he didn't care whether Oda Nobunaga instructed him or not, so he asked back directly.

"Enough is Kwon Liu!" When Oda Nobunaga saw that Tadanobu Hirosawa was already dissatisfied with this, he immediately threw the folding fan on his body at Shibata Katsuya and hit him in the head.

“······” Although Shibata Katsuya didn't feel pain, he immediately relented.

"I'm sorry, but I made Mr. Shimoru smile. The retainers of this family talk a little to themselves, but this is not the case with him on the battlefield. Oda Nobunaga was a smiling face, and he had the same thoughts as Tadanobu Hirosawa that he must not let this alliance fail.

"It's okay, my lord sent me down to be a little thoughtful. The official position below is the general guard from the top and bottom of the five, and you are the bullet from the bottom of the five. Hirosawa Tadanobu also expressed his helplessness, and he was a little higher than Oda Nobunaga's official position.

"So there are no letters this time?" According to the original expectation, Oda Nobunaga thought that Asadashi would write a letter to him, but Asadachi didn't even write a letter.

"Sorry, the letter doesn't. My lord wants the Uesugi family and the Oda family to form an alliance, and as long as the two families form an alliance, they can sandwich the Takeda family in the middle. In addition, the Matsudaira family in Mikawa can also go north from Mikawa to wait for an opportunity to enter Minami Shinano to harass. "Hirosawa Tadashi said it very lightly, if everyone in the Oda family was stupid, I am afraid that they would have believed it a long time ago.

"Lord Shimomomo, our Oda family has never tried 'long-distance friendship', even if we form an alliance with the Uesugi family, then what's the difference between being and not allied?" Niwa Nagahide, who was sitting behind Shibata Katsuya, asked.

"The difference? Do you need to talk about this? The Takeda family has already begun to adjust and invade the Okushinano clan that is already around the Murakami family, which is also a declaration of war on the Uesugi family. As long as the 'Bumi Alliance' is concluded, the Oda family can attack Higashimino, and the Uesugi family can fight against the Takeda army in Shinano and Ueno. It's a good deal to think about it. "Hirosawa Tadanobu himself thinks it's a good deal for the Oda family, but the people of the Oda family can't feel it.

"Is it just Higashimino?" Oda Nobunaga himself felt that something was not quite right. If the Uesugi family is only unreal in terms of their current strength, once all the leaders are mobilized, they will be able to instantly surpass the combined strength of the daimyo such as Takeda, Hojo, Date, Mogami, and Daihoji in terms of manpower and material resources. And he can only attack Higashimino himself, and he can't enter Shinano's territory. Just now, Tadanobu Hirosawa also said that Matsudaira Ieyasu could send people into Minami Shinano to attack and harass, but he didn't say that he could occupy there.

"By the way, my lord explained before sending him down that if possible, it would be best to form an alliance with the Oda family by marriage." After Hirosawa Zhongxin said this, the entire Dahiroma exploded. Isn't this a clear bully? If you don't give much benefit, you have to get married now.

"The only person in the Oda family who can get acquainted with is Ashiden." Sasa Narumasa, who was sitting in the back, felt that the Uesugi family's request was a bit excessive.

"Dare to ask this samurai, is Princess Aichi the daughter of the Oda family or a concubine?" Guangze is faithful, and he still needs to ask clearly, so he can't bring a concubine back.

"At present, Nobuhide Gong's concubine Inu Hall has been married to the lord of Ohno Castle, Saji Uenosuke, and my lord has promised a marriage contract, and if nothing goes wrong, she will marry this year." Shibata Katsuya began to talk more at this time. He is looking horizontally and vertically, that is, he is looking at Guangze's faithfulness and disagreeable.

"The lord of Ono Castle? George Letter? I'm sorry, but I haven't heard of it until anyone in Hokuriku Kanto. It is ridiculous that the dignified Oda family actually married their daughters to the people of the country without marrying the surrounding daimyos! "Akiyama Dingzuna, who has been behind Hirosawa Tadanobu, can't help it, although his status is not high in the Uesugi family, but this time he was sent by Asadaki and the Dragon Maiden to Hirosawa Tadanobu as an assistant, which shows that he still has potential.

"And who are you?" Oda Nobumitsu, who was sitting opposite Shibata Katsuya, asked sharply.

"In Shimohara, he was a member of the Itoigawa clan in Echigo Province and received a 490-stone zhiyu, called Akiyama Iga Morijo." Akiyama Dingzuna did not hesitate to report his identity and name.

"I really didn't expect that the Zhenfu Hall and the Guanling Hall would send retainers of this status." Sakuma said after sneering.

"Yes, although the status of the lower is low in the Uesugi family, and he is not the most talented one. However, it was helpless to send an envoy to the Oda family after the lord of the Shimono Imperial Pavilion and the town government took a fancy to it, after all, the lord's order could not be violated. After a pause, Akiyama continued: "However, the fact that the Lord of the Imperial Pavilion and the Lord of the Town Government have assigned him as assistants to the Shimo-Shoden also shows that the envoy to the Oda family does not need a gate or an important minister of the Kanto Steward and the Shogun of the Shogun. ”

Akiyama's words were-for-tat, which made Oda Nobunaga, who was sitting on the main seat, a little bruised when he heard it.

"Could it be that the phrase 'a guest from afar' has not been heard by everyone in the Oda family? As a member of the former Ogiya Uesugi family, he can be regarded as a rough reader of Tang books, and he still understands these truths. In addition, the official rank of Danzheng Shaozhong Hall is lower than that of Zaixia, and there is no shelf below. Tadanobu Hirosawa said after glancing at the retainers of the Oda family sitting in the entire large room. He thinks that the Oda family will not last long, and he can only make a career under Oda Nobunaga, and once Oda Nobunaga dies, then the Oda family will definitely fall apart!

"That's it, since the shogun's family needs the daughter of the Oda family, then I will send the dog to Kanto on a certain day." After thinking about it, Oda Nobunaga decided to marry his sister to the Uesugi family. Although this is a bit unfair to George Shinkata, he has already received the Oda family's common character "Shin", as long as he accepts a woman of appropriate age from a family or a major minister as his adopted daughter to marry him.

"Thank you for your understanding. The Ogiya Uesugi family once married their daughters to the young lord of the Kai Takeda family, Takeda Harunobu, which is a tradition of the Uesugi family. I hope that everyone in the Oda family will understand. Hirosawa Tadanobu finally emphasized the fact that the Ogiya Uesugi family had married the Takeda family.

However, the former Takeda Daizen Doctor Harunobu has become the current Takeda Shinano Shoushin Gen, and the brother of the princess of the Ogiya Uesugi family, who married him, Uesugi Repair Doctor Asada, has also become the current Fujiwara Town Government Asada.

After the alliance oath of the Uesugi family and the Oda family was written, Tadanobu Hirosawa needed to bring the oath back to Koe Castle and hand it over to the court to sign and seal (the court did not like to draw the seal, so he used his official seal).

It was also at this time that the already deteriorating war in the southern part of Dewa was made worse.

The island castle in the northern part of Yonezawa Castle was completely surrounded by 6,000 Mogami Army's main team and 5,000 former retainers of the Date family from all over the country.

There are thirteen Uesugi family guards in the castle, among which Nagao Hidenaga, Nagao Isemori, and Nagao Denemon are related to the Tokan Leader Banner Honzhong; Echigo's seventeen generals in the defense of Shimayama Zhou, Kamito Dewa Defense; Okamoto Mochimura and Sugihara of Echigo are near; Aizu's Isobe Mother, Ikegami Tamon, Iwamatsu Tasashi, Hasegawa Yosashi, Uehara Tadasa, and Shimakage Genzo.

Originally, it was ceded to the Echigo Nagao family by the court, and the castle was the long of Nagao. However, as the situation in the Nanidewa battle deteriorated further, many Uesugi Daikan of Zhishi Prefecture withdrew into Yonezawa Castle and Sushima Castle.

And Sushima Castle is a flat castle near the Yonezawa Castle Plain. It is connected to the main road leading to Yonezawa Castle. Both Honmaru and Ninomaru in the castle are surrounded by a moat. The city is bordered by the two-color Gen Mountain to the east and the swamp to the west. Only the north and south sides are flat.

However, before the attack on Sushima Castle, Deura Morikiyo had already sent his subordinate ninjas to Ninja Castle to report to Kato Duanzo.

"What?" While Kanzo Kato was still consolidating the information he had obtained in Honmaru's secret room, a ninja appeared outside the door.

"The island castle of Dewa Zhizhi County is in great danger! Mogami Yoshimitsu led an army of 11,000 to surround the castle. ”

"How many defenders are there in the city?" Kanzo Kato stopped what he was doing.

"Less than three thousand!"

"Got it······" After reproducing the news transmitted by ninjas from all over the country, Kato Duanzo found that the Ou area had reached the point where it could not be controlled. The Soma family and the Tamura family will not be able to withstand the onslaught of the Date army's main team, and if this continues, the Aizu counties will be affected by the war-

Joshiro Nagao Hideenaga and his colleagues Nagao Isemori and Nagao Denemon ran from the Ohiroma to the edge of the open space of Honmaru together.

"Listen up, everyone! Even if you die in battle, you must hold on! Resist here, even if you fight to the last soldier, you can't let the enemy army go to Echigo and Aizu! Nagao shouted to the Uesugi samurai standing in the clearing.

"Lord Tao and others will definitely send reinforcements! Please be patient until that moment! Nagao Isemoru added.

"Oh!" All the samurai present responded.

Since the 18th day of the fifth month of the first year of Eiroku, the island castle has been subjected to fierce attacks day and night since it was surrounded by the Mogami Legion. The defenders of the city were only more than 2,900. The Uesugi family banner Honto Nagao Hidenaga, who was holding on to the castle, received a letter of persuasion from Mogami Yoshimitsu.

"Yoshimitsu Mogami, bastard!" If you surrender to us, you will save your life and reward us with a hundred taels of gold', how dare you look down on us so much! "When Shimayama Zhou Wei received a letter of persuasion from his subordinate samurai, he couldn't help but be furious.

How can we be deceived by such rhetoric? I can't give up Uesugi's pride until I die! "The long tail shows that he tore up the letter of persuasion.

"Exactly! Even if you fight to the death, you can't give up the city to the Mogami family! The god vine Deyu Mamoru on the side immediately echoed.

"Reinforcements from Lord Tao and Lord Kawada will definitely arrive, and we must hold on until then!" Sugihara yelled at Ashigaru and the samurai who were still fighting.

"Oh!" Morale has picked up a bit in an instant.