Ueno Castle, the Ueno Castle of Dewa. （）

Worried, he left the castle tower of Ueno Castle, then took the horse from the two men and galloped away.

"Tsugawa Soji is actually in Ueno Castle, fortunately, I came here in person, otherwise if Tsugawa Soji really didn't exist, then the family would be in danger!"

"No, I have to hurry back to Mutsu and tell the Lord about this!"

"It's just that in this way, the family will face the threat of the Ashina family and the Tsugawa family at the same time, could it be that this is the bitter fruit caused by the conflict between father and son?"

Riding on his horse with a melancholy heart, Sang Zhekei suddenly lost confidence in the future of the Date family.

......

"Madame, what a faux pas!"

In the castle tower of Ueno Castle, when Kushiri Keicho left, a young samurai sitting on the main seat hurriedly retreated to the center of the main hall, and then faced Yukihime, who was sitting on the right side of the main seat, and confessed.

Yukihime hurriedly smiled and said, "Nagano-sama doesn't have to be like this, today is really thanks to Nagano-sama." It's just that I didn't expect that Sang Zhejingchang was so easy to deceive, and he was really a straightforward person! ”

Nagano Masabo hurriedly said loudly, "Everything is Madame's strategy, speaking of which is still Mada's cleverness, she actually turned around the important ministers of the Date family, if the lord knew about it, he would be very happy, right?" ”

Hearing the praise from the retainers, Yukihime was very happy in her heart.

I don't know when it began, there were some rumors about the ladies of the Tsugawa family in the house. And one of the things that Yukihime cares about the most is that some people say that among the ladies of the Tsugawa family, only Kamihime is very intelligent, and often helps Tsugawa Soji share his worries.

Yukihime just wants to prove to everyone that she is the main lady of the Tsugawa family, and she is the virtuous helper of Tsugawa Soji!

"Now that the Sanori Keicho has left the territory, it's time for the family to send an envoy to Date's house. In any case, the Date family must give up the territory of the Kasai and Osaki families, especially the Kasai family. ”

"More than half of the territory in the Rikuchu region is occupied by the Kasai family, and there is no lack of fertile land. Even in the mountains of the eastern coast, there are many kinds of mineral output, just a little development is not the second queen? ”

There are Omono River and Yoneyo River in Hago, and Kitakami River in Luchu. The Kitakami River basin is vast, fertile and rich in minerals, and there are ports for maritime trade in the Mutsu region on the eastern coast. It's just that because of the low degree of development, it's still relatively desolate.

Historically, Date Masamune was very dissatisfied when Toyotomi Hideyoshi reduced the seal of Iwaideyama Castle by 580,000 stones, and even found Tokugawa Ieyasu to vent his bitterness. However, Tokugawa Ieyasu replied with a smile, "The old domain of Osaki Kasai is a vast fertile land, and it seems that it only costs 580,000 koku, but it can be increased to 1 million koku with a little reclamation." If it were my Ieyasu, it would have increased to at least 1,500,000 stones. ”

"And the eastern coast of Luzhong County is wide, and the western gold mines are rich! Whether the territory is rich or not depends on the master, not the height of the surface stone. Regardless of the mountains and seas, the wealth is also inexhaustible! ”

And being able to get Tokugawa Ieyasu so optimistically, although there is no lack of comfort to Date Masamune, but at least it also shows that the seemingly barren land in the Rikuchu region actually has great potential.

Therefore, the Tsukawa family is very angry about this territory.

However, due to the influence of the Date family and the policies issued by Tsugawa Soji, it was inconvenient to launch a large-scale war. But now it's different, the Date family is too busy to take care of itself, if it's just a Kasai, the Tsugawa family only needs to send one or two thousand elite troops to easily seize the territory of the Kasai family.

When it comes to the fat in his mouth, how can he let him run?

..........

The battle between the Date family and the Ashina family has been stalemate for almost half a month, and the two sides have tried all kinds of things across the Abu Kuma River, but they just don't dare to launch a large-scale attack. After all, crossing the river is too risky, and no one wants to take such a risk without a 100% chance of winning.

However, things soon took a turn for the better!

"Lord Ashina, I just received the news that the Soma family has captured the Atagoyama Castle of the Watari family, and they will be able to reach the castle of Shimuda Castle in two days. At that time, with the strength of the Soma family to cover from the side, our army will be able to cross the Abu Kuma River with confidence! In Liangchuan City, Ouchi Yoshitsuna held a document in his hand and said to the Ashina Mori clan with a smile.

After listening to Ouchi Yoshitsuna's words, the Ashina Mori clan also breathed a sigh of relief, "There is no news from the Tsugawa family yet, so our army must hurry up." Otherwise, once the Tsukawa family intervenes in this matter, things will be in trouble! ”

"Order, all the troops are ready, and as soon as the Soma family arrives at Shimuda Castle, they will immediately launch a general attack! Can't give the Date family any respite! ”

"Hah!"

At the same time, on the other side of the river, in Ishishita Castle, Date Harumune also learned of the loss of Atagoyama Castle.

"With the loss of Atago Mountain Castle, the Soma family will be able to cross the river at will in the lower reaches of the Abukuma River, and they will be able to reach Ishiguda Castle in less than two days! What can you do? Date Harumun also began to panic, and looked at the retainers in the hall with an eager face.

"My lord, although Atagoyama Castle has been lost, it is located on the south bank of the Abukuma River, and the Soma family still needs to cross the river anyway. The lord could send people to Marumori Castle, Kakuda Castle, and Watari Castle along the Abu Kuma River, so that the troops of the three castles could pay close attention to the movements of the Soma family. As soon as the Soma family began to cross the river, they sent troops to harass them, delaying the time it took for the Soma family to cross the river. ”

"Second, immediately send envoys to the Osaki family and Kasai family to ask for reinforcements! You can even send someone to ask for help from the Tsugawa family! No matter what the price is, the Ashina coalition must not be allowed to cross the Abu Kuma River, otherwise all the territories of the family except Yonezawa Castle will fall into the hands of the enemy! Nakano said vigorously.

Let Date Harumune bow to the Tsugawa family?

How can it be!

Just as Date Harumun opened his mouth and was about to refuse, the young samurai sitting on the other side suddenly came out and said, "The main hall, there may be a plan to repel the Ashina coalition army!" ”

"An Yishou, will the plan be released?" At this time, Date Harumun seemed to grasp a life-saving straw, and looked at the Kurokawa Haruki, the city lord of Tsuruyu Castle below, with an excited face.

Kurokawa Harumi gently moved to Date Harumune's side, and then whispered, "The main hall, the news of the Soma family's attack on Atago Mountain Castle must have been known by the Ashina Mori clan, so the morale of the Ashina coalition army must be high, or it is said that they will be carried away by the upcoming victory." ”

"The next plan needs to be used in conjunction with Nakano-sama's strategy! While letting the castles in the lower reaches of the Abu Kuma River wait for an opportunity to attack the Soma family troops who crossed the river, and at the same time, while holding them back, he led his Ashigaru to pretend to be the Soma family's troops to support, and feinted to attack Ishimuda Castle in the early morning of the day after tomorrow. ”

In this way, the Ashina Mori clan and others on the other side of the river thought that the Soma family had arrived and would rush to cross the river! The main hall can be ambushed near the crossing point in advance, and once the enemy crosses the river, it will be attacked halfway! ”

"If you can plan it, you may not be able to defeat the Ashina coalition in one battle!" And after the retreat of the Ashina coalition forces, the remaining Soma and the like are not to be worried! ’