211

Regarding the plot of playing mahjong in the last few chapters, I learned from the fact that the protagonist Takayama opened a mahjong hall in "Shogun Honki". I was inspired to write four chapters of mahjong...... Well, I'll admit it, I use love to use other people's ideas to do my own things, and the books of Hachiya (Yamaso Okahachi) and Sima (Ryotaro) have been almost squeezed by me.

The protagonist is a person who has no sense of existence, and despite the name of "protagonist", it seems that there are not many stories about him in this book, but the people around him continue to tell stories.

At the end of the summer of the 10th year of Tensho, the Wise Legion once again went to war with the Yoshikawa Legion stationed in Izumo Province.

As the attacking party, Akechi Kogoro followed the original strategy of capturing the Hakuki Province and first sent troops to Nogi-gun in the south of Iyu-gun, and when Yoshikawa Motoharu transferred his troops there for rescue, the Akechi Navy reappeared and landed on the coast of Shimane, destroying the Mori garrison here.

After the fall of Shimane, the navy advanced eastward without stopping, and after less than half a month of fighting, the defenders of Akika-gun surrendered to the wise navy.

However, Yoshikawa Motoharu did not lose completely, and at the beginning of September, I lost the battle of Quda (located in present-day Quda Town, Shimane Prefecture) in the western part of Nogi-gun.

Here's how it happened, just like last time, I set up camp in the south of Qutian and laid out a "defensive counterattack" formation, because Izumo Province is different from Boqi Country, there are almost no big mountains, not even small hills, all plains with flat rivers, which is conducive to the play of infantry and cavalry———— but unfortunately, there are not many cavalry in Yoshikawa Motoharu's hands, at least not much compared to me———— the original territory of Tanba Country is a heavy place for horse production.

When Saito Toshizo, left and right, Maeda Keiji and other famous generals rushed past in rows, Yoshikawa Motoharu's army was instantly scattered, and in the absence of iron cannons, the bow and arrow that the Mori family was proud of became the only long-range killing weapon against the cavalry.

It's a pity that the bow and arrow of that era really can't be said to be good, and the lethality and killing range are enough to make today's people ashamed.

I also tried to improve my bow and arrow, but unfortunately due to the physical problems of the Japanese, the few "reforms" that I, a time-traveler, have made since I came to this era, but ultimately failed.

After defeating the enemy in the first battle, I stepped up my assault on Qutian Castle, and if I could break Qutian Castle, then the situation on the battlefield would be more favorable to me.

The lord of Qutian Castle, Iida Hinata Shoujiaxian, was tormented by my rounds of onslaught, and he wrote a letter expressing his willingness to lead the three thousand defenders in the city to surrender to me.

Since he is willing to surrender to the "imperial army" with a deep sense of righteousness, why don't I, the "Taijun", agree?

So he happily accepted his surrender.

When everyone heard this, of course, they were overjoyed.

Because I've been invincible and invincible along the way, and I've barely ever lost a battle (and even if I did, the sycophants around you would have touted it as a victory), almost everyone was confident that it was another low-hanging fruit.

It's not that no one is skeptical at all, for example, Hosokawa Fujitaka, who thinks that although Iida Ieken is a member of the country, he is close because his daughter married Yoshikawa Motoharu's son, Yoshikawa Motocho, as a side room, and Yoshikawa Motoharu's men are not far from here, and the city is not without soldiers...... Everything did not reach the most critical time, and he surrendered like this, which really makes people doubt his intentions.

It's a pity that I was dazzled by the imminent victory———— and now I am ashamed to think about it, after all, I was still too young at that time, I had just passed my twenty-second birthday, I did not have enough life experience and principles, and the desire for victory made me lose my usual caution, and even some conservative judgment.

If I had listened to Hosokawa Fujitaka and thought about it a little more at that time, I wouldn't have failed later.

In fact, it is true that as Hosokawa Fujitaka said, Iida Iekenta had ulterior motives from the beginning.

He had no intention of surrendering to me, and all he did was to let my guard down and make my tired soldiers burn out after days of fighting.

He had already contacted his distant in-laws, Yoshikawa Motoharu, and wanted to use the strategy of "deception to surrender" to defeat me.

That night, Motoharu Yoshikawa struck again, and we started the second round under the stars.

Just when the battle was heating up and both sides were red-eyed, the gates of Qutian City suddenly opened.

Iida Ieken, who was supposed to surrender to us, led his own soldiers to rush towards us with weapons in hand.

Originally, the impact of his 3,000 men and horses on the joint battle of 10,000 people like us was very limited, but because we were concentrating on fighting with the Yoshikawa army, we were caught off guard, and we were defeated all of a sudden.

Fujita Administration, who was defending the right flank, was first broken (kao!). How do you say that he is also one of the "wise five elders" in history, don't be so unhelpful! Then Iida Ieken's army threatened my main camp.

"Lord, now that our army has shown a declining trend, defeat is a matter of time, while the losses are not serious now, hurry up and retreat, otherwise it will be too late!"

"Alright! Fall back! ”

It was wise Mitsuharu who made this suggestion, except for Honda Masanobu in the army, he is the most suitable to be a military advisor, plus he is my cousin, it is impossible to come to Yoshikawa Motoharu to frame me, so that the wise family business that has been revived with great difficulty will go on again, so I accepted his suggestion.

As soon as I left, the men and horses of the entire army in various ranks also withdrew from the battle, and before noon the next day, Yamazaki Nagatoku, who was in charge of the palace, also got out of the battle.

The Battle of Qutian ended with my defeat.

However, what made me laugh and cry was that I was obviously the defeated side, but in the public opinion propaganda at the time, I was highly praised for retreating in an orderly manner after the defeat and avoiding too many losses, as if I had not lost the battle......

In fact, I did not suffer many casualties, and the total number of soldiers killed or wounded in the battle was only more than 2,000, and the generals of each queue returned to me safely.

On the contrary, it was the Yoshikawa army that was the victor...... Iida Ieken, who attacked me, was bitten off his finger by one of my unknown flags when attacking the main camp———— and now the weather is still very hot, and the wound has not been properly treated, and he died before he survived for a few days.

I went back and summed it up, this is actually a copy of the "strong military strategy" used by the famous Qing Dynasty general Lang Tingzuo to the "One Piece" Zheng Chenggong more than 80 years later!

Gotta get it! Since the surname of the country is so brave, he will fall for this trick, then I have nothing to blame.

Besides, in the north, my navy also helped me to conquer two counties...... Although I lost this battle, I won the whole battle!

Either way, it's time for the battle to end.

On September 7, I went to Matsue Castle, the largest castle in Shimane County————.

At this time, it is already autumn, but the ancient Matsue Castle is still filled with the fragrance of summer flowers.

The impact of the war on Matsue Castle was not great, and even from some angles, my arrival stimulated its economic development, and the original Matsue Castle was demolished after the demise of the Niko family, but the Jinya that was the core of the former castle was still retained, and later the guardian of Izumo Province, Amano, solemnly rebuilt Matsue Castle, but the scale is no longer comparable to the past.

When I came over, when I saw the small castle with only two walls in front of me, I smiled bitterly:

"I haven't seen a decent castle since I entered Shimane-gun, and this Matsue Castle can barely be seen, but ...... With two walls, this defense capability is too poor......"

"My subordinates will do it!"

Wise Chang'an immediately understood what I meant, building castles and other tasks have always been his forte, good show, besides...... The oil and water in this are dripping greatly, and whoever doesn't occupy it is the king 8 eggs......

"I'm facing the sea to the north and Lake Shinji to the west, so I think Matsue Castle is the most suitable castle for the lord to live in Izumo Province from both a defensive and economic point of view......." Chang'an, look, how about I build two city walls? ”

"Two more? Wouldn't that have four walls? ”

"Well, I think Matsue Castle is located by the sea and is vulnerable to attacks from the sea."

"Lord, Matsue Castle is a flat castle located by the sea, if you increase the city wall, then for the appearance and the vision of the people in the city, the inner city also needs to be heightened!"

"It doesn't matter, if the castle tower is not raised, the whole city will not be magnificent, right? …… You can do it, it's up to you! ”

"Thank you, lord!"

For the next two months, I did not conduct any kind of military action, and I devoted myself to the development of the territory in my hands.

Although it was only two months, the whole of Matsue Castle was no longer a little castle lacking vitality and lifelessness as it used to be.

Various ships came to Matsue Castle Town through Lake Shinji, Nakakai, and Hokkai to trade, trading fish and grain, as well as other daily necessities and other rare goods, and under the guidance of commerce, the castle town gradually returned to the prosperity of the Sasaki period.

The people, who had been trying to hide their food for fear of the plundering of the wise army, were finally relieved.

In order to show their support for me, the local tyrants in the three counties contributed some of the gold, silver and food they had accumulated over the years to the repair of Songjiang Castle.

The moats have been renovated, the stone walls have been restored, and the roof of the main entrance is imposing. The city was renovated and immediately became the pride of the lords, attracting more and more merchants to trade and the market to prosper.

With the completion of the restoration of various buildings, the atmosphere in the castle, the Buddha Hall, the two castles, the east castle, and the three castles has gradually become lively and bright, as if the world has changed.

At this time, the people of Songjiang finally believed that good days were coming (really thinking of themselves as Roosevelt?). ）。

Winter is approaching, so I gathered my strength and prepared to gather my forces and fight another big battle with Yoshikawa Motoharu.

At this time, an emissary from Azuchi Castle appeared in my assessment room.

I'm quite familiar with this.,It's an old friend———— Mori Lan Maru Changding-samaru.。

"Wise man, your statecraft is very good, when I came from the castle town just now, it was very bustling with merchants and fishermen, sellers and sellers......

"Where, this city is still just developing, and it is not prosperous...... Hee-hee, Mori-sama, if you like it, I'll give you all the three counties I conquered, and you can return Sakamoto Castle to me......"

After I left, Sakamoto Castle was given to Moriranmaru by Oda Nobunaga.

It's good not to mention this, but ...... The pseudo-lady across from me is still energetic!

"You still say!! The previous annual tribute of Sakamoto Castle was completely collected by you, but now the times are different, and it is easy to say anything if you have money, and you can't do anything without money...... You guy can't do anything for me...... Say! How are you going to compensate me?! ”

"Compensation...... Well, Mori-sama, it's impossible for me to get all the money back, and you know, I'm still at war with the Maori family, and the need for military expenses is huge......"

"Well, well, I know ...... this"

Before I could "pretend to be poor" here, Moriranmaru had already interrupted me impatiently.

"You need money, I know that, and as a friend, I can understand that...... The lord can also understand, otherwise he wouldn't turn a blind eye to your private scraping...... I'm not here to talk to you about this little thing...... Well, there are three letters here, one is written to you by the lord, and the other two are from Master Tianhai and His Royal Highness Xianghime. ”

As he spoke, Moriranmaru took out three letters from his arms.

I first opened Oda Nobunaga's letter.

The meaning of "Demon King's Father-in-law" is relatively simple, and he warmly praised me for adding three sub-counties in one country in a few months.

To be honest, it's quite remarkable to be able to achieve this kind of result in such a short period of time.

Praise is praise, my father-in-law still warned me very sternly, don't the fox's tail because of such a few small victories, the road to the west is still long!

At the same time, he also gave me a little advice.

Izumo Province used to be the core territory of the Niko family, and the Maori family has ruled here for less than 30 years, so it is not yet fully rooted here, so you can try to mobilize the local tyrants who have benefited from the Niko family in the past to reduce the Maori family's control over the country.

Father was not so polite.

He asked me if I didn't take my family business seriously, how did I get addicted to playing mahjong!

Now there is almost no one in the whole of who doesn't know that I can play mahjong, and the level is still very good.

In my father's opinion, I don't really care about the lintel, but I am keen on "gambling", which is really embarrassing!

212

Kojiro Sasaki, this guy! I didn't play mahjong with anyone, but he blew out all my names, now it's okay, everyone knows that I am the real "mahjong king".

Even my retainers asked me if I had time to "play two rounds" with them.

Among them, Keiji Maeda's reaction to the "old fritter in the casino" was the most intense, and he couldn't wait to kneel down and beg me to teach him two hands.

The mahjong thing was put aside for now, and I picked up Kahime's letter.

Ah Xiang's letter was written sincerely, stating that only when she was separated from her husband did she know her husband's position in her heart, and the pain of lovesickness was always the most unbearable.

She also mentioned that she hoped that I could go back to Azuchi Castle to reunite with my family during the Chinese New Year.

In addition to the reunion, Ah Xiang also mentioned the contents of my last letter.

Indeed, as I said in my letter, more and more people have come to our house to ask for relatives recently.

Renli is already over twelve years old, and in this era he is already the age when he can marry.

There are so many people who ask for marriage, there are princes in the imperial court, and there are also famous military generals———— so many people come here, who is called Renli is my daughter and Oda Nobunaga's granddaughter?

It's a little strange to say, Renli and I are only ten years apart, and at this age, I can only say that I am the third sister after Tamako and Asakyuki...... But she is indeed my daughter!

That's not the point, the point is that this daughter will be married soon———— that is, before long, someone will call me father-in-law...... Hey, doesn't the word father-in-law only belong to middle-aged uncles? How can someone like me, who has just turned twenty-two, afford it?

That's not all, in a few years, there will be a child who will call me "grandpa"...... Help me! I don't want to grow old like this!

"Wise Lady, what's wrong with you?"

At this time, Moriranmaru noticed that my expression was very unsightly, so he asked cautiously.

"Huh? …… Mori-sama, that's the ......"

I smiled wryly and said:

"Ah Xiang's letter bothers me a lot!"

"Huh?! What's wrong?! Has Her Royal Highness Xiangji encountered any difficulties? I visited her before I left, and there was nothing wrong with it......"

Nothing is a big problem...... She wants to find a good husband for her daughter, which makes it a little difficult for me to do, there are not a few good men in the world at all, except for me, all men are evil wolves, do you want me to send my daughter to the wolf's den......"

My words made the retainers who were accompanying the guests laugh, and Moriranmaru couldn't help but laugh.

"It turned out to be for my daughter's marriage...... I can understand this, the lord often has a headache for the princess and the young master's lifelong events, this is not a trivial matter, it is indeed a little more careful. ”“

"Princess Renli was originally the granddaughter of the lord, and now she has become the daughter of a wise family with a thriving career, this identity ...... For the group of people outside who are thinking about how to get promoted and make a fortune all day long, marrying Princess Renli is equivalent to climbing the two major families of Akechi and Oda at the same time......

"Humph!"

Listening to his words, I suddenly wanted to get angry for some reason. "This group of people is greedy for profit, do they see my daughter as the key to becoming an official and becoming a knight?! Hum! I'm not going to marry them in! ”

"Alright, Lord Wise, you're a man of love and righteousness (how do you know?). I also understand this, for the happiness of my daughter, I can also understand this, this was the case at that time, in this era, what is not linked to 'fame' and 'profit'? It is impossible to have a marriage story like His Royal Highness the Judge Yoshitsune and Jing Gozen like Genkuro Judge Yoshitsune and Jing Gozen...... But then again, congratulations, it won't be long before someone will be calling you 'Father-in-law'! Hahahaha......"

"Okay, I'm annoyed now, don't bury me here!"

"Hahahaha...... How can this be said to bury you? I'm just calling for your future son-in-law twice, so that you can get acquainted with it in advance...... Father-in-law, father-in-law......"

Looking at this guy like this, I had the idea of beating him up for the first time in my life.

A mouthful of "father-in-law", you guy is so easy to call, and you really think of yourself as my daughter-in-law...... Hey? Wait a minute!

I changed my attitude.

"Mori-sama, you're a man, right?"

"Nani ......"

When I asked suddenly, Moriranmaru was caught off guard. "I'm asking you, aren't you really a woman?"

Gender issues have always been the last thing Senranmaru wants to talk about, and after listening to my question, he immediately became unhappy.

Senranmaru's appearance is not so much "handsome", but "beautiful", and the appearance of the person is simply a girl...... And it's the kind that captivates the country and the city.

"Of course I'm a man! The two of us have soaked in the hot springs in Kofu together, and it's not like you haven't seen my body, where do I look like a woman?! ”

Unexpectedly, although Senranmaru is a pseudo-mother on the outside, he is a straight "straight man" on the inside.

But then again, you're all over the place, it's good...... Except, of course, faces.

"You are eighteen years old this year, but you have not officially married, and there are only two concubines in the family, and there are no children...... Aren't you good at that?! "! You can't do that! Just because I don't have children now doesn't mean I won't have one in the future, as for the issue of marrying, what? Do you want to do this for me? ”

"In this way, it seems that you are indeed a normal man......"

I put my chin on my hand again and looked at Mori Lan Maru a few times. Moriranmaru was covered in hair when I saw it.

"Hey! Will be imprisoned! If you have anything to say, just say it, I don't understand what you mean by going around like this! ”

"You really don't understand? So I'll tell you the truth...... Can you take care of Renli for me? "Princess Renli? Of course, there is no problem with this, of course there is no problem with the entrustment of friends, and besides, how many years have we been friends...... Wait a minute! ”

He looked at me as if he had reacted suddenly, and he looked like an electric shock no matter how he looked.

"You want to entrust the princess to me?"

"Yes, but I'd like to hear what you mean." "This ...... Allow me to think about it. Moriranmaru no longer had a hippie smile and lowered his head. Seeing that I intended to marry my daughter, the retainers also discussed below, calculating the gains and losses.

"Lord Sen, this is just an immature idea that popped up of me, if you really don't like my family's benevolence, I won't force you, our friendship in the future will not change anything, you are still my friend in Azuchi City......"

"No, Wise Lady! You don't have to be presumptuous, you are the future star of the lord's weapon, the family also has a long history, and the strong valve borrowed by the lord's family, it is really my honor to be able to climb the relationship with you, and the princess is noble and generous, and the country is beautiful and fragrant (you can see this?) How did I not know? It's a blessing I can't imagine to be able to stay with her for the rest of my life...... It's just that Princess Renli is the granddaughter of the lord after all, and this matter must be approved by the lord......"

"My lord, ......alas," I sighed suddenly.

At the beginning, my four sisters all married Oda Nobusumi, Araki Muraji, Hosokawa Tadashiko, and Tsutsui Seiji according to Oda Nobunaga's wishes, and the result was ...... I won't talk about it now, in history, their fate is more miserable than the other.

Even I myself passively married his daughter and gave birth to a son with his bloodline...... I don't know if my Takechiyo will be arranged like this by him in the future.

At this moment, I suddenly hated the marriage of the children of the Oda Nobunaga family and the wise family. It's all being manipulated by him recklessly.

Now even my goddaughter, who has no blood relationship with me, is being targeted by her good grandfather.

To be honest, I like Senlan Maru, people are handsome (pseudo-mothers are basically not ugly), family background is good (the ancestor is Gen Yoshitaka, and I am also a family member of the Seiwa Genji), and most importantly, the status is also high, although I didn't go into battle much, but I have 160,000 stone of Yulu (60,000 stone of Mino-Iwamura Castle + 100,000 stone of Omi Saka Castle, and there is a tendency to further increase), and there is no problem with conduct and character (you don't mention the way to me!). There are definitely a few people who are not good at this bite of the Warring States men)...... Most importantly, he was one of the few people who could talk to Oda Nobunaga, which was very reassuring to me.

But then again, my good friend for many years suddenly became a generation shorter than me, and I want to call myself my father-in-law, which is really ......

After Moriranmaru left, Honda asked me:

"Is the lord going to marry Princess Renli to Lord Sen?"

"Well, what? Do you have any objections? ”

"No, no, how dare I oppose the idea of the lord?"

"Well, although marriage is important, we have more important things to do in front of us...... Zhengchun, you go and call all the adults over, and I'm going to hold a military meeting later. ”

Honda was thrilled.

That's great! It's finally time to go to war again, and it's much more fun than keeping your desk every day.

At this time, a new idea also emerged in my heart.

"This time, I plan to directly attack Izumo Prefecture, that is, the base camp of the Maori army in Izumo Province———— Tsukiyama Tomita Castle!"

"Lord, are you planning a decisive battle with Yoshikawa Motoharu?"

"Yes, I want to take control of Izumo Province as soon as possible...... For this reason, I decided to fight a big battle with Yoshikawa Motoharu and let him bleed (aha, instead of Roosevelt, I changed to Hanjin!). ）！ ”

"So, do you have any plans, my lord?"

"Compared to Yoshikawa Motoharu, I have a considerable advantage, and that is the ———— water army! Because the water army of the Maori family is in the hands of Kobayakawa Takakei, Yoshikawa Motoharu can only use some water thieves, but unfortunately, Izumo Province is a place with many rivers, and it is simply impossible to have a reliable water force, so, I decided, as before, the waterway! enter

When everyone heard this, they felt disapproving for a while.

Yoshikawa Motoharu is not a fool, people will fall for your tricks again and again? ……

Whoever is there may be several times in his or her life that has gone beyond the realm of reason.

At that time, I was so proud of the spring breeze, I never thought that I would fight a battle that I would never want to think about again in my life!

Tokugawa Ieyasu, who has always been cautious in history, once ignored the possibility that Takeda's army would attack from Mikatahara because of his irrationality, leaving a record of disastrous defeats.

Of course, with his strength, he can't stop it if he wants to.

It's just that Tokugawa Ieyasu was thirty-one years old at the time, and he still made mistakes, so it is not unforgivable for me, who is younger than him, to do such a reckless thing.

At only twenty-two years old, I was so greedy for a great victory that I was anxious to destroy the enemy's main force that I had never faced in my life!

After drawing up the battle plan, that is, on the 15th of November, I went to the shore of Lake Shinji, and immediately planned to send troops, and when everything was ready, it was already noon on the 15th.

But at this time, snowflakes suddenly fell in the sky.

Tokugawa Ieyasu's Battle of Mikatahara was difficult due to heavy snowfall;

In the same way, the snow has become the biggest obstacle for me to send troops this time.