068

"Keijiro, how far can your iron cannon hit?"

"Well...... Maeda Keiji rarely didn't boast about it, "The iron cannon skills of this family have always been the best under His Royal Highness Nobunaga, so I don't dare to hold it up in Xia, but I can guarantee that even if there is a distance of thirty or forty, I can hit it in Xia." ”

Matsuma is a unit of length unique to Japan, and Ichichi is about 1.8 meters long.

Forty distances, this is already a lot of power, in the wise family, only my father, the wise Mitsutada, who commanded the iron artillery team, Miyake Yaheiji, and me, who often played with guns in later generations, had this level.

I tentatively asked, "What about the fifty?" Or farther than fifty, can it be done? ”

"I'm ashamed to say that I can't do anything about it."

"I'm not sure if there are any enemies around here, and if there are, it's better to shoot them!"

"Young master, your idea is very good, but the problem is that if the distance exceeds twenty zhang, it will be miserable to see the target, and besides, the enemy must stay still and be my live target......

"Don't giggle, be serious!"

Just when I wanted to reprimand Keiji Maeda, "Huh, strange? ”

"What's wrong?"

I pointed to a place more than 300 feet away, which was a small hill that was not very high.

"It looks like there's someone there," Keiji Maeda said, squinting his eyes, "You,"

He called one of the horsemen beside him.

"Go to the front and take a look, what's going on?"

After a few minutes (it was a hassle without a clock), the cavalry flapped back

"Report to His Royal Highness the Young Lord, Maeda-sama!" A cavalryman turned back, "On the hill in front of you is the men and horses of the head of Yamamoto Temple, who are checking the terrain. ”

"I see," Keiji Maeda exclaimed in a low voice, quickly dialing his horse to my side, "Young master, look!" ”

"Well, I see, although I don't know the exact number, I'm afraid there are more than three hundred enemies."

"But isn't Yamamoto Temple Governor himself?" I asked the cavalryman.

"Because it's far away, the small ones can't see clearly."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work," I turned to Keiji Maeda and said, "Mamoru Shimono (Nobuki Ikeda) is really right, the whereabouts of the Uesugi army are strange."

"Young master, it is not advisable to stay here for a long time, it is better to retreat."

And you said, I picked up my horse, turned around and galloped away.

The pavement beneath our feet was suddenly dusty. In this way, it is impossible not to be discovered.

However, the enemy did not chase after him.

"Bang bang bang", bursts of iron cannons sounded behind him. But at this time, Keiji Maeda and I were already out of range.

"Cut!" Maeda Keiji scolded disdainfully at the distant mountain, "It's so far away, Lao Tzu can't hit, you dogs from the mountains should save a few bullets!" ”

"Alright, don't pretend to be a big-tailed wolf here!"

Just as our group was returning, in Honjo's long Nomi Castle, Honjo's long Honjo was staring at the map and discussing the military situation with everyone.

It was very hot, and it was even more unbearable to be in the shogunate, which was not well ventilated, and even though everyone was not wearing armor, just a light suit and a haori, they were still wet.

Hojo Keihiro on the side and Yamamoto Temple Dingchang, who was not on the mountain, also interjected a few words from time to time next to him.

"Lord Yamamotoji, there will be no problem with your Hakusan Castle, right?"

"No problem."

"That's good," Honjo looked at the map, and finally his eyes fell on the northwestern part of the Tetori River, a highland called "Kamishiba".

Nobuyuki Ikeda's army was stationed there.

Mori Musashi kept wiping his sweat and said, "If I'm not mistaken, this is Ikeda Nobuyi's territory." ”

"Exactly."

After receiving an affirmative reply, Honjo instructed his attendants: "Bring a pen." ”

Honjo Fanchang uses a slender wolf's hair to draw a circle in the place of "Shangchai".

"Although it seems that the enemy is not moving at any point now, it is very likely that Takigawa Kazuki, as the commander-in-chief, will cross the river and launch an attack on Hakusan as soon as he uses Shiba as a stronghold."

"Really?" The head of Yamamoto Temple did not dare to slack off, and Hakuyama was his stronghold.

"Although the terrain is narrow, the road surface is quite flat, and correspondingly, the water flow here is also very stable, and if the Oda army rushes down from the Shangshiba Plateau and attacks Hakusan, the consequences will be very serious."

"It makes sense, Honjo-sama is just a hypothesis, but it makes a lot of sense."

"Therefore, we should also rush between Inuyama and Komaki immediately." Ignoring the praise of Yamamoto Temple, Honjo drew a circle on the word "Sarusaka" on the map.

Takigawa Kazuki!

"If we can't occupy Shangchai in this direction, we will inevitably have endless troubles." Honjo said in a firm tone while pointing at the wood on the map with a military fan.

"But once Shangchai is in our hands, it will be different, the terrain of Sarusaka is high in the south and north bottom, and the distance between it and Shangchai is only five miles, if we enter the station Shangchai, then hit Sarusaka and defeat Takigawa Yiyi in one fell swoop, it will be much more convenient."

As he spoke, he also looked at Yamamoto Temple with encouraging eyes.

"I know," Yamamoto Temple said with great energy, "I'm going to be out in the next battle." ”

"Well, then I'll leave it to you," he turned his head again and said to Hojo Keihiro, who had not spoken, "After all, there are more than 2,000 people in Ikeda Nobuyi, and I'm afraid that Lord Yamamoto Temple alone can't handle it, so Hojo-sama, you can also go and live with him." ”

"Okay."

"The more it drags on, the more solid the enemy's position will be, so this battle should be sooner rather than later, and the two adults will act tonight."

The two of them stepped back in unison.

At this time, Honjo's son, Honjo Kinaga, silently stepped forward and put the map away.

"Honjo," Honjo Shiranaga, who was sitting on the military bench, glanced lazily at his son, "Do you have any thoughts on my order?" ”

"Thoughts?" Honjo handed the map to Qimoto, and after a little thought, said, "It is said that the terrain is gentle, but Kamichai is located in the lower reaches of the Tetori River, and the water depth is nearly one and a half zhang...... Privately, I don't think it's a good idea. ”

"What's a half?" Honzhuang Fanchang looked indifferent, "The soldiers of this family have been fighting in Vietnam, where there are many rivers, for many years, and there are many water-based poles, besides, it is not the first time to cross the river on horseback." ”

"But I have a suggestion as well."

"Say."

Honjo said slowly: "According to the child's opinion, when the two adults cross the river, we should not be idle, and we should cross the river at the same time. ”

"Crossing the river at the same time?"

"Yes, after crossing the Tetori River, we should renovate on the spot, but don't set up camp, just make a posture that we are about to attack Sarusaka, in this case, Takigawa Kazuki will hesitate to help Ikeda Nobuyi, if he refuses to rescue, and insists on Sarusaka to meet us, the pressure on the two adults will be much less, and in case there is a flaw in Sarusaka, we will take advantage of the situation and take the enemy by surprise, in this case, Even if Takigawa Kazuyi can save Nobuki Ikeda, it will not be worth the loss. ”

"Sounds very reasonable," Shigenaga Honjo shook the military fan in his hand, "Feint to attack Sarusaka and actually attack Kamishiba, it sounds like you can't go wrong on either side, but have you ever thought about what I should do if Ikeda Nobuyi withstands the attacks of Yamamoto Temple and Hojo, and Takigawa Kazuki does not send troops?" ”

“……”

"So, you still don't have anything to think about, war is not based on fantasy." Honjo stood up and looked at his son, who bowed his head and was silent, "However, what you just said is quite interesting. ”

“？”

"Baishan is nearly twenty miles away from Sarusaka, while Baishan is only five miles away from Shangchai...... So, tonight's battle is just an outpost battle, of course," he glanced at his son with a puzzled face again, "It would be better if we could really lure Takigawa Kazuyi out as you said!" ”

Kamishiba and Ikeda Gun's main formation

"Lord Takigawa's side is ready, tonight we will cross the Tetori River and attack Hakuyama Castle."

Oda Nobuki spread out the map, and the three of us gathered on the other side to listen to his deployment.

"At that time, Lord Takigawa will also send Sakuma-sama to assist us, but instead of helping us attack the castle, we will help defend Kamishiba while we are away, so as to prevent the retreat from being cut off."

"That's great!" Ikeda Motosuke exclaimed excitedly, and I was taken aback by him, "Without outsiders, the credit will be all ours!" ”

"Shut up!" Nobuyuki Ikeda was angry at his son's "madness," "All preparations are in place, and no matter how the Uesugi army responds, try not to engage them head-on, and bring him into the range of the iron cannon that we are good at." No matter how strong and powerful the cavalry is, it is not worth mentioning in front of the iron cannon, besides, the cavalry of the Uesugi family is not good at defending the city, so as long as their cavalry has nowhere to play, there is a possibility and opportunity to capture the city. ”

"Ikeda-sama is wise," I said as I praised him, but in my heart I wondered if this flawed solution would work.

"The so-called war should be fought at the time when morale is at its highest. If we don't win a battle in this area to encourage us, Lord Takigawa and the lord will lose their hearts to us, and the enemy on the other side of the river will take advantage of it. Therefore, we must first teach the head of Yamamoto Temple in Hakusan Castle, which is the closest to us, across the Tetori River, to teach a good lesson, the three of you, who will act as the vanguard officer? ”

"I'll go!" As soon as Dad's words fell, Motosuke Ikeda couldn't wait to ask, "Leave this kind of work to me." ”

"No!" You have other tasks...... but Ikeda Nobuyuki unexpectedly denied his son, "Lord Commander, the iron cannon under your command is the most sophisticated, and I will leave this matter to you." ”

"Yes."

"Changke, as the second team, you have to do your best to assist the general."

"Father, don't worry."