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The Abukuma River is a river in the northeastern part of Honshu, Japan. It originated in present-day Fukushima Prefecture, that is, the southern part of the original Mutsu Province, at the eastern foot of Mount Sanbenyake, and flowed north between the Abu Kuma Mountains and the Ou Mountains, passing through Koriyama and the Fukushima Basin, and flowing into Sendai (before Date Masamune built Sendai Castle, this place was called "Chiyowan").

The main stream is 239 kilometers long, and the basin area is about 5,400 square kilometers. There are many tributaries, mainly the Dalongne River and the Shiraishi River.

Just as Mikawa Bay and Kiso River raised the Three Heroes of the Warring States Period, the Abu Kuma River and Chiyowan have also supported many heroes and heroes in history.

When the Kamakura shogunate was first established, when Genji established the first samurai regime in Japan, the domains of Eizu, Date and Soma were given to three military generals who had achieved great military success, and since then these three generals have been named Ashina (Aizu), Date (Date), and Soma (Soma) respectively.

From the 15th to the 16th centuries, the struggle for hegemony between the military commanders intensified during the Warring States period, and the daimyo who dominated the two sides of the Abukuma River changed one after another.

In the past fifty or sixty years, the situation on both sides of the strait has basically stabilized———— with the Date family in the north and the Soma family in the south.

During the time of Date Uemune, the relationship between the two families used to be very good, but since the Astronomical Rebellion, this harmony has been broken, and in the last decade or two, the rivalry between Date and Soma has become more and more intense.

The third day of the fourth month of the twelfth year of Tensho.

This is a high slope not far from the Abukuma River.

A young man in bronze armor and a yellow feather coat was looking up at the river in the distance. There was nothing special about his clothes, not much different from the usual generals, the only attraction was his helmet, which had a large centipede on it.

Beside him, there were more than twenty guards of Qiben, all of whom were riding on tall horses.

The boy's name is Date Togoro Narumi, and he is the current patriarch of the Date family, the cousin of Date Masamune, and the young head of the Watari Date family.

After the war with the Uesugi family, Date Masamune ordered Kenmune to stay behind to guard Rifu Castle to the north to guard against the Osaki family and the Kasai family. He also ordered Date Shimoto to guard Maramori Castle to the east, as well as Watari Motomune, who was in charge of guarding Watari Castle. Mainly to deal with the Soma family.

Now, the power of the Date family is extremely violent, and it has won successes on the main battlefields one after another, and in other frontier areas, it can be seen that Date Masamune is really a military genius that has not been met in ten years!

On the surface of the Abukuma River in April, the ice has already melted, but the river is still cold and biting, which may have something to do with the fact that the Mutsu itself is located at a high latitude and is a relatively cold country.

The pontoon bridge by the river has been demolished decades ago, and the two families are fighting on the shore. There are only a few small traders who will get permission from the land to do business on both sides of the river by boat.

【Woo————】

A dull sound of conch came into his ears, and Itami's already serious face became even more dull, which did not correspond to his age.

[What's going on?!] 】

[Young master! The enemy on the other side of the river is coming! 】

[Nani?! It's the Soma family's group of mongrels?! 】

[That's right! At Sakamoto, not far from here, the Soma family gathered more than 500 people and prepared to cross the river and attack Marumori Castle of our army. 】

【Wait a minute! Are you sure there is no mistake in your intelligence?! Did the people of the Soma family let the door go through their heads? Just 500 people want to attack Marumori Castle, which is guarded by their father, they can't be crazy, right?! 】

[Young master! A small bold guess, these five hundred people are probably just the vanguard of the Soma family, used to test the reality of the family, Soma Yiyin is a military general who can fight well and has a very accurate grasp of the battlefield situation, and he is likely to leave the large army behind. 】

Seventeen-year-old Ita Shiri lowered his head and thought for a moment, then nodded and said:

[It makes sense, I can't find a more suitable reason than what you said, since the enemy is only five hundred, then there is no need to wait for the reinforcements of my father, let's go to war ourselves! Get ready for battle! 】

【Wait a minute! Young Lord! Although there are only 500 people on the other side, there are even fewer people on our side, not even 200 people, so if you really want to fight them, the chances of winning are very small. 】

[Yes, it's because there are few people! 】

Ita replied nonchalantly, as if he didn't take the words of the person who reported to him seriously at all. Instead, he put on leather gloves and made a look of gearing up.

[The scale of the battle is very small, so there is no need for even a plan or anything, our army just needs to fight hard......]

[However, the battle is not won by bravery alone, we ......]

[Where do you get so much nonsense?! Now is the time to defeat the enemy and make meritorious deeds, I can't wait to fight, if you are so crooked again, believe it or not, I will whip you! 】

Ita is indeed an aggressive man, and in history, he is a brave and fierce tough guy. At the same time, because of his foul temper that always offends people, a large number of people in Ida's family have opinions about him.

That person saw that his young master had already made up his mind to fight with the people of the Soma family, and there was no retreat at all, he couldn't help but be a little frustrated, but he quickly made up his mind———— no matter whether Ida was happy or not, he would ride a horse and run back to Marumori Castle later, and report the enemy situation to the old man Date Minoto, only if the old man made a move, could he defeat the enemy!

In fact, at this time, it is already a little too late to wait for Date Minoto to come to the rescue, and the vanguard of the Soma army will cross the Abu Kuma River.

It was already afternoon, and I saw a burst of dust flying in the distance on the other side of the river. Dozens of galloping Soma cavalrymen, carrying flags painted with [horse patterns] on their backs, armed with spears or katanas, rushed to the river in an instant.

At this time, there were already many Date soldiers patrolling back and forth on both sides of the river, and they noticed this group of menacing uninvited guests, but before they could line up to fight, the enemy, who was like a gust of wind, raised their weapons in their hands and began to greet them.

The infantry and cavalry are opposed, and if they are not organized into a dense formation, there is almost no combat effectiveness at all, and it is completely the side that is being beaten.

So, in an instant, there were already five or six Date soldiers, killed by the enemy, and their bodies fell on the bank of the river.

The Date camp on this side of the river finally sounded the sound of conch.

[Don't mess up, everyone! There aren't many enemies, and we can resist them! 】

Itami, who had long been tempted to go into battle to kill the enemy, rode across the Abukuma River, although the river was cold and biting, it had no effect on him———— and I don't know if it was because of his own blood boiling, which had offset the cold of the river.

Of course, what can he do alone? Beside him were seven or eight flags that carefully acted as guards.

【Soma family's turtle grandchildren! 】 This young master is Marumori Castle Date Togoro Narumi! If you have the ability, come and have a good time with Young Master Ben! 】

The enemy on the other side attracted it———— not so much that his name was so loud that it made people look sideways, but because his voice was too loud for people not to notice.

The historical Ita is really a loud loudspeaker, coupled with his fiery and fierce bad temper, except for Katakura Keixuna, who has a good personal relationship with him, few people in the Date family can get along with him.

The Soma soldiers paused, and the young general in front of him, wearing a very scary [centipede helmet] and holding a katana in his hand, rushed towards them without stopping.

The momentum is indeed very formidable, but the reason why Itami is so fierce is not because of how strong his martial arts are, but because he is too excited, and the feeling of being in battle for the first time is too good to stop.

[Protect the young master! 】

Unlike Itashi, the newborn calf, the banners guarding him were all veterans of a hundred battles with extraordinary skills, and with their assistance and protection, Itami was able to cut down an enemy very smoothly.

The young master's heroic performance was a great encouragement to the Date soldiers who were in chaos.

Like a boulder in a flood, facing the surging waves, the young master led people upstream. Under their desperate counterattack, the offensive of the Soma army has eased to a certain extent.

With this opportunity, the Date army slowly regained stability, and more soldiers formed a relatively simple formation behind Itami and launched a counterattack against the enemy.

The official battle finally began, and the two sides were inseparable on the shore.

More than half an hour later, the sound of conch was heard again in the large formation behind the Date army.

Date Minoto led the defenders of the city and came to join the battle!

The ashigaru formed a phalanx of spears, marching neatly towards the riverbank like an iron wall.

And on both sides of the phalanx of spears, a large number of knights on war horses whizzed by, and they began to attack from both sides.

This is the Crane Wing Array!

The Soma army originally had a numerical advantage, but when Date reinforcements arrived, the situation was reversed in an instant.

Slowly, they finally couldn't resist the increasing pressure. Under the constant surprise attacks of the Ida army's crane wings, pikes, and cavalry on both sides, from time to time, Soma cavalry fell from their horses and were trampled into mud by the galloping horses' hooves.

This is true for cavalry, not to mention infantry with poor mobility, with heavy casualties!

Ita Minoru, who was on the front line of the previous rush, also felt a lot more relaxed at this time, and he was on the rise of the rush, completely unaware that because of the relationship of rushing too hard, the flag next to him was already half dead.

I didn't even notice that he himself had suffered a lot of injuries, and it was time for [next treatment].

[Ah————h

He was not satisfied, he still needed to vent well, and he let out a long howl in the sky, and his big voice was still loud in the shouting of killing.

Then like a tiger rushing down the mountain, rushing left and right, no one can stop half of it, this is probably the effect of momentum, the enemy regards it as a famous general of a hundred battles.

The situation on the battlefield soon changed significantly, and the soldiers of the Soma Army, who had attacked earlier, could not wait for the follow-up troops to respond, and could no longer resist the Date Army, which had an overwhelming superiority in forces in front of them, and began to retreat one after another.

Seeing this, the Date army naturally rose in momentum and continued to attack forward.

Finally, the Soma army was defeated, and they left behind the bodies and weapons of their comrades and fled in the direction of Sakamoto Castle. The Date army was victorious.

[You bastard! 】

After the battle, Date and his son met each other, and not only did the father not have any praise and concern, but instead scolded him.

[As the commander of the army, you did not stay in the rear to command the army to fight, but rushed to the front, did you want to take the initiative to seek death?!] 】

【……】

Ita is not afraid of heaven and earth, and he is very bold, and sometimes he even dares to quarrel with the newly appointed lord Date Masamune, and even quarrel, but he only dare not be presumptuous in front of his father.

[I ask you, when did you learn to ignore military discipline?!] 】

Obviously, all the soldiers were nearby, but Date Minoto taught his son a lesson, but he showed no mercy at all. It's not that he doesn't cherish this son who made a mistake, but he wants to use this embarrassing scene to let his son achieve the goal of a lifelong unforgettable lesson.

If others dared to say this about him, Ita would have turned his face and done it a long time ago, but the person in front of him was his father, and he was a dutiful son, and he didn't want to disobey his father, so he listened quietly.

[You are such a big person, why can't you understand me half a point and follow my orders? 】

Date Minoto finally changed his tone when he said this.

[I told you before, the enemy is coming, don't do it with them easily, just notify me, so as to ensure that you don't fall into the enemy's trap...... I have repeatedly told you before that it is the courage of a man to go it alone. The era of fighting with bows and arrows and naginatas has long passed, and now it is the era of the art of war. Only an army with a high art of war and strict military discipline can win. 】

【……】

[I tell you so much, and you can't understand it at all? If you don't obey my orders, don't say that you are my son, even if you are a military general by the lord's side, I will never forgive me! …… A samurai who cannot obey the orders of his commander would rather not have his existence! 】

【……】

[I am very disappointed in your performance today, even if you win the battle now, you still can't forgive the violation of military discipline. Now I owe it first, and when the war is over, return to Yonezawa Castle, and I'll settle it with you slowly! Do you understand?! 】

No one answered. Ida, who was standing on the side, bit his lip tightly, his shoulders shaking violently.

【Main water!】 Take good care of this ignorant young boy. If there is any more who dares to disobey orders...... Just deal with it according to military law! 】

With that, Date Minoto strode over.

Everyone was silent for a moment.

[Okay, young master, you don't have to be discouraged, you are doing very well today, like a samurai! 】

[Main Water] was the person who reported the enemy's situation before, he patted the young master's shoulder, and then said:

[The river is cold, everyone just froze to death, right? Now make a fire and everyone is warm. 】

The bonfire is blazing again......

The battle on the Abu Kuma River side was only a small episode, and what happened on the Echigo front was the real highlight.

Uesugi Keitora left Kyoto on April 1, and Oda Nobunaga had intended to have Akechi Kogoro, who had already assembled 5,000 troops in, accompany him and act as a guard, but Uesugi Keigtora politely refused.

Because the battle in San'in had not been over for a long time, and the Wise Legion had not yet recovered from the rest, so this time the troops were dispatched, and Wise Kogoro did not need to use his own soldiers, and Oda Nobunaga transferred his own soldiers to him to use.

Oda Nobunaga really took good care of his [son], so that the strength of the wise army could be preserved. Moreover, the combat effectiveness of the shogunate's personal soldiers is still above that of the wise army, so it is more convenient to use.

However, being able to command the general's own soldiers is not entirely a joyful thing.

In the face of his [good son] Akechi Kogoro, [Loving Father] Oda Nobutaga waved his hand and transferred the most elite five thousand belt armor in his military formation to him.

All of them are veterans who have fought for many years, and many of them have fought with Oda Nobunaga in the east and west, and some of them have even participated in the battles to pacify Mino and Ise.

However, these soldiers are also veterans, who are usually placed in various battalions, relying on their old qualifications, and they are also some arrogant and untamed masters.

Oda Nobunaga probably thought they were also annoyed, and this time they all happened to be pulled out and handed over to Akechi Kogoro.

Such soldiers, although it usually gives people a headache to bring, but the toughness of these people is needless to say.

Just like Takeda Akabei, in the hands of Takeda Shingen, that is the known invincible Tiger Ben Division, and in the hands of Tokugawa Ieyasu, who is good at using soldiers, it has always been a formidable force.

But if it comes into the hands of Katsuyori Takeda...... Well, as long as the army is not handed over to a complete fool, then it is a guarantee of victory in the future

On the other hand, Mori Nagaka, the owner of the Shinano Kaizu Pavilion, returned to his territory non-stop to prepare for military mobilization, and now, he is about to get a new territory, which can be described as full of energy.

A few families are happy and a few are sad, Mori Chang and that Kitada Xinyi, naturally they are overjoyed.

Especially Kitada Nobuyi, who has been confused for so many years and has not achieved anything, but because of the failure of the conquest of Iga, he was ridiculed and despised by his father and brothers.

Now it's okay, he hasn't done anything, and he has obtained all the territory of Echigo for nothing (Mori Naga is about to become his vassal, and nominally under his control)!

Oh, my God! Echigo is not a small country, and its stone is as high as 520,000 stones! You must know that you have inherited the Kitada family for so many years, and the territory has not exceeded 200,000 stones, so what is this not Gao Sheng?!

They were happy, but it wasn't a good thing for the Uesugi family.

In fact, compared to the extinct Takeda family and the Hojo family, which have now been completely reconciled, the Uesugi family and the Oda family are not very deep, and they have even been allies against the Takeda family for a long time.

After the peace negotiation, the two families had reached a reconciliation and re-aligned the alliance, and after Oda Nobunaga destroyed the Takeda family, the [alliance] became [dependent], and Uesugi Keitora himself even participated in the ceremony of Oda Nobunaga being crowned as a general of the expedition as a "vassal".

It's just that although they have become vassals, it doesn't mean that the Uesugi samurai have agreed with the fate of being at the mercy of the shogunate.

When the news of the transfer reached Echigo, it immediately angered the retainers of the Uesugi clan.

The calmer people are silently calculating the gains and losses, while the hot-tempered people have already started to greet Oda Nobunaga and his family members directly, especially women.

In any case, this represents the Uesugi family's resistance to the shogunate's orders.

However, at this time, the Uesugi family was in dire need of the shogunate's power...... But then again, isn't this a serious robbery?!

At the same time, I don't know what happened, even Date Masamune smelled something different, and on April 3, the envoy of the Date family, who is also Date Masamune's uncle, Kunitei came to visit Uesugi Keitora in a grand manner.

Kunitami said that considering that the soldiers of the Date family missed their hometown, the lord Date Masamune already had the idea of retiring from the army.

Hearing this news, of course, everyone in the Uesugi family was smiling, but the next words of Kokubun Shengsheng made them unhappy.

[Oda Shogun's order, my lord has also heard about it, and he is very indignant about it, Echigo is the hereditary land of the Uesugi family, and it has been the case since Nagao was Keiko, and the shogun actually wanted to take away Echigo, which is really unbearable. 】

To be honest, it's okay for anyone to say that, but it's a little weird to say it from the mouth of you, the Retainer of Ida, because you're also an aggressor.

But what is surprising is that no one seems to notice this, not only did no one come out to refute it, but many people nodded yes.

[Moreover, Aizu is the territory of the Kanto samurai, and the shogunate is delusional about interfering, and the whole family is very angry about this. 】

Speaking of which, there is no need to go any further.

Everyone in the Uesugi family fell into silence, and the Date family deliberately put themselves in the same position as the Uesugi family, could it be ...... Want to reconcile and form an alliance with the Uesugi family?

Uesugi Keitora thought for a moment, and didn't reply directly, just thanked Date Masamune for his [cordial condolences], and then politely sent Kokubun away with a grand weight.

However, the minds of the retainers have already begun to be active, and powerful retainers such as Naoe Kanesu, Honjo Shigenaga, Kawada Nagakin, Hojo Keihiro, etc., have seen a lot and understand the stakes involved, so they don't have much to say.

On the contrary, those middle- and lower-level retainers who are not well-informed have new ideas————

If we form an alliance with the Date family, this is a good idea, and if the Date family withdraws from Echigo, we will form an alliance with it, so we don't have to leave our hometown.

As long as the war here is over, the shogunate will have no reason to interfere in our affairs, let alone force us to leave.

What if the shogun is angry about this and wants to attack us?

Hum! Then there is no need to be afraid of them!

At that time, the main family used the Date family and the Hojo family as Austrian support, and it was enough to establish a defense line against the shogunate [Echigo-Aizu-Sagami].

Even, maybe Kenshin's regret that the reunification of Japan was not completed back then can be fulfilled by us?

You see, short-sighted people never make arrangements for the future, and they always fantasize about things that are unrealistic and even absurd.

However, they regret that from the very beginning, Uesugi Keitora did not intend to reconcile with the Date family.

[Wishful thinking! Did you want to use this method to coax me, when I was a three-year-old?! Date Masamune, this damn thing! It is unforgivable to occupy my territory and try to fool me! 】

【Lord......

[You don't have to say anything more?! Date Masamune offended the shogunate, and he wanted to die even if he wanted to, and he wanted to pull me into the water...... Hum! I'm not going to reconcile with him! 】

After the ministers retreated, Shimazu Tadashi, the lord of Naganuma Castle, was on the way down the mountain (the structure of Kasuga Mountain Castle is a mountain castle, and the altitude is not low, if you are interested, you can go to see the Taiga drama "Heaven and Earth People", which is very difficult to climb the mountain), and said to the old Uesugi Keishin, who was traveling with him:

[Actually, I think Date Masamune's words are quite interesting.,It's impossible to form an alliance.,But we can make use of it a little.,If this news is deliberately revealed to wise Kogoro and Mori Nagako.,Won't the weight of the family increase a lot?] 】

[Humph! It's useless to talk about this now, my lord, I'm afraid he would have become a retainer of Oda a long time ago. 】

【……】……

On April 8, Akechi Kogoro led 5,000 men and horses along the streets of Hokukoku, through Kaga and Echichu, to Echigo, and the day before, Mori Nagake left a large army at Kaizukan, but brought more than 100 flags to Kasuga Yamajo Castle to discuss matters.

However, to the slight embarrassment of Akechi Kogoro, just as he had just crossed Fudo Mountain with his front feet and arrived at the foot of Kasugayama Castle, the Date army launched a new attack.

The eighteen-year-old lord, Date Masamune, ordered the remaining Masaki and Oniwa Tsunagen to launch an operation in western Echigo on April 8.

By feinting against Hojo Castle, Sarumatsu and Noda Castle, he tried to disrupt the Uesugi and Oda clans' plans to use troops.

The degree of meticulousness with which he used his troops is really admirable, and it is hard to believe that this is just an eighteen-year-old child.

As we all know, the Echigo Uesugi family was originally evolved from the Nagao family, because the development time was too short, from the long tail to the present, it is only four generations, plus the long tail is Jing and Uesugi Kenshin are both vigorous and resolute strong lords, there are not many generations of genealogical retainers under his hands, and there is also a lack of a group of people who can control the big scene, therefore, the lords of the country in various parts of Echigo can take advantage of the situation to enter and constitute the main body of the Uesugi family retainers.

Compared with the retainers of the spectrum, the advantages of the people of the country are that they rely on the sky for food, ensure the harvest in drought and flood, and provide their own military supplies. Therefore, if they come to fight, they are often not afraid to die in order to be rewarded.

But the shortcomings are also obvious, that is, short-sightedness and too selfishness. The people of Echigo betrayed Uesugi Kenshin more than once, and only settled down a little in the later period.

The reason why Date Masamune is careful with his troops is because he calculated correctly, this Hojo, Sarumatsu, and Noda are all the territories of the country.

If the above three cities fall, the Uesugi retainers will inevitably be shaken internally, and Uesugi Keitora will definitely be anxious in order to appease the retainers.

At a military meeting in which Akechi Kogoro and Mori Naga participated, the anxious people seemed to see Date Masamune standing tall in the procession with the banner of the [Bamboo Sparrow].

(Like the Uesugi family, the Date family's crest is also a bamboo finch pattern, which was given to Date Uemune by Uesugi Dingmi, but if you look closely, you will find that the positions of the two birds in the Date family are completely opposite to the Uesugi family.) ）

Gradually, the age difference between the twenty and thirty years old and the eighteen-year-old began to be clearly manifested in the arrangement of the formation.

can't be in a hurry, no matter how powerful Date Masamune is, he has already offended the [Sixth Heaven Demon King], and sooner or later he will not be able to die well.

Uesugi Keitora cursed Date Masamune thousands of times in his heart, but he said casually:

[That little imp Ida, who is really too deceitful, now that I'm here, will I still retreat?]

Hojo-sama, it's not that I deliberately ignore your Hojo Castle, but if you disrupt the entire battle plan for the sake of one castle, it won't be worth it. 】

When he said this, Uesugi Keitora glanced at Akechi Kogoro a few times, intentionally or unintentionally.

Wise Kogoro naturally understands the meaning of this———— he is the military advisor of the coalition army, and this kind of work of coming up with ideas must be done by him.

People say that when Uesugi Kenshin was alive, because the [God of War] always did the two positions of commander and military advisor alone, and his subordinates only needed to carry out the orders. So when Uesugi Kenshin died, there was no military general in the Uesugi family who could coordinate the overall situation, because there was no such opportunity before, and now it seems that this is really the case.

[Then allow me to babble nonsense here.] 】

The Uesugi retainers in the assessment room, as well as Mori Nagako, all came over to watch the wise Kogoro who was sitting next to Uesugi Keitor.

At this time, Wise Kogoro, although he came directly from the battlefield, did not wear any armor, and his body was still covered in a navy blue Haori, which was full of armor (fully armed represented an attitude, and the people of the Uesugi family seemed to be ready to fight the Date family), but it was also very conspicuous.

Wise Kogoro was originally facing Uesugi Jinghu who was sitting on the main seat, but now she turned around and bowed her head to the retainers of the Uesugi family.

[Ladies and gentlemen, although I have never seen that arrogant imp Date Masamune. However, I have heard of his name, and I know that this man is young but has the ambition to unify Japan, so he often sighs that he should have been born 20 years early. Accomplish a hegemony like that of my lord Nobunaga.

Although this little imp is not at all comparable to my lord, and cannot be compared with all the adults here today, he is also quite talented. If we take it too lightly, I am afraid that we will suffer, so we must be cautious in the use of troops. 】

Wise Kogoro thinks that his words are very decent, breathable and honest, and should be able to temporarily suppress the thoughts of the generals of the country, but there are still people who don't buy his account.

The lord of Hojo Castle is Hojo Keihiro, the son of Hojo Takahiro, and now he has completely succeeded his father and has become one of the most powerful retainers of the Uesugi family.

Compared with his father, who betrayed the Uesugi family from time to time, Hojo Keihiro was loyal to the Uesugi family, and in history, he died on the battlefield in order for Uesugi Keitora to inherit the throne.

But faithfulness to faithfulness, this man's mind is not as nimble as his father's.

[So how powerful can Date Masamune be?

I think that when I fought with Qianxin Gong in the Quartet and fought the world, it was still a question whether he was born or not. According to Date's national strength, now that the Date army has reached its limit, Date Masamune still wants to continue the war, for such a greedy and low-minded son, there is no need to bother Mr. Akechi and Mori-sama, it is enough for me and a few adults who are doing it to deal with it. 】

To be honest, Wise Kogoro really doesn't understand, why can Hojo Keihiro still maintain such self-confidence after so many defeats, and who gave him the courage?

Hojo Keihiro may have felt that his words were a bit heavy, and he lacked respect for Akechi Kogoro and others, so he continued:

[Mr. Wise, you don't have to worry too much, didn't you say a saying? What is it called killing chicken...... By the way, do you use a cattle slaughtering knife to kill chickens? You're a dignified [Izumo Dragon], so what's worth bothering about Ida's little ghost? It's not a thief, it's not like it's easy to catch! 】

Wise Kogoro smiled, it seemed that he was quite useful to Hojo Keihiro's words, and said:

[Hojo-sama doesn't need to be in a hurry, we definitely have to fight this battle, but how to fight it is a problem, before the war, if there is no good strategy, the risk of failure is very high. 】

[Then may I ask Mr. Wise any good strategy?] Let's all hear it. 】

[I haven't thought of our army's strategy yet, but I've already thought of three strategies for Date Masamune. 】

[Huh?! 】

As a military advisor, the wise Kogoro said such a thing without changing his face, and he was immediately stunned.

[Hahaha, just kidding, to explain, lying sick is really giving advice to Date Masamune, but from his point of view, he thinks about the new trends that will appear in the Date army. There are three of them, which are called [upper, middle and lower] three strategies. 】

Uesugi Keihu took out a folding fan from his waist, opened it and shook it gently, making a calm and relaxed appearance, and asked:

[Hehe, I have also read the "Old Tang Book" in the past, and I heard that when Li Mi, the Duke of Pushan, met Yang Xuangan, the Duke of Chu, he also planned the [upper, middle and lower] three strategies for Yang Xuangan, and it seems that the wisdom of the wise and whispered went straight after the Duke of Pushan. 】

Uesugi Keitora seems to want to praise Wise Kogoro for a few words, but he doesn't seem to have a dialogue———— it seems very inappropriate to compare Wise Kogoro with the loser Li Mi.

[Uesugi is serious, how can I be comparable to Pushan Gong, people can be regarded as a real strategist, I have read a lot of military books and war books over the years. Know some of the art of war. Now the Date family is at the end of the crossbow. All of you here thought you could get your hands on it, but you overlooked a very important matter. 】

Fortunately, Wise Kogoro didn't plan to do anything about this issue, and said directly:

[If you think about it from your perspective, what do you think Date Masamune will do next? 】

[Do you need to talk about that?] Even if he can't push any further, he has to find a way to keep the territory he already has, and if the Date family is financially adequate, he will definitely continue to recruit troops and prepare for battle. 】

[Hojo-sama is right, if they still have spare money in their hands, of course they will recruit troops and horses, attack the city and plunder the land...... But where will they go to attack the city and plunder the land after they recruit troops?

[Wouldn't it?] Will they continue to attack? At most, it's just harassing the small towns around Kasugayama Castle. 】

[That's not necessarily, now that the Date army has come from afar, there are only 30,000 people, and they will definitely not sit and die in Xinfa Tian City and wait for our army to fight back. According to Date Masamune's methods, offense is the best defense, so he will definitely attack the castle, but where will he go? 】

In fact, Akechi Kogoro didn't have the experience of serving as a military advisor a few times before, but now when he plays this role, he is completely proficient, and even he feels unbelievable.

[So where is he most likely to attack?] 】

[The best policy is Tochio Castle!] It was a tributary of the Shinano River ———— the upper reaches of the Tsugawa River, and as long as Tochio Castle was lost, the Date Army could take a boat and rush west, and at that time, Hojo Castle, Miyamoto Castle, or so on, would not be attacked because there was no danger to defend. 】

[This idea is indeed very possible, but even if Nada Masamune really attacks Tochio Castle as you said, but as long as our army leads more than 10,000 light cavalry to Tochio Castle now, they are only the end of the crossbow, and the newly recruited soldiers are not accustomed to battle formations.

Without waiting for them to rush to Tsugawa to conquer Tochio Castle, we have already arrived near it, although the horses of Oshu are good, but they are still not as fast as the horses of Echigo, they came all the way, didn't it just let our army wait for work, and annihilate it in one fell swoop? 】

[Hojo-sama, what you're talking about is just [in case], and there has always been no conclusion as to who is good or bad between Oshu and Echigo's horses.

However, these [in case] cannot be allowed to exist on the battlefield, and Tochio Castle is not just an ordinary castle for the Uesugi family, it is the city where Kenshin lived when he was a teenager, and once it is lost, I am afraid that all of you here will not have the face to go to see Kenshin, you say, right? 】

While saying this, Akechi Kogoro had been paying attention to Uesugi Keitora's expression.

Although Uesugi Keiho never spoke, just quietly listened to the conversation between him and Hojo Keihiro, but he saw that this gentleman's face was even worse than just now.

Wise Kogoro understands that Uesugi Keitora is a little scared, what does Uesugi Kenshin mean to the Uesugi family? Needless to say, everyone knows this, and even the position of the governor of Uesugi Jinghu is all appointed by Uesugi Kenshin.

[If you don't have any objections, then I'll continue, the best policy is Tochio Castle, and the middle strategy is with Bancheng. Yosakajo is located by the sea, surrounded by plains, and only Mt. Matsushiro is in the west, but even Mt. Matsushiro, when it stretches here, it is not very high, and if the enemy takes here, then from the front line to Kasugayama Castle, it will not be able to continue to defend, and Date Masamune can lead the Oshu light cavalry to attack Kasuga Yamajo Castle directly. 】

[We have discussed this before, and we think that the Date family's plan to implement this article is also very likely, but if it is a plain, the cavalry of this family will also make them nerve-wracking.] 】

[Hahaha, so, this is just a middle policy, and there are risky things, and Date Masamune may not be willing to do it. 】

[So, what about the next step?] 】

[The next step, this is relatively easy for the Date family to do, but the risk is not small, and the return is very small...... Do you really want to hear it? That is to send troops to attack Sado Island and plunder the gold on it. 】

Sado Island is isolated overseas, and the Date family has always been an inland prince, and has not formed their own naval army, if they want to attack Sado Island, they must hire water thieves off the coast of Echigo, which is certainly not a small amount of money.

In addition, it is true that there are gold mines on the island, but the production is not high, and the gold production in Oshu is far from the gold production in Oshu, so even if Dodo Island is captured, it is also a question of how much gold Date Masamune can get.

Wise Kogoro felt that if he was Date Masamune, he would never have taken such a strategy and ended up in a thankless situation.

Uesugi Jinghu pondered for a moment, and asked with a tense expression:

[In this way, the enemy is most likely to attack Tochio Castle, so, Mr. Wise, do you have any good way?] 】

[Tochio Castle must be defended, and in the same way, Tsugawa cannot be abandoned...... My idea was to send a heavy army to defend Tochio Castle, and at the same time, send a large army on a bamboo raft along the Shinano River and up the river to attack the Tsugawa River...... Date Masamune will inevitably send troops to meet our army when he sees our army attacking, and when the time comes, we only need to attract him to the Tsugawa Valley. 】

[Do you have to fight in Tsugawa?] 】

[It's not [must], but while fighting here, the generals stationed in Tochio Castle can rush over for reinforcements in the shortest possible time, and when the time comes, the front and rear will be flanked, and the Date army will definitely be defeated!] 】

Some Uesugi generals listened to Akechi Kogoro's words and thought it was feasible, so they nodded, but not everyone agreed, such as Kawaguchi Castle Lord Murakami Kunikiyo, who asked in a slightly questioning tone:

[Date Masamune, I'm afraid it's not so easy to be fooled, right? ] Doesn't it mean jumping into the fire pit yourself when you see our army in action? 】

[Murakami-sama, Date he doesn't dare not come! ] Because as long as Tsugawa is in hand, our army can go up the river and attack Yasuda Castle under his control, and if Yasuda Castle is lost, then we can cross the river and go south to attack Aizu, I think, Date Masamune will not be so stupid as to see that his back road is about to be cut off, and he will not be indifferent, right? 】

[Okay then...... That's what the gentleman said. 】

After having an idea, the atmosphere in the entire assessment room suddenly improved a lot, and at the same time, everyone also looked up to the military advisor Wise Kogoro who came from afar, and felt that he was an object to rely on.

Uesugi Jinghu is also in a good mood, for this period of time, he has been suppressed by the Date family, and he has helplessly borne the pressure of [Mountains and Rivers Broken and Wind Drifting], and now he has a chance to fight back, which is really gratifying!

Seeing that the noon meal had arrived, Uesugi Jinghu had a banquet on the table.

Unfortunately, the good atmosphere at the venue did not last long———— Hojo Keihiro and another member of the Uesugi family, the Tiger Shogun Honjo, quarreled over who would be the pioneer officer.

At the beginning, Uesugi Keitora toasted to Wise Kogoro while asking about strategic deployment, Wise Kogoro proposed that he should be the general of the [Water Army] and attack Tsugawa, in order to better control the generals of the Uesugi Army, Naoe Kazuki was responsible for supervising the battle, and Uesugi Keitor, as the general of the coalition army, should sit in the rear and command the overall situation.

Although some people thought that it was inappropriate to hand over military power to the people of the Oda family, many more people thought that the idea was the wise Kogoro, and it was only natural for him to be held accountable for it.

As for the garrison of Tochio Castle, it was guarded by the veteran general of the Uesugi family, Gan Jikei, who was currently the only one left in the [Four Heavenly Kings of Uesugi], and had a high prestige in the army.

However, Akechi Kogoro believed that Tochio Castle was of great importance, and that it was not enough for him to hold it alone, so after some persuasion, Mori Naga Ke also joined the garrison.

Just when Akechi Kogoro thought that the matter was about to be handled, someone quit———— Hojo Keihiro thought that he was familiar with the terrain around Tsugawa and wanted to be a pioneer.

Wise Kogoro had already arranged for Honjo Shiranaga, the most heroic and warlike general in the current Uesugi family, to act as the vanguard, and Hojo Keihiro had no opinion at first, but now he suddenly jumped out, which caught Wise Kogoro off guard.

But Hojo Keihiro is so good at things, and Honjo Prosperous, who has been arranged to be the vanguard, will quit immediately, why do you let this guy come to compete with Lao Tzu for war merits?!

[It's really helpless, Hojo-sama, there can't be a next time, this time you and Honjo-sama will be the pioneers together.] 】

Uesugi Keiho felt a headache, if it was someone else, he would definitely scold out now, but Hojo Keihiro was the military general he admired the most and relied on the most, and it was not easy to blame for a while, so he had to find a compromise solution.

But the problem has not been solved.

[Even if we cross the river and come to the upper reaches of the Tsugawa River, the Date army may not attack immediately, so at that time, we must divide a group of men and horses, go ashore quickly, set up a formation on the shore, and make it look like we are going to attack Yasuda Castle, and lure the snake out of the hole. 】

[Hahaha, if that's the case, we should divide the army into two ways, it's getting more and more interesting, okay, Lord Honjo, what happened just now was my fault, for the sake of the overall situation, I'll be responsible for the drudgery of the feint, you attack Tsugawa, and fight directly with the Date imp! 】

Hojo Keihiro seemed to be very sincere, as if he had given up all his exploits to Honjo Shiganaga, but the latter listened to it angrily———— I really think I'm an idiot! If I'm on the water, will I fight the enemy sooner than you, the one who strikes on the shore? You bastard! It's clear that he wants to steal credit from me, it's really unforgivable!

An argument ensued. Hojo Keihiro swore to the sky that he definitely didn't want to grab merit, but decided to go ashore because he was familiar with the terrain of Tsugawa.

Honjo is not a vegetarian either, he thinks that his reserve is more powerful, and although it is a naval army, the real battlefield is still on land, and when the time comes, the first to fight the enemy will definitely be Hojo Keihiro who goes ashore first.

[Hojo-sama, you don't have to swear here, if you really have a sense of the overall situation in your heart, you shouldn't go ashore early...... To put it mildly, if you want to grab the credit, just say it, you and I have been friends for many years, if I say it directly, I won't stick to it, so why not let it go to you, but you Piri Yangqiu, one set of mouths, but another set of words in your heart, insincere behavior, isn't this tantamount to violating bushido?! 】

[Nani?! Honjo-sama! What do you mean by that? Am I against bushido? Do you want to say that I am worthy of being a samurai?! 】

Seeing that the two of them were in a stalemate, Naoe Kanesue finally couldn't bear it anymore———— The two of you are arguing, but please pay a little attention to whether the occasion is good or not, the people of the Oda family are still here!" Do you know how embarrassing the lord is?

[Don't quarrel between the two adults. The two adults fought bravely to be the first, this kind of blood-boiling scene, I have not seen it for a long time, it is really admirable.

But at the moment of the great enemy, you have wasted so much time in vain, and you can finally attack, but you are fighting again, it is not worth it, it is not worth it. 】

[Yamashiro-sama, what do you think? 】

[In my opinion, this matter is left to me to decide, what do you think? 】

[Then what do you say?] 】

[There is still Hojo-sama who goes ashore first......]

[Nani? Yamashiro, how can you help him talk?! 】

[Lord Honjo, will you listen to me first...... After Hojo-sama landed, the beacon smoke was immediately lit, but Honjo-sama landed on the shore, and Honjo-sama must be quick, because before you go ashore, Hojo-sama must not make a move with the enemy first! After the two adults are on the shore, they will fight side by side, so that there will be no competition for military merit. 】

【Good!】 That's it! 】

[Or Yamashiro-sama has a way, I also think it's feasible! ] 】