Soon after Hojo Nagatora retreated from Hirai Castle, the news reached the ears of Nagao Keitora.

Seeing that Hirai Castle had become an empty city, Nagao Keihu immediately sent troops to occupy the abandoned city. But then, Nagao Jinghu was also cheated by the Hojo family, because the epidemic began to spread in the Nagao family.

Fortunately, Nagao Jinghu reacted quickly, and when the epidemic first appeared, he isolated the infected Ashigaru, and at the same time ordered the withdrawal of Hirai Castle, otherwise I am afraid that the Nagao family will end up with the same fate as the Hojo family.

Kuragano Castle, a few dozen miles north of Hirai Castle, was the residence of the Kurakano clan, a wealthy clan in Ueno, and is now the temporary residence of Nagao Keitora, as well as Tsugawa Soji and Uesugi Kenmasa.

Uesugi Kenmasa said to Nagao Jinghu with a depressed face, "Danzheng Shaobi Palace, when will you be able to enter Hirai Castle?" Since the Hojo family has withdrawn from Ueno, why not take advantage of the victory to pursue and attack Musashi? ”

Uesugi Kenmasa was a little anxious, and at the same time a little bored.

Originally, he was very happy to capture Hirai Castle without blood, but he withdrew before his ass was hot. Then Nagao Keitora began to stay in Kuragano Castle and stopped moving, watching the Hojo family's troops withdraw to Musashi, how could Uesugi Kenmasa not be in a hurry?

Nagao Keitora drank the sake from the cup, and then said, "Musashi is different from Ueno, the Hojo family has controlled this place for a long time, and it is already the hinterland of the Hojo family. ”

"The recapture of Ueno was a matter of luck, and the people of Ueno did not fully pledge their allegiance to Lord Steward. If we go deep into Musashi alone at this time, it is difficult to guarantee that these countrymen will not attack the rear of our army! ”

"Although our army is outnumbered, after all, its foundation is unstable, and I am afraid that it will collapse if it encounters a slight setback. So in the next opinion, it is better to fight steadily, first control the country of Ueno, and then slowly figure it out! ”

Nagao Jinghu said so, and Uesugi Kenmasa didn't want to get any more moths out. Putting aside the big reason of the long-tailed Jinghu, being able to recapture Ueno has already made Uesugi Kenmasa overjoyed.

"So according to the opinion of the Bullet Zheng Shaobi Palace, what should we do next?" Although the recapture of Ueno made Uesugi Kenmasa very trusted, it was more or less reluctant to let Uesugi give up Musashi like this.

The long-tailed Jinghu also had some difficulties.

Before sending out the troops, Nagao Jinghu wanted to fight with the Hojo family, who had not yet established a foothold. Then quickly defeated the main force of the Hojo family, so as to deter the people of Ueno and Musashi Province, and at the same time, he was able to snatch Ueno and Musashi from the hands of the Hojo family.

However, when the Nagao family entered Ueno, they did not fight a single battle with the Hojo family at all.

The Hojo family's forces in Ueno Province have always been in Hirai Castle, and Nagao Keitora has been waiting for the right time due to various problems such as logistics and supplies. Fortunately, the outbreak of the epidemic in Hirai Castle allowed the Nagao family to finally take Hirai Castle bloodlessly and drive the Hojo family out of Ueno.

But here comes a new question, what should be done next?

Although the Hojo family lost the territory of Ueno Province, they did not receive any losses, and their strength was still strong. Although the Nagao family seems to have achieved certain results after capturing Ueno, after all, the territory of the Nagao family is in Echigo, and Ueno is an "enclave" anyway.

It is not realistic to attack Musashi, and I am afraid that things will change after staying in Ueno for a long time. The long-tailed Jinghu is neither fighting nor retreating, and it is difficult to advance and retreat for a while.

Nagao Jinghu couldn't help but turn his gaze for help to the retainers below.

Feeling the gaze cast by the long-tailed Jinghu, although the retainers had the heart to speak, they didn't have any good suggestions, and they all lowered their heads and didn't dare to look at the long-tailed Jinghu.

After a long time, Usami Dingman suddenly spoke, "Why don't you listen to Tsugawaden's opinion?" ”

"Oh? Yes! Nagao Jinghu was stunned for a moment, and then instantly scolded himself, how could he forget the great god of Tsugawa Soji?

While speaking, Nagao Jinghu hurriedly said to Tsugawa Soji beside him, "Father-in-law, who has experienced a hundred battles, I don't know what can teach me?" ”

Nagao Keiho's request is sincere, after all, Tsugawa Soji's record is too brilliant, it can be said that looking at the entire RB, it seems that only Niko can barely compete with Tsugawa Soji among his contemporaries. So this sentence of asking for advice is from the heart of the long-tailed Jinghu.

Similarly, the retainers of the Nagao family in the palace and the people of Ueno also turned their attention to Tsugawa Soji, ready to hear what the famous Tsugawa Soji had to say about this difficult problem that so many people were helpless about, and take the opportunity to learn the new posture.

suddenly became the focus of the audience, and Soji Tsugawa was also a little caught off guard.

However, seeing the eyes of Nagao Jinghu and others who humbly sought advice, Tsugawa Soji also sat up straight, and slowly said, "Although the Hojo family withdrew their troops, after all, the two sides did not break out into a joint war, so it is impossible to say who wins and who loses." ”

"Although the coalition forces seem to have the upper hand, Ueno's domestic forces are complicated, and if you want to send troops to Musashi, you must first control Ueno!"

Soji Tsugawa held up two fingers, and then continued, "In my opinion, there are two priorities for the coalition forces right now. The first is to control the situation in Ueno, purge the pro-Hojo people in the country, and completely eliminate the power of the Hojo family. ”

"The second is to quickly send an envoy to the Furukawa Imperial Palace and ask the Furukawa Princesses to join the war! Once the Furukawa Principality joins this battle, with the influence of the Kanto Domain and the Furukawa Principality, a new round of Hojo siege will inevitably be set up in the Kanto region! ”

"At that time, the Hojo family was facing enemies on all sides, and they had no time to care about Musashi! When the time comes, it will be all in your thoughts! ”

Soharu Tsugawa's meaning is clear. Stabilize Ueno first, and then go to Kanto to find allies to do things together and pull up a Hojo siege network. When the time comes, when the Hojo family and other forces fight to the death, the Nagao family will control the overall situation again. At that time, whether it is a fight or a draw, it is the long-tail family who has the final say, and they will seize the initiative all of a sudden.

Soji Tsugawa said it lightly, but it was like an atomic bomb explosion in the hearts of everyone in the Nagao family.

"It is worthy of the Tsugawa Hall known as the Big Dipper of Dewa, and such wisdom is really breathtaking!" Uesugi Kenmasa, the salted fish, took the lead in showing his admiration for Tsugawa Soji, although it was somewhat mixed with the suspicion of sycophancy.

As soon as Uesugi Kenmasa's words fell, the hall suddenly resounded with various exclamations and compliments. The eyes of everyone in the hall looking at Tsugawa Soji were full of admiration and awe, and Nagao Jinghu also looked solemn and didn't know what he was thinking.......

In fact, Tsugawa Soji was not so kind to help Nagao Keihu fight the Hojo family, but more to completely muddy the waters of Kanto. If Tsugawa Soji really wants to meddle in Kanto, he only needs to squeak Utsunomiya, Satake, Satomi and other forces, and I'm afraid that the Hojo siege network can be pulled up in an instant.

However, this did not follow the interests of the Tsugawa family, and Tsugawa Soji did not want to do so for the time being.

Instead of destroying these small forces in the Kanto region one by one, it is better to let these forces mess up first. After these forces decide the winner, wouldn't it be more time-saving and labor-saving for the Tsugawa family to solve the winner?