The charcoal flickered in the brazier of copper, and from time to time there was a slight crackle or two, and the whole tent was baked warmly, so that people could not feel the cold outside the curtain. I sat alone on the marching bed, quietly thinking about my thoughts.

Generally speaking, when the weather has just entered October, there is no need to light a fire in the house at all, but there is an exception for everything! Kii was originally a rainy place because of the sea, but this time it actually rained for more than ten days in early winter, and the ground in Northern Kii suddenly became slippery and muddy, and the air became damp and cold in an instant. The humid air quickly infected the bedding and clothes, and the thermal insulation function was naturally greatly reduced. Many people in the barracks have caught a cold, so for the sake of their own health and the health of others, they have to arrange some "measures" in my camp!

Oda Nobunaga's tyranny completely led to a conflict with the religious forces, and all the contradictions were concentrated on him. After the burning of Mt. Hiei, Oda Nobunaga was denounced by all Buddhists as the "Demon King of the Sixth Heaven", and Honganji, the head of the sect, was the first to raise a banner to denounce him! In just a few days, the large and small forces of, Tokai, Higashiyama, Hokuriku, Shikoku, Sanin, and Sanyo all received a message from Ishiyama Honganji, and it is said that many messengers rushed to the Northeast, Kanto, and Kyushu non-stop, calling on the righteous people of the whole world to raise troops against Oda Nobunaga, the "enemy of the Buddha", claiming that this demon will turn the whole world into purgatory on earth! Although most of the powerful daimyo still only keep "righteous indignation" on their lips, some "little jokes" who don't know how many bowls of dry rice they eat are really tossing around everywhere. The so-called "too many bed bugs can also block the drain", Oda Nobunaga naturally can't take this situation lightly!

Under his thunderous rage, Sakuma Nobumori and Arakimura gathered more than 30,000 pro-Oda forces from Izumi and Settsu and launched a large-scale attack on Ishiyama Honganji Castle! However, the praying mantis catches the cicada and the yellow finch is behind, and the people of Kii, who are affiliated forces of the Zong Sect, under the leadership of the lord of Saga Castle, Suzuki Shigei, gathered more than 10,000 men and horses to attack Izumi and copied the back road of Sakuma Nobumori, and along the way, they attacked the city and made Izumi a chicken! As a last resort, Sakuma Nobumori had no choice but to send a messenger to Gibu for urgent help.

Although Oda Nobunaga scolded them for their incompetence, he couldn't see death without help, otherwise the "avalanche" effect that caused a chain reaction would not be a joke! Asai and Asakura could not but leave a certain amount of defensive strength, and Ashikaga Yoshiaki in Kyoto could not be left unwatched, and Oda Nobunaga managed to put together another 50,000 troops, and in view of the current overstretched situation, he forced me to stay.

After the army entered Izumi, they met with the Saga people for a few battles, and unexpectedly, the Saga people, who were famous for their iron cannon skills, were completely vulnerable! Regardless of the number of people and the size of the battle, the Saga people can be said to be defeated in every battle, defeated and defeated, and dispersed as soon as they were defeated, and it did not take long for the Saga forces to completely withdraw from the territory of Izumi. As a result of the easy victory, Oda Nobunaga became more and more arrogant for a while, and despite the repeated persuasion of Niwa Nagahide and me, he led his army to chase after him. Actually, there is no special reason for my concern, I just think that the Sakaga people who have made Oda Nobunaga so anxious in history should not be so useless!

Adhering to the consistent strategy, the Zaga people who withdrew to the country continued to be reduced to zero, and Tsuchihashi, Okazaki, Miyamoto and other Chinese people left the team one after another, and there was really a taste of the tree falling and scattering! Seeing this situation, Oda Nobunaga was even more arrogant, relying on the advantage of numbers, he divided his troops to pursue the scattered small groups of enemies, and the team has been chasing Suzuki Shigei's Saga family, until Saga Castle, and at this time Suzuki Shigeyi has no other factional allies around!

In the ensuing siege without suspense, a bad, even tricked consciousness gradually appeared, and finally even Oda Nobunaga felt it, but he didn't say it. Although the number of troops on the offensive and defensive sides is ten to one, the advantage in the face of a well-defended city is not too obvious, and the rainy and cold weather is a great help to the defenders! After a series of cyclical processes of exhilaration, anxiety, doubt, confusion, and depression, the besieging camp of 30,000 people became dull and lifeless. From time to time, the people in the city come to attack at night, knock out two sentries today, burn a tent tomorrow, and shoot a burst of iron cannons in the darkness the day after tomorrow, so that you can say how to fight this battle? What's even more terrifying is that those people who originally thought they had fled appeared on the periphery of the Oda army again, and echoed Suzuki Shigeyi in the city with practical actions.

By this time, Oda Nobunaga had already understood that it was completely unrealistic to pacify Kii in one fell swoop! In order to get out of this "quagmire of guerrilla warfare" with dignity, he began to slowly shrink his front, and one after another of the troops sent out in the previous stage gradually returned to the Saga camp.

Although Oda Nobunaga held repeated meetings, I was not too worried. Despite constant harassment, my troops suffered little real loss. well-trained troops; A full range of troops; Coupled with the delicate camp set up by the Takenaka Hanbei, those ghostly tricks really didn't work for me. Don't forget! Tsuda is from the roots, and there is really nothing in these things that he doesn't know! The reason why I am annoyed is because I heard the news that I am anxiously waiting for someone to arrive.

"Lord......" Ah Xue, who was on duty, opened the curtain and poked into half of her body. When she was in Sister Chuan, she really made me drop my glasses, I don't want such a little girl to have the strength to please a famous general. What's even more commendable is that she is very satisfied with her current position, which is much better than Shinhachiro! I wonder if this is because of her young age, and if she will fight for the pioneer position from me in a few years?

"Are you back?!" I sat up straight from the couch and asked excitedly.

"No...... It's not ......" My excitement startled Ah Xue, and she replied with big watery eyes, "Yes...... Ikeda-sama is here! ”

"Oh......" I slumped back and said weakly, "let him in!" ”

"What can you do if you don't ask for it? Can you stop me? As Xue retracted, Ikeda stabbed in from the other side of the curtain.

"I can't stop it, I can't stop it......" I said angrily. I'm afraid that the gate of Saga in front of you can't stop you! ”

"You don't have to be so weird......" He picked up a wild goose from the desk that I hadn't touched for lunch, took a bite, probably frowning because it was a little cold, and turned to sit down by the brazier and roast it. You famous 'famous generals' can't help it, and I naturally can't do it, there's nothing to be ashamed of! You're ......," he squinted at me. "The 'Master of Eternal Victory' is 'present' like this this time?"

"Victory and defeat are a common thing in soldiers...... I simply closed my eyes and said weakly.

"But soldiers must not take victory or defeat as a matter of course!" He received his words quickly, but he just forgot that he was a typical person with no ambition.

"Hmph, hmph......" I snorted disdainfully, disdainful of refuting the idea that the crow was standing on a pig.

"What does it smell like?" Ikeda suddenly raised his head vigilantly, sniffled in the air, and then lowered his head to smell the wild geese in his hand.

"Hey, hey, your dog's nose is pretty smart!" I moved to the side, flattened down and rested my head on the pillow. "It's been so humid lately, everything smells musty! I had someone find some rosin and smoke it in a charcoal brazier. ”

"You're really thoughtful, don't forget to ask someone to send me some when you get back!" He probably thought the roasting speed was too slow, so he picked up a tongs next to him and flicked the charcoal in the basin. "Why are you so listless in broad daylight?"

"It's nothing......," I still hadn't opened my eyes, and the scent of wild geese had already spread throughout the tent. I can't sleep well every night now, so I want to take a nap as soon as possible, who would have thought that you, this kid, would come over to make trouble! ”

"With such a beautiful and charming Konoe Ji samurai by your side, it's no wonder you can't sleep well every night!" Ikeda said sarcastically. "Since you want to take a nap, why didn't you call that 'lovely man' outside the door to sleep? Such a good resource is a waste of ......"

"Get out!" Listening to him get deeper and deeper, I yelled, grabbed the pillow under my head and threw it at him.

"Speaking to your heart!" Ikeda ducked the incoming pillow and took a hard bite on the already hot wild geese. This kid has always been so shameless and skinless, and completely immune to all forms of education.

"You're not just here to disgust me, are you?" I really couldn't help him. "If there's anything, just say it!"

"Actually...... Also...... It's not a big deal...... "The hot goose meat rolled in his mouth, causing a certain speech barrier, and a golden stain of oil ran down his cheeks. "The situation is so chaotic during this period of time, I will be worried every night! I was attacked twice in half a month, and although there was no great loss, my morale was greatly damaged. So I'd like to borrow a few ninjas from you, so that there will be some protection against night attacks. ”

"I'll send 5 people over when I get back!" I sat up on my side and leaned against the quilt and pointed to the stack of papers on the desk. "The strategy in the lord's order is becoming more and more conservative, and it seems that the day of retreat is not far away, so it's time to make some preparations!"

"There's nothing strange about that!" He finally swallowed the goose meat in his mouth. "This expedition to Kii was not prepared in the first place, and it was not completely without worries, so it is not surprising that it has come to this point! I reckon that it will be almost time for all the troops to come back, but I'm afraid that even the retreat will not be easy. ”

"Hurry up and prepare!" I sighed helplessly. "We returned to with such a tragic ending, but I'm afraid that many people will jump out and make trouble!"

"Lord......" Ah Xue poked her head out of the door again. Hashiba-sama is here! ”

"He's so fast!" Ikeda and I were both a little surprised.

"Let him in!" I said and sat up straight.

"What the hell is the weather!" Hideyoshi Hashiba walked in with water stains one by one, and his boots were stained with a lot of mud. Behind him was Asano Nagamasa and another young man of twenty-five or six.

―――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

Bear in Winter: As for the exact identities of Saga Sunichi, Saga Sunroku, and Saga Sunichi, various sources have different theories, and some even record that two of the names are actually one person! Therefore, these titles are not used in this book, but used: Suzuki Shigei, the lord of Saga Castle, has three sons, in order, Suzuki Shigekan, Shigehide, and Asahei.