In the middle of the night of June 7, 1580, I marched on the mountain path with more than 6,700 of my troops. The rain here was so abundant that it had stopped in the afternoon, and then it had started pouring down again two hours earlier, and the road was completely densely forested on both sides.

The reason why there are only more than 6,000 people left is because the mixed iron artillery unit formed with my iron artillery team as the main body was taken away by Oda Nobutada, but I still have 1,800 Cossack light cavalry under my command, so I am not too worried. At this time, the main force of the Takeda family had been completely destroyed, and the remnants of dozens or hundreds of people could hardly pose a threat to me.

The retreating Takeda army was unable to salvage the situation, and after the combined forces of Oda and Tokugawa broke through the pass at the foot of Mt. Fuji, the wealthy clans in the Kai domain turned their backs on the Takeda family. The strength of the garrison of Shinfu Castle continued to weaken, and Oda Nobunaga's 50,000 men had not yet arrived, and Takeda Katsuyori had less than 2,000 men left.

Faced with this situation, it was clear to anyone that it was impossible for Shinfu Castle to defend it any longer, and Takeda Katsuyori had to make another plan. After some scheming with his subordinates, Takeda Katsuyori abandoned the central part of Kai and fled north. When Oda Nobunaga received the news, he immediately ordered: The troops attacking Shinano will divide their troops and march to suppress them, and cooperate with the pursuing troops to intercept Takeda Katsuyori!

After receiving this news, Oda Nobutada discussed with several of our important people and proposed: I will enter the Saku and Oyama areas; Akechi Mitsuhide went north to central Shinano; And his own team pursued in the direction of the frontier of the field. Although I knew that Takeda Katsuyori must have escaped from the area I was in charge of by this time, I happily accepted the proposal. This is a glorious but envious achievement, and only Oda Nobutada will get it so that there will be no "sequelae".

The road was not so easy to walk, it was simply rugged and difficult, and if it were not for the guide sent by Kiso Yoshimasa, let alone fighting, you would have gotten lost while walking. But when it comes to fighting, there's really nothing going on now! Except for a few fanatical Takeda elements that occasionally pop up, the vast majority of other sober-minded wealthy families have chosen a more cooperative attitude. Those who have a certain amount of power are generally sober people, which is a basic common sense similar to "1+1=2".

"What the hell!" I felt so wet and uncomfortable that I cursed to myself. When I looked up to look at the sky, I was just in time for a drop of water that slipped off a leaf and fell into my left eye, and I blinked vigorously a few times, and I regained my sight.

In fact, you don't need to look to know that the sky is still covered with clouds, and although the rain is not heavy, it is enough to wet your clothes, and the armor soaked in water looks heavier and heavier. The forces in front have fled far away except for surrender, and there is nothing worth working on, but Oda Nobunaga still urges three orders a day, as if he will not turn around without my earth.

"Where has the young master's troops arrived?" I shivered right away, and in order not to fall asleep, I chatted with Sakurai Sakichi next to me. If you fall asleep in such a wet and cold field, you will definitely catch a cold.

"There was a routine report near evening, His Highness Zhong Nayan had arrived in Yantian City this morning!" Sakurai Sakichi said immediately, and he was full of confidence. "And according to the latest situation, the troops of the main hall and Tokugawa have completely controlled the entire territory of Kai, and this afternoon this party entered the castle of Shinfu. We have no major hostile forces here all the way to the Musashi border! "In the end, he is young, and he is still in good spirits after a day and a half of travel.

I took out my pocket watch and looked at it, and it was already half past two in the morning on June 8, so what Sakurai Sakichi said just now was not accurate, it should have been yesterday. It doesn't matter where Oda Nobutada enters, I don't care at all, he can't have any accidents at this time, so what's the matter! Now I just want to take a break, but it's a lot worse than the itinerary set by Oda Nobunaga. I know in his heart that he is afraid that the Hojo family will occupy more territory to the east of him.

"Lord!" At this time, the half-guard of Takenaka came with a small group of people riding horses from behind, and it seemed that he had just finished inspecting the situation of the baggage team. "The weather like this is not suitable for the lord to go again, so let's rest and leave tomorrow!"

"The itinerary that can be prescribed...... "Although my upper and lower eyelids are also fighting, I hesitate when I think of Oda Nobunaga's eagle-like eyes.

"But our sophisticated equipment is very vulnerable to damage in such rainy days, and the combat effectiveness of the troops will be greatly reduced at that time! Although the main battles are now over, if ......," said Takenaka Hanbei, who was no less concerned about this army than I was.

"What if? …… Yes, that's what if! "I suddenly had an idea." Tomorrow morning, I sent Pegasus to report to the lord that we had been attacked by unidentified bandits last night. Although I should have not suffered any losses, I would like to forgive you in case you have to slow down your trip! Don't forget to tell them to take with them the heads of the twenty or so fanatics they have captured! Turning my head, I smiled at the Hanbei Takenaka, "Now we have a reason to rest!" ”

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Half an hour later, the troops were set up on a small hill according to the rules, of course, it was only a simple camp, otherwise it would not have been set up so quickly. But it's nice to be able to take a break, so no one complains.

My men actually found a small cabin here, and after checking it, I stayed here. Naturally, someone took care of the clothes and armor that I had changed, and I finally relaxed after changing into dry clothes. Although I am very tired, I have to drink a hot sip before I sleep!

The half-guards of Takenaka went to inspect the troops again, and I sat in the room and "kowtowed" for a while. These mountain houses have firepits in the middle of the house, and although there is no need to light a fire to keep warm during the season, it will not feel too hot on a humid rainy day. At this time, Ayuki was boiling a pot of miso soup on it, and Ying, who was carefully wiping my gorgeous armor.

Incidentally, when I looked up, I saw a gun fixed on the wall, not a five-meter spear that is normally used by ashigaru, but a seven-foot short spear used by samurai in close combat. Most of the paint on the body of the gun has fallen off, but it has an oily luster, and the head of the gun is even more flickering with a faint cold glow, which shows that its owner usually cherishes it.

"Who lived here?" I looked at the planks on the walls and the thatch on the roof, which were quite new compared to the log houses in the neighborhood that were often hundreds of years old, definitely not more than 10 years old.

"I vaguely heard that it was an old man who lived alone just now, but I didn't pay much attention to it at the time!" Ah Xue thought sideways for a moment and then said.

"Let the guards invite him over, I want to talk to him!" I looked at the gun again.

"See Your Highness!" After a while, an old man with white hair and white beard was brought in, and according to his first impression, he should not be less than seventy years old.

"Is my husband a local? It's very hard to farm alone! I looked at his neck and hands exposed outside his clothes, his muscles and muscles were quite strong, and he looked like a person who had been practicing martial arts all year round.

"I've traveled all my life, and I can't tell where I'm from!" The old man's honest smile reflects the flickering firelight, giving people a feeling similar to that of the same print. "The old man is not good at farming, although there is a small thin field, but there is not much food, but at this time of year you can receive a lot of fresh bamboo shoots and mountain mushrooms in the mountains, and after they are dried they will be bought by merchants from. Years of birth and death have given me some savings, so I can still get by, and besides, I won't live for many years! ”

"Oh......" I looked at the old man in surprise, I didn't expect him to admit so quickly. In fact, from the first time I saw him, I knew that this was not an ordinary person, and people with rich experience in traveling south and north and hillbillies who had never been to the county town in their lives were as easy to separate as water and oil. "According to this area and your age, you are an old minister of the Suwa clan or the Takato clan back then, right?" I asked tentatively, deliberately.

"If I was afraid that I would have returned to farming a few decades ago, how could I have those adventures later?" The old man smiled a little, making the wrinkles on his face look much more relaxed. "I even saw you in Kyoto back then, but you weren't as famous as you are now, just a very ordinary low-level samurai!"

"Huh?" To my great surprise, I had no impression of this old man. It's not that he couldn't have seen me when he was younger, it's just that I was inconspicuous in every way at that time, and how could he remember.

"It was in the courtyard of Nijo Castle in Kyoto, and you, as the deputy envoy of the Oda family to General Yoshiteri, walked past me with a gift box!" The old man raised his right hand and tapped his index finger on his temple. "Although I am a few years old, this brain and eyes are absolutely fine, and I will never forget the people and things I have seen!"

"Then you are ......" I really didn't expect to meet the samurai under Ashikaga Yoshiteru here.

"Nope! I'm a samurai of the Takeda family......"

The weapons in the hands of Ying and Ah Xue were clenched, and they were always vigilant as soon as the old man entered. I shook my head at them, meaning not to be nervous.

"I am the son of a farmer, but at the age of 15 I became the lowest level samurai of the Takeda family!" The old man didn't seem to notice the situation around him, and continued: "But I'm in this position, and I'll stay for the rest of my life!" ”

"How so?" That's certainly the case with him, but I still find it strange.

"When His Highness Xinhu was exiled, I was the only guard who volunteered to follow him!" The old man's voice was very flat, as if he had seen all the problems of this life. "His Royal Highness Xinhu is a brutal man, but he is very kind to me. If God had given me another chance, I would still choose this way. The reason why I met Your Highness back then was precisely because His Royal Highness Xinhu was serving as the general's royal companion! ”

"What are you ......" I became more and more interested in this person, and was about to continue asking when Sakurai Sakichi suddenly walked in.

"Back to my lord!" He knelt down and said hurriedly: "I just got the news: Takeda Katsuyori was chased by the pursuers in Tianmu Mountain, and committed suicide two hours ago!" ”