Most of the roads in San'in are rough, but this usually refers to the lack of a well-connected transportation network for each feudal state, and it is often difficult for the guardians of a country to convey the "great intentions" of the fists to the ends of those limbs through these nerves, thus creating a situation of great power. On the whole, those big cities are still relatively smooth, otherwise where did the name of the ancient national highway "Mountain*" come from?

At the beginning of May of the third year of Tensho (1575), when the people who had just been busy with spring ploughing were about to take a breath, I gathered a large army at Tajima Izushi Castle to punish the Inhata Yama clan who had caused trouble for me last year, and the "master" who had been hiding behind them. It had been nearly a year since I returned from Yuanjiang, and preparations for war had already been prepared, but I waited for spring ploughing for the same reason, thinking that the large-scale use of troops in the winter would greatly increase the number of displaced people dying of cold and starvation.

It was already the morning of the next day from the time the troops were raised from Izushi Castle on 3 May to the time they crossed the border, and the 20,000 soldiers and horses were walking on the San'in National Highway quite calmly, but it was raining lightly.

I looked up and saw that the clouds were not very thick and it didn't seem to be raining heavily. "But have all the defenses of the horses been arranged?" I pulled the reins of my horse and turned back to Keiji Maeda, and "Gold" slowed down with interest.

This battle is likely to put an end to the years of "fighting cattle across the mountains" between me and the Maori family, and I did not dare to slack off in the slightest in the face of the opposite bayonets. All the people of Tanghou plus the standing army of the Hao clan, after 15,000 people, it basically became a vacuum; In order to cope with the changes in the Ukita Naoya, not only did Tanba's direct troops not be transferred, but instead ordered Nagano to enter the Misaku line, but I drew Akai Naomasa to lead 1,700 people of the Hatano family to go out with the army; But horses have the same threat, so although Maeda Keiji came, there were not many people actually dispatched. It's a lot of variables, and I've put a lot of attention into it.

"Rest assured, my lord, everything is arranged!" Keiji Maeda confidently replied that although he was already out, Marco was still a "landlord". In the past two years, he has been married and independent, and he has become much more stable than in the past. "All the passes have been strengthened by double strength, and if the Ukita Naoya dares to stick out his head, I will definitely chop him down! It's just that according to my experience in the past few years, the mountain master has really not improved, and we are afraid that we will not even be able to drink the soup after us! ”

"You!" Seeing that he still felt a little sorry for this, I couldn't help but laugh. Originally, I really wanted to send him as the vanguard of this expedition, but Yamanaka Kanosuke, who was already well injured, knelt down in front of my door and asked for this task, and I knew that he still felt guilty about the loss of my 2,000 men and horses, not to mention the old enemy Maori family, and he could not bear to fulfill his wish. "It's not easy to be lucky, so be considerate!" I was relieved.

"It's been more than ten years of old brothers, and his mind naturally understands!" Keiji Maeda stretched out his arms and made an extremely strong pose. "But it's not a matter of showing your face to fight a famous mountain, when have they come over all these years and have not been beaten by me to lose their armor? When did you worry more about it? To be honest, the reason why I'm so interested this time is that I feel like I have to meet the Maori family for the real thing! This can still be somewhat interesting, otherwise it will be in vain! After saying that, his tiger body shook, and the crimson armor on his body was stunned.

"It's really hard to say whether the Maori family will come out, and even if it does, I'm afraid it's unlikely that it will go all out!" Takenaka Hanbei kicked the shoulder blade of his mount closer, and smiled at Keiji Maeda: "His Royal Highness Hashiba has sent troops to prepare for the front, and at present, Yoshikawa Motoharu and his son are in a fierce battle with him; Although Kobayakawa Keitaka captured the two countries of Bunzen and Chikuzen in Kyushu, he was also attacked by Otomo Yoshijin and Ryuzoji Takanobu, although the battle situation was favorable, but it was probably not so easy to get out! Now San'in is also a Yoshikawa economist, and with his strength and style, he may not dare to help the Yamashina family! ”

"Maybe it's the lord's prestige, and they're making excuses for their cowardice, right?" After a moment of silence, Keiji Maeda suddenly came out of his mouth.

"Ha, ha, ha, you......" I laughed and shook my head, but I didn't expect that after so many years, Tian Qingci's eloquence when he cheated on wine still hasn't diminished. I straightened my waist and felt a little uncomfortable after riding my horse all afternoon.

"It's time, can the lord get off the horse and rest for a while?" Seeing my exhaustion, Hanbei Takenaka suggested.

"This ......," I looked up at my surroundings, and although I wasn't very proficient in military affairs, I knew that this was not a good place to stay. The official road is in the common terrain of Shanyin between two mountains and a ravine, and the north and south sides of the farther are also layers of lofty mountains, if you have a heart this is a good place to ambush, it is not easy to play the advantage of numbers by being nested underneath, not to mention that it has been out of the Tajima border.

"Don't worry, my lord, this is still our territory!" Seeing my concerns, Hanbei Takenaka laughed. “…… Because the area from the border of the country to the Aragami Mountain Castle and the Ergami Yamasei is under the control of our army, not only have all the Yamagami forces been cleared, but also many small wealthy clans farther away have also fallen to us, which is also the reason why the subordinates asked the lord to enter the Aragami Mountain Castle and hold a military meeting again. This is a great achievement of Maeda-sama's administration of Tajima for many years, and of course, Kato-sama's secret cooperation is also indispensable! ”

"Good work!" Nodding my head in praise, my heart was also full of emotion. Over the past few years, my energy has become more and more exhausted, and I have to be a hundredfold cautious in the political rapids and rapids, and I have to vigorously promote such "new things" as the fleet, and some county-level affairs and grass-roots strategies can no longer be taken care of. Fortunately, several acting officials are very competent, which also saves me a lot of worry. On the other hand, my eyesight is really good.

"My lord, please sit here!" As soon as I got off the horse, Goto Matabei quickly spread a reed mat in a clean place. In addition, a few close servants set up a low table and put refreshments on the table.

"Hmm!" I leaned back and sat down, because the stiff position of my waist was a little indecent, and all the generals gathered around me, some standing and some sitting. It was under a big pine tree that three people couldn't hold, and I was sitting on a huge bluestone.

"Call you out this time, Ah Guo won't blame me, right?" I asked Keiji Maeda. When I came to Izushi City to prepare to raise troops, I learned that Ah Guo was pregnant, and it was already eight months old. Although I always felt that it was not suitable, I still agreed to him to play under Keiji's repeated requests, but insisted on leaving Ayuki in Izushi to take care of her sister.

"Lord, don't worry! Originally, I was a little hesitant, but Ah Guo encouraged me again and again...... "When it comes to the woman he loves, Keiji Maeda is not only radiant but also proud. "Ah Guo said to me: What a shame it would be if in the future let our children know that their father was a useless fellow who only knew how to go around the trough! Listen, the woman I chose Keiji Maeda......"

"How did you choose it? Didn't you catch up for more than ten years before people agreed to you? Shinhachiro has heard about the before and after of Keiji Maeda and Ah Guo, and he is also happy to show his face in public.

"What do you know, hairy boy! We have gone through all the hardships and hearts are in touch with each other...... "How could Keiji Maeda suffer such a loss, and immediately ridiculed each other. "But you kid, why haven't you moved after being married for so long? Don't be ......"

"Aren't you the first!" As long as it is a man, it is impossible to be soft on this, and Shinhachiro is naturally no exception. "And now that you know how to do ten thousand stones, I haven't seen my ass yet! Speaking of which, my merits are not necessarily less than yours, sister...... Lord, this is too unfair! I can't give birth to my child without a place of his own, right? His complaint caused a burst of happy laughter around him.

"Maybe there's a chance this time? If you take Inba, you might have a piece! Shimakatsu also laughed.

"Although the victory is extremely high, but too much arrogance is a big problem!" As the commander of the first army, I still think that we should control everyone's emotions, high morale and arrogance are two fundamentally different things.

"Rest assured, my lord, no one will take it lightly! We have been making preparations in all aspects since the battle in Yuanjiang last year...... "Seeing that I said this, everyone stopped laughing and became serious, and after Takenaka Hanbei finished speaking, he turned around and called Kato Duanzo. "Lord Kato, you report the latest situation to the lord!"

"Yes!" Kato Duanzo said yes and walked over, still with the usual unsmiling face of an intelligence officer. "The Maori family was originally the focus of the family's intelligence work, and there has been no special large-scale transfer in San'in for half a year. At present, the biggest force is the 5,000 men and horses of the Yoshikawa family in Boqi, and the quality and equipment are not the same as those of the family. Not to mention that Inaba and even Izumo showed no signs of increasing troops. At present, Yoshida Koriyama and other important military assembly areas of the Maori family are closely monitored, and once there is a move, our army can get a detailed report within a day! ”

"The Ukita family won't do anything, right?" As I thought about it, I felt that everything was too peaceful.

"There will be no problem, there is no sign of this!" Although Kato Duanzo's answer was affirmative, it was also vague. Both Takenaka Hanbei and Gamo clan have the right to review information on ninja reconnaissance, but the "moles" who plotted rebellion and infiltration are top secrets that are reported directly to me. Kato's implicit meaning at this moment is that the Uki family has neither mobilized troops nor actively discussed this issue!

"That's good!" I finally put my mind at ease. "The Yamana family has not yet completed the assembly, which shows that there has been chaos within them! Therefore, our strategy should be to divide the troops and destroy the living forces of the Yamana family in their scattered state. The specific plan will be assigned to everyone after arriving at Panic Mountain Castle, reminding the front team that Shikanosuke should not rush forward, and I promised him to approach Tottori Castle as the vanguard of the middle lane, but he must do a good job of echoing the flanks! ”

"Yes!"