"What's going on?" I leaned on the railing of the castle tower of Ina City and looked down, my head turning into a ball of sauce. From here, I can see the whole picture of the city and in the distance more clearly, but why am I becoming more and more unable to see it?

The Takeda Army's offensive has lasted for 3 days, and I have never seen the severity of the battle! In fact, it may not be appropriate to say that it is miserable, but it is only those poor city walls that are really miserable. With great "hatred" for these walls, the Takeda Army launched a fierce attack. Countless rocks, large and small, were thrown at the city wall by trebuchets for three days, and these very "traditional" weapons were able to exert such great power, and three not-so-large openings were smashed in the first day.

But the strangest thing is that when we were at our most nervous, the performance of the Takeda Army was somewhat unexpected.

My soldiers stood in those gaps, ready to hold off the enemy's attack with their flesh and blood, and though they were confident, the huge casualties seemed inevitable! The 5,000 Takeda soldiers rushed up with swords and guns in their hands, and they did have an earth-shattering momentum.

As soon as their soldiers came into range, Philip ordered the iron artillery to start firing, and as the projectiles rained down, many Takeda soldiers fell, and the spear Ashigaru in the gap was ready for hand-to-hand combat. But at this moment, the Takeda army retreated, ignoring the few small gaps that had appeared, as if they were frightened back by the casualties of dozens of people, which was completely different from the blocking force of Hoshina Masatoshi a few days ago, and there was no minimum spirit of sacrifice at all.

If this is only the case, then I would think that it is a temptation to be unaware of the situation, and that this kind of action is normal and understandable! But it's incomprehensible to do this every day for three days, and the only word I can think of is "grinding foreign workers"!

I looked at the Takeda military array surrounding the city, it was still huge and orderly! In the space of three whole days, they lost only a few hundred people!

"Lord......" Takenaka half-guard walked in from outside the door, and he looked even more haggard these days. During the day, he nervously watched the Takeda army attack the city, and at night nervously supervised the repair of the city! Although the Takeda Army did not make many substantive moves, they still did not dare to take it lightly. "The Takeda Army did not attack today, and it seems to be showing signs of contraction!"

"Oh...... Do they want to rest today? "I thought about it and then dismissed the speculation." But they're not tired these days! ”

"This is also something that my subordinates have been worried about!" Takenaka Hanbei sat beside me with a worried face, looking at the Takeda troops in the distance. "Takeda Shingen is a rare celebrity, and his behavior often can't be justified! At that time, he had less than 3,000 soldiers and horses, but he skillfully took advantage of the opportunity of Takato Yoritsugu to spy on the inheritance of the Suwa family, sowing discord and making him meet with Suwa Yori's heavy army, and as a result, the two of them were wiped out together and controlled the entire territory of Suwa in one fell swoop. Similar tricks can be said to have accompanied him all his life, so his subordinates thought that this time he also had a deeper conspiracy! ”

"What do you think...... "I put myself in the shoes of Takeda Shingen's psychology." Could it be a 'tired soldier' strategy? Our soldiers are indeed quite tired these days, and if they toss around like this for another five or six days, it will really be enough trouble for us! ”

"The lord is very reasonable, according to the current situation, this is the most likely!" As he spoke, his face became more and more gloomy. "But...... There are other intentions, did the lord consider the possibility of the Tokugawa family falling to Takeda? The latter half of his sentence was voiced low.

"The Tokugawa family just fought a tough battle with the Takeda Army in Mikatahara, how did you have such an idea?" My experience shows that history has largely remained the same, and if so, I'm not very worried about Tokugawa Ieyasu.

"My lord, please think about ......it," Takenaka Hanbei said a little nervously, "The Tokugawa family and the Oda family can be said to be old enemies who have been fighting for generations, and the death of their ancestor Kiyoyasu and father Hirotada has something to do with the Oda family. Tokugawa Ieyasu had always been attached to the Imagawa family, but after the Battle of Barrelsama, due to the decline of the Imagawa family, he had to take refuge in the Oda family, and the fundamental purpose of this was to resist the invasion of the Takeda family. At this critical moment, it seems logical to betray Oda for the sake of the family's interests! ”

"It's possible that you're right, but I think it's true...... The odds are not high! I thought about it for a while and shook my head. Tokugawa Ieyasu is a pragmatic man, but as far as I know, it is unlikely that he will change his position easily! The relationship between the Tokugawa family and the Imagawa family in the past and the Oda family in the present is actually a relationship between the protected and the protector, and it seems to be a completely normal thing for them to change their position when the protector loses the ability to protect! But Tokugawa Ieyasu is not so simple, this person's ambition and ability are equally terrifying! ”

Takenaka's half-guard looked at me fixedly, probably thinking that there was a contradiction in my words.

"He knows very well that a simple 'wall grass' will have no future!" My eyes looked into the distance and the focus was a little weak, and there are many modern works to analyze the character of Tokugawa Health. “…… In order to achieve this goal, whether it is the Imagawa family or the Oda family, he strives to maintain his independence, and even if he chooses to compromise in the end, the other party will fully realize his value! He acknowledges the strong, even if the strong is about to become a thing of the past; He will do his best to fight the weak, even if the weak has the potential to become the strong. After Imagawa Yoshimoto's death, he took advantage of the chaos to return to Okazaki, but he did not immediately turn his back on the Imagawa family, on the contrary, he repeatedly wrote to the Imagawa clan to attack the Oda family to take revenge, and even attacked the Oda family alone when repeated admonitions were unsuccessful! Later, it was repeatedly proved that the Imagawa clan was really imbecile, so he moved closer to the Oda family and immediately began to encroach on the territory of the late lord Imagawa clan. I think these two events speak volumes about Tokugawa Ieyasu as a person, and he will not give in unprincipled even if he compromises. Besides, today the Oda family still controls the imperial court and shogunate in Kyoto, so it's not now to surrender! ”

"I don't know if Shingen Takeda will think so, I always think that their behavior is very strange now!" Takenaka Hanbei frowned and pondered: "There must be some big plan here, what would it be if it wasn't to step up the rebellion against the Tokugawa family?" ”

"It's better to ...... Call the long letter to discuss, right? "I had to ask for something else.

"Lord!" The companion letter was soon approached by the attendants, and when he saw me, he thought he was in a hurry. "You're looking for me?"

"Yes!" I pointed to the spot next to me with the folding fan in my hand. Recently, under the influence of Oda Nobunaga, I have also developed this habit, and I always like to hold a fan when I have nothing to do. "You repeat the dynamics of the Takeda Army in the past few days, and see what else you can find!"

"It's the lord!" He knelt on the cushion in a proper posture, "The Takeda Army stopped its invasion of the western part of Mikawa three days ago, and even the main city of Okazaki was ignored!" With the exception of the necessary garrison of the castle already secured, all the armies moved westward and returned to the large camp between Noda and Ina. Except for us, the fighting has basically stopped, and even the small force monitoring Hamamatsu Castle has been evacuated! Judging from the signs, it should be a comprehensive build-up of troops, and it may be a big move! ”

"Hamamatsu has also withdrawn?" I tapped my forehead in confusion. “…… Hamamatsu withdrew us here and was besieging the castle, do you think that I am more important than Tokugawa Ieyasu? ”

"Could there be some secret plan?" Takenaka's half-guard stared nervously at the "snake" face of his companion Changxin. "Takeda Shingen is a person who attaches great importance to ninjas and ninja armies, and there is no shortage of strange people under his command! Even he himself has a lot of innovation in the use of ninjas, and it is really unpredictable in battle! ”

"It's impossible!" The companion shook his head quickly. "The Takeda family's Tobori is indeed the crown of the Eastern Kingdom, and it has surpassed the Uesugi family's Regulus and Hojo's Kazamari in terms of scale and innovation alone! But this is only in the eastern country, and there is still a certain gap with Koga and Iga! He said confidently and with some pride: "The current ninjas of this family are combined with the strengths of many ninja schools, and their strength is no longer under the merger of Koga and Iga!" If the ninja of the Takeda family really makes any moves, we may not be able to see through his tricks for the time being, but we will definitely not find even the slightest trace! ”

"What's the reason for that......" I suddenly felt a flash of inspiration in my head. Where did the Takeda Army's Chibei go? "I haven't seen them these days, and I don't care because the cavalry is not suitable for siege. Now that you think about it, can't you do something else if you can't attack the city?

"Yes! When they began their siege three days earlier, they set out for the north! "The companion letter hurriedly reported the results of the recent reconnaissance." Since we couldn't find out their exact target, we had to send someone to follow them all the time! Their march was very steady, and they didn't seem to have any special intentions. According to the latest report, they have entered the territory of Minami Shinano, and I am preparing to compile all the information for today and report it to the lord! ”

"Minami Shinano?" I looked at each other with Takenaka's half-guard, and this was even more bizarre. Could it be that Xiang abandoned the route of Owari via Mikawa and turned to Minami Shinano to attack Mino? First, it is taboo to give up the weak and attack the strong. Second, it is unwise to abandon the road and obstacles. Third, it is ridiculous to abandon the strengths of cavalry and go to the mountains to attack the city. Fourth, the army lagged behind the cavalry to go on their own? Don't say that Takeda Shingen, even a farmer would not make such a low-level mistake. Unless it's ...... He has a "big conspiracy"!

"Is there any news from home?" I've messed around here enough, but I don't want the nest to catch fire again.

The companion shook his head wordlessly.

"No news is the best news!" That's all I can do for myself now. "Continue to closely monitor the movements of the Takeda Army, and the scope can be further expanded!"

"Yes!" The companion letter bowed his head.

"That's all we have to do for now...... Well? "As I was talking, I turned around and noticed that the Takeda Army outside the city was moving. I nervously leaned back on the railing and watched carefully, and the eyes of the half-guards and companions of Takenaka and the companion Naganobu beside me also widened. I saw them draw up camp and march north. "What are they doing here?" Looking at the back of the farther and farther away, I said suspiciously.