"Do you think it's possible?" I looked at the castle defense map of Honganji Temple on my stomach for a long time, then looked up at the real thing on the cliff, and then asked Takenaka Hanbei.

"It's really not easy!" He couldn't think of a good idea for a while.

The pre-military deliberations began in a polite state, but ended with quarrels and mutual accusations. Whoever knew the following things from the beginning: first, the reason why this huge battle of Honganji took place was to establish the prestige of Oda Nobutada's successor; Second, because of the first reason, this battle must be fought beautifully; Third, although the faithful young master showed enough calmness and bearing, after all, he was only a 16-year-old young man, and his heart also burned with the flame of impulsiveness that young people are accustomed to. Therefore, the plan for a quick solution proposed by Sakuma Nobumori at the beginning can be said to have captured his mind at once.

But the next question comes again, who do you want to be the first "paving stone"! Sakuma Nobumori is also a famous general who has been in battle for a long time, and the reason why he hasn't taken Honganji Castle for so many years can't be because of stupidity (at least there is a certain limit). Attacking the gate without taking the branches, rocks, and bunkers is not completely executed, because you must at least remove the "obstacles" that stand in your way, right? Along the horse road, which is about 15 meters wide and 4,000 meters long, I don't know how many turns have been turned, until you reach the main gate, and along the way, you will clear out 4 strong fortresses guarded by 300 to 1,000 soldiers, and don't forget, all of the above must be carried out from time to time under the constant attack of arrows, iron cannons, and rolling logs and stones from time to time in front, behind and above! If it is really completed according to this plan, I am afraid that the corpse will have to be raised one meter high all the way! These people who came are all soldiers who have been born and died for many years, who wants to go bankrupt to play this "game"? If you really fold all the old books here, what if it is to please Oda Nobutada? Katsura Nagatoshi, Ikeda Katsumasa or Oda Nobunaga himself covered it, and it's not all over in the end!

I have to admire Oda Nobutada's sanity and pragmatism, he is much calmer than his father in many things. In the case of the intertwining of opinions from all parties, he made a decisive decision: the main generals of all parties will lead the small wealthy clans who came from their respective territories to pull out the claws of the "crabs" in pieces, and the choice of the direction of the general attack will depend on the progress of each road! The first to open the passage to the main city gate is the first merit of this campaign.

My defense zone is due north, and the "monkey" is to the northwest, so both of us are aiming for the north gate. The north gate is not the main gate, although the terrain is more dangerous, but the defense facilities are relatively few, and this arrangement is also fair. In fact, there is a west gate to the west of the "monkey", but it is a water gate facing the sea. In the absence of a large number of artillery warships, Japan could not do anything to defend the city to this extent, even if a strong naval force entered the battle.

The last pass to the north gate is Hatokata Castle, and to get there, I have to open a barricade of the ancient city of Su, and there is also a fire to suppress the Mihara Fortress from a high place. As for the "monkey", he was going to try to approach Hatokata Castle from the other direction.

"If you attack the ancient city of Sugu head-on, then ......" I picked up the telescope and turned the focus on the ancient city, feeling a little bitter in my mouth. How many casualties will there be? ”

"At least...... No less than 3000! Hanbei Takenaka said to me helplessly and guiltily, and his words caused a silence around him.

"Oh......" I was speechless. In this sensitive battle at this sensitive moment, although I don't want to fight for any success, it is obviously not appropriate to end up in the end, but take 3,000 people to ...... It's a pity that the elevation angle here is too big for the artillery to use, otherwise how could I suffer from this!

"Lord, let me attack!" A voice sounded behind me, but when I looked back, it was Yoshitsugu Otani.

"You?" I was surprised. It's not surprising that someone made this suggestion, but the first one was not the always impulsive Ke'er Caizang, but him, which is a little puzzling. Everyone could see the scene in front of him, how could he be so irrational?

"My lord! The castle won't fall on its own, someone should be the first to try it......" Seeing my doubts, he explained: "The terrain of the ancient city is dangerous, and there are three plains to match, so it is really unrealistic to take it easily. Even if the lord and Lord Takenaka want to find a way, they must know the actual combat ability of the enemy! ”

"This ......," I understood what he meant. Although there was no such thing as "fire reconnaissance" in this era, this practice was ancient. Although this is a consistent method of fighting in exchange for small sacrifices for big discoveries, to put it bluntly, it is still a human life pad.

"Lord!" Seeing that I was still hesitating, he anxiously urged: "...... Now that the arrow is on the bow, all the highnesses are looking at each other. If the lord continues to hesitate, then he will definitely give someone a handle! ”

Sure enough, I heard shouts of killing and the roar of iron cannons coming from the positions of Araki Murashige in the east and Hashiba Hideyoshi in the west, respectively, and it seemed that I really couldn't wait any longer.

"My lord! What Otani-sama said is reasonable, but let me go! "Ke'er Caizang finally couldn't bear it anymore and walked up." If there are too few troops, the enemy will be suspicious, and it may not be able to achieve the effect! Otani-sama's 800 men may seem thin, but 1,500 of my subordinates should be enough!

"Or ......," Yoshitsugu Ohtani still wanted to argue.

"Don't say anything, listen to me!" The more opinions I have, the more confused my brain becomes, and it's time for me to make up my mind at the critical moment. "Ji Ji is the first team to storm the ancient city of Su; Caizang followed up for the second team at a distance of 10 zhang; Shinhachiro ...... "I called Shinhachiro, who was already eager to try it on the side. "You select 100 strong martial arts banners to act with Lord Ohtani, and everything is subject to Lord Otani's orders!"

"Yes!" Shinhachiro quickly agreed, and went to pick someone.

"Yoshitsugi ......" I carefully explained to Otani Yoshitsugu: "I will assign you another 100 ninja troops, attack fiercely, and retreat quickly. If the enemy's defense is weak or hesitant, he will immediately order the city to climb and break through. You can make a decision on the fly, just don't force it! ”

"The last general will live up to the expectations of the lord!" Yoshitsugu Otani solemnly promised.

The sound of the earth-shattering conch sounded, and with a series of passwords, the spears of Otani Yoshitsugu and Keer Caizo entered the attack position under the mountain pass. The addition of the ninja army, especially the flag book, has definitely made a qualitative leap in the intuitive feeling of the Otani reserve, and I did this not only to boost morale, but also to convince the thieves who are defending the castle of the "sincerity" of my attack.

It's time to attack! The 1,000 men led by Yoshitsugu Otani advanced to the ancient city of Suku. Later, the 1,500 people who had just been hiding in Ke'er also followed.

500 steps, the ancient city is quiet; 300 steps, still silent, even Mihara did not react; At 200 paces, there was already frequent activity of human figures, but there was still no blocking. The spears of the striker team have been leveled, and the power of this distance can be fully exerted, it seems that the defenders of this ancient city are really patient!

"My lord......" Takenaka's half-guard came behind me and called softly. This is just a tentative attack, and Lord Otani has always been cautious and nothing will happen! ”

"Hmm......" I nodded slightly. Fighting is bound to die, and tens of thousands of people have died in front of me in several wars, and my feeling has become much duller than at the beginning, but it is more because I see a large number of casualties of others, and it feels different to cut my own flesh!

Suddenly, a drum sounded above the ancient city, and locust-like arrows poured down. The army on the horse road was densely packed, and such a concentration of targets allowed the archers to save a lot of time on aiming, many were wounded, but not many were killed. My troops were almost entirely professional soldiers, and their excellent psychological qualities allowed them not to flee, but to speed up their advance. At this time, the soldiers at the front were still 120 steps away from the gate of the ancient city.

I noticed that from time to time rolling logs were pushed down from the top of the city, but they were not very frequent and much smaller than the usual ones, and the boulders were not at all. "The enemy doesn't seem to have a lot of rolling logs and rocks!" I came to this conclusion after careful observation.

"yes!" Hanbei Takenaka nodded in agreement. "The trail here is steep but has too many twists and turns, and it doesn't take long for the logs to slide down into the valley. It may be that the enemy army doesn't think it's cost-effective, and it's not the point of defense here! ”

"Makes sense!" I thought for a moment and nodded, then continued to observe the battle with my binoculars.

After a long period of training and combat experience, instinct had been formed, some details did not require deliberate orders, and the wounded and incapacitated soldiers were sent down from the narrow passages ceded by the flanks, and the speed of the attack was only slightly affected.

"Bang, bang, bang......" When it was about 50 paces away from the city gate, the sound of dense iron cannons finally sounded, and the rate of fire of the arrows in the dense smoke did not slow down, and the lethality increased due to the proximity of the distance. At the same time, the defenders of Mihara also began to take a stand, and the condescending iron cannons and arrows hit the flank of Otani Yoshiji's reserve.

Just when I was about to give the order directly, Yoshitsugu Otani gave the order to retreat in time and very wisely. Under such a powerful firepower, a strong attack is tantamount to death, and in the smoke that gradually dissipates, a piece of shiny spears and naginatas have been erected at the head of the ancient city.

"You...... You okay? I nervously looked at Yoshitsugu Ohtani who came to me, and the latter was carried over by two people.

"A little injury, don't worry about the lord!" Despite his paleness, he spoke to me with ease.

"Hit in the leg by an iron cannon!" Shinhachiro added.

"My lord! I ...... this time" Yoshitsugu Ohtani wanted to say something, but I interrupted him.

"Immediate further treatment and rest! I've got my own idea of the rest! "After saying that, I ordered someone to take him away." How many ranged weapons are there in the city? "I asked Ichisuchi Tsuda, a long-range weapons expert around me who had been carefully observing the calculations.

"Judging from the battle just now, there are at least 50 iron cannons and 300 archers on the ancient city...... "Tsuda replied cautiously, looking at the records in his hand from time to time." The Sanyuan Iron Cannon should also have this number, but there are slightly fewer archers! ”

"There should be at least 500 ashigaru or monk soldiers on the ancient city, and depending on the scale, there may only be long-range attack power on the Sanyuan Fortress!" On the side, Takenaka Hanbei added.

"We have to find another way!" I said to myself.

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Bear in winter: I think I will "hibernate" again in ten days, which is also a helpless thing, I hope you don't scold me. This is the end of the second year of the university, and if all goes well, this time next year it will be time to prepare for the thesis and the last exam! But in the year after that, will there be no "hibernation" trouble? It should be, because that's not far from the end of the book!