June in Kyushu is already a blazing sun, and at just half past nine in the morning, the entire southern sky is impossible to look up! The island climate in the south keeps the humidity in the air, and today there is no wind, making it feel like you're in a steamer. You must not move around at will, otherwise you will experience the feeling of hairy crabs after entering the pot.

There is no way to wear armor close to the body, and theoretically speaking, you should wear a thin cotton coat under the armor. Because the inner lining of the armor itself is usually negligible, wearing it thicker inside can not only avoid bruising the skin, but also reduce the possibility of internal injuries in the event of a collision.

The question then arises, whether to put on the armor at the risk of heat stroke, or not to wear it at the risk of injury or even death? That's a question worth considering. Typically, the lower the rank, the smaller the range of options available, and the more serious the consequences if you make a mistake.

On June 23, 1579, on the banks of the Hyuga Kunito River, I and the 83,000 troops under my command were faced with such a painful choice. In fact, it is not only us, but the same problem also puzzles the 45,000 men of the Shimazu army on the other side of the river.

"What the hell!" I cursed fiercely, picked up a clean towel and reached into my collar to wipe it, and when I took it out again, it already had a slight sour smell. At the same time, I still have many of these towels on hand, and I forget how many of them have been taken away. The clothes inside me were all light and breathable snails, but they were still wet and sticking to my body. "Why are you fighting today, it's better to let them go if you knew better!" Sweat trickled down the gap between my eyebrows and down my eyes, and I cursed.

Ten days ago, Qiuyue City fell, and although it took a lot of effort to flood it, it was destroyed without any loss, and everything was worth it. In fact, many people have a misunderstanding in their understanding, unless it is a particularly conditional terrain, otherwise the water will not flood the city, it is very good to be able to reach halfway, and it is enough. Think about it! The streets are all knee-deep in water, and you can only sleep and eat on the rooftops, yes! For food, there is no way to make a fire at all, everything can only be eaten raw, can such a city still be defended? At least...... Will you go and keep it?

On the day of the destruction of Akizuki Castle, the Maori army, which had been stationed in Bunzen, fled, gathered all the sailors and boarded them in half a day, leaving behind a large number of baggage, so that I did not have time to respond. Since he's gone, let him go, and they'll have nothing to do with staying here anyway. I'd better keep my strength and deal with those Shimazu family!

Shimazu Yoshihisa also wanted to run, but Keiji Maeda's small initiative stuck to him, and by the time I led the troops that had joined Otomo Sorin, Nabeshima Naoshige, and Omura Juntada, he had just entered Hinata. As a last resort, he had to reflexively face the battle, and Shimazu Yoshihiro led 15,000 troops to join him.

"Those Shimazu traitors will not understand His Highness's kindness, and I am afraid that it was premeditated to choose such a place to stop and fight!" Otomo Sorin, who was sitting next to me, smiled at me with the fat on his face, and big drops of sweat ran down his chin. Although there were a lot of people surrounded by a large group of wealthy clans, castle lords, and samurai who did not fight directly, there were only two of us with umbrellas. "The people of the Shimazu family have always been cunning, and they have never been trustworthy. It was here two years ago that they fell for their tricks. This time, they chose this place again, and the formation seemed to be loose and tight, guarding all the passages forward, and they also hoped that His Highness Yu Zhou would take a closer look! ”

"Uh-huh," I replied meaninglessly, ....... Although I heard his words clearly, my drowsy head was not suitable for thinking at the moment. Pick up a cup of tea and drink it, although it is impossible to chill it due to the conditions, it is always good to increase the moisture in the body. "His Royal Highness Otomo has been here before, so do you have any substantive suggestions?" I asked rhetorically.

"It's better to be steady, after all, we have twice as many troops......" Despite the more brutal torture of the heat because of his overweight, he explained his opinion to me in detail. In order to be in Kyushu in the future, he wants to be as realistic as possible about his value.

I sat there quietly, but I wasn't actually listening, just to show respect for him. The specific strategy had been worked out two days earlier, but he was not among those with the inside information. All I have to do now is follow the predetermined "script" while waiting for a few supporting characters to enter the plot.

"Your Highness Otomo, what kind of place is there?" When he had finally finished, I asked knowingly, pointing to a small castle on a high cliff about a hundred feet away on the other side of the river. "It's not big, but it's dangerously located and abrupt. To be exact, I don't like it very much, do you think you can take it first? ”

"This ...... I'm afraid it's very difficult! "Otomo Sorin's face suddenly became very ugly, and I think Napoleon on the island of Helena was nothing more than that when he mentioned Waterloo." It is Takajo, the strongest castle in Hinata. In the joint battle two years ago, our army also stormed there, but the result was that the long-term attack wore down morale. In fact, I thought later that it would be better to divide a small part of the army to surround it first, and the effect might be better! ”

"Oh, didn't you take it down?" I blinked my eyes a few times in confusion, as if it was extremely incomprehensible. "Then there must have been a lack of strength at that time! How many troops are there on each side? "I have to admire myself for being so "sincere".

"This ...... Since it's in Hinata, let's introduce it from His Highness Ito! Otomo Sorin, who was too embarrassed to say more, kicked the "ball" to Yoshisuke Ito.

"His Royal Highness Yuzhou!" Seeing the two commanders of the coalition looking at him, Ito Yoshisuke hurriedly walked up, he had been standing not far away, always paying attention to the situation in front and here.

If you want to talk about the level of nervous attention to the battle situation, Ito Yoshisuke is even more concerned than me. It is really a great sorrow in life to be kicked out at the age of nearly seventy, although the health is good, but I don't know how many years I can last, after all, it is already this age, so he is most looking forward to me being able to win today, so that even the heat does not seem to feel it. It's not enough to be victorious, you must also show your worth, at least show that you are extremely loyal to the Oda regime and its spokesman, otherwise why give you more than 100,000 stone of land!

"Your Highness Ito, there's something I'd like to ask!" I said to him kindly. I instinctively feel that this "chess piece" is still useful, but I haven't figured out how to use it.

"I don't dare to use the word 'ask for advice' in front of His Royal Highness Yuzhou, I just do my best!" Feeling a certain amount of self-worth, there was a slight excitement in his tone.

"Has His Highness seen the city? His Royal Highness Otomo just told me that it was called Takashiro! Again, I pointed to the town on the other side of the river. The location of that city was too embarrassing, and our army would be constrained by it whether they advanced or retreated. I want to take it first in the first round of attacks, does Your Highness know the details? ”

"I know a little bit below...... "Seeing me mention it, his expression flowed with a hint of disappointment, but he still elaborated: "Takajo is indeed an old town, and it was built with local materials using stones from nearby mountains, in fact, most of the castles in the south-central part of Hinata are like this. The high city is not large, and the defenders are generally between five hundred and eight hundred. Because of its geographical importance, Shimazu sent the fierce general Yamada Takanobu as the lord of the castle shortly after the invasion of Hyuga. If His Highness has an order, he can use about five times the force to besiege the city and conquer it within 10 days, if he is ...... at the same time as the confrontation."

"I still need to think about it again, but I won't work His Highness Date!" I really don't know how this old man in his twilight could have such a "romantic" idea and give him the army? If you lose your own family business, do you still want to defeat me! "Order the troops in front to prepare to attack, it seems that the Shimazu army will not dare to strike first in front of me!" I shook the fan in my hand as I spoke, and the herald ran towards the clusters in front of me.

This time, because it was a large corps of multi-force coordination, it was impossible for me to fight alone on the front line. After the comprehensive balance, Keiji Maeda, Yoshitsugu Otani, Motokei Kagawa, Naoshige Nabeshima, and Shiga Kinmori were placed on the front line, and on the opposite side, there were only three clusters in the first row because of the narrow area of the terrain and mountains.

Soon after, five of our troops began to advance slowly, and some of the men on the front had descended into the river. Although he wore armor in the scorching sun, he still walked quite fast, including those troops who were not so high-quality. It was only later that I figured out that it was cooler to get into the water.

Although the water in the river is not very deep, the bottom of the river is covered with large and small pebbles, and by the time we reach the center of the river, some of the queues have become scattered.

"Huh?" I suddenly frowned, got up from my mazaar, took a few steps forward, and shielded myself from the sun with my military fan.

"Let His Royal Highness Yuzhou see and laugh!" Seeing my displeased look, Otomo Zonglin was a little worried. "The troops in Kyushu are really incomparable to the troops under the Stars, they are really worlds apart. Please ask Your Highness the Stars to send an order to reprimand, so as to ......"

"Your Highness Otomo misunderstood, I didn't mean that!" I was very puzzled by the situation ahead, except for Keiji Maeda and Yoshitsugu Ohtani, the team was quite dense. "Didn't you already give the order yesterday! The Shimazu Army also has artillery, so be sure to evacuate the formation. How is this still the case? ”

"This ...... This is already very loose! "He's a little at a loss and a little puzzling at the same time about my accusation." It is common sense that once you have to disperse again, you will not be able to face the ...... of the cavalry."

As soon as the cannon sounded, the cavalry was still needed, so he waited...... "I really don't know how he could have such an idea, it stands to reason that the Otomo family also has a lot of experience in using firearms!"

"Boom!" I haven't made it clear to Otomo Sorin, and a red light flashed in the camp on a small slope opposite. The cannonballs landed in Shiga's own ranks, followed by wails one after another......