He ...... What do they mean by that? Koichiro Kinoshita, the youngest of us, opened his mouth with a question mark on his head, but no one answered his question right away. The 3,000 Saito soldiers and horses on the opposite side of the Nagara River had arrived for half an hour, but there was still no sign of wanting to attack. In any case, they should have made a decision as soon as possible, and in a short time our walls were built more than a foot more.

"Are they playing some other tricks?!" Asano Nagamasa suddenly said loudly. When he first went to war, his mind was full of all kinds of fantasies, so much so that he always liked to associate everything he saw with the intrigues recorded in the book.

"No, it won't!" Maeno Nagayasu frowned, but said in a firm tone. "I've not dealt with Hineno Hiroshi once or twice, and I know him very well! As a member of the Saito family, he is by no means ambiguous when it comes to improvisation, but when it comes to improvisation, it is never possible! He didn't have a head like that! ”

"It must be so!" Masakatsu Wasuka said excitedly with a fist high-five. "It's been less than four hours since I arrived here, and it's almost impossible for the Saito family to find out so quickly! Since we know that we are here, we should rush over non-stop against time, so how can we still eat unhurriedly in Inabayama Castle? So they must have been passing by here and stumbling upon us, and now they don't know what to do! ”

I nodded with a hum, my mind racing. It should be said that according to the current situation, the words of Wasuka Masakatsu are the most reasonable explanation, but I don't know...... Whoever of us has such a "little bit" and dies so simply can run into a blind cat. In any case, it is very likely that Hineno Hiroshi over there will send someone back to Inabayama Castle to ask for instructions, or even wait for reinforcements. If that's the case, we'll have the most precious time ever! Thinking of this, I nodded slightly to Masakatsu Wasuka.

"Attention everyone!" He began to issue orders. "Half of them are watching the enemy army, and the other half are stepping up to build a wall! Be careful not to make too much noise......"

"Look over there!" An exclamation interrupted Masakatsu Wasuka's words. I don't know if it's to confirm my idea of "a little back" just now, but the large piece of the flag printed with the "Lantao pattern" on the opposite side began to move.

First, the 500 archers lined up in a long horizontal column facing us, and stood in four columns at a distance of 120 paces. Then 2,500 speared ashigaru formed five phalanxes, two of whom came to the river to cross the river, and the other three lined up side by side in positions behind them.

I stared at the movement on the other side, both hands covered with sweat. In the past few years, I have participated in several battles, large and small, but except for the one in the barrel room, I have only "observed" in a very far back place. This time is different, whether it will be under my personal command or not, I am the highest-ranking officer here, and I have a great responsibility for the victory or defeat of the battle, and even the life and death of more than 700 people here. This feeling is not immersive, it is difficult to feel!

"They're just making a tentative attack!" Yamanaka Kanosuke suddenly said a startling conclusion with a serious expression.

"Why?!" I blurted out the question without thinking about it due to the tension of the transition, and everyone stared at his face as nervously as I did.

"If the enemy already knows about the gap to our south,...... "Yamanaka Kanosuke said calmly and eloquently." They would cross the river from the lower reaches to the south of us and attack through the breach! Even if you don't know this situation, in order to fall down as soon as possible, you should attack and besiege the city with all your troops, so that you can give full play to your numerical advantage! But ...... like this," he said, drawing his hand across the river, "attacking with only a thousand spears, and concentrating on one point, will not only lack the strength, but will also make a considerable number of men stand in the water and fight!" In addition, leaving a large number of reserves in your own home team is also a sign of lack of confidence! All this shows that the enemy has no idea of what is going on here, and is afraid that in the event of an attack we will suddenly go out of the city to counterattack, so they do not dare to spread out their forces in full force! ”

"Not bad! That's definitely the case! Wasuka Masakatsu slammed his fist in the air. Yamanaka-sama, just tell me what to do! ”

"How can I ......," Yamanaka Kanosuke was about to excuse himself, but met my encouraging gaze. Then the general will trespass......" he began to explain the plan. "We have more than enough strength to deal with these 1,000 people, and we can arrange for some of them to continue to build the wall. After a while, the archers on the opposite bank will shoot first to cover the crossing of the river, and our main force will not be in any danger to hide under the wall, and at the same time order our archers to climb the wall and snipe the enemy crossing force with their fortifications! When the spearmen reach the bottom of the wall, the bows and arrows will stop, and we will concentrate on the defense. We have the advantage of a solid wall, which can deal a heavy blow to the enemy! The enemy's determination to fight is not resolute, and we need to make them understand that even if they can take down the Sumamata, they will have to put thousands of corpses on the Nagara River! Faced with such a situation, especially in the absence of precise orders, they will become more and more hesitant. This will buy us the most precious time! ”

"Good! That's it! After exchanging a few glances with Kinoshita Toyoshiro and I, Masakatsu Wasuka began to issue orders: "Nagayasu and 100 people to step up the construction of the wall, be careful not to make a sound!" Uzo and Kitaro go up to the wall with men with bows, arrows and iron cannons! Others are on standby under the wall! ”

"Whoosh~whoosh~~Smack! Syllable! Syllable! ...... "I had just found a place to hide here, and the arrows over there swooped down like hornets. "Smack!" A feathered arrow was nailed to a nearby post, and I raised my hand and gently pulled it off. The feather arrow was long but light, only about a centimeter into the wooden pillar, and the distance of 120 paces had already made the arrow flutter! With this power, it is difficult to inflict fatal damage even if you are wearing light leather armor (you are unlucky to shoot in the throat). I leaned over to a lookout and looked out. The situation in the river is similar to here, there are more wounds and fewer deaths, and the actual number of people shot by 300 bows is less than the 18 iron cannons! I used to watch a movie by Akira Kurosawa, in which the general shot like a hedgehog and was still alive, but now it seems that it is not nonsense! Fortunately, this wasted energy was soon over, and the Saito family's spears rushed up with a shout.

"Up!" Wasuka Masakatsu shouted and rushed to the treads of the wall first, and the archers threw away their longbows and drew their swords. A white-knuckle battle begins! Yamanaka Kanosuke, Kusunoki Hayato, and Shimakatsu Takeshi all rushed to the front line, and Asano Nagamasa was also fighting excitedly, although the "monkey" was also fighting, but it was very measured, which was common to me! I know these brushes very well, so I should stop showing my eyes and just let everyone see that I am among them, and achieve the purpose of boosting morale! Koichiro stood not far away, his face a little pale.

The Saito soldiers slammed desperately against the sturdy gates, and some climbed to the top of the wall, but were invariably stabbed with spears.

I'm finally convinced that they're not here for us! Because not only did they not bring the giant wood that hit the door, but they didn't even bring a long ladder, how could this be a bit of a siege? There were more and more corpses under the castle, and the water of the Nagara River was flushed red. "Then what is Hineno Hiroshi doesn't want to use corpses to raise the terrain, right?" I asked myself in my heart.

Fortunately, the Saito army withdrew soon after, leaving more than 200 corpses and retreating across the river! Regroup on the side of the Nagara River and start repairing in place. "That's it! It's finally time to catch your breath! I sat down with my legs limp.