Kohama Castle is the main city of Wakasa Province, and at the same time, it can be said that it is the only castle in the true sense, and the rest such as Kuniyoshi, Takahama, Zenbeyama, and Okurami, which only have one floor of walls and a small castle tower, are at best a little larger than Yaao, and it would be good to be a branch city in other rich countries! Although Kohama Castle only has a double-layer city wall and three small castle towers, the general in the frustration is also considered high!

Wakasa is a small barren country, and the Takeda family, who rule here, has never played such a great role as their distant relatives of Kai, and it is conceivable how much strength they can accumulate to build a castle without only internal strife and constant external troubles! However, the terrain has made up for the above shortcomings, and the original designer here is definitely a great master. The location choice of Xiaobin City is quite outstanding, which is in response to Zhuge Liang's sentence at the beginning, "camp near the mountains and near the water", but the camping should be a city building!

The west water and south roads of Kohama Castle are mountains of varying heights to the east and north. The structure of Kohama Castle is built according to the direction of the mountain, and it is divided into three parts, and since the road leading from San'in to Hokuriku passes at the foot of the castle, if you don't take this castle and pass through, I am afraid that half of the people will be left after passing!

In the era when Wakasa and Tango ruled by Takeda and Isshiki respectively, this area was a war-prone area! Unable to "fight" with powerful forces further east or west, the two minor daimyos engaged in a protracted lightweight match, which ended up being cleaned up by someone else.

After the disappearance of the small forces, Asakura and Hatano took control of the area, and the situation in Wakasa gradually calmed down. The two of them had to join hands under great pressure from each other, and in any case, the idea of them annexing each other was not realistic from the geographical conditions. But the Warring States are the Warring States after all, and they still have to watch their back door carefully, and the one who looks at the back door for Asakura Yoshikyo is his cousin, Major General Asakura Right Guard!

"What do you think of the situation?" When His Royal Highness Asakura asked this, he was trimming a cypress bonsai with a pair of small scissors, and his expression was serious and serene. The reason why this cousin was quite appreciated by the Governor Yoshikei was that they shared the same interests and hobbies, and he was very active in establishing the Echizen culture, the source of Kyoto's official fashion.

"Your lord, are you asking...... A war with the Oda family? Yamauchi Masanobu, a retainer of Jingshi, asked uncertainly.

"Is there anything else going on at this time?" Asakura looked up dissatisfiedly and glared at him. "Tell me, do you think we can withstand Oda's onslaught?"

"It should ...... No problem! "Yamauchi Masanobu himself felt a little lacking in confidence, and in order to strengthen his confidence in the lord and his own, he tried to make an analysis." Oda Nobunaga was able to draw up to 40,000 troops from the Echizen side, and the combined forces of the main family and Asai could reach 35,000, and if Hatano could send some soldiers and horses to help, maybe there would be more than the Oda family, so we didn't really have a disadvantage in numbers! Besides, we have been operating in these areas for a long time, and most of the local tyrants and countrymen are attached to us, so with our familiarity and mastery of the terrain here, it shouldn't be much of a problem to block the attack of the Oda family! ”

"Hmm......" Chaocang Jingshi nodded, and cut off another twig in his hand, and the expression seemed to hear it and didn't hear it. Hyocho, what do you think? He lowered his head and asked another retainer.

"In the lower shaki...... It's a little different from Yamauchi-sama! Takanaga Kawai, who was asked, thought for a moment and replied with a full of worry.

"Tell me your reasons!" Asakura Keigi was finally satisfied with his "results", put down the scissors in his hand and walked back to the house from the outer corridor of the castle tower.

"If you look at it only on the surface, the difference between the main family and the Asai family and the Oda family is really not big! But we also had to consider other factors...... "After sitting down, Takanaga Kawai began to explain his opinion. "The Oda family had already achieved the 'separation of soldiers and peasants', and the impact of the long-term war on the economy was minimal, and with the support of merchants in Sakai Town, Ishiyama and other places, the economic strength could no longer be measured by a simple stone height! At that time, Oda Nobunaga was in Owari Ichikuni, and he did not have an advantage over the Saito family in Mino, and was repeatedly defeated in the years-long war, but what was the result? The Oda family is getting stronger and stronger, the Saito family is getting worse and worse, and finally it is falling apart! Of course, the incompetence of the Saito family's defeat was the main factor, but the economy on the verge of collapse could not but be said to be an important factor. Today's Oda Nobunaga is no longer comparable to that day, and its military and economic strength cannot be underestimated! ”

"Isn't the Oda family invincible, according to you?" Yamauchi Masanobu said with some unhappiness. "Could it be that the hundred-year-old foundation of the family's hegemony in Echizen is not worth mentioning, we have to go and wag our tails to the hillbilly of the Oda family and beg for mercy!"

"Masasin, don't get excited......" Asakura Jingshi raised his hand to stop the dispute among his subordinates. Xiaochang is just talking about his own opinions, and he must first understand any enemy before he can have a strategy! With that, he motioned for Takanaga Kawai to continue.

"Yamauchi-sama mentioned the family's century-old foundation, which is indeed our greatest strength at the moment......" Takanaga Kawai did not resent Yamauchi's sarcasm, but on the contrary, affirmed his correct view. The Honke family has been in business for several generations in Echizen, and our power has penetrated into all aspects, and we must make full use of this, but instead of defeating the Oda family, we will drag Oda Nobunaga and wait! ”

"Wait?" Asakura asked puzzled. "What the hell are we waiting for?"

"Wait for our new ally, the new enemy of the Oda family, to appear!" The doubts in Kawai Takacho's tone were swept away when he said this. "The Oda family has a fatal weakness, that is, the strong daimyo in the vicinity and possibly in the near future will not become his 'friends', even his in-laws Takeda Shingen have recently begun to stand on his side, and other attitudes such as Miyoshi, Honganji, and Mori are self-explanatory! Oda Nobunaga has actually been in a difficult situation, which is why he has always tolerated the Ashikaga shogun who is secretly making trouble. It is impossible for the main family to defeat the Oda family at the moment, even with the addition of Asai and Hatanoya! So for now, we have to wait, when more and more daimyo are ready for a showdown with Oda Nobunaga, and then Oda Nobunaga will be self-defeating! ”

"You have a point!" Yamauchi Masanobu nodded in agreement. “…… If the assistance of the Hatano family could be more powerful, we would be more sure! He said with regret.

"I hope so!" Asakura Jingshi turned his attention to the bonsai outside the door. "Now the situation in Kita Omi is tense again, and I just got the news that Oda Nobunaga has increased his troops in Ebei again......"

"Report to Your Highness!" A herald hurried to report. "Lord Xiangtian's life came to report that there was an army outside the city that was not notified in advance!"

"Go ahead and have a look!" After a moment of silence, Asakura Jingshi took the lead and walked out.

When they came to the enemy tower at the city gate, it was heavily guarded, and about 300 spears and bows and arrows were ready for battle. "My lord, that army is there!" When the general saw them coming, he hurriedly stepped forward to introduce the situation.

In fact, even if you don't say it, everyone can see it! About two miles away, there was a cavalry stationed there, brightly armored and neatly dressed, numbering about 500, and behind them were all the banners of the Hatano family! On the surface they do not have the slightest hostility and seem to be waiting for someone.

"When did you come?" Masanobu Yamauchi asked nervously.

"The ,...... who appeared at the intersection on the west side about half an hour ago" replied with the same nervousness: "They have been coming to the city, and I think something is wrong and I was about to close the city to prepare for war, but they suddenly stopped!" ”

"Did you send someone over to inquire?" Takanaga Kawai narrowed his eyes slightly, hoping to see more clearly.

"I sent someone to inquire about it...... No, he's back! "Following the direction of the farmer's dry finger, I saw a fast horse galloping from that side, and in a blink of an eye he entered the city gate.

"It's all clear...... "A light foot panting ran up to the enemy building." They are under the command of Lord Akai Naomasa of the Hatano family, and they have been ordered to come to the aid of their family's Kita-Omi War, and this is only the vanguard! ”

"Reinforcements?!" Yamauchi Masanobu said with a puzzled expression: "Why didn't we get such a notice?" ”

"They don't know!" The ashigaru head replied, "They said that they should meet with Yasukei Asakura at Kohama Castle, but they didn't dare to approach it rashly because we didn't have anyone here to go out of the city to greet us, so we didn't dare to approach it rashly!" ”

"What's going on in the city of the valley!" Yamauchi slammed his fist on the guardrail angrily. "I forgot to notify in advance, and I didn't arrange it afterwards, what is going on!"

"I don't know what happened...... Kawai said in a deep voice. Do they have any requirements? ”

"They said that since Lord Kangjing is not here, they will not enter the city!" Ashigaru continued to report, "They went on the road in the middle of the night last night, and they didn't bring any baggage because they were in a hurry!" They wanted His Highness to provide a lunch, and then they went straight to the road and walked a little further forward to welcome Lord Kangjing! ”

"They won't go into town?" Takacho Kawai asked uneasily.

"Don't go into town!" Ashigaru replied in the affirmative.

"Zhengxin should pay attention to precautions, and filial piety will arrange it!" Asakura Keigi made a decision in one sentence.