Oda Nobutada arrived at the front line of Honganji Temple on October 8, 1573, the first year of Tensho (1573), accompanied by an army of 30,000 and many famous generals such as Shibata Katsuie. Because the itinerary was not calculated, it was close to midnight when I arrived. After hurriedly saying a few words of greeting, we all said goodbye with interest, after all, after more than ten days of driving, people also had to camp and rest.

After this, we were informed that the next day we would have a day off, during which His Highness would study the military situation in detail; On the third day, 10 October, the first military meeting of the former enemy was held in the morning to listen to opinions and formulate strategies.

"What kind of person is His Highness Xinzhong?" On the way to Daying, I asked Ikeda Tsuneko.

"How could you not know? It shouldn't be! He was a little surprised by the question.

"His Royal Highness Xinzhong was still young when I left Qibu, and I haven't seen each other a few times since then! Even before he came out, I didn't have much contact with him, and as for His Royal Highness Xinzhong still wore open crotch pants when I was a personal soldier...... "I said helplessly. In fact, I have never lacked reports on the core figures of the Oda family, but they are all about what he has done and who he has met, and the news has been exaggerated by human words, and the ninja can't get to him, so I can't judge his character traits. Ikeda has a deep relationship with the Oda family, and he is his brother-in-law, so his judgments always have a certain reference value.

"Oh...... If you don't mention it, I forgot, you really haven't been back to Qibu in the past few years! Ikeda Hengxing was stunned for a moment before speaking. …… His Highness is a very modest and prudent man! The lord has also arranged some work for him in the past few years, and he has completed it very satisfactorily, and he only briefly reported what happened afterwards, and never exaggerated his performance. He did not show excessive intimacy with anyone with the various factions in his family, nor did he show excessive alienation from anyone, and he only accepted gifts that were within the conventions. In short, according to my opinion, he listens and watches more, but rarely expresses his position! ”

"We don't often stay in Qibu, and you're out now! His Highness the Faithful ...... You won't be swayed by the people on Shibata's side, right? "I do have some concerns about this issue, and even if Oda Nobutada is hoodwinked, his position is enough to influence a large number of people.

"You're just too worried!" Ikeda scoffs at my concerns. "If it's His Royal Highness Nobuo or Nobutaka, then I really don't dare to say it! Trustworthy and loyal to His Royal Highness...... All I can say is that he is a very assertive person! ”

"Oh......" I breathed a sigh of relief. I believe Ikeda Tsuneko's opinion that Oda Nobutada, though not as bold as Nobunaga, is not a fool, and the worst outcome is that he continues to strike a balance between several important ministers. In any case, in the future, Oda Nobutada's role on this stage will become more and more heavy, and no one can stop it.

Chatting and chatting, we arrived at Oda Nobutada's Chinese military camp, the attendants stayed outside, and Ikeda Hengxing and I came to the door of the tent, where some people had already arrived, and there were still people coming in. After about another 10 minutes, everyone arrived, and the attendant told us all to go in. Unlike Oda Nobunaga's incomprehensibility and playing big names, Oda Nobutada seemed very modest and did not ask us to wait longer, but Shibata Katsuie's proudly standing beside him made me look very unpleasant.

"Your Highnesses have worked hard!" As soon as he came up, he gave an encouragement.

"Thank you for your care, Your Highness the Young Lord (Josuke)!" And all the people returned the salute in unison. Because the official position of Oda Nobutada Motofu was from the six Akita Josuke, the daimyo and wealthy families who were not Oda retainers called him "His Royal Highness Josuke".

"Your Highnesses! In the next young and shallow military leader, there will be a lot of ignorance and carelessness! I hope you can stand up to ......" Oda Nobutada began his inaugural declaration, I don't know if it was to look more powerful, he wore a gold accessory armor, and the gold helmet of the dragon in front of him was placed on the case at hand.

I peeked at him, and I had never had a chance to get close to him before, and the night before was in a hurry in the dark. Oda Nobutada looks very similar to Nobunaga, but the lines on his face are softer and his eyes are not so sharp. The speeches should have been written in advance by the staff, and many of them were official and clichés, but when he said them, he did not seem to be pretentious at all. My first impression of him was quite good, he was always easy to communicate with reasonable people!

“…… As for this war, please! At this time, his speech was over.

"Your Highness! His Royal Highness Sakuma has been presiding over the campaign against Honganji Temple for the past few years, could you please tell us more about the situation here? Katsuie Shibata began to actually preside over the meeting.

"Young Master, Your Highnesses! Honganji Temple is a fortified castle that has been built over a hundred years, and its system is so tight that it is rare in the world......" After obtaining permission from Oda Nobutada, Sakuma Nobumori began to introduce the situation here, and he said that I knew most of the situation, and there were some details that I did not know. In short, his conclusion is that Honganji Castle is an extremely difficult "bone" to gnaw, and there are some facts in this, and of course some are to shirk the responsibility for his ineffective work in the past few years.

"All of you who came first these days have caught some spies, right? Let's talk about the information obtained from the interrogation first! Shibata Katsuie was about to start discussing the siege plan, but Oda Nobutada suddenly changed his agenda.

"Huh~!" I groaned softly, and this simple sentence alone took my opinion of him a step further. At this critical moment when life and death are about to be decided, Honganji is naturally not going to sit still. Recently, each battalion has caught a lot of spies, including spies and messengers who deliver information. Not all of them are staunch diehards, so there's a lot of new information. The point is why Oda Nobutada raised this issue at this time alone, and he could have asked everyone to put it in writing and present it to him. Looking at the expression, Shibata Katsuya didn't know this arrangement in advance, so he could only want to convey a message: he Oda Nobutada has his own ideas and will not follow other people's baton!

For the information that came from the synthesis, only one conclusion was reached: Honganji Temple is like calling for reinforcements!

"Your Highnesses, Honganji Manifest doing this can only show that he has a weak heart!" Oda Nobutada confidently slammed his right fist on the table. "Izumi has His Royal Highness Niwa, San'in and Sanyo have tens of thousands of soldiers of His Highness Zhuxing and Yuchai, and it is difficult for Kii Zhong and the Maori family to take a step beyond Lei Chi! In addition, when I came, His Royal Highness the Right General had already ordered His Highness the Nine Demons to unite the various units of the Kumano Navy to enter the Seto Inland Sea and block the sea passage of Honganji Castle! Now that Honganji has always been a turtle in an urn, everyone must strive to take this city in one go! ”

"Woo...... There was a low chatter around him.

"What do you think about the siege strategy?" After the discussion ended, Oda Nobutada asked.

"Young master!" Probably feeling a little faceless just now, Shibata Katsuya opened his mouth again. "His Royal Highness Sakuma knows the situation best, so let's listen to his opinion first!"

This time Oda Nobutada didn't speak, but he turned his gaze to Sakuma Nobumori's side.

"Back to Your Highness! The Honganji castle system is complex and complex, and it is extremely difficult to capture...... "Sakuma Nobumori seems extremely difficult. "In the past, for the sake of safety, the ministers uprooted the enemy's rocks, branches, and bunkers one by one, and it was difficult to move step by step, even if we took it during the day, we would have to withdraw at night or on the second or third day because of their harassment elsewhere. In the face of this majestic giant city formed in a hundred years, the geographical advantages of the two armies are too different! Therefore, today's minister rashly spoke, hoping that His Royal Highness would use thunderbolt means to quickly cut through the chaos and take this city! ”

"What kind of thunderbolt means? Does His Royal Highness Sakuma have a belly case? Oda Nobutada asked.

"Yes! The minister has an idea......" Sakuma Nobumori's eyes flickered, and he gave a few people in the crowd a look. "We have a total of 80,000 troops this time, which is unprecedented! We can take advantage of the huge advantage in numbers, divide part of our forces to entangle the attacks on the branch city, and then concentrate the elite to quickly attack the main gate of the main city. The so-called skin does not have hair, and at that time, no matter how strong the peripheral forces of the Yixiang Sect are, they will not be able to return to the sky! ”

"Is it possible?" Oda Nobutada's eyes lit up suddenly, and he stared at him and asked.

"The attacking troops may suffer heavy casualties, but they should be able to do it!" Sakuma Nobumori's words flickered.

"Such a task, I'm afraid that no one can afford it except His Highness Zhuxing Yuzhou!" This time, without waiting for Oda Nobutada to ask, Shibata Katsuya jumped out by himself.

"Oh!" I couldn't react to the sudden attack, but I instinctively smelled of conspiracy.

"That's it! The artillery under the command of His Royal Highness Zhuxing Yuzhou is very majestic in Sanqichuan! Who can knock on the door of Honganji Castle except for this? Sasa Narumasa also beat the side drum.

"Okay!" I was very angry at their behavior, and before I knew it, there was a smell of fire in my words. "Then turn up the muzzle of the cannon, as long as you don't fear the shells falling on your head! And ......" I added: "There are so many twists and turns in the walls of Honganji Castle, and if any of you can carry the artillery up under the attack of the branch city, then I will give him both cannons!" ”

"That'...... What if you bombard the walls? Sakuma Nobumori still wants to find an excuse.

"That's good!" I sneered at him and said, "If there is enough ammunition, I will fight for another six hours a day, and it will be about a hundred years!" ”

"Such a thick city wall, even if you let it go, 80,000 people don't know how long they will dig it!" Ikeda Tsuneko also chuckled on the side.

"Your Highnesses, don't be rash, everything must focus on the overall situation!" Oda Nobutada had to come out to play the round.