The prelude to the attack on Honganji Castle is about to begin, and the location of the general attack is at the north gate. I thought that this time I might have to show my eyes once, but I didn't expect to show my face again in the end!

Three nights ago, I raided the ancient city of Sugu with 3,000 men. At first, the defenders tried to resist, but they retreated immediately after receiving an unexpected blow from Mihara! This decision is, of course, very wise and timely, but it is not thorough enough. The next day, before it was fully light, they had to retreat from Hatokata Castle to the main castle of Honganji with their brigade.

The passage between the ancient city of Su and the city of Hatofang is still dangerous, and the passage more than five feet wide is full of deep valleys on both sides, and it stands to reason that such a terrain still has to take a lot of trouble, but there are exceptions! Hatokata Castle and Sugu City are almost at the same level, and the unobstructed environment provides an excellent place for my artillery to play.

After capturing the ancient city of Su, I ordered people to carry two cannons on the ancient city of Sugu and put them on the head of the city looking at the city from afar. In the meager morning light, after some careful aiming...... "Boom! After a loud bang, the castle tower of Hatokata Castle fell off a corner, and then a second time, a large hole appeared in the city gate! I don't know if the defenders there are preparing to retake the ancient city after dawn, but they're quick enough to react anyway. Before I could reload the ammunition here, they had already swarmed out of the city gate on the other side, and in less than 10 minutes, a Hatofang city was already empty!

In the midst of a series of compliments, envy, jealousy (and cool words), I regained my feelings! No matter what I do, Shibata won't say anything nice about me, and I'm used to that. Oda Nobutada's attitude towards me has not changed in particular, but the "communication" between the people around him and my subordinates has become closer, and Yamauchi Kazutoyo, who has a "poor friend" with me, has been promoted to the next level. It's a gesture, a very definite one! Although the current trend suggests that Oda Nobutada's successor is unshakable, this does not mean that the succession will be carried out without twists and turns.

Oda Nobutada's age has just been subdued this year, and although everyone will respect him with the help of his father's prestige, his own prestige is far from being established! His two younger brothers, Nobuo and Nobutaka, are not much older than him, and they will enter the political arena in less than two years. If you can't build up your reputation as soon as possible, then if something happens to Oda Nobunaga, people with ulterior motives will have an opportunity. Although this seems unlikely in the current situation, who knows for sure! After all, these are troubled times, and there is more than one "giant" who suddenly fell without warning. It's not a bad thing to get the support of the most powerful Star faction at the moment, and certainly not at the cost of turning against Shibata.

"Your Highness Zhuxing, Your Highness Yuchai, I will work hard for you today!" Oda Nobutada, Oda Nobuta, Hatokata Castle Ninomaru, said kindly and earnestly, and behind him were a large number of members of the observation group.

"Thanks to the prestige of the Lord, the ministers will live up to the expectations of the young master!" Together with the "monkey", I expressed our firm belief in the loudest voice, which is no less than the "longevity" and "eternal health" in the mouths of our fathers.

"The two Highnesses can do whatever they want, I won't give any instructions today!" Speaking of which, Oda Nobutada stretched out his hand as if to pat me and Hideyoshi Hashiba on the shoulders, but as soon as he reached halfway through, he felt that something was wrong. It was also he who saw the opportunity quickly, and his hands swiped down at the same time to hold the hands of the two of us separately. "Your Highnesses, please!"

"Yes!" There was no need to say anything else at this point, so the two of us bowed again and retreated.

Because of the outstanding results we achieved, "Monkey" and I were given a glorious mission: to attack first and enter (if you can take it) the main castle of Honganji!

The feelings for the "monkey" that I was able to take the lead in capturing Hatokata City are complicated, and I spent so much strength but fell short in the last step, I am afraid that no one will be so willing! But what if you are not reconciled? In the more than ten days of dragging, Shibata Katsuya and Araki Murashige have made a lot of progress, and if it is so deadlocked, the first hand of the general attack is afraid that it will really be robbed by others! In order to stabilize the situation in the rear, the most resourceful Kuroda Kanbei and Yushiba Hidecho under his command were left behind in Harima, relying on the people in front of them to fight hard to get to the current situation, it can be said that it is not easy!

"Brother Zhuxing! If you look at the first round of attack, who will start first? As he walked towards the city gate, Hideyoshi Hashiba asked.

"Well......" I muttered for a moment. Of course I know his thoughts, but now it's not something I can just let me say! In order to take the ancient city, hundreds of my men have been killed, including several veteran generals and skilled ninjas. If I give up my position in this place, then the hearts of my men will be scattered, and this team will not be able to lead in the future! But for the sake of political stance, I can't just pout him back. "The current situation is favorable to us, but Honganji Castle is still a deep ditch and a high fortress and is well guarded! To be honest, against the nearly 20,000 defenders inside, you and I are not sure of victory. Once we can't get off the drum, the morale will fluctuate, and it will not be easy to break the city! If you can't take it today, um~! I pouted backwards. Shibata and the others will definitely be funny, and tomorrow we won't have the face to ask for the first shot! ”

"Oh! …… Yes, that's it! He was stunned for a moment, then nodded approvingly. So what do you say? He asked anxiously.

"Only go all out, and go all out!" I swung my hand forward and made a downward chopping motion. "We each sent about 3,000 troops, and we must do our best to attack the north gate with all our strength! Other units are on the second line, and long-range units are on the third. Once the city gate is broken, the second-line troops quickly follow up to consolidate the results, and the long-range troops climb the city tower to suppress the enemy's counterattack. If you can't take it this time......"

"So what?" He stared at me with a pair of round "monkey eyes".

"Then the only way to give up this 'glory' is to give it up, after all, you and I are all hard-won!"

"Alright! That's the only way to do it...... "After weighing the pros and cons repeatedly, he accepted my suggestion.

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I stood at the head of Hatokata Castle with Hideyoshi Hatoshiba, and behind me were all guards and personal soldiers, and there were no generals. The troops in front were already in formation to complete the preparation for the attack, ready to receive orders at any time.

Except for Yoshitsugu Ohtani, who was resting due to injury, almost all the other front-line generals were in the queue. The first to attack was Kerr Caizang, and Shinhachiro led 200 banners among them; The ninja army of Shima Katsutake, Nagano Yoshimori, Fujido Takatora, and Kusunoki Mitsunari was the main attacking force, and in order to coordinate the response, I also sent the Takenaka Hanbei over; The iron artillery team led by Philip and Tsuda Kazusuke was ready to go, and the tarpaulin-covered guns were also tied with large ropes! My plan is to mount artillery on the north gate of Honganji Temple as soon as I capture the gate, and to make a comeback attack! At that time, the capture of the main city will not need the support of others, but we will have to talk about it again!

The "monkey" did not seem to be easier than me at all, and Masakatsu Wasuka, Magayasu Maeno, Nagamasa Asano, Kiyomasa Kato, and Masanori Fukushima all stood in front of me with tension.

"Let's get started!" Hideyoshi and I exchanged glances, and then each gave orders to our troops. The former commanders of both sides drew their sabers, and the troops began to advance.

I now find that it is really a good idea to let the two sides of the centaur attack at the same time, the competitive psychology of human beings is the strongest, and they are often unconsciously stimulated, I don't have a very intuitive understanding of what the original combat effectiveness of the "monkey" army was, but my people's combat effectiveness and momentum are unprecedentedly stimulated! Braving a rain of arrows, the attacking forces quickly approached the north gate of the main castle of Honganji without much damage.

"This time it's done!" The "monkey" jumped up with excitement, waving his hands in the air. "The morale of the monks of the Sect has been lost, this time see who can stop it! Shibata Katsuie, Sakuma Nobumori, and Sasa Narumasa, all hide to the side and cry! ”

"It's hard to say that! After all, war is variable...... "Although I said this, I was actually more excited than him in my heart, and I tried to restrain myself to appear calmer, and at the same time I was secretly glad in my heart: fortunately, I didn't give him the first strike of the general attack!

"How is this still changing?" He pointed to the troops who had already begun to climb the city and shouted arrogantly. "These monks are not as good as a group of peasants who have lost their land, it seems that we can have ......lunch in the city," he did not continue, as a roar interrupted his continued performance.

"Boom, boom, boom......" In the loud noise and smoke of gunpowder, a large number of people in the front row of the attacking troops fell. In the brief interval after the loud bang, a miserable wail instantly filled the entire battlefield.

It's an iron cannon! There are thousands of them! In the face of such powerful firepower, the human body inevitably seems too fragile. For those who have been on the battlefield for a long time, it's not hard to guess what will happen next! The eyes of "Monkey" and I were red, and the same action we did was to snatch the tin horn-shaped shouting microphone from the hands of the attendants behind us.

"Rush forward! Hurry up! The "monkey" roared madly.

"Get down! Climb back! I shouted hoarsely.

"Gift...... Repay the Lord! At this time, a general under Hideyoshi Hashiba ran over with a pale face.

"What's the matter?!" At this moment, Yushiba Hideyoshi naturally didn't have a good face for him.

"Mori's reinforcements entered Honganji Castle through the Nishisuimon Gate......"

"What did you say?!" Before he could finish speaking, he was grabbed by the neck by Hideyoshi Hashiba. "Where's the Kumano Water Army?! Where's the Nine Ghost Family?! What are you doing?! ”

"Nojima's naval army is on fire at the mouth of Kizu...... Attacking our army by fire, His Royal Highness the Nine Ghosts lost more than half of his life, and he has already ...... Retreat! The general stammered, "There are thousands of people who have entered the city with reinforcements, and they have ...... Carrying a large number of firearms...... Yes! Before he could finish speaking, he was kicked over by the "monkey".

"Why didn't you report it earlier!!" The "monkey's" face turned even redder.