Tozaki Castle Council Hall.

The eighty-three-year-old old castle lord Hiraga Owari Morihiro looked at Mori Takakei, who was a few years younger than his grandson, and sat on the top with a sad face, he sat on one side, he was upright and outstanding as a military general, and enjoyed the reputation of "Oni Hiraga" in Aki country, and fought against Ouchi Yoshixing and Yoshitaka father and son alone, although he ultimately failed, but with the help of Mori Moto, he had a grateful mentality.

Driven by the consciousness that samurai should know how to repay their kindness, Hiraga Hiroho persuaded everyone in the family who wanted to remain neutral, including his grandson, Hiraga Hirosami, the current head of the Hiraga family, as if he was being pressed by the neck and pushed to the floor, one by one, he was persuaded by Hiraga Hiroho to agree to form an alliance with the Mori family and advance and retreat together.

Maori Takashi is known as "Xiao Yuan" outside, which is people's flattery, although his wisdom is no less than anyone's, but now he is just a twenty-one-year-old young man, not enough experience to match, can not be happy and angry in the face of trouble.

A cultivated person should be moody and invisible, and his heart should not be known. Mori Takakei has been haunted since the departure of Kumagai Takanao and Nomi Munekatsu, and it is unknown what the outcome of the battle between the two is, since the fiasco a few months ago left a shadow on Miyazawa Heihachi in his heart, preventing him from doing things with normal sanity.

Seeing the appearance of everyone present to protect themselves, Hiraga Hiroho was angry, and since everyone came to Tozaki Castle, they had to be ready to form an alliance with the Maori family to advance and retreat together, and they all shrank in their positions and remained silent when it came to the end.

Hiraga Hongho leaned slightly sideways and said, "Matashiro, you have all learned the methods of Miyazawa Heihachi a few months ago. He's a fierce and brutal man. Once he is released into An Yi Country. I'm afraid there will be a few more Jingguan. Miyazawa Heihachi is so cruel, his master is afraid that he is not a good person, the rolling head of the front, the preparation, the back, and the beauty of the work, the lesson of the past, and the teacher of the future. ”

Hiraga Hiroho's qualifications are there, and calling Mori Takakei Yoshiro not only does not cause disgust, but is a little closer, although his words are said to Mori Takakei. Every sentence is said to everyone, and what is said is not only heartfelt, but also secretly sharp.

After hearing this, many of the leaders of the countrymen of Aki Province remembered the bloodstained Kyoto Temple outside Yoshida-gun's mountain castle, as if it was still in front of them, and they all trembled for a while, and they all echoed: "What Owari Mamoru said is that Miyazawa Heihachi Butcher, Date Masahiro's heart is not necessarily good. I thought it was too simple before, thanks to the reminder of the adults. Otherwise, it will really be kept in the dark until death, and when it comes today, it will be a battle to the death with the Date family, and I will ask Maori to show it. ”

Mori Takakei glanced at Hiroho Hiraga gratefully.

This eighty-year-old man seems to be old, but his words and deeds are much tougher than those young people, and although his words are addressed to the people of the country, they are also a reminder to him that others can surrender, but he can never surrender.

Maori Longjing looked at everyone and said in a deep voice: "The butcher Miyazawa Heihachi has done a lot of evil things, and it is difficult to write about it, once he is released into An Yi Country, the consequences are unimaginable. Moreover, Ouchi Yoshinaga has also begun to mobilize troops and horses, and once the military rations are mobilized, they can set off for it. When the time comes, Ouchi Yoshicho's troops will arrive, and Miyazawa Heihachi will not be able to capture it, and Date Masahiro will not come, once he can prepare for China, he will never be able to return to China. ”

Mori Takakei thought of the plan he had set up with Yoshinaga Ouchi and Takeshi Murakami at the Yamaguchikan that day, and his heart was on fire, although he did not say exactly how to prevent Date Masaki from returning to Bizen China, but he also said that everyone was happy. Only Hiraga Hongbao saw a clue, but he didn't say it explicitly, but secretly re-evaluated Maori Takakei.

At this time, Shido Hiroliang's grandson, Shido Motoho, ran in with a happy face. He was originally qualified to participate in the evaluation meeting, but he obviously paid more attention to the movements of Sakurayama Castle, and understood that the victory or defeat of Sakurayama Castle would determine the next move of the Maori family, and it would also determine the time of Ouchi Yoshinaga's army, obviously his expression betrayed him, Sakurayama Castle was victorious, at least on the surface, Sakurayama Castle was victorious. Shido Motohoichi stepped into the door of the council hall and shouted, "Mori Chukao, Sakurayama Castle urgent!" ”

Mori Takakei, who was already worried about Kumagai Takanao and Nomi Munekatsu, immediately raised his head when he heard Sakurayama Castle's urgent report, and hurriedly said, "Don't report it yet!" Seeing Zhidao Yuanbao's expression, he couldn't help but show a hint of joy on his face.

Maori Longjing wanted to see the urgent report, and the leaders of the people of the country could not delay, and several people who were familiar with each other directly asked Shidao Motoho about the content of the emergency report, and Shido Motoho knew the priority and kept silent, so he had to wait for Maori Longjing to speak.

After reading the urgent report, Mori Takakei first handed it to Hiraga Hiroho to show respect, and when he saw that Hiraga Hiroho had finished reading it, he said to everyone: "Sakurayama Castle is in a hurry, Kumagai Takanao and Nomi Sokatsu are ordered to bypass the bay overnight and ascend to Mihara, and Sakurayama Castle Lord Ikuguchi Takashi Kaijo is now stabilizing Sakurayama Castle." Takayama Castle Miyazawa Heihachi ordered the general Iwane Kanbei to lead 500 people to attack Sakurayama Castle, Kumagai Takanao took the initiative to attack, and the bloody battle lasted for an hour, and the Iwagen Kanbei was defeated and retreated, with a total of more than 120 beheadings in this battle, and 57 casualties of his own. ”

He did not doubt the authenticity of the good news that Kumagai Takanao and Nomi Munetsu Guò Takatsu Guò Hori Naomasa had brought back, and that only this kind of beheading and seizure was the most effective achievement compared to the usual boastful boasting. Whether Takayama Castle divided its forces to attack Sakurayama Castle is not entirely scrutinized, as long as the number of Takayama Castle's defenders can be ascertained. What's more, this kind of inspiring victory, Miyazawa Heihachi will only reverse black and white if he is full.

Mori Takakei was completely convinced in his heart that he had won, as long as anyone who knew a little about the terrain of Aki Country would be able to know it. There are only three ways to enter Aki Province from Bigo Province.

The first is to open up the four northern counties first, and drive straight along the Geibi Street, which is also the ancient street where Yoshitaka Ouchi and Niko Haruhisa fought against each other. Although Izumo Province is now in chaos, there are still forces behind the attack of two or three thousand troops sent by Niko Haruha to attack this street, and the return of the Butto Takashi family is precisely to prevent the Date army from attacking Yoshida-gun Yamashiro from the town of Gebi to disrupt the Maori army.

The second is the Koyamayo Road, Takayama Castle is located near the Kozanyo Road, and if Takayama Castle cannot be breached, it will not be able to cut off the route of the Date army, but once Takayama Castle is breached, the Maori army will also face the tens of thousands of troops of the Date army, defend against the tired Date army, and then rely on the city defense of Tozaki Castle to hold on, further depleting the body and morale of the Date army. When the body and morale of the Date army were reduced to a certain level, Ouchi Yoshinaga, who was both civil and military, suddenly arrived with reinforcements and joined forces with the Maori army in the city, which was the only option in the traditional way of warfare without the support of the navy.

Mori Takakei obviously didn't believe that he could withstand the attack of the Date army with Touzaki Castle, even if it was Yoshida-gun's mountain castle, it was difficult to defend, and he was unwilling to use this method of killing a thousand enemies and losing eight hundred, and finally giving the results to Ouchi Yoshinaga in vain.

The third road that is not a road becomes the only key that can turn the situation around Mori Takkei, and once Sakurayama Castle in Taniguchi is captured, whether Date Masashiro is willing to reinforce Miyazawa Heihachi within the range of the attack of the water army, he has to send troops to attack Sakurayama Castle, and once Date Masaki arrives with troops, it will be the time for Murakami's water army to exert its might.

The key to one qiē was that Kumagai Takanao and Nomi Munekatsu were able to achieve victory over Sakurayama Castle, and it was clear that the two had not only fulfilled the high hopes of Mori Takakei, but also achieved an additional victory, defeating Miyazawa Heihachi's reinforcements. The name of Iwagen Kanbei has been famous since the last battle of the Numata River, and he is a famous member of Miyazawa Heihachi.

Seeing that Mori Takakei grinned happily, Hiraga Hongho reminded: "Matashiro, what should I do next, please tell everyone, and verify the information of Sakurayama Castle, and then send it to Yamaguchikan, and ask Ouchi Yoshinaga to send troops as much as possible." ”

Maori Takashi hurriedly responded: "Yes, yes, if you have obtained Sakurayama Castle, then you must defend him." Shido Uenosuke, you lead three hundred people to Takayama Castle to test the movement in the castle, and you must not be reckless, check whether the situation in Takayama Castle is consistent with the report of Sakurayama Castle, and once it is verified, it has been reported. ”

Zhidao Motobao responded: "Yes! "Bow down and salute, and go out to gather the soldiers and horses.

In Takayama Castle, whether Miyazawa Heihachi is really full or not, he doesn't think so anyway. Before dawn, he received a report from the Iwagen Kanbei that most of the Maori army that attacked Sakurayama Castle had been annihilated by him, and that Naomi Munekatsu, who had fled to the sea, had his head cut off by Horitachi Naomasa and made a name for himself, and less than 20 remnants of the enemy in Sakurayama Castle were still resisting stubbornly, and they would soon be wiped out.

Knowing Iwane's return, Miyazawa Hei's eyes rolled, and he thought of such an immoral idea of having a son without an asshole. Reversing black and white, Naomasa Horitachi passed on the false news of Sakurayama Castle's success to Mori Takakei, and of course he also told Iwane Kanbei about the situation and asked him to cooperate with his actions.

Shido Motoho, who came to the trial, was very satisfied with the "true" situation of Takayama Castle, but he was obviously quite concerned about the death of his grandfather Shido Hirora, and wanted to further confirm Takayama Castle's ability to defend it.

After Shido Hiroshi died of illness in Mori Moto, he left an oath to his grandson Shimichi to remain loyal to the Mori family, and then committed suicide by seppuku and followed Mori Moto. (To be continued......)