"Three ghosts, do you know the name of the head of the Horiuchi family?"

"Back to the main hall, it's His Royal Highness Horiuchi Tiger." The Three Ghosts replied. Immediately afterwards, he suddenly knelt on the deck: "Your Majesty has actually hidden some things, please forgive the hall and the lord!" ”

"What's going on!" Yan Song asked.

"Your Majesty...... The villain is not actually a samurai! It is said that the people of the Three Ghost Family are impersonating...... The villain is just a waterman of the Three Ghost Family! The Three Ghost Water Army has been wiped out by the Horiuchi family! ”

It turned out to be just that. Seeing him so serious, I thought something was going on!

"Get up! That's okay. In my Kira family, as long as you make a meritorious service, you can be promoted to a samurai...... You are now a samurai of the Kira family. ”

"Huh?" The three ghosts looked at me in surprise. Perhaps in his opinion, the difference between the status of the samurai and the peasant was insurmountable.

"Really, it scared my mind! Bastard! Yan Song Jingding scolded with a smile and pulled him up, "Okay! Answer the words of the main hall well! ”

"Yes!" The three ghosts Dinglong was excited, and his body stood straight.

I continued to ask him, and I was surprised to find that Horiuchi Tiger was such a fierce man. This simply gives me an illusion, isn't it because the generals with the word "tiger" are very strong? In the front, there was Takeda Shintora who unified Kai, Nagao Keitora who dominated Echigo, and behind there was 320,000 stone daimyo Fujido Takator...... Well, and my quasi-side chamber Ii Naoto.

Kumano Sea, also known as Kumano Prefecture, is actually Muro-gun. However, the area of this prefecture was more than half of Kii Province, and when the feudal domain was abolished, the whole county was divided into four, and the East and West Mulo Counties remained in Wakayama Prefecture in Kii Province, and the South and North Murao Prefectures were included in Mie Prefecture in Ise Province. The county is mainly mountainous, and it is rich in fine timber suitable for shipbuilding, so it is also rich in pirates. The Ataku family, which currently occupies Awaji Island, also originated from here, and because of their contribution to assisting the shogunate in resisting the Southern Dynasty Horinouchi Naval Army, they were awarded the "Pirate Retreat" by Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, and gradually occupied Awaji Island, which was also rich in pirates, and took control of the Kii Waterway.

However, in the Kumano region, the Horiuchi family is still the largest water army. The Horiuchi family has held priesthood in Kumano Taisha for generations, and their influence in this area is much greater than that of the Ataka family. So later, the Ataka family simply abandoned the Kumano area and focused on Awaji Province. Only one vein was left, called the Zhou Jian clan, which served as a wing of the Ataku Water Army.

Now that the Zhou Kan clan navy has long since declined, only the Horiuchi clan navy is left in the entire Kumano. The current head of the family, Horiuchi Tiger, is a rare military commander in the Kumano region. So far, he has subdued the seven families of Shinya, Shiba, Miyazaki, Takimoto, Yakura, Nakazaki, and Hishishima (the Nine Ghost family who left Shima was originally one of the Kumano Hachishoji), and assumed the position of Kumano Bedang, ruling the Kumano Three Mountains. In addition, the Mikiura family of the Three Ghosts was already in danger under his blow, and the Kimoto Ura Arima family inherited the family business as an adopted son, and it was his second son Shinzaburo, so it can be said that he had basically unified the Kumano region and built the largest power in Minamikii.

Of course, the "biggest" of this Kumano area is really nothing. The Horiuchi family's skill is in Tazuruhara along the Kumano River, and the stone height is about 27,000 koku, and after invading the Three Oni family and annexing the Arima family, it can reach 60,000 koku; In addition, because he served as Kumano Besto, he also acted as the leader of about 90,000 stones. However, the vast majority of Mulou County is mountainous, and the land is fragmented, making it very troublesome to gather troops. Moreover, the population in the territory is not large, and the total number of the entire Horiuchi Navy is less than 1,000 people.

As for Horiuchi's Tiger's ability, there is no need to overestimate it. Taking the Arima family as an example, they all ended up like this because of their own sins.

At the beginning, the Kimoto Ura Arima family was also one of the strong men of the Kumano Water Army, but there was a serious civil strife due to the issue of succession. The process of civil strife was extremely old-fashioned, but also extremely effective: the previous head of the family, Arima Tadashi, had no children, so he handed over the position of head of the family to his nephew Arima Tadaji, but he did not expect to give birth to his own son Sun Saburo after living in seclusion, so he ordered Tadayoshi to commit suicide and let his son succeed him; At this time, the rest of the clan was dissatisfied, and they united to kill the loyal relatives, but they still helped the loyal relatives' own son Sun Sanlang to the position of the head of the family, tossing in vain, and consuming a lot of their own vitality (what a pain!). ）； So the Horiuchi family took advantage of the situation and gave Arima Sun Saburo Tadanaga an adopted son, and peacefully annexed the Arima family...... I believe that with my current strength, I don't have to worry about the Horiuchi Naval Army at all. It's just that if you want to get an ambitious person like Horiuchi Tiger to submit, it is probably not so easy. If he refuses, I really can't do anything about him for the time being, after all, my mission is to attack Kishiwada Castle, and I can't delay too much time on the road. This will not only fail to achieve the goal, but will form resentment, so it is better to simply ignore it and maintain a neutral attitude.

Then, there is only one way to support the three ghosts. If he is allowed to join the Jisan Oni family, he will be able to drive a wedge in the Kumano area and serve as a link between Kii Suido and Ise Bay.

This is not only from a military point of view, but also from an economic point of view. Among the merchants who used to travel from Sakai to Mie Town, there were people who were attacked by the Kumano Naval Army, and some even lost their surnames. Now that I have the opportunity to improve the situation, I certainly have something to do.

With such a preliminary plan, I asked the three ghosts to settle the thong, "Is there any good port in Mikipo, the three ghosts?" ”

"Yes. The Owase Port in Shimoowi Eagle Bay in the Three Ghost Towns is a good port, and there is a large flat beach in the bay...... It's just that I'm afraid that I won't be able to stop so many warships, and I may have to occupy the port of Oyama's house. ”

"Little Mountain House?"

"Yes. It is about one mile away from the Three Ghost Towns (called Benli, about four kilometers), and there is also a naval army of two or three hundred people......"

I shook my head, it really deserves to be Kumano Sea, and every family has pirates. However, in front of my navy, these small groups of pirates are nothing more than floating clouds.

"Agreed, are you able to master this route now?" I asked.

"Don't worry, there is no problem." Iwamatsu Jingding replied with confidence.

"So, let's go to Owase Harbor first." I made a decision.

……，…… Owase Bay is almost halfway to Kumano Nada, about 70 kilometers from Oosaki in Shima Province. Because of the currents, when I arrived at this place, it was already the evening of the second day after leaving the Nine Ghosts' house. At the entrance of the bay, I held the Nanban clairvoyant mirror to observe the shore, but I was surprised to find two groups of people fighting on the beach outside the city. There are more than 100 people on the side of the city inside, and the Qiyao Banner with the same as the Nine Ghost Family on their backs must be the military strength of the Three Ghosts.

"Whose family is Erbawen?" I asked.

"It's the little mountain family!" The three ghosts replied quickly.

"Oh, then give the Three Ghost Family a gift! …… It was decided that the iron artillery team was ordered to take action and prepare to attack the Erba Wen Banner Army! ”

"Yes." Iwamatsu was ordained. He waved his hand to summon his attendants and ordered him to blow the conch to convey the military order.

With the sound of the conch, the two front crows of the giant cancer array immediately stretched out, forming two symmetrical diagonal lines towards the shore.

However, strangely, hearing the sound of conchs, another army suddenly appeared in the eastern direction of the Three Ghost Cities, numbering about two hundred people. The movements of this army were very agile, and they rushed towards the Three Ghost Cities like a group of mountain monkeys.

"It seems to be an ambush soldier of the Xiaoshan family!" Yan Songjingding, who was also holding the Nanban clairvoyant mirror, quickly understood.

"Not bad...... These three ghost city lords are really careless. According to this trend, it may be captured! Xiujing, who was beside me, said.

"This ambush may have discovered an unknown military situation, so they want to fall into the city as soon as possible." Iwamatsu said.

Indeed, the two warring sides on the shore heard the sound of conch seas, and only then did they discover the movement on the beach in the twilight. They all stopped fighting and separated slightly. Subsequently, the people of the Three Ghost Family discovered the ambush in the east of the city, and immediately hurried to the city to garrison. The Xiaoshan family on the other side soon took action, and under the leadership of the leading general, they pursued behind the army of the three ghost families.

You still haven't refunded? And show us your back? …… Yes, they are probably only thinking about taking the city now, and they don't know how many people we are preparing to attack, and they don't know that all of us are equipped with iron cannons, and they are new iron cannons of Suifa.

"Order the iron artillery team to land directly on the shore and press on the three ghost cities. There is also a standing standing, so let's get ready to go ashore! I ordered.

The order was quickly executed. The 800-strong iron artillery crew landed on the beach in an orderly manner and lined up to force the three ghost towns. The troop transport ship between the Honjin Ataka ship and Shuangao also set off, and Wasuka Masakatsu saluted me and said goodbye, and took the small morning clipper next to the Ataka ship to meet with the standing one.

By this time, the sky was getting dark, and the torches were lit one after another, and they merged into a large area on the sea, which looked very spectacular. But on the side of the three ghost cities on the shore, even with the help of the Nanban clairvoyant mirror, you can't see any movement clearly. There was nothing to worry about, and it was impossible for the Iron Artillery Corps to fail against these poorly equipped mountain people.

As if to verify my claim, there was the roar of two iron cannons on the shore, followed by a few sporadic attacks, and there was no more sound. I know that the Iron Artillery Corps has cleared the battlefield, and the people of the Xiaoshan family have either fallen or fled.

"Let's go ashore too! Three ghosts, you come too. I said to Xiujing and Xiao Xia, and then nodded to Iwamatsu Jingding, "Except for the Ataku boat, the rest of the ships will be temporarily moored on the beach, and it doesn't matter if the tide is low." ”

"Yes." Iwamatsu is in debt.

A few of us also went ashore on a small morning express boat. When they arrived outside the Three Ghost Castle, the iron cannon and standing guard were already lined up outside the city gate.

"Three ghosts, you shout to the city, please tell the city lord." I commanded.

The three ghosts Dinglong took the order. After a while, the city lord Sangui Sanki Shinhachiro appeared at the head of the city.

"Very helpful!" He looked at the three ghosts for a while, and finally recognized it, "Aren't you dead!?" ”

"Villain...... He didn't die, he was exiled to Ise Province, and now he is a samurai of the Kira family! The three ghosts replied with the sword at his waist.

"Is it the Kira family who ruled Ise Bay and defeated the Ataka Water Army?" The third ghost Shinhachiro asked suspiciously.

"Exactly." I stepped forward, "I don't have any ill intentions, I just pass by occasionally, and I want to talk to the city lord." Please don't turn it away! ”

"This ......" The three ghosts Shinhachiro looked at the well-equipped more than 2,000 troops outside the city, obviously hesitating.

"City Lord, what else is there to think about? If the city was to be attacked, the main hall would have been attacked long ago. There are still more than 5,000 troops on the sea! The three ghosts Dinglong persuaded.

In the entire Three Ghost Family, it is estimated that the army that can be summoned is less than three hundred, and the equipment is extremely poor, and the Three Ghost City is only a small city...... Perhaps it was with these factors in mind that the three demons Shinhachiro finally gave in and gave the order to open the city.

Next, I spent half a day dealing with the affairs of the three ghosts and the small mountain family. Sanki Dingtaka became the adopted son of the Sanki family and married the daughter of the Koyama family, and the two families formed an alliance with him to deal with the Horio family in the southwest and Shigoro Kato in Kii Nagashima Castle in the northeast.

In fact, the three ghosts and Xiaoshan are struggling to support each other in the sandwich on both sides, so they are naturally necessary to understand the unity. However, the two families were so close that they both wanted to overpower each other, so they had to decide with their fists. Now that the three ghosts are united, so that the two families can end the senseless fight, it is not a relief for the people.

Before leaving, I took the two protons with me, leaving behind three hundred soldiers, fifty iron cannons, five junior samurai, three ninjas, and one officer. In addition, I promised to build a Vultures Castle in the area between the two families as a new base for the two families. In fact, it was also intended to defend the planned town of Owase Castle and make it a transit point similar to that of Toba.

Then, after crossing the Horio family Shin-Miyagi at the mouth of the Kumano River, we continued on our march for three days, and we crossed the headland on January 11 and reached Tanabe Bay on January 13. By this time, it had been a full ten days since departure.

Shingu and Tanabe were two branches of the Kii Tokugawa domain in the Edo period, and they were also important places for land transportation. The Kumano River under Shin-Miyagi Castle later became the boundary river that divides Higashi Mulou in Wakayama Prefecture and Minami Mulou in Mie Prefecture, and Tanabe is an important place connecting Northern Kii and Southern Kii.

Like Yamato, Kii Province is a standard "kingdom of God" and "Buddha", with Northern Kii being honored by Buddhist forces such as Koyasan, Fenhe-ji Temple, and Neraiji Temple, and Southern Kii being honored by Kumano Taisha Shrine. For example, at the end of the Muromachi period, at its peak, Muromachi had 720,000 koku of temple collars from Kii and Kawachi, more than 2,700 houses, and nearly 20,000 monks. The reason why they are unknown is because in addition to the privilege of guarding and inspecting not entering, as a temple leader, they also have the privilege of "not entering all taxes", which is like the kingdom of reading, and it is difficult for the samurai forces to intervene. And the so-called Genrai people are just the tentacles of Genraiji Temple in the world, and basically only the power of the Suginobo Tsuda family. If the Nerai is a volcano, then Genraiji is the magma underground.

This is also the reason why the Kii country stone is no more than 140,000 koku high, but later the Kishu Tokugawa clan family had a territory of 555,000 koku.

(To be continued)