Mayuki Hosokawa has already gone to Kinai. According to the speed of the ship, it was possible to reach Kishiwada Castle that night, and the mouth of the Niyodo River in the next day. The waterway is more than 90 kilometers long, and it is admirable that he was able to make such a decision. Perhaps, this is the resentment gathered by a long-term puppet career of more than ten years in the past few years? Tokugawa Ieyasu, Ashikaga Yoshiteru, and Saito Ryuko are not alone.

I stood on the monomi platform in the castle tower and looked in the direction of the northeast. It was the Naruto Strait, the island of Awaji, and it was the direction in which the Miyoshi army would attack soon after.

There was a sound of footsteps coming behind him, and the rhythm was very familiar, and it was Xiujing.

"Brother, all the wealthy families have submitted love letters, swearing allegiance to His Highness Hosokawa Shinyuki." He said behind me.

"There's no reluctance, is it?" I asked.

"After His Highness Shinohara, I and Shinohara, raised this matter, and all the wealthy clans present quickly agreed."

"Yes. After all, it's a matter of course! I nodded unsurprisingly.

It's all on the thief ship, and it's not so easy to get back to shore after driving so far. Moreover, this ship, called the "Awashita Yagatata", was not a thief ship, but a glittering official ship with a great reputation, and there was also a rich reward for it, so they might be happy to do so.

Asking for a love letter is just to be more secure, so that they have no room to turn back.

"Brother......" Xiujing wanted to speak and stopped.

"Anything else? Are you worried that you won't be able to stop the counterattack of the Miyoshi family? I asked.

"It's something that has nothing to do with the war......" Xiujing said.

I turned around and saw Xiujing's rare expression of embarrassment.

"You and I have been together for more than ten years, and there is nothing that cannot be said."

Saying this, thinking of more than ten years of ups and downs, I can't help but feel a wave of warm affection in my heart.

"Yes, no matter what my brother decides, I will always follow in my brother's footsteps," Xiujing nodded solemnly, "It's just that I ask my brother to tell me about the direction of my family's development...... Will it come out of the Oda family? ”

"Why do you think that?" I asked curiously.

"Because my brother took Shengrui City with great effort, and would rather be attacked by more than 20,000 troops than give up this city......"

"Of course! With such a famous city, who would give up easily? ”

"But what does my brother do with such a famous city that has been in the four countries for more than 200 years?" Xiujing looked at me seriously, "Is it as a living city?" However, my brother already has a majestic fortified castle like Mie Castle, and now he still wants to occupy Katsurui Castle......"

"You're saying that the main hall will suspect me because of this, thinking that I want to leave the Oda family?" When I heard Xiujing mention it, I suddenly felt a little inappropriate.

Perhaps, Nobunaga really had doubts.

As Xiujing said, a fortified castle like Shengrui Castle has always been used as a residential castle, and it is not something that can be taken for oneself casually, especially when I already have a triple castle. In other words, it was a pledge of loyalty to have Mie Castle, which was within the territory of the Oda family, as my residence, and to leave behind Naina Marumo, his son-in-law Keijiro, and almost all of his family. If I were to occupy another famous castle without Nobunaga's consent, it might be considered the first step by Nobunaga.

Nobunaga would not have taken such a risk. The year before last, Nobunaga occupied the world-famous mountain castle of Kannonji Castle, and he preferred to tear it down rather than hand it over to the deeply trusted Shibata Katsuie, but let him use Nagakoji Castle, a few kilometers away, as his main location, probably for this reason...... "Yes." In fact, before the last time I sent troops, His Royal Highness Chongzhi mentioned it to me. Xiujing said.

"Re-governance? What did he say? I hurriedly asked.

His Royal Highness said that the elder brother seems to be deliberately distancing himself from the lord recently. However, the purpose of sending troops to Tosa is to help Shirozo's brother restore the territory, which involves his mother's wishes and the issue of his brother's old domain, so it is inconvenient for His Highness Shigeji to dissuade him. Moreover, His Royal Highness Chongzhi also said that he believed that the lord could grasp the proportions. Xiujing relayed Shigeharu Takenaka's words.

"It's really worthy of a heavy treatment!" I sighed.

In recent months, I have indeed deliberately distanced myself from Nobunaga, because I don't want to get involved in the great troubles of the Tsuyoshu sect and the brutal killings that followed. However, I didn't realize that this could give people the misconception that I was trying to break away from the Oda family of Oda Nobunaga.

After all, who would have known what would be followed by such a brutal massacre of tens of thousands of civilians? Who can understand my reluctance to kill?

As the so-called authorities are confused, bystanders are clear!

It was a very fortunate thing to be able to gain the allegiance and trust of Shigeharu Takenaka.

Then, you can't want this Shengrui City. It's a pity, but Katsurui Castle is a hot potato in my hands, and it will only make me lose Nobunaga's trust. Anyway, based on this merit, I will definitely have a reward, and after handing over Katsurui Castle, Nobunaga will also compensate me...... I hurriedly ordered: "Xiujing, you immediately send the fastest ship to catch up with His Highness Hosokawa Shinyuki's team, ask him to ask the lord to obtain Katsurui Castle, and tell the lord that I have promised him that after blocking the Miyoshi family, I am willing to return this city to his Awa Hosokawa family completely." ”

"I understand," Xiujing nodded with satisfaction, "In this way, not only can I remove the suspicion of my brother from the main family, but I can also marry His Highness Hosokawa Shinyuki!" ”

……，…… According to the information of the previous two days, Nobunaga is still on the alluvial sand island at the mouth of the Yodo River at this moment.

That area, known as Namba Tsu in ancient times, has many large and small islands, known as the "Namba Hachishima Island", and the islands are separated by rapids, which is very inconvenient to move. In early September, Nobunaga attacked the cities of Noda and Fukushima by seizing the opposite shore and then firing through the rapids with a large number of iron cannons. Not only that, but he also destroyed the embankment by the sea, turning the tidal flat into a swampy area covered with water, thus trapping the Miyoshi family and preventing them from escaping.

But after more than ten days of siege, Nobunaga found that he had no time. On the Miyoshi side, it is said that 20,000 reinforcements from Awa and Sanki have captured Koshisui Castle and are rushing to this side; Behind his back, the forces of the Honganji side have been assembled and they have begun to attack the Moriguchi area, which is the way out for the Oda family. Moriguchi has the 5,000 troops arranged by Nobunaga, and he is not afraid that he will not be able to support it, but if he is trapped and killed by Honganji Temple on the periphery, it will be extremely disadvantageous.

As a last resort, Nobunaga gave up his attack on the two castles of Noda and Fukushima, preparing to defeat the Honganji army first and seize the way out of Moriguchi. However, when he led his army to Moriguchi, the 5,000 people who had been arranged had already defected en masse and assisted the Honganji Temple in blocking the exit passage. Moreover, Honganji has already attacked this side, seizing the nearby highlands and castles.

Therefore, when Nobunaga traveled to the middle of Fukushima Castle and Moriguchi, he ran into Honganji, which had occupied the position first. Honganji Xianru personally put on armor and went out into battle, and the people from the Neraiji Temple cooperated to once again rebel against the remaining 10,000 Neriji people in Nobunaga's army, after all, Nobunaga was only an employer, and he couldn't catch up with the authority of the seat lord and the temple master...... In addition, the Saga people who returned to Kii also joined the Honganji side, and together with the Nerai, they mobilized nearly 3,000 iron gunners and fired at each other in the mire with Odakata.

Among the two parties, Nobunaga's combat power is stronger, but Honganji occupies a favorable location, and no one can help anyone, and gradually enters a state of confrontation. By now, it had been a standoff for several days, and Nobunaga's forces were still strong, and there was still plenty of food and grass, but the strategic aspect was gradually falling into a disadvantageous situation. On the side of Noda and Fukushima, reinforcements from the Miyoshi family had come up and surrounded Nobunaga from behind; In addition, Asakura-Asai also sent troops in mid-September, and on the 20th of the day, they captured Mori Kasei, Oda Shinji, and Aochi Shigezuna, and sent some troops to Kyoto. Fortunately, the important ministers of the Mori family, Motomasa Motomu and Kanetomo Muto, still supported Usayama Castle, and Shibata Katsuie, Akechi Mitsuhide, and Murai Sadakatsu also sent reinforcements to garrison Ashikaga Yoshiaki in Nijo Castle.

History took a turn here, and Wakasa Country added three more people: Ashikaga Yoshishu, Takeda Nobutaka, and Niwa Nagahide. Takeda Nobutaka and Niwa Nagahide were originally ordered to assist Mori Kosei in attacking Takashima County, but they didn't expect that 30,000 troops would pour out all of a sudden, so they had to guard their own place first. When the coalition army was dragged to Usayama Castle and the territory was empty, they gathered more than 4,000 troops and attacked Takashima County, the western part of Asai County, and Ika County of the Asai family, and even pulled Ashikaga Yoshishu.

There are only three counties left in the Asai family, how can the collar still be able to resist tossing? Even if he wanted to insist, the wealthy families in the military would not do it. In desperation, Asai Nagamasa had no choice but to return with 5,000 people from his family to defend his own one-acre three-point life-saving land.

Without the strength of the Asai army, which was the strongest, the Asakura army, which had become a fish belly and divided its troops into Kyoto, struggled for several days, but still could not break through Usayama Castle.

This was the situation when Shinyuki Hosokawa rushed to Oda Nobunaga. On the Settsu side, nearly 40,000 Nobunaga's main forces were surrounded by Miyoshi and Honganji in front and behind; On the Yamashiro Province, the Asakura army of about 15,000 men prepared to attack Nijo Castle, but the castle was already well defended; On the Omi side, 5,000 Asai troops pursued more than 4,000 men of Ashikaga Yoshishu, Takeda Nobutaka, and Niwa Nagahide, and 10,000 Asakura troops besieged nearly 1,000 defenders of Usayama Castle.

When Hosokawa Shinyuki appeared in Settsu, announced his attachment to the shogunate and Nobunaga, and announced that I had captured Katsurui Castle and subdued the wealthy clans of Itano, Meito, and Nasai, the Miyoshi family was immediately chaotic, and their morale was severely damaged. Even the victories of Rui City have been captured, so which city in Apo can stop the attack? With such military power, coupled with the name of Hosokawa Shinyuki, it will not be difficult to seize the whole of Awa. Whether it is the three good people of the Jinai faction, or the three good people of the Shikoku faction, and the Shinohara Nagabo, they can't take this kind of risk, especially the small and medium-sized wealthy families from Shikoku, and they are not calm.

If Kinai is related to the development of the Miyoshi family, Awa Province is related to the survival of the Miyoshi family. The war in Kinai has not yet seen a result, but the Awa country is already in danger. At this time, returning to the army Apo and keeping the root first has become a wise choice for everyone in the Miyoshi family.

On October 2, after a day of military deliberations and preparations, the Miyoshi family abandoned the two castles of Noda and Fukushima, which had been held for a long time, and returned to Awa Province with their entire army. Affected by this, the thousands of Japanese troops that Miyoshi had gathered in Settsu immediately dispersed, leaving only 20,000 people in the two countries of Awa and Sanki.

At the same time, the 1,000 sailors who had sent Hosokawa Shinyuki to Kinai in advance had already rushed back to Awa Province. Not only that, but even the 1,000 water troops guarding Izumi came over, and the leader of the team was the temporary castle generation Futami Mitsunari.

"The battle here is the key! As long as this side wins, even if Izumi is occupied, he can get it back quickly. Mitsunari Futami, who came to Katsurui Castle to see him, explained.

His words were indeed reasonable, and this time the impromptu handling was very appropriate. With the addition of his men, my navy has returned to the size of 3,000 people, and the hope of victory is one point greater.

"Who is guarding Kishiwada Castle now?" I asked.

"It's His Royal Highness Tomomasa Terada, the father of the two Terada Families and Matsuura Sokiyo." Mitsunari replied.

"Last time, Saga people went to Settsu Province by way, and there was no fighting, right?"

"Yes. The Saga people bypassed the castle and sent men to make a non-aggression pact. ”

I nodded, and it seemed that the Zaga people still took into account the friendship between the two parties. Since this is the case, then there is no need to worry about the garrison of Kishiwada Castle.

"Guangcheng, report this news to the Hequan people, so that they can rest assured."

"Yes." The second saw Guangcheng respectfully accept the order and left.

Next, I began to arrange the matter of blocking the Miyoshi army and defending Shengrui City.

The battlefield of the first battle was the Akashi Strait, located between the northern tip of Awaji Island and Settsu Province, with Harima Beach to the west and Osaka Bay to the east, with a general width of about four kilometers. At this end of Awaji Island is Iwaya Port, and there is a small Iwaya Castle on the shore, which has been swept by our side two or three times, and there are no hostile forces left nearby.

In the early morning of October 2, our 3,000 sailors and 1,500 preparations set out from Awa Province Raising Castle and rushed to the predetermined battlefield in the Akashi Strait.

Since there was a waterway of more than 70 kilometers between the battlefield and the departure point, I accepted Iwamatsu Jingding's suggestion and still arranged for the naval army to set off in two groups. The Reserve and Iron Artillery Corps arrived at the battlefield first by quickly closing the ships, and were responsible for clearing and collecting the ships on the opposite shore, and then regrouped into a formal battle formation after the arrival of the Ataka ships later.

After that, Iwamatsu will decide on them. I want to arrange the defense of Shengrui City, I can't rush to the battlefield in person, and it is impossible to remotely control it from more than 70 kilometers of waterways, and this key blocking battle can only be commanded by Iwamatsu Jingding and Futami Mitsunari.

Two days later, Iwamatsu Jingding sent a team of 500 people to escort the Monomi Bantou with the news in advance.

These 500 sailors are enough to deal with most of the threats from the remaining sailors on Awaji Island, and ensure that the news arrives smoothly.

"You say, the Miyoshi family army gave up crossing the sea?" I asked uncertainly.

"Yes. In order to prevent our sneak attack, they abandoned Maiko Port and Tarumui Port and retreated in the direction of Koshisui Castle. Momimi replied.

"How do you do that?" I'm interested to ask.

"That's right. After the two armies met, Lord Iwamatsu and Lord Futami consulted, and felt that the lord's original intention was to prevent the Miyoshi family from returning to help, and the second was to kill and injure the Miyoshi family......"

I was noncommittal, just nodded and said, "You go on." ”

"Yes...... So the two adjusted the strategy of the navy and continued to focus on sabotaging ships and attacking ports. For a while, the Miyoshi side couldn't find any suitable ships at all, and the troops guarding Maiko Port and Tarumui Port were also frequently attacked from the sea, and the garrison was extremely hard. Therefore, it seems that the Miyoshi family has given up on the effort to cross the sea. ”

"So, as long as I'm willing, the Miyoshi family won't be able to come back recently?"

"Yes. That's what Iwamatsu-sama promised......" he replied.

I laughed. Really, why prepare to defend the city? Why prepare to stop it at sea? Just stop them and don't let them come. Crossing the sea is no better than anything else, without ships, they are simply at a loss. And if you want to break through the next blockade, you need enough ships, if you can only transport one or two thousand people at a time, it's just to send the battle results to my navy.

This is the so-called asymmetric force in modern times, and it can play a role in determining the surname at critical moments. For example, now, due to the problem of supply and morale, it is impossible for the 20,000 troops of the three good sides to hold out for long. In the meantime, due to our attacks, they probably won't be able to gather enough ships, let alone return to the Awa Kingdom and capture Katsurui Castle.

I should have thought of this a long time ago!

Fortunately, both of them knew how to improvise and didn't stick to my blocking orders...... After I had laughed, I continued respectfully: "Lord Iwamatsu ordered me to ask the lord for instructions, how long do I need to continue to hold on?" ”

I thought about it for a moment and instructed him, "You first lead some of the supplies back, order Iwamatsu to continue to hold on, and then come back and wait for the order...... You tell him that within a few days, there will be a result. ”

"Yes." The thing saw that the head of the fan took the order and left.

"Brother, what a gratifying congratulations!" Xiujing said with a smile, "Since Shengrui City is safe, can we take advantage of the emptiness in the country and continue to pacify other places?" ”

"No need, just defend Shengrui City. Anyway, it's useless to take the city. I said.

"Why is that?" Xiujing asked strangely.

"The Miyoshi family, I should be able to ask for peace with the main hall!"

"This ......" Xiujing thought for a while, nodded in agreement, "Indeed, the Miyoshi family can't advance or retreat, and there is only this way...... But will the main hall agree? ”

"This time and that time!" I organized the information from all sides and carefully analyzed it to him, "The main hall also needs to leave the Settsu battlefield and rush to deal with the Asakura-Asai coalition army in Omi, so I will definitely agree to the peace agreement of the Miyoshi family, and then leave Settsu from the north and lead my troops to Usayama Castle to relieve the siege." ”

"In this way, the issue of the division of the Awa country will depend on the outcome of the negotiations." Xiujing understood.

"yes. It depends on how the main hall is arranged. Anyway, Katsurui Castle won't be handed over to me, probably according to my previous promise, and handed over to Hosokawa Shinyuki...... However, Apo's territory is probably indispensable to me. The main hall still needs me to watch the Miyoshi family. ”

(To be continued)