The main forces of Owari, Mino, Ise, and Minami Omi Shikoku, plus the partial divisions of Takeda Nobutaka, Niwa Nagahide, and Isono Motomasa, Nobunaga's strength reached 65,000.

Mobilizing such a large-scale army, saying that it is just to deal with the Asai family, no one will believe it, right? Although Kotani Castle is one of the five mountain castles of Yumoto alongside Kannonji Castle, Harumayama Castle, and Gassan Tomita Castle, the Asai family only owns two counties after all, and the troops and materials in the city are very limited, so it is not worth putting on such a big battle.

Obviously, Nobunaga wanted to eliminate the Asai and Asakura families together this time.

This point is very clear to the Asakura family, they and the Asai family, is an out-and-out lip and tooth cold relationship, if the Asai family is destroyed, the Oda family can attack Echizen Province without worry, and he Asakura family will directly face Nobunaga's full attack. In order to prevent falling into this unfavorable situation, Asakura Yoshikei mobilized 25,000 men to go to Kita-Omi to rescue the Asai family, and all the 7,000 elite of the Ono clan were dispatched—since the decline of the Tsuruga family, this is the most effective military force of the Asakura family. And the general of the unified army is naturally the Asakura Jingjing of the Great Wild People.

Asakura Jingjing is a famous general of the Asakura clan, and has been confronting Kaga Ichikozong for many years, and he is a person who knows the army very well. He led his army to Kita-Omi, and instead of immediately engaging in battle, he set up a position at Ōdake near Otani Castle and was far away from us. Faced with this situation, Nobunaga improvised and immediately adjusted his deployment. He no longer besieged Otani Castle, but retreated slightly, established a castle at Mt. Toragomae, and put on the appearance of preparing for a long-term confrontation, in order to wear down the patience of the Asakura family, and then choose the opportunity to fight a decisive battle and defeat the main force of the Asakura family in one fell swoop.

Of course, private action is inevitable. Wakasa's Muto Shunhide, who became Nobunaga's direct minister after retreating from Kanegasaki, used to operate in the border areas of Wakasa and Echizen, and went in and out of Echizen Tsuruga many times. He was ordered by Nobunaga to win over the Echizen family and soon pursued Ueda Yoshicho's relationship through Tsuruga Prefecture, and got in touch with Mae-Hayoshitsugu, a retainer of the Asakura family.

The Maeba family is the clan of the Ueda family, and it is the genealogy of the Asakura family, and Yoshitsugu's father Maeba Keida and his brother Maeba Keidang are all in the government affairs of the Ichijo Valley, and worship the partiality of the head of the family. The year before last at Mt. Hiei, Nobunaga had sent Sakai Masasho to lead an army to cut off the back road of the Asakura family, so he fought a battle with the Asakura family, and both sides suffered losses. Our commander, Masasao Sakai, and the commander of the Asakura family, Mae-Ha Kei, were both killed in battle, and Mae-Hayoshi succeeded to the position of elder brother. However, the relationship between Mae-Ha Yoshitsugu and the head of the family, Asakura Yoshikage, was very poor, so the Mae-Ha family gradually lost power in the family, which aggravated Mae-Ha Yoshitsugu's resentment towards the head of the family.

In early August, after being persuaded by Muto Shunhide, Mae-Hayoshi left the Asakura family's position and led a small number of his relatives to join our army with horses and surrender to Nobunaga. Driven by him, Tomita Nagashige, Moya Sosuke, Toda and Jiro soon surrendered to Nobunaga. These few things made Asakura Jingjing very passive for a while, and our momentum increased greatly. Nobu was overjoyed, rewarded the four people who surrendered, and submitted a letter to the Asakura family, asking for a decisive battle. Asakura Jingjing dared to agree, so he could only continue to confront.

This situation is very similar to the siege of Mt. Hiei the year before, and the troops are superior, but the decisive battle cannot be held. Last time, the obstacle was Enryakuji Temple in Mt. Hiei, and this time the obstacle was the Asai family's Kotani Castle.

Maybe I shouldn't have thought that way...... Then, sure enough, it was the same as last time, and the Sect began to act.

In fact, the Sect has already made a move. In May, the forces of Vietnam and China suddenly raised their troops and jointly guarded the Great Wall of Daijin and Shiina Yasuin, and attacked the Uesugi family's Miyagi Castle with 30,000 troops. The Uesugi family's acting official in Echichu was Wada Nagakin, who only had 5,000 people in his hands, and knew that he was not an opponent, so he hurriedly asked for help from the spring mountain castle, so Uesugi Kenshin gathered 10,000 Echigo troops and entered Echichu to support Kawada Nagakin.

Throughout the Warring States Period, the three families that had the most stiff relationship with Ichichi were Oda, Asakura, and Echigo Uesugi (Nagao). The most thorough is of course the Oda family, although the confrontation with the Ichisho sect was relatively late, but the battle between the two sides was extremely cruel, Nobunaga successively killed more than 100,000 believers in Nagashima, Kaga, and Echichu, and many of his own close relatives died at the hands of the Ichijo sect; The second is the Asakura family, which is surrounded by the Kaga country controlled by the Ichijo sect, so it has to be specially divided into an elite army (Onozhong) to guard the border between the two countries for a long time, and the battle of the Kowloon River defeated more than 300,000 Ichijo sect believers; The Uesugi family was a little better than the Asakura family, and they only faced the Echichu Clan, and the matter was caused by Uesugi Kenshin's grandfather, Nagao Nokei, aiding the Noto Hatakeyama family (he himself died in battle), and later it involved the issue of the territory of Etsuchu, which can be understood as a struggle between the general daimyos.

This trip to Echichu is the sixth time for Uesugi Kenshin, and it is this month. In other words, when our side was facing off against the Asakura family, another battle of tens of thousands of people was going on in Vietnam, a hundred kilometers away.

Of course, this war has little to do with the Oda family, and many people on our side don't even care about it, and they are looking forward to a decisive battle with the Asakura family in order to gain credit and knowledge.

However, on the 14th of August, Nagashima also moved. According to information from the Koga Group of Yamaoka Keizume, after the appeal of the Shoshoji Temple's Boguan Shimomama Yori, many believers in the Kisogawa, Nagaragawa, and Ihi River valleys descended the river to Nagashima to converge, and the number of believers gathered on Nagashima reached 100,000, and many believers from the nearby three countries of Owari, Mino, and Ise heeded the call and refused to pay the annual tribute to the priesthood by relying on the local Ichijo temples, and even some people from other clans joined them.

"What is the situation of the two counties of Mie and Chaoming?" I asked.

Yamaoka Jingzong owed: "It's okay." His Highness Takenaka has postponed the collection of the annual tribute in case the people are instigated; The Tiger Lady also blocked the border and focused on monitoring the monasteries of the various clans. ”

"Thank you. Go down and rest. "Listening to his report, I felt a little more relaxed.

At about the same time, Nobunaga also received the news, and he quickly called me and Oda Envelope to the main tent and ordered us to go back and organize the defense.

"Thirty Lang led more than 8,000 troops from the four lower prefectures of Owari and returned to Kanegang Castle to defend Owari; Xuanjing, you take the 5,000 people of the Nagano family and the Seki family, and together with the Sensa family and the Kuki family, they will fortify in North Ise. He commanded.

"Yes." Oda and I received the order.

"In order not to disturb the morale of the army, I will let the two of you go to the south of Otani Castle in the name of moving defense, and then return to the skill," Nobunaga glanced at me, "Xuanjing, there is some restlessness in the territory of the North Hatake family in South Ise, you must stop the Nagashima side, and there must be no mistakes!" ”

"Your Majesty can promise your lord!" I replied.

"Then I'll be relieved," Nobunaga nodded. Last year, when the sect was rising, Kitabatake's younger brother and the head of the East Gate of Yamato Kofukuji Temple, Kitabatake Gu, led his troops back to the collar to cause trouble, and some former ministers of the Kitabatake family followed, which made Kitabatake Nobuo embarrassed for a long time. Nobunaga's transfer of Takigawa Kazuki to Ise to serve as the overseer of Kitabatake Nobuo is also related to this incident.

“…… Who do you think is the mastermind behind this? Nobunaga asked suddenly.

"The younger brother thinks that it is the Honganji Xianru that bald donkey," Oda Nobubo replied, "The current abbot of the Wanzheng Temple and the son of the fourth generation of Zhenghui is only twelve years old this year, so this matter must have been presided over by Shimoma Yoritan." He was an official of Ishiyama Honganji Temple stationed at Nagashima Kanshoji Temple, so he naturally obeyed the orders of Honganji Xianru. ”

"You're right," Nobunaga agreed, turning his gaze to me, "What do you think?" ”

"Your Majesty's opinion is the same as that of Your Highness Envelope," I looked at Oda Nobupo and nodded, "However, Your Majesty feels that there is still someone behind me." ”

"Oh, tell me about it?" Nobunaga leaned forward slightly.

His Majesty believes that this matter should be linked to the current situation in Vietnam and China. Echichu's always been a one, and naturally it is also related to Honganji Xianru, but the two families of Jimbo and Shiina, who have always been united with Yiyi, are inseparable from Takeda Shingen...... I heard that Takeda Shingen and Honganji Xianru are brothers-in-law, so His Majesty believes that Takeda Shingen is the final mastermind of this matter! I replied to Nobunaga.

Actually, that's not all I received. I also know that before Uesugi Kenshin went out to Echichu, he confronted the Hojo family in Kanto for a while, and it was naturally the Hojo clan who broke the alliance with Uesugi and reunited with Takeda; I also know that after the burning of Mt. Hiei last year, Prince Satorushiro, the younger brother of the current head of the Tendai Throne and Emperor Shokincho, escaped from Kinai, and Takeda Shingen took him in, and as a result, he was given a high position as a powerful monk, and became a protector of Buddhism. This is all information that Tsuya has gathered from the Kanto region, but I can't say it in front of Nobunaga, otherwise he will probably think that my hand is too long...... Although I didn't mean to.

"It seems that Xinxuan wants to break the alliance with us...... Could this matter have something to do with General Yoshiaki? Nobunaga said thoughtfully, not knowing whether he was muttering alone or asking us questions. He touched the mustache on his lips, and a solemn expression gradually appeared on his face.

Oda Nobubo and I looked at each other and remained silent together.

"Go down first! Be sure to do what you are told! Nobunaga waved his hand, as if trying to think alone for a while.

We bowed our heads to Nobunaga and withdrew from the main account together.

"Xuanjing, is it really as the lord said, is Takeda Shingen going to Luo?" Oda Nobubo asked in a whisper.

"Probably," I nodded, "isn't instigating the turmoil in Yuezhong just dragging the Uesugi family?" ”

"It's no wonder that I went to the Tsurikan last month and mentioned the marriage of Wonder Maru and Matsuhime, but the Takeda family deduced that Princess Matsuhime was sick......" Oda Nobubo showed a look of sudden realization.

"Is that so?" I asked casually.

I actually know about this. Matsuhime is thirteen years old this year and has reached the age of marriage. With the current situation, Nobunaga really wanted to marry the Takeda family, so he sent Oda Nobupo to the Takeda family on the eve of the Nobutada's Motofu. Since Nobukatsu was subdued, he was Nobunaga's only half-brother, and he represented the Oda family's greeting relatives, which shows Nobunaga's sincerity. However, Shingen Takeda apparently had other ideas.

"Yes," Oda Nobubao nodded, a worried expression on his face, "Takeda Shingen, Takeda Akabei...... That's an opponent you'll need to deal with with all your might! ”

……，…… At this time, it is even more necessary to temporarily conceal the affairs of Yizong, so as not to disturb the morale of the army, or let Asakura and Asai get the news and confront our Yicheng more firmly. When Oda Nobubuchi and I set out, the stated reason was that we would go to Takashima-gun via Lake Biwa, join up with Takeda Nobutaka and Niwa Nagahide, and attack Asakura and Asai on both sides, and indeed gathered many ships belonging to the Oda family. However, we actually headed to Sawa Yamajo Castle and then quickly descended the Ibi River to Kuwana Prefecture in Kitaise.

As we passed through the province of Yuanben along the way, we were harassed twice in succession by the followers of the Tsuyamu, and the number reached in the thousands. Fortunately, the combined strength of Oda Nobubu's army and I reached 13,000, which is by no means something that these rabble can contend with. However, even Northern Ise has such a large-scale turmoil...... Oda Nobuchi and I couldn't help but be a little worried.

In Kuwana County, I actually saw Antaku Shinyasu. Together with the Shima Navy of Kuki Yoshitaka and the Sea Aid of Maeno Nagayasu, he roughly blocked the estuary of the river, which was two kilometers wide on the east and west sides of Nagashima. Nagashima once organized personnel to try to break through the barrier and open up contact with Owari and Kitaise, but the rabble of believers confronted the enemy on the water with the professional naval forces of Ataka Nobuyasu, Kuki Yoshitaka, and Maeno Nagayasu, and the result was naturally defeated, and they returned in vain.

"Haha! No wonder there are those believers in Yuanben County, it turns out that they were blocked by you! Oda Nobubo smiled. He was relieved to hear that Long Island had not invaded his territory.

"Who came up with this idea," I couldn't help but laugh and asked Maeno Nagayasuchi, "Also, there should be people on the shore to defend it, right?" ”

"It is the proposition of His Highness Chongzhi. He believed that the wide water area here was the best place to intercept it, and if the people of Nagashima were allowed to enter Kitaise, the originally scattered followers of the Ichikozong would have a backbone. If these people take advantage of the situation to advance westward, although it is not difficult for Mie Castle to hold on, Mie Town is likely to be greatly damaged. Maeno Nagayasu explained with admiration, "On the shore are the five hundred cavalry led by Lady Tiger, and the people who cooperate with Koga, once they hear that there are people gathered, they will immediately disperse them and kill the backbone of them." ”

"I see......" I nodded. The blockade and encirclement of Nagashima with naval forces was the key to Nobunaga's victory in his third expedition to Nagashima. However, he has nearly 100,000 troops, but we have only 13,000 men, and it is impossible to speak the same language.

Thinking of this, I turned to Oda Nobubo and said, "How about we blockade Nagashima like this?" After all, Long Island is too big for more than 10,000 of us to contend with...... The Lord's order is only to let us control the situation. ”

"Everything depends on what His Highness Xuanjing said," Oda Nobupo readily agreed, "and ask all of you from the navy to transport the Owari people across the river, and let me wait for the scattered forces in Owari to be wiped out." ”

(To be continued)