Kitanosho Castle in Echizen had its first heavy snowfall in winter.

As the country of Hokuriku, the climate in Echizen is still slightly colder.

Li Xiao's army of 50,000 troops was also divided under the city.

Li Xiao ordered Li Zheng to lead 20,000 troops back to the nearby Three Kingdoms to spend the winter.

The Three Kingdoms are close to the seaport and closer to the supply line, which is not only convenient for food, but also can protect the important town of the grain route.

However, Li Xiao led more than 30,000 main forces, and had to continue to besiege the city under the city of Beizhizhuang in this cold and freezing environment.

After nearly a month of encirclement, the Takeda army built three trenches around the inside and outside of Kitanosho.

It was still slightly difficult to besiege nearly 10,000 Shibata troops in the city of Kitanozhuang with 30,000 troops.

At present, Li Xiao can only do it, in a few important places, arrange heavy defense, and patrol and guard the rest of the places.

Of the three trenches, between the first and second trenches, they were mainly used as operational defenses.

In the second and third trenches, there were mainly resting places for samurai and generals, and the wounded soldiers were also properly cared for.

In this cold siege, the wounded soldiers did not come from the battle, but mainly from the wounded and frostbite.

In fact, since the fortification of the city, the Shibata army in the city has only dealt with sexual harassment a few times, and there is no real threat to the Takeda army.

It seems that Shibata Katsuya is bent on waiting, and Oda Nobutada has sent reinforcements from Azuchi Castle.

According to the information obtained by the Takeda Army, there are deep wells dug in the North Village, and the grain, grass and water sources are very sufficient, so if you are frugal. It is enough for Shibata Katsuya to have 10,000 troops to support the small half a year.

Of course, this is Shibata Katsuya's previous rainy plan, and it is obviously a single heart.

It seems that the Shibata Katsuya is determined to defend the castle in Kitanozhuang.

When the snow came, the weather was cold and frozen, and all the affairs of the siege were carried out. It was also temporarily stopped.

The soldiers of the Takeda Army entered the makeshift roof outside Kitanosho Castle and crowded together to make a fire to keep warm.

The scene of this scene made Li Xiao can't help but think back to the past. During the attack on Muzhou Castle in Shesui-gun.

However, at that time, he was far from commanding such a large number of troops.

Kitanozhuang Castle did not fall in a battle, so Li Xiao's daily business was to learn about the Kanto war situation and the actions of the Oda family in through the ninja intelligence organization.

It seems that because of the impact of the snowfall, Oda Nobutada did not make much movement, which made Li Xiao feel a lot more relieved.

But for the Kwantung war situation. Takeda Nobuyoshi has been fighting against the Hojo family for more than a month, and the situation is still very unclear.

Sanada Masayuki is as fast as ever, and the Sanada family is also the most headache opponent of the Hojo family in history.

Now it's almost Ueno Kazukoku.,The country's lord-level daimyo Sanada Masayuki.。 Led the Sanada family, which was several times stronger than history, and presided over the war against the Hojo family in Musashi.

Half a year ago, Li Xiao's daughter Mingchuan Fengguang married Sanada Nobuyuki.

Li Xiao gave the Sanada family a dowry of 10,000 yuan in one go, as well as countless Nanban and Ming things to marry, and this luxury capital caused a sensation in the Sanada family.

Li Xiao's move was back then. It's not to use his own money to cheapen the Sanada family, but also to let the Sanada family understand the strength of his wife's family, and he doesn't dare to be neglected. In this way, it is also for the sake of her daughter's happiness.

This is also a precedent in the Warring States period, when Takeda Shintora married his daughter into the Imagawa family, and also gave the newly conquered territory to the Imagawa family as a special place for his daughter's imperial food.

Therefore, he and Sanada Masayuki are already sons and daughters, and Sanada Nobuyoshi is serving under Li Xiao. In addition, Li Xiao and Sanada Masayuki were both promoted by Takeda Katsuyori. …,

Now the Sanada family and Li Xiao are allies within the Takeda family, advancing and retreating together.

Li Xiao and Sanada Masayuki have more than two letters almost every month.

And Li Xiao also learned from Sanada Masayuki's letter. A more intuitive understanding of the Kanto war this time.

At present, the center of gravity of the world is not in the Hokuriku Province where Li Xiao is located, not in the offensive promoted by the Oda family in integrating, nor in the war in which the Mori family sent troops to Ukita, let alone in Shikoku and Kyushu, but in Kanto.

Out of a sober judgment of the general trend in the future, Sanada Masayuki and Li Xiao have the same opinion, that is, whether the Hojo family can be subdued in this Kanto war is a key battle for whether the Takeda family can go to Luo and seize the world.

Otherwise, Li Xiao didn't have to take out his family funds, fight in Hokuriku Province, and monitor the actions of Oda Nobutada in Azuchi City, and Sanada Masayuki didn't have to buy enough old power to attack Ueno and Musashi.

But until now, the battle situation is still confusing, and it is difficult to say which one of Takeda Hojo has the advantage.

Masayuki Sanada has done his best.

Takeda Nobuyoshige's army of 35,000 was far away in Sagami and confronted the main force of the Hojo Army in Odawara Castle.

The Baba Nobubo Legion was in Izu Province, and it was mired in the quagmire under Nirayama Castle, and it was inseparable from the Hojo clan.

The offensive of the three armies of the Takeda family has come to a standstill, and as an offensive party, it is natural that it cannot be held for a long time, and can only hope everywhere.

The performance of the Utsunomiya family governor Zhi Dacai was not only not helpful to the battle situation, but instead put himself in a predicament under the rebellion of his retainers.

And under the continued actions of the Hojo family, the Utsunomiya family Mibu Castle, the lord of Kanuma Castle, Mibu Yoshio, the lord of Moka Castle, Yoshitsugu Yoshiga, and the Utsunomiya family had two more retainers who were rebelled by the Hojo family.

When Utsunomiya Hirotsuna heard that these two important ministers had defected, he was so angry that he vomited three liters of blood and was bedridden.

After Utsunomiya Hirotsuna fell ill, the Utsunomiya family was leaderless and unable to organize an offensive against the Hojo family, which made him make an oath at the Bodhi Temple and became a laughing stock among the Hojo family.

As for Yuki Governor Yuki Qingchao, he is not a decisive and courageous governor.

Because Yuki Harumi had no children, he adopted Yuuki Asakatsu, the son of Utsunomiya Hirotsuna, the governor of the Utsunomiya family, as an adopted son as the future successor of the family governor.

Yuuki Asakatsu's mother is also the daughter of Yoshiaki Satake, so the background of Yuuki Asakatsu has three families: Satake, Yuuki, and Utsunomiya.

This is also the guarantee of the alliance of the three daimyos.

In addition to his lack of decision-making, Yuki Harunao also had a bad background, which was criticized by his retainers, because he was not the son-in-law of the previous family governor, but inherited from the Xiaoshan family.

Therefore, the crowd is not very convinced of him.

During the reign of Yuki Haruhuno, he constantly contacted Satake and Utsunomiya as allies, and at the same time tried to build a good relationship with the surrounding daimyos.

In the face of the continuous encroachment of the Hojo family in the Kanto region, Yuki Haruhuni also did not stand firm enough, and once subdued Hojo several times, and now rebelled, which reduced the prestige of the head of the family.

Therefore, the head of the family is not effective, and the offensive of the Yuki army in Shimono Country is also very tired.

Therefore, before the war, neither Takeda Nobuyoshi, Li Xiao, nor Sanada Masayuki put much expectation on Yuki and Utsunomiya.

However, strength has been used as a weight to affect the weight of the Kanto pattern, and the Date family, which Takeda is most looking forward to, is a big disappointment this time.

More than a month after the start of the war, the Date Corps arrived from Mutsu, and under the pretext of heavy snow closing the road, the march dragged on, and the journey could have been completed in a few days, but it was forced to walk for more than a month, and there was still no shadow to be seen.

Li Xiao heard from Sanada Masayuki that the inside story of the situation in the Date family was lobbied by the Hojo family. …,

The Hojo clan sent lobbyist Itabe Okae Yukisai to Yonezawa Castle in person to lobby Date Terumune.

Date Terumune was originally very hesitant about the decision to unite with the Takeda family and exterminate the Hojo family, and only reluctantly sent troops with the support of his eldest son Brahma Maru and his retainers.

Itabe Okae Yukisai analyzed the benefits and disadvantages to Date Terumune, and promised to cede the benefits after the matter was completed.

Date Huizong was moved by the heart, and immediately ordered the general in front of him, Date Minoto, and the ghost court Zuoyue stopped advancing, and at the same time did not want to offend the Takeda family, so he gave a heavy snow to close the road.

When Li Xiao heard Sanada Masayuki say this, he clearly understood the other party's anger, how similar this scene was.

At the beginning, when Shingen went to Luo, the Asakura family also used the heavy snow to close the road and delayed the army, which led to Nobunaga's final general trend, and the Asakura family itself was also destroyed.

Li Xiao couldn't help but snort lightly when he thought of this, in history, Date Masamune, when Toyotomi Hideyoshi conquered Odawara, didn't he also stage a similar scene, and he didn't arrive for a long time, and finally saw that the Hojo family was about to be destroyed, and this time he led the troops.

Date Masamune himself was almost beheaded by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and the Date family was also cut down.

Then again, if Date Masamune had the disappointment that he was born twenty years earlier and could not compete for the world, he should have united with the Hojo family to fight against Toyotomi's domination of the world.

Although the risk of failure in the end is still very high, it is still the best chance in Date Masamune's life.

Li Xiao paced in the military tent, and in the past few days, he had been paying more attention to the map of the situation in the Kanto region than the situation in Hokuriku.

He refocused his attention on the large Kanto map hanging in front of him, on which the situation was intertwined.

I have to admit that the Hojo clan is quite good under the Hojo siege network organized by Takeda Nobushihiro this time.

Although in Li Xiao's opinion, the Hojo clan is still too soft, and he did not show the courage to fight Odawara with Takeda Shinshihiro, which is a lost move.

But the Hojo clan is not the Hojo clan after all, and such a decisive courage and grasp of the field battle are not what he is good at.

Even when Hojo Shiyasu was alive, in the face of Uesugi Kenshin's 100,000 Kwantung Coalition troops, he had only the tactic of trapping Odawara.

In fact, in addition to the art of war, strategic competition, skill, and strategy are also crucial.

And now, whether it is against the retainers of the Utsunomiya family or sending envoys to persuade Date to withdraw his troops, the efforts of the Hojo clan in diplomacy and strategy are also very effective, which greatly reduces the power of the Hojo siege network that Takeda Nobuyoshi had carefully built before.

Now that the Hojo family still has a house, the reserve corps of the lower general army has not yet been used, and the Takeda army has shown fatigue in this encirclement network.

Under this circumstance, the Hojo family will repeat the strategy of the first two preemptive strikes and finally win this battle.

But Li Xiao seems that this time in this battle, Takeda Shinshi still has a chance of winning.

And where this change affected the Kwantung Campaign, Li Xiao turned to look at Changlu Country on the map.

"Taro Banto, Yoshishige Satake!"