On the twenty-ninth day of the first lunar month, we were training in the main village as usual. At this time, the five detachments had all been equipped with bamboo guns and began battle formation training. The original training ground was no longer sufficient, and two detachments had moved to the hill behind the stockade. The entire training was in charge of Hidekei Kira and the detachment leaders, while Koroku Wasuka and I were in the house perfecting various military orders and stockpiling materials for the upcoming battle. In my opinion, this army will need to be trained for a while, but the agricultural time is coming, and we must end the fighting before then, and then disband. Otherwise, if the agricultural season is delayed, it will seriously affect this year's harvest.

Suddenly, a herald came in quickly and reported to us: "Chief! Your Highness! The former Noya is here for help! ”

"Come in, please!" Bee Suka Koroku called out repeatedly.

An ashigaru in bamboo armor was helped in by two heralds. He had half a bamboo gun stuck in his shoulder.

"What's going on? What's going on now? Wasuka asked hurriedly.

"It's the Nonomura family, and there are about 300 people! Discover my ......" Ashigaru knelt down on one knee.

"Needless to say, I'll send troops right away! Zhengji, help this brother down to heal his injuries. Koroku Wasuka interrupted Ashigaru's words. As soon as he heard that it was the Nonomura family, he understood everything. The Nonomura family is the head of Wataruka Village.,Last year, there was a conflict with the Maeno family because of the land dispute.,This time it's estimated that most of the people of the Maeno family are training here.,So I want to eliminate the Maeno family in one fell swoop.。

"Your Highness Xuanjing, I want to personally lead the Pingnai detachment and the Songyuan detachment to support, what do you think?"

"The whole army is ready to attack." I proposed.

"It's not necessary, right? Nonomura family: I know. The three hundred of them, there must be both young and old, and the two detachments can definitely take it down. Bee Suga Koroku said confidently.

"It is precisely because the enemy is not strong that the whole army is exercised. How can half a day's training compare with the progress made in actual combat? I explained.

"Yes. Or His Royal Highness Kira is clever. Bee Suga Xiaoliu hurriedly ordered the herald: "Blow the conch!" Assemble the whole army! ”

About five minutes later, the five teams had been assembled and all stood in front of the command platform. This speed should be good, and Wasuka Koroku is obviously very satisfied.

"Sons! I just received news that the Nonomura family is besieging the former Nonoya. So, the first battle of our Wasuka family is coming! Now I order, the whole army will attack! Open in the order of the detachment, and target Matsukura Castle! He shouted from the podium.

Just a few words, there was immediately a burst of cheers from the audience. Especially the Pingnai detachment, they almost wanted to start first, but unfortunately they were the fifth detachment and could only fall behind.

"Your Highnesses, let's go too!" After the third detachment of Hino set off, Bee Suga Koroku invited.

So our group set off immediately after the third detachment. Me, Wasuka Koroku, Xiujing, Konatsu, and five heralds. I set up the heralds, a total of ten people, the captain is the main one, all over twenty-five years old, and many ashigaru know them.

About two hours later, we arrived at Matsukura Village. Most of the people in the village had withdrawn into the wooden city, and many people had gathered under the wooden city. They were dressed in a variety of clothes, and their weapons were also varied, men, women, and children, all of whom were available, and it was likely that the whole village was dispatched. A man who looked like a small leader was shouting to the city, probably to persuade Maeno Nagayasu to surrender quickly. From time to time, a cold arrow shot out of the wooden city, and wherever the arrow fell, there was a burst of pushing and shoving.

"That's it...... Also called a soldier? I shook my head.

"Why don't you use fire?" Xiujing asked.

"It's not easy to build a wooden city. In the Nonomura family's goals, this city must be a key point. Wasuka Koroku said.

"Let's start now." I say.

Koroku Wasuka nodded. shouted: "Two, three, four arrays!" One, five outflanking! ”

The columns of the five armies quickly completed their deployment, and the Matsubara, Hino, and Aoyama detachments lined up in a neat array of guns, slowly and resolutely pressing forward step by step, and the Ozawa detachment and the Tsubouchi detachment quickly outflanked each in two columns, one on the left and one on the right.

Perhaps it was because they heard Wasuka Koroku's shouting, and a few people on the outskirts of Nonomura's house turned their heads. Seeing three neatly arranged small gun formations, they immediately let out a cry of panic. More people were drawn back by their exclamations, followed by an even greater panic. The leader who was riding a horse to suppress the formation on the side realized that the situation was wrong, and immediately shouted and cursed, and at the same time waved his whip into the crowd. But that didn't help at all. So the knight shouted a few words, turned his horse's head, and rushed towards the side of the Matsubara detachment with his sword, followed by more than fifty slightly neater ashigaru.

His expression was very hideous, and it became clearer and clearer before my eyes. Finally made contact with the gun, and two spears stabbed at him. He slashed one with his sword, dodged the other, and prepared to smash his horse into the gun. It's a pity that the two bamboo guns next to him immediately pierced over, and then the four bamboo guns in the second row. Six bamboo spears were nailed to him, one of which hit him in the heart. The knight's body twitched twice on his horse, and then fell in front of the gun. Six bamboo spears were drawn from the knight's body, bringing out several strands of bloody arrows. Then the bamboo spear in the back row was handed up and sent to the ashigaru who had been cut off.

At about the same time, four or five fast ashigaru also arrived. When they saw the knight fall from their horse, they hesitated slightly, and were immediately caught by the ashigaru of the Matsubara team and stabbed to the ground one by one. At the same time, Natsu shot an arrow that hit a small back of the chest. Seeing this situation, the people who reacted immediately turned around and fled, and there were also deserters under Matsukura Castle, and the people on the side broke away from the team, and the people in the middle could only desperately squeeze inside, and the team of two or three hundred people immediately became a pot of rotten porridge. The Nonomura family's military situation collapsed completely.

At this time, the Osawa detachment and the Tsubouchi detachment, which were outflanked on both sides, were already in place, and dozens of people who had escaped were killed under their bamboo guns one after another. By this time, there was no longer any suspense in the war, and I don't know who first dropped the weapon, and then knelt on the ground, and then everyone rushed to drop their weapon, knelt down and surrendered to us.

There was a cheer from the wooden city. After a while, the city gate opened, and Maeno Nagayasu walked out first.

Our group had already arranged for people to monitor the prisoners, and then all of them went to meet the former field Changkang.

"No big deal, right?" Wasuka Koroku asked, holding his arm.

"Fortunately, thanks to my brother and several highnesses, I came down in time." Maeno Changkang nodded to me, "His Royal Highness Xuanjing's ability to train soldiers, I, Changkang, have opened my eyes today." It's His Royal Highness Saito's flag team, but that's it! ”

"It's just that the enemy is too weak." I say. This is indeed the truth, and if a dozen samurai on horseback like the previous ones had come together to attack, I don't think this array of guns would have been able to withstand it. Our equipment is too poor, and we have too little experience in battle, so it's okay to fight small tyrants, and there are still many things that need to be improved. What is said about the Saito family's flag team, it's just that, it's that he doesn't know much. Not to mention the gap in weapons and armor, will the reputation of Mino's "Toki Senben Gun" be a false name?

"Second brother, and me. I just cut a foot light with my own hands! Tsubouchi also came over.

"You guy! Okay! In the future, the Tsubouchi family will rely on you. Maeno Nagayasu punched him in the chest. Tsubouchi Ritsui smiled, still immersed in the excitement of winning the enemy in the first battle.

"Changkang, please go into the city and rest." Koroku Wasuka reminded.

"Yes, yes. I was excited for a while, and my Highnesses didn't feel surprised! ”

"The leader of Changkang is polite. I've always wanted to visit, but unfortunately I don't have time. This time it's two pennies. I gave up my feelings and entered Matsukura Castle with the two of them.

……，……

After seeing the power of his subordinates, Maeno Nagayasu proposed to destroy the Nonomura family in one go. Considering the army's great victory in the first battle and its vigor, Koroku Wasuka and I agreed to his suggestion. The next day, the whole army marched north, and the Nonomura family in Wakita Village perished. Afterwards, the entire village of Maeto was assigned to Maeno Nagayasu, and the village of Tokita was occupied by the Kawanami people of Wasuka Koroku. In modern times, it is the Gifu base of the Masamoto Air Self-Defense Force, and in the south of Mt. Nagahira and Mt. Arai, there are newly developed Yamada fields by the Kawanami people, and now they are connected to each other.

Continuing to the north, there is the Suhara Castle of the Ichiliu family. The Ichiyanagi family is considered a medium-sized wealthy family in Mino, controlling the seven villages of Suhara Township, Kakizawa, Mitaki Nitta, Yoshibei Nitta, Ibuki, Shimazaki, Oshima, and Asuka, with a territory of about 5,000 koku, and is currently directly subordinate to the Saito family, where Suhara Castle is located, less than fifteen kilometers from Inabayama Castle. At my suggestion, we let go of the Ichiliu family and instead launched a lightning-fast invasion westward. In less than half a month, they successively occupied Kamito Village, Kamimu Village, Naga Village, Kosano Village, and Chengqing Village, and the stone height of the land under their control had reached 5,700 koku. Most of them were routs, and some villages didn't even have time to mobilize. In these battles, the 400 troops that had been trained had only 30 casualties and were replenished, while the number of people of the right age who could be mobilized in the newly controlled area was more than 400.

As a warning to the newly surrendered people, Naga Uemura Uemura, who had resolutely resisted, was executed. I hesitated to discuss this order. If the previous execution of the Nonomura family was for revenge, then the Uemura family is pure aggression. In the end, Maeno Nagayasu made up his mind, and it was the Ochino Rokutai detachment that carried out the order.

In the process, the Saito family never moved. It's mid-February, and as is customary, it's time to disband the army and start sowing. Koroku Wasuka and Maeno Nagayasu both proposed this to me, and after thinking about it, they put forward different opinions.

"There's a final battle to be fought," I explained to them, "and now it's time to attack Suyuan City." After that, you can take this opportunity to surrender to Saito-den, and then get the security paperwork. ”

"How sure are you?" Wasuka Koroku asked.

"At least eighty percent...... His Royal Highness Saito's territory is also about to be sown, isn't the army that entered Owari retreating and disbanded, and it is not easy to reconvene Ashigaru or nearby wealthy clans, and only the flag team can be used...... But of course, the flag team can't be taken lightly, as long as we show respect, we will definitely not be rejected by His Royal Highness Saito! ”

"However, Suyuan City is a stone city, and the Yiliu family can mobilize five hundred people, so I'm afraid it will be a little difficult to attack. If the delay is long...... "Maeno Nagayasu is worried about this problem.

"Your Highness, let Xiao Xia go and inquire first!" Xiao Xia proposed.

"Okay...... Xiao Xia, be sure to pay attention to safety. I instructed her.

Early the next morning, Natsu returned to Matsukura Castle.

"Your Highness, I have a message! The Ichiyanagi family is preparing to attack us! "Natsu broke into my room.

"What!" The remnants of my sleepiness disappeared without a trace, "How many people has the Ichiliu family mobilized?" Is the Saito family involved? ”

According to my thoughts, the Ichiliu family only has the mobilization capacity of 500 people, and there are only more than 200 people in the city. After seeing the combat power of the Sichuan and the people, he actually dared to take the initiative to provoke, either he got some foreign aid, or his mind was dizzy.

"The Saito family was not involved, but the Ichiyanagi family contacted the Kato family in Ushima-gun! The young master of the Kato family is the son-in-law of the head of the Ichiyanagi family, and Ichiyanagi is close to Naohide. Xiao Xia infiltrated Suyuan Castle and overheard them at night saying that the reinforcements of the Kato family would ...... tomorrow Oh today! I will arrive at Suyuan City at noon today! ”

Kato's house is not far to the west of us, and it almost borders us, including the land of the two villages of Wakamiya and Hirajima. After seeing our rise a while ago, we will definitely be secretly vigilant. And now, the Kato family obviously wants to take advantage of our unstable foundation and join forces with the Ichiyanagi family to strangle us.

"You go get some rest first! By the way, it's in my room, the quilt is still hot! I instructed Natsu and hurried into the main hall. This is currently our assessment room, with two heralds taking turns on duty.

Shaking the two people who were leaning on the warmth, in the hazy eyes of the two, I shouted loudly: "Go and ask the leader of Xiaoliu and the leader of Changkang to come over immediately!" And His Royal Highness Xiujing! There is an emergency military situation! Very urgent! ”

At my roar, the two heralds sped away. A moment later, Koroku Bee Suka and Maeno Nagayasu ran into the main hall "Tengteng". The two of them were next to each other. Koroku Wasuka was wearing his belt, and Maeno Nagayasu wasn't even wearing shoes, which were held in the hands of the herald behind him. As they stepped into the assessment room, Xiujing also appeared at the door.

"His Royal Highness Xuanjing! What happened? Wasuka Koroku asked repeatedly.

"The Ichiyanagi family has been fully mobilized, and has united with the Kato family in the west, preparing to jointly attack us, and the next round will be in Suyuan City at noon today!"

"This ...... How many people did the Kato family mobilize? Maeno asked.

"Since it's a decisive battle, I'm afraid it's the largest number of mobilizations!" Kira Hidekei Road.

"The Kato family has 8,000 stones, and all mobilization is ...... Fifteen hundred or so people. "Wasuka Koroku has the math. He knew a lot about the wealthy people in this area.

"With the addition of five hundred from the Yiliu family, the total mobilization can even reach nearly 1,000 ......" I sighed, feeling that the situation was not very optimistic. Although the combat strength of the army assembled through full mobilization is not high, the difference in numbers is too great after all. Back then, the Ichijo Sect of Kaga Province defeated the local guardian Fu Keng family by relying on tens of thousands or even more than 100,000 people.

"And the young master of the Kato family is a fierce general praised by His Royal Highness Saito himself......" Wasuka Koroku shook his head.

"Why don't we attack Suyuan City first? Let's beat the Yiliu family first! If there is no one from the Yanagi family, maybe the Kato family will retreat. Maeno Nagayasu proposed.

"I'm afraid I won't be able to attack it in half a day. As soon as Kato's house arrived, he was attacked back and forth......" Xiujing said worriedly.

"So, you can only defend the city? So the newly acquired territory...... People's hearts are still unstable! "Wasuka Koroku is worried. It's possible, once we cage the city, the new territories are likely to all defect. At that time, if the combined forces of Kato and Ichiyanagi are bent on destroying us, they can besiege Matsukura Castle and burn it down again. Kato's Akane Castle and Ichiyanagi's Suhara Castle are both stone castles, and they don't take Matsukura Castle seriously!

"Do you want to retreat to the mountains?" Kira Hidekei also thought of this possible surname.

"No! The current territory is not easy to come by, our brothers and the three highnesses have worked hard for so long, how can they give up so easily! Maeno Nagayasu yelled.

"His Royal Highness Xiujing's proposal, maybe ......" Wasuka Koroku sat cross-legged, and the fingers of his right hand subconsciously patted his knee.

"Brother!" Maeno Nagayasu stood up suddenly.

"Leader Changkang, aren't you still discussing. Please calm down. "I'm playing a round.

Maeno Nagayasu sat down unwillingly. Suddenly, he bowed down deeply to me: "His Royal Highness Xuanjing's wisdom, I Changkang knows. Your Highness, please come up with an idea! Please! ”

"Soldiers are expensive but not expensive for a long time, our army is considered an elite soldier, if we want to keep the territory, a quick battle is beneficial to us...... But for half a day, the conventional way is absolutely impossible to capture Suyuan City...... "I thought hard, trying to find a way to quickly capture Suyuan City.

"Why don't we attack the Kato army directly!" Xiujing said suddenly.

"That's right! After repelling the Kato army, the Ichiyanagi family did not dare to move for the time being! Then everyone went back to farming, and then continued to fight when they had some free time. At least the Ichiliu family must be defeated, this is certain! Maeno Nagayasu happily agreed.

"But it will drag on for a long time, and then the Saito family will easily intervene. Although we may be acknowledged, we have to be warned. If something goes wrong, you'll regret it! It's more certain in the current situation. I hesitated. Actually, I have another reason, and that is that I don't want to stay here that long. The last key battle of the Oda family's unification of Owari, the Battle of Ukino, began this summer, and if I wanted to join the Oda family, I would have missed this battle and had a lot fewer opportunities.

"Brother, you're too ...... It's too much for perfection! Xiujing said with a frown. Hearing his words, Wasuka Koroku nodded. In his opinion, it would already be good to be able to repel the Kato family. Three months ago, he didn't even dare to think about it.

I couldn't help but smile. I taught him the phrase "perfection", and now he will use it to teach me.

"Your Highness Xuanjing, I also agree with His Highness Xiujing's opinion." Maeno Nagayasu said.

Maybe I really won't be able to do what I wanted this time! Manpower is limited after all. I nodded.

Seeing that I also agreed, Wasuka Koroku clapped his hands: "Then gather the army!" ”

"Wait!" I suddenly exclaimed.

"His Royal Highness Xuanjing, what's wrong?" Wasuka Koroku asked suspiciously.

"I've got an idea...... "I'm smiling," I said, "let's break it up and gather our forces around the back of Kato's army." His Royal Highness Chang Kang led the others to take a defensive posture in front of us, and we attacked from behind! After destroying the Kato army and occupying the land they have occupied, you can file a request for arbitration with His Highness Saito! ”

"Not bad!" Wasuka Koroku first agreed, "Our army is assembled very neatly and quickly, and there is no problem in entering the Kato family's territory separately and then regrouping!" ”

"What about weapons? It's not good to bring weapons when you enter the Kato family's territory, right? Changkang asked the night before.

"You can find a clever person, disguise yourself as a merchant transporting bamboo, and hide the bamboo gun under the bamboo and transport it over." I said it with confidence.

"Kitaro is a good fit! He's familiar with the road, and he's clever enough! Maeno Nagayasu immediately recommended his younger brother Tsubouchi Rishita.

"That's it!" Wasuka Koroku made up his mind, "Everyone, success or failure is here!" Let's do it! ”

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