When I received this information, I was speechless. Mimura Motoko knew that the Maori family had already made a mobilization, but he actually went up against the wind and broke with the Maori family at this time. Really, since the enemy is the Uki family, then it would be good to attack the Uki family, and then the Maori family will naturally understand the determination and position of the Mimura family, and then give the Mimura family an explanation. After all, the Mimura family and the Maori family have been allies for decades, and the Uki family was still enemies before, and in the face of the choice between the two, whether it is emotionally speaking, or comparing in terms of strength, or from the perspective of maintaining their own reputation, the Maori family will not easily abandon the Mimura family. Last time, the Mimura family was defeated by the Uki family, didn't the Mori family once ask Hoida Motokiyo to help recapture the castle? Even if we don't take such a clear stance this time, we will at least vigorously mediate.

However, he chose to break with Maori and turned the Maori family into enemies. In this way, it is not only necessary to face the attacks of both the Mori family and the Uki family, but also to promote the Mori family and the Uki family to unite more closely. This kind of behavior, to put it mildly, is too reckless and unkind, which is completely unreasonable.

And he actually pinned his hopes on our Oda family. I didn't look at the map, if the Oda family wanted to support them, they had to at least pacify Harima Province first, and then pacify Bizen Province or Misasakaku Province, and besides, in the face of the nearly 90,000 troops of the Mori family and the Uki family, the Oda family needed to mobilize at least more than 100,000 people to fight in different places...... Is this realistic?

"It's like a woman who is so jealous that she loses her mind." Masakatsu Wasuka said.

Yoshiyuki Sawaki grinned. If you think about it, that's a fitting description! The Maori family is a strong husband, the Mimura family is the original partner, and the Uki family is a junior who is seriously at odds with the original partner. However, in the face of her husband's cheating, the original partner neither worked hard to save her husband's heart, nor did she choose to fight to the death with Xiao San, but fornicated with her husband's enemy to express her protest.

So, what will the strong husband do in addition to scolding the original partner and becoming closer to the mistress?

"The lord should be very happy!" Gamo Fuxiu also smiled.

"So, what arrangements does the hall have in advance?" Ikoma's parents asked.

"The lord just asked me to gather the forces under my direct control, and didn't explain what to do," I thought for a moment, "At that time, the Mori family had just formed an alliance with the Uki family, and the lord's original intention was to ask me to give the Uki family a warning to the rest of the surrounding forces...... But then the Mimura family secretly contacted the lord, and then the Maori family sent troops, so the lord did not send further orders. After all, in the face of the military momentum of **10,000, my strength is not enough. ”

Hearing this, Xiujing showed a thoughtful look on his face: "Perhaps, even the main hall didn't expect that the reaction of the three village families would be so intense." ”

"Your Highness, what are you going to do now?" Toshiya Maeda asked directly. Ever since I took on the role of Tosa Guardian, he has become more and more respectful of me.

"There is no clear order from the Lord, that is, let us decide for ourselves. So I'd like to hear your thoughts first. I looked at the five people in the room and said.

"How about waiting for the lord's further action?" Ikoma's parents suggested, "Whether to go to the northern continent or rush to the west has not yet been decided, and we should not act rashly, so as not to affect the arrangements of the lord." ”

"Our goal is to conquer the Maori family, as long as it is to block the Maori family. Hokuriku has nothing to do with us. Yoshiyuki Sawaki said with a big grin.

"You have to cooperate with the main force! It would be an exaggeration to say that it has nothing to do. Maeda Toshiya reminded, glaring at his younger brother who had always lacked a little consciousness.

"If this is the case, I am quite sure," I said confidently, "who is the most hated enemy of the lord?" It's a sect! Now that the Maori family is being dragged by the Mimura family, there is no need to worry about the western front for the time being, so the lord will definitely go to Hokuriku...... Moreover, the Echizen country was intended by the lord to be divided among the important ministers of the family. ”

"To whom?" Yoshiyuki Sawaki hurriedly asked.

"To the three Highnesses of Yura, Akechi, and Takigawa," Xiujing replied. We once discussed this issue privately: "Just look at who the previous Kitanosho Sanjo was and whose power it was." ”

"That's ......," Maeda Toshiie thought for a moment, "but isn't His Royal Highness Hideyoshi already sealed in Kita-Omi?" ”

"This was after the events in Echizen's country and the expulsion of Kitanosho Sanshi from Tomita Nagashiga," I explained, "and this alone would have made the lord not give up and be protected by Tomita Nagashige, but only to stabilize him temporarily." Even if he didn't die last month, after the lord came out of the battle, he would definitely not be spared. ”

Hearing this, everyone present nodded in unison. As for Nobunaga's surname, everyone knows very well that the person who swept his face will definitely not have any good fruit to eat. Nobumori Sakuma, who is very old in the family and has a very high status, only questioned his judgment last year, and was scolded and rushed back to the territory. and Hideyoshi, who had just been awarded the title of Kita-Omi, after capturing Otani Castle, was immediately kicked over by Nobunaga because he interceded for Achi's adopted son Manfukumaru.

Moreover, as the authority became heavier, Nobunaga's face grew. The only people in the family who can get him to treat him differently are me and Niwa Nagahide. Nagahide is a respectful and honest man, and basically does not contradict any of Nobunaga's opinions; As for me, he probably thinks I can understand his thoughts, and he thinks of me as a negotiable person! Perhaps, I should be honored for this?

"Speaking of which, Tomita Nagashige is indeed amazingly brave, and he actually defeated tens of thousands of enemies head-on twice, blocking the 140,000 followers of the Xiang Sect for half a month...... It's a famous Echizen general. Wasuka Masakatsu said with great feelings.

"Alright," I coughed lightly, "the Lord is out of the Hokuriku, that's almost a sure thing." So how should we? The Maori family and the three village families are fighting, and we don't do anything, so the lord probably won't be satisfied, right? ”

"However, the Maori family is too powerful, and we have rushed to intervene, and we have no stronghold to rely on, which is probably inappropriate, and it is easy to suffer a big loss." Xiujing said bluntly.

"His Royal Highness Xiujing is very right." Maeda Toshiie nodded.

"Perhaps, you can beat the side drums, for example, with a water army? Our navy is no weaker than the Maori family. Gamo Fuxiu thought for a moment and said.

"You can also turn the host-guest situation in Iyo Province upside down," Wasuka Masakatsu also enlightened, "Your Majesty has been in Tosa for a while, and I have some understanding of Minami Iyo. It's close to our territory, so it's very convenient to get out of battle. Moreover, His Royal Highness Shinsada of Nakamura Castle has already been armed, and it is very easy to defend against the Maori family or attack Minami Iyo. ”

"Not bad!" Xiujing also agreed, "As far as Your Majesty knows, His Highness Zhou Jing and Zhengxin are also prepared. ”

"In that case, let's go into battle, right?" Yoshiyuki Sawaki said, looking at me hopefully. Maeda Toshiya and Ikoma's parents also looked over, apparently agreeing.

"Wait a minute," I shook my head slightly, "let me think again." ”

"What's there to think about...... "Gamo Fuxiu muttered quietly.

I smiled. Hey, after all, it's a young man under the age of twenty.

Compared to them, I had to think about a lot more than the tactical side, and I had to take care of the strategic side and what Nobunaga might think. For example, if the Maori family is fighting in the western country, but I am stirring up trouble in the south of Shikoku, is the drum beating too far? Moreover, Minami Iyo borders my territory, and the Maori family's actions in Minami Iyo are subject to the constraints of me and the Otomo family, and their influence is very limited, so the attack on Minami Iyo has nothing to do with the attack on the Maori family, but it is very suspicious of trying to expand the territory privately.

Well, I'll admit that I do have a lot of ideas about this territory, and it's the base I booked for trading with Ming and raiding Kyushu. Then the problem arises, unlike Tosa Province as the old lord, I don't have any relationship with Iyo. Attacking without an order, even if it is captured, Nobunaga can completely seal it to others, so where will I cry then?

So, until Nobunaga has a clear order, try to keep it as it is...... "Bring me the map!" "I instructed Satake Nowakamaru by the door.

Nowakamaru quickly ran to the study next door and retrieved a map of the area around the Seto Inland Sea. This is the area where my current influence is reached.

After weighing it carefully for a moment, I decided on the direction of the strategy: "Let's go to Iyo-Uma-gun!" ”

"Attacking Higashi Iyo, what did my brother think?" Xiujing asked everyone's doubts. In their opinion, it is obviously not as convenient to attack Higashi Iyo as it is to South Iyo.

"Because of the location of this castle," I handed them the map, "Uma Prefecture is located in the three provinces of Suuki, Iyo, and Tosa, and Kawanoe Castle in the county is the most important hub on Shikoku Island (later Shikoku Chuo City) in addition to Shirachi Castle, and considering that Shirachi Castle is located deep in the mountains, it is inconvenient to pass, so the status of Kawanoe Castle is even more prominent. In addition, at present, in the Seto Inland Sea, we and the Mori family are bounded by the Utazu-Kojima line, and Kawanoe Castle is just a little east of Utatsu, which is the frontier of the Mori family's defense of us. If they attack here, they will definitely be able to touch the sore spot of the Maori family, and let them mobilize their naval forces to come to their aid across the sea. ”

"That is, it is likely to be a naval battle?" Masakatsu Wasuka quickly understood. Among the people in the audience, he was the most proficient in naval warfare.

"That's right," I nodded, "to attack Kawanoe Castle, in addition to the elite reserve team directly under me, I can also use the power of Tosa Province and Sanki Province, so there is basically no suspense." The key was to hold back the Maori navy at sea and prevent their reinforcements. ”

"With an army of 80,000, attacking one country in Beizhong is too much. Presumably, they are also guarding against the invasion of Harima or the country of Bizen...... Randomly send one or two thousand to reinforce Iyo's Kono family, it's enough for us to trouble! Toshiie Maeda agreed.

"Then we have to transfer Jingding back from Kii. Such a war cannot be without him. Xiujing proposed.

"Naturally," I thought for a moment, and quickly made a decision, "Ordering Ataka Nobuyasu to lead the Kumano Navy of his headquarters to Kikawa to take over the assigned task and deliver supplies to assist Keisemasa in the construction of Wakayama Castle." In addition, send someone to drive the third ironclad ship, Awaji Maru, and install the bow gun for debugging as soon as possible! ”

……，…… Kawanoe Castle is located on Mt. Washio on the seaside of the Seto Inland Sea, and is a small mountain town, and the lord of the castle, Tsushima Tomoharu, is a medium-sized wealthy family with a territory of thousands of koku in the county, and is subordinate to the Ishikawa family, who controls the two counties of Uma and Shini, and then the Ishikawa family is under the control of the Kono family and the Mori family.

This coastal plain area is the focus of contention between Iyo and Sanki, who had invaded the two counties when the Hosokawa family and the Miyoshi family were strong, and fought for control with the Iyo guardian Kono family. Ishikawa Katsushige's father, Ishikawa Tokiyo, the current head of the Ishikawa family, was once attached to Miyoshi Chokei, and had a very good personal relationship with Chokei himself. Historically, when the first relatives of Chozong and Ibu occupied Sanuki, they also invaded this place, and married the daughter of the third brother Qintai to Ishikawa Katsushige's son Toratake.

It can be seen that I am in line with the historical trend by taking this place, which not only continues the previous policy, but also has a deep forward-looking surname...... From my Utatsu Port to the outer harbor under Kawanoe Castle, there is about forty kilometers by sea. And if my expectations are correct, the biggest opponents of this trip will be the Innoshima Navy and the Nojima Navy Army, which are located 40 kilometers northwest of the Kawanoe Port.

In the Mori family's naval system, Injima, Nojima, and Kurijima Naval Forces are not descendants, and they joined relatively late, especially the Noshima Naval Army in the western part of Imabari Port, which completely followed the actions of the Kono family's naval army, and the head of the Kurojima family, Murakami Tsuyasu, was the son-in-law of Kono Tsunao, and was once established as the heir of the Kono family. However, these three and the Mori family belong to the cooperative navy, but they are the key to the Maori navy's domination of the western Seto Inland Sea, and they are much stronger than the Kobayakawa navy and the Nomi navy of the Maori family's headquarters. The Maori family understands this, and has always been very close to these three families, and has done their best to win them over, for example, the main room of Moto's fourth son, Hoida Motokiyo, is the daughter of Murakami Toyasu, and the Mori Motohide born to this daughter has been the adopted heir of Maori Terumoto for a long time, and he is also the general of the Maori family in the Battle of Sekigahara.

In short, this is a fierce enemy and a mortal enemy, and as long as I and the Mori family fight for the Seto Inland Sea, there is no room for relaxation.

This battle was also the biggest challenge I faced after the Battle of Futamiura, which destroyed the Kitabatake, and the Battle of Kii, which defeated the Ataka Army. With the exception of the Awaji Maru, who failed to complete the commissioning in time, the navy forces directly under the family poured out, first escorting the transport fleet to the port of Utatsu of the main family, and then dividing into two routes, the elite reserve of the fleet and the Sanuki and Tosa clans converged and attacked Iyo-Uma County by land, while the navy broke through the conventional line of power between the two sides and went to the open sea of Kawanoe Port to set up a position.

Just like the last attack on the Ataka Navy, this time I still chose to trust Iwamatsu Nobutari and Futami Mitsunari to put all the naval forces under their command, and I led nearly 20,000 troops on land along the coast.

(To be continued)