Minong, Gujo-gun, is one of the eighteen counties of Minong.

The location of Gujo-gun is at the junction of Echizen, Hida, and Mino, and it can be said that it is an important place to enter and exit.

The Dainitake of the county is the boundary mountain of the three kingdoms, and the Nagara River (which flows through Mino-Owari), Shogawa (which flows through Hida Echichu), and the Kuzo Ryukawa (which flows through Echizen) all diverge from it.

Therefore, if Li Xiao occupies this place, he will not only improve the defense of Hida, but also attack and defend both advance and retreat.

Gujo Hachiman Castle.

Endo Keitaka and Sister Koji Yoritsuna stood on the arrow turret of Waimaru, looking at the Takeda army that was setting up an attack queue under the castle.

After looking at it for a long time, Endo Keitaka's face began to change color a little, and he said, "The Takeda Army is really well-trained. ”

"What's more, there are so many big barrels and iron cannons, this Li Xiao is only 40,000 stone territory, where did he get so much money to equip his army."

Sister Xiaolu Lai Gang snorted and said: "You don't need to ask, you also know that it was Takeda Shingen who allocated it to him, and the Takeda family has wolf ambitions to annex the country of the four directions, not just a Hida." Right now, my sister Koji's family has just been destroyed, and the Takeda family is attacking Mino with this truth, which is really hateful. ”

Endo Keitaka said, "Yes, whether Your Excellency is here or not, the Takeda Army will not let go of this opportunity to capture Mino. If it weren't for the Oda family's large-scale attack on Mino this time, my Mino clan would never sit idly by and watch the Takeda army attack our county, damn it, this Li Xiao's timing was too good. ”

Sister Koji Yoritsuna admonished: "It's okay, Lord Nagai is stationed in Dongden Mountain Castle and we are each other's horns, the Takeda army will never dare to let go of its hands and feet, and attack the city with all its might, as long as we hold on for a few more days, as soon as Lord Ando's reinforcements arrive, our strength will be far above the Takeda army, and when the time comes, the Takeda army will be defeated." ”

Endo Keitaka nodded and said, "That's very good. ”

He said that, but he looked at the Takeda Army cylinders stacked on the outskirts of the trench with a look of hesitation.

Takeda Ling's banner sounded loudly.

In the morning light, Li Xiao picked up the monocular Qianli Tube and looked at Hachiman Castle in the county, which covered the entire Hachiman Mountain.

The appearance of Hachiman Castle in the Gujo is unobstructed.

Li Xiao put down the monocular Qianli tube, and said to the two staff members Honda Masashi and Usami Minami: "Although the county city is far less steep than Guiyun City, the city is deep and wide, you can hide soldiers, and the curved wheels are all made of stone, and I am afraid that I can't open the city wall with a mortar of this caliber of mine." ”

Honda Masanobu took the lead but said: "Lord, we can divide our troops into two ways, one way with mortar cannons, the lower west side of the city curved wheel, in order to attract the opponent's ideas, and the main attack all the way can quietly push the direct fire cannon to the enemy's big hand gate to bombard, and after the city gate is broken, we can surprise in one fell swoop." ”

Li Xiao nodded when he heard Honda Masashi say this, and said, "You are right, just what I want." ”

Li Xiao turned his head to look at Usami Minami, who had been silent.

Usami Nami seemed to be distracted, and when she felt Li Xiao glancing at her, she suddenly said: "My lord, I think we should be more wary of the military situation in Dongdian Mountain City. ”

Li Xiao turned his head sideways and glanced at Dongdian Mountain Castle, which was far away from Hachiman Castle in the county, and said with a smile: "It's okay, we can divide the general forces into three parts, line up separately, and meet each other." ”

"Fighting on their own? That must be done with sufficient strength in all divisions, otherwise it will be a scattered force and will be broken by the enemy. Usami said.

Li Xiao smiled and said, "Of course. ”

Soon after, the Takeda Army had completed its move, and Li Xiao led the main force to prepare their own flags, standing still, facing the western side of Hachiman Castle in the gun, where the mortar artillery position constructed by Rui Costa was also located.

Kamioka Bei, who was Shimakatsu Takeshi, and part of the large team carried two direct-fire cannons and moved to the side of the big men in the gunjo castle.

Finally, Koichiro Kinoshita's Snake Tail Bei, and the horseback team of Masahiro Tsuchiya, moved to the flanks of the two reserves to monitor Todenyama Castle, where Michitoshi Nagai was located.

After the formation was completed, the bronze mortar cannon of the large barrel team was ready.

Seven medium-caliber mortar cannons were aimed at the east side of the curved wheel, and in front of the mortar cannons, a row of wooden and bamboo shields wrapped with straw was temporarily erected.

On the other side, the two hundred flag team members are light and look ahead.

At this time, Li Xiao slowly raised the military ration in his hand, which was given to Li Xiao by Takeda Shinxuan, as a recognition of the qualification of the general of Li Xiao's army. ,

The armament was made of cowhide, covered with black lacquer, with Sanskrit on one side and twelve sticks written on the other, and the outer rim and handle were made of iron.

This thing sells quite well, and as far as Li Xiao knows, the military that Takeda Shingen must hold in every battle is written on the book 'The Record of King Wen of Zhou'.

Li Xiao left Maza, and after the general was lifted, he decisively pressed down.

Rui Costa received the order and pressed his hand as well.

Immediately, the mortar cannon in front of him let out an earth-shattering roar!

Clouds of black smoke rose one after another, and behind the curved wheel of Hachiman Castle in the prefecture, a flag could be faintly seen moving left and right, and it was obvious that the Endo family had also taken into account the Takeda Army's strong attack on this place, and the military forces were gathered here.

The projectile whistled and smashed a large crater into the stone wall of the county.

The cannonballs that fell in the winding wheel always caused a terrible scream in the opponent's city, obviously inflicting casualties on the opponent.

The projectile that missed fell into the water with a loud pop, and the water column rose into the sky.

Immediately after the empty mortar cannon, Takeda Commander Ashigaru skillfully stepped forward to clear the chamber and reload.

The shelling continued.

After the second round of shelling, a simple arrow turret with a wooden cover in the city was hit by two consecutive shells and collapsed.

After three consecutive rounds of shelling of seven mortars.

The hustle and bustle behind the other party's curved wheel seems to have subsided a lot.

Several stone walls on the curved wheel were also destroyed by projectiles or made large craters, and the sand and stones were falling sparsely.

At this moment, with a wave of the military equipment in Li Xiao's hand, two hundred ashigaru men with their sleeves and trouser legs pulled high began to wade across the river with spears in hand.

The trench was about five rooms wide, and it was not deep, at most it reached the chest, but it still served as a hindrance.

Many of them are well-versed in water, but fortunately they pin their spears to their bodies and paddle directly across the water.

At this time, the counterattack of Gujojo Castle began, and the Endo army, which was hiding behind Sasama, began to shoot with iron cannons and bows and arrows, trying to stop the Takeda army Ashigaru from paddling through the water.

But as soon as they came out of their heads, and before they could shoot, they heard the roar of a string of iron cannons like the sound of popping beans.

On the edge of the trench, rows of iron cannons hidden behind the shield boards, the iron cannons of the Takeda Army were light, and a dense salvo began.

Rows of guns neatly erupted with brilliant fiery snakes, and smoke rose from the gunpowder.

Several Endo Army iron cannons who tried to stand in the gap of the curved wheel and shoot at the castle were directly hit by the iron cannons on the side of the Takeda Army, and rolled over and fell into the trench.

And the rest of the Endo Ashigaru who was hiding behind the narrow room, although their lives were unharmed, they were almost hit by the iron cannon salvo of the Takeda Army here, and they didn't dare to show their heads.

They only dared to start a counterattack after waiting for the Takeda Army's iron artillery bombardment to slow down a little.

Their hasty fire killed only a few enemy soldiers who crossed the river, and at this time, the fourth round of artillery fire rang out from the Takeda camp.

There were a few more big holes on the curved wheel in an instant.

"Iron cannon salvo!"

Another round of shouting orders, reloading the Takeda Army's iron cannons, fired a volley into the enemy's city, and the opponent's city was full of sawdust and stone slag.

After a few screams, it is estimated that another unlucky ghost was hit by an iron cannon.

Under the cover of the large barrel and the iron cannon in turn, the Takeda army Ashigaru had successfully crossed the river.

In front of several corners of the wall that were collapsed by the bombardment of the large cylinder, the first few ashigaru bites the ribs in their mouths, directly uses their hands and feet together, grabs the cracks in the root of the wall, and climbs up bravely.

Before a Takeda soldier could climb the top of the city, he was thrown out of the gap, and several spears were stabbed fiercely and fell down.

Then another ashigaru was hacked to death with a knife and fell to the bottom of the castle.

The iron cannons of the Takeda army also continued to shoot at the head of the city, and the bow foot had already crossed the river and began to shoot arrows into the city.

The corpses of the two sides, like sacks, fell from the city from time to time and fell into the trenches.

Seeing that the Takeda army was about to gain a foothold at the head of the city, they also began to throw stones down at the head of the city.

Suddenly, more than a dozen soldiers of the Takeda Army were smashed to the point of bleeding.

And the Endo army took the opportunity to counterattack, and the Takeda army, which had easily gained a foothold at the head of the city, was split down by the other side one after another.

Li Xiao held the military equipment in his hand and watched this siege scene, which was the first siege in the official sense since he led the army (the battle of Guiyun City can be ignored).

Despite the superior firepower of their own large barrels and iron artillery, the siege battle was still fought so hard. ,

In the siege warfare of this era, unless the absolute superiority of the force, the general siege battle is extremely tragic, a few years ago in the battle of Minowa Castle, the Takeda army was still defeated by the Nagano army under such a large force advantage, it is recorded that the Takeda army died under the iron cannon only more than 600 loyal and brave people.

Generally speaking, a castle like Hachiman Castle in the county has enough troops to defend it, and even if a large army is mobilized to attack it, there is no castle that cannot be captured in five or six days.

Just as Li Xiao and the generals were staring at the siege battle, an envoy came to report and said: "Report to the lord, Dongdian Mountain City has sent troops. ”

Sure enough, when the fierce battle began on the side of Hachiman Castle in the gun, there was already a change in the direction of Todenyama Castle.

Michitoshi Nagai, the general of the Saito family, personally led 700 troops out of the city and lined up in the rear of the Takeda army.

As soon as Michitoshi Nagai's team moved, it was the long-awaited Koichiro Kinoshita's Snake Tail Bei and Tsuchiya Masatsune's horseback team.

Under Kinoshita's shout, the iron artillery team was immediately assembled, divided into two wings of the central pike phalanx, and on the left and right flanks of the iron artillery team was covered by the arched foot light team and the spear foot light team, and in the rear of the snake tail bei, Tsuchiya Masahiro's two hundred cavalry team was hiding behind it and slowly followed.

Kinoshita Koichiro laid out the formation of the Western Phalanx, and now the army is lined up in a dense queue, approaching the other side.

Looking at the approaching Takeda Army and this strange array, Nagai and his son were both surprised.

"Father, the other party's array has never been seen before." Nagai Michitoshi's son, Nagai Michitsu said.

Nagai Michitoshi's eyes flashed, and he said: "Don't make a fuss, Li Xiao is extremely stupid, he actually divided his troops and gave me every opportunity to break through, you just have to attack forward, after breaking this army, I will go straight to the Takeda army's main formation." ”

As Michitoshi Nagai, a famous general of Mino, he did not put the snake tail in his eyes at all, and personally led the army to assault.

Immediately, the drums on the side of the Nagai army beat up, and the 700 troops also began to move forward to meet them.

The two armies approached slowly, and in less than a quarter of an hour, they were within range of each other's iron cannons and bows.

Almost at the same time, both sides opened fire together.

The center of the battlefield was filled with the roar of iron cannons, and Nagai Michitoshi actually prepared a lot of iron cannons.

But the next scene was greatly unexpected by Nagai's expectations.

The fire from the Takeda gunner's guns was endless, but after the fire, the Nagai gunner, who was standing in place and reloading his ammunition, was defenseless as he prepared for the second shot.

Every time the iron cannon on the Takeda Army's side sounded, several of the Nagai Army's iron cannons were so light that their bodies seemed to suddenly convulse, and they were shot straight to the ground.

Seeing this, Nagai Michitoshi was shocked, and immediately withdrew the iron cannon Ashigaru, which had not yet had time to shoot a second time, and immediately led the samurai ashigaru to kill the Takeda army.

However, in the Takeda Army's formation, the firepower of the iron cannon fire was also continuous.

After the first row of Takeda Army's iron guns finished firing, the second platoon immediately stood in front and fired, and the third platoon and the fourth platoon seemed to be a never-ending cycle.

Although Ashigaru under Nagai Michitoshi fought bravely, the closer he got to the Takeda army, the greater the damage caused by the opponent's iron artillery.

The famous samurai of the Nagai Army, who were armed with swords, fell one by one on the way to charge.

The Takeda Army's iron cannon on the side of the killer was inherent, but after the shot, he retreated expressionlessly, as if he did not react at all to the corpses that were littered in front of him.

After several years of training by Kinoshita Koichiro, this western phalanx has become a small success, and the iron artillery team on both wings and the spear ashigaru in the center cooperate very closely.

This small version of the Western Kingdom Phalanx is simply an incomparably efficient killing machine.

In Europe, as soon as the Western phalanx came out, the arquebus was used to the maximum effect, directly turning the war into the era of hot weapons.

On the side of the Nagai army, after dozens of samurai who were most effective in front of them were killed by the iron cannon bows and arrows of the Takeda army, the Nagai army had lost the courage to attack.

Before the two sides could engage in battle, the Nagai army was defeated by Kinoshita Koichiro's snake tail preparation.

As Mino famous general Nagai Michitoshi, he didn't even wield a Takeda army with a knife, but he was coerced by several sons and joined the rout and escaped.

And at this time, which had been hidden behind the snake tail preparation, the Takeda Army cavalry team was already ready.

With the wave of Tsuchiya Masahiro's sword, the cavalry team of the Takeda Army, which had two hundred horsemen, took advantage of the situation and went to cover the Nagai army.

The horse's hooves rumbled, the Kiso horses under the knight's crotch rushed up one by one, Takeda Ling's flag fingers swelled to the maximum in the air, and the knight on the horse turned his sword with his wrist, facing a group of defeated and fleeing soldiers, as if he had seen a group of lambs to be slaughtered, and the expression on his face showed a bloodthirsty look.

And Nagai Michitoshi, who was in the process of fleeing, saw that a large number of cavalry of the Takeda Army had been killed, and he suddenly showed a look of despair.