"What Li Xiao is coming back?"

Uesugi Kenshin, who was discussing in the military tent, frowned, turned around at the moment, and asked, "Is the news correct?" ”

"Oh, yes," said Saito, the general of Echigo, "This news, the Tokugawa family has also confirmed to us, the Tokugawa family governor Yasuko, in an urgent way, secret letter to us, Li Xiaosheng must not leave Kai." k update"

"Ieyasu, in the letter, said that he has never seen a general who is more proficient in tactics than Li Xiao, even if it is the resurrection of Xin Xuangong. If this person is in one day, then Ieyasu Gong will not have a day to sleep, so he implored the lord to send a group of ninjas to cooperate with him Mikawa Ninja, and be sure to ambush Li Xiao so that he cannot survive. ”

Listening to Saito Asanobu's words, Uesugi Kenshin snorted coldly and said: "Ieyasu, you are so narrow-minded, you can't win this person in battle, and you actually came up with such a means as ambushing. ”

Seeing Uesugi Kenshin's disdainful look, Saito Asanobu thought for a while, and finally said: "My lord, in fact, His Majesty thinks that what Ieyasu said is not unreasonable. ”

"Huh?"

Seeing that Uesugi Kenshin's expression turned sharp, Saito said to the letter: "Lord, you can't be common sense when dealing with Li Xiao, if you want to win on the battlefield, I don't know how many people you have to die to achieve your goal, if such a person can be eradicated, it can also save how many lives of my Echigo army." My lord, please think about it, in the past ten years, have I not been the general of the Uesugi family who has died at the hands of Li Xiao? Kakisaki-sama, Naoe-sama, Murakami-sama, etc., so please consider my opinion carefully and be sure to think twice. ”

Uesugi Kenshin listened to Saito Asanobu's words, and he originally had a furious expression, but when he later mentioned the names of Kakizaki Keiya, Naoe Keizuna, Murakami Yoshikiyo and others.

Kenshin Uesugi turned silent.

Suddenly, Uesugi Kenshin took a deep breath, a trace of sadness appeared on his face, and said: "Naoe, they are all the best generals in my Echigo, their deaths are not Li Xiao, it is my fault, I am ashamed of them." ”

After a pause, Uesugi Ken said: "Saito, in fact, what you said is right, what Ieyasu said is also right, Li Xiao and other characters exist, not only his Ieyasu, how can I have another day to sleep peacefully." At the beginning, Xin Xuan was able to have this person to assist, which was really his luck. ”

"However," Uesugi Kenshin said with a straight face, "but all this cannot be a reason for me to send a ninja to ambush him, and if he dies on a sickbed, he will be regarded as cowardly and incompetent." What's more, dying at the hands of ninjas and others. If I want Li Xiao's life, I will take it from the battle array, and not by other means. ”

Saito Asanobu's expression changed greatly when he heard this, and he was about to say again, Uesugi Kenshin waved his head and said: "Needless to say, the Xuanyuan people of this family have been destroyed, and Fei Kato has already died, with the current ninja crowd, what power do they have to ambush Li Xiao, since the Tokugawa family is interested, let him go." ”

"Let's go down, Xin Xuangong, and Gong Kang have all passed away one after another, there are too few heroes in this world, Li Xiao is one."

When Saito Asanobu heard this, his expression struggled for a moment, and finally he sighed and retreated.

On a mountain road near the Shinano-Kiso Valley.

A team of people with their feet on their feet, leggings and light feet, and various spears, naginatas, and wooden maru weapons in their hands were marching.

These ashigaru men had just been recruited from the farmland, and after putting down their hoes, they were ordered by the local landlords to form a team and rush to Kiso-Fukushima Castle, the main city of the Kiso family.

In Kiso-Fukushima Castle, these ashigaru men were organized into local samurai.

In addition to their own weapons, these ashigaru people rarely have enough equipment to wear, so in the team, those who wear large armor are all equipment that only local samurai have. …,

After all, in this Warring States, only the Changzong family has that sufficient law.

However, after these ashigaru arrived at Kiso Fukushima Castle, the Kiso family would equip the castle with sufficient equipment, that is, special imperial ware.

The daimyo will distribute the goods and equipment to these ashigaru, as well as the flag painted with the family crest, which is the symbol of friend and foe.

But even so, the Kiso family has prepared enough goods and equipment, and it will definitely not be enough in such a war with the largest mobilization scale.

Behind these ashigaru trails, a team slowly walked again.

Compared with the complexity of the Ashigaru team, this team is much more neat.

Many of the people in this procession were samurai on horseback, and they came from behind in fresh clothes.

In the ashigaru line of the Kiso family in front, a man in his forties stepped out of the line and looked at the line coming from behind.

The man was dressed in heavy armor and had his hand on the hilt of a sword at his waist, apparently dressed as a local samurai.

In fact, the other party's name is Uematsu Dingno, and his ancestor followed the Kiso family from birth to death and made great contributions.

In the end, the governor of the Kiso family, Kiso Yoshizai, adopted the daughter of a retainer as an adopted daughter, and then married the retainer named Uematsu.

Therefore, the Uematsu family is also related to the Kiso family.

After that, the Uematsu family obtained a piece of Zhixing land in the Kiso Valley and became a local land servant.

Because the ancestor was also a regular samurai, he followed the two generations of lords to fight back then, so Kamimatsu still has a certain vision.

When he saw the decoration of this procession, he couldn't help but cry out in surprise.

"How is it possible, this is the Zhu handle umbrella, and also, that is the white umbrella bag, the last one, isn't it the felt saddle cover, impossible, even the head of the family is not qualified to use these three things, why is it here, is it?"

When Uematsu was surprised, his son Uematsu Yasuto, holding a naginata, walked up to his father, and learned from the character Yasu in his name that he was a worship from Kiso Yoshiyasu, the last governor of the Kiso family.

Seeing his father's surprised appearance, Uematsu Yasuda asked in a loud voice, "What's the matter, father?" ”

Kamimatsu Dingno shouted in a low voice: "Bastard, be quiet, don't you see this is a white umbrella bag and a felt saddle cover?" ”

Uematsu followed his father's gaze, looked at him for some reason, and asked, "What's so strange about that person holding a vermilion umbrella?" ”

Uematsu Dingno listened to his son's words, and suddenly looked like he hated iron and steel, and scolded: "Stupid, this vermilion-handled umbrella, white umbrella bag, and felt saddle cover are protected by a country, and they are qualified to use it." I only saw it when I went to Rinjo and saw the Ogasawara clan on the side of the road. ”

"A Guardian?" Uematsu finally understood what his father said, and he stammered a little: "Father...... Father, the ...... of my country Guard, isn't it the Kai Takeda family? Why is Mikan-sama here? ”

Kamimatsu shook his head and said, "It will definitely not be the Kai Takeda clan coming, if he comes, he will definitely bring the Kai Legion to meet the Echigo army, and it will not be the only one who is here." ”

"Who could it be?" Uematsu asked in surprise when he heard this.

Kamimatsu Dingno said in a deep voice: "Don't think about it, in the main family, in addition to the family governor, there is another person who has a guardian personality, and that must be his car." ”

Noden Guard, Major General of the Right Guard, Li Xiao.

After the father and son thought about it, they immediately shouted to the ashigaru who were marching on the side: "Stop for me, kneel on the side of the road, don't block the car of the house at the beginning!" ”

These ashigashi were a little dull in their heads, but when the samurai lord at the head of the ground rode his horse and whipped it on his head, he screamed in pain, and then began to listen to orders. …,

The ashigaru walking on the road all stepped aside, put their weapons aside, lowered their heads, and waited for the car to pass by.

As the leader of the samurai who accompanied Li Xiao to escort this time.

It is the eldest man of the Baoke family, the superintendent of the Baoke family, and the upright Baoke Zhengguang.

Masamitsu is seventeen years old this year, tall and tall, and has an extraordinary face, and is unanimously regarded by the retainers of the Baoke family as an excellent candidate to inherit the family governor.

And Masamitsu Hoshina has just married the daughter of Sanada Masayuki, the general of the Nishiueno Army, Sanada Masayuki's daughter is an outstanding beauty, so his marriage is very happy, and now is the time when he is young and high-spirited.

This time, on the orders of his father, he led thirty samurai from the Hoshina family to escort Li Xiao's car from the Kiso Valley through Shinano to Hida.

The journey was not uneventful, especially after crossing the Kiso Valley, which had already been occupied by the Uesugi army, and it was very dangerous to cross enemy territory.

Therefore, Baoke Zhengguang has been worried along the way.

So he turned his head on his horse, and a shoulder with a large version of the striking red color was being carried by eight people on the mountain path.

This is the Tu Yu who is qualified to ride on the guardian generation, and it is also one of the equipment that Ashikaga Yoshiaki gave Li Xiao Nengden to guard, and it is particularly expensive at the moment.

And Li Xiao is sitting in the middle of this.

Regarding Li Xiao's prestige, Baoke Zhengguang had heard his father say it countless times, in addition to knowing that the other party was the number one general in the main family who could fight habitually.

His marksmanship is also extraordinary, he can fight the world's first swordsman Kamizumi Nobutsuna, and his father's spearmanship is also passed down by him.

So for Li Xiao, Baoke Zhengguang was full of admiration, thinking that if there was any accident on the road, even if he didn't want his life, he would protect Li Xiaoquan.

Baoke Zhengguang temporarily put down his mind and got back on the road, while his spirits were more uplifted.

Hoshina Masako looked in front of him, and the Kiso family, who was kneeling along the way, swept over each of them vigilantly to see if there was any change.

However, these people all looked deferential, and Hoshina Masamitsu arranged for several experienced samurai under his command to guard this side, and there was nothing unusual in seeing it, so he was relieved.

But at this moment, Li Xiao's team passed by a mountain wall.

Hearing a sudden rumbling sound, Baoke Zhengguang only felt that the sky was shaking, and the war horse under his crotch was also frightened, and he actually screamed, and between the four hooves, he knelt down directly.

This surprised Masamitsu Hoshina, who was unstable in his center of gravity and rolled off the saddle directly from the horse, and when he raised his head, his eyes were round and he looked incredulous.

At that moment, Masamitsu Hoshina used his hand to protect the samurai behind him, as well as the shoulder man who was carrying his shoulder, and swung it violently, shouting loudly: "Retreat, retreat quickly!" ”

As soon as the words fell, I heard a series of loud noises, and I saw several huge rocks rolling down from the mountain wall, straight towards my shoulder.

Those shoulder husbands could have seen that their legs were weak, but after listening to Bao Ke Zhengguang's order, in order to save their lives, they spread their legs and ran forward with their shoulders raised.

Suddenly, Masako heard a few more noises from the cliff.

The head of the shoulders carried the shoulders in front of the shoulder, the tail of the arrow with white feathers hanging on the chest, and when the arrow was hit in the chest, he knelt on the ground with his head up.

And the shoulder is missing the support on this side, and it will immediately tilt down and fall to the ground.

At this moment, several samurai beside him rushed forward desperately, holding their shoulders and stopping the momentum of their fall.

And when the remaining shoulder bearers were about to carry their shoulders again, there were a few more bangs in the direction of the cliff, which was the sound of iron cannon shooting.

I heard a pop, and the planks on both sides of the shoulder were pierced by the projectiles of the iron cannon, and then there was another pop, and another projectile shot through the shoulder plank. …,

The shoulder man listened to the shoulder, and there was a faint snort, and a touch of blood sprayed on the bamboo curtain.

"Yakatako!"

The shoulder-bearers and samurai beside the shoulders all had a hint of creepy.

At this time, everyone only felt that it was dark overhead, and in just a dozen moments, the boulder had fallen directly from the top of the mountain, and it was in front of them.

Although everyone worked together to avoid several of the largest boulders, they were eventually hit by a half-human-high gravel.

On the spot, two shoulder-bearers carrying shoulders were hit by the rubble, and one person's skull was directly shattered, and blood was immediately stained on the spot.

The shoulders were not only stained with blood, but also smashed and crooked, and the whole body was deformed.

Bao Ke Zhengguang saw this scene, his eyes were split, and he shouted: "Bastard! ”

"Well done!"

At the same time, at the other end of the cliff, a man dressed as a mountain ambush looked at all this coldly and let out a sneer.

And this Yamashi is dressed up, his face is gray, and his appearance is not good, at first glance he is an inconspicuous little old man, and such a character is a big deal everywhere.

But a dozen or so monks, peasants, and merchants of all kinds were in awe of this man.

At this time, one person asked, "Hattori-sama, is Li Xiao dead?" ”

The man dressed in the mountain snorted and said, "Even if Li Xiao survives under the sniper of the iron cannon of the Ten Guards, it is impossible for him to escape the crushing of the mountain rocks. ”

The man was still a little uneasy, and asked repeatedly, "Do you want to send someone to check it?" ”

"No," the man stretched out his hand and said, "we must retreat, otherwise the Takeda Army will react, and none of us here will be able to leave." ”

At this time, this person turned around and said: "Everyone, our hard work is valuable, Li Xiao is dead, we have completed what Nobunaga and Qian Xin Gong can't do, and Changshino can't complete the mission of 38,000 soldiers." The Three Rivers Temple will definitely reward us, and now we have to stay and receive this reward. ”

"Inform Saburo to send someone to answer immediately, and send a signal for Shibei to flee immediately, if anyone is captured, it will be a tear of mouth, and the Tokugawa family secrets will not be leaked, understand?"

"Oh!" These dozen or so people all agreed with a bang.

"Go ahead!" The man waved his arm cleanly.

I saw a few pops, and the dozen or so ninjas all showed their skills and rushed away.

There was only one person left on the cliff, and at this time, this person looked at the face of the cliff and rushed up, and came to grab their Hoko family samurai with red eyes, and there was a mocking smile on his face.

Yes, this person is the leader of the Tokugawa family ninjas, the number one ninja under Tokugawa Ieyasu, born in Hattori Masasari, who was born in Koga Shinobi, and his other name is the famous Hattori Hanzo.

Hattori Hanzo looked at Hoshina Masamitsu and them with contempt, sneered, and said, "Forget it, since the goal has been achieved, spare your lives." ”

Speaking of which, Hattori Hanzo's figure had disappeared from the cliff, and after half a ring, the samurai of the Hoshina family pounced on it and found nothing.

At the foot of the cliff, Bao Ke Zhengguang was already stunned when he looked at Shoulder, thinking of his father's advice before leaving, and the current miserable situation of Shoulder, he almost wanted to commit suicide on the spot.

At the same time, Kamimatsu Dingno watched the scene of Baoke hurriedly picking up the rocks on his shoulders, which was also dumbfounded.

He knew the figure sitting in the shoulder, and he involuntarily thought in his heart, Wandan, something big happened.

Even though he was flustered, Uematsu Dingno thought that he had to report this important matter to the head of the family, Kiso Yoshimasa, the first to know.

Not only Hoshina Masamitsu, Uematsu Dingno, but also Hattori Hanzo, who presided over this assassination operation. …,

The eyes and ears of the major celebrities in Shinano all understood the earth-shattering news that Li Xiao had been assassinated and might have died.

All of a sudden, all the ninjas hiding in Takeda immediately sent this important news to their respective family masters as quickly as possible, spreading the news.

Li Xiao was assassinated!

For a while, Oda, Tokugawa, Uesugi, and Takeda were shaken.

At this moment, the situation is surging.

It was getting twilight, and it was in a valley less than ten miles from the Kiso Valley.

Rushing rivers wash through the canyons.

The Kiso Valley is the main route of the Nakasendo Trail, and after crossing the Kamisaka Mountain in this area, you will arrive at Mino.

In a dense forest of forests, the clear shouts of mountain loggers as they descend the mountain can be heard from time to time.

Because of the uneven terrain near the Hida Highlands and the rapid flow of the river, it is difficult to cultivate, but many people in the Kiso Valley make a living by logging wood, so in the dense forests between the mountains, the mountain huts where the loggers live can be seen everywhere.

At this time, Yokotani Yukiyo was dressed as a ninja in black clothes, shuttling quickly between the twilight mountains and forests.

His steps were fast, and the sound of rustling through the leaves of the forest sounded, but the figure had disappeared into the depths of the forest.

Yokotani was sweating and came to a simple house where a logger lived.

In front of the house, four or five people dressed as merchants were sitting or standing, resting in front of the house.

Before, when they heard the footsteps in the dense forest, they all pricked up their ears, and at the same time secretly reached out to the bulge around their waists.

However, after seeing the people clearly, these people breathed a sigh of relief.

At this time, Yokotani Yukiyoshi came to a tall man in the group and said in a deep voice: "Report to the lord, Hoshina Masamitsu's side has been attacked by a large number of ninjas!" ”

Listening to Yokotani Yukiyo's words, the man nodded slightly, the other party was none other than Tokugawa Ieyasu, Hattori Hanzo thought that Li Xiao, who should have been in the attack, was either seriously injured or killed.

And now he's standing here unharmed.

PS: Five hundred chapters and a new journey.

It's another 5,000-word update, happy National Day, happy reading.

My waist is flashing, I have to go to work today, and I have to code words again, sad and urging.

Let's vote for me, ask for a monthly ticket.