The scorching sun of midsummer scorched the land, and Shinano had not seen rain for nearly three months, and the peasants could only pray for the blessings of the gods of Suwa Myojin as they watched a load of water pour into the ground and dry up completely after a while.

A team of chaotic banners walked in the mountain road, and it can be seen from the flag seal that this army is from the Hao clan coalition army of Kita-Shinano, and there is a neat lineup of troops in front of them, just look at the six coins on the flag seal, that is the big red man of the Takeda family, the direct legion of Sanada Yutaka.

"Tsuma-Daughter Mountain, Chikuma River, Kaizu Castle! This battle is not easy to fight! "Soki Masatomo is a native of Saku-gun, he was the first Shinano ancestor to submit to the Takeda family in 1540, and he was the elder of the Shinano country's lord of the castle, Oi Sadaka, as the leader of the Shinano country, who defected to the Takeda family, and was also a representative of the people of the undisciplined country.

"We're doing bait, aren't we?" Shinano Aoyagi Castle Lord Aoyagi Kiyocho complained quietly.

"Shhhh The front stopped advancing. Nobuyoshi Muroga reminded his companions that he saw that the front army had begun to line up in an orderly manner, and as the rear army, he had to prepare for war.

In order to achieve the intention of feint attack, these 3,000 troops carried twice the flag of their own, and also brought 500 people to mix in the back of the queue to carry the flag, and the bells and whistles of the flag were scattered everywhere in the woods, and with the vivid sound of military drums, it really had the meaning of a large-scale attack.

In Kaizu Castle, a group of samurai from Shinano Kingdom stood on the arrow turrets and looked at the military situation in the distance, and said worriedly: "How is it good for 6,000 troops to attack Kaijin Castle?" ”

"I don't think so! Look at the banner seal, there are also seven or eight thousand horsemen. I heard that the Takeda family dispatched 28,000 people this time. That's twice as much as us! A Shinano nationalist expressed his own dissenting opinion.

"Shhhh Be careful! It's bad for them to hear it. Several samurai cautiously looked around. His eyes immediately glanced at the castle tower on the opposite side, where Ogasawara Nagasagawa, Murakami Yoshikiyo, Suda Mitsukin, Shimazu Tadanao and other Shinano nationals were in charge in person, while the gates of Kaizu Castle were closed at this time, and the tigers, horses, stables, and small castle towers had been controlled by the Echigo samurai, and the people of Shinano could only whisper about the distrust of these former colleagues.

Several people looked at it carefully a few times before snorting coldly: "What are you afraid of, the Takeda family is irresistible, and all Shinano knows that this is the general trend." I think even the gods and Buddhas can't save the defeat! ”

"Alas! Have you heard of that? Now the lord of Echigo is not the long-tailed Jinghu who loves to drink, but the famous family of the shogunate who occupies Echigo. ”

"If you want me to see, those famous doors are about the same, don't you rob Echigo and then come to fight us Shinano? What is righteous or unrighteous, and can there be land knowledge and action? ”

"That's it! What I admire the most is the samurai of Hojo Sakumo, Saito Michizo, and Niko Sussake, this is the example of our samurai, overturning the main family and being the governor of the house, all by ability! ”

"I heard that the shogunate was famous because he helped the shogunate fight together, and he himself was a small wealthy family in the countryside, and he somehow became a famous family. In my opinion, there must be a problem here.,Eighty percent of them are the little surnames of the shoguns or something, right? ”

"How do you kid know? It can't be that you envy the intimacy between Takeda Daizen and Kasuga Torano, right? No one wants to be a little surname for you like a bear! Hahaha......"

It didn't take long. The Sanada army began to attack unhurriedly after the end of the formation, the ashigaru team and the archery team slowly advanced, and waves of arrows rained out and were returned by the defenders in the city, the casualties on both sides of this style of play were extremely low, and the Sanada army attacked in the morning, and then changed to the Shinano coalition army to continue the attack, and the whole day was so salty and indifferent, and in the evening they each collected their troops and returned to the camp.

August was the end of summer, the nights were a little cooler than in previous months, the dry earth cracked ugly openings, unlike the attacking side, the pressure on the defending side was relatively greater, and after a whole day of fighting, the samurai also looked tired, took off their heavy armor and picked up the wooden basin and went to the well to line up to fetch water to wash away the dirt on their bodies.

A waning moon rose higher and higher, and the misty moonlight was not enough to illuminate the distant scenery, and the ashigaru on duty on the arrow oars seized this precious time to hide in the corner and take a nap, and the city soon fell into silence, only the assessment room in Haijin City was still brightly lit.

"Why is their offensive so weak and weak, why are there only more than a thousand people in each detachment?"

"If you want me to see them, they must be afraid, even if 6,000 people besiege Haijin City, it is impossible to take it easily!"

Kakizaki Keike shook his head, he instinctively felt that this matter would not be so simple, and reminded: "Don't forget that it was Sanada Yutaka who led the army, and that person was very cunning. ”

"Sanada Yutaka ......" Shinano's samurai looked at each other, this name is like a nightmare, it is this person who used a trick to pull the relationship between Murakami Yoshikiyoshi and Takanashi Masayori to the opposite, and it was he who tore most of the Shinano samurai in half, half supported the Nagao family, and half supported the Takeda family, and since then the Northern Shinano wealthy alliance has fallen apart.

Ogasawara turned around anxiously for a long time, and suddenly turned his head and asked, "Did the Wuweidian say when he would come to the rescue of Kaijin Castle?" ”

The samurai looked at each other and shook their heads, and Murakami Yoshikiyo's face showed a bitter expression, and he lamented, "Do you want us to guard Kaijin Castle?" In this case, morale and morale will be problematic. ”

Kakizaki Jingjia tried to reassure: "Don't worry, Wuweidian will definitely come to save us!" Trust me......"

Suddenly, there was a shout of killing outside the city, and a faint fire appeared, and the thumping military drums and the horns of the conch startled everyone at once, and almost at the same time they came up with a word: "Night attack!" ”

"Quick! Be sure to block it! Murakami Yoshikiyoshi got up and hurried out, and the samurai, who had been a little slower to wake up, also jumped up and ran out with a smoke.

The fire outside the city is soaring, the shadowy banners are many scary, the rumbling military drums and the shouting of killing frightened the defenders in the city are frightened, no one dares to go out to engage in the battle on the dark and windy night of this month, can only desperately shoot the arrows in the pot, the stalemate did not last long, about half an hour later, the enemy army under the city gradually retreated. The silence of the city was dark again.

The defenders of the city were frightened into a cold sweat by the sudden night attack. I'm afraid that Sanada Yutaka will play some tricks again. The samurai could only wait for him to come back and kill him again, but they waited left and right until the middle of the night and the third watch was nowhere to be seen, so some people complained, and they simply went back to the house and slept in their clothes.

Before they could sleep for long, there was another noise outside the city, and there were flickering fires everywhere, and flaming rockets were fired into the city, and the frightened samurai rushed out to defend the city and face the fierce counterattack of the defenders. The enemy forces under the city did not hold out long before all retreated.

This time, many people understood, and Murakami Yoshikiyoshi scolded with a blue face: "Sanada Yutaka, what a bastard!" I haven't offended you, why did you hurt us so much! Playing intrigue and trickery five times, can't you fight like a samurai? ”

Suda said bitterly, "They are going to consume us!" ”

"Leave this alone, everyone rest now! Our samurai take turns to shoot the enemy back with bows and arrows when they come on! Ashigaru people don't have to come out. ”

"Izumi Mamoru , is this really okay? What if he does attack at night? ”

Faced with the questions of the Shinano people, Kakizaki Keike comforted: "No! In addition to being good at strategy, Sanada Yutaka is lackluster in leading troops. The success of several raids is all due to proper strategy, even if it is replaced by Takeda Harunobu, don't think about breaking through Kaizu Castle overnight. Rest assured, everyone! ”

The fact is exactly as he expected, until dawn, Sanada Yukitaka organized two more feints, each time the number of troops dispatched was smaller than the other, and the last time it was almost surrounded and annihilated by the Echigo army that was pursuing out of the city, it was obvious that the leader of the troops was not Sanada Yukitaka, and the other party abandoned more than 100 corpses and retreated hastily.

In general, the losses on both sides were not large, the defenders in the city lost a night's rest and some arrows, and the outside of the city was only because of the last unsuccessful harassment and did not do their best, after a night attack, the defenders in the city became exhausted, and it didn't take long for Sanada Yutaka to attack and kill with his own formation.

The Sanada army standing outside Haijin City was full of energy, alive and vigorous, and after a night's rest to completely suppress the defenders in the city, Xiangmu Masachao said excitedly: "The main hall is really a clever plan!" Let the sons and daughters take turns to attack and disturb in a few formations, but it will make Murakami Yoshikiyo tired overnight, and it is really a magic trick to play the main hall! ”

Standing in the shade of the woods to avoid the sun, even if it was only in the morning when it was not too hot, the summer and autumn heat was unbearable for the samurai in helmets and armor, who gathered under the trees to enjoy the cool feeling of the short time.

"It's too good to be able to keep it." Sanada Yutaka's mind was obviously not flattering, his eyes were fixed on something jumping in the distance, he walked over and pinched a huge locust, the brownish-gray locust has a pair of fat hind legs, and can jump far away, this insect is familiar to him, one of the great disasters that has plagued agriculture for thousands of years is it.

"Locusts! It turned out to be locusts! As soon as his fingers pinched the live bug to death, Xiangmu Changchao happened to come over, "What's the matter, play the main hall?" ”

"Here comes the locusts...... Look there! Following the direction of his guidance, a group of locusts could be seen burrowing out of the land in the distance, and seeing this scene, Xiang Mu Changchao's face turned blue: "Oops! ”

Looking up at the dry land all over the vast land of Shinano, swarms of locusts quietly and silently slowly burrowed out of the cracks, they stretched their wings and jumped to gather into the army of their companions, in the future, they will turn into a terrible demon beast called the locust god, devouring all the animals and plants they can see, and the locusts will pass through the corpse and bones will not remain.

"We're going to be in big trouble this year...... "Sanada Yutaka said worriedly.

The battle of wits and courage under Kaizu Castle lasted for five or six days in a row, and the tenacious Shinano people still held on to Kaizu Castle without taking a step back, Sanada Yukitaka was good at attacking the city and plundering the land, but it did not mean that he was good at fighting this kind of tough battle, and the stalemate of the battle and most of the Shinano samurai who held on to it made him very distressed, and several attempts to instigate a rebellion in the city were recognized by the vigilant Kakizaki Keijia.

Kakizaki Kei is not like the grinning Murakami Yoshikiyo, as the first person in the seven counties of Echigo, he is not only good at outstanding military strategy and martial arts, not like ordinary old people who don't know a single word, Kakizaki Keijia has a high cultural accomplishment, and is still a devout disciple of the Caodong sect, and Master Tianmuro Guangyu was invited by him to serve as the abbot of Kakizaki Castle Lengyan Temple.

He also has a very high level of resourcefulness and government affairs, and it was he who saw the opportunity to stand on the side of Nagao as the scenery in the one-third of the original battle, and resisted the fierce counterattack of the Echigo Uesugi faction for the Nagao family, and by virtue of this, he became one of the ranks of the important ministers of the Nagao family tree, and at the same time he was the main member of the executive group who was resident in Kasuga Mountain Castle, and it was reasonable to see through the abnormal movements in Kaijin Castle at a glance, after all, he had suffered such a loss before, and the same method was difficult to work on him again.

Murakami Yoshikiyo, Kakizaki Keika and others in the city dealt with night attacks through various methods such as torches lighting all over the city, warning reminders from several nearby castles, etc., and the effect was still somewhat some, but it was inevitable that the morale in the city would gradually decline if it was consumed like this.

In the early morning of August 8, Sanada Yutaka launched a routine attack, and as soon as the army reached the foot of Kaizu Castle, he felt the ground shake slightly, and Sanada Yukitaka suddenly turned around and asked, "Did you hear any sound?" ”

His younger brother Yoritsuna Yasawa shook his head to indicate that he hadn't noticed it, and the samurai of the Sanada family behind him also shook his head, Sanada Yutaka thought for a while and still felt that something was wrong, turned over and jumped off the horse and lay on the ground with his ears on the ground, and heard the rumbling vibration of the north coming to this side.

Sanada Yutaka's face changed sharply, and he yelled, "Not good! There is an enemy attack! The whole army is in formation! ”

At this time, a group of red cavalry roared, like a sweeping red tsunami washed over, and the familiar black and white Ashikaga two lead two flags were everywhere, and in an instant the Sanada army fell into a sea of red.

The samurai of the Sanada family reacted unhappily, and in just a few breaths, more than a dozen samurai came out holding swords in front of Sanada Yukitaka, and Yazawa Yoritsuna also pulled out the swords and shouted: "It's the Chibei of the Kira army!" Lord, retreat! Everyone listens, desperately trying to cover the retreat of the lord! ”

"Fight to the death!" The samurai of the Sanada family shouted.

Takigawa Tokimasa, who was wearing red armor and holding a gun, also stared at Sanada Yukitaka, like this kind of general is often the most conspicuous, the armor they wear is the most gorgeous, the samurai around them are the most dense, and there is a dazzling six-even money banner that betrays him deeply, Takigawa Tokiyoshi yelled: "Left near! Cover me! ”

"Yes!" The archer-wielding general of the red armor raised his bow and aimed at the samurai who were blocking the way in front of Takigawa Tokiyoshi, and the arrows after arrows seemed to be unremarkable bow drawing training, and the samurai of the Sanada family were killed like wheat.

At the same time, there were three cavalrymen following behind Takigawa Shiyi, they brandished their big guns to cover Takigawa Shiyi, any Sanada army that tried to outflank them died under their scimitars and big guns, and a round of fierce and fiery charges rushed the Sanada army into the bottom of the sieve, Sanada Yutaka couldn't care about this, and desperately retreated back under the escort of more than a dozen cavalry samurai.

Shiraku Sadatsu also saw Sanada Yutaka who was fleeing frantically, and shouted excitedly: "My lord has an edict! Capture the enemy general Sanada Yutaka alive, reward thousands of catties, and promote to the next level! ”

"Hah!" One by one, the Akabi samurai were like beating chicken blood, staring at Sanada Yutaka with red eyes and chasing in the direction of his escape, and a thousand cavalry turned into several forces and quickly killed, even the Sanada army that was defeated behind him didn't have time to deal with it, and no one cared about what strange title he shouted out casually.

The Shinano samurai at the head of Kaizu Castle were dumbfounded, and a large group of red horse warriors entered the Sanada army to start a massacre, and then chased them out one by one, what the hell is going on? Many people still haven't figured out the situation.

"Out of the battle! Defeat the remnants of Sanada! Kakizaki Keike and Murakami Yoshikiyo issued an order almost at the same time, and hundreds of horseback samurai from Echigo and Shinano rushed out of Otemon and caught up with the desperately retreating Sanada ranks, and the situation on the battlefield took a 180-degree turn, and it was smooth beyond imagination. (To be continued......)