Under the secret orders of Kira Yoshitoki, Yoshie Keishi and Yasuda Keimoto, who were stationed at Yashiro Castle and Shiozaki Castle respectively, insisted on holding the cage castle, and those Shinano Kuniti, who seemed unstable, were assigned to monitor Kaizu Castle controlled by Murakami Yoshikiyo, and their task was to delay the Takeda army's attack as much as possible before Echigo left Kawanakajima, and to allow the castle to retreat when it was too much to hold on.

On July 27, 13,500 troops under the leadership of Yoshitoki Kira marched out of Kawanakajima, and as the remaining officers of Kasuga Yamashi, Nagao Masaki, Nagao Fujikei, Yasuda Nagahide, Chisaka Keikin, and Ishikawa Shigeji were left behind in Kasuga Yamajo to assist Nagao Toraki to guard Kasuga Yama Castle.

The so-called Kawanaka Island is a curved river area formed by the confluence of the Rhikawa River, a tributary of the Chikuma River, which is one of the few plain areas in Kita-Shinano and an important grain producing area, and is only about 70 kilometers away from Echigo Kasuga Mountain Castle, but far more than 150 kilometers away from Kai Higasakikan, and the distance between Kawanaka Island and Kasuga Mountain Castle is roughly the same distance from Fukashi Castle to Kawanaka Island.

From Iiyama Castle along the Echigo Street all the way north, passing through Murei, Furuma, Togakushi, Kashiwabara, and Nojiri, entering the Echigo Sekigawa area can lead all the way to the Echigo Fuchu Naoetsu area, this road is relatively flat, making it easier to enter Echigo than several other directions, and this road is also the direction in which the Kira family marched today.

The gathering of 13,500 troops in the blink of an eye in the direction of Echigo greatly surprised Takeda Harunobu, especially this time the main general was not Nagao Keitor, who had known him for several years, but a samurai famous man from Kyoto, Yoshiro Yoshitoki. Listen to the bizarre rumors about him in Kyoto. Harunobu Takeda suddenly smiled.

Harunobu Takeda's first reaction was to be funny. Next, Masase said: "Kira Left Guard Governor is only thirteen years old this year!" Who is behind him in command? ”

"Does the lord mean that there is a master behind him to command the battle?" The Takeda retainers hesitated for a moment, thinking about it carefully, and there was indeed such a possibility.

"It's not a possibility, it's a possibility!" Masatake Komai's eyes flashed, and he smiled: "You must know that the lord has been in the army for more than ten years since he was young, and it is rare for a martial artist to experience so many battle formations, and he has never heard of a person who is invincible in battle, even if there is such a martial artist, it is by no means something that a thirteen-year-old boy can do!" ”

Fan Fu Huchang laughed and said, "This Wu Wei was only ten years old when he was served, right? Have you ever heard the story of a famous general who was killed at the age of ten? This is simply a ridiculous story, what happened to Kyoto in the past few years? The stories that came out are getting more and more bizarre. It's not as much fun as watching ape music! ”

"Hahaha......" The retainers of Takeda laughed with it, what does a ten-year-old child know, not to mention going into battle to fight together, being able to ride a stable war horse without falling down is a seedling with good talent, since ancient times, I have never heard of the story of a ten-year-old famous general.

"Although I don't know how powerful that ghost Shihe of the Miyoshi family is, but in my Huyin's opinion, it is probably the level I am waiting for, right? Hahaha! Yuan Huyin also joined in the fun.

"It is said that he was a very powerful samurai, but he was shot with a bow and arrow." Nobuaki thought about it carefully, and replied uncertainly: "Maybe it's because of the stray arrows or something!" ”

"Stray arrows? Hahaha......"

Seeing that they were smiling so happily, Komai Masatake was worried that he would underestimate the enemy too much and even show bad signs, so he hurriedly poured cold water and said, "You should not underestimate that Wu Wei Gong. It's still unclear who the master behind the Kira family is, so we should be careful about how to deal with it. ”

"Gao Baizhai is really too cautious, right? What if there is a master behind it. I'm still afraid that the Takeda samurai won't make it? We're not those soft-footed shrimp from, hahaha......" Iitomi Humasa seemed to be laughing at the weakness and incompetence of the Kinai samurai, and it seemed to be laughing at the cowardice of Masatake Komai, in short, a group of samurai laughed along with him, making his face ugly.

"That person should be Yamamoto Sado Punctuality! Formerly known as Yamamoto Kansuke, the ronin of Mikawa, the family had heard of his deeds back then, a lame one-eyed samurai wandered the countries for more than ten years, and the family wanted to recruit him as a retainer at the time, but it was a pity! Harunobu Takeda recalls the story of the years when he heard about a strange samurai from Suruga who wandered around Kai, and he wanted to visit it out of curiosity, but unfortunately Kansuke Yamamoto soon returned to Suruga, so he missed a great opportunity.

"The lord doesn't have to worry, even if that Yamamoto Sado Mamoru is as powerful as the legend, we are confident that we will defeat him, so I will take him out and make him the lord's retainer!" Fan Fu Huchang said with confidence.

"I hope so......"

……

On August 12, Yashiro Castle and Shiozaki Castle fell under the onslaught of the Takeda Army, and the troops led by Yoshie Keizi and Yasuda Keigen retreated to Kaizu Castle, and at this time the 13,500 Yoshira Army had entered Asahiyama Castle.

In the evening, the bonfire threw some leaves of unknown trees, and the smoke from the fire dispelled the annoying mosquitoes, and the samurai of the Takeda family gathered in the military tent and pondered, and on a sunny day, they picked up the candlestick and stared at the land for a long time before raising their heads and asking: "What do you think of this battle situation?" ”

"Fifteen thousand against thirteen thousand five hundred, I'm afraid this battle will not be easy to fight!"

The shortest Fan Fu Changjing had a loud voice, and when he saw everyone's gloomy looks, he couldn't help but shout urgently: "No matter how difficult it is, we must win them!" ”

"Genshiro said it well! My son-in-law of the Takeda family must have this kind of courage, no matter what his shogunate generals are, I am not afraid of them! Iitomi Huchang was the first to stand up for his younger brother, and then more and more samurai echoed him, gradually suppressing his worried voice.

"If only you could agree on the same opinion!" Takeda Harunobu's face was a little gloomy, and he was also under a lot of pressure to say it, Kira Yoshitoki's resume was so dazzling, he began to fight for the shogunate at the age of ten, and he never lost several large and small wars in a few years. He couldn't think of anyone who could do it anyway.

Masatake Komai suggested: "Kaizu Castle is a disaster, and there are 2,800 troops gathered here, and it will be unimaginable if they are allowed to echo with the Kira army on the other side. His Majesty thought that it was his first priority to uproot the city first. ”

Harunobu Takeda nodded. Glancing at the middle-aged man who bowed his head and was silent: "Bullet is correct." What is the situation of the people of Kita-Shinano? ”

"Report to the lord, the descendants of Kiyono have been contacted by his subordinates, and they are willing to be loyal to my Takeda family, and I implore the lord to regain the lost territory for them and kill Murakami Yoshikiyo to avenge the beauty! The Yashiro, Shiozaki, Amamiya, Suda, Takasaka and other clans expressed their support for the lord in a blatant or covert manner, and most of the wealthy clans of Kita-Shinano fell to the Takeda family, whose army exceeded 2,000 people. ”

Looking at this silent man, Takeda Harunobu took a deep breath, knowing that this person's ability was no less than his own. It's just that the identity gap between the two sides has no chance to have greater achievements, and he has made a lot of achievements in the army after only a few years in the army, and he has accumulated merit and obtained 3,000 territories in the area of Xiaoyi County, which is a samurai who makes him both happy and jealous.

"In Danzheng's opinion, what if my Takeda family leads a group of converging forces to besiege Haijin City?"

"If it's a siege, I'm afraid it's not easy, but it should be easier to match and adjust."

"So if you take Danzheng as the general and lead a thousand troops to converge this coalition army, how should you plan?"

Sanada Yutaka was startled, his eyes moved to see Takeda Harunobu's look of expectation and encouragement, hesitated for a moment and sighed: "If you take your subordinates as generals." He put more flags and seals on a bluff, and falsely claimed that the 6,000 army was attacking Haijin City. Drums are beaten during the day and set fire at night, and if uneasiness is caused by day and night, the enemy will be frightened. ”

"Good strategy!" Masamu Komai exclaimed: "My lord! This will not be borne by the main hall! ”

"The family thinks so too......" Takeda Harunobu listened to the admiration of the retainers with a smile on his face, and in the face of the praise of his colleagues, Sanada Yutaka just kept being humble, he was inspired by the lord, and a military discussion ended in a fiery atmosphere.

……

In Asahiyama Castle, Kurita Kanyasu, the former lord of Asahiyama Castle and Zenko-ji Temple, explained the form of Kitashinano to Kira Yoshitoki, and the lord of Zenko-ji Daigodo was in a very good mood, and since Zenko-ji Temple moved into Naoetsu, tens of thousands of believers immediately gathered with the popularity of Echigo Oko.

Merchants who travel to and from the Hokuriku Sea Route also pray for the success of their careers here, and the annual donations from the believers are many times better than the closed traffic in the Shinano mountains.

This time, he returned to his homeland and felt a little bit like revisiting his hometown after being developed, and he would comfort his old friends when they were living a bitter life, not to mention how cool it was.

"Kawanakajima, Kawanakajima, I really let my family touch you." Behind Kira Yoshitoki was a huge map that accurately depicted the locations of all the mountain castles near Kawanaka Island, and on the map there were small red and blue flags planted on the map, which was the movement of the wealthy families of all walks of life.

"What do you think I, the Kira Army, should deal with?"

"The Takeda army lives at the foot of Chajiu Mountain, and it is difficult to say that this posture is to confront our army."

"For now, the only way to do this is to confront each other, right?"

The samurai of Echigo talked about all kinds of reliable and unreliable plans, and Honjo Minoru felt that none of this was right, and carefully stared at the map for a long time before pointing to Kaizu Castle on the south bank of the Chikuma River: "Only here is the key to the battle." ”

The people of Kitashinano shook their heads in disbelief, and Kurita Kanyasu said with a smile: "Haijin Castle? There were 2,800 troops stationed in that city, and it was already very strong after a few years of construction! Even if the Takeda family goes all out to attack the city, they can't get any benefits, isn't Misaku guarding the temple too careful? ”

"Nope! Misakuru is by no means a heart. Yamamoto Tokiyuki said for him: "With the wisdom of Takeda Daizen, I will not fail to see the importance of this city, once Haijin Castle is pulled out, there will be no danger to defend south of the Rhinogawa River, and all the people of the country will definitely be rebelled by the Takeda family one by one, and it will be difficult for me to step across the Hiroshi River again!" ”

"I see!" Kurita Kanyasu's family is a family, Kurita Tsuruto, who is a small Mido of Zenko-ji Temple, nodded thoughtfully, there are two big and small Mido, both of which are from one door, so the big Mido side is called Sato Kurita, and the small Mido side is called Yama Kurita.

Historically, the relationship between the Great Mido and the Small Mido has not been very harmonious, and there have always been disputes over the power of Zenko-ji Temple, because Kurita Kanyasu on the side of the Great Mido side threw himself into the Nagao family, and the original Zenko-ji Honbi became the territory of the small Mido side.

Looking at Kurita Tsurutoshi's flickering eyes, Kira Yoshitoki felt a little funny, he had been making small moves in Kitashinano for several years. If it weren't for the strict layout of the long-tailed Jinghu, he would not have been able to start. I'm afraid that I will have already rebelled into the camp of the Takeda family. And he has always been obsessed with this Asahiyama Castle, and it seems that he is not small.

"What do you think?"

"No, no! There is nothing to say below. Kurita Tsuruju dodged to hide his emotional abnormality, but fortunately, most of the people in the military tent were pondering, and few people noticed his small movements.

After teasing this bed bug in Kita-Shinano, Kira Yoshitoki stood up and yawned, rubbed his eyes and walked out slowly: "Speaking of which, the family is also a little tired!" So let's do it first! We'll talk about it tomorrow. ”

"Yes!" As soon as the Lord was gone, there was no need for them to stay, so they got up and departed.

Wait for the retainers to leave one after another. There were only a few people left who were still busy with the things in hand, and after a while, Kira Yoshitoki walked in with a high spirit, and saw that several important ministers of the Kira family were there, and said with a surprised expression: "Huh? Why didn't everyone go to rest? It must be hard to stay up all day! ”

"Didn't the owner of the pavilion take a break either?" Yamamoto smiled at the time, he was helpless about the little tricks played by this apprentice, the assessment meeting had to be held twice, and the military meeting had to be held twice, and secretly, they still had to serve as the duties of the staff group, and it was really not easy to deepen the responsibilities of the heavy responsibilities.

"Tell me what you think."

Honda was the first to speak: "The Takeda family will fight Kaizu Castle." ”

"And it will attack mainly the people of Shinano." Hosokawa Fujitaka added.

Not to be outdone, Nanioka is not to be outdone. broke a shocking news: "Your Majesty suspects that this lord will most likely be Sanada Yutaka." ”

"Where does this basis come from?" Yamamoto stared at him with interest. Behind him has been sitting honestly his little apprentice Numata Yumitsu, since his brother died in battle, in the past two years, he has been studying the strategy of the military book day and night, and following his master to learn the practical application of the formation, which is also a small achievement over time.

"The system of the Takeda family is based on Kai's local military strength, including a mixture of multiple forces such as Ichi, genealogy, direct ministers, and national people, and in Shinano, Kai's retainers serve as the county generation, the castle generation, and supplemented by Shinano's ancestors to form a small samurai group, since the attack on Kai Castle is mainly based on the Shinano people, it is best to choose the samurai of Shinano Ancestors as the main general, and Sanada Yutaka is the banner leader of this Shinano Ancestors."

"That's right!" Honda was appreciating the applause of this new colleague, and took over the conversation and said: "More importantly, Sanada Yukitaka's past experience is very magical, and he has been serving the Takeda family for several years from an unknown landless samurai all the way to a sudden outbreak, assisting the Takeda family to defeat all the strong enemies of the small half of Shinano, including the North Shinano National Alliance was also destroyed in his hands, it can be said that the success of the Takeda family in Shinano is inseparable from Sanada Yukitaka, with this scheming and wisdom alone, it is a powerful opponent that people are afraid of, maybe it will be stronger than imagined!" ”

"Isn't it fun that the stronger he is? Hehehe! Kira Yoshitoki didn't seem to care, walked to the map and pulled out the flags belonging to the red side one by one, and planted blue flags on those points, and there were several dazzling blue flags mixed in Asahiyama Castle, where a bunch of red flags gathered.

"How? Isn't it beautiful to have blue in red? For the things made by himself, he will always pour more praise, this time he greatly praised his hands-on talent, carefully put each small flag right, smiled and said: "What a wonderful strategy, why doesn't this family have this ability?" Could it be that some people are born with reflexes? ”

"This is a secret report from the Pavilion Master?" Yamamoto Shixing's face sank, staring at the names on several small flags, and snorted coldly: "It's really bold, dare to do these things under the nose of my Kira family, they haven't seen the methods of my Kira family!" ”

"A bunch of people who don't know whether they are alive or dead!" Hondo was characterizing the group of people, pinching the rosary in his hand and asking, "I wonder what the hall owner plans to do with them?" ”

"No hurry...... There's no hurry! Ji Liang Yoshishi was still bowing his head and fiddling with those small flags, and after a while all the flags were set up before he sat down, when several small surnames walked in with hot bowls, and Ji Liang Yoshishi greeted the ministers: "It's not easy for everyone to work hard all day, come and taste the fresh crucian carp soup, it's very nourishing!" In particular, it has a good effect on the problem of poor sleep of the master craftsman! ”

"Really? Then your majesty will have to drink some crucian carp soup in the future! Yamamoto took a big bowl of crucian carp soup with a smile, and there was a palm of crucian carp in it, and the crucian carp soup that had been fried and then stewed was different from the previous practice. Both the fish soup and the fish meat should be a grade stronger.

Life with soybean oil is different. Heat the fish in a frying pan and fry until golden brown. After taking it out, add the green onion, ginger, garlic and chili pepper to stir-fry until fragrant, then add the fried crucian carp, chicken broth, a little sake, and minced black pepper until it boils and skims off the foam.

At Yamamoto's age, he didn't care about the rules of avoiding meat, and the fact that the Kira family had been adding some pigs, beef and mutton to the young samurai couldn't hide it from his ears and eyes. And there is one of the most frightening reasons, that is, beriberi.

"Can this cure beriberi?" Yamamoto Tokiyuki's weather-beaten face couldn't help but be moved, the so-called athlete's foot is not really athlete's foot, but a complex disease caused by foot disease, which can cause a variety of complications such as inability to walk, asthma, edema of the whole body, and tachycardia, the reason is the lack of a reasonable diet, and the treatment method is nothing more than eating rice bran or eating more meat and eggs.

Many people may not have imagined that the most terrible disease for Japan is the little-known beriberi, and the first time the word "beriberi" appears in the Japanese history books is in the third year of Daido in the "Nihon Postscript", in 808 AD. In December, Fujiwara's courtier Xu Hei said: "The courtier's life is not too old. The eyes are slightly dark, and the athlete's foot recurs, and the activation is indefinite. ”

In addition, there are many records, such as the "Nihon Shoki" in the preface of Emperor Yungong's succession, which says, "I have been ill for a long time and cannot walk." In the third year of the emperor's reign, in the account of 644 A.D., there was a "prince who suffered from his feet and did not face the king." ”

In the "Kojiki", Emperor Jingxing has the following words: "However, I can't step now." In the sixteenth year of the balance of the "Continuation of the Japanese Chronicle", it was recorded in 744 A.D. that "Prince Anji was ill in his feet, and he returned from Sakurai Don Palace, and Ding Chouxue was seventeen years old." ”

Including the late former shogun Ashikaga Yoshiharu, in the later period, he was also "unable to walk" and his whole body was swollen, and it was believed that he died of beriberi, and the doctors in Kyoto debated this issue for a long time, and finally it was determined that the final word was determined by the three invoices of the Ashikaga Michi, because Ashikaga Yoshiharu's illness had symptoms of "asthma", "collapse", and "not eating".

This statement is a bit sensational, and no one knows if it's true or false anyway, let's just assume that he's true, and that's what the samurai of the Kira family think, and it doesn't matter what other people think, who can say if it's done secretly? Even if you are blamed for it, it doesn't matter if you are blamed, and it doesn't matter if you are thick-skinned and say that you eat mountain whales, mountain fish, mountain kelp, or something.

From Kamakura to Sengoku, what is the reason why so many samurai love eagle hunting? Don't look at their high-sounding words, saying that the way of honing the bow and horse does not forget the fundamentals, in fact, it is all for eating some game and beating tooth sacrifices, this kind of thing has not been broken for hundreds of years, but it has been passed down among the nobles and famous families, and only those wealthy landowners will be stupid and abide by the rules.

"Can you treat beriberi?"

Knowing what they were surprised about, the terrible illness that plagued the first disease killer of this era for more than a thousand years, including the mysterious death of several generations of Tokugawa shogunate generals including a certain turtle, including Tokugawa Iemitsu, Tokugawa Ietsuna, Tokugawa Iesada, and Tokugawa Ieshige, it can be said that this disease caused the Tokugawa family to fight for the unification for hundreds of years, and was ruined by the existence of the pit teammates of the Mito Domain.

"There will be no mistake, if you don't believe it, go and check Ma Hui, Chibei and the people close to your family, absolutely no one suffers from beriberi."

Yamamoto pulled his beard and thought, "In this case, it is really necessary to adjust your eating habits!" ”

"No!" Several voices came out at the same time, Hosokawa Fujitaka, Honda Shimasa, and Nanoka Tsukafang all shook their heads, and the three of them looked at each other and let Hosokawa Fujitaka say first: "This is not appropriate, after my Kira family entered Echichi, all industries should be rejuvenated, and the dietary structure should be slow rather than urgent." ”

"Well, what the military hall said is right, the old minister is in a hurry." Yamamoto Tokiyuki didn't explain, just smiled casually, how could he not know whether it was advisable to hurry or not? This is an old man who is proficient in the way of exhortation, and naturally knows how to borrow other people's mouths to achieve his own goals.

Hosokawa Fujitaka relied on his adoptive father's death in battle for the shogunate, and his own merits as the Kaira's survey, and succeeded in reinsigning the five lower military departments at the beginning of the year, and Yamamoto Tokiyuki also promoted the official to the sixth rank of Kamisato Mamoru at the beginning of the year, and the difference in rank between the two was still due to the influence of their background.

Of course, this influence is very small, and there is no habit of comparing the family in the Kira family, because everyone is a retainer of the Kira family, there is no land dispute and no entanglement of military power in their hands, they are all direct ministers of Kira Yoshishi, and the relationship is far more harmonious than that of other samurai.

"Ah, my family knows, don't look at my family like this!" Kira Yoshishi was pretending to be stupid again, lowering his head and destroying a large bowl of fish and soup, then rubbing his eyes and waving to his retainers and leaving. (To be continued......)