The Takeda family is having a headache for the difficult Kira Army, and on the other hand, the life of the Kira family is not very good, this time the main force of the Kira Yoshishi is only 8,000 people, including 2,000 Vietnamese reserves, 2,000 Shinano reserves, plus the main force of 4,000 people, the only expansion in recent years is the training of 2,000 new troops, it can be said that the speed of this military training is still too slow.

Kira Yoshitoki also realized that he had misjudged the situation, and always thought that he would fight Kawanaka Island five times as in history, and there was time to slowly train his main force, but he did not think that the development of Echigo in the past few years was rapid, almost every year was a ladder, the national strength increased and the people became rich and strong, and almost became the center of the entire Kanto, Haao, and Hokuriku attention, and the number of merchants and tourists from all over the country increased several times, and this snowball effect gradually opened the strength of Echigo and other countries.

In order to reassure Nagao Keitora, Kira Yoshitoki took the initiative to bear the pressure in the direction of Shinano, and the main army of 8,000, as well as more than 1,000 Echigo National People's Army such as Kakizaki Keike and Usami Dingman, and about 8,000 Shinano National People's Army, a total of more than 17,000 people.

In addition to the Kira Legion's combat strength is too strong to ignore the non-count, the strength of the Echigo National Army is also very strong, Kakizaki Keijia and other Echigo people each have 100 horseback samurai, such as Kakizaki Keijia has more than 300 well-equipped cavalry, in recent years under the guidance and training of the Shinano Reserve Army, it took great effort to get rid of the title of "mounted infantry" and become a good level of cavalry, this war can be fought for a while.

Several Ashigaru generals swept through the many samurai in the hall in confusion and asked, "How should this war be fought?" Do you still want to use the methods of three years ago? But will the Takeda family still be fooled? ”

"Impossible! We can't fight a joint battle in a short period of time, so let's rest first! Hondoshi shook his head and turned to face Kira Yoshitoki and said respectfully, "Before the military council." His Majesty specially asked Murakami Habayashi Hall, Kakizaki and Izumi Hall. The morale of the samurai below was low. The frustration of losing one's home has not yet come out, and if the morale is not boosted in a short period of time, it will be difficult to decide the winner of this battle as soon as possible. ”

"Yes! His Majesty had observed that the Takeda army camp in Chausu Mountain was very well guarded, and if the Takeda army made up its mind to drag it out, it would be troublesome. ”

"And Hachimanwara is controlled by the Takeda Army, it's really not easy to do!" Honda was suddenly startled in his heart, and hurriedly said, "The Takeda family won't really make this calculation, right?" ”

"Let's not talk about that." Kira shook his head and ordered: "How can the army fight if the morale is not aligned?" You should also focus on stabilizing the morale of the army! As for the military adjustments, they will be announced later. ”

The whole process of the Takeda family's encampment was highly monitored by the Kira ninja, and Kira Yoshitoki had first-hand information about the Takeda family in his hands, and he also knew that the Takeda army stationed on Mt. Chausu was very well defended. No matter how you look at it, it doesn't look like you can win in a short time, and if you really have to use delaying tactics, the Kira army really can't afford to drag it out.

So Kira Yoshitoki quickly made adjustments, and the defender of Kaizu Castle was still Murakami Yoshikiyo, and he led the 3,000 troops of the people of Kita-Shinano Province, including the Murakami Army, the Takanashi Army, the Inoue Army, and the Yashiro Army, as bait, and the remaining 14,000 troops gathered in Asahiyama Castle to reorganize and strive to improve the tacit understanding of cooperation in a short time.

The Takeda family on Chausu Mountain was not idle, and when the Takeda family became more and more sure that the Kira army was not easy to deal with, Takeda Harunobu changed his strategy in time, first of all, he loved you to take advantage of the great victory to gather Shinano's local obedient countrymen. Occupy Ohorikan, Hirota, and Yokota Castle on Hachimangahara.

These three castles happen to bring Hachimangahara as a whole under surveillance, and any attempt to land in Hachimanwara will be the first to be discovered. In order to improve their defense against invasion, the Takeda family's gold diggers began to repair and expand the three castles on a large scale, and sent 8,000 troops to garrison the three castles.

These three castles can not only ensure the defensive position, but also play a strong offensive role, Takeda Harunobu intends to take the opportunity of these three castles to strengthen the merits and penetration of the isolated Kaizu Castle on the south bank of the Chikuma River, he knows very well that as long as this branch city can be solved, the Kira family's dominance over the south of the Xichuan River will decline rapidly, but this fortified city of three thousand defenders is not as easy to pull down as imagined.

Haijin Castle is located in the valley of Mt. Elephant, on the west side is the famous Mt. Tsuma-n-me, and in the group of peaks that stretch from Mt. Elephant to the west to Mt. Tsuma-n-n, there are Takeyama Castle, Amagi Castle, Kuragu Castle, and Karazaki Castle, and the Nisa Castle on Mt. Ni on the east side is also in the hands of the Kira army, and the entire southern bank of the Chikuma River is controlled by the Kira family.

Kaizu Castle, which is adjacent to the Chikuma River, has a strong enough support force and strategic depth, and once the Takeda family has an attack on Kaizu Castle, the Kira Navy deployed in the Chikuma River valley can easily cut off the Takeda Army's access back to Hachimangahara, so several tentative attacks were easily resisted by Murakami Yoshikiyo, and the stalemate was not lifted.

In the remote Iwashiro region of the Michinoku region of Aizu County, the black pressure of the army appeared outside Kurokawa Castle, this army was solemn and imposing, and at a cursory glance, there were no fewer than thousands of people, several leading generals showed off their might, and the Ashina family samurai who greeted them could not raise their heads, and several other samurai hid in the ranks and looked left and right at Kurokawa Castle next to the Lake Inawashiro in the hinterland of Aizu.

"This is Kurokawa Castle! Looks good! It's even more developed than Yonezawa Castle. Date Terumune clasped the reins with both hands and looked around, as the heir to the Date family, he was carefully trained by his father and the retainers of the family to become an excellent samurai, and at the age of fourteen, he had already participated in several joint battles, and this was his first time in the war of Echigo.

Date Huizong is a proud boy, since birth as the heir to the family governor training, it can be said that he grew up with a golden spoon, years of pampering and pampering made him develop an arrogant and proud character, he never thought that he was very gentlemanly, he had been on the battlefield to kill the enemy, how could not be associated with the gentleman's son.

Since he was a child, he has set a lofty ambition, determined to surpass his grandfather, he wants to fulfill his father's unpretentious dream, the dream of unifying Mutsu, his father Date Harumune has clearly told him that after the end of this war, he will give him the heir of the family governor, he still remembers before leaving, Date Harumune's encouragement to him: "If the eagle wants to soar in the sky, it must flap its wings and fight the storm, the future of the Date family belongs to you, and strive to seize the opportunity in front of you." Build your own prestige. ”

Matsumoto Shosuke served as the messenger of the Ashina clan. Greet the army of the Date family in person. As the governor of the Matsumoto clan, one of the four days of Ashina, the lord of Funaoka Castle in Onuma County has participated in the politics of the Ashina family for generations, so he naturally knows the situation of his own lord and father-in-law, and the astronomical rebellion caused by the turmoil and rain in the past few years was caused by this family, and he did not dare to snub the guest army of the Date family without the main bus on his behalf.

"It's also my honor to have Date Temple praise in the middle of nowhere! You must be tired from the long journey! Please go this way, we'll be there in a moment! With a smile on his face, Matsumoto led the samurai of the Date family into the castle.

Entering Kurokawa Castle, Date Terumune enjoyed the highest courtesy. As an ally and relative of the Date family, the Ashina Mori clan is also a powerful member of the Date family, and the aunt of the Ashina Mori clan is the main room of the Date Minoru clan, which means that Date Minoru is the uncle of the Ashina Mori clan.

The Ashina Mori clan himself, not long after inheriting the position of the family governor, married the daughter of Date Minoru, that is, the cousin born to his aunt, as the main room, so that the Ashina Mori clan himself became the cousin and brother-in-law of Date Harumune, and at the same time the cousin and uncle of Date Terumune, and the existence of this kinship made the covenant and relationship between the two sides much more stable than the so-called covenant between the Ashina clan and the Dewa Mogami and Kai Takeda.

A feast was held in Kurokawa Castle. Half-drunk, Date Huizong suddenly stood up and said proudly: "Repair the hall!" There must be no problem with this action to carve up Echigo, right? My father was looking forward to the results of this operation. Specially sent out the 3,000 elites of my Date family to help, and won the entire Xiayue with the initial goal of the next set, if it goes well, it would be better to capture Zhongyue together! I don't know what the repair temple thinks? ”

"Don't be ashamed!" Yamauchi muttered quietly, and was glared at by Tomita Shimi, and closed his mouth.

The Ashina retainers seemed to be completely unaware of Date Terumune's provocative actions, and just paused and ate and drank as if nothing had happened, this kind of housework was something that their subordinates could intervene in, even if they were dissatisfied, they didn't dare to say it.

Ashina Sheng's eyelids twitched and there was no other reaction, his sister-in-law Ashina Shengxing had just been served, and he was younger than Date Huizong in terms of age, and the child was ignorant and couldn't understand what this cousin and future brother-in-law was saying, and he clapped his hands and applauded.

As early as five years ago, the Ashina Mori clan agreed with Date Harumune to say a daughter-in-law for his sister-in-law Ashina Moriko, this main room is the fourth daughter of Date Harumune, and it is also the sister of Date Huizong.

"Huh...... Date Temple has lofty ambitions, and I admire it so much! Matsumoto Shisuke picked up the wine cup and said with a smile: "I still talk about something pleasant during the banquet, and I am not busy in advance, so I am not busy first!" ”

It's nothing that Date Huizong is slightly inferior to the Ashina Mori clan between his words, and it's normal for young people to be young and vigorous, but the Date family can't say nothing, Date Mimoto has a headache and has to wipe the kid's buttocks, and he tries his best to ease the stiff atmosphere.

The cunning Ashina Mori still noticed the flaws in this little nephew's character, and in a few words he went around to post the entire Kanto poster, and his words were quite in awe of Kira Yoshito, which soon aroused the anger of Date Terumus.

"Repair the temple is right! In my opinion Huizong, the general of the town guard is not worthy of his name, and it is really whimsical that a samurai from Kyoto wants to meddle in the affairs of our Mutsu! Oshu has its own samurai with that, there are Mutsu Omori of the Imperial Court, and Oshu of the Shogunate, and it is a dream for a shogun who has been abandoned for 200 years to become the master of Mutsu. Date Terumune's face showed disapproval.

"Huh! That can't be said. Ashina Mori said meaningfully: "That is the governor of the Ashikaga family, and the new royal family of the shogun's family, and I still have to be more respectful to the foreign ministers." ”

Date Huizong really fell into the trap, and said indignantly: "Even if it is a famous family, the Eastern Kingdom has always been the business of the Eastern Martial Artists themselves, and the same is true of Mutsu, it is a big mistake to want to use the general of the town guard to suppress us." ”

Date Terumune's pride comes from the Date family Since his grandfather Date Minoru, he has won the honor of Dr. Sakyo and Oshu Detective, and successfully sent his adopted son to the former Oshu Detective, Zuokyo Doctor Osaki, in his eyes, the entire Mutsu is his family, what is a town guard general, why do you point fingers at Oshu, and why call on them to take up arms against the alliance. It's a joke.

"Date Hall is a young man. What an ambition to breathe away! I agree with this view. The affairs of Mutsu are something that only the Mutsu samurai have a say in. The Ashina Mori clan talked to the young man for a while, and gradually turned the topic to the dispatch of troops, Date Terumune was still vigilant and kept silent, Date Mimoto followed with a sloppy eye, as for the powerful retainers of the Date family, they either bowed their heads to drink and eat food, or talked in a whisper to themselves.

"It seems that Date Kyozhao has expected it!" The Ashina Mori clan immediately guessed the cunning Date Harune, who showed his skills in the astronomical rebellion, and simply suppressed the generation of British lord Date Minoru into seclusion. Although the Date family was greatly damaged by this, and his power was weakened by nearly half compared to that of his father, Date Minorune, from the perspective of the revitalization of the family business, his approach was extremely correct.

The Date family has established a huge kinship network with many years of marriage, compared to the twelve sons-in-law of Nagano Yemasa, only strong but not weak, a large net will be half of Mutsu, Dewa, Shimono and even Echigo, the front and back are the relatives of the Date family, and the neighbors will fight for more territory to the Date family, who calls their relatives more face?

His father, Date Minoru, was indeed a remarkable figure, a cultural person of Yuao Tianzi No. 1. In the fourth year of Astronomy (1535), in the fifth year of Astronomy (1536), in the fifth year of Astronomy, he wrote Zangfang Naiji, and in the seventh year of Astronomy (1538), he wrote the Duan Shao Ancient Accounts, and the system related to national law, taxation, taxation, and military service was further strengthened. The daimyo single-handedly centralized.

Where there are advantages and disadvantages, there is no face, when the alliance leader occupies the moral high ground at the same time, he also has to work hard to maintain this relationship network, nothing to help relatives fight, mediation disputes will inevitably offend people, the land dispute between the two sides of the arbitration is either offended by you or offended him, and the two sides must not offend the mud and damage the prestige of the alliance leader, in short, in the eyes of Date Harumune, this is a thankless act.

Date Harumune thinks that this time is different from the past, in the past, the Date family was weak and weak, and they couldn't get along without marrying their daughter, but now the situation is different, and it is wrong to be complacent about the nominal dominance of a Mutsu for the position of the leader of the alliance, rather than expending their own strength in the never-ending mediation, it is better to simply tear this net.

It can be said that Date Harumune had already germinated an attempt to tear this net, and he had been holding back since he became the governor of the family, until his father proposed to send Tokimune Maru (now Date Mimoto) to Echigo as the adopted son of Uesugi Dingmi, and also to send 100 powerful retainers of the Date family as assistants, and hundreds of samurai on horseback as direct reserves.

Date Minoru's starting point is good, using a powerful family to inherit the position of the lord of Echigo, sending a powerful retainer group and horseback samurai as a military deterrent, at least not let people be used as soft persimmons to find a stubble to abolish this proposal, this proposal is strongly supported by the big leader of the Yangbei people, Nakajo Fujishi, because his sister is Date Tokimunemaru's biological mother.

But Echigo is mostly unhappy that an outsider interferes in Echigo's affairs, so when Date Minoru put forward this intention, he was immediately fiercely opposed by Nagao Harukei and another big leader of the Yangbei people, the head of Honjo, Nagao Harukei also wants to be the adopted son of Uesugi Dingmi, how can he tolerate the lord of the country slipping into the hands of outsiders, the head of Honjo is the father of Honjo Fanchang, as another giant of the Yangbei people, of course, he can't allow Nakajo Fuji to rise up, maybe let the Nakajo family swallow the entire Yangbei people in one fell swoop.

At the same time that Echigo raised fierce objections, Date Harumune also made fierce opposition, he could not allow his father to do such a stupid act, Date Toki Somaru is just a child, but he wants to inherit the powerful territory of Echigo, the territory of the Uesugi family and the Echigo Uesugi faction is even more than the entire territory of the Date family, if Date Toki Somaru is allowed to digest this territory, and then in turn interfere in the affairs of the Date family, wouldn't his clan make wedding clothes for others.

Date Harumun unilaterally objected, the problem was that a family, a pedigree and even a foreign sample generally opposed the decision of the family governor, and to take away a hundred powerful samurai at once, plus hundreds of elite horseback samurai, which was equivalent to draining one-third of the blood in a person's body at one time, and the slightest carelessness would be the result of the destruction of the family.

The more moderate lineage suggested that the share should be cut by half, at least so that the Date family would not bleed to death, while the other faction proposed either to send retainers without samurai on horseback, or samurai on horseback without retainers, and more radical to propose only twenty or thirty retainers and fifty or sixty samurai on horseback.

Date Minoru also served as the governor of the family for 30 years. Years of smooth sailing have allowed him to develop a temperament that says nothing. The request made by the retainer was completely denied. Date Harumune's opposition was also rejected, and as a result, the advice did not come to fruition, and the moderates were forced to go to Yangsan, so there was the cause of the Astronomical Rebellion.

The forces that supported Date Minoru in the Astronomical Rebellion were either the henchmen who Date Minoru had cultivated for many years, the retainers who had given favors, or the sons-in-law and quasi-sects who had close relationships, and the people gathered on Date Harumune's side were all powerful sects and genealogies of the Date family. As well as the brother who disobeyed Date Minoru, the daimyo who was stuffed with an adopted heir, etc., and finally this astronomical rebellion ended with the victory of Date Harunemune and the abdication of Date Minoru.

After a large-scale political change that affected the entire Mutsu, Dewa, Echigo and other large areas since the succession to the throne, which lasted for six years, Date Harumune gradually grew from a young and vigorous stunned young man to a scheming hero, and he easily convinced his former rival Date Mimoto, and you can see that his scheming is as unfathomable as Lake Inawashiro.

After a confrontation that did not get a bargain, Ashina Sheng felt that the banquet had become boring, and hastily said a few words, and ended the dinner on the grounds of exhaustion.

Soon after arranging accommodation, he hid and agreed on the idea of going out this time. After some deliberation among the retainers, the Ashina Mori clan finally put forward the strategic idea of this battle. His theory is to "choose the opportunity to move", that is, the strategy of not being impatient or impatient when invading Echigo, slowing down when encountering a strong enemy, the enemy's weak attack and guarding the large camp, and the enemy's situation is declining and taking advantage of the victory to pursue the strategy.

Ashina Mori's idea is more realistic, no matter how common the road to Echigo is not very common in the Ha O, to overcome the high mountains and mountains to overcome many obstacles, it is not easy for the daimyo of other countries to conquer the Echigo half of the country in one fell swoop, if there is no traitor to lead the way with the help of the party, nine times out of ten it is necessary to return home.

"At a young age, I wanted to swallow Echigo in one gulp, this ambition can be commended but unrealistic! If everything in the world is so simple, why do we have to wait for the martial artists to work hard for hundreds of years? After all, he is still young, and he is a few points worse than his father! Ashina Mori pinched two walnuts in his hand and swirled around, thinking about how to reap the benefits of this war.

At the same time, in a certain quiet room in the annex of Kurokawa Castle, the samurai of the Date family sat together to discuss countermeasures, and the reaction of the Date family was basically the opposite of the will of Date Teruzong, or the idea of the Ashina Mori clan was the same, Date Mimoto and several retainers glanced at each other before he spoke: "The young hall is still too reckless, the repair hall and my Date family have been married for several generations, and they are also the sister-in-law of the lord, and the young hall should respect the repair hall more." ”

"Got it! I'll pay attention later. Date Terumune's brows furrowed for a moment, but he still accepted Date Mimoto's admonition.

"The lord's arrangement is very clear, this battle does not seek merit but no fault, although there is always some face loss when it comes to it, but this is the situation of our waiting! Fighting the autumn wind and picking up cheap is the main purpose, you must know that Echigo's size is many times larger than five years ago, with the strength of their Date family's 3,000 troops, at most, it is to see the opportunity to take a bite, and you must not be impulsive heroes! ”

"Uh-huh! The family knows. "Date Huizong is not happy in his heart, but he still endures it, the first reason is because this battle is the first transnational war he has experienced since the Yuan service, and the first important battle caused a disagreement between the main general and the deputy general, which is not an auspicious thing, if it really causes any trouble, even if the battle is fruitful and returns home, maybe these genealogical retainers will send out some moths to disgust him.

On the other hand, he can't contradict his uncle Date Mimoto, because this time Date Harumune personally designated the general general, as a deputy general, he must obey the command of the general, and there is no distinction between high and low relatives on the battlefield, and violating military orders Even the noble Date Terumune will inevitably eat and fall, which is not a pleasant thing.

In addition, he sent several elders of the Date family to accompany the superintendent, which can be said to be a major assessment to examine the level of the heir of the family governor, this is his father's last test of Date Huizong, how the war was fought is a matter of one thing, and how the performance of the family governor is another, so he has to be cautious about it.

Date Mimoto and several family elders are the eyes and ears of Date Harumune, maybe there are more people secretly watching his every move, if he doesn't perform well, it will definitely disappoint many genealogy retainers, which will have a very negative impact on his future position as the governor of the family, if the performance is worse, it will even shake his position as the heir of the family governor, he will never allow this appearance to be messed up.

Seeing that the young hall finally calmed down, Date Mimoto was very relieved, and told him that in fact, the results of this battle were secondary, because Ida, Ashina, Mogami and other countrymen were used as partial teachers to make some cheap, and Kai and Sagami meant to give them the sweetness of three melons and two dates to share some offensive pressure for them, so the pure benefits of fighting Echigo were not much.

Another point is that the Date family is not as good as Mogami and Ashina, and the relationship between the Date family and the other two families is quite delicate, and the competition in the same area cannot be explained by words such as good relatives, even if these families really take a piece of Echigo's enclave, it doesn't make much sense.

Their main purpose is to plunder the population, food and lack of important talents, and now the whole world knows that Echigo's agriculture is developed, rich in products, and in a few years it has grown from a poor country to the richest land in the world, if it is not because of the rule of man, absolutely no one believes it, so this anti-Vietze-Goo alliance can be successfully promoted, and the division of Echigo's land wealth is one thing, and the abduction of a large number of talents in government decrees is also an important reason.

As long as the Date family can obtain some talents, not to mention that it will become another trumpet Echigo in three or five years, it is a great event to quadruple the total economic output, and it will not take ten years for the development of the Date family to enter the fast lane of rapid development.

Seeing that Date Huizong's mood was not too high, Date Mimoto suddenly smiled and said: "After this battle, we are going to go to Yamagata Castle of Dewa Mogami House as a guest, and by the way, visit the fiancée Mogami Yoshihime of the Young Palace, hasn't the Young Hall been in love with this No. 1 beauty of Dewa for a long time?" This time, the marriage contract was negotiated, I don't know what the young hall thinks? ”

"Ahh It's so nice, I've wanted to see her for a long time...... Cough! Actually, the meaning of this family is very good! I agree with it! Couldn't agree more! Date Terumune's whole mood turned from anger to joy like a roller coaster, and he longed to grow a pair of wings and immediately fly to Yamagata Castle to visit his fiancée.

It is said that Mogami Yoshihime is the first beauty in Dewa, and even the first beauty in the Northeast, Date Terumune is also a person who loves beauty, and he is also very satisfied with the candidate of Mogami Yoshihime, although he has appreciated the appearance of this beauty from the picture scroll, but how can he compare to the real person in the painting, even if it is just from a distance for a while, he is willing. (To be continued......)