Shimomo-gun, Bunzen Province, Kitakyushu.

This is a small hill outside Ichinoto Castle in Shimomo-gun, and two men dressed like everyone else in the neighborhood are sitting together, munching on black and astringent food in their mouths, which are obviously burnt rats.

Around them, in the distance, there were a dozen or so men in ragged clothes, their hair was scattered, their faces were dirty as if they had not been washed for many days, and their sunken eyes turned out to glow faintly, like ghost fire in the night, and their mouths also kept swallowing the rat meat in their hands. Although ordinary people would not eat these things at this time, they have now reached the point of starvation, and they will still be able to take care of so much.

Outside them were hundreds of women, children, and old people, whose fate was much more tragic, and they had to endure hunger and wait for these people to be able to give them a little food.

Among the two men, a young man of seventeen or eighteen years old at the head whispered to a young man in his twenties beside him at this time: "My lord, the time seems to be almost up, you see, do we add another fire?" ”

The young man who was called an adult also had a lot of dust on his face at this time, and he obscured many of his true faces. After listening to the words of the younger young man, the young man also frowned and looked at the rat meat in his hand, and then replied in a low voice: "According to the explanation of the lord before the departure, the army of this family will also arrive in these days. ”

"My lord, in that case, then we should act immediately." The young man said immediately, and then he looked up at his surroundings again, and said with a worried look in his eyes, "My lord." As long as we mix in the crowd and agitate. It will certainly be possible to surround this city. The defenders of the city will surely be drawn to this side by then. Then their attention to the border side of their home will be reduced. It's just, my lord, this matter must be done as soon as possible! Otherwise, when these lords revolt, they will no longer be under our control, and I am afraid that even us will be in danger at that time. ”

Young people's concerns are not alarmist. When a dozen or so of them first arrived pretending to be homeless, there were only a few hundred people gathered here. But now, there are thousands of them. When there are more people, there will naturally be various small groups. And their group is the largest group of hundreds of people, and the others are mostly small teams of dozens of people, but most of them are men, men who can go out to fight, so overall their strength is not strong. But once they join forces, it's different. As more and more displaced people gathered, there was less and less food to be found around. Small animals such as rats and snakes are hard to find, and some people have begun to eat tree bark and even dirt.

Once there is a complete lack of food, then it is time for the people to lose their minds completely. Hunger can really change a person's mind! The young man's family was ruined by famine, and if he hadn't been taken in as a servant by the Aso family when he was dying, he would have starved to death with his family. So the consequences of hunger, such as fear, irritability, and even loss of mind. He is also very clear. It is precisely this situation that young people are worried about, once it happens. They will not be able to guide the movement of the displaced people, who will probably fight each other first. And they have always been the largest group of people, so they are naturally the first targets of other homeless groups. At that time, they will really play with the fire and burn themselves.

The young man's remarks immediately aroused the young people's concerns. If it weren't for the young man, he wouldn't have realized the problem. For a long time, as the close of the lord, his task was only to protect the lord's safety and do things according to the lord's orders. This time, he was appointed by the lord to disperse more than a dozen people including young people to infiltrate the Xiamao County area in the southeast of Fengqian Kingdom, with the purpose of mixing in with the displaced people, waiting for an opportunity to incite the displaced people, and create chaos for the local wealthy clans. This time they will come here, also at the suggestion of the young man.

As the young man said, according to the time given by the lord, it is estimated that the army of the family will definitely officially go out to the Fengqian Kingdom in the next few days. If they were able to create some chaos on the side of Ichito Castle on the side of Shimomo-gun, they would naturally be able to attract the garrison on the side of Ichito Castle that bordered Bungo Province, and thus make the garrison on the other side slacken. Now that the young man said this, he immediately realized that it was indeed time to stir up the many displaced people who were blocked under Ichinoto Castle at this time.

It was also fortunate for them, because not long after they arrived here, the lord of Ichinoto Castle, Noi Kaneyuki, was summoned to Nagaiwa Castle by Nonaka Castle, the governor of the Nonaka family, to discuss the issue of dealing with the displaced people in the territory. In the city, only two frizzy guys in their early twenties were left in the city, Ye Yi Kanefang and Bailiu Kansada, to guard the city. If Ye Yi had been here, he would never have done anything stupid to kill the troublesome homeless. This move of Yeyi Kanefang and Bailiu Kanzhen undoubtedly ignited a fire in the hearts of these homeless people who had long been dissatisfied with these wealthy lords. It's just that this is just a small fire, but if it is instigated by young people and others, even a spark can start a prairie fire.

As a result, at the instigation of a dozen people, including young people and young people, thousands of displaced people began to gather under Ichinoto Castle and began to shout loudly demanding that the defenders of Ichito Castle open the passage to the border of Bungo Province and let them go to Bungo Province to earn a living.

"These damn people! Order, the army in the city, give me to guard the wall, and if they dare to go any further close to the wall, shoot them to death. As the acting lord of the city, Ye Yi Kanefang immediately ordered. This time, seeing that there were so many homeless people gathered under the city, he didn't dare to open the city gate and go out to face these homeless people.

"The displaced people are menacing, and I am afraid that relying only on the guards on the south side of the city gate may not be able to suppress these displaced people." Bailiu Kanezhen on the side reminded at this time.

"Then the garrison on the north side will also be temporarily transferred to the south gate, and in any case, I will suppress these homeless people as soon as possible." Noyi Kanebo ordered. It is estimated that his father, Ye Yikanxing, will return in the next few days, and if his father's team is stopped outside the city by these homeless people, then he will definitely be punished. Don't look at it now, he is already the designated heir of the family governor. Before he sat in the position of governor for a day. He didn't dare to disappoint his father. Especially at this time, he still has two younger brothers eyeing him behind him.

Ichinoto Castle was built in a canyon that connects Shimomo-gun of Bunzen Province to Hita County of Bungo Province, so it has two gates facing the border of Bunzen Province and Bungo Province. After several generations of construction by the Noi family, Ichito Castle at this time was like a wooden plug that divided the entire canyon in two. In order to pass through this castle, ordinary merchant lords had to pass through a passage that was incorporated into the Ichinoto Castle Outer Pill.

Just as Noi Kanebo transferred the guards facing the border side of Bungo Province to the southern gate to suppress the rebellion of the displaced people, a small caravan of more than a dozen people happened to come to the Otemen gate on the border side of Bungo Province.

"Who?" A few of the ashigaru who were in charge of guarding the Otemon Gate immediately asked.

It is estimated that it has not been attacked for a long time, and there are several checkpoints along the road before coming to Ichinoto Castle, which are responsible for guarding the movement on the border of Bungo Province. Since there is no warning signal from the border now, these guards seem to be a little lax at this time. I didn't realize it at all, because of the blockade of the Luo family, they hadn't had a caravan passing here for a long time. Even as the caravan approached, a few of the ashigaru were still talking about the displaced people on the other side of the castle. Compared to those lords, since they are the relatives of the lord, even if there is a drought, the family can still have food for the time being.

"Stop, you stop." At this time, the two Ashigaru who were standing at the front cheered at the small caravan that had already arrived in front of Otemon. Just at the moment when they stopped drinking, the two guys dressed as merchants who walked in front suddenly pulled out their knives and stabbed them through their heads and necks. The eyes of the two Yeyi family guards suddenly became dull, and their throats rumbled. Soon he lost his breath.

"Kill!" Before the rest of the Noyi family ashigaru who was in charge of guarding the city gate could react, this group of more than a dozen merchants had already drawn their swords and killed them.

"Murder! Killed! It's amazing! Come on! The enemy is attacking the city! Quick, go and report to the city guard! Several Noyi family Ashigaru who was guarding the castle wall saw a large group of people murderously knocking down several of their companions at Otemon, and almost simultaneously let out a frightened scream, and crawled towards Honmaru to report together.

"Kill!" At this time, the army of the Luo family, who was pretending to be a merchant, had already cut down all the guards in front of the Otemon, and then pushed the Otemen open. Kinoshita Masanao, who had been ready for a long time in the distance, immediately ordered. Previously, they quietly took down the Noyiya Koyama along the way, which was used as a warning, and secretly lurked outside Ichito Castle. It's just that Ichinoto Castle is embedded in the canyon like a portal, and if it is attacked, the defenders of the castle can completely carry out a full blow to the besieging army through the condescending position of the castle wall, so it will not be possible to take it in a hurry. It was at this time that the Luo family noticed that the guards on the walls of the city had suddenly decreased, and Kinoshita Masanao realized that their opportunity had come. After some discussion with the generals, a squad of disguised merchants approached the city gate. That's where the scene becomes.

With Kinoshita's order, the army of thousands of people of the Luo family began to pour into the outer pills of Ichinoto Castle. In addition to dealing with the defenders in Waimaru, some of the soldiers of the Luo family also began to kill Ninomaru. After a moment, Ninomaru immediately became lively inside and outside, and the voices of crying father and mother became one.

"Kill ......" Kumon Shigetada also climbed in front of Honmaru's Senkan door at this time, slashed through it with a knife, and smashed through the door panel with a click. At this time, two standing ashigaru also began to hit the wooden door fiercely, and the wooden door was knocked open in an instant, and several people who followed behind the Luo family's standing ashigaru immediately split out several knives, and the defending city ashigaru who was hiding at the door to resist was cut so that people turned over on their backs and bled all over the ground and fell to the ground.

Kumon Chongzhong is extremely brave, after entering the Honmaru, he slashed to death a defender of the city, kicked over another person, and shot away a few spears that came to intercept, seeing that he was unstoppable, the soldiers guarding the city at the gate retreated one after another, and the Luo family army behind him took the opportunity to rush in.

"Stop them for me!" At this time, after suddenly receiving the news that the enemy was attacking the city from the north, Noyi Kanebo, who had arrived in a hurry, shouted. It's just that at this time, most of the defenders on the north side have just been transferred to the south, and the number of soldiers is not large. In addition, the Luo family's army is menacing. After being killed several people in a row. They had long been frightened, and even if Noyi Kanefang came to help in person, they were constantly retreating.

"You ......" Ye Yi Kanefang was immediately furious when he saw this, and he was ready to continue to boost morale. At this time, with a "whoosh", a feather arrow shot straight in, and Yeyi Kanefang, who didn't have time to react, screamed miserably before he could scream and was shot through the neck. The one who shot this arrow was none other than Hisakatsu Takeuchi, who was temporarily transferred to the Third Route Army to participate in the Bunzen Country Raider.

"The lord of the castle is dead!" , "The young master is dead......

With the sudden killing of Ye Yi Kanefang, the morale of Ye Yi's defenders suddenly plummeted. They retreated to some of the defensive strongholds in Honmaru and prepared to defend to the death. Some of the defenders simply dropped their weapons and surrendered.

"My lord, Watanabe and Tetsunosuke-sama have captured the Oteemon Gate of Gomaru, and they found that a large number of homeless people were gathering outside the castle at this time, and these homeless people were asking to open the gate and let them pass, and the two adults sent their subordinates to ask for your advice on how to deal with them." Just as Kinoshita Masanao, who had stayed in the rear to coordinate the battle, stepped into the Otemona Gate of Ichito Castle's Gomaru, a ashigaru standing guard came to report.

"Outcasts? How many are there? Kinoshita asked immediately.

"There are at least thousands." Standing ready for immediate reporting.

"Thousands?" Hearing such a large number of displaced people, Kinoshita Masanao was also taken aback, so after a little thought, he immediately said. "Under the banner of my own family, I made a promise to the displaced people outside the city. When the family takes this city, they will definitely be relieved. ”

With such a large number of displaced people, Kinoshita Masanao really didn't dare to open the city gate and let them in. After all, the city was still in the midst of fierce fighting at this time, and after letting the exiles in, it would only affect the attack of the family. Although the structure of Ichito Castle at this time is just to enclose the original passage in the valley and form the outer pill of Ichito Castle, as long as the Luo clan sends someone to guard the Ninomaru after putting the displaced people into the outer pill, the impact of these displaced people on the Luo family's siege of the castle can be minimized, but for the sake of safety, it is better not to let them in.

It's just that you can't treat them toughly, otherwise if these homeless people also storm the outer gate of the south when the family and the defenders in the city are fighting fiercely, it will be troublesome, so Kinoshita Masanao will make a slogan to play the banner of the Luo family and make a rescue for them. Besides, the reason for the decrease in the garrison in the north this time is estimated to be inseparable from the gathering of these homeless people in the south, so it was also a kind of gratitude to them at that time, after all, these homeless people will also be the leaders of the Luo family in the future, and it is good to take this opportunity to win over the hearts of the people.

Just as Kinoshita Masanao was dealing with the situation of the displaced people outside the castle to the south, the army of the Luo family, who had already entered the Honmaru, was gradually closing in on the stronghold of the defenders in the castle.

"My lord, let's break through with a hanging basket from behind, we need to send someone to Changyan City and Baimi City to spread the news that the Luo family is coming!" On the wall of the Honmaru city to the south, a samurai who saw that there was no hope of defending himself grabbed Hyakuru Kanesada, who wanted to rush forward to the death, and said. The invasion of the Luo family was too sudden, after all, it was close to winter at this time, and the weather was gradually getting colder, and it was already past the most suitable time for combat, September and October. Besides, this year's drought in various places, the powerful and powerful people everywhere are busy with their own disaster relief, but they didn't expect that the Luo family would abandon their territory and launch a surprise attack.

"Breakout? No, send someone to light the castle tower and use wolf smoke to warn the distance, it won't be long before reinforcements arrive, just kill for a while......" At this time, Hyakuru Kanesada, who was sticking an arrow in his shoulder and was faintly painful, had already made up his mind to defend Honmaru to the end after learning that his good friend Noi Kanebo had died, so he ignored the samurai's obstruction, and swung his long sword towards the Luo family's army, which was constantly climbing up the city wall.

But at this time, the gate of Honmaru had already been opened, and a large number of soldiers of the Luo family poured into Honmaru. There were only more than 600 defenders in Ichinoto Castle, and when the Luo family was attacking the city, they were being transferred to the south to guard the city wall because of the order of Noyi Kanebo. As a result, a surprise attack by the Luo family from the north not only broke through all the way because the defenders were transferred on the way forward, instantly cutting off the connection between the defenders in the city and the soldiers in the city, so it also caused confusion among the defenders who were being mobilized. In this way, after losing the geographical advantage of the city as a defense, they were even more divided and cannibalized in terms of numbers and combat capabilities that were inferior to the Luo family's military strength.

In such a situation, the struggle of Bailiu Kanezhen was also futile, and in the end, he was also stabbed into a horse nest bee under the siege of several Luo family members, and his head was also cut off. However, his counterattack before his death also allowed several retainers to burn down the castle tower before he died. Suddenly, billowing smoke rose directly into the dusk sky, dyeing the blood-red sky inky black.

It's just that Bailiu Kanedada doesn't know what the road is, even if the other castles of the Nonaka family realize that the border of their family has been invaded through the wolf smoke this time, it will not have too much impact on the strategy of Kinoshita Masanao's army.

(Thanks to the monthly pass of "Rain and Sunshine O(∩_∩)O, Baishi Jing, Easy Scare".) (To be continued......)