It was another early spring morning, and the mist mixed with the cold air was coming. If it weren't for the winding of the mountain road, the morning would not have revealed anything special.

Just a few days after the night of Chinese New Year's Eve, the time is fixed on January 10, the twelfth year of astronomy (1543). On this day, the coalition forces of the Otomo family launched another attack on the Ouchi family's main camp in Ayabe Castle.

In the face of the surging enemy, the Ouchi coalition army was not to be outdone, and immediately resolutely met it. The two sides fought fiercely in a place called the Big Island. Just when everyone thought that a battle would end in a way that the two sides would win or lose each other, the Ayabe family, the Kamiyo family, and the Nishimuta family, who were in the camp of the Ouchi family's coalition army, suddenly made a mistake and pointed their guns at the surrounding Ouchi family allies.

The Ouchi coalition immediately fell into chaos and was finally defeated under the fierce attack of the Otomo coalition army. Shanxingyun had to take the defeated army and fight and retreat.

Masara, who had been closely watching the situation on the battlefield, learned of this situation and immediately led his army to Sefukuji Castle, preparing to assist the Ouchi family coalition army to resist the pursuit of the Otomo family coalition army. The so-called cold lips and teeth, once the Ouchi family coalition army is defeated, or even withdraws from Hizen, then the Luo family will have to resist the attack of the Otomo family coalition alone, which is full of morale. So this time, Masahiro had to come out.

Zhengliang solemnly rode on the back of his beloved horse "Baili Hei". Twelve years after entering astronomy, the weather has been noticeably much colder than usual. Even the good horse "Baili Hei" is constantly spewing cold air from his mouth at this time. Masato peeked at everyone's performance. found that both the retainers and the soldiers were not shrunk at all. Even the elderly Kakuma Ishimune and the young Murakami Takeyoshi and others have their bodies straight. Morale is available.

Masahiro looked back again. The soldiers of the brigade were following in formation. This time, most of the combat power in the territory of the political generals was brought out, and there were thousands of standing troops alone. At this time, these standing soldiers of the Luo family were all moving forward with resolute steps. The team has also maintained a neat formation at all times, and is even ready to respond to attacks at any time.

Compared to the standing soldiers, the peasant soldiers who had gathered more than a thousand improvised brocades were much worse. These peasants were divided into teams of thirty to forty, led by a foot standing ashigaru. On his shoulders he carried two long spears or a long maruki bow. They marched forward with difficulty, and the flags with family crests painted on their backs fluttered weakly in the wind.

Because the peasant soldiers now have armor and even weapons, which are temporarily issued by the Luo family. And these weapons are all standing soldiers, obsolete weapons. There are all kinds of styles. As a direct result, the armor of the peasant soldiers is a little messy, and even the color is not uniform.

Suddenly, the black hawk in charge of guarding the front quickly came to Masa's side. Seeing this, Masarashi immediately stopped the team.

As Masayoshi fell, the standing soldier team instantly came to a standstill, and then quickly lined up the enemy's camp. And the peasant troops behind were in an inexplicable commotion. A procession of thousands of people crowded the mountain path. The peasants craned their necks to look forward, trying to see what was happening. The standing ashigaru of the management team cursed and whipped with the handle of his gun, trying to maintain the ashigaru formation without chaos. Masara looked at the chaotic scene in front of him. I couldn't help but shake my head secretly. It seems that the daily training of these peasant soldiers needs to be strengthened.

"My lord, there are a few strange people on the mountain road ahead, and the other party has asked to see His Highness." Black Hawk reports.

"Your Highness, I'm afraid it's your subordinate's younger brother." Tao Masato, who was beside Masahiro, immediately said. According to the information reported by Tao Masathu last time, when Masahiro led the army through the vicinity of the Beizhen Mountain Range, those Yamashi who had promised Tao Masato to surrender to the Luo family would come to surrender. It seems that the other party has now kept his promise.

"Oh? Lead the way ahead. Masato said. These mountains are the head snakes of the nearby mountains and forests, and if they cooperate, the Luo family will have more information to resist the invasion of the Otomo family.

So under the leadership of Black Hawk, Masara came to the front of the team.

A moment later. A tall young man was brought to Masa-ra's horse. Even by the standards of Masahiro in later generations, this guy's dress is too "avant-garde". His unkempt hair was haphazardly combed into a samurai bun, his beard was as strong as a steel needle that covered his chin, and his body was old and scarred. While the young man was looking at him, he was also looking proudly at Chengshi on the horse.

"I mean, you're Hizen Morimon-sama!" Without waiting for Zhengliang to speak, this kid actually pointed at Zhengliang with the knife on his shoulder and asked.

"Bold!! Impudent fanatics! The surrounding cloaked people and retainers were immediately enraged by his rudeness, and they all pressed their hands on the hilt of their swords, and just waited for Masato to give an order to kill this guy on the spot. You know, this is an era when samurai can kill civilians at will. To dare to offend the majesty of the lord in this way is simply a heinous sin.

Even Masatora Tao, who claimed to be the brother of this kid, was sweating profusely and was furious at the same time.

Who knew that this kid turned a blind eye to all this, and just grinned and showed a mouthful of shining white teeth, "Give me thirty gold for nothing at a time, you are really a fool!" Ha Lu Ha! ”

"You're Tanao Nakamoto? The great thief who made a name for himself in Backshake Mountain? Masarashi squinted his eyes right away, this is really an interesting guy. As early as the last time Tao Masahu came back to report, he clearly told Masayo that Tao Nakamoto was a guy with a rather eccentric temper. If it weren't for the sake of his own brother, Tao Masahu didn't even plan to let him surrender to Masayo at all. You must know that with a temper like Tao Nakamoto, it is likely to attract the anger of the lord, which will cause death.

So last time, Tao Masatoshi also went to find Tao Nakamoto with the attitude of trying it out. After finding each other using the secret communication code of the two, Tao Masatora truthfully told Tao Nakamoto about the situation and let him choose for himself. After all, as a branch of the Honda clan of Mikawa Province, since the family suffered an accident, the two fled to Hizen. Sent by the gods, Tao Masatori became a naval army general of a wealthy clan in Hizen, and Tao Nakamoto became the mountain of Wuthering Mountains. As the remaining two bloodlines in the family, Tao Masatori also hopes that his younger brother can choose carefully. Who knew that after learning of Tao Zhenghu's intentions, Tao Nakamoto readily agreed to the Luo family's request. So there was this time Tao Nakamoto's request to see.

"Thieves?! It's also a samurai in the next place! Tanao Nakamoto muttered dissatisfiedly, "I'm hired by you to fight, 100% samurai!" It's not a thief. As he spoke, he symbolically waved the extra-long wild sword in his hand a few times.

"Ha Lu Ha ......" Masarashi laughed at him, "It's really disrespectful, Tao Nakamoto Samurai-sama." ”

Being laughed at by such a half-grown child as Masaliang, Tao Nakamoto's black face was a little unbearable, "If I didn't want to see what you look like as a stupid and generous lord, I wouldn't have bothered to come, and after running the mountain road all morning, the straw sandals were worn out." Who knew that it was a child who didn't understand the preciousness of gold. ”

The cloaked people around him were already mad at his rude attitude, but the lord himself looked unangry. Everyone could only endure with all their might, and the hands holding the hilt of the knife burst with green tendons. Only Shinnosuke Akabane, who knows Masayo's temper and thoughts, watched alone with a smile on the side.

"Am I stupid? So you don't think you're worth the price? ”

"Nonsense!" Seeing that the group's ability was questioned, Tao Nakamoto immediately shouted loudly, "Our prestige has long spread throughout the country, as long as our cavalry of hundreds of people goes into battle, no one will be terrified......"

"Really? As far as I know, you only have two hundred horses at most, right? Masarashi suddenly interrupted his shouting and stared into his eyes and asked.

"Huh! Says who? Being told the details by Masara at once, Tanao Nakamoto couldn't help but blush a little. Obviously a little annoyed.

"Okay then, Tanao Nakamoto, I'm Hizen Shouzaemon Luo Masara, I'll ask you once after this last question, in this battle in front of you, our side is outnumbered, and we will die for life. Are you really ready to join? ”

He looked at the young general who was immediately heroic in front of him, and watched the morning sun cast a halo on his armor. Tian O Nakamoto stood in front of the horse's head, and said with a playful smile on the corner of his mouth: "As a shrewd thief, how can you not accompany Your Highness to gamble when you meet such a stupid and generous guy as Your Highness!" …… Three hundred people under Tao Nakamoto participated in the battle. ”

"Okay, you can fight with me! If you use your martial arts to make a meritorious service, I will give you Zhixing (a semi-hereditary land to pay for the samurai lords) and make you my retainer. "Zhengliang solemnly promised.

"What!" Tanao Nakamoto was taken aback: "He's a thief!" There was also a commotion among the onlookers, especially those who were always prepared. Tanao Nakamoto was also shocked at the moment. Although he used to be a samurai, it was the verdict of another wealthy family. Here, as long as Masato does not recognize the samurai judgment, he is not the status of a samurai of the Luo family. Participating in the Luo family's team this time, he also planned to gain combat merits and restore his status as a samurai. Now that the other party has said this condition, he is not surprised.

"Your Highness didn't lie to me, did you?" "Tian O Nakamoto, who was still unruly just now, was already bowing to the ground at this time, raised his head with a flushed face, and looked at Masayo's face in disbelief! "I ...... Can I become a real samurai too? ”

"No jokes!" In front of the excited Tanao Nakamoto and the surprised crowd, Masarashi spit out this sentence word by word, "Times have changed, from today on, whether it is a farmer, a thief, or a wild samurai, in my territory, as long as he has outstanding talent and military exploits, he can become a real samurai of the Luo family." ”

"Me! Tao Nakamoto, hereby swear to serve His Highness! The thief gritted his teeth and bowed deeply. (To be continued.) )