Since being overshadowed by the Ouchi family, and then forced to cede the land of the three counties of Yasu, Kamiza, and Shimoza in the western part of Chikuzen Province to the Luo family, the Akizuki family has been hostile to both the Ouchi family and the Luo family.

Yes, even if the most reluctant Qiuyue family was still coerced and lured by the Luo family, they were able to quickly return to their territory in the three counties of Kurade County, Jiama County, and Suilang County, ensuring that the Qiuyue family would not be annexed by the Ouchi family, but the Luo family still took advantage of the situation to snatch away the three counties of the Autumn Moon family's Yesu County, Kamisa County, and Shimoza County, so no matter what, the Qiuyue family is still hostile to the Luo family.

This time, at the suggestion of Takayo Naito, Yoshitaka Ouchi ordered the Akizuki family to send troops to support the Jongka family, and the Akitsuki family naturally would not agree, so he found an excuse that he could not send troops after the battle with the Luo family last year, and he stuck to the border of the territory.

At the same time, Akizuki also wrote a letter to Masato in the name of his allies to inform Masara of the situation. The letter from Qiuyue Wenzhong also clearly wrote the attitude of the Qiuyue family towards the conflict between the Luo family and the Ouchi family: Zhenglianggong, I can tell you about this, I have fulfilled my obligation as an ally. This time the conflict between the Luo family and the Ouchi family, the Qiuyue family, who had a small business, did not participate. The Luo family should not let the Qiuyue family send troops to help in the name of allies, it is already very good for the Qiuyue family to be able to help each other.

For the Qiuyue family's attitude, Zhengliang doesn't care, although the Luo family and the Qiuyue family secretly signed an alliance before, but this is after all caused by the Luo family's coercion and temptation, and it is normal for the Qiuyue family to treat the Luo family with such an attitude at this time. And as Akizuki said in the letter, not long after the letter was passed on to Masaliang. The number of defenders of the Qiu Yue family, located on the border with the Luo family's territory, really began to decrease. Naturally, the defenders who had been cut down were stationed on the border with the Ouchi family. After all, openly disobeying the order of the sect master, the Qiuyue family would anger the Ouchi family.

It is true that as the Akizuki family expected, Yoshitaka Ouchi was really angered by the Akizuki family's reply and the move to increase troops on the border. But for a while, there was not enough military strength to conquer the Qiuyue family, and this time was not the best time to conquer the Qiuyue family. Just when he had a headache, another of his retainers, Bunzen's guardian Daisugi Shigeki, offered him a clever plan, that is, to prohibit merchants from entering the territory of the Akizuki family, and at the same time forbid salt from entering the territory of the Akizuki family.

In general. Even in the war phase, merchants can enter and exit the area under war (the only thing that seems a little strange is probably only the Luo family's territory, which strictly implements the policy of closing the country to the country), so that the lords of each region can buy some things that are not available in their own region, and the local lord daimyo will also be able to obtain armament resources that are not available in the local territory.

After the Ouchi family's policy of sealing the border at the border, the Akizuki family, as the most important resource such as food, is still able to guarantee self-sufficiency for now. Some strategic resources, such as iron ore and copper ore, are also stored in a certain amount in the territory warehouse. However, the supply of salt, which was a daily necessity for the people, was cut off.

Due to the limited level of technical skills, the daimyo basically relied on the sea to obtain salt at this time. The location of the Akizuki family is located in the eastern part of Chikuzen Province, separated from the Bunzen Province to the east by a Hidehiko mountain range. To the north is the territory of the Ouchi family, and to the west and south are areas controlled by the Luo family. Arguably. As long as the passage to the sea to the north is blocked by the Ouchi family, the Akizuki family will lose the passage of salt supply.

"Lord, I'm afraid it's not appropriate to go on like this, the merchants can't transport salt into the territory, and with the current salt reserves of the family, I'm afraid it won't last long." Seeing that the trade route was blocked, the retainers of the Qiu Yue family reported worriedly.

"It's okay if there is a war, but now that the trade routes are blocked, salt can't be brought in, and there's really nothing to be done. Let the people and soldiers reduce the use of salt, or even use salt in their food. Qiuyue Wen also sighed. At this time, Qiuyue Wenzhong had not yet realized the harm of the lack of salt (there is no way, it is impossible for an ancient person to know the importance of salt to the human body in advance).

In this way, the situation of Qiuyue's family not being able to transport salt lasted for several months. So the harm caused by the lack of salt was finally manifested at this time. Salt is not only a basic ingredient for food, it is also an indispensable nutrient for the human body. When the human body lacks salt, it will become tired and mentally restless. In severe cases, it may even cause drowsiness or dizziness, resulting in the inability to do anything. Gradually, the Akizuki family's territory lost its former vitality, and when the number of godless lords gradually increased, Akizuki finally realized the seriousness of the matter.

"It can't go on like this! Before all the salt reserves are used up, a solution must be found. Is it going to start a war with the Ouchi family, but once the war starts, the Akizuki family is likely to not only be unable to open the trade route, but will even incur a stronger revenge from the Ouchi family. Qiu Yue Wen thought anxiously.

"My lord, why don't you ask for help from the righteous lord in the west?" At this time, a retainer suggested.

"Ask the Roche family for help?" Qiu Yuewen was still frowning after hearing this. Ever since he was coerced and lured by Luo Zhengliang to cut off the territory of the three counties from him, Qiuyue Wenchong no longer wanted to deal with Zhengliang. In his opinion, Masahiro is simply a devil, if he asks Luo Zhengliang for help when the Qiuyue family is in difficulty, maybe that devil will make some requests that make him vomit blood. What's more, not long ago, he just wrote a letter to Luo Shizhengliang, telling the other party that my brother is very busy now, and he is not interested in participating in the wrist wrestling between you and Yoshitaka Ouchi. Now that he turned his head, he went up to ask for help with his face, which made his face dignity put inside!

So, after another period of hesitation, half a month passed, and at this time, the people in the territory of the Qiuyue family had begun to lack salt in a large area, and even the salt reserves in the Qiuyue family's army were not much. The lords began to complain, and the defenders of the border became unstable. Qiuyue Wenzhong couldn't sit still anymore, and had no choice but to bow his head and send a messenger to Zhengliang for help.

And Zhengliang, who had already known the actual situation of the Qiuyue family through the message of the family hidden in the territory of the Qiuyue family, had been waiting for the Qiuyue family's request for help for a long time. After the arrival of the envoy of the Akizuki family in Zhilu Dao, Masarashi deliberately avoided a direct meeting with the other party, deliberately expressing his anger at the Akizuki family's failure to cooperate with the Luo family to exert pressure on the Ouchi family this time, and then sent Yamamoto Kansuke to meet with the envoy of the Akitsuki family.

"Since the other party has agreed to allow the family's merchant house to enter and leave his territory freely, then we will also help this ally." After Kansuke Yamamoto said that the Akizuki family had accepted several conditions proposed by the Luo family, Masarashi immediately ordered.

"You only now know that the other party is your ally, but judging from those conditions that even you may not be willing to accept, what you are facing now is not an ally, but a prisoner of war!" After hearing this, Kansuke Yamamoto couldn't help muttering in his heart.

With Masarashi's order, a large amount of salt that had been prepared for a long time was transported to the territory of the Akizuki family in the east through the ancient mountain castle on the border of Yasu County in Chikuzen Province.

"My lord! Lord! Salt, salt is coming! "The retainers who learned the news that the Luo family had sent the first batch of hundreds of stones of salt to the border of the territory immediately came to Qiuyue Wen to report happily.

Soon, the envoy of the Luo family, who was in charge of delivering salt this time, also came to Qiuyue Wenzhong.

"My lord, this is a letter that the repairer asked the villain to bring you." The person who came was none other than the Ai Ji Ji Ji who was in charge of taking care of the Akizuki bun in the Kamiya family, and the Akizuki family who was in charge of the second son Akizuki Tanumi.

"Madame and Fujizaburo are alright?" After receiving the letter, Akizuki did not immediately open it, but asked the servant who sent the letter about Jihime and Akizuki Tane. Last year, when the Ouchi family and the Luo family were in a fierce battle, because Zhiji's brother Kamiya Shaoce, as a retainer of the Luo family, sent an envoy to the Qiuyue family on behalf of the Luo family, he forcibly forced the Qiuyue family to cede the land and negotiate peace, and even forcibly brought the love Ji Zhiji and the second son of the Qiuyue culture back to the Luo family as hostages.

"Hongfu of the head of the family, Mrs. and the second young master are very good, the second young master is already babbling, and the lady is teaching him to call the head of the family." The servant immediately replied.

"Really? Haha...... "Hearing that his second son was learning how to address him, a fatherly smile appeared on his face for the first time in a long time, "This is so good, so good! ”

In fact, sending Ji Ji's mother and son to Ji Ji's maiden Kamiya family to settle down is also what he wants to see. After all, last year, Shenwu Shaoce, as the envoy of the Luo family, behaved too toughly, and finally cut off the land of the three counties from the Qiuyue family, among which Yesu County was the starting place of the Qiuyue family. The retainers and other wives and concubines of the Akizuki family will definitely vent their grievances against Kamiya Sakuze and the Luo family on Kamiya Sakuze's sister Tomohime and his child Fujizaburo. In this case, it is better to take the opportunity to send Zhiji back to her parents' house, which will make the life of the two mothers and sons a little more pleasant.

After learning about the situation between Tomohime and Fujisaburo, Akizuki finally opened the letter sent by Masahiro, only to see that the letter read:

"I fight with the public, with the sword and not with salt." (To be continued......)