However, it is said that the Sichuan and the people are operating according to the three strategies of Jingzhen, training 350 elites, and dominating the benefits of the Kiso River, which can be said to be a soldier with enough food and is thriving.

After September, seeing that the time was ripe and that things might change later, he consulted with Nagasaka Nobumasa, Wasuka Masatoshi and others to send troops, and chose a day to leave the guards, gather the remaining soldiers and horses, and claim to be 500 people, and recruit the Saito clan.

Since ancient times, there have been different joys and sorrows. In the months since the last war, Sichuan and the people have recruited troops and horses, and they have moved from all directions, looking like flowers and brocade cooking oil; On the other hand, the Saito clan not only lost its troops and lost face, but the last subordinates of the Furuta clan, the Seoki clan, and the Ishimaru clan were also gradually alienated and deviated under the cold eyes of Nagai Norihide (Saito Michizo) and the coercion and encroachment of the Kawa Nami, and they were only one step away from their demise.

A day later, when the Kawawa people arrived at Saito Riraju Castle, they saw that the city gate was closed and there was no reinforcement under the city, and only the remaining Saito clan diehard backbone led the last sixty or seventy old and weak to defend the city head with trepidation, which was the opposite of the original battle of the Quartet Coalition to suppress bandits.

Although the situation is in me, but the defenders naturally have an advantage in the siege war, and there are many famous generals from all walks of life who have been overturned in the siege of the city, so Jingzhen did not order the Sichuan and the ants to join the strong attack, but learned from the wisdom of the predecessors, and ordered the soldiers to fall into the earth at the gate of the city under the cover of the bamboo bundle, block the gate, prevent the Saito brigade from breaking through, and then cut down bamboo and wood to erect a well tower outside the range of arrows, so that the soldiers condescendingly shot arrows and threw stones into the city. (Note 1).

In this way, the Saito clan was obviously the defender, and they could only be beaten passively throughout the siege, and they couldn't touch the corners of the clothes of the Kawanami people at all. Saito Toshira supported his sick body and personally boosted his morale, and organized death squads nine times in a row to go out of the city to counterattack and destroy the well tower, but they were all defeated in the attempt to forcibly demolish the earthen barrage in front of the gate in the face of arrows falling like arrows from the river and the people.

Day after day of passive beatings and futile counterattacks again and again, the morale of the city fell to the lowest point; And the Kawa people even left only a few hundred people to continue to besiege and suppress, and the rest of the troops scattered into the Saito clan's territory to purchase grain and grass to supplement their own consumption, which was as easy as an autumn outing. Only five days after the completion of the earthen and well towers, the Saito clan accepted the condition of "saving the lives of the city at the cost of Saito Toshira moving to Inabayama Castle and Saito Toshizuna and other castles of the Saito clan seppuku", and Kaejo surrendered, and Saito Toshira also died "naturally" on the way to Inabayama Castle with the Kawa and the others. Under the mastermind behind Keizhen, the Saito clan, who had been in power for a hundred years in Mino Province, withdrew from the stage of history seven years earlier than in history. (Note 2)

Because Saito Toshira was on his way, the troops who were originally scheduled to arrive at Inabayama Castle that day could only be stationed on the spot and bury the coffin first. Jingzhen also ran it all, but with Tsuruko, Nagasaka Nobumasa, Mibuchi Fuji and Wasuka Masato ascended to Gao Huaiyuan.

Close to Inabayama Castle, it is gradually densely populated. As the sun sets, the sky gets darker, and the villages in the distance are already full of sparks, and the quietly flowing Kiso River is full of merchants and customers, and there is no shortage of lighting, and even the people of the Kawanami who have set up camp in the village have begun to light bonfires on the periphery to cook food.

Seeing that Jingzhen was talking and laughing, he had already analyzed the words and key points of the professor when he met Nagai Norihide (Saito Michizo), and Wasuka Masari had a faint feeling in his heart and opened his mouth many times, but he never opened his mouth until the completion of Jingzhen's teaching.

After explaining the details of his demeanor and tone again, and confirming that Wasuka Masatoshi had memorized it by heart, the meal had passed. At this moment, the moon rises tomorrow, up and down the river, and the stars are dotted for a while. Jingzhen also seemed to unload the burden of her heart and relaxed, and enjoyed the pleasant night scene of the stars in the sky and the streamers below the slope for a moment alone, before turning to Masatoshi Wasuka and said:

"Thousands of miles together with the bright moon, just at the time of parting. There is no feast in the world that will not be dispersed, and it coincides with the rare night of the moon and stars, and the four of us happened to say goodbye to His Royal Highness Zhengli. ”

Although Wasuka Masanori had a premonition, his face still darkened when he heard this, and he was silent for a while before he reluctantly smiled:

"Before this expedition, I had a premonition when His Highness specially brought His Highness Crane, and I was even more aware when I heard His Highness's explanation just now. In the past two months, the people of Sichuan have been deeply favored by His Highness, and they should not have prevented His Highness from leaving, but before leaving, they still hope that His Highness can give him a name. ”

"Although we are people from the mountains and wilderness and are not educated, we can still tell after months of getting along that His Royal Highness is not a subordinate of Lord Nagai Norihide. His Highness is a man of outstanding demeanor and extraordinary talent, and will never be subservient to others. If His Royal Highness really belonged to Lord Nagai's side, presumably the current Mino Guardian would no longer belong to the Toki clan. ”

"Now, His Royal Highness intends to entrust Kawa and the people under the command of Lord Nagai Norihide, and the character and way of doing things of that Lord have also been deeply understood and understood this time, and it is probably difficult to sleep peacefully with him as the master. But His Highness is worthy of trust and trust...... Therefore, I don't know what kind of identity His Highness is, if there is anything useful to the people, please accept our allegiance! Masatoshi Wasuka leaned down deeply.

In Jingzhen's original plan, in addition to intercepting Lord Kanbai (Toyotomi Hideyoshi) a few years later and taking Koroku in advance, Kawa Namizhong, as a semi-independent force in Mino's country, may play an unexpected role in his own invasion of Noo in the future, so he spends a lot of energy to promote its development. Unexpectedly, Bee Suga Masari and others actually planned to completely take refuge in themselves because of this, making themselves who were about to go away to Jiaxin feel like they had provoked irresponsible scumbag behavior.

But after a moment of silence, Jingzhen still temporarily rejected this extremely tempting invitation, shook her head and said:

"Thank you to His Royal Highness Zhengli for your love. Chuan and the people inside and outside the heart, several leaders are well led, sooner or later will also grow stronger, but fate will accelerate this process, should not be so grateful to His Royal Highness Zhengli. If you decide to work because of this, I'm afraid that there will be some child's play. ”

Raising his eyes to stop Masatoshi Wasuka's defense, Jingzhen continued:

"The two love for a long time, not in the morning and twilight. Now we really have something important to do, and we have to travel far away immediately, and the matter of investment can be discussed in the long run. I can also make an agreement with His Royal Highness Zhengli here, as fast as two or three months, or as slow as half a year, we will turn back again, and at that time, I will definitely inform myself of the information without reservation, and give His Highness Zhengli a chance to make a new decision. ”

Seeing Jingzhen's attitude, Bee Suga Zhengli knew that his mind had been determined and irreversible, so he could only sigh melancholy, and ordered his subordinates to take out a large plate of gold and silver that had already been prepared.

Just listen to Wasuka Masanori:

"When I entered the village, I had no subordinates, and I was afraid that His Highness would be useless on the way, so he would send him with special road materials."

Jingzhen repeatedly refused, but Bee Suga Masatoshi insisted: "Especially in case of a small pay, why refuse?" ”

In a hurry, Jingzhen finally took three hundred taels of silver, handed it to Nagasaka Nobumasa to pack and carry, and said:

"It's just a little work, what a lot of worry. Now the cottage is in ruins, it is the time for the ambassador to make money, we have enough road funds, and the rest will be counted as our investment in shares! ”

"In addition, please ask His Highness Masanori to arrange a boat guide to take us across the river to the Mikawa Highlands and the border between Mino and Shinano."