The news that the Imagawa family had sent reinforcements to support the Takeda family soon spread throughout the Kanto region, but then it was reported that the Tun army Suwa refused to advance another half step.

However, this inconsequential 3,500 Yuanjiang miscellaneous troops did not affect the confrontation on Kawanaka Island in the slightest, and did not delay the siege of Kurita Castle by the Long-tail army on the left bank of the Xichuan River.

It is difficult to besiege the city to the fullest.

Especially in the Warring States Period, when the number of troops was extremely limited, a flat city often had to occupy an area of several miles, if it was a city built for defense by the mountains and rivers, at best, it could only be said to occupy the main road, build a small pass, lock up the enemy army defending the city, so that it could not achieve large-scale mobilization of troops to break through, and at the same time try not to let the galloping military horses enter the city.

If you can do these two things, it can be said that it is a successful siege.

As simple as these two things may seem, they will be difficult to do, because there are so many aspects involved, as well as uncontrollable external factors.

In particular, the overall mobilization of the troops under his command by the commander of the besieging party, although the Yue Xin army besieging the city claimed to have 8,000 soldiers and horses, and the company camp was ten miles, but even the seven fortresses built by the Takeda army outside the city and echoed the city from afar could not be breached, which also led to the encirclement of the flat fortress built on the bank of the Xichuan River in vain.

Speaking of this method of defending the city, it is still emulating the Yue soldiers under the Yatong City, but the application of this method of defending the city by the Takeda Army can be called better than the blue, and there are 200 red guards galloping outside to respond, which undoubtedly increases the difficulty of attacking the city.

Although the subordinates under the command of Nagao Masakai and Murakami Yoshikiyo did not really have 8,000 elite cavalry as advertised, but with the newly defected Hokushin Hao clan and the campers, there were also more than 5,000 people, far exceeding the Takeda army defending the city.

The value of a soldier lies in the fine, not in the many. When there are more people, the scope is greater, and there are too many miscellaneous soldiers, which leads to uneven good and bad people, and those who dare to be brave will have cowardice. There are standing flags that are good at fighting, and naturally there are miscellaneous soldiers who run around in a disorderly manner. Coupled with the lack of samurai on horseback, the siege was mainly on foot, so it would be difficult to move in formation to ensure a flexible advance.

But this does not mean that Koyamada Nobushige and others have no pressure, Nagao Masashi can not only conquer the three Beixin Heavy Castles, but also gather under Kurita Castle with a total of nearly 5,000 people, so he is by no means a mediocre general, and without the Takek Castle outside the gate, it can only be said that he is not here at all.

As Asahina Shinji said, this Echizen defender was cautious in his use of soldiers, cherished his feathers, and tried his best to preserve the strength of the Ueda Nakatsu under his command, and had no intention of fighting to the death with the defenders of Kurita Castle.

Since he couldn't conquer the city in a short time, Nagao Masakai stepped up the siege with Murakami Yoshikiyo on the one hand, and asked Suda Mitsumi to come forward on the other hand, sending people to the county and the countryside to transfer the village and the countrymen, coercing and luring, bitterly stating the benefits and harms, persuading them to rejoin the Murakami family, and completely breaking with Takeda Shingen, who killed the people.

And divided the troops to the north of Yokoyama, Matsubara and other cities, in order to form a line with Asahiyama Castle, and completely locked the reinforcements sent by Takeda Shingen on the south bank of the Rhino River, and the first to bear the brunt was Yokoyama Castle occupied by the Rhikawa Water Bandits.

In order to put pressure on the water thieves in the city, he selected more than 100 'sample warriors'. Everyone was tall and mighty, wearing exquisite armor, and galloped back and forth on horses not far from the city. The three armies beat the drums, the conch is long, raise your eyes from the city and look out, in the mountains and forests in the distance, the flags are fluttering, and the Vietnamese army besieging the city is boundless, as if even the surrounding grass and trees have been turned into soldiers and horses by yin and yang.

The rhino water thieves who were guarding the watchtower were shocked by the vibration of their horn drums. Suddenly, even the rudimentary earthen city wall seemed to be shaking, and this deafening sound penetrated through the city, echoing the rolling river in the south of the city.

The thieves guarding the city hurriedly sent people down to the city to report to the commanders, and the water thieves who reported the news in fear panicked at their feet, stepped directly into the air, rolled down the wooden ladder and fell, directly broke their necks, and of course died.

Seeing this, the leader who had previously ordered had no choice but to send someone else to report the news, and at the same time let people quickly collect the corpse, the situation was not yet clear, and one person had already died, which could not help but cast a shadow of despair in the hearts of all the water thieves.

Yokoyama Kiyogaku was originally living in the house, but after receiving the military report, he immediately summoned the rest of the leaders of the Xichuan water thieves to go upstairs to watch, and halfway through, he remembered something and asked someone, "Where is the messenger of Shin Xuan Gong and Echigo Mori now?" ”

The envoys sent by Takeda Shingen and Nagao Keitora arrived at Yokoyama Castle in no different order, and it can almost be said that they are front and back. Soon after they arrived, Nagao Masakai led his army south, and in the middle of October, he captured the whole county, and once these places were lost, the form of the Takeda army was greatly unfavorable, and the battle line was compressed to the line of the Xichuan River, if the Xichuan River was not protected, I am afraid that there would not even be a chance to retreat with the whole army.

At this time, the status of the water thieves who controlled the river was highlighted, and there was no way to go by land, so Takeda Shingen sent people to Yokoyama Castle along the waterway to stabilize this group of water thieves who were usually inconspicuous, and promised that as long as they helped the Takeda army to hold the river river, after the war, they would admit that the people of the river had a monopoly on the water transportation of the river and even part of the Chikuma River, and they could also consider handing it over, and the messenger of the Nagao family was probably like this, and for a time the two countries were competing to win over them, so that these gang of water thieves could not get on the table, I couldn't get an idea at all.

The Xichuan water thieves considered the promised Gu Yuquan at all, because the Xichuan was originally under their control, and they were even less interested in Qianquchuan going to Qianquchuan to expand the chassis, and the Xichuan was enough for them to flutter, and there were also many water thieves in Qianquchuan, and it was too expensive to go to someone else's Lichaqi to provoke a fight.

The Rhinokawa Water Thieves, also known as the Sixteen Clans of the Rhinokawa, in addition to the Yokoyama clan, there are two powerful leaders of Matsubara and Kanamaru, and the remaining thirteen families are dependent on these three families to make a living.

The Yokoyama clan believed that the Takeda clan, which already controlled most of Shinano's territory, and the Matsubara clan, preferred to get closer to the Nagao clan, which was beyond the reach of the whip and could not afford to co-opt the people of the country, while the Kanamaru clan was in a neutral position, and both Takeda and Nagao expressed their unconditional support as long as they did not have a monopoly on water transportation regardless of the Shuhikawa clan.

It is considered the most simple and simple idea of most people, only caring about their own town and three anti-lands, and taking the initiative to expand their original territory and submit to a certain daimyo to become a vassal, and maintain a respectful and distant attitude.

The previous support for the Takeda clan was the water thief under Yokoyama Kiyotake, and Matsubara and Kanemaru just acquiesced, not only did not stop it, but even secretly provided some help, after all, in the past ten years, Takeda Shingen swept Shinano, slaughtered the city and exterminated the clan's great martial arts, and many famous families were cut off, and no one knew if this Kai Tiger would be resentful because of the lack of assistance.

On the contrary, under the banner of 'righteous war', he treats the Chinese people preferentially, and even the long-tailed Jinghu who has not completed the unification of his skills, seems to be more close to the people, without fear, and naturally prefers the strategy of the brutal Takeda Army, which is obviously more in line with the name of the surviving family.

On the one hand, they continued to transport supplies in accordance with the Takeda family's request, and on the other hand, they warmly welcomed the envoys of the Nagao family, and repeatedly stated that they would never have the courage to oppose the shogunate officials.

That's right, compared to the Imagawa family's self-proclaimed official army, the Nagao army that received the shogunate's request for help was actually the Qinwang Yoshishi of the Shangluo crusade against Santsuki who was recognized by the Imperial Judgment of the Gongfang, although now the royal division is trapped in Hokushin and cannot move.

The water thief who was questioned replied, "Hui Zhen and Changzhi, the two Zen masters, are all in the inn. Yokoyama Kiyoyue hurriedly ordered, "Go quickly, please come over, and come to the city together." The thief answered with a loud voice, and hurriedly turned back, and went to ask the two messengers to go up to the city together.

·············

The two families of Takeda and Nagao are now part of the enemy country, and they have long ceased to have the intimate relationship during the civilization years, and this time they are sent to be responsible for wooing the domestic diplomatic monks, so even if the mediation fails, because the identity of the monk can also ensure that the envoy will not be killed, so the two Zen masters saw that the water thieves had not yet decided which one to attach to, and they did not urge, so they simply got together to talk about Buddhism and participate in meditation and meditation.

In addition to being monks, the two of them are each escorted by dozens of monks, even in the den of water thieves who are unknown to each other, they are not afraid, and at the same time, they are a little self-reliant. Even if the worst is prepared. Some of the water thieves want to cause harm, thinking that with the courage of the monks, they can also protect the two great monks, not to mention anything else, at least it is more than enough to defend themselves.

Zenko-ji Hui Zhen had the intention of taking the opportunity to watch the combat strength of the Vietnamese army, and the chief of Linquan Temple also wanted to take the opportunity to show off the bravery of the Vietnamese samurai.

Takeda Akabei, who swept Shinano, although the Kwantung elite cavalry, but Wu Yue's apprentices were also famous in the world. Otherwise, how could he have been able to fight for Kawanaka Island twice.

Speaking of which, as a prison officer, the chief of the Linquan Temple rushed to the den of the water thieves in person, and the generals of the Nagao Army, including Nagao Jinghu, were very opposed, worried that he would be captured by the water thieves and sent to the Takeda army as a hostage.

But Wan didn't expect that Nagao Masakata would be overwhelmed, and in addition, Saito Asanobu, Honjo Shiganaga, and Sechang Minoru would raid Kaizu and have no gains, if they can't quickly overcome Kurita, how to resist when Imagawa and Hojo exert their strength? The newly acquired land of Beixin has not yet been completely stabilized, the Takeda army invaded like fire, and there were no Vietnamese soldiers to confront it, only with the defeat of the remnants of Murakami Yoshikiyo and other remnants, the end can be imagined, and it will definitely collapse without a fight.

Kawanaka Island is only eighty miles away from Echigo, and it is only more than 300 miles away from Kasuga Mountain Castle, if Hokushin is lost, when Takeda Shingen stabilizes the situation and the Echigo border, there will be no more peace at all, and his younger brother Sozo will pacify the Kanto region and support the ambition of the shogunate, I am afraid that it will no longer be realized.

It is precisely because of the importance of Kawanakajima to Echigo that Nagao Jinghu is scheming, and does not hesitate to personally help Murakami Yoshikiyo and other wealthy families regain their old territory, so that they finally occupied Kawanakajima and obtained a stronghold based on Shinano.

As a senior brother, the head of Linquan Temple must not sit back and watch his junior brother's hard work be wasted! Therefore, he had to say that the people of Xichuan had to turn against him, and the Yue soldiers outside the city were the ones he agreed with Nagao Zhengjing that if he failed to return, he would send troops to besiege the city directly, without worrying about his own comfort, and he would be unprepared to destroy the Xichuan water thieves in the assembled city and discuss countermeasures.

As long as all the sixteen leaders are ambushed, the remaining water thieves will never have a chance to get in the way until the leaders are re-elected.

In retrospect, this decision was the right one.

Just look at the leaders of these sixteen families who are panicked and inexplicable, and they don't know what the result is. The water thieves of the Rhino River are scattered in the villages on both sides of the Rhino River on weekdays, there is no major event, and it is rare for them all to gather in a certain city, and in the face of the fierce attack of the Nagawei Masashi military horses, the five water thieves led by the Kanimaru clan, who have remained neutral for a long time, unconsciously step closer to the Matsubara clan, and the attitude is self-evident.

The revenge of the Takeda army is far in the future, and if you don't obey the Nagao family now, the destruction of the city is right now, and Yokoyama Kiyotake is also sighing, it seems that the water thieves who have been rampant in the Xichuan River for a hundred years will be scattered in their own hands today, and they feel really ashamed of the trust of the first leader.

Not long after, the water thief led two envoys, Huizhen of Zenko Temple and the head of Linquan Temple, to come together, followed by a large group of monks. The two groups saluted each other, the taiko drums under the city shook the sky, and the water thieves on the watchtower knelt on the ground one after another, begging the two Zen masters for help.

Zenko Temple Huizhen and Linquan Temple Chang held two for their masters, but they did not provoke because of this gap, and saw the leaders kowtowing to survive, and invariably thought in their hearts, "It seems that I am about to see the difference, but I don't know what to do, and suddenly invite the two of me together, but it is also strange?" The two of them were the second monk who couldn't guess what this group of water thieves was going to do.

As soon as he saw the two monks ascend to the top of the city, Yokoyama Kiyogaku took Matsubara and Kanamaru two leaders to walk on their knees in front of the two Zen masters, stretched out his hand and grabbed the robes of the two and cried bitterly, "Zen Master is merciful, although we are called water thieves, in fact, we are only on both sides of the Xi River, do some ferries and fishing, and make a living for people's water transportation, and do not dare to do anything that hurts the heavens and reason. In order to let us have a way to live! ”

Huizhen of Zenko Temple was not suspicious, and looked at the chief of Linquan Temple next to him, and found that the other party was even more stunned, so he could only speak first and persuade him, "The leader of Hengshan, please get up quickly, your loyalty to Takeda Dashan, the poor monks are all in the eyes, and when you go back, you will definitely tell Dashan that at this time, Kaejo's surrender is a crime of non-war, and the poor monks will vouch for you, and Takeda Dashan will definitely not be blamed!" ”

The chief of the Linquan Temple immediately spoke, "What the head of Yokoyama did was for the people in the leader, and the poor monk also believed that the leader was not intended to be an enemy of the shogunate. ”

。

No pop-ups