On the eastern coast of Shikoku Island, a light rain fell.

The raindrops were blown by the sea breeze on people's faces and bodies, and when they fell on the undulating sea, there were ripples in a circle, and on the sea between the two islands, the boats were still cruising, searching for the hidden piles that the Japanese had driven under the sea.

In the past two days, the wooden stakes entwined with seaweed and barnacles were found, and then the Xia soldiers with good water properties drove over, dragged ropes and jumped into the water, or sawed, or pulled out the stakes, entrusted them to their companions on the boat, and finally brought them back to the shore.

The Japanese people who originally lived on Shikoku Island have basically disappeared, and on the huge coastline, in addition to the soldiers under Su Chen's command, they are war horses galloping on the beach, and occasionally you can see a war elephant covered in dense spears scratching the coconut trees, stuffing the fallen coconuts into their mouths and chewing them together with their shells, making a 'clucking' crisp sound.

Occasionally, the beasts of the island would appear, close to the shore, curiously watching what the huge crowd was doing, and then they would be killed by an arrow from the sentry, and the corpse of their companions would be brought back to be sacrificed.

In the distance, on the dusk sand, sometimes there is a sound of 'Drive! A team of horses trampled on the golden sands, and went to a certain part of the coastline with the task of patrolling.

The entire eastern part of Shikoku Island seems to have formed another ecological environment.

In the eastern seas, it was getting late, and soldiers had already left the boat to return to the port, and in front of some small boats, there was no sound of "whoosh" on the sea.

The gloomy drizzle of rain was irritating.

The last of the boats were leaving the sea and returning to the harbor, and the two soldiers who had salvaged the stakes, put the stakes, one steered the boat, and the other wiped the water on his body, laughing and returning to the camp.

Occasionally, I would look at the stretching coastline of Yunguo Island, everything seemed monotonous, they were only two miles away from the coast of Yunguo Island, and if it wasn't raining, they could clearly see everything on the shore.

As they left, the soldier wiping his body withdrew his gaze with some pity, and he saw no sign of Japanese movement on the shore.

The rain line slanted and fell in the wind.

He glanced at it for a few moments, and then continued to laugh with his comrades in the boat, and as the boat drifted away from the other side.

However, in the short distance of two miles, there was a gray figure lying in the reef crevice on the coast of Yunguo Island, staring closely at the Xia Guo boat that left last.

It wasn't until the boat of the Xia people was completely out of sight that the figure on this side straightened up, walked out of the gap, and said something in his mouth.

"Today's 275th Ship ......"

Counting the number of ships directly is the easiest way to count, only need a little brain, people with good memory can be competent, this man looked at the sky, and the drizzle in the sky.

After scolding the weather in the Japanese language, he slipped behind the reef, found the buried burden in the sand, opened it and took out a salted fish and a bag of water, regardless of whether the fish bones would get stuck in his throat, swallowed it in a big gulp, and then poured water into his stomach.

He hid in the crack of the reef, and he hid it all day, his feet were soaked and white, but he didn't dare to go out of the gap and let the Xia people who were cruising on the sea see it.

A moment later, it was getting darker, and footsteps came from a distance, handing him over.

It is probably to hold this coast at night, after all, the Xia people have pulled out the dark stake, and the other party has already made a gesture to attack.

Keep an eye on all the movements on the other side, so as not to be caught off guard.

The alternate Japanese soldiers also took some food, but the soldiers at the bottom did not have fried rice or bacon, most of them were one or two air-dried and pickled salted fish, and porridge water similar to clear soup.

At night, the coast cooled down, and the sea breeze was a bit biting.

"I want you to drink less, I'll stay until the second half of the night."

The Japanese soldiers, who came to alternately watch the night duty, saw their companion in front of him pour porridge water into his mouth, and hurriedly snatched the bag and drove him away.

Tanimoto Goro was the Japanese soldier who counted the number of boats during the day, and he licked his mouth, "I have eaten too much salted fish, and I am thirsty, hehe." ”

"Done with today's counts? If you don't match the others, you will be beaten. ”

"Remember!" Tanimoto Goro patted his head, and his voice was not high, "I was the first to learn Japanese language. ”

"Then go quickly and report the number, the people of Xia are too ruthless, it may not be long before they attack the island, and I don't know if we can survive, if you like my woman, she will belong to you tonight."

"What if Haruko doesn't comply?"

"You tell her, I said it!"

The soldier, who was about thirty years old, tightened his shabby clothes, crouched behind the reef and sighed, and then stopped talking.

Tanimoto Goro smiled and checked the salted fish that he still had half eaten in his hand, and ran back quickly in his hand, his mind full of the woman named Haruko.

Although it can't compare to the women of the Xia Kingdom in the west, it is also a little beautiful on the island.

He was greedy for a long time, but the other party married Hase, who knew how to fish and joined the army under the command of Takeda Daimyo.

Soon after, he returned to the sentry camp, hung the salted fish around his waist, and then reported all his observations of the day to Mobi Bantou (a small officer of the reconnaissance detachment).

Over there, he checked the number of ships reported by several other subordinates, took the same five, and the other three were of different numbers, and were dragged down and beaten ten boards, and suddenly a miserable scream sounded outside the small tent.

This is the information of the third day, and it is extremely important, and it is related to when the Xia Guo fleet will sail east to Yunguo Island.

That night, when Goro Tanimoto walked into a dilapidated house with a spring breeze on his face and handed half of the salted fish to a woman named Haruko, the information from this side had already been sent to Heiankyo overnight.

Heiankyo.

The night rain hit the tiles, and the stone lamps on the side of the outdoor path were lit up.

Passing along the path, there is Takeda Shingen's green bamboo pavilion, which has several oil lamps in it, illuminating the hall.

The lights burned quietly, and occasionally the night breeze outside blew in, the wick swayed, and the flame shone on the kneeling figures, and the atmosphere became a little mysterious.

The surrounding screens, weapon racks, and even the people who are here all set off everything in a solemn and majestic manner, Takeda Shingen lowered his gray head, leaned closer to the oil lamp next to him, looked at a letter in his hand, and pursed his lips.

The four kings of Itagaki Nobukata, Ganli Hutai, Mokaku Toradai, and Iitomi Toramasa, and the four ministers Nobuharu Baba, Masanobu Takasaka, Yama Masakei, and Naito Masatoyo sat on their knees on both sides below.

They occasionally exchanged looks, or whispered a few words, they were the closest people to Takeda Shingen, and when they came over, they knew the whole situation somewhat.

The news came back before it was dark, a letter written by Oda Nobunaga himself, saying that his strategy of detouring Tsushima had failed.

Takeda Shingen looked at the letter for a long time, with a somewhat melancholy look on his face, and finally, gently put the letter back on the table

"Those civil and military forces in Huaxia are really experienced in a hundred battles, and when Oda Nobunaga mentioned this plan to me, I had long expected it to fail."

He said this for the first time, and after looking at the expressions of the people below, the eight people did not speak, and he continued.

"In the past, we were invincible at sea, and in the era of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's boy, we could fight a big battle with the Ming sailors head-on, but now it's different from the past, Oda Nobunaga wants to re-establish an invincible naval army, I am against it, and now it seems that my vision is being confirmed!"

Not long after the words fell, the information sent back from the outpost camp fell into his hands, and the old man's expression did not change much, but he handed the letter to the eight people below to circulate, and said casually: "Dark pile, it can only delay the advance of the Xia people, and a war is still unavoidable." ”

"The Governor (Your Excellency), please give the order!" Eight people said in unison.

Takeda Shingen nodded, his gaze majestic.

"If you can't fight head-on, then attack them, exhaust them, lure them to the island, anyway, on the way, a surprise has been arranged for them!"

The eight people kneeling below had a sinister smile on their faces, and then they all lowered their heads in unison, and their voices were uniform: "Haiyi! ”

Soon, everyone left, and Takeda Shingen also returned to the back house, and asked him to put on a large armor made of copper and iron, and put on a white yak bag, and the white cow mane was scattered, looking heroic.

After a while, another man came in and told him that the army was ready, but the old man looked at the shrine and folded his hands before turning and leaving with the man.

The war horse had already been prepared outside the house, and he turned over, took the cross gun handed by the guard, and held a cowhide fan called the military in his hand, and the fan bones were made of iron pieces in series.

"Let's go!"

He raised the cross spear on horseback, and the red bamboo cavalry behind him guarded the street in front of the old man leaving the mansion, and then galloped up, rushed out of the city gate, and joined the Four Heavenly Kings of Takeda outside.

In the wilderness outside the capital city, the light foot team has already been fully equipped, and Itagaki Nobukata, Gan Li Hutai, Zhujiao Huding, and Iitomi Huchang will be his lieutenant generals, and they all salute Takeda Shingen.

"This attack is mainly tired of the enemy!"

Without superfluous nonsense, Takeda Shingen was on horseback, sweeping over them, and even the 20,000 light feet, samurai, and horse back (cavalry) behind them.

"Give Xia Guoren a lesson, what is the truth and reality!"

"Prosperity of martial arts!"

In the night sky, the drizzle was still falling, hitting countless bamboo armor and bamboo guns.

A moment later, a group of light-footed troops, following the four light-footed generals, followed forward with messy steps, and it was not until the second half of the night that they arrived at the western coast of Yunguo Island.

The old man took this place as a camp, and began to ask the other party, whether there was any movement in the Xia army tonight.

After receiving the "no" reply, Takeda Shingen nodded in satisfaction, and immediately nodded to Itagaki Nobukata, who lifted the curtain and walked out.

In the second half of the night, the old man walked out of the sentry camp and rode to a higher place on the coast, overlooking the whole sea.

In the darkness of his eyes, fifteen sea ships quietly paddled the waves and sailed towards the coastline where the Xia army was located on the opposite side.

On board, the Japanese soldiers were busy, and a large drum was erected on the deck in front of the ship, and the same configuration was made for other ships.

Above the sea, the wind blows very cold, and for the Japanese people who live here all year round, such a sea breeze is nothing.

Everyone was excited in their hearts, staring closely at the coastline ahead, and the drum-beating Japanese people were even more nervous, and their palms were full of sweat.

It was a long time to wait for the order to be delivered, but fortunately, when fifteen ships had sailed out of three miles and reached the sea area in the middle of the two islands, the order from Itagaki Nobukata came.

"Beat the drums!"

Boom!

The drumsticks thundered, and the beating continued, and more big drums continued to move forward with the sea boats, resounding loudly across the sea, and spreading along the sea breeze to the Xia Guo camp opposite.

For this period of time, most of the soldiers and horses of the Xia State have been asleep, but as an army that fights all year round, it is impossible not to have patrolling soldiers.

The moment they heard the sound of the drums, the soldiers patrolling the perimeter shot arrows, and the watchtower standing on the shore also lit a rocket and shot it in the direction of the sea.

At this time, the generals and soldiers of the three large battalions were also awakened, but they were not panicked, after all, the defense arranged outside was not weak.

In the hustle and bustle, Su Chen woke up from his dream, turned over and sat up, and when he put on his shoes and socks, Xu Chu's voice had already sounded outside.

"Your Majesty, the Japanese are drumming loudly on the sea, as if they are attacking the coast in a big way."

"So brave?"

Su Chen frowned slightly, before he, Jia Xu and Qi Jiguang also estimated this, most of them felt that the Japanese people on the opposite side had no ability to take the initiative to attack.

Could it be a miscalculation? 、

Or is it that the daimyo on the other side has a brain fever and launches a jade smashing charge?

No matter what it is, Su Chen didn't dare to be careless, what if it was true, he immediately asked Wu Zixun to put on armor for him, and hurriedly walked out of the imperial tent with the sword of King Xia.

However, not a single Japanese showed up at all, not even a single ship could be seen.

Qi Jiguang frowned slightly after listening to the description of the scout in front of him in the rear of the Bingzhou army.

Zhang Liao, who was beside him, narrowed his eyes, and the corners of his mouth hooked into a smile: "Could it be that the Japanese want to do a strategy to exhaust the enemy?" ”

"It's really possible that they are cunning." Qi Jiguang put down the Qi family knife behind him, nodded and agreed.

At this time, Su Chen took the Tiger Guard Camp and had just left the Tang Army camp, and there were Qin Qiong and other generals waiting for orders on the side.

However, then Jia Xu rushed over, and the first sentence was: "Your Majesty can't be fooled, and the tiring strategy of the Japanese is a tiring strategy." ”

"Listen to the captain, and the captain will preside over it tonight!"

Su Chen's trust in Jia Xu can almost be described as complete, whoever asks the other party to make a plan can be accurate every time.

Sometimes he thinks that if Jia Xu hadn't been born in the Xiliang Army, hadn't planned a counterattack on Chang'an, and killed Cao Ang and Dian Wei in Wancheng, he wouldn't have been able to tell his achievements, and it would have been a different situation.

Soon, Jia Xu's order on behalf of the Son of Heaven reached the ears of Zhang Liao, Zhang Yi, and Zhao Yun, and then Jia Xu's order came.

"When the drums beat again, continue to go out of the camp to pursue!"

(End of chapter)