Chapter 22 star fall

"How is it? Chikuzen! Can you suppress the attack of Mori Seki before the summer?" When the castle and the streets were all completed, Nobunaga had already welcomed the third spring in Azuchi.At this time, it is the season of peach blossoms. On this day, Nobunaga came to the horse market and personally selected three horses.Feeling very happy, he stood on the square in front of the gate of Azuchi Castle, talking loudly with Hideyoshi who was busy preparing for the expedition. Hideyoshi just looked around vigilantly and didn't answer. "Oh! This is not a place for conversation, let's go inside! You can also have a glass of wine by the way!"

"Then thank you in advance! When I explain the matter here, I will go there immediately." Sure enough, Hideyoshi soon followed Nobunaga in. According to the news sent back by the spies, the target Hideyoshi is going to attack this time - Harima, has gathered 49,000 Maori reinforcements.Since Maori Shi will lead the army to the east, he must have reached a tacit agreement with Uesugi Shi, and is preparing to fight the Oda Army here and march to the north. Maori is against Hideyoshi. Uesugi faced Nobunaga. For Nobunaga, this year (the sixth year of Tensho, 1578) is the key to determining whether he can lay a solid foundation for the world... Thinking of this, even a frivolous person like Hideyoshi dare not speak indiscriminately .

Ieyasu had to suppress Takeda and Hojo, who were trying to restore the decline, so it was impossible to come to support Nobunaga; besides, Honganji Temple had to continue to besiege.Only in this way, the troops that Hideyoshi and Nobunaga can have are very limited. With limited forces, can both of them defeat the great enemy?In fact, Hideyoshi is even less confident than Nobunaga. "How fast! How did they come so fast?" After the two came to the flower and bird room painted by Kano Yongtoku's colored brushes, Nobunaga said to the guard Ranmaru beside him, "I brought Chikuqian here, please bring Mrs. Anon wine."

"Obey!" "How is it? Chikuzen! Look, I, Nobunaga, came out of Gifu with nothing, but now I have so much! I wish I could call Uesugi and Mori here and have a good scolding." "General! How many troops will Uesugi Seki bring?" "I have no idea!" "You say you don't know? General! Do you have the certainty of victory?" "Hahaha... Don't be nervous! Although I said I don't know, it doesn't mean I don't know anything!" "I think so too! But this time, Kenshin is playing for real!" "I know! According to information from various places, Kenshin not only wants to personally command the army, but also mobilizes more than 80 generals from five countries including Ueno, Echigo, Etchu, Noto, and Kaga."

"More than eighty... so how much is their total strength?" "This one! About fifty-six thousand, seven thousand!" Hideyoshi couldn't help but said, "General! Just now you asked me if I could stop the Mori attack before Xia Tian, ​​so you wanted me to attack them as soon as possible, and then come back to help you immediately, right?" "I didn't say that!" "So, what do you mean by asking me if I can suppress them before the summer?" When Nobunaga smiled, Nohime walked in. "Chikuzen, we drank this drink! I see! Even you monkey was scared by them. But I also wonder, is this really the end of our lives?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? Don't say such frustrating words, lest Jiaozhuqian be more worried." Nohime picked up the bottle and poured wine for Nobunaga, then sat down opposite Hideyoshi. "The general's mouth is really bad! Let me see! It won't be cured in a lifetime." "It doesn't matter if it can't be cured, I just worry that our lives will end in summer." "Haha...Your Highness! Are you scared too?" "Of course not, I'm just agreeing with you. You see, Chikuzen is already so scared. If I still laugh at him all the time, then how can this be regarded as a farewell wine?"

"General! You should be careful when you joke! I heard that Hanbei Takenaka, the military adviser, vomited blood again. I think you should care more about him!" "What? Hanbei vomited blood again? It seems that his chest problem is getting worse. Alas! Now I have one more thing to worry about." "Don't talk anymore, okay?" "Hahaha...that's really interesting! It's all started by monkeys." "Let's get down to business! At present, even if we bring all the troops, there are only 20,000 people at most; however, the opponent's three armies of Mouri, Kobayakawa, and Yoshikawa alone have 49,000 people!"

"Maori has 49,000, Uesugi has 57,000, and the two armies add up to 106,000... Alas! Chikuzen, it seems that our time of death has really come." "General, do you have a good strategy to defeat the 57,000 troops?..." "If there is, why should I sigh here? Chikuzen, let's treat this cup as a farewell bar!" Nobunaga raised his head and drank the wine in the glass, then handed the glass to Hideyoshi. Hideyoshi was finally amused by his expression.Since he looks confident and confident, then of course I can't lose to him! "In this case, I will drink this cup as my farewell to this world! Thank you."

"Also, when you're done, return the wine glass to me." "Okay. Here, return the wine glass!" Nonghime stared blankly at the two of them. "Okay, we've finished our farewell wine. Chikuzen, you shouldn't have any regrets, right?" "yes." "You have no regrets at all?" "Yes, you should be able to say that!" "Before a person dies, he will always be enlightened. I think it's probably our mood, right?" "General, then you should..." "Are you trying to stop me? It seems that you are not fully enlightened!"

Here he is again!Hideyoshi thought so in his heart. "Ah Nong, pour him another drink! Looks like the monkey is still scared!" "No! My heart is very peaceful and I'm not afraid at all!" Hideyoshi hurriedly shook his hands and said, "That's right! Once a person decides to die, he doesn't care about everything!" "Exactly! It seems to me that you have really calmed down completely. Well, if that's the case, then I want to tell you something." "I knew it was going to happen. Come on! I've been waiting a long time." "Chikumae!"

"yes!" "Actually, I got a shocking piece of information in the horse market just now." "Astonishing intelligence..." "Yes. One of my agents told me that Kenshin fell ill." "What? Is this... this... is this true?" "Don't be too happy!" Nobunaga shouted loudly: "If this is true, there will be news soon. However, what we see now is that he has mobilized more than 80 generals from the five countries, and the surrounding area of ​​Mount Kasuga full of his men." Hideyoshi held his breath and unconsciously leaned forward. Since Kenshin gathered 57,000 people, the Echigo gorge must have been taken over by their troops. "It seems that my fighting style last year must have severely hurt Kenshin's self-esteem. That's why he was in a hurry to settle those small enemies in the Kanto region before the snow melted, so that he could fight me without any worries. Moreover, he also The ceremony of praying for the battle at Bishamondo is over..." "Then... the next step is to send troops!" "That's right! However, he has been standing still, and the generals stationed around are all in and out of the city in a panic. However, the military meeting is over! Besides, if there is a change in the battle situation in Kanto, Then there should be a messenger... I think it is very likely that Kenshin is really sick, which made the date of dispatching troops postponed... After the spies observed these situations, in order to avoid surveillance, they disguised themselves as horse dealers. Come and report the news to me." "If it's true..." Hideyoshi opened his eyes wide and looked at the ceiling: "Then, this is the time to decide that the general will take over the world." "How could it be so simple? Someone like Kenshin...but then again, what good does it do him to pretend to be sick?" Just as Nobunaga finished speaking, Nohime, who was holding the wine bottle, suddenly became stiff all over. Ranmaru stood at the entrance with his back to the door, watching the surroundings closely. "Then, if the general sends troops late..." "So, the other side deliberately delayed sending troops? Do you think this is their strategy?" "Originally, I wanted to lure them to the Vietnam-China decisive battle..." "Since Noto and Kaga have already been obtained, but the trip to Shangluo has been delayed by two full months, it seems that the other party must have encountered a problem." "So, Kenshin is probably really sick." When he opened his eyes wide and said, the voice of Ranmaru's elder brother Ke suddenly came from outside the door: "Ranmaru! Inoko Heutaro from the northern country has urgent news to report to the lord, please convey it to me!" "it is good!" As soon as Ranmaru stepped into the door, Nobunaga said loudly: "I see, bring pigs in quickly." Then he turned around and told Hideyoshi: "This is the person from Koga. It seems that he has brought the second news." "So are we not going to send troops?" Nohime, who was sitting next to Nobunaga, asked. "You idiot! Maybe he's here to tell us that the other party has dispatched troops! Don't be so nervous!" Although he scolded Nonghime, he was taken aback by his excited tone. For a moment, the surroundings fell into silence again. Since Nobunaga didn't have a good strategy to defeat the enemy, he had to wait patiently for the news about Kenshin. Footsteps approached slowly. "Mr. You Fu is waiting inside, you go in quickly!" Behind Ranmaru's voice was the young envoy Inoko Hyutaro, who was sweating profusely and pale in order to get here early.He staggered into the hall and fell flat on the ground. "Pig! Is there any news about Kasuga-san?" "yes!" "Ranmaru! Give him some water." "Obey!" However, Inoko couldn't wait for the water to come, so he panted and shouted: "Ken Uesugi believes that he...he...has had a stroke." "What? Kenshin had a stroke?" "yes." After receiving the water from Ranmaru, Inoko couldn't wait to drink it.However, he choked before taking two sips.Lan Wan shouted angrily: "Stay calm! This is in front of the imperial court!" "yes!" "Pig! Tell me, what did you see? Is there any real evidence?" "Yes... yes. Originally, the surroundings of Mt. Kasuga were filled with troops...but...but...now they have all returned to their respective border countries. This is the best evidence." "The leading country...they led the troops back to the leading country?..." Hideyoshi looked at Nobunaga, and unconsciously clenched his hands on his lap even tighter.Nobunaga's eyes were wide open, and he seemed unable to adapt to what the other party said for a while. "Sick? Has he had a stroke?" "Yes! His vassal Kakizaki cried and said it was all because he drank too much every day." "Hmm! I also heard that he is addicted to drinks..." "On the day when he became ill, he was about to go to the toilet, and later the guards found him collapsed in the toilet... When they carried him out of the toilet, he was already unable to recover..." "Did this also be heard from Kakizaki's retainers?" "Yes! And the other party asked me not to leak it." "Did you hear that? Chikuzen..." "heard it!" "Did you hear that? Ah Nong..." Then, Nobunaga seemed to be scolding himself again: "It's unbelievable that such a thing can happen! But, can I just believe it? Alright! Ranmaru, take Zhuzi down!" After finishing speaking, Nobunaga looked up at the sky again, his shoulders trembling slightly.