Chapter 9 Chapter VII

It was the afternoon of the 16th of the month when the Sakagaki Ichiba of Suwa arrived in Komuro. The headquarters of Qingxin, who came from the ancient mansion, had set up the commander's flag at the foot of the small hills in the north the day before, waiting for the troops sent by the powerful clans of Zhuchengzhai to gather here. As soon as Kansuke arrived in the small room, he went straight to Harunobu and stood by. "You have worked hard. This is exactly as you expected." Harunobu's tone was slightly different from before, his usual strong way of speaking had changed for some reason, and now his words to Kansuke were much calmer and more stable.

As soon as Kansuke saw Harunobu, he felt that he had a lot to say to him.Putting aside the matter of Boo Ji and Katsurai for the time being, the most important thing right now is the matter of Harunobu's falling in love with the daughter of the Yukawa family.He had to ask Haruno clearly about this matter. "My lord, at this time, you have to think carefully about how to proceed with this battle." Kansuke said. "I'm thinking about fighting." Harunobu said without moving his brows. "Aren't you thinking of something else?" "No." "For example, Mr. Yuchuan's—"

Having said that, Kansuke raised his head and stared at Harunobu's face. "What happened to Youchuan?" "The daughter of Lord Aburagawa Criminal Justice Department——" "Oh?" Harunobu's expression at this time was as if hearing this name for the first time: "What's up with her?" "Don't you know?" "I do not know." "Have you never seen her?" "No." Qingxin paused, then said with a smile: "What happened today, Kansuke?" Speaking of this moment, the doubts lingering in Kansuke's heart suddenly disappeared, and Kansuke's mood suddenly became happy.

"Did something happen to Miss Yukawa's family?" Harunobu asked. "No, nothing. Just a random question." "I'm also thinking about when I must meet the members of the Yuchuan family, but I haven't made any arrangements for it. Listening to you, if I can meet his daughter, it will be a beautiful thing." That's not okay!Kansuke thought to himself.How can I let you see this lady!If you see such a beautiful lady, what will happen next is hard to predict! "Now then, let's discuss the battle." Kansuke looked at this young general who was full of youthful vigor and full of vigor, and changed the topic away.

Although all the doubts related to the daughter of the Yukawa family in Kansuke's mind have been solved at this time, he still feels that Harunobu is indeed different from the past, and he needs to look at him with admiration. "A big battle with Nagao Jinghu is about to start. Where do you think the battlefield should be?" "How about just in Haiye Plain?" "What a lesson!" A sense of trust in Harunobu suddenly surged in Kansuke's heart.Harunobu determined the battlefield to be on the Umino Plain with considerable foresight, which is really gratifying.

If we were to fight in Shinano, we would have to send troops one step ahead of the enemy.On the contrary, if the enemy sends troops first, then it is the best policy for us to launch an attack on the sea and plains.Although according to common sense, the battlefield seems to be in the Chuanaka Island area.However, facing opponents who have never confronted each other, if they fight on Kawanakajima, they will win, but if they lose, their lives may be in danger.Due to the terrain, if there is a battle on Chuanzhong Island, both sides must do their best.In order to avoid this from happening, Harunobu had to act cautiously and set the battlefield on the Umino Plain.In this way, it will be easier for both warring parties to advance and retreat freely.

Although the preparations for the battle were complete, Harunobu had no intention of launching an attack immediately.On the 16th, 17th, and 18th, Kai's army spent the three days doing nothing. It was late at night on the 18th that the horn sounded to march towards Haiye Plain.It was exactly the plan of the Takeda Army to march overnight to the Umino Plain, and then immediately go into battle without resting for a moment.Harunobu speculates that when Kai's army arrives at Unino Plains, Echigo's army will also appear at the same place. Before dawn, Kansuke Yamamoto, Kobata Humori, and Yuan Huyin left the queue, rode their horses one step ahead, and went to the enemy's formation for reconnaissance.Harunobu ordered the three generals whom he trusted to carry out the same task, but it was never before.The three of them remained silent, keeping a distance of two or three feet from each other, and just drove forward.

Kansuke rode his horse in the lead, and he knew what the two generals behind him were thinking.For things like spying on the enemy's situation, one person is enough, why send two more people there? Both Husheng and Huyin are somewhat dissatisfied with Harunobu's order.It's just because both of them are quite conceited about their abilities. However, Kansuke was very satisfied.Harunobu was so cautious about the battle with Nagao Keigora, so he sent the three of them to investigate together. Not only did Kansuke not feel resentful, but on the contrary, he felt that Harunobu was more trustworthy.

"The lord now has the ability to conduct any large-scale war!" Kansuke reined in his horse and stopped, turned his head and said to Hu Yin. "That's true. In terms of strategic planning, we are far behind." Hu Yin replied like this.Huyin seems to really think so, but Kansuke feels that he is still better than Harunobu in terms of planning and planning.But in this battle, Harunobu showed a cautious attitude for the first time, which had never been seen before.Kansuke was overjoyed by this. When the sky was getting brighter, the three separated and acted separately according to their different plans.Kansuke rode his horse along the beach of the Chikuma River, where there was almost no shelter.Suddenly, a few figures of horsemen appeared in front of them, looming in the mist by the canal, it was undoubtedly the enemy's horses.

Kansuke just walked forward, letting the sound of horseshoes trampling on the river beach, and then he entered the mist.Not long after, the mist cleared, but there was no one around, presumably the enemy scouts had gone far. Kansuke drove his horse to reach the embankment of the Chikuma River, and then galloped towards the hills.At this moment, Kansuke found that from a distance, several lines of horses and horses were slowly extending from the front, which were black and thin like a few chains. Kansuke reined in his horse and stood there, fascinated by the army.This is the first time Kansuke saw Nagao Ketora's army.One day, this army must be defeated—— Kansuke thought so.Unlike Kai's army, this army moved quietly and steadily, and did not adopt a formation where the main force was hidden, but just exposed the entire army to the ground from beginning to end.

The enemy's commander-in-chief, Nagao Keigora, was about eighteen years old, almost a round younger than Harunobu.Kansuke gazed at the army led by the young enemy general for a long time.Kansuke was fascinated by the slender chains of horses and horses that ran along the Chikuma River, which meandered like the river.The water of the Chikuma River flows naturally and smoothly, and the march of the Echigo army is also natural and smooth. This army seems to have merged with the river, flowing in a simple and soft way. It was already the same day Kansuke returned to the army and came before Harunobu. There is a cedar forest on the hills about three towns away from the Chikuma River beach.Harunobu got a horse from the ground here, and sat on the horse.At this time, Yuan Huyin and Xiaoban Husheng had returned, and they were sitting in front of Qingxin, waiting for Kansuke to return. "Kansuke, tell me!" Harunobu said. "Have you listened to the reports from Mr. Yuan and Mr. Xiaoban?" "Already listened." "If that's the case, it must be enough. The two adults will not be wrong. The number of enemies is about six thousand." "Six thousand? The three of you are exactly the same!" Harunobu said. "That's true. The enemy didn't expand their formation while they were marching. I'm afraid they intend to use this formation to fight our army. In this way, it is difficult to predict how the battle will evolve. This is different from what we have seen before. The opponents I met were completely different, but it was really a headache." "The enemy will fight our army in an advancing formation. In this regard, Hu Yin and Hu Sheng are also consistent..." Harunobu seemed quite satisfied. "However, there is only one point. Shimokansuke probably has a different opinion from Lord Hara and Lord Kobata. This is how this battle will be fought. The two masters must advocate that our army should take the initiative to attack with 15,000 troops, but Shimokansuke does not agree. I believe that it is better to do defensive operations instead of attacking first. If it is a defensive operation, as time goes by, the enemy's already small number will become weaker and weaker, and our army's victory will be like picking something out of a bag. If we rely on the advantage of numbers If you attack first, once you get into a melee, it will be our loss. If a well-known general like Jing Hu gets into a melee, he will definitely lead his bannermen to fight against your own team. Since then, my lord, you But like the last time I fought Yoshihiro Murakami alone, I will fight this eighteen-year-old Echigo general single-handedly." Kansuke said so.After hearing this, Haruno remained silent, with a slight displeasure on her face. After a while, Harunobu briefly said: "Just use Kansuke's method." Speaking of the one-on-one confrontation with Yoshiki Murakami, Harunobu always felt that he couldn't hold his head up in front of Kansuke.I can only do as he said——Qing thought to herself. The joint battle started at noon. The Takeda army laid out the formation of crane wings, and the main force was the body of the crane.The two armies spread out like crane wings on both sides of the body, and set up a battle slightly ahead of the main force. The right wing is Oyamada Beichu guarding one, and the left wing is one.The former army of Hatakemoto was commanded by Yukitaka Sanada.About five towns away to the right of the Banner Congregation is the part of Fanfu Huchang.Banner's rear army is composed of six troops: Baba, Naito, Hyuga, Katsunuma, Anayama, and Shinshige, and they line up in the rear of the main formation in the form of geese.A little further behind was the nine thousand cavalry led by the original Kaga Shouchang Jun. Kansuke stayed beside Harunobu in the main formation, waiting for the battle to begin. "In today's battle, you don't need to think about taking Jinghu's life. Just watch how Jinghu leads his troops to fight." Kansuke felt more excited than Harunobu.Although he warned Harunobu not to be impulsive, it seems that Harunobu's attitude is much calmer and more leisurely than when he fought Murakami Yoshiki the last time. But excitement alone won't do much.Kansuke thought.One day, or just in the near future, Changwei Jinghu must be defeated.After defeating Nagao Jinghu, Takeda's power will lead to the direction of the Sea of ​​Japan in one breath.In this way, all of Honshu's torso belonged to the young Harunobu. Soon, Takeda's right-wing Oyamada Binchu Moriichi and Echigo's Nagao Masakiichi encountered each other, and the two sides immediately started firing iron cannons, and the battle began. The sound of the iron cannon stopped quickly, followed by the sound of shouting and killing that shook the world.Oyamada Beichu's troops switched to long guns and launched round after round of assaults on the plains on the beach of the Chikuma River. "What will happen?" Harunobu said. "Oyamada-sama will surely win, and then defeat the enemy's vanguard in one breath. But Oyamada-sama will then retreat. Judging from this formation, the situation is like this." Kansuke believed that the situation was bound to develop in this way.Since the formations of both sides are impeccable, some troops may be repelled by the ensuing enemy after temporarily gaining an advantage. Oyamada Beichu guards the vanguard of the enemy army, forcing it to retreat, and then retreat.Probably because of the influence of the wind direction, the shouts of fierce battle between the two armies seemed to come from the lower reaches of the Chikuma River in a completely different direction. For a while, as Kansuke expected, the vanguard of the enemy army could not resist the attack of Oyamada Beichu's garrison, and fled backwards as far as Nicho. At this time, the troops of Lieutenant Oyamada Zuobei on the left flank of the Takeda Jin battled with the troops on the enemy's side.However, unlike the right wing, the Koyamada Zuobing Guard 1st Division seemed unable to withstand the enemy's attack and was retreating steadily. "It's really interesting." Kansuke watched the scene of the confrontation between the two armies, and unconsciously became fascinated.This is really a battle scene that has never been seen so far!On this side, the Oyamada Beichu Guard Division had just gained an advantage, and was repelled by the enemy's follow-up troops; while the enemy's vanguard on the other side defeated the Oyamada Zuobing Guard Division, but was defeated by our side in a blink of an eye. The newly joined troops counterattacked. The shouts of the two armies were endless, and gradually the air in the plain began to tremble, mixed with the screams of thousands of horses, as if composing a tragic movement. At some point, the sun disappeared, and the Haiye Plain was shrouded in dark clouds, creating a gloomy scene.The plain, undulating like an endless undulation of the sea, was covered with weeds and let the cold wind of late autumn blow. With a "huh", Kansuke let out a long breath. "My lord!" Kansuke called out to Harunobu.Harunobu didn't speak, just stared at the situation on the battlefield, and then slowly turned his head to Kansuke's side when he was young: "This is a battle without distinction." "indeed so." "How can we tell the result?" "The side with the most numbers will win, that's the only possibility." "Ok--" "This will be a battle with a lot of casualties. The opponent has 6,000 troops, and our side has 15,000--after we have lost 6,000 soldiers, the enemy will be completely wiped out, and our side will have 9,000 soldiers." people." Hearing this, Harunobu's face was gloomy, perhaps thinking: This is really a nasty battle. "But having said that, Jing Hu is determined not to put himself in such a stupid situation. He will definitely withdraw his troops before he falls into a desperate situation. Please continue to watch the battle, the enemy will definitely retreat." Before Kansuke finished speaking, a strange horn sound that had never been heard on the Kai side suddenly sounded on the battlefield, and the sound resounded throughout the gloomy Umino Plain. Hearing the sound of the horn, Kansuke said, "Leave for now!" Without waiting for Haruno to nod his head in agreement, he got on his horse and galloped down the hill towards the direction of the battlefield.During this period, the sound of the horn still fluctuated up and down without stopping for a moment.This was indeed the clarion call of retreat.How will the Echigo Army retreat?Kansuke rode his horse and galloped wildly, thinking at the same time: I must use my own eyes to see it.In this fierce chaotic battle, it is by no means an easy task to withdraw all of these soldiers who are waving their spears desperately without leaving a single one.How will this retreat go?Kansuke wanted to meet him very much. When Kansuke galloped up a small plateau, the sound of the horn suddenly stopped.Kansuke reined in his horse and stopped about a town away from the battlefield.The terrain here is so high that you can have a panoramic view of the battlefield at a glance. At this time, Kansuke saw two warriors galloping out from the enemy's formation, both of them were extraordinary men. The two men waved their pickers back and forth to issue orders to the troops, and rode their horses around half the battlefield, and then galloped back to the main formation like an arrow leaving the string, and the figure gradually shrank away. The leading one is probably Nagao Keigora, Kansuke thought.The tall samurai riding behind him is probably a general known far and wide for his bravery.Other than these two, there was no other person in the enemy camp who could command the army so beautifully. At some point, the Takeda Army also blew the horn to retreat.It seemed that Harunobu had ordered so.Although he really wanted to pursue the enemy, he suppressed the urge and ordered a retreat.Such a thing was definitely not seen by Harunobu before. That's it.Defeating Nagao Jinghu will be left for later.If the enemy was pursued at this time, one or two hundred miscellaneous soldiers might be injured. However, the fact that the spear cavalry in Kai's army were good at pursuing was exposed to the enemy in vain. At this moment, Kansuke saw several cavalry warriors suddenly galloping out from Harunobu's main position, each of them leaned on the horse's back, hugged the horse's neck tightly to avoid falling off the horse, and floated their waists.These cavalry galloped down the hills in an instant like a gust of wind, and then spread out in all directions. Among them, the second cavalry passed by Kansuke's side with lightning speed, and went away in an instant.The two warriors also put their bodies on the backs of the horses, with the flags on their backs pointing forward, fluttering with the wind.On the flags of the two, there are centipede patterns painted on them. They are the "centipedes" in the Takeda Army who conveyed the order to prohibit the pursuit of each unit. Any one of them is a young warrior who can ride a thousand. Kansuke still reined in his horse and stood there, the sound of shouting for killing gradually died down. At this point, the battle ended in an incredible way.Dark clouds still obscured the sun, and looking around, the plain was full of gloomy looks. From now on, Harunobu will have to fight with this Nagao Keigora as an opponent, a tough fight that has never been done before.Will this bitter battle last for five years, or ten years?This is unknown.Both sides are rivals at chess.Harunobu is now twenty-eight years old, and Jing Hu (Kenshin) is eighteen years old.Although there is a difference in age, no matter which side is a fierce tiger that cannot lose to the other side.However, as long as she is there, Harunobu will win in the end.Soon, no one will see Nagao Jinghu's wonderful commanding method anymore.In the next few years, the Takeda family must take the life of the young general Echigo. Contrary to the rush when he came, Kansuke rode his horse back slowly. The initial meeting of the two forces, Harunobu and Jinghu, started at noon and ended, and the battle came to an end in a very short period of time.In this battle, 236 people died on the Echigo side, and 131 people were lost on the own side.After counting the number of casualties, the cheers of the Takeda Army's victory rang out at Shenshi that day. Until the army regrouped, Harunobu remained silent.It seems that in the heart of this young general, he is quite touched by this first battle with Jing Hu. From this day until the 23rd, the Takeda Army has been camping on the Umino Plain.After spying on the movement of the Echigo Army, they found that they had no sign of withdrawing from Echigo, and they were still stationed near Chuanaka Island. From the day after the Battle of Umino Plains, Kuai Ma successively spread the victory reports of the generals staying in the Shinano castles to the base camp.During the First Battle of Umino Plain, the left behind troops in various places fought several small battles with their surrounding enemies.Of course, these battles were not carried out according to Harunobu's orders. That is to say: Qiushan Boqi, who was stationed in Ina, guarded Qingjin, fought with the Ina army, killed seventeen cavalry and twenty-five infantry, and won 3,000 territories.Amari and Tada, who were stationed at Shimosuwa and Shiojiriguchi to guard against the enemies of Kiso and Ogasawara, attacked the Ogasawara army camp at night and killed 93 enemies.In addition, the two generals Komiyayama and Asari who were stationed at Fuefuki Ridge to guard against Uesugi's army also sent messengers to report that they fought against Uesugi's army at Matsuida and obtained 33 enemy heads. After these good news came successively, on the morning of the 23rd, a fast horse from the ancient mansion arrived at the base camp. At noon on the 19th of the same month, a fire broke out. Fortunately, after vigorous efforts to fight the fire, no major damage was sustained, only part of the building was burned down—this is a report from Yamashita Isemori of the ancient residence.The report also said that during the disaster relief, two big white eagles flew from nowhere and stayed on the roof of the imperial flag.After the fire was extinguished, the two eagles were still hovering over the Royal Flag House, and they left after three days and nights. Harunobu believes that although the imperial flag house in the ancient mansion suffered a fire, it did not cause a catastrophe. This is all due to the protection of Suwa. The two big white eagles are probably the incarnation of gods.So Harunobu led all the soldiers and bowed in the direction of Suwa. After the worship, Harunobu sent two young warriors with excellent equestrian skills to go to the ancient mansion to express condolences.The two men each held a letter from Qingxin, and immediately mounted their horses and set off from Haiye Plain to the ancient mansion. Kansuke felt that something was wrong in his heart at this moment.Kansuke couldn't explain why he felt so uneasy in his heart.A moment after the two young warriors withdrew from Harunobu, Kansuke suddenly realized, and looked up at Harunobu. It is not surprising to send envoys to the ancient mansion to express condolences, but why is it necessary to send two envoys to carry two different letters at the same time?No matter how you look at it, it feels unreasonable. Kansuke retreated from Harunobu as if nothing had happened, then hastily pulled out his mount, got on his horse, and chased after the two samurai who had set off for the ancient mansion just now. The horse ran for half a quarter, and the small figures of the two warriors on the road ahead jumped into Kansuke's eyes. "Hey--" Kansuke called out to the two samurai to stop, and galloped forward. Soon, the two knights Qiqi Lema turned around.Kansuke galloped closer, and the two of them dismounted and stood on the ground. "Bring you the letter from the Lord." Kansuke said. "Yes!" Without any doubt, the two took out the letter that had been rolled up into a volume and presented it to Kansuke. "It's for Yamashita Isemori-sama." "yes!" "It has to be done exactly." While talking, Kansuke glanced at the two letters.One of them was a letter to the royal family, the other was not.The letter did indeed have the words "Akira Akira-sama" written on it. Sure enough.Kansuke thought to himself, even though Haruno said that he had never met Yukawa Xingbu Mamoru's daughter, or even knew that there was such a person, he knew her.Kansuke turned pale and returned the letter to the two of them. "It seems that there is nothing to worry about the lord, so be careful." Kansuke spoke solemnly to the two samurai. The two samurai saluted Kansuke and got on their horses.When the sound of the horseshoes of the samurai gradually faded away, Kansuke realized that he was surrounded by the waist-deep spikes of miscanthus flowers. On the right was the mountain, on the left was the slope, and Kansuke was between the wall and the slope.The hillside slopes gently towards the bottom of the valley.The wind blows up from the bottom of the valley, and the spikes of Miscanthus sway with the wind.It is indeed very sympathetic, but she has to get rid of her without anyone noticing—— Kansuke thought to himself. I, Kansuke, will take the life of the daughter of Youchuan Xingbu Shou.After that, be sure to monitor Harunobu carefully and cut off all opportunities for him to get close to women.Speaking of which, when and where did Harunobu meet the daughter of the Yukawa family?It really cannot be neglected in the slightest.Harunobu is very ingenious in fighting, but it seems that his ingenuity is not limited to fighting.At this moment, before Kansuke's eyes, Harunobu's serious face on the day when Komuro formed the formation reappeared, and he hid himself from it.So, how to get rid of the daughter of the Yuchuan family? Kansuke held the rein lightly in his hand, letting the mount walk on the field of miscanthus.Compared with fighting, this time things are really much trickier.I really shouldn't have said the words "the daughter of Arukawa Xingbushou" from my own mouth at that time. If I killed her now, it would be easy to see that the murderer was me.No matter how ingeniously he killed, he couldn't get rid of the suspicion.Kansuke thought about this question seriously, more seriously than he had ever experienced in any battle before. The next day, the detective came to report that the Echigo Army had set off from Chuanaka Island and was returning to Echigo.So Harunobu also decided to lead the army back to the ancient mansion.Although in the end the Battle of Sea, Field and Plain was nothing more than a small battle between the two armies, the impact was not trivial.Previously, the Nishina, Umino, Urano and other wealthy families in Beixin were always capricious about surrendering the Takeda family, but now they have sent hostages to the Kofu one after another, and truly surrendered to Harunobu. On the 25th, Harunobu issued an order to return the whole army to the ancient mansion. Together with Harunobu, Kansuke returned triumphantly among the camp's troops.This long snake-like queue winds its way southward between the mountains and plains of Shinano in early winter. Three days later, during the march, Kansuke had to part with Harunobu in order to lead Sakagaki's army back to Suwa. "In the next few days, I may come to the ancient residence hall to see you." Kansuke said. "Okay, I'm waiting for you. When we meet next time, I will listen carefully to you about Changwei Jinghu's martial arts." Harunobu replied.He seemed to be in a good mood. Together with the Sakagaki army, Kansuke separated from the army returning to Kai in the mountainous area, and embarked on the road to Suwa.After about half a minute apart, Kansuke said in a letter to Sakagaki that he had left behind something important and had to go back to the team to get it. "Do you want to bring some soldiers with you?" asked in the letter. "No, I can go alone. Then, when you arrive in Suwa, please greet the princess for me." After finishing speaking, Kansuke left the queue of Suwa's army.At the foot of this small hill covered with miscellaneous trees, the withered leaves of the oak trees were rustling by the wind. When he was alone, Kansuke discarded all the heavy things on his body among the bushes.It is necessary to drive the horse to the ancient mansion in one breath.Be sure to enter the ancient palace before Harunobu's army, even if it is a day in the morning.Needless to say, this was precisely to take the life of Yuchuan Xingbu Shou's daughter. Kansuke drove his horse and galloped, avoiding the main road, and only chose the endless mountain path.Until the evening of this day, Kansuke didn't meet a single figure, and the mount just galloped, causing leaves to fly on the ground.When Kansuke came to a plateau land sloping to the south, the winter night had engulfed him. While the horse was galloping wildly, Kansuke suddenly heard the sound of another horse's hooves coming from afar.Kansuke dismounted immediately and hid his body beside the horse.Soon, the three cavalry warriors were seen galloping past less than one room away like a gust of wind, almost passing Kansuke's mount just in time.The rider in the middle put his face tightly against the right side of the horse's neck, this special riding posture is very familiar. Except for Harunobu, probably no one would ride a horse like this.Kansuke thought.That must be Harunobu without a doubt!However, as the commander-in-chief of a 16,000-strong army, it is really unimaginable to leave the army and act alone.How can this work! However, the samurai on that horse just now was indeed Harunobu.Harunobu also left the army and went to the ancient mansion first!Could it be that this young general has already noticed his actions?Kansuke wondered if he had to take another route to the ancient mansion.In any case, he must enter the ancient palace city one step ahead of the three horsemen he saw just now.Otherwise, the daughter of Yukawa Xingbushu will definitely disappear from Kansuke's eyes again, and be hidden by Harunobu elsewhere! Harunobu can do anything.In this world, only Harunobu is the one who Kansuke would not hesitate to throw away his life for, but he is also the one who Kansuke is very worried about.Kansuke got back on the horse.Only now did he notice that the chirping of the autumn insects, which had not yet died in this early winter season, had already resounded throughout the field.

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