Chapter 11 Chapter Eleven

On this day, Katsuya Shibata wrote a letter as soon as he woke up, and sent someone to Wen Hezhai, Nakamura, who stayed behind in Beizhuang City. "Give this letter to Wen Hezhai, and tell your daughters that I'm safe and well, and I'm bored." On the 17th, 18th, and 193rd, it rained intermittently in Yanase, and the tree buds became greener and greener.Ah Shi felt that it was best to arrange the three sisters in advance, so he asked Sheng Jia to write this letter to confirm.According to reports from Hokusho, Hosokawa Tadakashi's navy is now setting fire to the coast.Of course, this is just a bluff, but at this time, it is most appropriate to hand the three sisters into Zhongxing's hands.

What a coincidence, the rain stopped completely as soon as Singer sent the envoy.He ordered people to put up curtains and banners in front of the barracks, and wanted to step out of the camp.The past few days were either raining or cloudy, Sheng Jia always wanted to come out to have a look, but never got the chance.As soon as the sky cleared today, I couldn't wait to go around. Just as Singer rested his hands on the table and looked at the gradually clearing sky, a servant came to report: "Brother Sakuma Shengzheng has come from the camp of Gyoshiyama." "Both brothers have come?"

"Yes, I also brought the general prisoner of the mountain road." "Okay, see you later, General Jian and An Zheng, let Sheng Zheng come in first." "Of order." After the servant went out, Sheng Jia couldn't help laughing.Although he hadn't seen Xuanfan Shengzheng yet, he already knew the reason for his visit.This guy must have been suffocated by the rain, and this time he must be here to ask for orders to attack somewhere... "Uncle, my nephew interrupted." "Oh, let's go ahead, has the general prisoner of the mountain road surrendered to us?"

"Uncle is really good at predicting things." With the clang of armor, Sheng Zheng strode into the big tent of the Sheng family. "Uncle, the rain is over and the sky is clear. The opportunity has finally come." Sheng Zheng raised his head and chest, and thumped his chest with an iron fan. "Don't worry, Sheng Zheng. This battle is actually a competition of patience between the two sides." "Haha... No wonder people outside call you Ghost Shibata, you are so careful. But this time is different, you can't move if you don't want to." "What gift did General Shanlu bring?"

"That's right, Hideyoshi really fell into Nobutaka's scheme, obediently left Nagahama Castle, and went to attack Nobutaka." "Is Chikuzen out of Nagahama Castle?" "That's right! Gifu has already followed the strategy discussed with us and sent troops to the territory directly connected to Shimizu's Inaba Kattetsu and Ogaki's family, making a big show of momentum. Seeing this situation, Hideyoshi was furious, and on the 16th Lead the bodyguards and 20,000 horses out of Changbin City. If we attack now, we will definitely catch him by surprise. This is an excellent opportunity, please make a decision, uncle."

"no!" "Ah, why not?" Sheng Zheng was deeply surprised by Sheng Jia's answer, and rushed to the front of the table with a stride, his whole body seemed to be exuding a fierce anger. "Uncle, is he worried that the monkey is playing tricks on us again? The rest of their troops are about the same as ours. If Shibata, the ghost of the northern country, is afraid of what tricks Tadake Hosokawa is playing from behind, and dare not attack, what time will it be?" In front of Gifu Nobutaka, how can you pick up your head?" "It's still too early." Singe said with a sullen face, "Who says you're afraid of Hosokawa? The more calm we are, the better things we can reap. Even if Chikuzen really wants to attack Gifu, we're not afraid. However, if the heavy rain does not stop for two or three days, the Hohihi River will inevitably flood, and Chikuzen will not be able to cross the river. In this way, we will not be able to reach Gifu, and it is very likely that we will be stationed in Ogaki."

"There's nothing wrong with being stationed in Ogaki. We've captured Nagahama before he has returned from Ogaki." "You are too anxious. Compared with Nagahama Castle, this is still easier to defend. It is not too late to act after it is confirmed that Chikuzen has indeed crossed the Otohi River. Let us be patient now." Upon hearing this, Sheng Zheng clicked his tongue in disdain. "Sheng Zheng has already thought about these small things. Nephew can let the general prisoner lead the way, otherwise, let the general prisoner talk to you first." With the sound of armor clattering, Sheng Zheng stood up and shouted Shanlu called Jian and his younger brother Anzheng in.General Yamaji came here from Hideyoshi's camp at Tangmushan, and his real identity was Singer's internal agent who broke into Hideyoshi.As soon as the general prisoner saw Sheng Jia, he hurriedly fell to the ground.Even if it was just a false surrender, he probably felt deeply disturbed by his behavior.

"Oh, General. You came back just in time. I don't have time to hear the details of your pretending to submit to Hideyoshi. Tell me first, did you get a new enemy?" "Exactly." "Have you inquired about Shengfeng?" "We found out. Mr. Shengfeng passed away on the twenty-eighth day of last month in Changbin City..." "What, Shengfeng...was he beheaded by Hideyoshi, or died of illness?" "I've heard people say that it seems that his illness has worsened. Mr. Shengfeng felt that he could never get up again, and he was sorry for you, Mr. Zhuqian, so he committed seppuku when he was dying."

"Ah!" Singer couldn't help moaning.Due to long-term illness, Shengfeng gradually became mentally disordered. As a general, he is indeed hateful, but as an adopted son, he is really pitiful. "Hey! I won't talk about this matter." Sheng Jia wanted to calm down the messy mood, and continued: "Sheng Zheng, what do you want to say to me when you called the two of you?" "General Prison, what exactly does the monkey want to do this time, tell uncle everything you've heard." After Shengzheng said this, General Yamaji raised his head: "Just now, the people who broke into Hideyoshi came to report that Hideyoshi thought that the flood in the Kiso River would subside on the 20th. At dawn on the 10th, we began to cross the river to attack Gifu, and we are ready to go."

"Uncle, did you hear that? We should also start to act on the 20th... The situation is very clear, and you must not be able to hold your breath anymore. So, uncle, please call the generals immediately to discuss countermeasures." Sheng Zhengyi bang bang He beat his chest with an iron fan. It was the nineteenth day, just after noon. At dawn tomorrow, while Hideyoshi's troops are crossing the river, they will attack Nagahama Castle in one fell swoop... Singe couldn't help but close his eyes at the urging of his nephew Kuma Xuanbo Shengzheng.Sheng Fengna was dying of illness, and with the last bit of strength, the scene of stabbing the dagger into the abdomen suddenly appeared in front of his eyes.If Hideyoshi really surrendered, Katsutoyo would have saved his life.

"My lord uncle..." Sheng Zheng was already impatient, and his armor was shaking violently. "In case the monkey captures Gifu City while we are standing still, how does uncle plan to deal with it? What kind of face does the majestic ghost Shibata still have in this world? If the enemy crosses the river tomorrow morning, we should also take action to make the monkey square inch Nobutaka of Gifu is worthy of the great chaos! A great opportunity is right in front of you, why are you hesitating?" "Sheng Zheng!" Sheng Jia gently stopped Sheng Zheng, "Is the news reported by the general's subordinates completely true?" "My nephew firmly believes in this! Not only did the general inspector say so, but Daikin Tohachiro, who was also from Nagahama, also sent a definite report." "That's good!" Singer finally made up his mind, "Call everyone together immediately. However, Sheng Zheng, these are just skirmishes. You can't be dazzled by victory just because you successfully pulled out one or two enemy cities. They have lost their minds and rashly sent troops to the plains." "When to advance and when to retreat, my nephew naturally knows." "Once I rush out of the mountain, I will be killed by Hideyoshi... I'm worried..." "worry about what?" "I'm worried about Niwa Nagahide. He has been stationed in Haijin on the other side, and has been standing still, eyeing this place and Tsuruga. Once we attack, what if Nagahide crosses the lake and cuts off the retreat? Once we fall into the valley and lose our foothold, even if there is There are all kinds of abilities, but there is nothing you can do. You and I have seen the lessons of the past when Chaocang's men and horses fell into a desperate situation." "Haha..." Sheng Zheng laughed, "Like my uncle, Sheng Zheng also used the false name of 'ghost'. My nephew would never dare to be careless about advancing and retreating. I will also avoid the real and attack the false like my uncle. Then , Light the beacon immediately, and gather the soldiers." "Okay. I'll say it again, don't let a single army go deep and chase after it. Also, don't set off beacon fires, otherwise the enemy will have insight into our army's movements. Anzheng, send an envoy quickly!" In this way, on April 19th, after the rain, the Singers of the Northern Kingdom finally decided to attack at dawn on the 20th.On the same day, Shengjia summoned all the soldiers to discuss matters in the big tent in Nezhongweishan.It was decided at the meeting that Maeda Toshiie and his son, who were originally stationed in Bessho Mountain, moved to Mushan to guard against Hideyoshi Kimura Hayato who was stationed in Shenmeishan, and Kinoshita Moto from Tangkishan.Oak Valley Mountain, Hayashi Fude, Nakatani Mountain's Komatsu Castle Lord Tokuyama Gohei, Fuba Katsumitsu, and Etsu Nakahara Mori Castle Lord Hara Hikojiro's men joined Shengzheng's command respectively, and attacked Hideyoshi's front line at dawn on the 20th-Dayanshan Nakagawa Beautiful position. It was night, the days of gloom finally dissipated, the night sky looked extraordinarily charming, the moon rose from the green mountain, and the soft silver light filled the mountains. After returning to the camp on Xingshishan, Sakuma Xuanbo Shengzheng immediately issued a combat order to the generals: "It's really a beautiful thing. Even the moon is shining for us. When tomorrow is ugly, act on time!" Except for the newcomers In addition to Bupo, Deshan, and Yuan, plus the troops of his younger brother Anzheng, Shengzheng's military strength reached 15,000. In order to support Shengzheng, Shengjia went south to Bali at the same time, and moved the camp to Fox Mound to strengthen the defense against Zuo Neshan Hori Hidemasa. Maoshan, in case the enemy sneak attack. When Choushi set off from Xingshi Mountain on the 20th, Sakuma Shengzheng couldn't help looking up at the bright moon, and said: "Moon God, you will probably be able to see Ghost Xuanbo fighting today. You must take a good look. How much Shengzheng hopes I will meet you again tomorrow night at the monkey camp in Muben. Before that, I just ask you to illuminate the mountain road for me." After praying, Sheng Zheng suddenly turned his horse's head to face everyone. "Everyone, before the time of 90, wrap up the horseshoes, and without anyone noticing, I surrounded Nakagawa Kiyoshi in the Big Rock Mountain, Takayama Ukon in the Iwasaki Mountain, and Kuwayama Shigeharu in the cheapest mountain! The stupefied enemies were defeated in one fell swoop, and lunch will be eaten at Hideyoshi's base camp, Mumoto!" After speaking, Sheng Zheng closed his army fan with a bang, took the lead, and went straight to the south. The main force of Shengzheng pressed down from Xingshi Mountain to Dayan Mountain along the slope, and the other part went west from Jifu Temple Ban, circled Yanjin Valley, crossed the right to present Ban, and pointed directly to Yuwu Lake in the east.Shibata Katsuya's troops went west out of Mount Oiwa, trying to suppress Shigeharu Kuwayama of Kidake. As Sheng Zheng wished, when the brigade was moving quietly, the bright moonlight silently illuminated the way for them.When it was about to dawn, thick fog continued to pour out of the valley, covering their whereabouts tightly, and they really didn't know it.When the first shot echoed across the valley, the dense fog on the top of the mountain had long since disappeared. On Mt. Oiwa is Qingxiu Nakagawa, on Mt. Iwasaki is Takayama Ukon, and on Mt. Kidake closest to the lake is Shigeharu Kuwazan.Each place is guarded by more than a thousand soldiers.In the blink of an eye, thousands of guns were fired, and each gun was aimed at the defenders on Dayan Mountain. Immediately afterwards, there was an earth-shattering shout of killing from the sky and the earth.This sudden attack caught the defenders by surprise.Even so, Nakagawa Sebei Kiyohide is also a battle-tested titan. "Turn to Mt. Iwasaki and Mt. Kiyake as soon as possible. The coming enemy must be Genbo Sakuma. We must work together to defeat the enemy!" After dispatching the envoy, Kiyohide Nakagawa immediately organized the Musketeer Team to fight back, and ordered the Long Gun Team as the vanguard to attack Bo at the foot of the mountain. Assault in the fog. However, the connection between the three forts has been completely severed.The envoy had to return halfway and report the situation to Zhongchuan Qingxiu.Qingxiu grabbed a gun and asked: "Approximately how many troops is the enemy?" His voice sounded a little funny. "From the top of the mountain to the valley...all the mountain roads are full of enemy soldiers and flags. There may be at least 20,000 of them..." "Shut up! It looks like there are 20,000, but it's actually only 30% of them. I'm still in a panic, and I didn't expect the enemy to come to kill me on my own initiative." Nakagawa Qingxiu talked to himself, while boarding the observation deck to observe the situation.At this time, even the mist at the foot of the mountain disappeared without a trace. "Oh——" Suddenly, there were shouts from all around the mountain. "Oh, it's coming up, it's coming up." Qingxiu Zhongchuan put up the awning with his hands and narrowed his eyes. The sound of gunfire was deafening, and the enemy's flag rushed to the top of the mountain like a flood that broke the embankment. "The waves of whales shake the earth, and the smoke of wolves covers the sky." "What did your lord say?" the guard who followed to the watchtower asked. "It's nothing. I'm talking about the momentum of the enemy's attack. It's really like a scourge. Although it's our enemy, the momentum is extremely spectacular." After finishing speaking, Sehei Qingxiu moved his eyes to the mountain in the west. There are also several belts of fog around the top of Jianyue—no, that is not a belt of fog, but white smoke, and there are also white smoke from guns floating from the top of the mountain to the foot of the mountain, and flocks of birds rush into the air from the valley from time to time. "Well, Mulberry Mountain was also attacked. The strange thing is that the officers and soldiers on the top of the mountain were completely silent..." Qingxiu turned her gaze to Mt. Iwasaki to the north again.Among the green trees, many colorful flags are looming. "Oh, Gao Shanyou seems to have killed the enemy. Maybe... it's time to kill a bloody road, abandon the mountain and run away." Qingxiu's judgment was correct.Takayama Ukon saw that the fortress of Mt. Iwasaki was difficult to hold at this time, so he decided to break through in one fell swoop and join forces with Kimoto's Hashiba Hidecho. "The overall situation is settled!" Qingxiu nodded while talking to herself, and went down from the observation deck.He gathered the people around him, and issued a simple and clear order according to the usual practice: "Now, urgent news is flying from Wooden Camp to Mr. Hashiba's camp. Everyone must try to buy time. Don't rush to die, even if Those who want to join the battle or escape should try to delay the time as much as possible. Once the enemy comes in front of them, they will immediately fall into a melee and cannot command at all, so I hope everyone will do their best and actively respond. The muskets, bows and arrows must be rushed before the enemy approaches. Finish before coming up. Alright, let's meet in the underworld!" After finishing speaking, Qingxiu immediately followed what was discussed earlier, "Once caught in a tight siege, she will never stick to it", lit the three pillars of beacon smoke, and then ran towards the east entrance.At this time, the enemy was less than four or five towns away from them, and the soldiers could no longer hold back, and hurriedly fired arrows. "The enemy is still far away, don't let it go!" Qingxiu went out of the gate, got off her horse, waved her spear for a while, and suddenly froze there.Zhongchuan Qingxiu fought for decades, in retrospect, it is very rare to be able to live to this day.I thought that he would follow Nobunaga during the Yamazaki battle, but Hideyoshi's good fighting made him escape from death. It seems that this time he might die for Hideyoshi.Life is really unpredictable. Facing thousands of enemies, Qingxiu laughed without fear.He firmly believed that after his death, Hideyoshi would hold a grand funeral for him and sing praises. "Boom boom boom boom boom boom boom", a few puffs of smoke rose from Qingxiu's feet, and a few bullets whizzed past the ears. Under Qingxiu's command, the bow and arrow that had stopped shooting for a while shot at the enemy like locusts.The only dozen or so muskets were also spouting flames in three directions. When the enemy's vanguard approached twenty or thirty yards away, the handsome soldiers all retreated two or three yards away.Of course, this was not Qingxiu's order.This group of men who have survived the troubled times has long been familiar with the secrets of war, as if they have heard someone's order, I saw them spontaneously gathering seventy or eighty people, and then rushing towards the enemy regardless of their own safety. "kill--" "kill--" The shouts of killing from both sides were indistinguishable from each other under the clear sky, but they only lasted for a moment.None of the soldiers who rushed down came back. The enemy charged again.The sun has risen very high, and the sun is scorching the delicate helmet.He was still holding the nine-foot spear, standing still. The second team rushed towards the enemy from Qingxiu's right.The arrows have been shot, and the muskets are dumb. I don't know if the urgent report was sent to Hideyoshi... When Qingxiu suddenly remembered this, the third death squad rushed towards the enemy again.It was a complete melee, with the angry howls of the enemy and the enemy drowning him. "My lord!" A person hurriedly came from behind, "The north entrance has been lost, and the enemy has already circled behind us." Hearing the emergency, Qingxiu grasped the gun and bent down. "Hachiman Bodhisattva, please watch the last moment of me, Nakagase Bingwei." After speaking, he held a spear and rushed straight to the attacking enemy group.A few scattered guards followed - there were less than twenty of them.Needless to say, this was Qingxiu's last moment in this world. Dayan Mountain fell, and it was about four o'clock at four o'clock, and noon was approaching, and the fresh green leaves reflected the brilliance of the sun. At the same moment when Mt. Oiwa fell, the envoy of Sakuma Xuanbo's reign was ushered in the adjacent fortress of Mt. Kuwayama, who was dealing with him.He was born in Tajima Takeda and owned a territory of 10,000 koku. At this time, he was assigned to Niwa Nagahide and was responsible for guarding Kidake.Unlike Zhongchuan Qingxiu, he had no intention of fighting to the end from the very beginning.When Shibata Shengzheng came out of Yuwu Lake to the west and challenged him, instead of ordering the soldiers to meet him, he ordered to prepare to retreat. The attacking party was naturally aware of this atmosphere. "Strange, he seems to be trying to escape." Both sides wanted to avoid casualties as much as possible, so Shengzheng sent Naoeda Youjiro as an envoy to negotiate with Kuwayama Shigeharu. "Please retreat immediately, hand over the fort, and stop chasing." In the hut on the top of the mountain, the messenger expressed the meaning of Sheng Zheng. "We are not samurai to be easily bullied..." Shigeharu, who had a bit of Ieyasu's style, couldn't help thinking, the more aggressive the other party was, the more calm he was, "Anyway, Master Hashiba Chikuzen has already gone to attack Gifu , the lord is not here." When Naoeta Youjiro heard this, he couldn't help being surprised, and asked, "Is it because Chikuzen went out that he ordered you to stick to Jianyue?" "If I don't hand it over, what can you do?" Chongqing lowered her head deeply, as if hesitating. "It goes without saying. Takayama Youkon has already fled, and Nakagawa Kiyohide of Dayan Mountain will undoubtedly die. If you refuse to hand over the fort, you will have to wait to die. Do I need to tell you about this?" "That said, Kimoto, the base camp, hasn't fallen yet, and Niwa Chohide is still there." "You mean, like Dayan Mountain, even if the whole army is destroyed, you will fight with us?" "But it was wrong again." "wrong?" "That's right. Hori Hidemasa of Saneyama is watching me. Chikuzen Shouichi will return immediately when he gets the news. If I run away without any resistance, once the news gets out, what face do I have to live in this world?" "What do you mean, is it fighting or fleeing?" "That's what you need to think about, Master Messenger. Hahaha!" Suddenly, Chongqing laughed unnaturally, "You must be a warrior too..." "Because I'm a samurai, I tried my best to be polite. Even when our army is clearly in the upper hand, I negotiated with my lord. This is the first time I've negotiated with you like this." "I understand your feelings very well. However, there is no medicine for regret in this world. After thinking about it over and over again, it seems that I can't hand over the fortress to you right now." "Does that mean we're going to fight? Okay! Our lords are waiting for the next battle, and we've grown impatient for a long time. If that's the case, I have no choice but to go down the mountain and see you on the battlefield!" "Ah, my temper has come up again. I have only spoken half of my thoughts. If I hand it over immediately, it seems a bit hasty. Surrendering in broad daylight will embarrass the samurai!" "What do you think?" "Before the sun goes down, please release empty guns at the foot of the mountain and wait for a while. Our side also shouted from time to time, fired a few empty guns, and fired arrows indiscriminately, pretending to exchange fire with you." "Your Excellency, you want to escape at night. Before that, stay here and pretend to be a decisive battle?" "As you said just now, they are all warriors. If they hand over their positions easily in broad daylight, they will be ridiculed." "It's a deal. After sunset, the position will be handed over to us." "Whether it is handing over or defending, in short, after sunset, we will retreat quietly. In this way, the face of both sides will be saved, and no soldier will be damaged. What do you think? Can you pass it on to Lord Sakuma?" The messenger Naoeda Matajiro was speechless, staring at Shigeharu for a moment, and couldn't help laughing. "Tell Sakuma-sama." "Hahaha... What a brilliant idea. As an envoy, why don't I report it? However, please strictly abide by the agreement, and the limit is limited to sunset." "Of course I understand. I have no room for maneuver. I will never be so persistent and take the lives of my brothers as a trifle." "Okay, what an enlightened general, I admire it!" The taunt stabbed Chongqing like a knife, and the messenger laughed again. Chongqing remained serious. "If Master Sakuma agrees, I will be very honored. Both sides are retainers who grew up eating Lumi, and it is clear that the winner will be victorious. Once the fight starts, it will be terrible. Please also have a good word with Master Sakuma." Naoeda Matajiro felt that although Shigeharu was dull, his thinking was reasonable. "If our lord agrees, we will use empty guns as a signal. However, if there are bullets flying up, it means that my lord has not agreed, and we are launching an attack. Please be ready, Lord Chongqing." "Of course. We'd be happy if it came from empty guns. If..." "Okay, I accept this condition for the time being." "I'm relieved now. Please send my greetings to Master Xuanfan...Our army will withdraw automatically around midnight." In this way, the long negotiation between the two finally came to an end.Soon after Naoeda Matajiro went back, the muskets at the bottom of the mountain kept emitting green smoke, and the guns at the bottom of the mountain fired back frequently.Anyone with a discerning eye can tell that the two sides are shooting empty guns at each other. However, there are bursts of shouts of killing from the top of the mountain from time to time, and the sound echoes from the bottom of the mountain. From the outsider's point of view, the two sides are in a confrontation, and everyone seems to be looking for the best solution. Good fighter. In the midst of feint attack and feint defense, the time agreed by both parties finally arrived.The Bira Mountains towering across the lake are glowing red with the afterglow of the setting sun.As the dusk grew thicker, Shigeharu Kuwayama stood up slowly and gave the order to retreat to the other side of the lake. "Just evacuate quietly like this?" "Yes, how else can I withdraw?" When he spoke to his own people, he was still slow and unbearable. "The urgent document sent from Mumoto this morning is expected to reach Mr. Yu Chai at noon. After that, the army will return immediately..." Chongqing said while pinching his fingers to calculate, "If it is an ordinary general, it may take tomorrow evening to arrive Back...he is not an ordinary person, he is the general Hashiba-sama who has repeatedly created miracles..." "What are you talking about?" "I'm calculating when the reinforcements will arrive...Maybe, I'll be back at dawn. Well, try to delay your withdrawal as much as possible. Maybe you have to come back tomorrow morning. If you go too fast, you will miss the calculation." The army slowly began to set up camp. At this time, Sakuma at the foot of the mountain was watching the movement on the mountain.Sakuma's men, who were in sight of victory, had completely surrounded Kidake at this time and were resting—it might be more accurate to say that they were camping. Sakuma's barracks ranged from Hachibine to Mt. Oiwa, Mt. Onoji, and from Niwatohama to the trench on the west side of Mt.As the sun went down, there were red bonfires lit by soldiers everywhere. "It's so strange. Just throwing empty guns at each other, and then abandoning the position..." "My lord must have some good idea in mind. In short, just obey the order." The soldiers all figured out what Mutosangshan Shigeharu was thinking, and moved slowly to the west.While retreating along the mountain road to the shore of the lake, everyone suddenly found some shadowy things on the lake, which was incredible.It turned out that some military ships were approaching this side continuously, and the target seemed to be the waterside of Kagura Ozaki. Twilight was already approaching, and it was so dark that you could not see your feet.But the lake in front of him reflected the afterglow of the sky, bright and gray.Although the flag number on the ship could not be recognized, it could be seen from the following ships that it was coming from the direction of Haijin in the southwest. "Report, a large number of boats were found on the lake." The report was immediately passed on to Shigeharu Kuwayama.Upon hearing this, Chongqing hurriedly rode up to a protruding rock with a view of the lake. "It's amazing, it's amazing!" Kuangshan Shigeharu was deeply incredulous, and looking behind him in a blink of an eye, he saw piles of red flames jumping in the cottages of Iwasaki Mountain and Dayan Mountain in the vast night. "Is it the enemy's fleet or our own fleet?" asked a soldier beside him. "Needless to say! It's clearly the reinforcements of Lord Niwa Chohide who came from Kaizu. In this way, there is no need to surrender the position at all. Lord Hashiba is really a lucky general!" "Did we invite these reinforcements?" "No, they came here uninvited, that's why it's amazing. It's really touching..." As Shigeharu laments, this is an incredible coincidence.It turned out that just in case, Hideyoshi specially asked Niwa Chohide to be responsible for guarding Kaizu on Dunga Road.Before he left, he also specially told Changxiu to guard Muben's base camp.In fact, Changxiu didn't know that Sakuma's men would launch an offensive in the early morning of this day. "What if something strange happens after going out of Chikuqian Shou..." Because of his concerns, Changxiu ordered more than a thousand soldiers to take six boats to patrol back and forth on Lake Biwa without interruption. While on patrol, Changxiu's army suddenly heard bursts of gunfire from the position guarded by Kuwayama Shigeharu. "It's broken, something serious happened, the enemy is attacking Jianyue, hurry up and pull the boat over." After saying that, Changxiu went ashore immediately, ordered the fleet to return to Haijin, and transferred most of the main force to go around here. It was past noon when Changxiu landed.Now, his main force has crossed the lake continuously and headed straight for Jianyue. "Everyone, withdraw to me! This time, I will fire live ammunition and hit me hard! Oh, it's really wonderful!" Chongqing finished the order excitedly, and returned to the once abandoned position. Sakuma Genbo Shengzheng is camping at the foot of Dayan Mountain, closely monitoring the movements of Jianyue.He had already contacted Katsuie Shibata, the general of Fox Mound stationed in the valley many times. "You emissary is really long-winded. You neither say yes nor refuse. I just don't understand why my uncle doesn't listen to my suggestion and why he doesn't seize the opportunity to launch an attack. Come and listen!" Sheng Zheng said. In front of the emissary sent by Singya for the last time, Hara Hikojiro, he became very angry, his face flushed, and he kept asking questions. Hara Hikojiro didn't want to get involved in the dispute between uncle and nephew, but just looked around the curtain calmly, picked up a piece of firewood and added it to the fire. "My lord said that we should stop here and stop moving. He also said that you are angry and you should calm down and think about it." "It's not that I'm angry, it's that my uncle is old and old. Now that the monkey is not here, it's a great opportunity. We should take good care of it. It took so much effort to win this position. We should take it as a As a stronghold, take advantage of the victory to attack the plains of Nagahama. I just don’t understand what uncle wants to do all the time hiding here.” "This is what my lord ordered: Hashiba Hidecho and Hachisu Kahikoemon are still staying in Kimoto, and Hori Hidemasa is guarding the mountain in front of us. No action should be taken now, and we should immediately withdraw to Gyoichi Mountain... " "Isn't that the same as not saying it?" Sheng Zheng was so angry that his eyes spit fire, he gritted his teeth and shook the military fan, and the legs of the bed table were crushed into the dirt. "Hidemasa Hori is not an iron arhat, as long as uncle moves, he will also move, and immediately go to Wooden to join other troops. We should join forces to attack him. How terrible is this Xiuzheng, you go and tell uncle!" "That said, but..." Hara Hikojiro didn't stand up, and still added firewood to the fire in a calm manner. "According to what your lord said, we will break out of the canyon and attack Mumoto, but if Hideyoshi leads a large group of people to fight back before we can capture it, we will lose our foothold. Therefore, we must withdraw..." "Shut up! Before the monkey returns from Gifu, are you just waiting timidly like this? Even if the urgent documents are delivered to Hideyoshi today, he will not be able to withdraw his troops until tomorrow at the earliest, and leave Gifu the next morning, three days later Only then can we rush here. Changbin City has long been in our pocket, and we have already done a good job of defending the places north of Changbin. I will never withdraw my troops!" "In this case, then the prior agreement..." "What kind of agreement... The outcome of the war is determined by God, and it doesn't matter who said it. If we don't take advantage of the victory now, when will we wait?" "Alas..." Hikojiro shook his head helplessly, "In short, I hope that my lord will strictly abide by the agreement and never go too far. My lord told me, if you get the results today, don't be dazzled by the victory. Enough is enough." "That's enough!" Sheng Zheng turned his face away angrily, "We can't talk about it...well, I can do whatever I want tomorrow. There is no need to talk to uncle. Uncle is just a fool and stubborn!" At this moment, the gunshots that had stopped for some reason started shooting violently from the top of the mountain into the valley. "Where is the gunshot coming from, go and have a look!" "Yes." A nearby waiter said, and hurried out. "Tom tom tom..." There was another burst of gunfire, breaking the tranquility of the night. "Huh? It seems to have come from Jianyue..." Hara Hikojiro was a little puzzled, and stood up. At noon on the 20th, Hideyoshi received the news that Sakuma's troops were attacking. According to Sakuma's calculations, at noon on the 20th, Hideyoshi had already left Ogaki Castle, crossed the Otobi River, and attacked the area around the ferry.But in fact, Hideyoshi had already ordered the whole army to make preparations, and in the event of an accident, they could go into battle at any time.The original plan was to cross the river, but on the second day, Xiu Jiran suddenly ordered to stop crossing the river: "The flood has not receded, let's wait another day and see." Hearing this, there were naturally many soldiers around him who were dissatisfied. "How can a mere flood stop our army? My lord is too careful." Hideyoshi laughed. "I sent troops this time not to fight the flood. When crossing the river, even if a person falls, he will be ridiculed. Even so, he can't disarm and rest. Maybe in the afternoon, the flood will recede. Said We may have to cross the river today." Just when everyone's attention was focused on the flood, an urgent secret report was sent from the west - the Northern Army had attacked Jiangbei. When Hideyoshi heard this, he immediately showed a complicated expression and smiled knowingly. "Ah? That's terrible. You actually attacked them suddenly while I was away. You must not take advantage of them like this! Send me an order and return immediately. I want to fight Sakuma! Choose fifty soldiers from the infantry." Quick on your feet." After giving orders to Koyasu Kato, Hideyoshi came to the big tent, leaning on the table, waiting for everyone to gather.At this time, he was really elated, with an unconcealable smile on the corner of his mouth.When Nobunaga was alive, he once said that Singer's rash attack can be called a wild boar tactic, but Sakuma Xuanbo Shengzheng is even better than Singer when he was young, and he is more courageous. conspired wild boar.Therefore, Hideyoshi tried his best to deliberately set up a trap to let Sheng Zheng take advantage of it. This stupid pig has finally been fooled!Hideyoshi has always been a good player who does not fight uncertain battles.Before the war, he must first overwhelm the opponent in terms of numbers, then spread bait everywhere inside the enemy, install internal support, and finally launch a surprise attack like Nobunaga.Therefore, every time he is ready, Hideyoshi will make a bold statement: "If you don't fight, you will win!" And every time it will become a reality, he has even become an idol worshiped by his subordinates. After a while, the fifty selected scuds gathered in the curtain one after another, and Hideyoshi issued the first order with high spirits: "You set off immediately, and all the villages along the road from Ogaki to Mumoto will have to work hard. Instruct the villagers to put a pot in front of each house and make a liter of rice as military rations. Of course, this is for the brothers who follow you. When the team arrived at Xiaogu, it was probably already night Therefore, in all villages from Xiaogu to Muben, in addition to cooking rice, fodder should be prepared, and the villagers should hold up torches and wait for us to arrive. In addition, the roads between all villages from Xiaogu to Muben, Before we arrive, we will be illuminated with torches. All the expenses will be refunded ten times later. You tell the people that this is the order of the new world leader Hashiba Hideyoshi, and you must resolutely implement it. This is the great war that will determine the world. Victory The loser has already been decided, and the victor must be Hideyoshi." Hideyoshi laughed loudly after the scuds that had been selected rushed to set off.To return to Wooden from here, almost all the way was a rapid march at night.If someone came out to obstruct the road, even a field warrior of fifty or a hundred or a group of common people would unexpectedly slow down the marching speed. In order to remove possible obstacles, everyone should firmly believe that the winner must be Hideyoshi.Moreover, ordering every household to cook for the soldiers can not only effectively satisfy the hunger and thirst of soldiers marching in a hurry, but also unconsciously create an image of harmony between the army and the people.真是一箭双雕的好主意。并且，从长滨到木本一路上都点亮火把，这既能方便士兵们行军，又可以鼓舞士气，简直是一举数得。 更妙的是，在大队人马赶到之前，恐怕敌人一望见耀眼的火把，就会产生一种错觉。 “秀吉来了！”敌人以为秀吉的主力已回，定会军心大动。 “太好了，我军胜利在望！氏家呢，把氏家叫来！”秀吉站起身，把大垣城主氏家直通招了过来。 氏家直通眨着眼睛，战战兢兢地走到秀吉面前，倒身便拜。他已收到了信孝的密函，说一旦秀吉撤回了江北，希望他投靠岐阜。秀吉当然也深知这一点，却全煞不当一回事。 “氏家大人，看来天下马上就要到我手上了。”秀吉义开始了他的鼓动，“你说奇怪不，就连洪水都通人情，来帮我。若我们按照原先计划，今日清晨就早早地渡了河，怎么能赶在明日清晨重回木本，予柴田和佐久间以致命一击？想必你也都亲眼看见了吧，虽说如此，如我把三万部下全部带回去，你就会惶恐。故，在我砍下柴田的脑袋返回之前，先留下一万五千人交与堀尾吉晴。万一信孝前来骚扰，也好有个照应。你说呢，氏家大人？” “对！”氏家直通慌忙移开视线。他觉得自己已完全被秀吉看破，后背直冒凉气。 “吉晴，听我的，好好把守这里。” "yes." “天晴了，河也不渡了，佐久间也出来了，早就作好战备了……哈哈，神佛真是垂青于我。秀吉可真幸运啊，所有的人，都准备好了粮草在等着我。要马不停蹄赶回木本，边跑边吃，边跑边喝，这样，江山就打下来了。回想起来，已故右府大人取得田乐洼大捷之时，也是这样。将士们，现在正是立功的大好机会，准备出发！” 天空晴朗，几只苍鹰频频在天上盘旋，明媚的阳光撤在绿油油的叶子上，熠熠闪光。 检阅全军之后，秀吉带着加藤光泰和一柳直末等数名近臣，一马当先，出了辕门。此时还不到申时。 秀吉快马加鞭，一口气跑过长松、垂井，快要赶到关原的时候，他接到了第二次急报，是中川濑兵卫清秀战死和佐久间盛政出兵之讯。 一听中川噩耗，秀吉不禁在马上仰天长叹：“濑兵卫，我对不住你啊。我定要为你报仇，定要厚葬你，为你歌功颂德。” 此时天已经黑了下来，各个村庄都如吩咐好的那样，处处升起了炊烟，路旁堆满了小山一样的饭团。 秀吉在每个供饭处都要停下马来，大声向百姓道谢：“乡亲们，辛苦了，辛苦了。这么好的饭团，没有比这更好的了。不过，要是有酒就更好了。马料里也请搀上些糠，好好地犒劳犒劳它们。到时候我会十倍偿还你们。大家都听明白了吗？这次决战之后，天下就要归我秀吉了。希望大家要多准备些饭团，好让后面赶过来的士兵们都填饱肚子。” 言罢，他又快马加鞭赶到下一个村子。 “哦，你们这里连红豆饭和糯米糕都准备好了。好，真是想得太周到了，你们的深情厚谊，秀吉都记在心里。” 在前一个村子致完谢，秀吉又赶到下一个村子。“乡亲们，赶紧向贱岳进发。大家都把草袋子扎起口来，拦腰分成两半，在盐水里泡一泡，装上米饭，驮上马背。行军的士兵们过来时，大家要主动上前，热心地招呼他们吃饭。即使有人吃得多了，一人吃了两人份，乡亲们也不要介意。劝他们吃完之后再带上些，无论是包在衣服里，还是包在毛巾里，反正都是带到战场上去，决不会浪费。还有，马料要够格，须掺上糠。若士兵们要带走也可。大家都听清楚了吧！饭钱、粮草钱过后十倍奉还。到时不要报个人的名字，只报郡、村的名字就够了。快，乡亲们，快快向贱岳进发！” 就这样，从秀吉身后赶来的士兵都按照吩咐，边吃边跑，边跑边喝，如同疾风暴雨一样不断进击。 队伍路过关原，天已经漆黑一片了，道路的两边点燃了明亮的火把。从关原穿过春照，再赶到长滨、木本，大约有百里路程。可是，倘若秀吉真的渡河向岐阜城发起攻击，返回木本的时间正好跟佐久间盛政所计算的一样，再快也得在三日之后。 戌时左右，队伍从春照出发，经过野村、尊胜寺、小谷、马上、井口，到达木本已经是后半夜了。另一方面，粮秣部队也相继从长滨赶回了木本。 一万五千士兵仅仅用了几个时辰，就走完了百里路程，真是神速。因此，从春照到木本，从钵峰再到美浓官道，全都是火把的长龙，就像万灯会似的，远远望去，格外迷人。秀吉最先抵达木本。 “你怎可使得中川濑兵卫战死，真正气死我也！”一回到木本，秀吉就狠狠地骂起弟弟羽柴秀长来。秀长刚要开口说话，秀吉又道：“休要说了，你也得行动了！” 说话间，秀吉已经掉转马头，检查起前来参战的将士来。“有没有饿着肚子的？好好慰劳累垮了的战马。从此刻起，到天亮之前，天下大势就在贱岳决出。大家都穿好草鞋，扎好绑腿！” 秀吉转来转去，大声喊话，充满了自信，仿佛一个永不知疲劳的三头六臂之人。