Prime Minister Bizen

Chapter 144 The Big Tail Battle ([-])

Ikeda Hengxing ignored Morinagako's dissuasion, and said to the soldiers under his command, "Hashiba Mino's army has broken through Ise's defense line, and the monkeys in Owari are rushing home."

"My sons and daughters, it's time to make meritorious deeds! Follow me across the Kiso River, and put down the rebellion for His Royal Highness Oda Sanshi! Cross the river! Cross the river! Cross the river!"

As Ikeda Hengxing boosted morale in front of the battle, the morale of the soldiers of the Hashiba Army was high. They lacked the overall situation information, and they were really surprised that the Zhide Allied Forces were being defeated.

Because the pontoon bridge was destroyed, the soldiers cut down nearby trees and built a small bridge with a width of 3 people on the Kiso River. With Ikeda Hengxing's team as the vanguard, they crossed the Kiso River to Mino one by one.

If you happen to be a member of this army, you will find eager eyes in the eyes of these soldiers, as if the enemy army on the other side is a gold mine with rich resources, waiting to be excavated by yourself.

Not long after crossing the river at 2 on Ikeda Hengxing's side, a group of envoys came here, led by Hashiba Hideyoshi's valet leader Hirano Changyasu, who reined in his horses on the bank, and faced the only few guards on the bank. Asked an ashigaru holding a hashiba flag.

"Where is Ikeda Settsushou? Is it time to cross the river?"

"My lord, my lord has already crossed the river one step ahead, and the chief general personally took the vanguard. This is a rare bravery in the world." That Zuqing replied with a smile, as if he was proud of having such a lord .

"Oops." Hearing Ashgaru's reply, Hirano Changyasu yelled secretly, and said to the young samurai beside him, "Otani, you go back and report to the lord, but you failed to stop Settsu Shou crossing the river to pursue him, please make a quick decision, and the rest will follow suit." I cross the river to rule Lord Ikeda."

After all, Hirano Changyasu pinched the horse's belly hard, the horse struggled and ran quickly, and the rest of the samurai followed Hirano Changyasu across the Kiso River, while the samurai called Otani just reined in his horse and headed west. return.

The reason why Hideyoshi sent Hirano Changyasu, one of his cheapest seven guns, to persuade Ikeda Hengxing was that he was afraid that he would be blinded by the revenge of killing his son, and he would rush across the river and end up burying the 2 people.

After Hirano took the order and left, Hideyoshi still paced back and forth uneasy, and asked Kasamatsu Castle on the front line to keep an eye on the movement of Kuroda Castle on the opposite bank at all times, and report immediately if he found any signs of enemy action.

The samurai who returned from Naga Ferry quickly ran to Hideyoshi's main camp to report the situation on the front line as soon as he returned to Liujin.

Hideyoshi was fidgeting in the shogunate, and when he saw Otani came back, he immediately asked, "How about Yoshitaka, can you stop Settsu Mamoru?" continue.

"My lord." The samurai named Otani said out of breath, "Master Hirano did not stop Settsu Mori in Naga. According to Ashgaru who guarded the ferry, Settsu Mori took the lead and crossed the river to pursue the Hall of Attendants."

"Oh~ Settsu Mamoru is really brave." Hearing that Tsuneko Ikeda was the vanguard to attack Nobuo Oda, the samurai who were doing it all sighed, exaggerating Tsuneko Ikeda's bravery.

Hashiba Hideyoshi was even more anxious when he heard this, and was about to order Otani to take someone to intercept him again, but seeing that he still seemed to have something to say, he asked, "Do you have anything to say?"

"Yes, on the way back, I saw a group of troops on the opposite bank flying the Tokugawa Aoi flag heading east. There are no less than [-] people. I am afraid they are going to attack Settsu Shou."

"Impossible. Kasamatsu just reported, and there was no movement from Kuroda's direction. It is impossible for the enemy to move troops under our noses."

It was Miyoshi Hideji who spoke, and it was he who brought back the latest news from Kasamatsu half an hour ago. If what Otani Yoshitsugu said was true, it would be tantamount to slapping him loudly and telling Hashiba Hideyoshi that he brought back the latest news. The information is wrong.

"Is it true? Did you see it clearly? Yoshitaka?" Sure enough, hearing that the Tokugawa Army had moved, Hashiba Hideyoshi asked Otani Yoshitsugu nervously.

"That's true. Hachisuka-sama has already brought people to Naga, and is about to cross the river to support Ikeda-sama. He asked me to bring a message back. Lord Qing will make a decision earlier."

Hearing that his family's old Hachisuka Masakatsu had led the troops stationed in Haguri to move eastward, Hashiba Hideyoshi no longer had any doubts about Otani Yoshitsugu's information.

It's just that the current situation seems to have deviated from his original plan. At first, he just wanted to take advantage of the opportunity of the Oda-Tokugawa coalition forces to break up on both sides. Unexpectedly, he was forced by Ikeda Hengxing to the point of direct final battle .

"Why is this, why is this?" Hideyoshi scratched his head impatiently and said.

"Your Highness, there is no need to worry. The situation itself is like a pool of stagnant water. Settsushou's sudden attack may become the key to breaking the deadlock."

Kanbei Kuroda persuaded from the side, "We might as well take advantage of this opportunity to carry out a big operation, but this time our operation is to attack, not to return to defense."

"Oh? Tell me what you think." Hearing that his military adviser had a certain idea, Hashiba Hideyoshi immediately became interested.

After all, for him, whether it is returning from Bichu to Kinai to launch the Battle of Yamazaki, or returning to Omi from Mino to support the battle of Kidake, mobile combat is his forte.

"His Royal Highness Tokugawa's troops are no more than 2 people. If Otani-sama's information is correct, the main force of the Tokugawa army may have left Kuroda, and even Tokugawa Ieyasu himself is not in Kuroda Castle."

"The departure of the Tokugawa army this time must have received the news that 2 Settsu guards crossed the river and joined Oda Nobuo to encircle and suppress Settsu guards."

"We can tentatively cross the river to surround Kuroda Castle to find out the true strength of the defenders of Kuroda Castle. If the city is empty, we can leave some troops to continue to surround Kuroda Castle, and the main force will continue to advance and meet His Highness Hachisuka to fight against Germany. The Sichuan army launched an anti-encirclement."

"The army led by Ikeda Settsumori is the elite of the family, with no less than 2 people. Under his command, there are veteran generals such as Inaba Kazutetsu and Kato Koyasu. Settsumori himself has rich experience in war. I want to come to the Oda-Tokugawa coalition It is not easy to eat this army in a short period of time, they only need to hold on for a while, and when our army arrives, the only way left for His Royal Highness Tokugawa is to flee."

Kuroda Kanbei's words fit Hideyoshi's thoughts very well. Hideyoshi smiled and said after listening to it, "There are so many people left to bluff in Kuroda, and the Oda-Tokugawa military strength is at most 3 people. Just this few people want to eat The troops of Setjin Shou are not afraid of knocking their teeth."

Immediately, Hideyoshi ordered everyone who was doing it, "Hideji, you lead your team of 6000 people as the vanguard, cross the river first, and verify for yourself whether the Tokugawa army in Kuroda Castle has moved or not."

"Yes, Uncle"

Speaking of Miyoshi Hideji, the world still remembers his other name "Toyotomi Hideji", which is the history of Shasheng Guanbai.

The viciousness he did is as follows: deer hunting in Mount Hiei where killing is prohibited, shooting innocent farmers during iron cannon trials, wandering in the town after drinking alcohol every night, beheading pedestrians at will, cutting off the arms of blind people, and adultery with mother and daughter, Cut open the abdomen of pregnant women to check the appearance of the fetus, etc.

It was only before these rumors that Hideyoshi was abolished were widely circulated. Historians generally believe that this is a rumor spread by Hideyoshi in order to reasonably abolish Hideji's inheritance rights.

Qi's life was actually relatively miserable. It can even be said that the fate of their brothers was rough. They lived under the shadow of their uncle since childhood, and were frequently adopted by Hideyoshi as a political tool. Lai was born, and died one after another at the hands of Hideyoshi. Even Ie Hideho, who succeeded Yamato Toyotomi, could not escape death.

What, you said that Xiubao died from the cold after falling into the water?
I'm afraid you don't know how Zhu Youxiao died. The ships of these big men are all rare big ships. Every time they set sail, they have to check the condition of the hull. The sailors hired are quite experienced skilled workers. It is not easy to turn the boat over on a calm lake.

And at this moment Hideji, looking at Hideyoshi's stern eyes, Miyoshi Hideji didn't dare to fart, and accepted Hideyoshi's arrangement with his head down.

"As for the other generals, go down quickly and prepare for the battle. The victory is already in our hands. Go and make meritorious deeds!"

Facing Hideyoshi's order, the entire war machine began to operate. The warriors who had been fighting for a lifetime in the mountains of corpses and blood began to scold their ashigaru to form a team after receiving the order from the superior warriors, and then prepared to fight. Battle across the river.

Miyoshi Hideji, who was the first pioneer, led 6200 people including Nakagawa Hidekiyo, Kinoshita Toshihisa, Ogawa Yutaka and others to cross the river in Kozaya.

At this moment, the Tokugawa army guarding the riverside saw the menacing Hashiba army on the other side, and after shooting two rounds of arrows, they abandoned the position on the riverbank and retreated towards Kuroda Castle.

Standing at the front, Kinoshita Toshihisa saw that there were usually more than 1500 people on the river bank defense line, but only a few hundred people ran away. He knew in his heart that the rumors that the Tokugawa army was somewhat weak were true, so he ordered his men to speed up to cross the river and occupy the river. side positions.

On Hideyoshi's side, more than 2 people marched to the Kiso River, waiting for the establishment of the pontoon bridge, and waiting for Miyoshi Hideji's reply.

Not long after, a samurai came from the other side and said to Hideyoshi, "I am Shigekatsu Komai, the retainer of His Royal Highness Hideji. The head of the family has surrounded Kuroda Castle. The defenders in the city went out to fight the family at the beginning of the period, and they have been repelled by the family."

"Where are the defenders in the city, and where are the Tokugawa troops around?" Hashiba Hideyoshi asked.

"I don't know the exact number of defenders. It should be no less than 3000. But the defenders only went out of the city to fight at first, and went back after not asking for a bargain. The Lord's scouts spread out, and there were no large groups of enemy troops in the surrounding cities such as Ichinomiya and Karianga. The city defense is also very weak."

"Very good, each army will cross the river one by one according to the original plan, let's go and beat the Mikawa mouse~" Hearing Shigekatsu Komai's reply, Hashiba Hideyoshi said very excitedly.

Following Hideyoshi's order, Hashiba's army was divided into three columns, passing through the Kiso River from the three pontoon bridges on the Kiso River, and soon approached Kuroda Castle.

Miyoshi Hideji came over and informed Ishida Mitsunari that he wanted to inform Hideyoshi of the situation here.

"Oh, it's our Highness Hideji~" Seeing Miyoshi Hideyoshi running over, Hashiba Hideyoshi said with a bit of yin and yang.

Hideyoshi was already 19 years old at this time, because he grew up better than Hideyoshi, now he is 1m65 tall, and his physique is much stronger than Hideyoshi. Wearing a crimson armor, he looks like a samurai.

Hearing that Hideyoshi called him "Your Highness", Hideji scratched his head in embarrassment and said, "Uncle has not changed at all, I still like it, so I will make fun of it."

Unexpectedly, Hideyoshi heard that a horsewhip was whipped on Hideyoshi's face, passed through Hideyoshi's transparent Tsukiyo head door, and scratched to the side of the nose, and immediately blood left his face.

"Who made fun of you, do you know that your wrong information is likely to lead Ikeda Settsumori to a dead end, and the advantage that the family has worked so hard to build will disappear!" Hideyoshi reprimanded Miyoshi Hideji very severely.

But after thinking about it, this is a sect that has a blood relationship with him after all. For some reason, the number of members of Hideyoshi's sect is a bit thin compared to other daimyos, so Hideyoshi also gives some preferential treatment to the sect.

Hideyoshi sighed, and said in a calm tone, "You have to know, you are already 19 years old, and you should be a samurai on your own. This time, take it as a lesson, and you must not be so frizzy in the future, otherwise how can we rest assured? Is the world entrusted to you?"

Due to some unknown reasons, Hideyoshi already had a son of direct blood in this life—Husong, who is the half-brother of the Hideyoshi family.

But maybe it’s because of God’s ridicule. Husong, who was born in November of her pregnancy, is now 11 years old (the Japanese say virtual age). When ordinary children are 3 years old, most of them have learned to speak and go around like having fun. run.

But Husong, who is already 3 years old, has not yet spoken, so Hideyoshi is worried about his future.

Now looking at Miyoshi Xiuji's brothers who are out of tune, I think of the adopted son Xiu's family who was neglected by him some time ago.Hideyoshi has always believed that if Husong is really different from ordinary people, then after a hundred years, the only person Husong can rely on is his brother.

Thinking of this, Hideyoshi suddenly regretted his previous suspicion of Hideyoshi, and called Otani Yoshitsugu who was beside him and said
"You will go to Osaka immediately, and then go to Okayama to ask Major General Hashiba how the situation in the West Country is, but it is still stable. If possible, let him spare some troops to come to Mikawa to participate in the crusade against the Tokugawa family."

Yes, in Hideyoshi's prediction, this battle was already a certain victory for him. By the time Ukita Hideka felt it, he might have already galloped wantonly in the Tokugawa territory, so he would directly order Hideyoshi to directly participate in Mikawa Offensive decision.

After receiving the order, Otani Kichiji responded, rode his horse and broke away from the team, heading west.

And Hashiba Hideyoshi, according to the original arrangement, arranged Miyoshi Hideji in Kuroda to watch over Honda Tadakatsu in Kuroda Castle, and led the main force of 2 people to continue marching eastward.

(End of this chapter)